Previous research has shown that the ability to detect potentially dangerous skin lesions is not improved by viewing a pamphlet describing the characteristic features of such lesions. A different approach to improving this skill was investigated in this study. 100 student recruits were tested to investigate the effect of practice at distinguishing between dangerous and nondangerous skin lesions. Around 30 minutes of such practice, viewing 360 pictures of skin lesions, provided a significant advantage in making decisions about a target set of dangerous and nondangerous lesions, compared to no practice or practice with a filler task. Viewing a skin cancer pamphlet for 5 min. at the beginning of the experiment made no difference to the speed or accuracy of decisions regarding the test lesions. The results are interpreted as evidence for a form of implicit learning of a skin cancer detection skill, a finding that is consistent with what is known of the nature of expertise in dermatologists. The results also point to the ineffectiveness of pamphlets to engender such expertise in the general public.

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Anxiety and depression are common mental health problems experienced by children in Australia. The impact of these internalizing disorders is pervasive, affecting many areas of life. By the time problems have been detected in children they can be severe in nature and harder to treat. Hence, early intervention is of utmost importance. Despite the existence of numerous prevention programs for children, there is limited empirical evidence for a program that has an impact on symptoms of both anxiety and depression. Physical activity and improved motor coordination have been indicated as having positive effects on children's mental health, although the impact of including these in a program targeting internalizing disorders has not been established. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the Feelings and Friends (Year 3) program (FFY3), revised to include activities to build motor-coordination and encourage physical activity. Participants were 24 children from the Perth metropolitan area alongside one of each of their parents. Results indicated significant short-term intervention effects on one of the primary outcome variables; intervention group parents reported significant pre-post improvement in child depressive symptoms, which were maintained at 3-month follow-up (ηp2 = 0.10). There were also intervention effects observed for parent-reported separation anxiety (ηp2 = 0.10), externalizing symptoms (ηp2 = 0.19), and conduct problems (ηp2 = 0.16). An additional finding indicated the intervention students reported significant improvement from session one to session two in global distress (ηp2 = 0.22). No other significant intervention effects were evident. Findings from this study indicate that FFY3 is a promising intervention to address internalizing and externalizing symptoms in 8–9 year-old children.

Apologies play an important role in forgiveness, but the pathway from apology to forgiveness is unclear. Many researchers use Goffman’s model of the corrective interchange, or models derived from it to guide their research. This model is based on the assumption that offenders apologise to victims who accept these apologies and that this leads to forgiveness. The acceptance of the apology is therefore central in this model, so we undertook a systematic literature review to determine how researchers conceptualise and measure apology acceptance and found a lack of clarity around the construct. We addressed this theoretical uncertainty by exploring whether lay people distinguish between apology acceptance and forgiveness, and if they do, how they describe apology acceptance. We use contemporary neuro-cognitive theories that explain social and moral decision-making and behaviour to integrate the themes we identified to develop a preliminary theoretical explanation of how the apology acceptance stage fits into Goffman’s model.