Silence, Solitude and Social Cognition in Adolescence: Implications for Research and Education

What are the key issues regarding silence, solitude, and social cognition in young people’s lives, and their implications for education and emotional health? To answer such questions, the current paper will explore the question: How do young teens use their ability to understand other’s minds and emotions to navigate their relationships with themselves, their peers, and during times of silences and solitude? To address this question, this paper critically examines how mentallisation may help youth to navigate their experiences of solitude and relationships. Examples from recent and ongoing cross-sectional and longitudinal research with adolescents are discussed within the context of education and developmental psychology research. Finally, I discuss how findings from developmental social cognitive research can be applied to the classroom, to help develop innovative strategies that honour, respect, and protect the silences in students’ lives and their private times spent in solitude.Cisza, samotność i poznanie społeczne w okresie dojrzewania. Implikacje dla badań i edukacjiJakie są główne zagadnienia związane z ciszą, samotnością oraz społecznym poznaniem w życiu młodych ludzi? Jakie ich implikacje dla edukacji oraz zdrowia emocjonalnego? By odpowiedzieć na te pytania, w niniejszym artykule poddano analizie następującą kwestię: jak młodzi nastolatkowie korzystają ze zdolności rozumienia umysłów i emocji innych osób, aby budować relacje z sobą oraz z rówieśnikami, szczególnie w okresach ciszy i samotności? By podjąć wskazane zagadnienie, krytycznie zbadano, jak mentalizacja może pomóc młodym ludziom w kształtowaniu doświadczeń związanych zarówno z samotnością, jak i z relacjami. Przedyskutowano przykłady z ostatnich i nadal trwających badań adolescentów, przekrojowych oraz podłużnych, ujmując je w badawczym kontekście edukacji oraz psychologii rozwojowej. Wreszcie ukazano, jak pozyskane doniesienia z badań nad rozwojem społeczno-poznawczym odnieść do klasy szkolnej, celem rozwijania innowacyjnych strategii, honorujących i chroniących ciszę w życiu uczniów oraz ich prywatny czas spędzany w samotności

Advanced theory of mind in adolescence : do age, gender and friendship style play a role?

The ability to recursively infer the mental states of others to explain their complex behavior in ambiguous social situation may be called Advanced Theory of Mind (aToM). The relations between two components of aToM, cognitive and affective, measured on a behavioral level in 151 Polish 13-year-olds and 174 16-year-olds was examined. The role of age, gender and friendship style and its relations to the cognitive and affective aToM was explored. Cognitive aToM was only weakly to moderately related to affective aToM. Across both age groups females scored higher than males. Males' aToM abilities did not differ according to age, but they scored higher in the cognitive aToM than affective ToM. Also, different aspects of friendship style were significant predictors of both aToM abilities. The implications for two aToM components within a gendered social context were discussed

Creating Community-University Partnerships in a Teacher Education Program: A Case Study

In this study we explored a triad partnership among preservice department instructors and teacher candidates, community practitioners, and partners in a community-university research alliance (CURA). All partners were interviewed about their perceptions of their role in the partnership, the effectiveness of the collaboration, and the key lessons learned. Following content analyses of the conversations, three main themes emerged: the value of the partnership in this professional development project, required commitment and support, and challenges faced throughout the partnership. Recommendations for future partnerships in the educational context are discussed.Dans cette étude, nous nous sommes penchées sur un partenariat triadique entre des chargés de cours en pédagogie et des stagiaires, des intervenants de la communauté, et des partenaires unis dans une alliance communautaire/universitaire pour la recherche (CURA). Tous les partenaires ont été interrogés pour connaître leurs perceptions quant à leur rôle dans le partenariat, l’efficacité de la collaboration et les leçons principales qu’ils en avaient retirées. Trois thèmes majeurs se sont dégagés des analyses du contenu des conversations: la valeur du partenariat au sein du projet de développement professionnel; la nécessité d’engagement et d’appui; et les défis qu’on avait affrontés tout au long de la collaboration. Nous proposons des recommandations portant sur les partenariats qui se formeront dans un contexte éducatif à l’avenir

Socioemotional Competence, Self-Perceptions, and Receptive Vocabulary in Shy Canadian Children * * * *

Abstract Given existing gendered stereotypic assumptions regarding shyness and children's school competencies, this study explored relations among socioemotional competencies, self-perceptions, and receptive vocabulary in shy children. Ninety-one Canadian children (52 girls, 39 boys; 5-8 years) were classified as shy (n = 26) based on teachers' behavioural ratings (n = 8), and completed selfperception and vocabulary measures. Compared to their non-shy peers, shy children reported lower levels of self-worth, and were rated by their teachers as more aggressive. Shy girls scored the lowest on the vocabulary task, and received the highest teacher emotional competence ratings. Shy boys scored the highest on the vocabulary task, and received the lowest emotionally competence ratings. Gender-role stereotypes and shyness and their educational implications are discussed

Field independence-dependence, self-concept and playfulness in preadolescents.

The primary purpose of this paper was to investigate the relationships between field independence-dependence (FI-FD), self-concept and playfulness in preadolescent girls and boys. Sixty-three sixth-grade students (33 girls, 30 boys) from four classes in three schools in Southwestern Ontario participated in the study, with each student completing the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT; Witkin, Oltman & Raskin, 1971) and The Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI; Coopersmith, 1967). The students\u27 current teachers (2 female, 2 male) and those from the previous year (2 female, 3 male) completed the Playfulness-NonPlayfulness Scale (PF-NonPF; Lieberman, 1977a). Contrary to prediction, no significant gender differences or correlations were found between the total scores of the three main variables. The hypothesis that field independence is negatively associated with self-concept and playfulness among girls was supported by significant negative correlations found between field independence and self-concept, and field independence and playfulness. In contrast, the hypothesis that field independence would be positively associated with self-concept and playfulness among boys was only partially supported by significant positive correlations found between field independence and self-concept whereas field independence and playfulness were not found to be related. The hypotheses were further supported by subsequent analyses which demonstrated a trend for FI girls and FD boys to report lower feelings of self-worth and to be rated as less playful by their teachers as compared to FD girls and FI boys respectively. The pedagological implications of the results were reviewed followed by the main conclusion that gender differences in preadolescence regarding cognitive style, self-concept and playfulness are largely due to socializing pressures from parents, teachers, peers and the media to conform to socio-cultural gender-role stereotypes. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1995 .B67. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 34-02, page: 0502. Adviser: Wilf Innerd. Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1995

Teoria della mente e qualità della vita in preadolescenza: il ruolo dell’ansia in maschi e femmine.

Studi longitudinali recenti hanno mostrato che la relazione tra cognizione e benessere soggettivo è parzialmente spiegata da altri fattori. Nella presente ricerca abbiamo esplorato se le capacità di teoria della mente fossero collegate alla percezione della qualità di vita e se l'ansia giocasse un ruolo nel plasmare tale relazione. La fascia di età scelta è la preadolescenza, perchè in questo periodo le esperienze sociali ed emotive dei bambini assumono un determinato significato per ogni individuo anche alla luce dell’emergere di sintomi ansiosi. Tipicamente in preadolescenza le femmine ottengono punteggi più elevati in vari sintomi internalizzanti, tra cui l’ansia, che in genere viene associata ad una percezione di qualità della vita più bassa. Ad oggi nessuno studio ha messo in relazione teoria della mente, ansia e qualità della vita. Pertanto, il nostro scopo è stato quello di esplorare questi costrutti focalizzandoci sulle differenze di genere. Metodo In una scuola secondaria di primo grado sono stati reclutati 142 studenti (84 maschi, età media = 11.83 anni), che hanno completato una prova di teoria della mente, un questionario relativo alla percezione di diversi sottotipi di ansia e uno sulla percezione della propria qualità di vita. Il disegno della ricerca è trasversale. Risultati Nel campione totale la teoria della mente non risultava legata nè all’ansia nè alla qualità della vita. Tuttavia, t-test per campioni indipendenti mostravano significative differenze di genere in tre sottotipi di sintomi d’ansia su cinque, con punteggi sempre più elevati nelle femmine. Abbiamo quindi deciso di condurre, tramite il tool PROCESS per SPSS, analisi di mediazione separate per maschi e femmine. Nei maschi, nessun sottotipo di ansia è risultato mediare la relazione tra teoria della mente e percezione della qualità di vita. Nelle femmine, invece, livelli più elevati di teoria della mente erano associati a percezione di qualità di vita inferiore attraverso la mediazione di alti livelli di ansia generalizzata. Discussione I risultati ottenuti indicano che, solo per le ragazze, la combinazione di capacità mentalistiche più elevate e di livelli più alti di un certo sottotipo di ansia (quella che fa stare costantemente in allerta), porta a sentirsi meno soddisfatte per la propria vita. Va sottolineato che il disegno trasversale adottato nella presente ricerca non consente di trarre conclusioni circa la variazione nel tempo dei singoli costrutti e la loro covariazione. Tuttavia, sembra che la transizione verso l'adolescenza possa rappresentare una finestra di intervento sfruttabile per prevenire lo sviluppo di sintomi internalizzanti e i loro effetti sul benessere dei giovani. L’interrelazione dei costrutti esaminati, così diversa in maschi e femmine, se confermata in ottica longitudinale, impone infatti una riflessione sugli interventi di prevenzione, che andrebbero strutturati in maniera differenziata a seconda del genere dei soggetti target

Elementary School Teachers’ Reflections on Shy Children in the Classroom

This study explored teachers’ perceptions of shy children in the classroom during the elementary school grades. Seven teachers (1 male, 6 female) from elementary schools located in geographically diverse areas of Canada participated in semistructured telephone interviews that explored their perceptions of and experiences with shy children in the classroom. Transcripts were analyzed for emerging themes about teachers’ conceptions of shy children and teacher-shy child interactions. Findings suggest that shyness and social communication may influence elementary schoolteachers’ classroom practices and the teacher-child relationship. Teachers’ roles in shy children’s socio-emotional functioning and academic success are discussed.Cette recherche a étudié les perceptions qu’ont les enseignants au primaire des enfants qui sont gênés. Sept enseignants (1 homme, 6 femmes) d’écoles primaires situées dans des zones géographiquement diverses au Canada ont participé à des entrevues téléphoniques semi-structurées portant sur leurs perceptions des enfants gênés et leurs expériences avec eux en salle de classe. Nous avons analysé les transcriptions pour en dégager des thèmes sur les conceptions qu’ont les enseignants d’enfants gênés et les interactions entre les enseignants et les enfants gênés. Les résultats indiquent que la gêne et la communication sociale pourraient influencer les pratiques des enseignants au primaire et leur rapport avec leurs élèves. Nous discutons des rôles des enseignants dans le fonctionnement socio-émotionnel des enfants et dans la réussite académique

The moderating role of spirituality and gender in Canadian and Iranian emerging adolescents’ theory of mind and prosocial behavior

IntroductionWhile research has found a link between ToM and prosociality in terms of caring and helping others which may also vary across cultures, the moderating role of spirituality and culture of this association in emerging adolescence has received little attention.MethodsThe current study empirically “examined” the role of spirituality and gender in relation to ToM and prosocial behavior in Canadian and Iranian emerging adolescents. A total of 300 (153 girls) emerging adolescents (M = 11.502, SD = 2.228) were recruited from Montreal, Canada and Karaj, Iran. A series of double moderation analysis and ANOVA was conducted.Results and discussionResults indicated the difference between direct and indirect influences of ToM and its interactions with culture, gender, and spirituality on prosocial behavior. This implies an emerging complex framework which suggests the dynamic nonlinear interactions between these factors. Implications for youth’s social-emotional understanding will be discussed