Understanding the import of social environment and guidance on the inventive- skill acquisition of youngsters in a sample of a developing country: any psychological implications?

This study investigated the import of social environment and guidance on the inventive -skill acquisition of the youngsters in a sample of a developing country. The study grouped the sample country into eastern, western and northern regions. Thirty-six participants, twelve from each region (6 men, 6 women) completed the semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data collected was analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The findings presented understanding of the impact of social environment and guidance on the inventive- skill acquisition. Qualitative interviews unveiled the presence of ecosystems that propelled and sustained skill acquisition. Guiding the youngsters to use raw materials like clay soil and palms in the east, cocoa and cotton in the west, hides and skins in the north during hand-work period at junior school levels widens the scope of mental domain and propels inventive- skill acquisition. Through thematic analysis, the study revealed that variegated items in the social environment can ginger or propel inventive- skill acquisition interest in young people when well guided.Keywords: Social environment, inventive- skill- acquisition, guidance, ecosystems, gift of nature, youngster

Adolescents’ perception of the aged, self-concept and locality as predictors of willingness to help the aged in a Nigerian sample

The study investigated adolescents’ perception of the aged, self-concept and locality as predictors of willingness to help the aged. Two hundred and eighty (280) adolescents (140 males and 140 females) randomly sampled from State College Ikot Ekpene and Uyo High School (urban); African Comprehensive Secondary School and Atakpo Community Secondary School (rural) in Akwa Ibom State participated in the study. Age range was 14 to 19 years, with mean age of 16.5 years. Three instruments: Adolescents’ perception of the aged scale, self-concept scale and Willingness to help the aged scale were used for data collection. Linear regression was used for data analysis. The results showed that adolescents’ perception of the aged significantly predicted willingness to help the aged (B=.47, p<.05). The result also showed that self-concept and locality did not significantly predict willingness to help the aged. The implication and limitations were discussed and suggestions were made for further study.Keywords: Bystander-intervention, social –responsibility, self-concept, Gender, Adolescents, willingnes

Working for the future: parentally deprived Nigerian Children have enhanced working memory ability.

BACKGROUND: The dominant view based on the deficit model of developmental psychopathology is that early adverse rearing impairs cognition. In contrast, an emerging evolutionary-developmental model argues that individuals exposed to early-life stress may have improved cognitive abilities that are adapted to harsh environments. We set out to test this hypothesis by examining cognitive functions in parentally deprived children in Nigeria. METHODS: Cognitive performance was compared between 53 deprived children who currently live in institutional homes and foster families and 51 nondeprived control participants. We used a multifaceted neurocognitive test battery for the assessment of inhibition, set-shifting and working memory. RESULTS: Results showed that the deprived and nondeprived group did not significantly differ in their performance on set-shifting and inhibition tasks. Conversely, the deprived group performed significantly better than the nondeprived group in the working memory task. DISCUSSION: We interpret the enhanced working memory ability of the deprived group as a correlate of its ecological relevance. In Nigeria, underprivileged children may need to rely to a larger extent on working memory abilities to attain success through academic work. This study provides further evidence that exposure to early adversity does not necessarily impair cognitive functions but can even enhance it under some conditions and in some domains