Cognitive and Social Sources of Adolescent Well-being: Mediating Role of School Belonging

The aim of the study was to explore direct and indirect pathways from cognitive factors (academic and social self-perception) to adolescent well-being through school belonging. The direct and indirect effects of cognitive factors were investigated on both concurrent and prospective well-being indicators. The first data collection was held in the beginning of the school year, the study sample consisted of 139 freshmen of three high schools in Nitra (53 boys, 86 girls, Mage = 15.63, SD = 1.15). The second data collection was held six months later from 109 respondents (40 boys, 69 girls, Mage = 15.16). Self-report questionnaires were utilized. Results showed that school belonging mediated the association between social and academic competence and students’ concurrent optimism, connectedness and happiness. School belonging also mediated the relationship of social competence to prospective optimism, connectedness and happiness. Findings suggest that a developed sense of connection to school in the transition period may promote overall well-being in adolescents

Sex differences in mate preferences across 45 countries: A large-scale replication

Considerable research has examined human mate preferences across cultures, finding universal sex differences in preferences for attractiveness and resources as well as sources of systematic cultural variation. Two competing perspectives—an evolutionary psychological perspective and a biosocial role perspective—offer alternative explanations for these findings. However, the original data on which each perspective relies are decades old, and the literature is fraught with conflicting methods, analyses, results, and conclusions. Using a new 45-country sample (N = 14,399), we attempted to replicate classic studies and test both the evolutionary and biosocial role perspectives. Support for universal sex differences in preferences remains robust: Men, more than women, prefer attractive, young mates, and women, more than men, prefer older mates with financial prospects. Cross-culturally, both sexes have mates closer to their own ages as gender equality increases. Beyond age of partner, neither pathogen prevalence nor gender equality robustly predicted sex differences or preferences across countries

Aircraft Ground Operations Simulator

This bachelor thesis is focused on designing an application which simulates the aircraft ground operations on Brno-Turany airport. It introduces a physical model of the aircraft ground motion over an airport infrastructure under various weather conditions. Considering Brno-Turany airport model, the application allows for motion trajectory visualization to avoid unwanted collision scenarios. The resulting ground motion trajectory display is a suitable decision support tool for the air traffic and ground controllers

Virtual Blacksmith

This thesis deals with creation of an application for demonstration of smithing for virtual reality platforms. The purpose of the application is to present historical smithing craft with the help of modern technologies from the first person's view. The thesis researches realistic simulation methods used in smithing techniques and an appropriate way of visualising a metal object. The application implements a 3D simulation of heating and deformation of forging materials using user-controlled forging tools in virtual reality. Partial heating of the metal is visualized by procedural material. The user experience is enhanced by added audio and haptic feedback. The final application is created in Unity framework and is developed for Oculus Rift virtual reality set

Sex and age differences in facial emotions expressions measured by artificial intelligence

Our aim was to test existing sex and age stereotypes related to emotional expressivity, gender and age. This was a complex analysis of facial expressions of all basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise) to everyday life stimuli observing a large sample (2,969 unique participants creating 39,694 recordings) using an Emotion Artificial Intelligence. Our data partially support emotion-specific stereotype that women express more affiliate emotions and men express more dominant emotions except for sadness. There were found correlations of emotion expression with age, however intensity and frequency of emotion expression did not follow the same pattern. Not eliminating the differences between men and women in the baseline facial appearance resulted in men expressing dominant emotions (anger and disgust) more intensively, and women expressing more affiliative emotions (happiness, fear, and surprise). To sum up, facial appearance can be one of the origins of the existing gender stereotypic socialisation stereotype

Attachment representation as predictor of internalizing problems in middle childhood

Problem: The current study examines the relationship between the representation of attachment relationship with mother and internalizing problems in the developmental period of middle childhood. The purpose of the study was to analyze whether the quality of attachment predicts the intensity and seriousness of internalizing problems in middle childhood; and to examine whether the models are gender-specific. Methods: Participants in this study were 151 children aged 9-12 (M = 11.21), 77 boys and 74 girls, recruited from elementary schools in Nitra region. Children completed measures assessing the quality of attachment representation of the relationship with mother (selfreport questionnaire Security Scale), the tendency to react anxiously (self-report questionnaire Childen´s Manifest Anxiety Scale – CMAS), social anxiety (self-report questionnaire Scale of Classical Social Situational Anxiety – KSAT) and depression (self-report questionnaire Children´s Depression Inventory – CDI). Results: Regression analysis indicated that secure attachment representation is a significant negative predictor of children's internalizing problems – manifest anxiety (ß = -.324, p 0.05 and ß = -.194, p > 0.05, respectively), but in the sample of girls, secure attachment representation was a significant negative predictor of both depressive symptoms (ß = -.296, p < .05 for Negative Mood; and ß = -.285, p < .05 for Anhedony). Other models, except for social anxiety, were statistically significant for both samples. In the sample of girls, the predictor accounted for 26.3% of variance in Negative Self Esteem (ß = -.512; p < .001), 18.9% of variance of the total of depression symptoms (ß = -.435; p < .001), 10.9% of variance in Ineffectiveness (ß = -.331; p < .05) and 10.5% of variance in manifest anxiety (ß = -.324; p < .05). The results were similar for the sample of boys. Attachment security accounted for 17.4% of variance in Negative Self Esteem (ß = -.435; p < .001), 11.3% of variance of the total of depression symptoms (ß = -.377; p < .05) and 10.5% of variance in manifest anxiety (ß = -.332; p < .05). Representation of attachment relationship with mother accounted for less then 10% of variance when predicitng Negative Mood, Anhedony and Interpersonal Problems in both samples, and in addition Inefectiveness only in boys. Additional statistical analyses revealed that regression coefficients across models did not differ. Results suggest that mother is still a primary attachment figure in middle childhood for both, boys and girls, but the quality of attachment to father can also be an important factor of particular adaptive behavior, especially in boys. Because of lack of knowledge and empirical evidence, the future research in the field of gender-specific models of adjustment in middle childhood is needed. Discussion: When interpreting the results of this investigation, it is important to be aware of several limitations. The methodics used in the study are all based on the subjective self-report. The character of the assessment can lead to the tendency to react according to the social expectations. In future studies, it would be beneficial to gather reports about the internalizing problems from children as well as from significant others, and to use multiple attachment assessment (e.g. the combination of questionnaires and projective techniques. Conclusion: We can conclude that attachment representation to mother is an important factor of adaptive development in middle childhood. Our results are in concordance with attachment theory and empirical evidence of associations between violated confidence of availability of attachment figure resulting in insecure attachment representation and maladjustment

Depression and effect of short-term online Emotion Focused Training for self-compassion and self-protection

Cieľom tohto výskumu bolo otestovať efekt intervencie the Emotion Focused Training for self-compassion and self-protection (EFT-SCP) na úroveň sebakritickosti a sebasúcitu na vzorke participantov s depresívnymi symptómami. EFT-SCP je online štrnásťdňová intervencia vytvorená na základe najnovších výskumov Terapie zameranej na emócie pre psychoterapeutickú prácu so sebakritikom. Dostupná vzorka participantov z internetových fór zameraných na depresiu, bola po prvom meraní náhodne rozdelená do intervenčnej a kontrolnej skupiny. Participantom sme merali mieru sebasúcitu a sebakritickosti tesne pred intervenciou, tesne po intervencii a následne po dvoch mesiacoch. Výsledky ukázali že intervencia je účinná tak na úroveň sebakritickosti ako aj sebasúcitu, no časom jej účinky slabnú. Do budúcna by bolo potrebné výskum zopakovať na väčšej vzorke participantov s depresívnymi symptómami a overiť či efekt intervencie EFT-SCP pretrvá v čase pri dlhšej intervencii.The aim of this research study was to test the effect of Emotion Focused Training for self-compassion and self-protection (EFT-SCP) on the level of self-criticism and self-compassion on a sample of participants with depressive symptoms. EFT-SCP is an online 14-day intervention based on the latest research findings of Emotion-Focused Therapy related to psychotherapeutic work with self-critic. The available sample of participants from the depression-focused internet forums was randomly divided into intervention and control groups after the first measurement. We measured the level of self-compassion and self-criticism of the participants just before the intervention, just after the intervention and after two months. The results showed that intervention is effective in both self-criticism and self-compassion, but over time its effects diminish. In the future, it would be necessary to repeat the research on a larger sample of participants with depressive symptoms and to verify whether the effect of the intervention EFT-SCP will last longer with longer intervention

Qualitative Analysis of Chair Tasks in Emotion-Focused Therapy Video Sessions

One of the key elements of Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) is decreasing self-criticism as a secondary, maladaptive emotion within two-chair interventions while simultaneously increasing self-compassion and self-protection as primary, adaptive emotions. Though the concepts of self-compassion, self-protection, and self-criticism are highly acknowledged within psychotherapy research, the verbal articulation of these constructs within therapy sessions is underinvestigated. Thus, this qualitative study aims to examine how self-criticism, self-protection, and self-compassion are articulated by clients in EFT video sessions. Consensual qualitative research was used for data analysis performed by two core team members and one auditor. Three similar domains were considered for all three concepts: behavioural, emotional, and cognitive aspects. The number of self-protection statements was the highest among the states. The behavioural aspect was the most dominant domain for self-protection with the major subdomain &lsquo;I tell you what I need&rsquo;. For self-compassion, the cognitive aspect was the most significant domain containing eight subdomains, such as &lsquo;I see your bad circumstances&rsquo;. The most frequent domain for self-criticism was the behavioural aspect consisting of the two subdomains &lsquo;I point out your wrong behaviours and I give you instructions&rsquo;. The findings demonstrate the significance of promoting both self-compassion and self-protection to combat self-criticism. More studies of categorising a broader number of cases among various therapy approaches are necessary to develop a more detailed understanding of clients&rsquo; verbalisation of self-compassion, self-protection, and self-criticism within therapy