Prosociality, understood as the capacity to act in a way that benefits others, is an important feature for emerging adults to fulfill their personal needs and fulfill developmental tasks. This life period is a time of exploration within various areas of life, enabling individuals to try out and choose own worldview, lifestyle, work and preferred patterns of interpersonal relationships. This review aims at bringing together the evidence on how prosociality (prosocial orientations, values, behaviors) or deficits in such features may be linked to the fulfillment of three basic human needs as conceptualized by the self-determination theory in emerging adults. The relation of prosociality to the three tasks in the context of development in emerging adulthood: (1) reaching autonomy from the family of origin, (2) achieving own identity and (3) establishing positive relationships with others, are outlined based on a literature review. Implications for future research are also provided.

The aim of the present study was to analyse the personality traits and value preferences of students from integrated and non-integrated classes. Sixty-nine primary school sixth graders were surveyed (M = 12.45; SD = .58). The group of students attending integrated classes included 38 individuals. The remaining 31 students attended non-integrated classrooms. Personality traits were measured using the Picture-Based Personality Survey for Children (PBPS-C ) and value preferences were determined on the basis of the Picture-Based Value Survey for Children (PBVS-C). The results showed that youth from the integrated classes did not differ significantly from their peers from the non-integrated classes in terms of personality traits. In case of values, students from the non-integrated classes cherished values of Universalism more than their peers from the integrated classes. Correlation analyses showed that the patterns of relations between personality traits and preferred values were partially different for the two groups. Nevertheless, a similar pattern of relations was observed in both groups between Openness to Experience and values in the categories of Self-direction and Universalism.

Attachment Style, Empathy and Moral Foundations as Predictors of Attitudes Towards Sexual Behavior during Childhood

The study explores the structure of adult (N = 170, M_age = 30) beliefs regarding the sexu­ality of preschool children (Ratkowska-Pasikowska, Pasikowski, 2013). Furthermore it evaluates the probable predictors of these beliefs: avoidance and anxiety dimensions of attachment, moral foundations and the levels of cognitive and affective empathy. Results show a two-factor differen­tiation of beliefs regarding children’s sexuality. Adults make a distinction between intrusive behav­iors, related to verbal aggression or potential violation of other people’s intimacy, and behaviors combining sexuality with curiosity and role-playing. The former category is generally less accepted than the latter. At the same time, higher level of cognitive empathy and a lower level of endorse­ment in the sphere of purity/sanctity as a foundation of moral evaluation, is a general predictor of higher acceptance of sexual behaviors in both categories. Higher level of attachment anxiety pre­dicts a higher acceptance of intrusive sexual behaviors, and a higher level of attachment avoidance predicts a lower acceptance of such behaviors. These results are discussed within the context of their importance for the future studies on childhood sexuality with parents as the potential inform­ants on behavior of their children.

Developmental Specificity of Childhood Memory Structure across the Adult Lifespan – Results of Narrative Research

Theories of autobiographical memory and narrative identity allow us to assume that childhood memory is represented in the mind of an adult person as a comprehensive period with its own unique characteristics that is subjected to changes during the lifespan. Based on the concept of the global coherence of life history, it was assumed that in later periods of life, childhood memories will be more elaborate and thus cognitively more accessible as well as organized temporally and logically in a more coherent story.

The use of narrative interview revealed differences between early, middle and late adulthood in the way the childhood memories are organized, as well as in the age-independent characteristics of the perceived childhood. The obtained results suggest that in late adulthood, childhood is recalled more extensively and more memories are logically organized, which is attributed to greater attention to the past resulting from the task of life summary. Regardless of the age of the respondents, less than half of the memories related logically to each other, with most of the text consisting of separate scenes not located in time. These findings raised the issue of the specificity of childhood memory and the universality of global coherence of life stories.

The Ability to Operate Knowledge and Higher Cognitive Functions of Home Education Students

The presented research examined the relationship between the use of knowledge, the development level of higher cognitive functions and the type of education. Research was conducted on two groups of third grade students: homeschoolers and public school students (28 children in each of the groups). Students were paired by sex and factors connected to the family environment. Ability to operate knowledge was tested by The original Reading Comprehension Test and the level of development of executive functions (inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility and planning) was measured by a set of tasks from Inquisit computer program. Results show that homeschoolers use and utilize their knowledge better than public school students. They comprehend meaning of words more efficiently, understand cause-effect relations better and use relations of superiority-inferiority more efficiently. However, the results connected with executive functions do not show any dominance of any of groups. Ability of inhibition and planning is similar for homeschoolers and public students. Public school students have higher level of memory development whereas homeschoolers dominate in the category of flexibility. The presented results are material for a discussion on the role of the educational system in the development of late childhood students. They can also be used to consider the assessment of the value of home education.

„What does the Face Express?” – Recognition of Emotional Facial Expressions in Deaf and Hearing People

An analysis of emotional functioning of deaf people is important for understanding their activities in different areas of life. Emotional functioning is related to emotional intelligence, which involves emotion perception and recognition as well as emotional expressiveness. The aim of the study was to compare the ability to recognize facial emotional expression among deaf and hearing people.

The present study was conducted on 80 individuals (40 deaf people and 40 hearing people). The Emotional Intelligence Scale – Faces (Matczak, Piekarska, Studniarek, 2005) and a set of photographs used by Paul Ekman in his study of basic emotions were used for the data collection.

The results obtained show that deaf people differ from hearing people in recognizing facial expressions. The analysis was conducted in terms of differences in recognition of expression of basic and complex emotions. The study included variables such as the moment of hearing loss (congenital or acquired deafness) or upbringing with deaf or hearing parents.