Cultural Aspects of Attachment Anxiety, Avoidance, and Life Satisfaction: Comparing the US and Turkey

Attachment insecurity can interfere with the experience, expression, and benefits of positive emotions, including happiness and life satisfaction (LS). However, both the pattern and effects of insecure attachment orientations on LS vary across cultures. Considering that attachment anxiety is higher in collectivist cultures and attachment avoidance is relatively high in individualistic cultures, the present chapter elaborates on the idea that anxious and avoidant attachment would have varying effects on LS in individualistic and collectivistic cultural contexts. Study 1 (N = 2456) involved a community sample of married couples in Turkey and demonstrated that attachment avoidance was a stronger predictor of LS than attachment anxiety in Turkish collectivist context. Study 2 tested the hypothesis that the roles of attachment anxiety and avoidance in predicting LS would vary between collectivistic and individualistic cultures. Mothers’ adult attachment dimensions and LS in Turkey (N = 89) and the United States (N = 91) were measured. As expected, results indicated that LS was predicted only by attachment avoidance in Turkey and by attachment anxiety in the United States. These findings are in line with the cultural fit hypothesis, suggesting that culturally incongruent attachment orientations have a stronger negative impact on individuals’ LS

Phenotypic Consequences of Copy Number Variation: Insights from Smith-Magenis and Potocki-Lupski Syndrome Mouse Models

The characterization of mice with different number of copies of the same genomic segment shows that structural changes influence the phenotypic outcome independently of gene dosage

Doing Emotions: The role of culture in everyday emotions

Emotional experience is culturally constructed. In this review, we discuss evidence that cultural differences in emotions are purposeful, helping an individual to meet the mandate of being a good person in their culture. We also discuss research showing that individual’s fit to the cultural emotion norm is associated with well-being, and suggest that this link may be explained by the fact that normative emotions meet the cultural mandate. Finally, we discuss research that sheds light on some of the collective processes of emotion construction: social interactions and emotion representations are geared towards promoting emotions that are conducive to the cultural mandate. In conclusion, we suggest that individuals become part of their culture by “doing emotions” in a way that is consistent with the cultural mandate, and that in intercultural interactions, emotions can be literally “at cross purposes”: each person’s emotions are constructed to fit the purposes of their own culture

Appareil pour l\u27\ue9tude du point de cong\ue9lation de tr\ue8s petites quantit\ue9s de liquides biologiques

Volume: 33Start Page: 128End Page: 13

Elastic and conformable electronic circuits and assemblies using MID in polymer

For user comfort reasons, electronic circuits for implantation in the human body or for use as smart clothes should ideally be soft, stretchable and elastic. In this contribution the initial results of an MID (Moulded Interconnect Device) technology will be presented, showing the feasibility of functional stretchable electronic circuits. In the developed technology rigid or flexible standard components are interconnected by meander shaped electroplated metallic wires and embedded by molding in a stretchable substrate polymer, like silicone rubber or polyurethane. The meander design was supported by mechanical simulations in order to minimize the stress in the metal during deformation. In this way reliable stretchability of the circuits above 100% has been demonstrated. A simple stretchable thermometer circuit with 4 components embedded in Dow Coming Silastic (R) PDMS silicone material has been built and proper operation has been demonstrated

β(1)-adrenergic antagonists improve sleep and behavioural disturbances in a circadian disorder, Smith-Magenis syndrome

Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS) is a clinically recognisable contiguous gene syndrome ascribed to interstitial deletions of chromosome 17p11.2. Patients have a phase shift of their circadian rhythm of melatonin with a paradoxical diurnal secretion of the hormone. Serum melatonin levels and day-night behaviour were studied in nine SMS children (aged 4 to 17 years) given acebutolol, a selective β(1)-adrenergic antagonist (10 mg/kg early in the morning). Cardiac examination, serum melatonin, motor activity recordings, and sleep diaries were monitored before and after drug administration. The present study shows that a single morning dose of acebutolol suppressed the inappropriate secretion of melatonin in SMS. A significant improvement of inappropriate behaviour with increased concentration, delayed sleep onset, increased hours of sleep, and delayed waking were also noted. These results suggest that β(1)-adrenergic antagonists help to manage hyperactivity, enhance cognitive performance, and reduce sleep disorders in SMS.


Keywords: Smith-Magenis syndrome; circadian rhythms; melatoni