Unfamiliar Untrained Observers’ Ratings of Adolescent Safety Behaviors Within Social Interactions with Unfamiliar Peer Confederates

Adolescents experiencing social anxiety often engage in safety behaviors―covert avoidance strategies for managing distress (e.g., avoiding eye contact)―that factor into the development and maintenance of their concerns. Prior work supports the psychometric properties of the Subtle Avoidance Frequency Examination (SAFE), a self-report survey of safety behaviors. Yet, we need complementary methods for assessing these behaviors within contexts where adolescents often experience concerns, namely, interactions with unfamiliar peers. Recent work indicates that, based on short, direct social interactions with adolescents, individuals posing as unfamiliar peers (i.e., peer confederates) and without assessment training can capably report about adolescent social anxiety. We built on prior work by testing whether we could gather valid SAFE reports from unfamiliar untrained observers (UUOs), who observed adolescents within archived recordings of these short social interactions. A mixed clinical/community sample of 105 adolescents self-reported on their functioning and participated in a series of social interaction tasks with peer confederates, who also provided social anxiety reports about the adolescent. Based on video recordings of these tasks, trained independent observers rated adolescents’ observed social skills, and an additional set of UUOs completed SAFE reports of these same adolescents. Unfamiliar untrained observers’ SAFE reports (a) related to adolescents’ SAFE self-reports, (b) distinguished adolescents on clinically elevated social anxiety concerns, (c) related to trained independent observers’ ratings of adolescent social skills within interactions with peer confederates, and (d) related to adolescents’ self-reported arousal within these same interactions. Our findings support use of unfamiliar observers’ perspectives to understand socially anxious adolescents’ interpersonal functioning.     

Achievement motives,cognitive and social competence,and achievement goals in the classroom

This study investigated the interrelations of approach and avoidance achievement motives (Motive to Achieve Success and Motive to Avoid Failure), two types of competence (Cognitive and Social competence), achievement goals (Mastery, Performance-approach, Performance-avoidance, and Work Avoidance goals), of 131 eighth and ninth grade students from a Japanese junior high school. Multiple regression analysis indicated positive relations between Mastery goals and the Motive to Achieve Success and Cognitive Competence. Performance-approach goals and both the Motive to Achieve Success and the Motive to Avoid Failure, and Performance-avoidance Goals and both the Motive to Achieve Success and the Motive to Avoid Failure. Negative relations were found between Work Avoidance goals and the Motive to Achieve Success and Cognitive Competence. Several interactions between achievement motives and competence on achievement goals were also found. The different antecedents of four achievement goals were discussed.     

Temperature dependence of the stacking fault energy of glide set-dissociated dislocations in Si

Recently, it was found that the dissociation distance of glide set dislocations introduced in Si just below the melting temperature by laser shock peening (LSP) is unusually wide (Iwata et al. J. Jpn Inst. Met. Materi.,79(2015),308–314). In order to distinguish whether or not this is to be attributed to uncorrelated motions of leading and trailing Shockley partials or the intrinsic temperature dependence of the stacking fault energy (SFE), dislocations introduced by LSP were annealed at 1350 °C, which should be high enough for the uncorrelated partials to assume the equilibrium correlated configuration. It was found that this unusual widening of a dissociated dislocation introduced by LSP is attributed to uncorrelated motions of Shockley partials. Following this conclusion, the temperature dependence of the intrinsic SFE of Si was determined on correlated dissociated dislocations up to near the melting temperature. The intrinsic SFE of Si shows only negligibly small temperature dependence from 400 °C up to near the melting temperature.     

Longitudinal tests on the influence of achievement goals on effort and intrinsic interest in the workplace

This study investigates whether four types of achievement goals—mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance—influence effort and intrinsic interest at work. Cross-lagged panel analyses were applied to data from a two-wave survey conducted on 57 newly hired Japanese police officers. The results showed that performance-approach goals had significant positive influences on effort and intrinsic interest. In contrast, performance-avoidance goals had significant negative impacts on the abovementioned two outcome variables. Longitudinal effects were observed when the influence of competence expectancy was controlled. These results highlight the benefits of performance-approach goals and the costs associated with performance-avoidance goals in the workplace.     

Effectiveness of Child-Directed Interaction Training for Young Japanese Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

This study examined the efficacy of Child-Directed Interaction Training (CDIT), the first phase of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), for Japanese children with autism spectrum disorders. The participants were 21 mother-child dyads with children aged 4–7 years; participants were assigned to an Immediate Treatment (IT) group or to a Waitlist (WL) control group. Across eight training sessions, mothers learned positive attention skills that were adapted from traditional PCIT training. Results showed CDIT not only improved social cognition skills and decreased disruptive behavior in Japanese children, but also reduced stress/distress among their mothers, particularly in relation to their own parenting skills and their child’s problem behaviors.