Infants begin to learn important skills, such as contingency learning, social referencing, and joint attention through everyday interactions with their environment. When infants learn that their behavior produces a change in the environment (e.g., attention from others), infants engage in behavior that produces that effect (e.g., increases in smiling sustained engagement. When mothers and other caregivers respond immediately to infant behavior, they help their infant learn that the infant’s own behavior is effective, producing a change in the environment. The current investigation evaluated the effect of a computer-based training that aimed at teaching mothers to play a vocal-imitation contingency-learning game. The training included observer-effect methodology, meaning the mothers engaged in observation and evaluation of other mothers engaging in vocal imitation but did not themselves receive any direct coaching or feedback. All mothers completed the training during one session and in less than 45 min. Results indicate that all mothers increased their use of vocal imitation post training and maintained their performance at a two-week follow-up. Results are discussed in terms of how computer training may facilitate dissemination of responsive caregiver training.

The actor-observer effect suggests that actors attribute to the situation while observers attribute to the actor's disposition. This effect has come under scrutiny because of an alternative perspective that accounts for anomalous finding. This alternative, called the contextual perspective, suggests that actors and observers foreground different aspects of the context because of a relationship with the context, and has roots in Gestalt psychology and phenomenology. I manipulated a researcher's prompt and the presence of a distressed confederate as the context for attributions, and hypothesized that actors and observers would differ on attributions to choice, situation, and disposition because of presence of a distressed confederate. Actors were presented with either a distressed or non-distressed confederate and either a prompt to leave, a prompt to stay, or no prompt. For example, some actors experienced a distressed confederate and were asked to leave while others experienced a non-distressed confederate and were asked to stay. Actors then made a decision to either stay and help the confederate or leave. Observers watched one of ten videos, each of one actor condition in which the actor either stayed or left (five actor conditions by 2 options of stay or leave). Actors' and observers' choice, situational, and dispositional attributions were analyzed using factorial MANOVAs. Actors and observers foregrounded the distressed confederate when making attributions to choice, situation, and disposition. Furthermore, observers' attributions to choice were also influenced by the actor's behavior. These findings support the contextual perspective since context does influence actors' and observers' attributions.

<p>On a daily basis drivers have to share the roads with a great number of other road users. To make the driving task possible every driver has to take the intentions and behaviours of other road users into account. In other words, the road users have to interact with each other. The general aim of this thesis was to examine factors that regulate and influence the interaction between road users. To do so, three studies, applying a social psychological approach to driving, were conducted. In the first study it was investigated how the rules of priority, the design of the intersection, and the behaviour of other drivers influence yielding behaviour in intersections. The second study examined driver irritation and its relationship with aggressive behaviours. Finally, in the third study drivers’ attributions of their own and other drivers’ behaviour were investigated in relation to driver irritation. The thesis also includes a minor field study, aiming at examining to what extent informal traffic rules are used in intersections and in roundabouts, as well as measuring the validity of self-reports. The results indicate that, in addition to the formal rules, drivers rely on informal rules based on road design and on other drivers’ behaviour. Drivers also differ with respect to strategies of yielding behaviour. Irritability and aggressive behaviour on the roads appear largely to depend on drivers’ interactions and drivers’ interpretation of the behaviour of others. Some aggressive behaviour is an expression of irritation and may provoke irritation of other drivers. This means that an irritated driver might start a chain reaction, spreading irritation and aggressive behaviour from driver to driver. To diminish irritation and aggressive behaviour on the roads it is necessary to change drivers’ behaviour either by changing the road design or, which is probably a more possible remedy, by changing their general attitudes about driving. By providing drivers with insight into the cognitive biases they are subject to when judging other road users’ behaviour, both driver irritation and aggressive behaviours on the roads probably would decrease.</p>

On a daily basis drivers have to share the roads with a great number of other road users. To make the driving task possible every driver has to take the intentions and behaviours of other road users into account. In other words, the road users have to interact with each other. The general aim of this thesis was to examine factors that regulate and influence the interaction between road users. To do so, three studies, applying a social psychological approach to driving, were conducted. In the first study it was investigated how the rules of priority, the design of the intersection, and the behaviour of other drivers influence yielding behaviour in intersections. The second study examined driver irritation and its relationship with aggressive behaviours. Finally, in the third study drivers’ attributions of their own and other drivers’ behaviour were investigated in relation to driver irritation. The thesis also includes a minor field study, aiming at examining to what extent informal traffic rules are used in intersections and in roundabouts, as well as measuring the validity of self-reports. The results indicate that, in addition to the formal rules, drivers rely on informal rules based on road design and on other drivers’ behaviour. Drivers also differ with respect to strategies of yielding behaviour. Irritability and aggressive behaviour on the roads appear largely to depend on drivers’ interactions and drivers’ interpretation of the behaviour of others. Some aggressive behaviour is an expression of irritation and may provoke irritation of other drivers. This means that an irritated driver might start a chain reaction, spreading irritation and aggressive behaviour from driver to driver. To diminish irritation and aggressive behaviour on the roads it is necessary to change drivers’ behaviour either by changing the road design or, which is probably a more possible remedy, by changing their general attitudes about driving. By providing drivers with insight into the cognitive biases they are subject to when judging other road users’ behaviour, both driver irritation and aggressive behaviours on the roads probably would decrease.

Submitted by Marcela Silva (marcela.mello@gmail.com) on 2016-05-12T19:03:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_marcela.pdf: 269427 bytes, checksum: 3f2fde51654feb4197e850d65d6804b4 (MD5) / Rejected by Letícia Monteiro de Souza (leticia.dsouza@fgv.br), reason: Prezada Marcela, Seu trabalho foge das normas ABNT. Favor verificar dissertações de seus colegas para comparação. Atenciosamente, Letícia Monteiro 3799-3631 on 2016-05-12T19:53:33Z (GMT) / Submitted by Marcela Silva (marcela.mello@gmail.com) on 2016-05-12T22:43:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_marcela_ABNT.pdf: 271028 bytes, checksum: 6a9f729f5a700f1b477de5a8363f4308 (MD5) / Rejected by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br), reason: Bom dia Marcela, Como seu trabalho é inglês o ABSTRACT vem antes do RESUMO, por favor, subir o texto está no meio da página. (3cm) Qualquer dúvida estou à disposição. Att. Suzi 3799-7876 on 2016-05-13T11:45:30Z (GMT) / Submitted by Marcela Silva (marcela.mello@gmail.com) on 2016-05-13T14:14:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_marcela.pdf: 275312 bytes, checksum: c0d5c8742ae639688df60354f1a595cd (MD5) / Rejected by Letícia Monteiro de Souza (leticia.dsouza@fgv.br), reason: Prezada Marcela, Favor alterar seu trabalho de acordo com as normas ABNT: 1 - Favor colocar a página de resumo antes da página de abstract. Atenciosamente, Letícia Monteiro 3799-3631 on 2016-05-13T14:36:17Z (GMT) / Submitted by Marcela Silva (marcela.mello@gmail.com) on 2016-05-16T13:21:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_marcela.pdf: 275312 bytes, checksum: c0d5c8742ae639688df60354f1a595cd (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Letícia Monteiro de Souza (leticia.dsouza@fgv.br) on 2016-05-16T13:22:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_marcela.pdf: 275312 bytes, checksum: c0d5c8742ae639688df60354f1a595cd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-16T13:32:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_marcela.pdf: 275312 bytes, checksum: c0d5c8742ae639688df60354f1a595cd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-12 / Most social sciences and medical studies assume that being observed does not affect subjects' behavior. However, interviews may cause changes in individuals' behavior or may inhibit changes which would occur if they were not being observed. If being observed changes the behavior of the studied population, the sample ceases to be representative of the population. In this paper, I investigate whether individuals periodically interviewed in a longitudinal epidemiological research conducted in Pelotas, Brazil, are affected along relevant dimensions, in particular, education and health. I find only a significant effect on ENEM score. / Grande parte dos estudos em ciências sociais assume que ser observado não afeta o comportamento dos indivíduos. No entanto, entrevistas podem causar mudanças no comportamento dos indivíduos que não ocorreriam se eles não tivessem sido observados. Se ser observado muda o comportamento da população estudada, ela pode deixar de ser representativa da população como um todo. Neste trabalho, investiga-se se indivíduos periodicamente entrevistados em uma pesquisa epidemiológica conduzida em Pelotas, Brasil, são afetados em dimensões relevantes, em particular, educação e saúde. Os resultados mostram um efeito significativo apenas na nota do Enem.