Computer games are now becoming ways to communicate, teach, and influence attitudes and behavior. In this article, we address the role of humor in computer games, especially in support of serious purposes. We begin with a review of the main theories of humor, including superiority, incongruity, and relief. These theories and their…

Daily covariation of sleep quantity and quality with affective, stressful, academic, and social experiences were observed in a sample of Canadian 17-19-year-olds in their first year of university. Participants (N = 191) completed web-based checklists for 14 consecutive days during their first semester. Multilevel models predicting sleep quantity…

This paper focuses on infant sleep behaviour that is of concern to mothers of young infants, and disruptive to families. It reports on the incidence of sleep problems in dyads that self-referred to a specialist clinic, and the relationship between the mother's sensitive responsiveness and infant sleep patterns in a sample of 65 Australian infants.…

Previously we found in preschool that child-directed pretend play in small playing groups importantly improves cognitive competence in mixed-age environment and that the effect is based on close coupling between affective and cognitive domain. To foster affective and cognitive intertwining, it is reasonable to select the most favored pretend plays…

This article examines mothers' support for children's interests and, specifically, emotional processes in mothers that may explain why they display different levels of support with children of different temperaments. We observed 114 mothers and their 14-27 month-old children during a laboratory interaction. Mothers rated children on three…

This paper examines how drama teachers' identities play a part in their teaching practices in schools. It highlights what can be learned from drama teachers' expressions of self for their classroom content and management. Much of the current research into teachers and teaching is concerned with "good practice" where students are placed at the…

Teachers were trained to use reinforcement and induction to increase prosocial behavior in a sample of 98 children in Head Start-affiliated preschools, using a peer coaching model. There was one control group and three intervention groups: reinforcement-only, induction-only, and reinforcement-and-induction. Results indicated that the intervention…

Empirically supported treatments (EST) hold much promise in relieving psychological distress and dysfunction. However, various obstacles to effective training and clinical practice have truncated dissemination efforts. One such obstacle is the perceived applicability of EST procedures to raw world clinical practice. This article proposes a rubric…

As universities in English-speaking countries recruit and enroll international students, a variety of forms of support are typically offered on and off campus to help students make a successful transition. The most common challenges for nonnative English-speaking international students are linguistic and cultural. In spite of meeting English…

The rapid growth of online and blended learning environments in both higher education and K-12, along with the development of innovative game based, narrative driven, problem-based learning (PBL) systems known as Alternate Reality Games (AltRG), has led to the need to understand student's abilities to self-regulate their learning behaviors…

Objective: This study examines the relationship between childhood abuse and neglect and sexual risk behavior in middle adulthood and whether psychosocial factors (risky romantic relationships, affective symptoms, drug and alcohol use, and delinquent and criminal behavior) mediate this relationship. Method: Children with documented cases of…

This exploratory study was an attempt to understand the types of affective learning. The study focused on beginning students who were enrolled in apparel construction/sewing laboratory in community colleges within Los Angeles and Ventura counties during the spring of 2009 (n = 155). The primary purpose of the study was to develop scales that would…

Self-report scales assessing relationship-specific incentive and threat sensitivity were created. Initial tests of factor structure and associations with relationship quality were conducted in a sample of persons in intimate relationships (Study 1). Associations with conceptually related measures were examined to determine convergent and…

In the current study, we examined parent gender differences in feelings (negativity and positivity) and perceptions of child behavioural and emotional problems in adoptive and biological parent-child dyads. In a sample of 85 families, we used a novel within-family adoption design in which one child was adopted and one child was a biological child…

The purpose of this study was to identify the components of a framework for affective education implementation based on a positive psychology approach. A fifth grade class of 31 students in a public rural elementary school in Taiwan participated in a 13-week long affective education course that consisted of six units: Self-discovery, Love and…