Antagonistic pleiotropy at the human IL6 promoter confers genetic resilience to the pro-inflammatory effects of adverse social conditions in adolescence

The authors tested the evolutionary genetic hypothesis that the functional form of an asymmetrically risky Gene × Environment interaction will differ as a function of age-related antagonistic pleiotropy (i.e., show opposite effects in young vs. old individuals). Previous studies have identified a polymorphism in the human IL6 promoter (rs1800795; IL6-74 G/C) that interacts with adverse socioenvironmental conditions to promote chronic inflammation in older adults (elevated C-reactive protein). This study identifies a protective effect of the same polymorphism in 17- to 19-year-old adolescents confronting socioeconomic adversity. Over 60% of the environmental risk contribution to the IL6 × Socioeconomic Status interaction could be accounted for by interpersonal stress and adult role burden. Thus, the IL6-174G allele does not represent an undifferentiated risk factor but instead sensitizes inflammatory biology to socioenvironmental conditions, conferring either genetic vulnerability or resilience depending on the developmental "somatic environment" that interacts with social conditions to influence gene expression.     

Gender as a Moderator for the Relationship Between BAS-Drive and Disordered Eating Behaviors

Individuals with highly active behavioral activation (BAS) motivational systems are at increased risk for disordered eating behaviors (Bijttebier et al. 2009). The current study examined gender differences in the relationship between motivational tendencies and disordered eating behaviors by administering self-report measures to a sample of 352 college undergraduate students from a Midwestern university in the United States. The goal-driven facet of BAS (BAS-Drive) was a stronger predictor of muscle development behaviors for men than for women. In addition, higher levels of BAS-Drive were associated with greater dietary restraint among males, but not among females. Findings from the current study suggest that gender plays an important role in the relationship between BAS-Drive tendencies and eating disorder behaviors.     

Relationships among individualism--collectivism, gender, and ingroup/outgroup status, and responses to conflict: a study in China and the United States

Responses to conflict were studied in samples of college students from a highly collectivistic society (China, n = 207) and a highly individualistic society (United States n = 209). As predicted, the collectivistic society reported more conflict-reducing behaviors and less verbal or physical aggression. However, the effect of individualism/collectivism was moderated by both the ingroup/outgroup status of the target and gender of the participant. Chinese and US women did not differ on any measure. However, of the four groups, Chinese men reported the most conflict-reducing behaviors and the least physical aggression, whereas US men reported the fewest conflict-reducing behaviors and the greatest physical aggression. As predicted, conflict-reducing behaviors were more common in the ingroup condition and both verbal and physical aggression was more common in the outgroup condition. However, the latter were moderated by gender of the participant. US men reported greater physical aggression than any other group. Neither gender nor society had any effect on the level of indirect aggression. There were no gender or individualism/collectivism effects on indirect aggression. Observed gender effects were attributed to differences in how collectivistic and individualistic societies conceptualize masculinity. The effect sizes associated with the ingroup/outgroup condition were consistently and substantially larger than effect sizes associated with individualism/collectivism or gender.     

The Personal Expansion Questionnaire: Measuring one’s tendency to expand through novelty and augmentation

Previous research indicates that self-expansion, or acquiring a partner’s resources by “including the other in the self”, benefits satisfaction in romantic relationships (Aron, Mashek, &; Aron, 2004). The present investigation seeks to broaden traditional conceptualizations of self-expansion by integrating it with principles of social penetration theory (Taylor, 1968) and considering expansion not only as a dyadic process, but also an individual personality trait. We have termed the newly conceptualized construct “personal expansion”. Three separate studies (N = 172 married adults, 606 undergraduate students, and 129 additional undergraduates, respectively) are presented to validate the Personal Expansion Questionnaire; a 10-item self-report scale developed to measure this newly defined construct. Results indicate a two factor structure underlying personal expansion. Both convergent and discriminant validity are established in comparison to one’s individual needs, affective traits, and the Big Five personality factors. Finally, test-retest reliability for the PEQ is demonstrated across five weeks. Consideration is given to the unique ways that personal expansion may be particularly relevant to long-term relationship success at both the individual and dyadic level.     

Decolonizing Philosophy

This article explores five ways in which philosophy could be colonized: (1) racial and ethnic origins, (2) coloniality of its norms, (3) market commodification, (4) disciplinary decadence, (5) solipsism—and what the author calls a teleological suspension of philosophy as consideration among other practices of thought.     

Development of a Biomedical Program of Research in the Blackfeet Community: Challenges and Rewards

American Indian (AI) communities have high levels of stress and trauma and are disproportionately affected by numerous preventable diseases. Here, we describe an academic–community partnership based on a collaboration between Blackfeet Community College students and faculty in Psychology and Immunology at Montana State University (MSU). The collaboration, which has spanned over 5 years, was sparked by community interest in the relationship between stress and disease on the Blackfeet reservation. Specifically, community members wanted to understand how the experience of psychological stress and trauma may affect disease risk in their community and identify factors that promote resilience. In doing so, they hoped to identify pathways through which health could be improved for individual community members. Here, we discuss all stages of the collaborative process, including development of measures and methods and themes of research projects, challenges for community members and non‐indigenous collaborators, future directions for research, and the lessons learned. Finally, we note the ways in which this partnership and experience has advanced the science of community engagement in tribal communities, with the hope that our experiences will positively affect future collaborations between indigenous community members and non‐indigenous scientists.     

An investigation into the impact of acute stress on encoding in older adults

Acute psychological stress commonly occurs in young and older adults’ lives. Though several studies have examined the influence of stress on how young adults learn new information, the present study is the first to directly examine these effects in older adults. Fifty older adults (M age = 71.9) were subjected to either stress induction or a control task before learning two types of information: a short video and a series of pictures. Twenty-four hours later, they were exposed to misleading information about the video and then completed memory tests for the video and pictures. Heart rate and cortisol measures suggest that a physiological stress response was successfully induced. Though pre-encoding stress had little impact on memory accuracy, stress did influence errors of omission on the cued recall test for the video. Findings are discussed in the context of previous research examining the effects of stress on memory in older adults.     

Wittgenstein on Metaphysical/Everyday Use

Wittgenstein remarked 'What we do is to bring words back from their metaphysical to their everyday use' ( PI §116). On this basis, his 'later philosophy' is generally regarded as a version of 'ordinary language philosophy'. He is taken to criticize philosophers for making ('metaphysical') statements which deviate in different ways from the everyday use of some of their component expressions. I marshal textual evidence for another reading of this remark, and show that he used 'metaphysical' in a traditional way, namely, to describe philosophical attempts to delineate the essence of things by establishing necessities and impossibilities. On his conception, 'everyday' simply means 'non-metaphysical' (in this precise sense). Comparisons of philosophical utterances with non-philosophical uses of words are meant to call attention to this crucial distinction.     

The Role of Religious Beliefs in Coping With Chronic Illness

The authors examined the ways in which 40 women with chronic illnesses (rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, or a combination of these disorders) used religious beliefs as a means of coping with their illnesses, The participants, all between the ages of 28 and 79 years, were interviewed about the role religious beliefs played in their experiences and the ways in which they made meaning in their lives or coped with their illnesses. The majority of the women reported that religious beliefs were important in living with a chronic illness. In addition, more women who were identified as coping well with their illness reported strong religious beliefs, whereas the majority of women identified as poor copers reported that religion was unimportant or that they had no religious beliefs.