A new article published in Behavior Research Methods describes the latest addition to the Profile of Music Perception Skills (PROMS).
Author: Hannah Strauß
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Mauritius Child Health Project
In cooperation with Peter Venables from the University of York, data of the Mauritus Child Health Project (cf. Raine, Liu, Venables, Mednick, & Dalais, 2010) is used to examine the influence of early childhood factors on personality development. As part of this cooperation, the prognostic significance of early childhood behaviour regarding antisocial problems in school age (Zentner, Smolkina, & Venables, 2014) was examined. Also, we analysed the stability of cognitive functions from early childhood to adolescence as well as environmental influences in early childhood on the development of executive functions in adolescence (Strauss, Venables, & Zentner, 2023). read the article Associations between early childhood poverty and cognitive functioning throughout childhood and adolescence: A 14-year prospective longitudinal analysis of the Mauritius Child Health Project (Strauss, Venables, & Zentner, 2023) We found that chronic malnutrition and parental characteristics showed similar-sized, independent associations with initial cognitive functioning at age 3 as well as at age 11 years. For age 17 years, however, associations with early childhood risk factors vanished and instead, cognitive functioning was predicted by performance on prior cognitive assessments. Sex was also found to be a powerful predictor of cognitive trajectories, with boys improving and girls worsening over time, regardless of the level of their initial exposure to risk. The current findings indicate that, to prevent cognitive impairment, interventions tackling poverty and malnutrition should focus on the infancy period and be designed in a gender-sensitive way. read the article Early Childhood Behaviour & Antisocial Problems at School Age (Zentner, Smolkina, & Venables, 2014) Using data from the Mauritius Child Health Project, we particularized the attenuating effects of single-occasion behavioural assessments on consistency estimates of impulsive–aggressive behaviour over time. Specifically, two nursery teachers provided 15 consecutive weekly ratings of the aggressive behaviour of 99 four-year-old children. The same children were reassessed for the presence of externalizing behaviour problems at the ages of 8 and 10. There were substantial increases in both reliability and predictive correlation coefficient magnitudes when the preschool scores were aggregated across several weekly ratings. A further increase resulted after the two outcome assessments were combined into a composite score of school-age externalizing symptoms. A generalized procedure, developed from the correction for attenuation formula, is introduced to describe the relation of aggregation to predictive validity in longitudinal research.
A new article published in Frontiers of Psychology describes the latest addition to the Profile of Music Perception Skills (PROMS).
A common view about mate preferences is that they are evolutionarily “hardwired” and thus largely impervious to sociocultural influences. However, our research suggests that mating preferences of women and men have responded with unsuspected speed to societal changes. A particularly relevant societal change is progress in gender equality. Cross-national comparisons show that partner preferences of women and men converge with progressing gender equality (Figure 1). This convergence can also be observed within a society over time (Figure 2). These results are plausible from a social-psychological and an evolutionary perspective. Indeed, new findings suggest that the environment of our ancestors was less stable than has been thought for a long time. Thus, adaptive advantages were conferred to those who could adapt easily. Flexibility is crucial for successful mating and reproduction, because the conditions that make a person attractive change across historical periods and cultures. Figure 1. Gender difference in mate preferences (Y-Axis) diminish with increasing gender equality (X-axis) (Zentner & Mitra, 2012) Figure 2. Convergence in women’s and men’s partner preferences between 1939 and 2008 (US) (Zentner & Eagly, 2015)
Women are assumed to be socially engaged and take care of the family. Men are assumed to be dominant, strive for management positions and are very willing to take physical risks. But what if that is not the case? Marcel Zentner examines the influence of gender-nonconforming behavior on the psyche and shows that, above all, self-esteem drops sharply.
“We have at least another 100 years to wait before gender parity is achieved” Prof. Marcel Zentner Professor of Psychology Do men just go for looks? Do women just go for status? Writing for the Aeon magazine, Marcel Zentner explains why our assumptions about heterosexual dating practices need to be reconsidered, and how our mating behavior might change in the next 100 years. > Read the full article here <
The Integrative Child Temperament Screener (ICTS) is a nine item short version of the Integrative Child Temperament Inventory (ICTI) It captures three temperament traits (frustration, inhibition, attention) that are known as risk factors for the development of emotional and behavior problems. Our new article demonstrates the comparability of results across different countries (Germany, UK,US, Spain and China) and age groups (toddlers, preschoolers, school-age children). The ICTS can be used from the age of two, when the effectiveness of interventions is highest due to the high plasticity of neuronal structures and behaviors. read the article