Maternal and infant affect at 4 months predicts performance and verbal IQ at 4 and 7 years in a diverse population

Using existing longitudinal data from 570 infants in the Maternal Lifestyle Study, we explored the predictive value of maternal and infant affect and maternal vocalizations during 2 minutes of face‐to‐face interactions at 4 months on IQ scores at 4.5 and 7 years. After controlling for demographic factors, maternal depression, and prenatal drug exposure, maternal positive affect and maternal positive vocalizations emerged as predictors of both verbal and performance IQ at 4.5 and 7 years. Although infant positive affect during the interaction with the mother was not predictive of these outcome measures, infant positive affect towards an examiner predicted verbal but not performance IQ at 4.5 years. These results suggest that maternal positive affect may index emotional engagement in interaction that facilitates both verbal and nonverbal cognitive development, while infant social positive affect is specifically related to the acquisition of verbal reasoning abilities. These findings are significant because they are based on a discrete snapshot of observable behavior in infancy (just 2 minutes of interaction), because they extend the range of maternal behaviors and characteristics known to support positive developmental outcomes, and because they are derived from high‐risk infants where prevention efforts may be beneficial. Potential mechanisms for these associations are discussed, as are the clinical implications for identifying dyads most in need of targeted interventions.     

Infants' meaning-making and the development of mental health problems

We argue that infant meaning-making processes are a central mechanism governing both typical and pathological outcomes. Infants, as open dynamic systems, must constantly garner information to increase their complexity and coherence. They fulfill this demand by making nonverbal "meaning"-affects, movements, representations-about themselves in relation to the world and themselves into a "biopsychosocial state of consciousness," which shapes their ongoing engagement with the world. We focus on the operation of the infant-adult communication system, a dyadic, mutually regulated system that scaffolds infants' engagement with the world of people, things, and themselves, and consequently their meaning-making. We argue that infant mental health problems emerge when the meanings infants make in the moment, which increase their complexity and coherence and may be adaptive in the short run, selectively limit their subsequent engagement with the world and, in turn, the growth of their state of consciousness in the long run. When chronic and iterative, these altered meanings can interfere with infants' successful development and heighten their vulnerability to pathological outcomes. Cultural variations in meaning-making and implications for clinical practice are discussed.     

The development of the still-face effect: Mothers do matter

The Face-to-Face Still-Face paradigm (FFSF) has been used to investigate how infants react to stressful events. However, there is little developmental data on the FFSF effect, and whether it connects to a specific relationship (e.g., to a mother versus a stranger). This prospective longitudinal study aims to evaluate developmental changes in infant reaction to the FFSF presented by the mother or a stranger at 2, 4, 6, and 8 months of age (n = 39). Results show that infant negativity was expressed less in relation to a stranger, the identity effect. Results further suggest that from 6 to 8 months of age, stranger induced protest flattens out; whereas mother induced protest decreases. The results are discussed in relation to different theories regarding infant responsiveness.     

In Pursuit of Happiness: Empirical Answers to Philosophical Questions

ABSTRACT— In this article, we provide an overview of what various philosophers throughout the ages have claimed about the nature of happiness, and we discuss to what extent psychological science has been able to substantiate or refute their claims. We first address concerns raised by philosophers regarding the possibility, desirability, and justifiability of happiness and then turn to the perennial question of how to be happy. Integrating insights from great thinkers of the past with empirical findings from modern behavioral sciences, we review the conditions and causes of happiness. We conclude our discussion with some thoughts about the future of happiness studies.     

On the relations between action planning, object identification, and motor representations of observed actions and objects

Recent evidence suggests that viewing a static prime object (a hand grasp), can activate action representations that affect the subsequent identification of graspable target objects. The present study explored whether stronger effects on target object identification would occur when the prime object (a hand grasp) was made more action-rich and dynamic. Of additional interest was whether this type of action prime would affect the generation of motor activity normally elicited by the target object. Three experiments demonstrated that grasp observation improved the identification of grasp-congruent target objects relative to grasp-incongruent target objects. We argue from this data that identifying a graspable object includes the processing of its action-related attributes. In addition, grasp observation was shown to influence the motor activity elicited by the target object, demonstrating interplay between action-based and object-based motor coding.     

The role of positive and negative emotions in life satisfaction judgment across nations

This study examined how the frequency of positive and negative emotions is related to life satisfaction across nations. Participants were 8,557 people from 46 countries who reported on their life satisfaction and frequency of positive and negative emotions. Multilevel analyses showed that across nations, the experience of positive emotions was more strongly related to life satisfaction than the absence of negative emotions. Yet, the cultural dimensions of individualism and survival/self-expression moderated these relationships. Negative emotional experiences were more negatively related to life satisfaction in individualistic than in collectivistic nations, and positive emotional experiences had a larger positive relationship with life satisfaction in nations that stress self-expression than in nations that value survival. These findings show how emotional aspects of the good life vary with national culture and how this depends on the values that characterize one's society. Although to some degree, positive and negative emotions might be universally viewed as desirable and undesirable, respectively, there appear to be clear cultural differences in how relevant such emotional experiences are to quality of life.     

The paradox of the disrespected: Disrespected group members’ engagement in group-serving efforts

Previous research has demonstrated that intra-group respect can strengthen people’s group identification, and encourage them to exert themselves on behalf of their group. In the present contribution, we focus on the possibility that those who are not respected by other group members (i.e., the disrespected) can also display group beneficial behavior. Experiment 1 (N = 159) confirms this paradoxical premise and reveals that systematically disrespected group members indeed exert themselves on group-serving tasks. These findings were replicated in Experiment 2 (N = 110). Additional indicators in Experiment 2 demonstrate that the effort by systematically disrespected group members cannot be attributed to a desire to improve their acceptance in the group, but should be interpreted as attempts to assert the worth of the self separately from the group. Results are discussed in relation to the group-value model and insights on marginal group membership and social exclusion.     

Blood lead (Pb) levels: a potential environmental mechanism explaining the relation between socioeconomic status and cardiovascular reactivity in children.

OBJECTIVE: A number of studies have shown an association between socioeconomic status (SES) and cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress. In addition, the authors recently reported that higher early childhood blood lead (Pb) levels are associated with significantly greater total peripheral (vascular) resistance (TPR) responses to acute stress. It is not known whether the SES-TPR association is mediated by underlying differences in blood lead levels. DESIGN: Participants were 9.5-year-old children (N=122) with established early childhood blood lead levels. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Family SES was measured using the Hollingshead Index, blood lead levels were abstracted from pediatrician and state records, and children's cardiovascular responses to acute stressors were measured in the laboratory with impedance cardiography and an automated blood pressure monitor. RESULTS: Lower family SES was shown to be associated with significantly higher blood lead levels as well as significantly heightened systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and TPR responses to acute stress tasks. A mediational analysis confirmed that Pb was a significant mediator of the SES-TPR reactivity association; some evidence also suggested moderation. CONCLUSION: These results suggest the importance of considering the chemical environment as well as social and psychological environment when evaluating cardiovascular effects of low SES.     

Rumination-focused cognitive behaviour therapy for residual depression: a case series

The treatment of chronic and recurrent depression is a priority for the development of new interventions. The maintenance of residual symptoms following acute treatment for depression is a risk factor for both chronic depression and further relapse/recurrence. This open case series provides the first data on a cognitive-behavioural treatment for residual depression that explicitly targets depressive rumination. Rumination has been identified as a key factor in the onset and maintenance of depression, which is found to remain elevated following remission from depression. Fourteen consecutively recruited participants meeting criteria for medication--refractory residual depression [Paykel, E.S., Scott, J., Teasdale, J.D., Johnson, A.L., Garland, A., Moore, R. et al., 1999. Prevention of relapse in residual depression by cognitive therapy--a controlled trial. Archives of General Psychiatry 56, 829-835] were treated individually for up to 12 weekly 60-min sessions. Treatment specifically focused on switching patients from less helpful to more helpful styles of thinking through the use of functional analysis, experiential/imagery exercises and behavioural experiments. Treatment produced significant improvements in depressive symptoms, rumination and co-morbid disorders: 71% responded (50% reduction on Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) and 50% achieved full remission. Treating depressive rumination appears to yield generalised improvement in depression and co-morbidity. This study provides preliminary evidence that rumination-focused CBT may be an efficacious treatment for medication--refractory residual depression.