The effects of training on the development of the ability to control variables

Based on a criterion test 27 fifth and sixth grade students were selected who could not control variables. Three groups were formed. The control group received no training; a second group received training relying upon external reinforcement, and the third group, training designed to induce internal cognitive conflict. The groups receiving training did only slightly better than the control group on the posttest. On the retention test one month later, all three groups had almost identical scores. The mean combined retention test score was found to be significantly greater than the pretest score. The improvement of the control and conflict groups supports Smedslund's⁸ finding that external reinforcement may not always be necessary for behavioral changes to occur. A further analysis of test scores led to the classification of students according to Piaget's developmental stages. During the course of the study a significant number of students improved in their stage placement. Based on retention test performance nearly half of the students having a mean age 11.8 years could be classed in late formal operations with regard to their ability to control variables. Inhelder and Piaget¹² reported that this level was not normally reached until 14 or 15 years of age. In conclusion, the results support the possibility that while development of the ability to control variables can be accelerated by training at the fifth and sixth grade level some children are surprisingly unaffected regardless of whether the training is based on external reinforcement or cognitive conflict procedures.     

Getting Angry at Peers: Associations with Liking of the Provocateur

We examined how preschoolers coped with anger in interactions with well liked and not well liked peers. The free-play interactions of preschool-aged children ( M age = 66.27 months) were observed for 6 months. The frequency, causes, and intensity of children's anger, as well as their anger-related reactions, were compared for incidents provoked by peers who were "really liked" to those provoked by peers who were liked only "a little bit." Although there were no differences in the intensity of anger provocations by well liked and not well liked provocateurs, children's responses to provocations by well liked peers were more controlled than was the case for anger provoked by peers who were not well liked. In general, boys were more responsive to how they felt about the provocateur than were girls. These findings suggest that anger episodes with well liked children were less stressful than those with peers who were not well liked.     

The Relations of Emotionality and Regulation to Children's Anger-related Reactions

The purpose of this study was to examine the relations of emotionality (intensity and negative emotion) and regulation (attentional control, mode of coping) to preschoolers' naturally occurring anger reactions. School personnel's ratings of 4–6-year-olds' constructive coping and attentional control were associated with boys' constructive anger reactions whereas their ratings of acting out versus avoidant coping, emotional intensity, and anger intensity generally were correlated with low levels of constructive reactions to anger. Mothers' reports of children's constructive coping and low emotional intensity were associated with children's use of nonabusive language to deal with anger, whereas aggressive coping and negative emotionality were associated with escape behavior when angered. The findings are consistent with the conclusion that individual differences in emotionality and regulatory skills are associated with children's constructive versus nonconstructive anger reactions.     

The Relations of Children's Emotion Regulation to Their Vicarious Emotional Responses and Comforting Behaviors

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relations of children's emotional and behavioral regulation (as indexed by heart rate variability and coping styles) to their emotional and prosocial responses to a crying infant. Kindergarten and second-grade children's vicarious emotional responses (e.g., facial reactions and heart rate slope) and comforting behaviors were recorded while children heard a crying infant. The mothers of these children completed a measure designed to assess their children's coping responses when exposed to others in distress. It was found that children who were able to regulate their arousal (as assessed with heart rate variance) and typically responded instrumentally when exposed to others' needy states and conditions were relatively unlikely to become distressed and relatively likely to talk to and comfort the crying infant. Compared to boys, girls were found to be more responsive to the crying infant and were reported to engage in more direct, active coping responses when exposed to others in distress. The results are discussed in relation to research on emotion regulation and coping in interpersonal contexts.     

Māori university graduates: indigenous participation in higher education

Māori, the indigenous population of New Zealand, are gaining university qualifications in greater numbers. This article describes the history of Māori university graduates, their current situation and the implications for indigenous futures. Section one provides a brief overview of historical policies and practices that, similar to those used on other indigenous populations, resulted in the widespread exclusion of Māori from university education until the 1970s and 1980s. Section two describes findings for Māori university graduates (n?=?626) from the Graduate Longitudinal Study New Zealand (GLSNZ). Results show that nearly half (48.4%) were the first member of their immediate family to attend university. Humanities/education (50.8%) was the most common domain of study followed by commerce (17.7%), science/engineering (15.4%), health sciences (10.9%), law (2.8%) and PhD study (2.4%). More Māori graduates were females (71%). One-third of graduates were parents, and being a parent was associated with a lower likelihood of studying science and engineering compared to those participants without children. The most common areas/fields that participants wished to work in post-graduation were education and training (28.3%), health care and medical (17.4%) and government (11.8%). Despite increases in higher education participation and completion, parity remains an issue. Similar to previous indigenous research findings, Māori are under-represented as graduates (7.1% of the total sample) and in particular as postgraduates (5.8%) considering that Māori constitute 14.9% of the New Zealand population. Contemporary indigenous graduates are critical for indigenous development. Over the next 10 years, the GLSNZ will follow graduates and provide insights into Māori graduate outcomes.     

Experimental control and threats to internal validity of concurrent and nonconcurrent multiple baseline designs

Single‐case research designs are often applied within school psychology. This article provides a critical review of the scientific merit of both concurrent and nonconcurrent multiple baseline (MB) designs, relative to their capacity to assess threats of internal validity and establish experimental control. Distinctions are established between AB replications and nonconcurrent multiple baseline designed studies using the initial conception proposed by P.J. Watson and E.A. Workman (1981). Despite some previously pessimistic evaluations of nonconcurrent multiple baseline designs, the findings of this review suggest that various threats of internal validity can be assessed and ruled out using either concurrent or nonconcurrent MB designs. It seems that nonconcurrent designs can be used to assess the intervening effects of history, but might be more prone to threats of mortality. These and other threats of internal validity are reviewed and recommendations are provided. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 451–459, 2007.     

The Relations of Emotionality and Regulation to Preschoolers' Social Skills and Sociometric Status

The purpose of this study was to examine the relations of emotionality (intensity and negative emotion) and regulation (coping and attentional regulation) to preschoolers' social skills (as rated by adults) and sociometric status. Teachers' ratings of children's constructive coping and attentional control were positively related to boys' social skills and peer status, whereas negative affect was negatively related. Acting out (vs. avoidant) coping and emotional intensity were negatively related to girls' and boys' social skills and boys' peer status. In addition, mothers' reports of boys' coping by seeking social support and low emotional intensity were associated with boys' positive social functioning, whereas avoidant coping was positively related to girls' rated social skills. The results are discussed in relation to research on emotion regulation and coping with emotion in interpersonal contexts.     

Flexible strategy use by students who learn much versus little from text: transitions within think‐aloud protocols

Van den Broek's landscape model explicitly posits sequences of moves during reading in real time. Two other models that implicitly describe sequences of processes during reading are tested in the present research. Coded think‐aloud data from 24 undergraduate students reading scientific text were analysed with lag‐sequential techniques to compare specific transitions and flexibility with transitions between students who gained much in learning from reading a passage (n = 11) and those who gained little (n = 13). Just before verbalising inferences, those who gained much verbalised vocabulary, background knowledge, and strategies significantly more than did those who gained little. Those who gained much showed more flexible patterns before verbalising strategies and vocabulary, but rigid patterns just before inferences, whereas those who gained little showed the opposite pattern. Results both support and point out weaknesses in contemporary theories of reading comprehension and may explain some results from classroom experimental work.     

Which sexual abuse victims receive a forensic medical examination? The impact of Children's Advocacy Centers

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the impact of Children's Advocacy Centers (CAC) and other factors, such as the child's age, alleged penetration, and injury on the use of forensic medical examinations as part of the response to reported child sexual abuse. METHODS: This analysis is part of a quasi-experimental study, the Multi-Site Evaluation of Children's Advocacy Centers, which evaluated four CACs relative to within-state non-CAC comparison communities. Case abstractors collected data on forensic medical exams in 1,220 child sexual abuse cases through review of case records. RESULTS: Suspected sexual abuse victims at CACs were two times more likely to have forensic medical examinations than those seen at comparison communities, controlling for other variables. Girls, children with reported penetration, victims who were physically injured while being abused, White victims, and younger children were more likely to have exams, controlling for other variables. Non-penetration cases at CACs were four times more likely to receive exams as compared to those in comparison communities. About half of exams were conducted the same day as the reported abuse in both CAC and comparison communities. The majority of caregivers were very satisfied with the medical professional. Receipt of a medical exam was not associated with offenders being charged. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study suggest that CACs are an effective tool for furthering access to forensic medical examinations for child sexual abuse victims.