Theory of mind (ToM) refers to a cognitive ability that enables one to attribute mental states (such as desires, emotions, beliefs) to self and others. In recent years researchers have identified cultural variations in the onset of ToM understanding in collectivist and individualist cultures. However, the findings of cross-cultural studies regarding these variations are inconsistent. The major aim of this innovative research was to investigate differences in the acquisition of ToM in children from a collectivist culture (Pakistan) and an individualist culture (UK). The second aim of the study was to assess the specific association between ToM and social competence in a culturally diverse sample. An additional aim of the study was to investigate the universality of various correlates of ToM such as executive functioning (EF), parenting styles, and maternal mental state talk. The findings of the studies demonstrated a significant delay in the acquisition of ToM in Pakistani children, when compared with Western children from individualist societies. These findings were corroborated by the results of novel cross-cultural study that compared the performance of White British, British Pakistani, and Pakistani children on a ToM scale. White British children outperformed both Pakistani and British Pakistani children on measures of ToM, EF, and social competence. The current findings also provide support for the association of mental state understanding with EF, social competence, parenting styles, and maternal mental state talk. These findings have important implications for the role of general (collectivist vs. individualist cultures) as well as specific cultural practices (such as parenting and education) in the acquisition of mental state understanding.

Tidigare forskning har studerat vilken kompetens om HR-personal behöver via diverse synsätt och vi vill undersöka detta djupare. Vi tolkar att det inte finns tillräckligt med forskning kring vad HR-personal själva anser att kompetens är. Syftet med denna studie har varit att öka förståelsen för synen på kompetens och vilken kompetens som behövs, i detta fall för arbetande inom HR. Detta har skett via en kvalitativ intervjustudie med HR-generalister eller motsvarande från åtta olika organisationer i såväl privat som offentlig sektor. Resultatet har visat att kompetens hos HR är ett brett och inkluderar bland annat kunskap, färdigheter, social kompetens samt kognitiv kompetens. / Previous research has studied the competence that HR needs through various approaches and we want to investigate this deeper. We interpret that there isn't enough research about what HR-staff themselves consider competence is. The purpose of this study has been to increase the understanding of the view of competence and what competence is needed, in this case for workers in HR. This has been done through a qualitative interview study with HR generalists or equivalent from eight different organizations in both the private and public sectors. The results have shown that competence in HR is broad and includes, among other things, knowledge, skills, social competence and cognitive competence.

The purpose of this study is to determine if social and emotional competencies (SEC) of first-year traditional-age, full time undergraduate students can be used to predict student persistence patterns at the University of the Pacific, located in Stockton, California. From an institutional perspective, college dropouts present a real financial threat and opportunity for improving the bottom line (retention). At the individual student level, a college dropout represents a promise unfulfilled and a potential unrealized (persistence). In particular, the present study concerned itself with student persistence from the first to second year of full-time undergraduate education. While the primary findings failed to rise to the necessary level of significance required to answer the research questions posed in the present study, there were some significant secondary findings related to institutional retention that merit further consideration and may have value to future research in the area of student success. The limitations of the study, implications for professional practice, and recommendations for future research of EI and student persistence are discussed.

Soft skills include communication skills and personality traits that are important when choosing a dentist, but other factors within the dental office also seem to be important for patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate factors that are important to people in a dentist as well as characteristics of the ideal dentist and to evaluate possible age-, gender-, and residence of living specific differences. A telephone survey with participants aged 35 years or older (ag—age group: ag 1: 35–50 years, ag 2: 70–84 years, ag 3: >85 years) in three German cities was conducted. Data were analyzed with respect to gender and age. Most of the participants (n = 298, 64.2%), regardless of their own gender, age, or place of residence did not care about the gender of the dentist. In general, the price of the treatment does not play a role in choosing the ideal dentist. Women differ significantly from men in their choice of dentist (ANOVA p < 0.001 (preference of non-smoker), ANOVA p < 0.001 (preference, that the dentist does not smell of smoke, importance of appearance (ANOVA p < 0.001) and psycho-social skills, etc.). As age increases, professional experience and psycho-social competencies are rated as important. With the increase in age, the mean value of the desired years of professional experience increases without significant differences between age groups. The importance of advanced training (ANOVA p < 0.001; Bonferoni correction: significant difference between ag 1 and ag 2 p < 0.001, and ag 1 and ag 3 p < 0.001) decreases with age. Especially for participants aged 70 to 84 years, a relationship of trust is important. Between the places of residence, statistical differences for almost all surveyed items were found (e.g., importance that the dentist speaks the patients’ native language ANOVA p < 0.001, Bonferoni correction: significant difference between Berlin and Leipzig, Berlin and Mainz, and Leipzig and Mainz (each p < 0.001), dentist has a specialization ANOVA p < 0.001, Bonferoni correction: significant difference between Berlin and Leipzig and Berlin and Mainz (each p < 0.001), etc.). Dentists should be trained to develop psycho-social skills to meet the special demands of the increasing older population.

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Despite evidence suggesting considerable overlap between the neurobiology underlying sleep regulation and the neurobehavioral systems regulating attention control and emotional arousal, sleep remains an understudied domain in the quest to improve children's regulation of behavior, emotions, and cognition in support of school competence during middle childhood. Using a large, normative sample (n = 1,057) from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Childcare and Youth (NICHD-SECCYD), I tested a conceptual model of sleep, school competence, and children's adjustment to address important gaps in our understanding of the direction of effects and interrelations among sleep problems, attention problems, and academic and social competence across middle childhood. I examined the domains for their combined effects and pathways of influence on children's adjustment (e.g., depressive symptoms and feelings about school) at the end of middle childhood--a period just prior to the impending biological and contextual changes associated with adolescence. Using structural equation modeling and repeated measurement at 54 months-of-age, Grade 1, Grade 3, and Grade 5, findings indicated that maternal-reported sleep problems in preschool directly predicted teacher-reported attention problems when children were in third and fifth grade. Findings lend support for models of sleep and neural development that posit adverse early effects of sleep problems on prefrontal cortex (PFC) maturation that aids in the development of attention control. Maternal-reported sleep problems did not predict standardized assessments of reading and math at any time across the assessment period. In contrast, sleep problems predicted teacher reports of children's ability to effectively cooperate and execute positive response strategies with peers. Effective language and cognitive skills are important and necessary for positive peer interactions and problem solving, and sleep problems have been associated with slower growth in language development and memory processes. Both maternal-reported sleep problems and teacher-reported peer relations uniquely predicted children's self-reported depressive symptoms, perceived competence, and motivation and social support in school at the end of middle childhood. Findings lend support for an emotion information processing model of sleep and competency-based models of depression. Academic achievement and attention problems and attention problems and peer relations were reciprocally related at all assessment periods. In support of the academic underachievement hypothesis, academic achievement consistently exerted stronger effects on attention problems compared to inverse relations. Attention problems and academic achievement had no direct effects on children's depressive symptoms or motivation for school, but exerted indirect effects through their effects on peer relations. Despite expected relations, no domain in the present study predicted children's sleep problems. Even though results are somewhat surprising given theoretical perspectives and limited empirical work investigating associations between sleep problems, attention problems, and academic and social competence, this study was novel in its design for simultaneously evaluating effects of these domains together across time. Findings from the present study may fail to align with prior research because multiple domains were allowed to compete with one another in a single model, and shared rater variance as well as prior and concurrent levels of each domain were controlled across the study period. Alternatively, variables not measured in the present study but associated with children's sleep problems, such as child temperament or parenting practices, may be stronger predictors of children's sleep. In sum, results point to the unique associations between children's sleep problems, attention problems, and academic and social competence across middle childhood, and the importance of considering their combined influence on children's feelings of adjustment as they enter the challenging period of adolescence. / Educational Psychology

The critical role of children’s play in the development of peer relationships, social and communicative skills is reviewed and discussed. The difficulties experienced by a pre-school learner in engaging in peer relationships, communicating successfully in a classroom situation and constructively using play materials was explained. This was done through the use of anecdotal records, checklists, questionnaires, photographic evidence and a semi-structured interview with the learner’s parent. A pre-school play programme, using blocks, dough and puppets (BDP Programme) was devised and used to assess its influence on the acquisition of social and communicative skills by a non-social and non-communicative learner. The study found the BDP Programme to be very successful in assisting this learner to develop peer relationships and communicative skills in the peer group and thus played a critical role in the social development of this learner. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Estudo descritivo, correlacional, cujos objetivos foram realizar a adaptação transcultural para México dos instrumentos Teenagee Inventory of Social Skills (TISS) e o Cuestionario de Evaluación de Dificultades Interpersonales en la Adolescencia (CEDIA) e identificar as características pessoais, familiares e sociais (competência social e dificuldades interpessoais) que podem influenciar o consumo de drogas em adolescentes escolares de Monterrey, N. L. México. Seguiram-se as etapas metodológicas para a adaptação transcultural: 1) Tradução, 2) Retrotradução, 3) Revisão por um comitê de especialistas 4) Aplicação de uma prova piloto e analise das propriedades psicométricas de validação e confiabilidade dos instrumentos TISS e CEDIA, numa amostra de 1.221 estudantes de ensino fundamental. Os resultados encontrados mostraram que o instrumento TISS é uma ferramenta confiável na avaliação da competência social, obtendo-se valores de consistência interna aceitáveis ao aplicar-se em adolescentes escolares mexicanos. As Inter-correlações entre as subescalas de conduta pró-social e anti-social demonstraram ser negativas e estatisticamente significativas, o que confirma a existência de domínios de condutas diferentes, além de verificar a existência de dois fatores através da análise fatorial aplicada ao instrumento TISS. Em relação ao Questionário CEDIA, encontraram-se adequadas propriedades psicométricas, elevada confiabilidade e valores aceitáveis do coeficiente Alpha de Cronbach para a escala total e cada uma das subescalas de dificuldades interpessoais (assertividade, relações heterossexuais, falar em público, relações familiares e relações com amigos), indicaram-se coeficientes de correlação positivos e significativos entre as subescalas; e se afirmou a natureza multidimensional do questionário CEDIA. Por outro lado, apresentaram-se diferenças significativas da conduta pró-social e antisocial segundo sexo, idade e escolaridade. Além de encontrar diferenças das dificuldades interpessoais segundo sexo e idade nos adolescentes. Em relação ao consumo de drogas legais alguma vez em sua vida, mais do 40,0% consumiu bebidas alcoólicas, 36,2% consumiu tabaco. Sobre às drogas ilegais, assinalou-se que 2,4% usaram inalantes, 2,0% experimentaram maconha e 0,8% consumiram cocaína alguma vez em sua vida. Não se encontraram diferenças de consumo de drogas por sexo. No entanto encontraram-se diferenças de consumo de tabaco nos adolescentes escolares por idade, escolaridade e ocupação e ou viver ou não com o pai. Identificou-se que mais do 80,0% apresentava muito baixa dependência de consumo de tabaco através do questionário FAGESTROM. Em relação ao consumo de álcool, os homens mostram mais alta proporção de consumo atual, destacando-se diferenças de consumo por idade e escolaridade. O instrumento AUDIT mostrou que mais do 30,0% apresentava consumo de álcool em risco, 14,8% dos participantes apresentaram sintomas de dependência e 29,7% manifestavam danos relacionados ao consumo de álcool. Em relação ao consumo de drogas ilegais não se apresentaram diferenças nas variáveis do estudo. Observou-se que quanto a maior conduta pró-social menor é o consumo de drogas nos adolescentes. Encontrou-se relação da conduta anti-social com o consumo de álcool e drogas ilícitas. As dificuldades interpessoais não apresentaram relação com o consumo de drogas. As variáveis que têm a probabilidade de predizer o consumo de tabaco, são idade, sexo, conduta anti-social, dificuldades interpessoais para falar em público e relações heterossexuais. Referente ao consumo de álcool, as variáveis que predizem o consumo são idade, sexo, escolaridade, conduta anti-social, dificuldades interpessoais na assertividade, relações heterossexuais, relações familiares e relações com amigos. Mostrou-se que a conduta anti-social é a única variável que tem a probabilidade de predizer o consumo de drogas ilícitas nos adolescentes escolares. / This descriptive, correlational study aimed to carry out the cross-cultural adaptation of the instruments Teenage Inventory of Social Skills (TISS) and the Questionnaire of Interpersonal Difficulties in Adolescence (QIDA), besides identifying the personal, family and social characteristics (social competence and interpersonal difficulties) that can influence drugs consumption among adolescents of school age in Monterrey, N. L. Mexico. The methodological steps were followed for the cross-cultural adaptation: 1) Translation, 2) Retro-translation, 3) Revision for a committee of specialists and finally the application of a pilot proof of the TISS and QIDA instruments, in a sample of 1221 secondary-school students. The results show that the TISS instrument is a reliable tool to assess social competence. Acceptable internal consistency values were obtained when applied to Mexican adolescent students. The intercorrelations between the prosocial and antisocial conduct subscales showed to be negative and statistically significant, which confirms the existence of different conduct domains, besides verifying the existence of two factors through the factorial analysis applied to the TISS instrument. As to the QIDA Questionnaire, adequate psychometric properties were found, as well as high reliability and acceptable values of Cronbach\'s Alpha for the total scale and for each of the interpersonal difficulty subscales (assertiveness, heterosexual relations, talking in public, family relationships and relationships with friends), with positive correlation coefficients between the subscales; and the multidimensional nature of the QIDA questionnaire was affirmed. On the other hand, significant differences in prosocial and antisocial conduct appeared according to gender, age, and education level. Moreover, differences in interpersonal difficulties were found depending on the adolescents\' gender and age. With respect to drugs consumption at some time in their life, more than 40% had consumed alcoholic beverages and 36.2% tobacco. What illegal drugs are concerned, 2.4% had used inhalants, 2.0% had experimented marihuana and 0.8% had consumed cocaine at some time in their life. No differences in drugs consumption were found according to gender. However, differences in tobacco consumption were found among the adolescent students depending on age, education level, occupation and living with the father or not. It was also identified that more than 80.0% presented very low dependence on tobacco consumption through the FAGESTROM questionnaire. As to alcohol consumption, men reported the highest level of current consumption, highlighting consumption differences according to age and education level. The AUDIT instrument showed that more than 30.0% presented hazardous alcohol consumption, 14.8% of participants displayed symptoms of addiction and 29.7% manifested damage related to alcohol consumption. What the consumption of illegal drugs is concerned, no differences were found in the study variables. It was observed that a higher level of prosocial conduct corresponded to a lower level of alcohol consumption among the adolescents. A relation was found between antisocial conduct and the consumption of alcohol and illegal drugs. Interpersonal difficulties did not reveal a relation with drugs consumption. It should be appointed that the variables with probability of predicting tobacco consumption were age, gender, antisocial conduct, interpersonal difficulties to talk in public and heterosexual relations. As to alcohol consumption, predicting variables were age, gender, education level, antisocial conduct, interpersonal difficulties related to assertiveness, heterosexual relations, family relationships and relationships with friends. It was shown that antisocial conduct was the only variable with probability to predict illegal drugs consumption in the adolescent students.

Magister Commercii - MCom / Research (Sartain et al., 2006) indicates that engagement demands a more thoughtful way to address the everyday realities of organisational life. The current research endeavours to elucidate the relationship between emotional intelligence and work engagement amongst leaders in a financial service organisation undergoing change. / South Africa