Negative internal causal attributions of a specific offense and forgiveness

Causal attributions are important social‐cognitive predictors of forgiveness. This article presents the Transgression Attribution Questionnaire (TAQ), a measure of one's negative internal causal attributions of a specific offense. In 4 studies, scores on the TAQ showed initial evidence of estimated internal consistency, temporal stability, and construct validity. Negative internal attributions for the cause of a transgression predicted lower levels of empathy and forgiveness. Furthermore, scores on the TAQ predicted forgiveness over and above the hurtfulness of the offense, relationship commitment, and a general measure of internal causal attributions in relationships. The current research bridges research on internal causal attributions and forgiveness. Implications for the social‐cognitive study of forgiveness and the measurement of causal attributions are discussed.     

Variability in the anatomy of the planum temporale and posterior ascending ramus: do right- and left handers differ?

The anatomy of the planum temporale (PT) and posterior ascending ramus (PAR) was studied in vivo in 67 healthy right- and left-handed adults using MRI-based morphometry. The left PT was significantly larger than the right, and there was a weakly significant effect of the right PAR larger than the left. A leftward PT asymmetry was found in 72%, and a rightward PAR asymmetry was found in 64% of the sample. The "typical" configuration of a larger left PT and larger right PAR co-occurred in 56% of the subjects studied, which was only slightly more often than predicted by chance. Eight of 67 subjects had "reversed" PT and PAR asymmetries, with consistent left and mixed handers over-represented in this group. Right PAR size was the only variable that predicted writing hand, and left PT size was the only measure that differed by sex. The left PT was expanded relative to the left PAR in 93% of the sample, suggesting that this configuration may be developmentally regulated and may be a critical substrate for the development of language. These findings demonstrate that important relationships exist between hand preference, and the anatomy of posterior cortical language areas.     

Sylvian fissure and parietal anatomy in children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in social functioning and language and communication, with restricted interests or stereotyped behaviors. Anatomical differences have been found in the parietal cortex in children with ASD, but parietal subregions and associations between Sylvian fissure (SF) and parietal anatomy have not been explored. In this study, SF length and anterior and posterior parietal volumes were measured on MRI in 30 right-handed boys with ASD and 30 right-handed typically developing boys (7-14 years), matched on age and non-verbal IQ. There was leftward SF and anterior parietal asymmetry, and rightward posterior parietal asymmetry, across groups. There were associations between SF and parietal asymmetries, with slight group differences. Typical SF asymmetry was associated with typical anterior and posterior parietal asymmetry, in both groups. In the atypical SF asymmetry group, controls had atypical parietal asymmetry, whereas in ASD there were more equal numbers of individuals with typical as atypical anterior parietal asymmetry. We did not find significant anatomical-behavioral associations. Our findings of more individuals in the ASD group having a dissociation between cortical asymmetries warrants further investigation of these subgroups and emphasizes the importance of investigating anatomical relationships in addition to group differences in individual regions.     

Parental Perceptions of Services Provided for Children with Autism in Jordan

Providing formal support for children with autism and their parents is important and mandatory to improve children’s abilities and enhance the capabilities of parents. The present study attempted to investigate the perceptions of parents of children with autism regarding the services provided in Jordan. A questionnaire consisting of five sections was designed and distributed to a sample of 60 parents of children with autism (5–18 years old) among four special education institutions in Jordan. The questionnaire addressed five domains: demographics, type and number of received services, methods and difficulties of obtaining services, parents’ satisfaction, and parents’ perceived needed services. The results revealed that the service delivery system with which parents interacted was composed of multiple places and providers, but had several difficulties. Parents participating in this study expressed an average satisfaction with the received services. Issues pertaining to the cost of services, parents-professional partnerships, and overall quality of services were seen by parents as sources of low satisfaction. On the other hand, parents expressed the need for early intervention, family counseling, and community awareness services. Further suggestions and implications are presented in the study.     

Four‐model approach to adolescent–parent attachment relationships and adolescents' loneliness,school belonging,and teacher appraisal

This study tested monotropy, hierarchy, independence, and integration conceptual models of adolescent–mother and adolescent–father attachment to explain adolescents' perceived social interrelationships with extrafamilial attachment figures (peers, teachers). Participants included 356 Israeli adolescents (12–15 years). More adolescents were significantly classified as securely attached to mothers than to fathers, but high concordances emerged. Results supported two of the attachment models, hierarchy and integration, as explaining variation in adolescents' perceived extrafamilial interrelationships. As per the hierarchy attachment model, adolescent–mother attachment outweighed adolescent–father attachment to some extent in predicting adolescents' perceived social interrelationship measures. As per the integration attachment model, significant differences emerged on most social interrelationship measures between the 4 distinct subgroups: secure attachment to both parents, neither, only father, only mother. The Discussion section focuses on the unique importance of attachment to each parent for typically developing junior high students.     

WHEN THINKING HESITATES: PHILOSOPHY AS PROSTHESIS AND TRANSFORMATIVE VISION

In this essay, I draw on Henri Bergson and Maurice Merleau‐Ponty to interrogate what philosophy is and how it can continue to think. Though my answer is not reducible to the views of either philosopher, what joins them is an attempt to elaborate philosophy as a different way of seeing. In this light, I propose a view of philosophy as prosthesis—as a means and a way for seeing differently. Rather than a simple tool, philosophy as prosthesis is a transformative supplement, one that our bodily perception calls for and wherein that perception is recast. Rather than a fixed or assured view, this prosthesis holds open the interval in which thinking can take place. Philosophy, I argue, must wait. It sees and thinks hesitatingly, for the temporality it inscribes is not a foreseeable development but the unfolding of life as tendency, as that which creates its own possibility as it comes into existence.     

Psychometric Properties of the Cultural Intelligence Scale in a Saudi Arabian Context

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the cultural intelligence scale (CQS) in a Saudi Arabian context. The CQS was administered to a random sample of 553 undergraduate students at Hail University. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the four‐factor structure of the CQS: cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, and behavioral. In addition, the results of a second‐order CFA indicated that these four factors can be further collapsed into one general factor. The CQS showed adequate internal consistency and test–retest reliability as well as convergent and discriminant validity. The results further revealed no significant differences between males and females. In sum, results suggest that the Arabic version of the CQS is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring an individual's intercultural intelligence.