Maternal Supportive Behavior,Cognitive Talk,and Desire/Emotion Talk at 24 Months: Distinct Factors and Differential Antecedents

Objective. Mental-state talk is an important aspect of parenting, but it is not clear whether this type of talk is structurally distinct from behavioral support or sensitivity. Although assessment of sensitive, supportive behavior captures a mother’s responses to her child’s needs, mental-state talk assesses a mother’s consideration of (and comments on) her child’s inner world. This study examined the structure and antecedents of mental-state talk, behavioral support, and sensitivity. Design. Data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were used, and mothering was assessed during a laboratory session when children were 24 months old (N = 1114). Results. Confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the hypothesized three-factor model, in which maternal supportive behavior, cognitive talk, and desire/emotion talk formed distinct factors. Furthermore, maternal depressive symptoms assessed at 1 and 6 months predicted less supportive behavior, whereas traditional parenting beliefs assessed at 1 month predicted lower levels of all three mothering outcomes. Conclusion. Maternal talk about mental states is a unique component of parenting, and cognitive talk is distinct from desire and emotion talk.     

The role of received social support and self-efficacy for the satisfaction of basic psychological needs in teacher education

We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire study in 2016 with 697 student teachers from two Universities. The study used structural equation modelling to analyse the effects of received social support from family and fellow-students as well as perceived self-efficacy in relation to the basic psychological needs in teacher education. To measure the effects of received social support on the satisfaction of basic needs, we developed two scales adapting Mansfield’s qualitative approach on teacher resilience. Perceived self-efficacy turned out to be effected directly by received fellow-students’ support as well as having a mediation effect on higher levels of autonomy and competence, whereas received family support leads only to higher levels of autonomy. Especially received fellow-students’ support is directly connected to higher levels of need satisfaction. Finally, we discuss conclusions for shaping conditions of university-life according to experiencing what is necessary for a higher level of perception and satisfaction of basic psychological needs.     

Implicit Gender Stereotypes and Essentialist Beliefs Predict Preservice Teachers’ Tracking Recommendations

This study investigated the extent to which differences in implicit and explicit math–language gender stereotypes, and essentialist beliefs among preservice teachers affect tracking recommendations for math/science- versus language-oriented secondary schools. Consistent with expectations, the results suggest that student's gender influences preservice teachers’ school career recommendations: Boys are more likely to be recommended for a math/science-oriented secondary school, whereas girls are more likely recommended for a language-oriented school. Both implicit math–language gender stereotypes and beliefs in genetic determinism (reflecting essentialist beliefs) predicted the stereotypicality of school career recommendations, whereas explicit measures did not. The results suggest that more closely investigating factors contributing to stereotypical behavior in teachers might help to minimize biased actions and decisions in the educational context.     

Teaching in transition: Examining school-based gender inequities in central/southeastern Europe and the former Soviet Union

In the last decade, gender equity has become one of the most prominent issues in education reform efforts worldwide. Yet, questions of gender equity have received very little attention in the education reform efforts in the post-socialist countries during the transition period. Focusing on the political, economic, and social changes of the 1990s, this article examines school-based gender equity as it is treated in textbooks, curriculum, teacher attitudes, school environment, leadership and tracking. The article presents gender-sensitive strategies for reform and explores how existing ‘gender-neutral’ education practices detrimentally affect gender equity in schools, providing country-specific examples. The article concludes with recommendations for teaching in transition, given the education sphere's strong potential to redress gender inequities.     

A theater intervention to promote communication and disclosure of suicidal ideation

Young adults from Montana have a higher rate of suicide than their national counterparts. There is a clear need for targeted interventions to address this disparity. The authors evaluate a community-based, narrative theater project designed to increase awareness and use of suicide-prevention resources among eastern Montana youth. As a first step, seven group interviews with Montana young adults (n?=?27) were conducted to identify current perceptions about suicide and suicide prevention. Interviews were conducted before and after subjects were exposed to a community-based theater production about suicide. Emergent thematic categories were organized using the four main constructs of the extended parallel process model. After the performance, participants expressed increased awareness of prevention resources; perceived susceptibility to the threat of suicide and depression; and self-efficacy for accessing help and assisting others. There were mixed results for perceived response efficacy. Implications and recommendations for intervention development are discussed.     

Passive avoidance in chicks as a function of differential rearing

Chickens were tested, following either communal or isolation rearing, on a passive avoidance task at ages ranging from 12 h to 5 days. Performance was poorer after isolation primarily due to lack of improvement in this group with increased test age. These results confirmed the influence of experience in the development of the maturation-dependent processes underlying passive avoidance. The possible nature of such processes was discussed, and an extension of the generally proposed model based on inhibitory control development was outlined, excessive arousal or stress being implicated in the emergence of such inhibition. The importance of such an analysis for more precise testing of the inhibitory model as previously proposed, and specific predictions from this interpretation based on present results, were discussed.     

Stability of reflective–impulsive style in coincidence–anticipation motor tasks

The relationships between response latencies and accuracy on the matching familiar figures test (MFFT) and two gross motor tasks (batting or catching a ball) were studied in twenty-nine 9-year-old boys. Children were classified into four groups using a double dichotomy of response latencies and errors on the MFFT: reflective, impulsive, fast-accurate, and slow-inaccurate on intertask comparison. The components (errors and time) used to classify the children show stability for errors but not latencies on cognitive versus motor intertask comparison. The comparison between motor tasks shows the stability for latencies and accuracy, a nonlinear relationship between latency and accuracy for the ball-hitting but not the ball-catching task, and reflective boys to be the most efficient on the task requirement.These results lend support to the hypothesis that strategies are more a consequence of a “competence” than a “conceptual tempo” factor.     

Social facilitation of pecking following differential rearing

White-Leghorn × Black-Orpington chicks were reared socially, in isolation, or were isolated and exposed to an artificial stimulus at 16 h. They were tested at 24, 48, or 72 h for pecking in the presence of another chick, of the artificial stimulus, or in isolation. Socially reared chicks pecked more during pair-testing than in isolation, and showed no increase in pecking with the artificial stimulus. Imprinted chicks pecked most with the artificial stimulus, but showed a slight increase in pecking during pair-testing compared with isolation. Isolates showed similarly low peck rates under all conditions. These results, showing the importance of familiarity with test conditions in facilitation, were interpreted as consistent with an arousal-reduction account of facilitation. The importance of stimulus movement was also discussed, both as a potential dimension of stimulus generalization and as a factor in maintaining a minimum level of arousal essential to responding.