Im-Bolter, Nancie

AbstractOral Language and the Approximate Number System – A Preliminary Study Janice Shewen The approximate number system (ANS) involves the processing of rudimentary quantity and is thought to be an innate developmental building block for mathematics and its sister construct, the symbolic system. The conventional belief is that the ANS is language independent; however, this notion is questioned and explored in the current study, which represents a preliminary investigation into the concurrent and longitudinal relations between different aspects of oral language and the ANS in 4-year-old children and one year later when they were 5. A sample of 26 children (13 boys;13 girls) with average intelligence completed standardized measures of oral language and verbal memory, and a computerized quantity discrimination task that required children to accurately discern between two visually presented quantities. Correlational analysis showed concurrent and longitudinal relations between different aspects of language and quantity discrimination. This suggests that different aspects of language predict quantity discrimination over a one-year period and challenge the current and accepted theory that the ANS is a language independent system. The findings also have implications for early childhood education – avenues to strengthen a child's ANS via targeted oral language instruction, curricula, and subsequent provision of experiences. The findings also support early oral language screening to monitor or provide opportunities for improving quantity approximation skills. This early intervention could impact later symbolic processing and mathematic success. Keywords: Non-symbolic system, approximate number system, quantity discrimination, symbolic system, oral language, morphology, syntax, semantics, relational concepts.

Author Keywords: Approximate Number System, Non-symbolic system, oral language, quantity discrimination, symbolic system

Social anxiety involves negative thoughts and self-focused attention during social interactions. This self-evaluation can involve reflections regarding the body or body image, which may have an impact on social experiences. Body image is experienced in a negative (body dissatisfaction) and positive (body appreciation) way. The present study investigated the relation between symptoms of social anxiety and various aspects of body image in older adolescents and young adults. Quantitative results demonstrated considerable overlap between social anxiety and body image, with the qualitative results further supporting the rationale that symptoms consistent with social anxiety occur within those with body image concerns. Seven themes emerged and they were physical attributes, societal influence, appearance-driven coping strategies, impact on social life and relationships, discomfort with appearance, social avoidance, and appearance monitoring.

Metaphors are a ubiquitous component of communication, which are either conventional (familiar) or novel phrases. Metaphors are useful for discussing abstract concepts such as emotions that can be difficult to discuss literally, and as such benefit social relationships (Nippold et al., 2017). Research on contributors to novel metaphor production is limited and previous methodologies have been flawed, however some research suggests a role for executive function (EF; e.g., Menashe et al., 2020). Additionally, figurative language comprehension and metaphor production have been demonstrated to rely on overlapping abilities (Benedek et al., 2014). The current study examined figurative language comprehension and EF in novel metaphor production in 112 young adults aged 17-29 years. Neither individual nor groupwise analyses revealed any relations between EF or figurative language comprehension and novel metaphor production. However, an association with nonverbal IQ was found, suggesting that abstract reasoning abilities may play an important role in metaphoric ability.

Author Keywords: Executive function, Figurative language comprehension, Metaphor generation, Novel metaphor

This study investigates associations between self-other differentiation (the ability to distinguish and coordinate the self and other perspective during social problem-solving) and specific ego functions (reality testing, judgement, sense of reality, object relations, and synthetic-integrative function) from a cognitive perspective in two groups of adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. One group was referred for mental health problems (clinic-referred, n = 129) and the other was a typically developing comparison group (control, n = 184). Clinic-referred adolescents scored significantly lower in both self-other differentiation and ego functions compared to nonclinic-referred adolescents, suggesting a potential relation with adolescent mental health. While self-other differentiation was generally associated with ego function, no moderating effect of clinic referral was observed. Findings suggest a link between self-other differentiation and different aspects of judgement (the ability to anticipate consequences, understand reactions, and learn from past mistakes).

Author Keywords: adolescence, ego function, interpersonal negotiation strategies, mental health problems, self-other differentiation, social problem solving

Transracial adoption places the child with a family of a different ethnicity than their own. In the current study we qualitatively examine concerns associated with transracial adoption and investigate the relation between parent-child relationships and child social-emotional problems. Twenty-two adopted girls from China, 20 nonadopted Caucasian girls, and 23 nonadopted Chinese-Canadian girls, between 10-14 years, and their mothers were included. Thematic content analysis of interviews with adoptive mothers revealed that the transracial adoption experience had positive, negative, and neutral aspects. This included the parent-child relationship, the adopted child's view of their physical appearance, and the incorporation of cultural elements into the home. Quantitative analyses revealed no significant differences between the three groups on measures of parent-child relationship quality and child social-emotional functioning, which confirmed findings from the qualitative analysis. In the entire sample there were significant negative relations between quality of parent-child relationship and social-emotional functioning. These results suggest that early age of adoption may help decrease the likelihood of problematic parent-child relationships and social-emotional functioning in adopted children. It would be important to re-examine this question during adolescence when racial identity forms.

Author Keywords: Cultural Socialization, Developmental Psychology, Parent-Child Relationship, Social-Emotional Behaviour, Transracial Adoption

Risk-taking (e.g., dangerous driving, substance use) rises during adolescence and can result in both adaptive consequences (e.g., social acceptance) and maladaptive consequences (e.g., alcohol poisoning, premature death). Adolescents also experience an increase in self-conscious emotions, including shame. Shame-prone adolescents may engage in risk-taking to cope with negative self-perceptions. Previous research is contradictory, however, finding shame and risk-taking to be positively correlated, negatively correlated, or not related at all. One reason for this may be that shame was assessed as an overall construct. Some conceptualizations of shame dictate that people can experience several types of shame, including body (e.g., shame about physical appearance), character (e.g., shame of personal habits), and behavioural (e.g., shame about doing something wrong). Our study fills this gap by examining how different types of shame are related to different types of risk-taking behaviours and subsequent outcomes. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Author Keywords: Adolescence, Behaviour shame, Body shame, Character shame, Emerging adulthood, Risk-taking

AbstractOral Language and the Approximate Number System – A Preliminary Study Janice Shewen The approximate number system (ANS) involves the processing of rudimentary quantity and is thought to be an innate developmental building block for mathematics and its sister construct, the symbolic system. The conventional belief is that the ANS is language independent; however, this notion is questioned and explored in the current study, which represents a preliminary investigation into the concurrent and longitudinal relations between different aspects of oral language and the ANS in 4-year-old children and one year later when they were 5. A sample of 26 children (13 boys;13 girls) with average intelligence completed standardized measures of oral language and verbal memory, and a computerized quantity discrimination task that required children to accurately discern between two visually presented quantities. Correlational analysis showed concurrent and longitudinal relations between different aspects of language and quantity discrimination. This suggests that different aspects of language predict quantity discrimination over a one-year period and challenge the current and accepted theory that the ANS is a language independent system. The findings also have implications for early childhood education – avenues to strengthen a child's ANS via targeted oral language instruction, curricula, and subsequent provision of experiences. The findings also support early oral language screening to monitor or provide opportunities for improving quantity approximation skills. This early intervention could impact later symbolic processing and mathematic success. Keywords: Non-symbolic system, approximate number system, quantity discrimination, symbolic system, oral language, morphology, syntax, semantics, relational concepts.

Author Keywords: Approximate Number System, Non-symbolic system, oral language, quantity discrimination, symbolic system

Transracial adoption places the child with a family of a different ethnicity than their own. In the current study we qualitatively examine concerns associated with transracial adoption and investigate the relation between parent-child relationships and child social-emotional problems. Twenty-two adopted girls from China, 20 nonadopted Caucasian girls, and 23 nonadopted Chinese-Canadian girls, between 10-14 years, and their mothers were included. Thematic content analysis of interviews with adoptive mothers revealed that the transracial adoption experience had positive, negative, and neutral aspects. This included the parent-child relationship, the adopted child's view of their physical appearance, and the incorporation of cultural elements into the home. Quantitative analyses revealed no significant differences between the three groups on measures of parent-child relationship quality and child social-emotional functioning, which confirmed findings from the qualitative analysis. In the entire sample there were significant negative relations between quality of parent-child relationship and social-emotional functioning. These results suggest that early age of adoption may help decrease the likelihood of problematic parent-child relationships and social-emotional functioning in adopted children. It would be important to re-examine this question during adolescence when racial identity forms.

Author Keywords: Cultural Socialization, Developmental Psychology, Parent-Child Relationship, Social-Emotional Behaviour, Transracial Adoption

Studies that have investigated the relation between social anxiety and theory of mind or executive function have shown that individuals with deficits in these cognitive processes have high levels of social anxiety. However, methodological problems make past findings questionable and difficult to interpret. The current study investigated whether deficits in theory of mind and executive function predicted symptoms of social anxiety in 99 older adolescents and young adults (18-29). On average, participants had moderate levels of social anxiety. Performance on measures of theory of mind and executive function did not predict symptoms of social anxiety. This lack of associations could be due to characteristics of the current sample, methodological differences in the current study compared to past studies, or the type of social anxiety and theory of mind measure used. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Author Keywords: Early Adulthood, Executive Function, Late Adolescence, Social Anxiety, Theory of Mind

Adolescence is a time when young people focus their attention on setting and pursuing long-term goals. Contemporary approaches of identity development focus on three pivotal processes underlying the identity formation process and the maintenance of one's identity (e.g., core values, etc.). These processes are commitment (commitments to a goal), in-depth exploration (exploration of choices and options), and reconsideration of commitment (feelings of uncertainty about current commitments). The primary purpose of the current study was to examine the relations between identity processes, study habits, and academic performance in 45 female undergraduate students (M age = 21.00). Utilizing a self-report measure, findings suggested a significant positive relation between educational and relational commitment, as well as reconsideration of commitments in the educational domain and reconsideration of commitments in the relational domain. In terms of identity processes and grades, a regression analysis revealed that educational reconsideration of commitments predicted academic performance. Further, for those employing poor study habit skills, educational reconsideration of commitment predicted academic performance. The present study offers insight on the importance of assessing adolescent's uncertainty of educational and relational commitments, while also highlighting the protective factor of maintaining good study habit strategies.

Author Keywords: academic performance, adolescence, educational, identity, relational, study habits