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Browsing by Subject "Child psychology"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Effects of Genes on Individual Differences in Executive Function Development in Preschool-Aged Children
    (2015-04-22) Sherman, Samantha J.; Hodel, Amanda S.; Markant, Julie C.; Thomas, Kathleen M.
    Few studies have examined how individual differences in genes related to the brain’s dopamine system impact the development of higher-level cognitive skills in children. Past research with adults has identified that variants of the dopamine transporter gene (DAT-1) are associated with poorer inhibitory control development, including higher impulsivity and risk-taking. Similarly, genetic variability related to COMT, an enzyme that degrades dopamine, predicts working memory abilities in adults. This study evaluated whether individual differences in the DAT-1 VNTR polymorphism and COMT Val158Met polymorphism predicted the development of executive functions (higher order cognitive skills, including working memory, inhibitory control, and attention shifting) at age 5. On tasks requiring inhibitory control (balloon analogue risk task, delay discounting), we found a non-significant relationship between children’s performance and DAT-1 VNTR genotypes. On tasks examining working memory (spatial span, memory search), children homozygous for the Met allele of the COMT Val158Met polymorphism performed more poorly than their peers with a Val allele. Parent report of inhibitory control and working memory development was unrelated to children’s genotypes, highlighting that differences by genotype are not within the clinical range of abnormality. Overall, our results suggest that the COMT polymorphism is associated with similar effects on preschooler’s working memory abilities as reported in adult studies. However, neither DAT-1 VNTR polymorphism predicted inhibitory control development at preschool age, suggesting that additional environmental factors may have a stronger impact on inhibitory control during early childhood.
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    Implicit theories of friendships: examining the roles of growth and destiny beliefs in children’s friendships.
    (2010-08) Kempner, Sara Gayle
    Individuals formulate implicit theories about the nature of friendships, which influence their motivations and behaviors in friendships. In the present study, a measure of implicit theories of friendship was developed and tested in a sample of 166 sixth grade children. Children also completed measures assessing the importance of friendship qualities as well as specific behaviors in their friendships with their best friends. Results of the study validated the measure of implicit theories of friendship and showed that growth beliefs were positively related to intimacy, conflict resolution and validation and caring in children's friendships. Destiny beliefs were not directly related to features of children's friendships. Gender, satisfaction in the friendship, and the length of the friendship moderated the relation between implicit theories of friendship and the importance of friendship qualities and behaviors in the friendship. Implications of the findings as well as developmental considerations are discussed. Future directions for the study of implicit theories of friendship are presented.
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    Language and conflict detection in the development of executive function
    (2014-10) Doebe, Sabine
    The ability to override habit and exercise conscious control over thought, emotion and action, termed `executive function' (EF), is a defining feature of human cognition. While a great deal is understood about the underlying cognitive processes and neural substrates of EF, much remains unknown about how it develops. Conflict monitoring theory has emphasized the role of prefrontally-based conflict monitoring and detection mechanisms in the activation of control processes. In contrast, Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of development suggests that experience, especially language, plays a key role in the emergence of higher-cognitive functions like EF from more basic cognitive processes. Both of these accounts have received broad empirical support, but they have never been considered in relation to one another. The current research tested the hypothesis that linguistic experience plays a key role in the development of conflict detection and EF. Study 1 tested the prediction that children who notice and focus on contrasting states of affairs show better EF. A significant relation was found between three-year-old children's EF and their tendency to focus on contrast indexed by their use contrastive negation on a novel picture book task, controlling for age and verbal IQ. In Study 2, a training experiment was conducted using a pre-post control group design in which three-year-old children were provided with linguistic experience involving the use of negation to contrast objects, attributes, and actions, and change in EF performance on a battery of EF measures was assessed. Results indicate that children exposed to contrastive negation showed greater increases in EF from pre- to post-test compared to children in two control conditions: an active control condition that experienced the stimuli without contrastive negation, and an inactive control condition in which children were read storybooks. Taken together, these findings provide new evidence that linguistic experience with contrastive negation used to highlight incompatibility may play a key role in the development of EF by increasing children's sensitivity to conflict, and possibly also by facilitating inhibition of task-irrelevant representations. Implications for theories of EF are discussed.
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    Work and relationship balance in adulthood: an exploration of concurrent correlates, predictive validity, and developmental pathways
    (2013-08) Kuo, Sally I-Chun
    The present study reflects a growing interest in the intersection of work and relationship in adulthood, with emphasis on balance between these two domains of adult lives. Guided by developmental tasks framework, the present study examined (1) the concurrent correlates of work-relationship balance with predictors from multiple domains including work, relationship, and person variables, (2) predictive validity of the construct on well-being and psychosocial adjustment outcomes, and (3) finally its links to earlier developmental histories, with emphasis on quality of age-salient close relationships and success in earlier developmental tasks. Participants were a subsample (N = 164) from a 37-year longitudinal study of risk and adaptation. Work-relationship balance at age 32 was measured using the Balancing Your Life Questionnaire, including role balance, role ease, and role overload scales (Marks & MacDermid, 1996). Results from the concurrent analyses indicated the dynamic nature of the concurrent influence of work, relationship, and person variables, with special emphasis on the roles of social support and emotion regulation, in predicting work-relationship balance. Predictive validity findings are consistent with the literature that work-relationship balance was linked with life satisfaction at age 32, and some tentative associations were observed between work-relationship balance at age 32 and well-being measures and psychosocial adjustment outcomes at age 34. Finally, developmental findings suggest that social capital and resources, derived from close relationships across development, are cumulative across development and have the potential significance for positive work-relationship balance in adulthood. Implications of the present findings and for future research are discussed.