Children as young as age 3 appear to recognize cuteness in the faces of people and animals, according to research by Marta Borgi, a doctoral psychology student at Lincoln University in the United Kingdom. In two experiments with 82 3- to 6-year-olds, researchers tracked the children's eye movements as they looked at pictures of human adults and babies, dogs, puppies, cats and kittens. The researchers also asked the children to rate how cute they thought each image was. Borgi and her team found that independent of the species viewed, the children spent more time looking at images with more baby-like features, and rated puppies, kittens and babies as cuter than their adult counterparts (Frontiers in Psychology, May 7opens in new window).- Growing up poor can influence people's sense of control and may lead them to more impulsive decision-making, according to research led by University of Minnesota graduate student Chiraag Mittal. The study involved five experiments with more than 500 adults. The researchers found that differing perceptions of control affected whether people were able to postpone a reward, with people from poorer backgrounds tending to behave more impulsively in uncertain situations than those from wealthy families. In addition, after recalling personal financial hardship, people who grew up poor gave up much sooner when asked to solve a difficult puzzle than those who grew up wealthy, even if they had similar incomes as adults (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Octoberopens in new window).
- Military sexual assault training may not be strong enough, especially in the eyes of personnel for whom it is most relevant, according to a study led by University of Michigan psychology doctoral student Kathryn Holland. Researchers analyzed responses to a workplace and gender relations survey from more than 24,000 active duty personnel from the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy and Coast Guard. The survey looked at whether exposure to sexual assault training fostered accurate knowledge about reporting options, victims' rights and protocols among personnel. Holland and her team found that nearly 40 percent of personnel reported that their training overlooked critical topics. The researchers also found a gender gap in the survey results: Men perceived the training to be more effective at reducing and preventing sexual assault compared with women. In addition, service members who had not been victims of sexual assault within the past year also believed the training was more effective than those who had been victims (American Journal of Community Psychology, Septemberopens in new window).
Teen insomnia is linked with depression and anxiety, finds a study led by Pasquale Alvaro, a psychology doctoral student at the University of Adelaide in Australia. Alvaro's team surveyed more than 300 high school students ages 12 to 18 to better understand their sleep habits, mental health conditions and the times of day they were most active. The researchers found that the presence of insomnia was linked with depression, generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. In addition, teens who were more active in the evenings were more likely to have depression and/or insomnia. This group was also more likely to have obsessive-compulsive disorder, separation anxiety and social phobia, although these disorders were not linked with insomnia in general (Sleep Medicine, Augustopens in new window).- Simply telling people that hard work is more important than genetics may make them perform more effectively, according to research led by Michigan State University clinical psychology doctoral student Hans Schroder. His research team asked two groups of participants to read different articles: One reported intelligence is largely genetic, while the other stated that Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein acquired their intelligence through hard work. Participants then completed a computer task while researchers recorded their brain activity. The findings showed that the group that read that intelligence was primarily genetic paid more attention to their responses than to task-related stimuli, as if they were more concerned with the results of their performance. This extra attention, however, did not lead participants to improve their performance after they made a mistake on the task. In contrast, participants who had read that intelligence was due to hard work paid greater attention to task-related stimuli and did improve their performance after making mistakes (Biological Psychology, Decemberopens in new window).
- Living in a linguistically diverse neighborhood may make babies more open-minded about whom they learn from, according to a study led by Lauren Howard, a psychology doctoral student at the University of Chicago. Over four experiments, Howard and her team tested how well 82 19-month-olds from linguistically diverse and homogeneous neighborhoods in the Chicago and Washington, D.C., metro areas could learn new tasks from a non-English speaker. The infants came from homes in which only English was spoken. One set of infants observed an English-speaking or a Spanish-speaking adult perform actions on a series of toys to attain a goal. For example, the adult would press a button to turn on a light or open a box to get a fun toy from inside. The adults spoke a different language, but relied on visual demonstration to show how to perform the task. A second group of infants saw both the English and Spanish speakers side-by-side performing different actions on the same toy to obtain a similar goal. For example, one experimenter might turn on a light with her head and the other would use an elbow. After a brief delay, the infants were allowed to play with each toy and were assessed on how well they imitated one experimenter over another. Infants who heard a diversity of languages in their home neighborhoods were more likely than infants from less diverse areas to take cues from the Spanish-speaking adults (Cognition, Novemberopens in new window).
Research Roundup