Recent studies have focused on investigating different factors that may affect heart rate variability (HRV),pointing especially to the effects of age, gender and stress level. Other findings raise the importance of consid- ering the respiratory frequency in the analysis of HRV signals. In this study, we evaluate the effect of several covariates on the parameters of a stochastic model for HRV. The data was recorded from 47 test participants, whose breathing was controlled by following a metronome with increasing frequency. This setup allows for a controlled acquisition of respiratory related HRV data covering the frequency range in which adults breathe in different everyday situations. A stochastic model, known as Locally Stationary Chirp Process, accounts for the respiratory signal information and models the HRV data. The model parameters are estimated with a novel inference method based on the separability features possessed by the process covariance function. Least square regression analysis using several available covariates is used to investigate the correlation with the stochastic model parameters. The results show statistically significant correlation of the model parameterswith age, BMI, State and Trait Anxiety as well as stress level.

In this paper, we propose a novel framework for the analysis of task-related heart rate variability (HRV). Respiration and HRV are measured from 92 test participants while performing a chirp-breathing task consisting of breathing at a slowly increasing frequency under metronome guidance. A non-stationary stochastic model, belonging to the class of Locally Stationary Chirp Processes, is used to model the task-related HRV data, and its parameters are estimated with a novel inference method. The corresponding optimal mean-square error (MSE) time-frequency spectrum is derived and evaluated both with the individually estimated model parameters and the common process parameters. The results from the optimal spectrum are compared to the standard spectrogram with different window lengths and the Wigner-Ville spectrum, showing that the MSE optimal spectral estimator may be preferable to the other spectral estimates because of its optimal bias and variance properties. The estimated model parameters are considered as response variables in a regression analysis involving several physiological factors describing the test participants’ state of health, finding a correlation with gender, age, stress, and fitness. The proposed novel approach consisting of measuring HRV during a chirp-breathing task, a corresponding time-varying stochastic model, inference method, and optimal spectral estimator gives a complete framework for the study of task-related HRV in relation to factors describing both mental and physical health and may highlight otherwise overlooked correlations. This approach may be applied in general for the analysis of non-stationary data and especially in the case of task-related HRV, and it may be useful to search for physiological factors that determine individual differences.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of cybervictimization in the six Nordic countries and to assess its overlap with traditional bullying. A further aim was to examine potential associations between life satisfaction, on the one hand, and traditional bullying and cyberbullying on the other.

METHODS: Analyses were based on data from the 2013⁄2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. It included 32,210 boys and girls, aged 11, 13, and 15, living in the six Nordic countries.

RESULTS: The prevalence of cyberbullying by both pictures and by messages was around 2% in all the Nordic countries except Greenland. There it was considerably higher. The prevalence of being bullied in a traditional manner varied widely by country. For boys, this type of bullying was most frequent in the youngest age group and then decreased steadily in the older age groups. Girls were on average more likely to be cyberbullied. Cyberbullying was more common among 13- and 15-year-olds than 11-year-olds. Higher family affluence was unrelated to the risk of cyberbullying. However, it was related to traditional bullying and combined forms of bullying. Compared with intact families, cybervictimization was commoner among single-parent families and stepfamilies. Adjusting for age, gender, family affluence, and family structure, those subjected to cyberbullying had lower life satisfaction than those who were not bullied.

CONCLUSIONS: We found relatively little overlap between cyberbullying and traditional bullying, indicating that the two may be separate phenomena stemming from different mechanisms, at least in the Nordic context.

Background: Students with disability show an increasing incidence of school failure. Quality teaching and appropriate support may foster high self-efficacy, a predictive factor for successful school outcomes. Physical Education (PE) can provide students with a context in which self-efficacy and participation are promoted leading to improved academic achievement. The transition into secondary school can be challenging for many students with increased educational demands, developmental changes and individual social identification coinciding. A disability may add to the challenge of success.Methods: Three groups of students, aged 13 years and enrolled in Swedish mainstream schools were targeted (n=439). Groups included students with 1.A diagnosed disability, 2.Low grades in PE (D-F) and 3.High grades (A-C) in PE. Questionnaires were collected and analyzed from 30/439 students with a diagnosed disability (physical, neuro-developmental and intellectual) from 26 classes, their classmates and their PE-teachers (n=25). Relationships between student self-reports and PE-teachers' self-ratings were investigated. Also examined was the potential to which students' functional skills could predict elevated general school self-efficacy, PE specific self-efficacy and aptitude to participate in PE. Results were compared with the total sample and between the three target groups (n=121).Results: For students with disabilities, better self-rated teaching skills were related to lower student perceived general school self-efficacy, PE specific self-efficacy and aptitude to participate in PE. The impact of classroom climate in PE was more obvious among students with disabilities. Perceived functional skills were associated with elevated general school self-efficacy, PE specific self-efficacy and aptitude to participate in PE. Better socio-cognitive functional skills had an overall positive effect on all outcomes. Students with disabilities reported results similar to the total sample, the D-F group scored lower and the A-C group higher than the total sample and the disability group. Elevated self-efficacy in PE is six times less probable in students with disabilities, compared to the A-C group.Conclusions: Our findings that better teacher planning and grading skills, are detrimental to students disadvantaged by disability is contradictive. Improving the establishment and communication of adapted learning standards at the transition to secondary school is a crucial and a predictive factor for promoting positive school experiences for students with disability. Students with disabilities need to be assured that the intended learning outcomes can be reached by doing activities differently than their typically functioning peers. Consideration of class composition is suggested as a means of promoting a positive learning climate, which would particularly benefit students with disabilities. Allocation of resources to support student socio-cognitive skills would improve experiences for the D-F group and likely promote a positive learning environment.

In three experiments, participants rated how well a number of adjectives described their in-group (e.g. kind-hearted, helpful, intelligent, efficient, etc.). In Experiment 1, females were found to rate their ingroup (females) more favorably when reporting verbally to female (rather than male) experimenters. This finding was further explored in two subsequent experiments where response format (written vs. verbal) was also manipulated. Both experiments revealed an interaction such that ethnic Swedes rated their in-group (Swedes) the most favorably when reporting verbally to an in-group experimenter and the least favorably when reporting verbally to a Middle Eastern experimenter. Results are discussed in relation to correction and contextual activation of social norms.

Background: Extreme dieting is a well-known phenomenon in combat sports, and still, little research has explored the link between extreme dieting and confidence levels among martial artists.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, extreme dieting and sport-specific self-confidence among 111 Swedish athletes practicing mixed martial arts (MMA) or Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) were examined. Athletes completed an online survey containing the Eating Disorder Examination questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the Trait Sport-Confidence inventory (TSCI).

Results: The results showed that MMA athletes dieted in more extreme ways than BJJ athletes, primarily via restricted eating. They also had higher sport-specific self-confidence, which was positively correlated with weight loss. BJJ athletes used less restrictive eating than MMA athletes, but those who did diet in extreme ways experienced lower self-confidence compared to MMA athletes.

Conclusions: The results are consistent with previous studies showing rapid weight loss in MMA athletes and suggest that some martial artists are at a particular risk of extreme dieting and possible sequelae. There is a link between self-confidence and weight loss, but it seems to allude to a comprehensive explanation and is in need of further research.

The aim of the study was to investigate the relation between the phenomenological quality of memory (Tulving, 1985) and the realism (validity) in confidence judgement when using emotional pictures (I.A.P.S; Lang, Ohman, & Vaitl, 1988). A series of three experiments was completed where the participants judged the phenomenological quality of their memory and/or their confidence. The results showed facilitation for the negative pictures in a matrix search task in the encoding phase, where negative pictures were more easily and quickly detected, compared to positive ones. In the memory phase of the experiments a higher degree of recollective experience (a larger proportion of 'remember' responses) was found for negative pictures. A higher level of confidence for recognition of negative pictures than for positive ones was obtained, but no general valence dependent effect on the realism in the confidence judgement was found. However, when analysing only the remember responses, negative pictures showed higher overconfidence than the positive pictures. The results support that a recollective experience induces higher confidence and overconfidence. 

The aim of this study was to examine how a daytime nap affected the consolidation of fear learning. Participants first underwent fear conditioning during which they were exposed to a large and a small circle. One of these was repeatedly paired with an electric shock (making it the CS+), whereas the other circle was never paired with the shock (the CS-). After a delay interval containing either a nap or wake, participants again viewed the CS+ and the CS- intermixed with eight novel circles that varied in size between the two stimuli seen before, as well as a blue triangle that served as a novel stimulus without prior fear relevance. We examined both fear retention (the difference between the CS+ and the CS-) as well as fear generalization (responses to the novel stimuli based on their similarity to the original CS+). Contrary to previous studies, results from the participants who acquired a differentiated fear response during the acquisition phase revealed that the wake group showed significantly larger skin conductance responses to the CS+ compared to the CS-, whereas no such difference was present in the sleep group. These results were not driven by differences in explicit memory or by differences in general reactivity. Analyzing responses to the novel stimuli revealed a tendency towards a more generalized response in the sleep group, with no differences between the CS+ and any other stimulus, whereas the wake group showed increased responses to the stimuli depending on their similarity to the original CS+. This effect was however only present when controlling for baseline differences in worry.

Sleep has been found to have a beneficial effect on memory consolidation. It has furthermore frequently been suggested that sleep does not strengthen all memories equally. The first aim of this review paper was to examine whether sleep selectively strengthens emotional declarative memories more than neutral ones. We examined this first by reviewing the literature focusing on sleep/wake contrasts, and then the literature on whether any specific factors during sleep preferentially benefit emotional memories, with a special focus on the often-suggested claim that rapid eye movement sleep primarily consolidates emotional memories. A second aim was to examine if sleep preferentially benefits memories based on other cues of future relevance such as reward, test-expectancy or different instructions during encoding. Once again, we first focused on studies comparing sleep and wake groups, and then on studies examining the contributions of specific factors during sleep (for each future relevance paradigm, respectively). The review revealed that although some support exists that sleep is more beneficial for certain kinds of memories based on emotion or other cues of future relevance, the majority of studies does not support such an effect. Regarding specific factors during sleep, our review revealed that no sleep variable has reliably been found to be specifically associated with the consolidation of certain kinds of memories over others based on emotion or other cues of future relevance.

The left inferior frontal gyrus and the bilateral ventral striatum are thought to be involved in motivation-mediated decision-making. Antipsychotics may influence this relationship, and atypical antipsychotics improve secondary negative symptoms in schizophrenia, such as loss of motivation, although the acute effects of pharmacological medication on motivation are not fully understood. In this single-blinded, randomized controlled trial, 49 healthy volunteers were randomized into three groups to receive a single dose of haloperidol, aripiprazole or placebo. Between 4.0 and 5.6 hours later, participant's brain blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) activity was recorded using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while completing a perceptual decision-making fMRI task consisting of one neutral and one motivated condition. Response bias, reflecting the participant's willingness to say that the target stimulus is present, was calculated using signal detection theory. Concurrent with widespread changes in BOLD signal in the motivated vs. neutral condition, a less conservative, mathematically optimal response bias was observed in the motivated condition across the whole sample. Within-group differences in BOLD signal in the left inferior frontal gyrus and bilateral ventral striatum were observed between conditions in the aripiprazole and haloperidol groups, but not in the placebo group. No robust between-group differences in brain activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus or the bilateral ventral striatum were found. Overall, we found no robust evidence for an effect of either aripiprazole or haloperidol on motivationally mediated behavior. An interesting pattern of correlations possibly related to pharmacologically induced alterations in the dopamine system was observed, although findings remain inconclusive and must be replicated in larger samples.

Previous research shows that men overall, in contrast to women, do not show a typical implicit in-group preference. One proposed explanation is greater interest in sex among males. If so, then gay males should show an implicit preference for males whereas straight males should prefer females. We tested this hypothesis using a modified version of the Brief Implicit Association Test on 38 gay and 65 straight males. The hypothesis was supported. As the majority of participants in previous studies on implicit gender attitudes are expected to be straight, this could contribute to the low implicit in-group bias among males.

What, then, do we need to know about our students to better provide for more equitable outcomes? Who will succeed depend on many factors, and student personality traits is one factor less discussed in the engagement and First year experience literature. The aim of this study is to add to the teaching in higher education discussion by exploring how student differ regarding personality traits profile (IPIP-NEO-PI test; Goldberg, 1999), approaches to learning (R-SPQ-2F test; Biggs, Kember & Leung, 2001), and preference for teaching and learning activites and assessment modes. The on-line survey study was carried out in a small, teaching intensive Swedish university on students in a Business (n=144) and Pre-school teacher education program (n=179). Findings were that there seem to be systematic differences between the types of modes preferred, and also significant differences between the two majors regarding learning approach, motive and strategy. Findings are discussed in relation to Jarvis’ (2010) model of learning and disjuncture, Biesta’s (2005) discussion on educational relationships and risk, and Trowler’s (2008) concept of teaching and learning regimes (TLRs). There are two clear risks that teachers and curriculum developers face. First, teachers who are new or come from a different TLR may face the risk of alienating students and exposing them to extreme anxiety if using TLAs and assessment modes students are uncomfortable with and unused to. Second, teachers and curriculum developers run the risk of not challenging students enough, thus depriving them of valuable learning experiences.

This study confronted the classical idea that generalized prejudice is rooted in a cognitive tendency to sort reality into rigid and simple categories with the more recent idea that prejudice is shaped by moral intuitions. In a diverse Swedish sample (N = 430), moral absolutism was more strongly associated with generalized prejudice against derogated and dissident (but not dangerous) groups than were other aspects of intolerance of ambiguity. But there was little direct association between any aspect of intolerance of ambiguity and generalized prejudice once indirect relations through binding moral intuitions (which elevated prejudice) and individualizing moral intuitions (which decreased prejudice) had been taken into account. These findings suggest that intolerance of ambiguity is associated with generalized prejudice mainly insofar as it leads to a distinctly moral dichotomization of persons into categories such as insiders and outsiders, law-abiding citizens and deviants, and the righteous and the impure.

Bullying is defined as repeated and unwanted aggressive behavior involving a power imbalance and hurt children and adolescents’ socioemotional functioning. The aim is to investigate associations between pain (headache, stomach pain, backache, and neck/shoulder pain) and bullying among school-aged children and adolescents. This cross-sectional schoolbased survey comes from the Icelandic data set in the international research network Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children. The study population included all Icelandic students in Grades 6, 8, and 10 (ages 11, 13, and 15years, respectively; participation rate, 84%; n¼10,626). An anonymous standardized questionnaire was distributed and completed by students in their classrooms. About every 8 in 10 bullied students reported weekly pain (79%), compared with little over half of nonbullied students (57%). The prevalence of pain was significantly higher among bullied students compared with their nonbullied peers. Being a bullying victim was associated with an increased frequency of experiencing headaches, stomachaches, and back pain, in addition to neck or shoulder pain. It is important for mental health nurses and health professionals to ask about pain when meeting with children and adolescents as well as to inquire about their peer relationships.

AIM: The aim of this study was to examine whether the self-reported use of analgesics is associated with being a victim of bullying.

METHODS: This cross-sectional, school-based survey included all students in grades 6 (11 years old), 8 (13 years old) and 10 (15 years old) in Iceland (response rate: 84%; n = 11 018). The students filled out an anonymous standardised questionnaire: the Icelandic Contribution to the International Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study.

RESULTS: Being bullied was associated with increased use of analgesics even after controlling for self-reported pain.

CONCLUSION: Bullying occurs in all schools, and its effects on health are pervasive. Interventions aimed at reducing bullying and promoting health in schools are important and may reduce the use of analgesics in adolescents.

Vi vet idag inte tillräckligt om sömnvanor, medievanor och dess relation till andra livsstilsfaktorer såsom fysisk aktivitet och övervikt hos barn och ungdomar. Med förändringarna i samhället förändras också våra barns och ungdomars sömn- och livstilsvanor. Detta är frågor som många ställer till elevhälsan. I detta kapitel kommer resultat från studier om sömn, medievanor och livsstil att beskrivas. Vi kommer även att sätta ljuset på frågor som är angelägna att studera vidare.

Every day we take in large amounts of information from the external world, and we also synthesize representations of things or situations that we have not perceived through our senses. The ability to distinguish between a memory that contains representations from external world and a memory representing an imagined picture is necessary to make sense of the surroundings. This process is called reality monitoring. In the present study we aimed to confirm the existence of the reality monitoring network as reported by previous studies. Further, we wanted to extend these findings by investigating the effect of stimuli aversiveness on the reality monitoring processes and its neural correlates. 

Twenty-five subjects were included in the study after passing a somatic and psychiatric health screening. The subjects first completed an encoding task of 80 trials outside the scanner. Small descriptions of either an object or a situation (two or three word sentences) were presented on a computer screen. Immediately after the description was shown, a frame that was either empty or containing a picture related to the description was shown for three seconds. The subjects were instructed to look at the picture in the frame or imagine a relevant picture when the frame was empty. The subjects were then instructed to consider whether the pictures were “Unpleasant” or “Not unpleasant” by choosing between the two alternatives on the computer screen. A retrieval task was carried out as Blood-Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) fMRI data was collected. During this task the participants were presented with small descriptions that were either presented during the encoding task or they were new. The subjects were to decide whether they previously had viewed a picture associated with the description (a V trial), whether they had imagined a picture associated with the description (an I trial) or whether the description was entirely new (an N trial). The subjects completed a total of 140 randomly presented trials during two runs (20 trials of each category and 20 baseline trials). T2*-weighted functional MRI images were collected on a 3T General Electrics Signa HDx scanner. Data were analysed using SPM8.

Overall, most of the trials were considered neutral, and this was true within both the I and the V conditions. Fewer I trials than V trials were considered aversive. The response times were longer in I compared to the V for the aversive trials, and there was a trend for the same effect for the neutral trials. There were no significant differences in response time between neutral and aversive trial. The analysis of the retrieval task behavioural data revealed a higher accuracy rate for aversive trials in the I than the V, while there was no effect for neutral trials. An ANOVA for the corresponding response times showed a main effect of source of encoding where responses were shorter in V than I trials. In paired tests this difference was significant for neutral trials. Paired tests of emotional content within source showed a difference between aversive and neutral trials for I. Successful retrieval and discrimination between sources of encoding generated activations in the left posterior precuneus. Activations of the anterior cingulate were also present. An effect of stimuli aversiveness on brain activation was present in mediolateral prefrontal cortex and the precuneus, indicating a stronger effort of these regions during retrieval of source memory linked to aversive stimuli.

In summary, activation patterns in reality monitoring networks were replicated from earlier studies. Further, the results suggest that activations in overlapping networks are increased for aversive stimuli compared to neutral stimuli.

Previous research has shown that parents' attachment style and personality interact and influence each other. But what do the relationships between attachment style, self-esteem, well-being and personality look like? In this essay, five hypotheses were tested to see how these correlates with each other. This was done by a survey that measured the five basic dimensions (agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism, openness and conscientiousness), subjective well-being, self-esteem and attachment style based on five aspects; two insecure of distancing nature and two of an anxious / closeness-seeking nature, the secure attachment style is characterized by a secure relationship with oneself and others. The survey was based on Big Five Inventory (BFI), Questionnaire on well-being, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ). The reliability of the survey was good. A total of 853 participants responded to the survey between the ages of 20-74 (M = 43.3, SD = 10.15), where 67.3% were women. Correlation analyzes and multiple regression analyzes were performed. The hypotheses were confirmed, attachment style can be predicted by personality traits, well-being and self-esteem. The results showed that the secure attachment is predicted by and has a positive correlation with agreeableness, extraversion, self-esteem and well-being as well as a negative correlation to neuroticism, which the other attachment styles did not have.

Tests like the Implicit Association Test (IAT), the Sorting Paired Features task (SPF) and the Brief IAT (BIAT), all to some degree contrast positively and negatively valenced categories against each other, in the task itself and/or in the scoring procedure. This makes it difficult to truly disentangle positive and negative associations, something that is important when measuring attitudes. A different approach was explored in a series of studies using a method similar to SPF and BIAT, but using a neutral category as a contrast against positive and negative associations. The method was tested using gender SPFs and gender BIATs, as well as various ethnicity SPFs. The results show support for the validity of the positive-neutral tests, but the results for the negative-neutral tests are less clear, and questions remain concerning reliability when using the latter test. Results on positive-netrual tests, on the other hand, showed some support for its validity, for instance was scores on a gender BIAT related to the level of appreciation of sexist jokes. Further studies using large samples are needed to determine the psychometric of this method.

A measure of individual differences in the motivation to control in-group bias ( favouritism) was created. As in Plant and Devine’s (1998) measure of out-group bias, one subscale referred to an internal motivational source and the other to an external motivational source. The psychometric properties of the measure were tested across four samples. The results indicate that the measure reliably captures individual differences in the motivation to control in-group bias, and that a distinction between internal and external motivational sources of control can be made. However, the convergent and discriminant validity of both subscalesneeds to be examined further before the measure can be considered launchable. Implications for research on intergroup bias are discussed.

Correction of judgments of people of different ethnicities and sexes was explored by exposing participants to cues to the risk of making biased judgments (from explicit warnings to subtle hints). In three experiments, a three-way interaction was revealed, where the effect of a cue to bias varied as a function of both the ethnicity and sex of the target person. Some targets (White males) were generally rated less favorably when judges were reminded of bias, whereas other targets (Black males, Middle Eastern males and White females) were generally rated more favorably, indicating bidirectional correction. Finally, a normative account of the results was explored. In a pattern consistent with the experimental results, it was considered more important to avoid overrating White men than all other groups, and more important to avoid underrating all other groups than White men. The results are discussed in relation to theories of correction and intergroup bias.

Correction of judgments of people of different ethnicities and sexes was exploredby exposing participants to cues to the risk of making biased judgments (from explicitwarnings to subtle hints). In three experiments, a three-way interaction was revealed, wherethe effect of a cue to bias varied as a function of both the ethnicity and sex of the targetperson. Some targets (White males) were generally rated less favorably when judges werereminded of bias, whereas other targets (Black males, Middle Eastern males and Whitefemales) were generally rated more favorably, indicating bidirectional correction. Finally, anormative account of the results was explored. In a pattern consistent with the experimentalresults, it was considered more important to avoid overrating White men than all othergroups, and more important to avoid underrating all other groups than White men. Theresults are discussed in relation to theories of correction and intergroup bias.

Meningsfullt liv är idag ett etablerat forskningsämne inom psykologin. Nyligen har det uppstått viss konsensus om att begreppet meningsfullt liv är multidimensionellt och främst består av dimensionerna förståelse (en slags känsla av sammanhang), syfte (innehav av viktiga livsmål) och betydelse (upplevelsen att ens existens är av värde). Den aktuella studien hade som syfte att undersöka vilka samband som finns mellan dessa dimensioner och variablerna tacksamhet, självbildsklarhet, optimism, ensamhet och livstillfredsställelse. Tidigare forskning har funnit signifikanta samband, men då har främst endimensionella meningstest använts. En hypotes i den aktuella studien var att det skulle uppstå signifikanta samband även med användande av ett multidimensionellt mätinstrument bestående av nyss nämnda tre dimensioner. En annan hypotes var att studien vid multipla regressionsanalyser skulle upptäcka minst något fall där en meningsdimension är särskilt framträdande när det gäller att predicera ett visst utfall. Hypoteserna testades genom en enkätundersökning som främst hade universitetsstudenter som deltagare. Sammanlagt deltog 191 personer i studien. Den första hypotesen fick entydigt stöd. Angående den andra hypotesen uppstod fall där inte alla tre meningsdimensioner samtidigt unikt kunde predicera ett visst utfall. När utfallet var ensamhet visade det sig att alla tre meningsdimensioner kunde predicera detta utfall ungefär likvärdigt. Men när utfallet var exempelvis självbildsklarhet visade det sig att det främst var förståelse som kunde predicera detta utfall och i viss mån betydelse, men däremot inte syfte. Uppsatsens slutsats är därmed att det verkar finnas åtminstone vissa fall då det kan vara relevant att göra åtskillnad mellan olika meningsdimensioner och inte mäta begreppet meningsfullt liv enbart endimensionellt.

Empirical evidence suggests that the visual system uses prior visual information to predict the future state of the world. This is believed to occur through an information integration mechanism known as serial dependence. Current perceptions are influenced by prior visual information in order to create perceptual continuity in an everchanging noisy environment. Serial dependence has been found to occur for both low-level stimuli features (e.g., numerosity, orientation) and high-level stimuli like faces. Recent evidence indicates that serial dependence for low-level stimuli is affected by current stimulus reliability. When current stimuli are low in reliability, the perceptual influence from previously viewed stimuli is stronger. However, it is not clear whether stimulus reliability also affects serial dependence for high-level stimuli like faces. Faces are highly complex stimuli which are processed differently from other objects. Additionally, face perception is suggested to be especially vulnerable to external visual noise. Here, I used regular and visually degraded face stimuli to investigate whether serial dependence for faces is affected by stimulus reliability. The results showed that previously viewed degraded faces did not have a very strong influence on perceptions of currently viewed regular faces. In contrast, when currently viewed faces were degraded, the perceptual influence from previously viewed regular faces was rather strong. Surprisingly, there was a quite strong perceptual influence from previously viewed faces on currently viewed faces when both faces were degraded. This could mean that the effect of stimulus reliability in serial dependence for faces is not due to encoding disabilities, but rather a perceptual choice.

Even though participation in everyday events is a vital part in the fulfilment of human rights, adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders often face participation restrictions in every-day activities. Few studies have investigated the predictors for participation in different contexts, over time and in relation to the same outcome variables. The objective of the current study was therefore to investigate predictors of change in participation operationalized as frequency of attendance and perceived importance in domestic life activities, peer related activities, and school activities as experienced by adolescents with and without self-reported neurodevelopmental disorders. Method: Associations with participation, both in terms of frequency and perceived importance, in domestic life, peer relations, and the school setting were investigated using six independent variables measuring experience of time and self, sex, age, stress, support from siblings, and atmosphere in family at two-time (with approximately 2 years in between). The sample consisted of adolescents with and without self-reported neurodevelopmental disorders (n= 916). Adolescents with self-reported neurodevelopmental disorders were n=154 and adolescents without self-reported neurodevelopmental disorders was n= 762. Data was collected via self-reported questionnaires administered in schools. Results: Three key findings are presented. 1) more factors were associated with participation outcomes at time1 for adolescents without NDD than for adolescents with NDD, but this difference in the number of factors decreases with time; 2) few associations were related to time for both adolescents with and without NDD; and 3) patterns of predicting variables were different for adolescents with and without NDD. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the factors related to participation in and outside school differs between groups, when the impairment or disability is not considered as a predictor for participation. This study supports the need for using a multidimensional developmental and contextual perspective in addressing enhanced participation for adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Previous studies have investigated the effects of a humanitarian rapport-orientated and a dominant non-rapport-orientated interview style on the memory performance of adults in two interviews separated by a 6-month interval. Also, the impact of interviewees’ personality on recall was investigated. In the present exploratory study, the data that formed the basis of previous findings were re-analysed for potential indirect effects of interview approach on interviewees’ recall, and for any potential relation between the interview approach and interviewees’ recall as moderated by their personality. Results showed three full mediation effects in the second interview: the rapport index (interviewers’ demeanour) mediated the relation between the interview approach and increased recall; the non-rapport index mediated the relations between the interview approach and decreased recall. Follow-up analyses showed a full mediation effect for the individual items friendliness and cooperation in the rapport index, and for negative attitude, nonchalance, impatience and brusqueness and obstinacy in the non-rapport index. Moreover, the results showed a significant moderation effect; the relationship between the interview approach and confabulated memories being moderated by openness to experience; and a high level of openness was associated with an increase in confabulated memories.

This paper investigates the use and validity of the International Classification of Functioning disability and health (ICF) as a common language for describing inclusive educational settings. There is a specific focus on investigating participation through the ICF as one aspect of inclusion as an improved understanding of participation as a measure of inclusion will greatly benefit children with additional support needs. In addition there will be a better understanding of the operationalization of participation, in terms of both policy and practice, and improved applications of the ICF. The study uses a narrative summary to review to analyse the findings from a selection of studies where the ICF has been used as a methodological tool in the field of education. In the 16 included studies the ICF is either used to present a new theoretical position, synthesize a new research approach or tool, or is integrated into the framework of an existing research method. Findings also show that the ICF is used in a number of different ways and that when it is used directly, variation is found in the type of information that was linked to ICF codes or categories. In conclusion further clarity on defining and measuring participation with the ICF framework is required in order to create a more consistent tool for investigating inclusive education. One way to improve the construct of participation is to take a bi-dimensional approach. It is the authors’ belief that this newer approach to modelling participation will be considered in any future revisions of the ICF/ICF-CY – a so-called ‘ICF-2’. This would thus create a more accountable classification framework that succeeds in capturing the involvement experience of the individual and in doing so achieves a more effective and useful classification framework for the field of inclusive education.

Background: While sport is often considered a vehicle for peace, the evidence for this notion is weak. There is also a vast differencein the way in which sports have been studied.

Problem and aim: In light of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the current study investigated reconciliatory attitudes among Ukrainian athletes when facing Russian and non-Russian opponents. The aim was to explore whether sport and competition can unite combat sports athletes despite them coming from countries in conflict.

Method: One hundred and fifty-six Ukrainian athletes in several different types of combat sports were recruited and divided into two groups according to whether or not they faced a Russian opponent. The groups then answered questions in regard to reconciliatory attitudes, sociopolitical hostility and aggression. Their answers were analyzed in an ANOVA and with subsequent moderation analysis with the PROCESS macro v3.1.

Results and conclusions: We found that, in general, competition influenced reconciliatory attitudes in a positive way. Moreover, the effect was predicted by physical aggression, verbal aggression and anger. Additionally, hostility moderated the relationship between pre- and post-reconciliatory attitudes. However, neither nationality nor sociopolitical perception of Russia influenced reconciliatory attitudes. These findings might have implications for future research on combat sports, such as identifying individuals suitable to reconcile and the fostering of positive attitudes (peace) despite political conflict.

BACKGROUND: This article describes trends and stability over time in health complaints in adolescents from 2002 to 2010 and investigates associations between health complaints, behavioural and social contextual factors at individual level and economic factors at macro-level.

METHODS: Comprising N = 510 876 11-, 13- and 15-year-old children and adolescents in Europe, North America and Israel, data came from three survey cycles of the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. Age- and gender-adjusted trends in health complaints were examined in each country by means of linear regression. By using the country as the random effects variable, we tested to what extent individual and contextual variables were associated with health complaints.

RESULTS: Significant associations are stronger for individual level determinants (e.g. being bullied, smoking) than for determinants at macro-level (e.g. GDP, Gini), as can be seen by the small effect sizes (less than 5% for different trends). Health complaints are fairly stable over time in most countries, and no clear international trend in health complaints can be observed between 2002 and 2010. The most prominent stable determinants were being female, being bullied, school pressure and smoking.

CONCLUSION: Factors associated with health complaints are more related to the proximal environment than to distal macro-level factors. This points towards intensifying targeted interventions, (e.g. for bullying) and also targeting specific risk groups. The comparably small effect size at country-level indicates that country-level factors have an impact on health and should not be ignored.

What explains affective polarization among voters and societal groups? Much of the existing literature focusing on mass political polarization in modern democracies originates in the US, where studies have shown that, while ideological separation has grown, political conflict increasingly reflects social identity divisions rather than policy disagreements, resulting in affective polarization. We focus on explaining such polarization in a multi-party context. Drawing on social identity theory and intergroup threat theory, we hypothesize that individuals who perceive an intergroup threat show stronger intergroup differentiation and increased affective polarization. We analyze the influence of perceived threat on affective polarization drawing on two large-scale representative surveys in Sweden (N = 1429 and 1343). We show that individual-level affective polarization is related to perceived intergroup threats among the voters in both studies, measuring affective polarization using social distance, negative trait attribution, and party like-dislike ratings.

PURPOSE: Doctoral student well-being is an important matter that shapes the well-being of academics throughout their careers. Given that well-being has been found to be closely related to employee productivity and efficiency, strategies associated with maintaining well-being during PhD studies might be crucial for higher education, its outcomes and-just as importantly-for a balanced life of PhD students.  Method: Based on 17 studies, this literature review critically assesses the literature on doctoral student well-being.  Results: Theoretical models, concepts of well-being, and methods applied are discussed, as are the results of the articles. The reviewed studies are then discussed based on a SWOT analysis addressing the strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed research as well as the identified opportunities and threats, which can be used as a basis for future research. Based on the review findings and the SWOT analysis, a multidimensional view of the well-being of doctoral students is proposed.  Conclusions: The study proposes a more student-centred approach to meeting doctoral students' needs, and the enhancement of doctoral student well-being in order, as a long-term goal, to improve academics' well-being and productivity.Doctoral student well-being is an important matter that shapes the well-being of academics throughout their careers. Given that well-being has been found to be closely related to employee productivity and efficiency, strategies associated with maintaining well-being during PhD studies might be crucial for higher education, its outcomes and-just as importantly-for a balanced life of PhD students. Based on 17 studies, this literature review critically assesses the literature on doctoral student well-being. Theoretical models, concepts of well-being, and methods applied are discussed, as are the results of the articles. The reviewed studies are then discussed based on a SWOT analysis addressing the strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed research as well as the identified opportunities and threats, which can be used as a basis for future research. Based on the review findings and the SWOT analysis, a multidimensional view of the well-being of doctoral students is proposed. The study proposes a more student-centred approach to meeting doctoral students' needs, and the enhancement of doctoral student well-being in order, as a long-term goal, to improve academics' well-being and productivity.

Purpose – During the lengthy process of PhD studies, supervisory changes commonly occur for several different reasons, but their most frequent trigger is a poor supervisory relationship. Even though a change in supervisors is a formal bureaucratic process and not least the students’ rights, in practice it can be experienced as challenging. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore how doctoral students experience a change in supervisory arrangements.

Design/methodology/approach – This study highlights the voices of 19 doctoral students who experienced at least one supervisory change during their doctoral studies.

Findings – The findings were structured chronologically, revealing the students’ experiences prior, during and after the changes. In total, 12 main themes were identified. Most of the interviewed students experienced the long decision-making processes as stressful, difficult and exhausting, sometimes causing a lack of mental well-being. However, once the change was complete, they felt renewed, energized and capable of continuing with their studies. It was common to go through more than one change in supervisory arrangements. Further, the students described both the advantages of making a change yet also the long-lasting consequences of this change that could affect them long after they had completed their PhD programs.

Originality/value – The study fulfills an identified need to investigate the understudied perspective of doctoral students in the context of change in supervisory arrangements. A change in the academic culture is needed to make any changes in supervisory arrangements more acceptable thus making PhD studies more sustainable.

We present the generalized signal detection theory (GSDT), where familiarity is described by a sparse binomial distribution of binary node activity rather than by normal distribution of familiarity. Items are presented in a distributed representation, where each node receives either noise only, or signal and noise. An old response (i.e., a "yes" response) is made if at least one node receives signal plus noise that is larger than the activation threshold, and item variability is determined by the distribution of activated nodes as the threshold is varied. A distinct representation leads to better performance and a lower ratio of new to old item variability, than a more distributed and less distinct representations. Here we apply the GSDT to empirical data on verbal and olfactory memory and suggest that verbal memory relies on a distinct neural item representation, whereas olfactory memory has a fuzzy neural representation leading to poorer memory and inducing a larger ratio of new to old item variability.