Assessing the predictive validity of cultural intelligence over time

The study examines four core components of cultural intelligence (CQ) - Behavioral, Motivational, Cognitive and Meta-cognitive - as predictors of cross-cultural adaptation problems in a longitudinal study of international students in New Zealand and tests the hypothesis that Motivational CQ predicts better psychological and sociocultural outcomes over time. One hundred and four students completed measures of CQ during a pre-term orientation program and assessments of adaptation problems approximately three months later. In line with the hypothesis, bi-variate correlations indicated that Motivational CQ was related to fewer psychological symptoms (r = −.30, p < .01) and sociocultural adaptation problems (r = −.27, p < .01). However, hierarchical regression analysis, controlling for age, gender, length of residence abroad and region of origin, revealed that while Motivational CQ was a significant (negative) predictor (ß = −.36, p < .01) of psychological symptoms, the overall amount of variance explained (14.6%) in the model was not significant. In contrast, region of origin (ß = .37, p < .01) was the only significant predictor of sociocultural adaptation problems with international students from Western countries reporting fewer difficulties than those from other regions. The results are discussed in relation to contemporary theories of motivation along with recommendations for future research.     

The effect of goal activation on the evaluation of hybrid products1

A hybrid product (i.e. a multifinal means) is connected with goals relevant to the key functionalities best served by the product categories constituting the product. Given that single‐ or multiple‐category inference for a hybrid product can be elicited in individuals, we propose that single‐ (vs. multiple‐) category inference can lead to a relatively higher preference for the hybrid product if only one of the key focal goals that the hybrid product can satisfy is activated. We also explore whether the evaluation of a hybrid product in single‐category inference will reflect valuation and/or devaluation effects if only one of multiple key focal goals attached to the hybrid product is active.     

The Role of Attachment in Immigrant Sociocultural Adaptation and Psychological Distress

The study extends recent research on the link between attachment security and the sociocultural and psychological adaptation of immigrants. It was hypothesised that attachment style would moderate the effects of sociocultural adaptation difficulties on psychological distress and the relationship between attachment style and immigrant background variables was explored. The study was correlational and questionnaire‐based, including a sample of 172 Brazilian immigrants living in the UK. According to the findings, secure and dismissing attachment styles moderated the effects of sociocultural adaptation difficulties on psychological distress. Preoccupied attachment style moderated the effects of previous immigration experience on psychological distress and the effects of duration of stay in the UK on concerns over terrorism. Future studies should employ longitudinal designs and include a variety of immigrant groups. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Asymmetric interference in 3‐ to 4‐month‐olds' sequential category learning

Three‐ to 4‐month‐old infants show asymmetric exclusivity in the acquisition of cat and dog perceptual categories. The cat perceptual category excludes dog exemplars, but the dog perceptual category does not exclude cat exemplars. We describe a connectionist autoencoder model of perceptual categorization that shows the same asymmetries as infants. The model predicts the presence of asymmetric retroactive interference when infants acquire cat and dog categories sequentially. A subsequent experiment conducted with 3‐ to 4‐month‐olds verifies the predicted pattern of looking time behaviors. We argue that bottom‐up, associative learning systems with distributed representations are appropriate for modeling the operation of short‐term visual memory in early perceptual category learning.     

Vocabulary and automatic attention: The relation between novel words and gaze dynamics in noun generalization

Words direct visual attention in infants, children, and adults, presumably by activating representations of referents that then direct attention to matching stimuli in the visual scene. Novel, unknown, words have also been shown to direct attention, likely via the activation of more general representations of naming events. To examine the critical issue of how novel words and visual attention interact to support word learning we coded frame-by-frame the gaze of 17- to 31-month-old children (n = 66, 38 females) while generalizing novel nouns. We replicate prior findings of more attention to shape when generalizing novel nouns, and a relation to vocabulary development. However, we also find that following a naming event, children who produce fewer nouns take longer to look at the objects they eventually select and make more transitions between objects before making a generalization decision. Children who produce more nouns look to the objects they eventually select more quickly following the naming event and make fewer looking transitions. We discuss these findings in the context of prior proposals regarding children's few-shot category learning, and a developmental cascade of multiple perceptual, cognitive, and word-learning processes that may operate in cases of both typical development and language delay.

Research Highlights

• Examined how novel words guide visual attention by coding frame-by-frame where children look when asked to generalize novel names.
• Gaze patterns differed with vocabulary size: children with smaller vocabularies attended to generalization targets more slowly and did more comparison than those with larger vocabularies.
• Demonstrates a relationship between vocabulary size and attention to object properties during naming.
• This work has implications for looking-based tests of early cognition, and our understanding of children's few-shot category learning.

     

A sociocultural psychology of repeated mobility: dialogical challenges / Una psicología sociocultural de la movilidad repetida: desafíos dialógicos

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a sociocultural psychology of the lifecourse to examine the extreme case of families living in repeated international mobility. In this case, mobility is motivated by work, which leads to repeated relocation of housing and occupational arrangements across countries. Based on fieldwork, we highlight three challenges of repeated mobility and discuss their implications within sociocultural psychology.     

A qualitative exploration of the motor skills required for elite triathlon performance

PurposeThe purpose of this research was to investigate the beliefs, attitudes, and experiences of stakeholders in youth triathlon regarding the important motor subskills that are required to be successful at the elite level of triathlon competition.MethodTwenty-five participants were recruited from five stakeholder groups in triathlon and interviewed via video conference. A constructionist and relativist approach to thematic analysis was used to identify three first order themes and several second order themes.ResultsThe first, first order theme was ‘Continuous Motor Skills' which consisted of the invariant features of triathlon's continuous motor skills and the parameterization of continuous motor skills. The second, first order theme was ‘Discrete Motor Skills' and consisted of discrete motor skills involved with cornering and change of direction in each discipline and transition phases in triathlon. The final first order theme was ‘Adaptability in Continuous and Discrete Motor Skills'.ConclusionThis research provides a novel and more broad understanding of the beliefs, attitudes, and experiences of stakeholders in triathlon regarding important motor skills that are required to succeed at the elite level of the sport. This novel and broad understanding of important triathlon motor skills has theoretical implications for evaluating triathlon performance with skill acquisition as a primary focus. Additionally, this research is practically important for coaches, administrators, and athletic performance staff who design training programs and pathways for young, developing triathletes.     

Holding multiple category representations: The role of age,theory of mind,and rule switching in children’s developing cross-classification abilities

Cross-classification, the ability to categorize multifaceted entities in many ways, is a remarkable cognitive milestone for children. Past work has focused primarily on documenting the timeline for when children reach cross-classification competence. However, it is not well understood what cognitive factors underpin children’s improvements. The current study aimed to examine the contributions of age, theory of mind, and rule switching to children’s cross-classification development. We tested 3- to 5-year-old children (N = 75) using a cross-classification task, the Theory of Mind Task Battery, and the Three-Dimensional Change Card Sort test. The results revealed that age and theory of mind predict children’s cross-classification over and above the effects of rule switching. The results also revealed that advanced-level theory of mind reasoning is a particularly strong predictor of cross-classification development. These findings increase understanding of cross-classification within children’s broader cognitive development.