• Marijuana smokers experience motor function impairment even a month after they stop using the drug, finds a study in February's Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology (Vol. 16, No. 1). The study results suggest that workers whose duties rely on fine motor control—such as pilots—may need more than 28 days to be completely free of marijuana's subtle effects on the brain.
• Wallflowers take heart: Your reputation may not precede you. A study of social connectedness reported in February's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 94, No. 2) found that only students with large social networks developed reputations—either good or bad—based on their behaviors in class. The results refute economic theories that suggest reputation develops uniformly across individuals and groups. "This research addresses the ironic constraints inherent in being socially visible," says lead author Cameron Anderson, PhD, of the University of California, Berkeley. "Our findings suggest that social attention can bring increased scrutiny on one's behavior."
• Research with 144 undergraduate, graduate and professional students shows that whites tend to perceive the campus climate for diversity more positively than people of color, partly due to whites' unawareness of racial privilege, finds a study in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education (Vol. 1, No. 1). "Instead of ignoring race through color-blind racial attitudes," concludes study author Roger L. Worthington, PhD, of the University of Missouri–Columbia, "we need to consciously and sensitively address racial issues in ways that foster the educational missions of our institutions."
• Researchers have found that while many 3-year-olds can count to 10 and comprehend the meaning of "one" and "two," they fail to map to the correct cardinal values for larger numbers such as five or 10, suggests a study in the February Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (Vol. 137, No. 1). Lead author Kirsten F. Condry, PhD, of the Rochester Institute of Technology, says the findings suggest that in order to master number words and counting, children must construct the numeral system once they've developed additional language skills—it is not just given to them. "Parents and some teachers tend to overestimate how well children understand number words, based on good counting skills," Condry says. "The tasks we developed show how limited children's knowledge really is."
• Adolescents who talk to their moms about God have a better relationship with them, even if their religious practices and beliefs differ, shows a study in February's Journal of Family Psychology (Vol. 22, No. 1). Data on religiousness, spiritual disclosure and relationship satisfaction collected from 300 college students and 130 of their mothers showed that those mother-child pairs who engaged in frequent spiritual disclosure were more likely to be satisfied with their relationships, more apt to discuss other sensitive topics and better at resolving conflicts.
—A. Novotney
