The longitudinal and concurrent role of neuroticism for partner relationships

Neurotic characteristics of spouses have often been associated with dissatisfaction with the partner relationship. This article addresses the question whether the link between dissatisfaction with the relationship and neuroticism appears during the partner relationship, or whether it is present before the person enters the relationship. Utilizing data from a Swedish longitudinal project, satisfaction with the partner relationship was linked with neuroticism both in adolescence and in adulthood. Adolescent neuroticism was measured at age 15 with the High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ), and adult neuroticism was measured at age 37 with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-I). Results showed that a lower degree of satisfaction in partner relationships in mid-life was linked with higher concurrent neuroticism scores. Opposing most of the previous studies, this association appeared for both men and women. Higher neuroticism in adolescence was, however, not significantly associated with satisfaction in partner relationships in mid-life.     

Gender variance in interreligious sensitivity among Finnish pupils

This paper examines gender variance in the interreligious sensitivity among Finnish children and youth using a non-probability sample of 1000 Finnish lower secondary school pupils representing the age group 12–16. The data were gathered in three geographical locations: the capital city of Helsinki area, and two smaller municipalities in other parts of the country. The pupils’ self-reported attitudes towards interreligious sensitivity were measured using the Interreligious Sensitivity Scale. The results showed significant variation between the genders in the pupils’ interreligious sensitivity. Also geographical variance (city of residence) and pupils’ religious affiliation influenced their interreligious sensitivity.     

Reactive cognitive-control processes in free-report consonant–vowel dichotic listening

The relevance of cognitive-control processes has been frequently discussed and studied in the context of dichotic listening. Experimental and clinical studies indicate that directing attention to either of the two simultaneously presented phonological stimuli, but especially to the left-ear stimulus increases the requirements for cognitive-control processes. Here, we extend this view by reporting the results of a behavioural and a functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment designed to analyse the involvement of cognitive-control processes also in a free-report dichotic-listening paradigm. It was hypothesised that dichotically presented pairs of stop–consonant–vowel syllables would provide different demands for cognitive-control processes as a function of the spectro-temporal overlap of the two stimuli. Accordingly, in Experiment 1 it was shown that dichotic syllables of high (e.g., /ba/ and /ga/) as opposed to low spectro-temporal overlap (e.g., /ba/ and /ka/) produce significantly faster and more correct answers, and are more often perceived as one syllable. In Experiment 2 it was further shown that pairs of low as compared to high spectro-temporal overlap trigger a more pronounced activation predominately in left-hemispheric, speech-associated brain regions, namely left posterior inferior sulcus/gyrus, bilaterally in pre-supplementary motor and mid-cingulate cortex as well as in the inferior parietal lobe. Taken together, behavioural and functional data indicate a stronger involvement of reactive cognitive control in the processing of low-overlap as opposed to high-overlap stimulus pairs. This supports the notion that higher-order, speech-related cognitive-control processes also are involved in a free-report dichotic-listening paradigm.     

A forced-attention dichotic listening fMRI study on 113 subjects

We report fMRI and behavioral data from 113 subjects on attention and cognitive control using a variant of the classic dichotic listening paradigm with pairwise presentations of consonant-vowel syllables. The syllable stimuli were presented in a block-design while subjects were in the MR scanner. The subjects were instructed to pay attention to and report either the left or right ear stimulus. The hypothesis was that paying attention to the left ear stimulus (FL condition) induces a cognitive conflict, requiring cognitive control processes, not seen when paying attention to the right ear stimulus (FR condition), due to the perceptual salience of the right ear stimulus in a dichotic situation. The FL condition resulted in distinct activations in the left inferior prefrontal gyrus and caudate nucleus, while the right inferior frontal gyrus and caudate were activated in both the FL and FR conditions, and in a non-instructed (NF) baseline condition.     

Attention and semantic processing during speech: an fMRI study

This fMRI study was conducted to investigate whether language semantics is processed even when attention is not explicitly directed to word meanings. In the “unattended” condition, the subjects performed a visual detection task while hearing semantically related and unrelated word pairs. In the “phoneme” condition, the subjects made phoneme judgements between prime and target words, and in the “word” condition, they indicated whether the words in each word pair were semantically related or unrelated. In the word condition, stronger activity was obtained for unrelated than related words in the superior temporal gyrus/sulcus (STG/STS), lingual/fusiform gyri and cuneus, whereas in the phoneme condition no such effect was observed. However, during the unattended condition, stronger activity was found in the right STG. Our results suggest that both semantic judgement of word pairs and their passive hearing activate the same neural networks but this activation is more restricted in the passive hearing.     

An International Assessment of the Emotional and Behavioral Strengths of Youth

The assessment of emotional and behavioral strengths has been identified as an important part of the assessment process for children referred for specialized services. The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-2 (BERS-2; Epstein, Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale: a strength-based approach to assessment. PRO-Ed, Austin, TX, 2004) was developed as a standardized, norm-referenced instrument to measure strengths of children and youth, and has been found to be a psychometrically sound instrument. We determined the psychometric characteristics of the BERS-2 with a Finnish sample. The BERS-2 was translated in Finnish and 608 Finnish 9th graders filled in the self-evaluation. Results showed that the five subscales of BERS-2 have good reliability and formed a strong strength index. In general, females scored higher than males and special education students scored lower than non-special education students. This study suggests that the translated version of BERS-2 is a valid and reliable instrument in Finland.     

Maternal guilt

The recent emphasis on humans as cooperative breeders invites new research on human family dynamics. In this paper we look at maternal guilt as a consequence of conditional maternal investment. Solicited texts written by Finnish mothers with under school-aged children in 2007 (n = 63) described maternal emotions perceived as difficult and forbidden. Content analysis of guilt-inducing situations showed that guilt arose from diverging interest and negotiations between the mother and child (i.e., classic parent- offspring conflict). Also cultural expectations of extensive and perpetual high-quality maternal investment or the "motherhood myth" induced guilt in mothers. We argue that guilt plays an important role in maternal-investment regulation. Maternal guilt is predicted to vary with social and cultural context but also to show universal characteristics due to parent-offspring conflict and allomaternal manipulation. Results are preliminary and intended to stimulate research into the mechanisms, gender differences and cultural variations of guilt and other social emotions in human parenting.