In this study the relation between parenting and the development of prosocial reasoning in children ages 9-13 years was examined. Domains of socialization (Grusec & Davidov, 2010) were used as the framework to categorize parent/child interactions and as the foundation to create two new measures, one to organize mothers’ endorsement of specific kinds of parent/child interactions, the other to organize the kinds of reasons children provide for prosocial behavior. Maternal and child Openness (John & Srivastava, 1999) were associated with parent/child interactions that are characterized by perspective taking and therefore likely to contribute to the development of a child’s internalized reasoning. There was a negative relation found between mother/child interactions that are likely to promote the development of internalized-reasoning (Deci & Ryan, 1989) and a child’s externally based prosocial motivation (Ryan & Connell, 1989). This suggests that specific types of interactions will lead to the development of internalized prosocial reasoning.

The purpose of this study was to explore women’s subjective food and eating experiences from childhood through to adulthood and the ways in which these experiences either connected or disconnected them from their appetites for food and eating. The present study used a qualitative life history methodology, the goal of which is to assess individuals’ lived experiences to construct broader contextual meaning. In-depth interviews were used to investigate food and eating experiences among twelve women between ages 25 and 44, representing diverse social and cultural backgrounds as well as current and past eating problems. Participants took part in an open-ended interview, using a series of guided questions about their food and eating experiences from childhood through to adulthood. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for themes using the constant comparison method. Two models emerged from the data in this study that described the social factors that connected and disconnected women from their appetites and eating. The Regulating Discourses Model which outlines current ways women negotiate appetite and desire through food and eating experiences, and the Socialization through Food and Eating Model which delineates socialization processes related to food and eating during women’s development. This research may be useful for counselors, health care professionals, as well as the larger community to increase awareness on ways to maintain girls’ and women’s connection to their bodily appetites and desires throughout the lifespan.

Scripts for peer conflict were examined in a sample of 55 four- and five-year-old children. Children provided a full sequential report of the conflict strategies used in six hypothetical peer conflict situations involving disputes over possessions. Interviews were conducted at two time points (early and late) during the children’s first year of school. Scripts were studied at two different analytical levels examined separately in two manuscripts: in the first manuscript, conflict scripts were examined at the group level to reveal general patterns across the participants. The second manuscript explored individual differences in children’s conflict scripts by identifying subgroups of children on the basis of how their scripts unfolded from beginning to end. Analyses in the first manuscript offered support for the stability of children’s scripts across situations. Findings suggested that children internally represent the sequential unfolding of conflict. In particular, their scripts became more constructive as conflicts progressed towards termination, a pattern that was especially apparent later in the school year. As well, analysis of if-then contingencies within scripts revealed that problem solving (e.g., offering to share or negotiate) was perceived by children to de-escalate hostility in conflict, as problem solving was rarely followed by power assertive responses. Averaging actions across conflicts masked specific conflict processes that were captured with sequential analysis of patterns. In the second manuscript, the types of scripts children reported were examined in relation to their receptive language abilities, theory of mind, and social adjustment to school. There was some support for the hypothesis that children whose scripts were constructive (i.e., containing references to problem-solving and conciliation) had better receptive language skills and were more prosocial than children whose scripts were less constructive. Theory of mind was unrelated to children’s ability to represent perspective-taking in their scripts. Directions for future research on children’s conflict scripts are discussed.

This cross-cultural study investigates identity and wisdom in people with Asperger syndrome (AS). The diagnostic characteristics of Asperger syndrome are universal, as they are manifest in particular outward behaviours (DSM-4). One of the aims of this study is to explore whether or not identity and wisdom are also universal in people with AS. Interviews were conducted that asked participants about their own lives, as well as about the acquaintances and historical figures to whom they look to for wisdom. Some self-report measures of identity, values, wisdom, and well-being were also administered to the participants. Forty-six male participants (half diagnosed with Asperger syndrome) were recruited from Karachi, Pakistan, and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada. People with AS were matched with non-autistics according to age. The results of this study showed that the Canadian Asperger group was significantly higher in social identity, and lower in personal integrity, as compared to the Pakistani Asperger group. The value of conservation was significantly higher in the Asperger groups than in the control groups. Mean scores on the 3-dimensional wisdom scale differed significantly between the Asperger and control groups, but remained the same between the two Asperger groups. People with AS were equally satisfied with their lives as compared to non-autistics. There was a greater emphasis on the theme of communion for the Pakistani Asperger group than for the Canadian Asperger group. Results also found a greater emphasis on the theme of personal agency in both the Asperger groups, as compared to the control groups. The Pakistani Asperger group mainly considered religious figures to be the wisest in history, whereas the Canadian Asperger group primarily nominated scientists as the wisest figures in history. Both the Asperger groups considered family members to be the wisest among their acquaintances. The concept of wisdom centered on the theme of cognition for both Asperger groups. The study was limited to male participants only, and future research should study both genders.

Perception of infant crying has been linked to the brain regions that are activated with stress and conflict monitoring, such as the anterior cingulate and amygdala. Whether the stress of cry perception affects cognitive processes is heretofore unknown. This research combines an experimental paradigm of an unsoothable infant cry task (Donovan, Leavitt, & Taylor, 2005) with a series of Rejection Stroop tasks (Dandeneau & Baldwin, 2004) with the expectation that perception of infant distress would deplete neural resources underlying the regulation of attention. Two studies were conducted on non-parent young adults and two studies were conducted on mothers of infants. Results indicated that the cry task causes negative affect and cognitive interference in non-parent young adults to a greater extent than does a musical stimulus, and that mothers of infants experience negative affect and cognitive interference comparable to the non-parent young adults.

Perception of infant crying has been linked to the brain regions that are activated with stress and conflict monitoring, such as the anterior cingulate and amygdala. Whether the stress of cry perception affects cognitive processes is heretofore unknown. This research combines an experimental paradigm of an unsoothable infant cry task (Donovan, Leavitt, & Taylor, 2005) with a series of Rejection Stroop tasks (Dandeneau & Baldwin, 2004) with the expectation that perception of infant distress would deplete neural resources underlying the regulation of attention. Two studies were conducted on non-parent young adults and two studies were conducted on mothers of infants. Results indicated that the cry task causes negative affect and cognitive interference in non-parent young adults to a greater extent than does a musical stimulus, and that mothers of infants experience negative affect and cognitive interference comparable to the non-parent young adults.

The purpose of this study was to explore women’s subjective food and eating experiences from childhood through to adulthood and the ways in which these experiences either connected or disconnected them from their appetites for food and eating. The present study used a qualitative life history methodology, the goal of which is to assess individuals’ lived experiences to construct broader contextual meaning. In-depth interviews were used to investigate food and eating experiences among twelve women between ages 25 and 44, representing diverse social and cultural backgrounds as well as current and past eating problems. Participants took part in an open-ended interview, using a series of guided questions about their food and eating experiences from childhood through to adulthood. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for themes using the constant comparison method. Two models emerged from the data in this study that described the social factors that connected and disconnected women from their appetites and eating. The Regulating Discourses Model which outlines current ways women negotiate appetite and desire through food and eating experiences, and the Socialization through Food and Eating Model which delineates socialization processes related to food and eating during women’s development. This research may be useful for counselors, health care professionals, as well as the larger community to increase awareness on ways to maintain girls’ and women’s connection to their bodily appetites and desires throughout the lifespan.

Scripts for peer conflict were examined in a sample of 55 four- and five-year-old children. Children provided a full sequential report of the conflict strategies used in six hypothetical peer conflict situations involving disputes over possessions. Interviews were conducted at two time points (early and late) during the children’s first year of school. Scripts were studied at two different analytical levels examined separately in two manuscripts: in the first manuscript, conflict scripts were examined at the group level to reveal general patterns across the participants. The second manuscript explored individual differences in children’s conflict scripts by identifying subgroups of children on the basis of how their scripts unfolded from beginning to end. Analyses in the first manuscript offered support for the stability of children’s scripts across situations. Findings suggested that children internally represent the sequential unfolding of conflict. In particular, their scripts became more constructive as conflicts progressed towards termination, a pattern that was especially apparent later in the school year. As well, analysis of if-then contingencies within scripts revealed that problem solving (e.g., offering to share or negotiate) was perceived by children to de-escalate hostility in conflict, as problem solving was rarely followed by power assertive responses. Averaging actions across conflicts masked specific conflict processes that were captured with sequential analysis of patterns. In the second manuscript, the types of scripts children reported were examined in relation to their receptive language abilities, theory of mind, and social adjustment to school. There was some support for the hypothesis that children whose scripts were constructive (i.e., containing references to problem-solving and conciliation) had better receptive language skills and were more prosocial than children whose scripts were less constructive. Theory of mind was unrelated to children’s ability to represent perspective-taking in their scripts. Directions for future research on children’s conflict scripts are discussed.

Materialism, or the orientation towards viewing material goods and money as important for personal happiness, is detrimental in several ways: it is associated with psychological maladjustment and lowered well-being and also conflicts with pursuits of caring for and relating to others. Although research has found that materialism is associated with fewer and lower-quality relationships with others, no research to date has explored the effects of materialism on the parent-child relationship, and the resulting impact on the child’s orientation towards others. These associations were explored in the present research. One hundred and five mothers and 76 fathers were assessed on measures of materialism (self-enhancement values and extrinsic aspirations) and parenting. Three domains of parenting were considered: control parenting (disciplinary strategies), protection parenting (responsiveness to child distress), and guided learning parenting (guidance through parent-child discussion). The 105 adolescents of these parents were assessed on indicators of moral development: prosocial and antisocial behavior, value internalization, prosocial moral reasoning, and empathy. It was hypothesized that parent materialism would predict lower levels of adolescent moral development and that this association would be mediated by parenting behaviors. This hypothesis was partially supported, but only for mothers. One measure of mother materialism - self-enhancement - related to adolescent prosocial behavior, while the other measure of mother materialism - extrinsic aspirations - related to adolescent approval orientation. Two mediators were identified for the mother self-enhancement/adolescent prosocial behavior link: mother operational-interfering style during moral discussions (guided learning parenting) and mother use of non-reasoning and punitive disciplinary strategies (control parenting). Beyond these links to adolescent moral development, both mother and father materialism were linked to negative parenting behaviors, including low responsiveness to adolescent distress, low empathy (in mothers), and high use of scolding and criticisms (in fathers). The results of this research indicate that when parents place high value on demonstrating power over others and achievement according to social standards at the expense of more prosocial values, adolescent moral development suffers, as mediated by the effect of materialism on parenting behaviors.

The goal of the present study was to determine whether exposure to complex meters in one musical culture facilitates the detection of metrical changes in a foreign musical culture. Adults with exclusive exposure to Western music, and adults with exposure to non-Western as well as Western music were tested on their perception of metrical changes in foreign (Turkish) music with simple and complex meters. Those whose exposure was limited to the simple meters of Western music were only able to detect the metrical changes in Turkish music with simple meter. By contrast, adults with exposure to non-Western music with complex meters detected the metrical changes in Turkish music with complex as well as simple meter. The superiority of the bi-musical listeners on complex meters and the equivalence of bi-musical and mono-musical listeners on simple meters suggest that exposure to complex meters rather than bi-musicality was responsible for the performance differences.