Gene–environment interplay linking perceived parental supervision and peer drunkenness with Chinese adolescent alcohol initiation

Following 602 Chinese twin pairs (48% male, all Han ethnicity) from primarily lower-than-average socioeconomic status families from early to mid-adolescence (M_s = 12 and 15 in 2006 and 2009), this study investigated gene–environment interplay between perceived parental supervision, peer drunkenness, and adolescent alcohol initiation. For alcohol initiation, shared environmental influences were initially negligible but became substantial. Genetic factors largely explained the links between both correlates with alcohol initiation. Parental supervision amplified genetic risks for alcohol initiation in early adolescence but suppressed it in mid-adolescence. Peer drunkenness augmented genetic and environmental influences at both times. Peer drunkenness showed stronger links and moderating potential than parental supervision. Chinese adolescents show dynamic gene–environment interplay patterns involving parent–child and peer processes in alcohol initiation.     

Memorization strategies in basic school: grade-related differences in reported use and effectiveness

European Journal of Psychology of Education - The study aims to examine students’ awareness and reported use of learning strategies as well as their effectiveness for word recognition using a...     

An examination of vocabulary learning and retention levels of pre-school children using augmented reality technology in English language learning

Education and Information Technologies - The purpose of this study is to discover pre-school children's vocabulary learning, retention levels, and perspectives of English language learning...     

Links between justice sensitivity and moral reasoning,moral emotions,and moral identity in middle childhood

Associations between moral-related traits, such as justice sensitivity (JS), the tendency to negatively respond to injustice, and moral development are largely unknown. From May to December 2018, 1329 5- to 12-year-olds (M = 8.05, SD = 1.02; 51.2% girls, 1.3% transgender and gender-nonconforming) from Germany rated their JS, moral reasoning, emotions, and identity; parents and teachers rated children's theory of mind (ToM) and empathy. Victim JS (caring for own justice) predicted more attributions of positive emotions to norm transgressors in structural equation models (β = .295). Altruistic JS (caring for other's justice) predicted less attributions of positive emotions (β = −.343) and a stronger moral identity (β = .392) unless ToM was considered. Particularly altruistic JS showed associations with advanced moral development. Hence, moral-related traits deserve more attention by moral-development research.     

Psychological Flexibility,Coronavirus Anxiety,Humor and Social Media Addiction During COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkey

Psychological flexibility is associated with psychological health and affected by various factors. The aim of the present study is to examine the role of coronavirus anxiety, humor and social media addiction on psychological flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Variables were measured with online self-report surveys and data were gathered from December 2020 to January 2021 in Turkey. The sample consisted of 376 people (295 female, M?=?29.88, SD?=?11.05). The relationships between the variables were tested with path analysis using structural equation modelling (SEM). According to results, the constructed model showed that COVID-19 anxiety significantly and directly increased social media addiction (β?=?.17, p?<?.01), decreased coping humor (β?=?-.11, p?<?.05) and decreased psychological flexibility indirectly through social media addictions (β?=?-.08, p?<?.01). Humor coping significantly and directly increased psychological flexibility (β?=?.25, p?<?.01), and social media addiction significantly and directly decreased psychological flexibility (β?=?-.31, p?<?.01). Findings indicated that psychological flexibility is influenced by coronavirus anxiety, social media addiction and humor coping.  Supporting humor coping and reducing anxiety and problematic social media use would be helpful to enhance psychological flexibility of individuals during the pandemic.

     

Effects of Academic Motivation on School Burnout in Turkish College Students

School burnout refers to psychological reactions to academic stress and loads and has been identified as a risk factor contributing to academic failure and subsequent mental health challenges. However, academic motivation, hope, and meaning in life can be potential combating factors against school burnout. This study aimed to examine the effects of academic motivation on school burnout in college students and explore mediator roles of hope and meaning in life. A path analysis was performed with the data collected from 544 Turkish college students to test the direct and indirect effects. The results showed that the direct effects from the three academic motivation variables to school burnout variables were larger than the indirect effects. Both mediators played roles in the relations between amotivation and efficacy and intrinsic motivation and efficacy. The last finding was that hope played more significant mediator roles than meaning in life. The results were discussed, along with implications for faculty, college counselors, and future studies.

     

Organizing for radical innovation — A multi-level behavioral approach

Based on Self-Determination-Theory, Group-Effectiveness-Theory, and Cognitive-Network Theory a multi-level model is developed that explains two research questions. First, how can management motivate individuals to generate novel ideas? Second, how should management organize groups in order to facilitate creativity and implement radical innovations? From Self-Determination-Theory, propositions for the design of a reward system are derived. Arguments from Group-Effectiveness-Theory lead to the conclusion that permanent work groups with low social cohesion should emphasize idea generation, while cross-functional project teams with high social cohesion are best suited for radical innovation implementation. Effective group behavior modes for each kind of group and management practices for producing these modes are described based on Cognitive-Network-Theory. Implications of the model with regard to innovation management in different cultural settings and to group composition are discussed.     

Methodological Challenges of Digital Divide Measurements

The term “digital divide” has been used for almost a decade and typically relates to sociodemographic differences in the use of information and communication technology. However, the corresponding measurement is still relatively imprecise. Very often it is simply reduced to comparisons of Internet penetration rates. This article extends the measurements above the usual bivariate comparisons. Within this context, three essential approaches are presented and critically evaluated. First, loglinear modeling is used to address the interactions among the factors affecting the digital divide. Second, compound measures (i.e., the Digital Divide Index) that integrate a number of variables into a single indicator are discussed. Third, time-distance methodology is applied to analyze changes in the digital divide. The article argues that these approaches often yield entirely different conclusions compared to simple bivariate analysis. The examples are presented as a general warning against an oversimplified methodological approach to digital divide studies.     

New upper bounds on the solution matrix to the continuous algebraic Riccati matrix equation

In this paper, new upper bounds for the solution matrix of the continuous algebraic Riccati matrix equation (CARE) are derived by means of some matrix inequalities and linear algebraic techniques. Furthermore, for the derived each bound, iterative algorithms are developed to obtain sharper solution estimates. Comparing with some appearing results in the literature, the presented bounds are less restrictive and more efficient. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed results.     

The effect of attentional focus on running economy

Abstract

In research on motor control, the detrimental effect of an internal focus of attention on movement execution of well-learned motor skills is a frequently replicated finding. This experimental study was designed to determine whether this effect is observed with physiological variables during endurance exercise. We examined whether the focus of attention can influence running economy (oxygen consumption at a set running speed). Trained runners had to focus their attention on three different aspects while running on a treadmill. For three consecutive 10-min periods, runners concentrated on the running movement, on their breathing, and on their surroundings. Results showed an increased running economy in the external focus condition. In line with research on motor control, endurance sport also shows that an external focus of attention is better than an internal focus in terms of the physiological performance measure of oxygen consumption.