The Study of Perspective-Taking: Contributions from Mainstream Psychology and Behavior Analysis

The Psychological Record - The key purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature on perspective-taking from within mainstream psychology and behavior analysis....     

Effects of teacher-directed versus student-directed instruction on self-management of young children with disabilities

In this study, students worked independently by setting goals, selecting assignments, and recording and evaluating their results after receiving one of two different types of self-management training. During teacher-directed training, the teacher set goals, assigned work, and recorded and evaluated results for students. During student-directed training, students performed those tasks themselves. The results indicated that students engaged in the self-management behaviors more frequently during independent work following student-directed instruction than following teacher-directed instruction.     

Further routes to psychological constructionism

In this commentary, we do two things. First, we sketch two further routes to psychological constructionism. They are complementary to Lindquist et al.'s meta-analyses and have potential to add new evidence. Second, we look at a challenging kind of case for constructionism, namely, emotional anomalies where there are correlated, and probably relevant, brain anomalies. Psychopaths are our example.     

Examining Psychosocial Pathways Underlying Gratitude Interventions: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Despite their unprecedented popularity, the psychological mechanisms through which gratitude journals operate are poorly understood. Also the use of gratitude journaling to enhance social relationships has been neglected in past research, despite the importance of healthy relationships for people’s happiness. This randomized controlled study examined the effect of (a) a traditional gratitude journal (fostering gratitude for daily life), and (b) an interpersonal gratitude journal (fostering gratitude for one’s existing social relationships), versus (c) an active control journal, on life satisfaction. Ninety-one participants were randomized to one of three conditions with 2-week and 1-month follow-ups. The traditional gratitude intervention (vs. control) showed improvements in friendship at immediate post-test and 1-month follow-up, and these effects were accounted for by changes in gratitude over time. Additionally, the traditional gratitude intervention (vs. control) predicted enhanced life satisfaction at follow-up, and this was serially mediated by 6 week changes in gratitude and perceived friendship quality. No such differences over time were observed between the interpersonal gratitude intervention and either the control intervention or the traditional gratitude intervention. Actively appreciating things in daily life appears to be effective in enhancing the quality of people’s social relationships, and producing sustained improvements in subjective wellbeing.     

Uncertainty in ethical consumer choice: a conceptual model

The market place has seen significant growth in the demand for ‘ethical’ products and services. Yet, consumers often experience knowledge, evaluation and choice uncertainties in decision‐making processes, particularly in relation to products such as ethical clothing. The authors explore this pertinent form of consumer uncertainty through three qualitative studies of ethical consumers that examine their approaches to clothing consumption. In‐depth interviews and focus groups confirm uncertainty arises; the results also identify the causes and consequences of consumer uncertainty in this context. The causes of uncertainty pertain to issues surrounding complexity, ambiguity, conflict and credibility that give rise to uncertainties that result in delaying purchase decisions, compromising beliefs and negative emotions. This study contributes to literature by offering a holistic understanding of the challenges facing consumers when making ethical choices. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lay Understandings of Sex/Gender and Genetics: A Methodology That Preserves Polyvocal Coder Input

Lay understandings of the role of heredity and genetics in the production of human sex may be important in perceptions of the relative similarity and difference of men and women and therefore of the appropriateness of behaviors or social policies. We employed 17 focus groups segregated by gender and ethnicity (43 European American and 39 African American) to assess lay understandings of genetics and biological sex. To ensure the inclusion of multiple perspectives in results, we developed and applied a methodology we call “polyvocal coding.” Results show uneven incorporation of basic genetics, with substantial diversity of alternative understandings, especially with regard to sexual orientation. Different individuals, including both coders and participants, may interpret the same information about sex chromosomal inheritance as a fundamental quality of individual identity that constitutes essential and significant difference or as a component with limited impact on each person.