The Neural Architecture of General Knowledge

Cognitive performance varies widely between individuals and is highly influenced by structural and functional properties of the brain. In the past, neuroscientific research was principally concerned with fluid intelligence, while neglecting its equally important counterpart crystallized intelligence. Crystallized intelligence is defined as the depth and breadth of knowledge and skills that are valued by one's culture. The accumulation of crystallized intelligence is guided by information storage capacities and is likely to be reflected in an individual's level of general knowledge. In spite of the significant role general knowledge plays for everyday life, its neural foundation largely remains unknown. In a large sample of 324 healthy individuals, we used standard magnetic resonance imaging along with functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging to examine different estimates of brain volume and brain network connectivity and assessed their predictive power with regard to both general knowledge and fluid intelligence. Our results demonstrate that an individual's level of general knowledge is associated with structural brain network connectivity beyond any confounding effects exerted by age or sex. Moreover, we found fluid intelligence to be best predicted by cortex volume in male subjects and functional network connectivity in female subjects. Combined, these findings potentially indicate different neural architectures for information storage and information processing. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

The impact of stigma on behavioral health care utilization among active duty service members

This study assessed the relationship between the stigma of seeking psychological help and use of outpatient behavioral health services over a 2-year period among active duty military service members initially referred for neuropsychological evaluation secondary to their histories of mild traumatic brain injury. Although research has examined how stigma predicts proxies for help-seeking (i.e., attitudes towards/intentions to use services), very little research has looked at actual behavior, and studies that do have largely focused on previous use. In this study, we examined the relationship between participants’ stigma and subsequent behavioral health use. Our results indicated that whereas greater self-stigma (i.e., negative self-judgments for seeking psychological help) was associated with attending fewer behavioral health care sessions, public stigma (i.e., perceptions of public attitudes towards people who seek psychological help) was not associated with service use. These findings support the need for addressing the self-stigma associated with seeking behavioral health care.     

Rational social and political polarization

Philosophical Studies - Public discussions of political and social issues are often characterized by deep and persistent polarization. In social psychology, it’s standard to treat belief...     

Locke's Theory of Demonstration and Demonstrative Morality

Locke famously claimed that morality was capable of demonstration. But he also refused to provide a system of demonstrative morality. This paper addresses the mismatch between Locke's stated views and his actual philosophical practice. While Locke's claims about demonstrative morality have received a lot of attention it is rare to see them discussed in the context of his general theory of demonstration and his specific discussions of particular demonstrations. This paper explores Locke's general remarks about demonstration as well as his claims about demonstration in natural philosophy, mathematics, and morality. Careful attention to these detailed discussions motivates a reevaluation of Locke's views on demonstrative knowledge of morality. Specifically, while Locke did believe that some demonstrative moral knowledge might be in‐principle available to us he also believed that facts about the difficulty of demonstration meant that this knowledge would in‐practice be largely unattainable.     

Youth Needs at Intake into Trauma‐Informed Group Homes and Response to Services: An Examination of Trauma Exposure,Symptoms, and Clinical Impression

Trauma‐informed care is recommended to improve the quality of group home services for youth. Youth exposure to trauma and associated symptoms are important factors involved in making the clinical impression that determines treatment services. This study considered three dimensions of trauma (exposure, symptoms, and clinical impression) to determine associations with behavioral incidents of youth in trauma‐informed group homes and how trauma was related to changes in psychopathology from intake to discharge. Archival records of youth (N = 1,096), age 9–18 (M = 15.7 years) who received services from January 2013 to December 2017, and departed the program were used. Statistical procedures included hierarchical linear modeling and analysis of covariance. Results indicated trauma symptoms predicted emotional problems and self‐injurious behavior. Youth in high‐ and low‐trauma groups both showed decreases in behavioral incidents and psychopathology, but clinical impression of trauma moderated the change in emotional problems from intake to discharge. Youth deemed by clinicians to have lower trauma (based on history of maltreatment and expression of trauma symptoms) had greater decrease in emotional problems from admission to discharge. Limitations and implications for further research on implementation and effectiveness of trauma‐informed models are discussed.     

Parental styles,gender and the development of hope and self‐esteem

We examined the developmental trajectory of trait hope and self‐esteem over 4 years and the impact of gender and perceived parental styles on these trajectories. Participants were 884 high school students. There was a general decline in hope and self‐esteem over time, with females declining more rapidly than males. Girls had higher hope than boys in Grade 7, but lower hope by Grade 10. Perceived parental authoritativeness at Time 1 was related to high hope across the 4 years, whilst perceived parental authoritarianism was related to low self‐esteem. We discuss the importance of perceived parental styles for adolescent well being, as well as possible explanations for changes in hope and self‐esteem. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Maladaptive perfectionism as an intervening variable between psychological control and adolescent depressive symptoms: a three-wave longitudinal study.

Maladaptive perfectionism has been postulated as an intervening variable between psychologically controlling parenting and adolescent internalizing problems. Although this hypothesis has been confirmed in a number of cross-sectional studies, it has not yet been examined from a longitudinal perspective. Findings from this 3-wave longitudinal study show that parental psychological control (as indexed by parent and adolescent reports) at age 15 years predicted increased levels of maladaptive perfectionism 1 year later. Maladaptive perfectionism, in turn, predicted increased levels of adolescent depressive symptoms again 1 year later and acted as a significant intervening variable between parental psychological control at Time 1 and depressive symptoms at Time 3. Multigroup analyses show that the model tested was consistent across gender for paternal psychological control but not for maternal psychological control. Suggestions for future research are outlined.