Depressed Mothers' Touching Increases Infants' Positive Affect and Attention in Still-Face Interactions

The effects of depressed mothers' touching on their infants' behavior were investigated during the still-face situation. 48 depressed and nondepressed mothers and their 3-month-old infants were randomly assigned to control and experimental conditions. 4 successive 90-sec periods were implemented: (A) normal play, (B) still-face-no-touch, (C) still-face-with-touch, and (A) normal play. Depressed and nondepressed mothers were instructed and shown how to provide touch for their infants during the still-face-with-touch period. Different affective and attentive responses of the infants of depressed versus the infants of nondepressed mothers were observed. Infants of depressed mothers showed more positive affect (smiles and vocalizations) and gazed more at their mothers' hands during the still-face-with-touch period than the infants of nondepressed mothers, who grimaced, cried, and gazed away from their mothers' faces more often. The results suggest that by providing touch stimulation for their infants, the depressed mothers can increase infant positive affect and attention and, in this way, compensate for negative effects often resulting from their typical lack of affectivity (flat facial and vocal expressions) during interactions     

Mothers' Sensitivity and Book-reading Interactions with First Graders

Research Findings: This study expands on previous research (Bus & van Ijzendoorn, 1988, 1992, 1997) establishing an association between the quality of mother-child interactions and reading behavior during a joint book-reading task. In a sample of 58 mother-child pairs, the quality of the relationship between mothers and their children at 36 months old predicted the amount and quality of literacy information shared during a joint book-reading task in 1st grade. Other variables related to reading behavior were also examined but were found to be less predictive than maternal sensitive responding.

Practice or Policy: Learning to read is a complex social phenomenon that involves more than the mastery of isolated academic skills. This study supports the idea that early literacy emerges in part from a relational system involving caregiver-child interactions that have properties not directly involving print. The importance of examining the quality of the relationships between caregivers and their children when supporting reading-related pursuits is discussed.     

Mothers' Sensitivity and Book-reading Interactions with First Graders

Research Findings: The present longitudinal study investigated whether a range of social–emotional difficulties in early childhood predict the development of depressive symptoms in middle childhood. Participants were 56 children and their teachers. Teachers' reports of internalizing and externalizing behaviors were obtained during preschool, and children's displays of negative affect were observed through classroom videotapes in preschool. Children's self-reports of depressive symptoms were collected approximately three and a half years later. Teachers' ratings of social problems and atypical behaviors were positively associated with later depressive symptoms. Teachers' ratings of rule breaking and observed negative affect in preschool were stronger predictors of later depressive symptoms in girls than in boys. Findings point to social non-conformity as an important feature in the developmental course of depressive symptoms. Results lend support to a developmental psychopathology framework, showing change over time across types of social–emotional difficulties in gender-specific directions. Practice or Policy: Findings underscore the role that preschool teachers and classroom observation could play in identifying early risk for depressive symptoms. Results suggest the possible utility of early screening programs for at-risk preschool-aged children. Moreover, results could inform school-based intervention or prevention programs targeting internalizing symptoms, an under-recognized area of children's mental health.     

Social Networks and Mothers' Interactions with Their Preschool Children

The relation of mothers' personal and maternal networks to the quality of their play interactions was examined. Personal networks consisted of all persons the mother deemed important in her life at the present time; her maternal network consisted of those who were important in her role as a mother. 44 mothers were $$ extensively about their social networks and kept a logdiary for 1 week of their contacts with networks members. They were also observed during a play session with their 4-year-old child. Intercorrelations among network variables supported the conceptualization of social networks as multifaceted with major distinctions between personal and maternal networks and between structure and satisfaction. Mothers who were more satisfied with their personal networks and mothers with larger maternal networks demonstrated more optimal maternal behavior: they praised their children more and they were less intrusively controlling. Mothers with less cohesive networks also demonstrated this pattern.     

Children's Preliteracy Skills: Influence of Mothers' Education and Beliefs About Shared-Reading Interactions

Research Findings: This research investigated the associations among children's preliteracy skills, mothers' education, and mothers' beliefs about shared-reading interactions for 45 Appalachian families. These variables were studied for lower income, primarily European American, families residing in a geographically isolated, small, rural community in the Appalachian Mountains. Children's performance on standardized measures of preliteracy skills pertaining to print concepts and alphabet knowledge was substantially lower than normative references, but their performance on tasks assessing their understanding of environmental print was similar to normative references. The preliteracy skills of children with more educated mothers were significantly better than those of children with less educated mothers. More educated mothers had higher ratings on a measure of parental beliefs about shared reading than less educated mothers had; however, maternal reports of the frequency of home literacy practices were similar for both groups. Mediation analyses indicated that mothers' beliefs about shared-reading interactions served as a mediator for the association between maternal education and children's understanding of reading conventions. Practice or Policy: Future directions for research and implications for practice are discussed.     

Children's Preliteracy Skills: Influence of Mothers' Education and Beliefs About Shared-Reading Interactions

Research Findings: This research investigated the associations among children's preliteracy skills, mothers' education, and mothers' beliefs about shared-reading interactions for 45 Appalachian families. These variables were studied for lower income, primarily European American, families residing in a geographically isolated, small, rural community in the Appalachian Mountains. Children's performance on standardized measures of preliteracy skills pertaining to print concepts and alphabet knowledge was substantially lower than normative references, but their performance on tasks assessing their understanding of environmental print was similar to normative references. The preliteracy skills of children with more educated mothers were significantly better than those of children with less educated mothers. More educated mothers had higher ratings on a measure of parental beliefs about shared reading than less educated mothers had; however, maternal reports of the frequency of home literacy practices were similar for both groups. Mediation analyses indicated that mothers' beliefs about shared-reading interactions served as a mediator for the association between maternal education and children's understanding of reading conventions. Practice or Policy: Future directions for research and implications for practice are discussed.     

Reciprocal Negative Affect in Parent-Child Interactions and Children's Peer Competency

The relationship between preschool children's peer competency and the exchange of reciprocal negative affect displays during physical play with parents was examined. Teacher ratings of children's peer competency were obtained from children's preschools. Parents and children (41 families) were observed during a physical play paradigm called "the hand game" which permitted physically stimulating play, yet which also permitted clear recording of participants' facial expressions. Interactions were coded second by second for 8 min using a system of 12 mutually exclusive and exhaustive codes to categorize the affect displayed by participants. Fathers who typically responded to their children's negative affect displays with negative affect of their own had children who shared less, were more aggressive, and avoided others. Implications of the findings for theories of family-peer relationships are discussed.     

Cognitive Set and Coping Strategy Affect Mothers' Sensitivity to Infant Cries: A Signal Detection Approach

We used Signal Detection methodology to examine how cognitiveset affects mothers' response to an infant cry. We asked whether a cry from a "difficult" versus an "easy" infant would elicit a change in sensitivity or response bias in mother processing of these cries. Thirty-eight mothers of 4- to 6-month-old infants participated in a Signal Detection task in which they were asked whether they could detect differences between a standard cry and 1 to 4 cry variants. Cry variants differed from the standard cry in small, systematic changes in fundamental frequency. The task was conducted in 2 parts; each part constituted a condition wherein mother received a cognitive set manipulation that labeled the identical cry as coming from either a'difficult'or an "easy" infant. An increase in mothers' sensitivity was associated with the "difficult" infant cognitive set. We examined as well how a coping strategy(illusion of control) affected cry signal processing. Mothers who Exhibited high illusory control were least -sensitive in detecting differences between cries. Two information-prcessing, measures response time and heart rate, were also collected and showed that greater sensitivity was associated with more efficient processing of the cry signal.     

Adult Tactile Stimulation during Face-to-Face Interactions Modulates Five-Month-Olds'' Affect and Attention

3 studies were designed to investigate infant responses to tactile stimulation during brief adult-infant interaction using a modified still-face (SF) procedure. When adults pose a neutral SF expression, infants decrease gazing and smiling at the adults, and some increase grimacing, relative to normal interaction periods. This SF effect was substantially reduced in Study 1 when mothers or strangers continued to touch infants during the SF period. In Studies 2 and 3, tactile versus visual and active versus passive aspects of adult touch were isolated during different SF periods. Visible, active adult hands unaccompanied by touch elicited infant attention, but not smiling, during the SF period. By contrast, active, not passive, adult touch substantially reduced the SF effect, even when the adult's hands were invisible. In the latter condition, infants continued to gaze and smile at the adult's SF. Thus, adult facial expressions are not the only modulator of infant affect and attention during social exchanges; adult touch appears to play an active role.     

The Effect of Hearing Impairment on the Quality of Attachment and Mother-Toddler Interaction

In the present study, 41 hearing impaired and 41 hearing toddlers together with their hearing mothers were observed in Ainsworth's Strange Situation and during free play. Both security of attachment and ratings of maternal and toddler behavior during free play were remarkably similar for the hearing impaired and hearing dyads. In addition, security of attachment was related to the ratings of maternal and toddler behavior in a similar way for the hearing impaired and hearing toddlers. The results suggest that development of a secure attachment and maintaining a good mother-toddler relationship does not depend on normal language development during the toddler years.     

Interactions of Metacognition With Motivation and Affect in Self-Regulated Learning: The MASRL Model

Metacognition, motivation, and affect are components of self-regulated learning (SRL) that interact. The “metacognitive and affective model of self-regulated learning” (the MASRL model) distinguishes two levels of functioning in SRL, namely, the Person level and the Task × Person level. At the Person level interactions between trait-like characteristics such as cognitive ability, metacognitive knowledge and skills, self-concept, perceptions of control, attitudes, emotions, and motivation in the form of expectancy-value beliefs and achievement goal orientations are hypothesized. These person characteristics guide top-down self-regulation. At the Task × Person level, that is, the level at which SRL events take place, metacognitive experiences, such as feeling of difficulty, and online affective states play a major role in task motivation and bottom-up self-regulation. Reciprocal relations between the two levels of functioning in SRL are also posited. The implications of the MASRL model for research and theory are discussed.     

Playful Relationships: A Contextual Analysis of Mother-Toddler Interaction and Symbolic Play

The relation between social interaction and complexity of toddler's symbolic play was investigated. 57 toddlers between 15 and 24 months of age were observed under 4 conditions: (1) child play alone, (2) child play with mother, (3) child modeling mother, and (4) child play with mother following the modeling condition. Each subject was rated on complexity of play, maternal attention directing, reciprocity, and maternal intrusiveness. Significant condition effects were found in which more complex forms of play were observed when the children were playing with their mothers than when playing by themselves. Maternal intrusions and questioning were negatively related to symbolic play. Turn-taking was negatively related to simple exploratory play. Results of a sequential analysis demonstrated that turn-taking was more likely to precede symbolic play, and maternal intrusiveness was more likely to precede simple exploratory play. The role of active partnership in symbolic play development is discussed.     

大学生的情感状况研究

本研究的主要目的是：对大学生的情感状况进行描述统计分析。主要测量工具为Bradburn的《正性情感量表和负性情感量表》。被试取自北京市三所高校的一至三年级大学生，共788人。结果显示：报告正性情感的大学生人数高于报告负性情感的人数。性别，年级及学科均不影响大学生的情感状况。     

模拟酸雨对小麦幼苗SOD和CAT活性的影响

分别用pH为2.0、3.0、4.0、5.6模拟酸雨对小麦幼苗进行急性毒理实验,用紫外分光光度法检测幼苗体内过氧化氢酶（CAT）和超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性.结果表明：pH在3.0左右时,小麦幼苗的CAT和SOD活性最高;在不同酸度的模拟酸雨的胁迫下,CAT和SOD活性的剂量效应关系曲线为单峰曲线,其峰值可以认为是小麦幼苗对酸雨中毒反应的阈值.结论：不同酸度的模拟酸雨对小麦体幼苗CAT和SOD酶活性有诱导作用.     

基于OGRE粒子系统的下雨效果模拟

虚拟现实系统中,虚拟场景的构建是非常重要的研究课题。为了使虚拟场景更加接近于现实生活中的自然景物,在场景中要模拟诸如云、雨、雪、烟雾等自然现象,这些自然景物的模拟直接关系到虚拟现实系统中人机界面的构成,也更直接影响到该系统整体功能的实现。为了实现对雨天的模拟,通过对OGRE粒子系统原理以及粒子脚本语言和材质脚本语言的分析,提出一种基于OGRE粒子系统的雨天模拟方法,在该图像渲染引擎下实现了下雨天的效果。     

离婚协议中赠与条款的性质及其对赠与能否撤销的影响

对于离婚协议中的赠与条款适用合同法还是婚姻法有关规定,学界和司法实务界主要形成两种观点：要么＂适用合同法＂、要么＂适用婚姻法＂,现今仍然未统一,导致司法实务上裁判结果的巨大差异,其焦点就在于此赠与的性质。因而研究其性质并作出区分,对于解决该争议具有极为重要的意义。     

Effortful Control Moderates Bidirectional Effects Between Children's Externalizing Behavior and Their Mothers' Depressive Symptoms

This study examined bidirectional associations between mothers' depressive symptoms and children's externalizing behavior and whether they were moderated by preschool‐age effortful control and gender. Mothers and teachers reported on 224 primarily White, middle‐class children at ages 3, 5, and 10. Effortful control was assessed via behavioral battery and mother ratings. Structural equation modeling indicated that maternal depressive symptoms at child age 3 predicted more externalizing behavior at age 10 among children with low effortful control and among boys. Externalizing behavior at age 3 predicted fewer depressive symptoms at the age 10 assessments among mothers of children with high effortful control. Boys with suboptimal self‐regulation exposed to high levels of maternal depressive symptoms were at greatest risk for school‐age behavioral problems.     

The Effects of Prior Achievement and Group Outcome on Attributions and Affect in Cooperative Tasks

This study explored the effects of prior achievement and group outcome on college students′ attributions and affective reactions to cooperative tasks. Following a group assignment, students responded to a questionnaire measuring their attributions for self, attributions for their group partners, and several affective variables. Results indicated that students′ prior achievement strongly influences their attributions for their partners while group outcome influences self-attributions. Both prior achievement and group outcome influence affective reactions to the assignment. Specifically, high-achieving students may suffer negative motivational consequences in cooperative learning tasks.     

Effects of Instruction on Verbal Interactions During Collaborative Problem Solving

During one school year, data were collected for vocational education students while they worked collaboratively on open-ended mathematics problems. In collaboration with participating teachers, instructional activities were designed with a twofold goal of modelling the process of problem solving and improving collaboration. Instructional activities were based on scaffolding instruction and included modelling problem solving, stimulating reflection, and giving feedback on the process of collaboration. These activities were gradually developed and implemented in collaboration with teachers who participated in the study. The main research question in this study was whether student collaboration while working in small groups creates a learning context where students work on open-ended problems and where instructional activities are aimed at stimulating collaborative problem solving in mathematics.To answer the research question, an experiment was undertaken in two classes in different schools. Two groups of students were videotaped while they tried to solve mathematics problems collaboratively. Observational data were analysed with a schema that was developed as part of this research. Analyses of the data showed that, in both groups, collaboration-oriented patterns increased during the school year. It is argued that the approach of gradual implementation of instructional activities that are designed in cooperation with participating teachers is effective in stimulating collaborative problem solving.