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Self-evaluations undergo significant transformation during early adolescence, developing in parallel with the heightened complexity of teenagers' social worlds. Intuitive theories of adolescent development, based in part on animal work, suggest that puberty is associated with neural-level changes that facilitate a "social reorientation" (Nelson et al., 2005). However, direct tests of this hypothesis using neuroimaging are limited in humans. This longitudinal fMRI study examined neurodevelopmental trajectories associated with puberty, self-evaluations, and the presumed social reorientation during the transition from childhood to adolescence. Participants (N = 27, mean age = 10.1 and 13.1 years at time points one and two, respectively) engaged in trait evaluations of two targets (the self and a familiar fictional other), across two domains of competence (social and academic). Responses in ventromedial PFC increased with both age and pubertal development during self-evaluations in the social domain, but not in the academic domain. These results suggest that changes in social self-evaluations are intimately connected with biology, not just peer contexts, and provide important empirical support for the relationship between neurodevelopment, puberty, and social functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human reward system is sensitive to both social (e.g., validation) and non-social rewards (e.g., money) and is likely integral for relationship development and reputation building. However, data is sparse on the question of whether implicit social reward processing meaningfully contributes to explicit social representations such as trust and attachment security in pre-existing relationships. This event-related fMRI experiment examined reward system prediction-error activity in response to a potent social reward-social validation-and this activity's relation to both attachment security and trust in the context of real romantic relationships. During the experiment, participants' expectations for their romantic partners' positive regard of them were confirmed (validated) or violated, in either positive or negative directions. Primary analyses were conducted using predefined regions of interest, the locations of which were taken from previously published research. Results indicate that activity for mid-brain and striatal reward system regions of interest was modulated by social reward expectation violation in ways consistent with prior research on reward prediction-error. Additionally, activity in the striatum during viewing of disconfirmatory information was associated with both increases in post-scan reports of attachment anxiety and decreases in post-scan trust, a finding that follows directly from representational models of attachment and trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dual-systems model of a ventral affective system, whose reactivity confers risks and liabilities, and a prefrontal control system, whose regulatory capacities buffer against these vulnerabilities, is an intuitive account that pervades many fields in the cognitive neurosciences – especially in the study of populations that differ from neurotypical adults, such as adolescents or individuals with affective or impulse regulation disorders. However, recent evidence that is inconsistent with dual-systems models illustrates the complexity of developmental and clinical variations in brain function. Building new models to account for this complexity is critical to progress in these fields, and will be facilitated by research that emphasizes network-based approaches and maps relationships between structure and function, as well as brain and behavior, over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classic theories of self-development suggest people define themselves in part through internalized perceptions of other people’s beliefs about them, known as reflected self-appraisals. This study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare the neural correlates of direct and reflected self-appraisals in adolescence (N = 12, ages 11-14 years) and adulthood (N = 12, ages 23–30 years). During direct self-reflection, adolescents demonstrated greater activity than adults in networks relevant to self-perception (medial prefrontal and parietal cortices) and social-cognition (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, temporal-parietal junction, and posterior superior temporal sulcus), suggesting adolescent self-construals may rely more heavily on others’ perspectives about the self. Activity in the medial fronto-parietal network was also enhanced when adolescents took the perspective of someone more relevant to a given domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnic and American identity, as well as positivity and negativity toward multiple social groups, were assessed in 392 children attending 2nd or 4th grade in various New York City neighborhoods. Children from 5 ethnic groups were recruited, including White and Black Americans, as well as recent immigrants from China, the Dominican Republic, and the former Soviet Union. For ethnic minority children, greater positivity bias (evaluating one's ingroup more positively than outgroups) was predicted by immigrant status and ethnic identity, whereas negativity bias (evaluating outgroups more negatively than one's ingroup) was associated with increased age, immigrant status, and (among 4th graders only) ethnic identity. In addition, a more central American identity was associated with less intergroup bias among ethnic minority children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waves of research and public discourse have characterized adolescence as periods of developmental risk and opportunity. Underlying this discussion is the recognition that adolescence is a period of major biological and social transition when experience may have an outsized effect on development. This article updates and expands upon prior work suggesting that adolescence may be a sensitive period for sociocultural processing specifically. By integrating evidence from developmental psychology and neuroscience, we identify how trajectories of social and neurobiological development may relate to adolescents' ability to adapt to and learn from their social environments. However, we also highlight gaps in the literature, including challenges in attributing developmental change to adolescent experiences. We discuss the importance of better understanding variability in biology (e.g., pubertal development) and cultural environments, as well as distinguishing between sensitive periods and periods of heightened sensitivity. Finally, we look toward future directions and translational implications of this research. • We evaluate adolescence as a sensitive period for sociocultural processing. • Social and neurobiological changes in adolescence point to a sensitive period. • Yet, few studies directly and specifically test sensitive period theories. • More specific definitions and study designs, as well as novel methods, may drive progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine mirror neuron abnormalities in autism, high-functioning children with autism and matched controls underwent fMRI while imitating and observing emotional expressions. Although both groups performed the tasks equally well, children with autism showed no mirror neuron activity in the inferior frontal gyrus (pars opercularis). Notably, activity in this area was inversely related to symptom severity in the social domain, suggesting that a dysfunctional 'mirror neuron system' may underlie the social deficits observed in autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of films in the classroom is not new, as they promote critical thinking and reflection (Prats, Lluis. 2005. Cine para Educar. Barcelona: Belacqua). However, their role in promoting inclusive values with young learners remains relatively unexplored. Films have been considered a powerful pedagogical tool that helps students be in contact with the Other, creating new feelings of understanding and emotional attachment (Saito, Haito. 2010. "Actor-Network Theory of Cosmopolitan Education." Sociological Theory 29 (2), 124–149). In the present work, the pedagogical potential of three Disney-Pixar films is explored to educate young learners in inclusive values related to difference and diversity. To do this, the authors perform a formal analysis using eight key elements linked to inclusive education and the Spanish curriculum for infant education. Results show that these elements are present, with a higher predominance of portraying different races or ethnicities, and the display of border transgressions, demonstrating they may enhance young learners' learning of inclusive values in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adverse experiences throughout development confer risk for a multitude of negative long-term outcomes, but the processes via which these experiences are neurobiologically embedded are still unclear. Adolescence provides an opportunity to understand how these experiences impact the brain's rapidly changing structure. Two models are central to current adversity conceptualizations: a cumulative risk model, where all types of experiences are combined to represent accumulating stress, and a dimensional model, where certain features of experience (e.g., threat or deprivation) exert unique neurophysiological influence. In this registered report, we extended upon previous research by using a form of representational similarity analysis to examine whether the dimensional and cumulative risk models of adversity predict cortical thinning in frontoparietal and frontotemporal networks and volumetric changes in subcortical regions throughout adolescence. Drawing from a longitudinal sample of 179 adolescent girls (ages 10–13 years at the first wave) from Lane County, Oregon, United States, and up to four waves of follow-up data, we found that operationalizing adversity by similarity in threat and deprivation provided better prediction of brain development than similarity in overall adversity. However, these dimensions do not exhibit unique associations with developmental changes in the hypothesized brain changes. These results underscore the significance of carefully defining adversity and considering its impact on the entire brain. Public Significance Statement: Difficult experiences adolescents face while growing up can shape pathways of brain development over many years. The more one adolescent's experiences differ from another adolescent's experiences, especially in cases of threat or neglect, the more their rates of brain development diverge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ethos (0860-8024) is the property of John Paul II Institute, Faculty of Philosophy, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Belonging is a basic human need, with social isolation signaling a threat to biological fitness. Sensitivity to ostracism varies across individuals and the lifespan, peaking in adolescence. Government-imposed restrictions upon social interactions during COVID-19 may therefore be particularly detrimental to young people and those most sensitive to ostracism. Participants (N = 2367; 89.95% female, 11–100 years) from three countries with differing levels of government restrictions (Australia, UK, and USA) were surveyed thrice at three-month intervals (May 2020 – April 2021). Young people, and those living under the tightest government restrictions, reported the worst mental health, with these inequalities in mental health remaining constant throughout the study period. Further dissection of these results revealed that young people high on social rejection sensitivity reported the most mental health problems at the final assessment. These findings help account for the greater impact of enforced social isolation on young people's mental health, and open novel avenues for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenting styles associated with maternal depression are a risk factor for adolescent psychopathology, and maternal attributional styles may be a key mechanism in this relationship. Mother‐adolescent dyads (N = 180; 96 male; ages 10–15) completed in‐person interactions and then the mothers participated in a video‐mediated recall procedure to assess maternal attributions. Maternal depression was associated with negative attributions. Negative attributions were associated with low parental acceptance, aggressive parenting, and low positive parenting. Positive maternal attributions were associated with less aggressive parenting, and more positive parenting during one interaction task. Adolescent externalizing behaviors were associated with negative attributions. Future research should evaluate whether maternal attributions mediate the association between maternal depression and both parenting behaviors and adolescent mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the recent surge in functional neuroimaging studies on social exclusion, the current study employed activation likelihood estimation (ALE) based meta-analyses to identify brain regions that have consistently been implicated across different experimental paradigms used to investigate exclusion. We also examined the neural correlates underlying Cyberball, the most commonly used paradigm to study exclusion, as well as differences in exclusion-related activation between developing (7–18 years of age, from pre-adolescence up to late adolescence) and emerging adult (broadly defined as undergraduates, including late adolescence and young adulthood) samples. Results revealed involvement of the bilateral medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortices, right precuneus and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex across the different paradigms used to examine social exclusion; similar activation patterns were identified when restricting the analysis to Cyberball studies. Investigations into age-related effects revealed that ventrolateral prefrontal activations identified in the full sample were driven by (i.e. present in) developmental samples, while medial prefrontal activations were driven by emerging adult samples. In addition, the right ventral striatum was implicated in exclusion, but only in developmental samples. Subtraction analysis revealed significantly greater activation likelihood in striatal and ventrolateral prefrontal clusters in the developmental samples as compared to emerging adults, though the opposite contrast failed to identify any significant regions. Findings integrate the knowledge accrued from functional neuroimaging studies on social exclusion to date, highlighting involvement of lateral prefrontal regions implicated in regulation and midline structures involved in social cognitive and self-evaluative processes across experimental paradigms and ages, as well as limbic structures in developing samples specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conscientiousness is related to a range of important life outcomes, so it is important to understand its development early in life. We examined how conscientiousness changes from late childhood through middle adolescence and what other psychosocial changes it co-occurs with. We developed and validated a conscientiousness scale for use in existing data. Then in a longitudinal study of participants at ages 10, 13, and 16 ( N = 90 at Time 1) we used growth curve modeling to examine how conscientiousness co-develops with academic, health, and relationship functioning. Mean levels of conscientiousness decreased from 10 to 13 and then increased to age 16. The later increase was stronger among females. Changes in conscientiousness were associated with adaptive changes in other variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals vary in their ability to tolerate uncertainty. High intolerance of uncertainty (the tendency to react negatively to uncertain situations) is a known risk factor for mental health problems. In the current study we examined the degree to which intolerance of uncertainty predicted depression and anxiety symptoms and their interrelations across the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined these associations across three time points (May 2020 – April 2021) in an international sample of adults (N = 2087, Mean age = 41.13) from three countries (UK, USA, Australia) with varying degrees of COVID-19 risk. We found that individuals with high and moderate levels of intolerance of uncertainty reported reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms over time. However, symptom levels remained significantly elevated compared to individuals with low intolerance of uncertainty. Individuals with low intolerance of uncertainty had low and stable levels of depression and anxiety across the course of the study. Network analyses further revealed that the relationships between depression and anxiety symptoms became stronger over time among individuals with high intolerance of uncertainty and identified that feeling afraid showed the strongest association with intolerance of uncertainty. Our findings are consistent with previous work identifying intolerance of uncertainty as an important risk factor for mental health problems, especially in times marked by actual health, economic and social uncertainty. The results highlight the need to explore ways to foster resilience among individuals who struggle to tolerate uncertainty, as ongoing and future geopolitical, climate and health threats will likely lead to continued exposure to significant uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research demonstrates that temporally separating a consumer's initial decision to perform a guilt-inducing action from its actual enactment reduces the guilt felt while acting. This hypothesis follows from the development of a dynamic model that unpacks guilt into two distinct components. Initially, one experiences decision guilt accompanying the decision to act or the realization that one will act; subsequently, one experiences action guilt while engaging in the guilt-inducing behavior. Four experiments and two pilot studies reveal that introducing a temporal "decision-enactment gap" enables decision guilt to decay in this interim period, which lowers the overall guilt experienced upon acting. In line with the self-regulative function of guilt, decision-enactment gaps also increase indulgent consumption and decrease post-behavior atonement. This decoupling process can thus alleviate guilt that might otherwise detract from experiences, but may come at a cost to self-control efforts. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identity development is a core task of adolescence. Self-perceptions of scholastic competence are tied to the academic domain of identity development and have immediate consequences for educational attainment. Understanding the malleability of self-perceptions of scholastic competence, and the factors which may influence its developmental course, are crucial for efforts to improve educational outcomes. This preregistered longitudinal study describes how self-perceived scholastic competence changes across early adolescence, relates to trait mindfulness, and is impacted by school transitions. We investigated these questions in 174 adolescent girls (10-16 years), who each contributed up to three waves of data, using multilevel modeling. Our results demonstrated that prior levels of self-reported mindfulness and school transitions are positively related to self-perceived scholastic competence, whereas age is not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robert Sparrow (among others) claims that if an autonomous weapon were to commit a war crime, it would cause harm for which no one could reasonably be blamed. Since no one would bear responsibility for the soldier's share of killing in such cases, he argues that they would necessarily violate the requirements of jus in bello, and should be prohibited by international law. I argue this view is mistaken and that our moral understanding of war is sufficient to determine blame for any wrongful killing done by autonomous weapons. Analyzing moral responsibility for autonomous weapons starts by recognizing that although they are capable of causing moral consequences, they are neither praiseworthy nor blameworthy in the moral sense. As such, their military role is that of a tool, albeit a rather sophisticated one, and responsibility for their use is roughly analogous to that of existing "smart" weapons. There will likely be some difficulty in managing these systems as they become more intelligent and more prone to unpredicted behavior, but the moral notion of shared responsibility and the legal notion of command responsibility are sufficient to locate responsibility for their use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children fathered and abandoned by United Nations peacekeepers are an unintended consequence of peacekeeping operations. Research suggests that the social identity of peacekeeper-fathered children (PKFC) is complex and contradictory. While economically disadvantaged, PKFC's biracial background confers elements of racial privilege. Using the Democratic Republic of Congo as a case study, the present research evaluates the impact of racial differences on PKFC's social standing. Drawing on in-depth interviews with a racially heterogeneous sample of 35 PKFC and 60 mothers, we analyse how race and poverty interact and cause PKFC's conflicting social role. The data demonstrates that being of mixed race leads to the expectation of a higher living standard. Since most PKFC live in extreme economic deprivation, their anticipated privilege contrasts with reality. We found that the stigmatizing effects of poverty were amplified by biracial identification, leading to additional disadvantage, epitomised in the term "Muzungu aliye homba" [white child gone bankrupt]. The findings add to research on 'children born of war' and show the role of culture in shaping youth's social identities. Based on PKFC's intersecting burdens, we make policy recommendations that address the nexus of race and poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During adolescence, concerns about peer rejection and acceptance become increasingly common. Adolescents regularly experience peer rejection firsthand and witness these behaviors among their peers. In the current study, neuroimaging techniques were employed to conduct a preliminary investigation of the affective and cognitive processes involved in witnessing peer acceptance and rejection - specifically when these witnessed events occur in the immediate aftermath of a firsthand experience with rejection. During an fMRI scan, 23 adolescents underwent a simulated experience of firsthand peer rejection. Then, immediately following this experience they watched as another adolescent was ostensibly first accepted and then rejected. Findings indicated that in the immediate aftermath of being rejected by peers, adolescents displayed neural activity consistent with distress when they saw another peer being accepted, and neural activity consistent with emotion regulation and mentalizing (e.g. perspective-taking) processes when they saw another peer being rejected. Furthermore, individuals displaying a heightened sensitivity to firsthand rejection were more likely to show neural activity consistent with distress when observing a peer being accepted. Findings are discussed in terms of how witnessing others being accepted or rejected relates to adolescents' interpretations of both firsthand and observed experiences with peers. In addition, the potential impact that witnessed events might have on the broader perpetuation of bullying at this age is also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Links among concurrent and longitudinal changes in pubertal development and empathic ability from ages 10 to 13 and neural responses while witnessing peer rejection at age 13 were examined in 16 participants. More advanced pubertal development at age 13, and greater longitudinal increases in pubertal development, related to increased activity in regions underlying cognitive aspects of empathy. Likewise, at age 13 greater perspective taking related to activity in cognitive empathy-related regions; however, affective components of empathy (empathic concern and personal distress) were associated with activity in both cognitive and affective pain-related regions. Longitudinal increases in empathic ability related to cognitive and affective empathy-related circuitry. Findings provide preliminary evidence that physical and cognitive-emotional development relate to adolescents' neural responses when witnessing peer rejection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiences of adversity in the early years of life alter the developing brain. However, evidence documenting this relationship often focuses on severe stressors and relies on peripheral measures of neurobiological functioning during infancy. In the present study, we employed functional MRI during natural sleep to examine associations between a more moderate environmental stressor (nonphysical interparental conflict) and 6- to 12-month-old infants’ neural processing of emotional tone of voice. The primary question was whether interparental conflict experienced by infants is associated with neural responses to emotional tone of voice, particularly very angry speech. Results indicated that maternal report of higher interparental conflict was associated with infants’ greater neural responses to very angry relative to neutral speech across several brain regions implicated in emotion and stress reactivity and regulation (including rostral anterior cingulate cortex, caudate, thalamus, and hypothalamus). These findings suggest that even moderate environmental stress may be associated with brain functioning during infancy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The evolutionary cognitive science of religion rarely strays far from strong individualistic principles despite a deep interest in the adaptive social bonding functions of religion. This raises serious problems for recent Christian theology, which favors concrete relational conceptions of individual personhood. Here, I argue that the wider evolutionary study of religion can mitigate this individualism by embracing recent research suggesting that religion's social bonding functions might be explained as much through energetic, endorphin stimulating, synchronous rituals as through cognitive mechanisms that increase prosocial behavior. The brain opioid theory of social attachment provides a helpful framework for understanding the evolutionary significance of such rituals. A close examination of research into the social effects of synchronous activity, I argue, reveals the need for a theoretically pluralistic explanation of how religion facilitates sociality, the major components of which are readily interpreted in terms that recognize the inherent relationality of individual personhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examines the relationship between social influence and recommendation decisions among adolescents in the new media environment. Participants completed the App Recommendation Task--a task that captures neural processes associated with making recommendations to others, with and without information about peer recommendations of the type commonly available online. The results demonstrate that increased activity in the striatum and orbitofrontal cortex in response to peer recommendations is significantly correlated with participants changing their recommendations to be consistent with this feedback within subjects. Furthermore, individual differences in activation of the temporoparietal junction during feedback that peer recommendations varied from those of the participant correlated with individual differences in susceptibility to influence on recommendation decisions between subjects. These brain regions have previously been implicated in social influence and the concept of being a "successful idea salesperson," respectively. Together, they highlight a potential combination of internal preference shifts and consideration of the mental states of others in recommendation environments that include peer opinions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social perspective-taking is a multifaceted skill set, involving the disposition, motivation, and contextual attempts to consider and understand other individuals. It is essential for appropriate behavior in teaching contexts and social life that has been investigated across various research traditions. Because social perspective-taking enables flexible reappraisals of social situations, it can facilitate more harmonious social interactions. We aimed to systematically review the disparate literature focusing on adults' social perspective-taking to answer the overarching question: Are there findings on factors that positively or negatively related to adults' social perspective-taking as possible protective factor for mental health? Specific questions were which internal or external factors are related to either dispositional or situation-specific social perspective-taking and are both forms related to each other, or do they vary independently of each other in response to these factors? We reviewed 92 studies published in 56 articles in last ten years including 213,095 healthy adults to answer these questions. The findings suggested several factors (e.g., gender, perceived social interactions) related to the dispositional form. Negative relationships to self-reported or tested (cortisol levels) distress suggested dispositional social perspective-taking as a protective factor for mental health. Dispositional social perspective-taking related to the situational form and some findings suggested changes in both forms through intervention. Thus, coordinating different perspectives on oneself or others reflects flexibility in behavior related to positive social and mental health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social belonging is an important human drive that influences mood and behavior. Neural responses to social exclusion are well-characterized, but the specificity of these responses to processing rejection-related affective distress is unknown. The present study compares neural responses to exclusion and overinclusion, a condition that similarly violates fairness expectations but does not involve rejection, with a focus on implications for models of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and anterior insula (AI) function. In an fMRI adaptation of the Cyberball paradigm with adolescents aged 11.1-17.7 years (N = 69), we employed parametric modulators to examine scaling of neural signal with cumulative exclusion and inclusion events, an approach that overcomes arbitrary definitions of condition onsets/offsets imposed on fluid, continuous gameplay. We identified positive scaling of dACC and posterior insula response with cumulative exclusion events, but these same regions exhibited trending signal decreases with cumulative inclusion events. Furthermore, areas within the dACC and insula also responded to context incongruency (throws to the participant in the exclusion run; throws between computer players in the overinclusion run). These findings caution against interpretations that responses in these regions uniquely reflect the affective distress of exclusion within social interaction paradigms. We further identified that the left ventrolateral PFC, rostromedial PFC, and left intraparietal sulcus responded similarly to cumulative exclusion and inclusion. These findings shed light on which neural regions exhibit patterns of differential sensitivity to exclusion or overinclusion, as well as those that are more broadly engaged by both types of social interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In adolescence, the perceived opinions of others are important in the construction of one's self-concept. Previous studies found involvement of medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC) and temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) in direct (own perspective) and reflected (perceived perspective of others) self-evaluations, but no studies to date examined differences in these processes across adolescence. In this study, 150 adolescents between 11 and 21 years old evaluated their traits from their own perspective and from the perceived perspective of peers in a fMRI session. Results showed overlapping behavioural and neural measures for direct and reflected self-evaluations, in mPFC, precuneus and right TPJ. The difference in behavioural ratings declined with age, and this pattern was mirrored by activity in the mPFC, showing a diminishing difference in activation for direct > reflected self-evaluations with increasing age. Right TPJ was engaged more strongly for reflected > direct evaluations in adolescents who were less positive about themselves, and those who showed who showed less item-by-item agreement between direct and reflected self-evaluations. Together, the results suggest that the internalization of others' opinions in constructing a self-concept occurs on both the behavioural and neural levels across adolescence, which may aid in developing a stable self-concept. • Direct and reflected self-evaluations are strongly correlated and largely overlap. • Behavioural differences in direct and reflected self-ratings decline with age. • Differences in mPFC activation for direct and reflected evaluation decline with age. • Stronger r.TPJ for reflected evaluations when there is less item-by-item agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Changes across the span of adolescence in the adolescent reward system are thought to increase the tendency to take risks. While developmental differences in decision and outcome-related reward processes have been studied extensively, existing paradigms have largely neglected to measure how different types of decisions modulate reward-related outcome processes. We modified an existing decision-making paradigm (the Stoplight Task; Chein et al., 2011) to create a flexible laboratory measure of decision-making and outcome processing, including the ability to assess modulatory effects of safe versus risky decisions on reward-related outcome processes: the Yellow Light Game (YLG). We administered the YLG in the MRI scanner to 81 adolescents, ages 11–17 years, recruited from the community. Results showed that nucleus accumbens activation was enhanced for (1) risky > safe decisions, (2) positive > negative outcomes, and (3) outcomes following safe decisions compared to outcomes following risky decisions, regardless of whether these outcomes were positive or negative. Outcomes following risky decisions (compared to outcomes following safe decisions) were associated with enhanced activity in cortical midline structures. Furthermore, while there were no developmental differences in risk-taking behavior, more pubertally mature adolescents showed enhanced nucleus accumbens activation during positive > negative outcomes. These findings suggest that outcome processing is modulated by the types of decisions made by adolescents and highlight the importance of investigating processes involved in safe as well as risky decisions to better understand the adolescent tendency to take risks. Highlights • The Yellow Light Game measures decision-making and associated outcome processes. • Safe decisions elicited greater outcome-related activity in nucleus accumbens (NAcc). • Risky decisions produced more outcome-related activity in cortical midline structures. • More mature adolescents showed greater NAcc activation for positive outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do racial and ethnic characteristics of non-immigrants play an important role in shaping attitudes toward immigrants in the U.S.? Using a 2010 survey experiment representative of the U.S. general population, this paper examines differences in opposition to immigration by the race or ethnicity of the respondent. By manipulating the amount of anonymity offered to respondents, the experiment allows explicit opposition to be distinguished from implicit opposition, which offers unique insight into the extent to which opposition is masked. Consistent with theories of in-group solidarity, we find that Hispanics, who comprise nearly half of all immigrants in the U.S., overtly express a less restrictive posture, which, relative to Black and White respondents, is not significantly masked. In contrast, White and Black respondents only overtly express more openness to immigration. When offered absolute anonymity, opposition is significantly and substantively greater. The implications are profound in that differences in the extent to which opposition is masked, rather than overtly expressed, fundamentally patterns racial and ethnic differences in opposition to immigration in the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alongside the exponential flourish of research on age-related trajectories of human brain development during childhood and adolescence in the past two decades, there has been an increase in the body of work examining the association between pubertal development and brain maturation. This review systematically examines empirical research on puberty-related structural and functional brain development in humans, with the aim of identifying convergent patterns of associations. We emphasize longitudinal studies, and discuss pervasive but oft-overlooked methodological issues that may be contributing to inconsistent findings and hindering progress (e.g., conflating distinct pubertal indices and different measurement instruments). We also briefly evaluate support for prominent models of adolescent neurodevelopment that hypothesize puberty-related changes in brain regions involved in affective and motivational processes. For the field to progress, replication studies are needed to help resolve current inconsistencies and gain a clearer understanding of pubertal associations with brain development in humans, knowledge that is crucial to make sense of the changes in psychosocial functioning, risk behavior, and mental health during adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goal-directed behavior and lifelong well-being often depend on the ability to control appetitive motivations, such as cravings. Cognitive reappraisal is an effective way to modulate emotional states, including cravings, but is often studied under explicit instruction to regulate. Despite the strong prediction from Self-Determination Theory that choice should enhance task engagement and regulation success, little is known empirically about whether and how regulation is different when participants choose (vs are told) to exert control. To investigate how choice affects neural activity and regulation success, participants reappraised their responses to images of personally-craved foods while undergoing functional neuroimaging. Participants were either instructed to view or reappraise ('no-choice') or chose freely to view or reappraise ('yes-choice'). Choice increased activity in the frontoparietal control network. We expected this activity would be associated with increased task engagement, resulting in better regulation success. However, contrary to this prediction, choice slightly reduced regulation success. Follow-up multivariate functional neuroimaging analyses indicated that choice likely disrupted allocation of limited cognitive resources during reappraisal. While unexpected, these results highlight the importance of studying upstream processes such as regulation choice, as they may affect the ability to regulate cravings and other emotional states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stimulus sets presently used to study emotion processing are primarily static pictures of individuals (primarily adults) making emotional facial expressions. However, the dynamic, stereotyped movements associated with emotional expressions contain rich information missing from static pictures, such as the difference between happiness and pride. We created a set of 1.1 s dynamic emotional facial stimuli representing boys and girls aged 8-18. A separate group of 36 individuals (mean [ M] age = 19.5 years, standard deviation [SD] = 1.95, 13 male) chose the most appropriate emotion label for each video from a superset of 250 videos. Validity and reliability statistics were performed across all stimuli, which were then used to determine which stimuli should be included in the final stimulus set. We set a criterion for inclusion of 70% agreement with the modal response made for each video. The final stimulus set contains 142 videos of 36 actors ( M age = 13.24 years, SD = 2.09, 14 male) making negative (disgust, embarrassment, fear, sadness), positive (happiness, pride), and neutral facial expressions. The percent correct among the final stimuli was high (median = 88.89%; M = 88.38%, SD = 7.74%), as was reliability (κ = 0.753). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is limited information regarding the neurobiology underlying non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in clinically-referred youth. However, the salience of disturbed interpersonal relationships and disrupted self-processing associated with NSSI suggests the neural basis of social processes as a key area for additional study. Adolescent participants ( N =123; M =14.75 years, SD =1.64) were divided into three groups: NSSI plus depression diagnosis (NSSI), depression only (DEP), healthy controls (HC). In the scanner, participants completed an Interpersonal Self-Processing task by taking direct (own) and indirect (mothers', best friends', or classmates') perspectives regarding self-characteristics. Across all perspectives, NSSI showed higher BOLD activation in limbic areas, and anterior and posterior cortical midline structures versus DEP and HC, while HC showed greater activity in rostrolateral, frontal pole and occipital cortex than NSSI and DEP youth. Moreover, NSSI youth showed heightened responses in amygdala, hippocampus, parahippocampus, and fusiform when taking their mothers' perspective, which were negatively correlated with self-reports of the mother's support of adolescents' emotional distress in the NSSI group. NSSI youth also yielded greater precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex activity during indirect self-processing from their classmates' perspective. Findings suggest a role for disruptions in self- and emotion-processing, and conflicted social relationships in the neurobiology of NSSI among depressed adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on novel "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy which images the social and cultural institutions responsible for cultivating empathy have all been destroyed. Topics discussed include boy's irrepressible inclination to feel with other people as the main theme of the novel; fear, suffering, and loneliness of others encounter on the road; and phenomenon of simulating the emotions of others.

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue Canadienne de Science Politique is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An index for the abstract authors of the September 2012 issue of "Psychophysiology" journal is presented.

An author index for the November 2009 issue of "Child Development" is presented.

Emotional awareness is the ability to conceptualize and describe one's own emotions and those of others. Over thirty years ago, a cognitive-developmental theory of emotional awareness patterned after Piaget's theory of cognitive development was created as well as a performance measure of this ability called the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS). Since then, a large number of studies have been completed in healthy volunteers and clinical populations including those with mental health or systemic medical disorders. Along the way, there have also been further refinements and adaptations of the LEAS such as the creation of a digital version in addition to further advances in the theory itself. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the evolving theoretical background, measurement methods, and empirical findings with the LEAS. The LEAS is a reliable and valid measure of emotional awareness. Evidence suggests that emotional awareness facilitates better emotion self-regulation, better ability to navigate complex social situations and enjoy relationships, and better physical and mental health. This is a relatively new but promising area of research in the domain of socio-emotional skills. The paper concludes with some recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans are driven to pursue and preserve social relationships, and these motivations are reinforced through biological systems. In particular, individual differences in the tuning of biological systems that respond to social threats may motivate individuals to seek out differently structured social environments. Drawing on a sample of adolescent males who underwent fMRI brain imaging (n = 74) and contributed Facebook data, we examined whether biological responses to a common scenario - being excluded from an activity with peers - was associated with their social network structure. We find that neural responses during social exclusion in a priori hypothesized “social pain” regions of the brain (dACC, AI, subACC) are associated with the density and transitivity of core friendship networks. These findings suggest that neural reactivity to exclusion may be one factor that underlies network “safety”. More broadly, the study shows the potential of linking social cognitive tendencies to social structural properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]