The etiology of variation in language skills changes with development: a longitudinal twin study of language from 2 to 12 years

The present study is the first long-term longitudinal examination of the etiology of individual differences in language from early childhood through to adolescence. We applied a multivariate latent factor genetic model to longitudinal data from the Twins Early Development Study in order to (a) compare the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on language skills in early childhood (2, 3 and 4 years), middle childhood (7, 9 and 10 years), and early adolescence (12 years); and (b) determine to what extent the same genetic and environmental factors underlie variation in language skills at these three stages of language development. We found that while shared environmental influences appear to be dominant (latent factor c2 = .74) in early language, with a smaller though significant role for genetic factors (latent factor a2 = .24), the pattern is reversed by middle childhood such that genetic influences are substantially more important (latent factor a2 = .57-.63 at 7, 9 and 10 years and .47-.57 at 12 years) and shared environmental influences less so (latent factor c2 = .31-.37 at 7, 9 and 10 years and .31-.32 at 12 years). The increase in the heritability of language skills between early and middle childhood appears to be due to new genetic factors that come into play at that transition. In contrast, genetic factors remain stable from middle childhood through to early adolescence, and account for the phenotypic continuity in language skills across these two stages.     

Compensatory nonconformity: Self-uncertainty and low implicit self-esteem increase adoption and expression of minority opinions

The present studies tested whether people, particularly those who are most vulnerable to self-threats as indicated by low implicit self-esteem, adopt and express minority opinions to compensate for self-uncertainty. In Studies 1 through 3, low implicit self-esteem participants who were made to feel uncertain about themselves as individuals (versus uncertain about a self-irrelevant issue in Study 1, certain about themselves in Study 2, or uncertain about their group memberships in Study 3) expressed more disagreement with others' opinions. Additionally, Study 3 demonstrated that this effect is specific to minority opinions and does not emerge on majority opinions. In Study 4, the relation between self-uncertainty and disagreement with others' opinions was strongest among participants with both low implicit and high explicit self-esteem, who respond to self-threats in particularly defensive ways.     

Intrinsic value and the supervenience principle

An important constraint on the nature of intrinsic value---the “Supervenience Principle” (SP)---holds that some object, event, or state of affairs ϕ is intrinsically valuable only if the value of ϕ supervenes entirely on ϕ's intrinsic properties. In this paper, I argue that SP should be rejected. SP is inordinately restrictive. In particular, I argue that no SP-respecting conception of intrinsic value can accept the importance of psychological resonance, or the positive endorsement of persons, in explaining value.     

How the moralization of issues grants social legitimacy to act on one's attitudes

Actions that do not have as their goal the advancement or protection of one's material interests are often seen as illegitimate. Four studies suggested that moral values can legitimate action in the absence of material interest. The more participants linked sociopolitical issues to moral values, the more comfortable they felt advocating on behalf of those issues and the less confused they were by others' advocacy (Studies 1 and 2). Crime victims were perceived as being more entitled to claim special privileges when the crime had violated their personal moral values (Studies 3 and 4). These effects were strongest when the legitimacy to act could not already be derived from one's material interests, suggesting that moral values and material interest can represent interchangeable justifications for behavior. No support was found for the possibility that attitude strength explained these effects. The power of moralization to disinhibit action is discussed.     

Athlete identity and athlete satisfaction: The nonconformity of exclusivity

The goal of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between athletic identity, a relatively stable individual difference, and athlete satisfaction. A second goal was to evaluate the structure of athletic identity to examine potential differences between facets. Analyzing data from 175 NCAA student athletes, results indicated that use of overall athletic identity hid meaningful relationships between this self-identity concept and level of athlete satisfaction. When examined at the facet level, results indicated that athletic social identity and negative affectivity were positively related to athlete satisfaction while the exclusivity facet of athletic identity was negatively related to athlete satisfaction.     

Profiles of Emotion Socialization Across Development and Longitudinal Associations with Youth Psychopathology

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Although there is relative consensus in the literature regarding associations between certain emotion socialization (ES) strategies and youth...     

Content Hungry: How the Nutrition of Food Media Influences Social Media Engagement

What motivates people to consume and engage with food media on social networks? We adopt an evolutionary lens to suggest that the valence of people’s affective state varies by the implied caloric density of food media, which has a direct impact on social media engagement. First, we analyze a catalog of Buzzfeed’s Tasty videos based on nutritional content derived from the dish’s ingredients and find that visualizing caloric density (i.e., calories per serving) positively influences likes, comments, and shares on Facebook. We then replicate this phenomenon in an experiment, providing preliminary evidence for the role of affect as an explanatory mechanism. We conclude by isolating the role of affect with a classic misattribution task, which attenuates the elevated engagement resulting from exposure to calorie-dense food media. These findings contribute to the dialogue on the antecedents of social media engagement and offer implications for content developers, advertisers, consumer health advocates, and policymakers.     

Striving Towards Empowerment and Medication Adherence (STEP-AD): A Tailored Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Approach for Black Women Living With HIV

In the U.S. Black women with HIV face numerous psychosocial challenges, particularly trauma, racism, HIV-related discrimination, and gender role expectations, that are associated with negative HIV health outcomes and low medical treatment adherence. Yet many of these factors are unaddressed in traditional cognitive behavioral approaches. This study presents a case series of a tailored cognitive behavioral treatment approach for Black women living with HIV. Striving Towards EmPowerment and Medication Adherence (STEP-AD) is a 10-session treatment aimed at improving medication adherence for Black women with HIV by combining established cognitive behavioral strategies for trauma symptom reduction, strategies for coping with race- and HIV-related discrimination, gender empowerment, problem-solving techniques for medication adherence, and resilient coping. A case series study of five Black women with HIV was conducted to evaluate the preliminary acceptability and feasibility of the treatment and illustrate the approach. Findings support the potential promise of this treatment in helping to improve HIV medication adherence and decrease trauma symptoms. Areas for refinement in the treatment as well as structural barriers (e.g., housing) in the lives of the women that impacted their ability to fully benefit from the treatment are also noted.