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Increasing Individualism in US Linked with Rise of White-Collar Jobs
Rising individualism in the United States over the last 150 years is mainly associated with a societal shift toward more white-collar occupations, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The study, which looked at various cultural indicators — including word usage in books, trends in baby names, and shifts in family structure — suggests that a shift toward greater individualism is systematically correlated with socioeconomic trends, but not with trends in urbanization or environmental demands such as frequency of diseases or disasters.
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Babies Can Follow Complex Social Situations
Infants can make sense of complex social situations, taking into account who knows what about whom, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. “Our findings show that 13-month-olds can make sense of social situations using their understanding about others’ minds and social evaluation skills,” says psychological scientists and study authors You-jung Choi and Yuyan Luo of the University of Missouri.
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Transgender Kids Show Consistent Gender Identity Across Measures
A study with children ages 5 to 12 indicates that the gender identity of these children is deeply held and is not the result of confusion about gender identity.
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Playing With Puzzles and Blocks Could Build Children’s Spatial Skills
Play may seem like fun and games, but new research shows that specific kinds of play are actually associated with development of particular cognitive skills. Data from a nationally representative study show that children who play frequently with puzzles, blocks, and board games tend to have better spatial reasoning ability. The research is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. “Our findings show that spatial play specifically is related to children's spatial reasoning skills,” says psychological scientist and lead researcher Jamie Jirout of Rhodes College.
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Seeing Themselves as Overweight May Be Self-Fulfilling Prophecy for Some Teens
Teens who mistakenly perceive themselves as overweight are actually at greater risk of obesity as adults, according to research.
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Mothers’ “Baby Talk” Is Less Clear Than Their Adult Speech
People tend to have a distinctive way of talking to babies and small children: We speak more slowly, using a sing-song voice, and tend to use cutesy words like “tummy”. While we might be inclined to think that this kind of “baby talk” is easier for children to understand, new research findings in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggest that mothers may actually speak less clearly to their infants than they do to adults.