Monica and Erika Hoffman stand barefoot, side by side near a sign that reads “Twin Studies Center” at California State University at Fullerton. Their glasses removed, both have auburn eyes, softly jutted chins, light freckles, and perky noses. Both wear black shirts and small sparkly earrings (Erika’s are flowers, Monica’s More
Researchers have long known that, much like physical traits, characteristics of mental health and mental illness can be passed down through family trees, moving from one generation to the next. Longitudinal studies and new forms of genetic analysis are helping shed light on intergenerational continuity and transmission of psychopathology. At More
Diagnosing physical ailments used to depend exclusively on symptoms and observations, but a prodigious surge in new technology has provided 21st century medicine with an array of precision diagnostic tools — from biomarkers to genetic testing — that have fueled astounding progress in defining and treating illness. Over the past More
Throughout 2015, the Observer is commemorating the silver anniversary of APS’s flagship journal. In addition to research reports, the first issue of Psychological Science, released in January 1990, included four general articles covering specific lines of study. Among those articles was “Facts, Fantasies, and the Future of Child Care in More
You probably don’t need statistics to appreciate the pervasive role of stress in American life, but the numbers are there if you do. A recent Stress in America survey found that a quarter of adults experience high stress on a regular basis, and 42% say their stress levels are rising. More
The Society for the Study of Human Development (SSHD) has released a special issue of Research in Human Development on “Emergence, Self-Organization, and Developmental Science.” The issue, which includes articles such as “Self-Organization and Explanatory Pluralism: Avoiding the Snares of Reductionism in Developmental Science,” can be accessed by SSHD members at www.sshdonline.org. More
