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Objectives Though findings have been mixed, some primary or elementary school-based mindfulness and cognitive behavioural interventions have been shown to improve aspects of emotion regulation. Age is suggested as a potential mediator but previous reviews have not addressed this comprehensively, making evaluation of impact unclear. The current review brought together the evidence surrounding the impact of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) or cognitive behavioural interventions (CBIs) on emotion regulation in children aged between 7 and 12 years. Method Databases (British Education Index, Child Development and Adolescent Studies, CINAHL, Education Source, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, SAGE, Web of Science) were searched for published and unpublished randomised controlled trials evaluating the effect of primary school-based MBIs (n = 18) or CBIs (n = 12) on measures of emotional awareness, modulation and expression. Results Analysis of the MBIs in this review indicated a significant improvement in emotional awareness, an increase in positive emotions and a reduction in depression. Sub-analyses found an effect of age, duration and universal delivery for MBIs. Analysis of the CBIs indicated significant improvement in child negative expressive behaviours as reported by parents. Risk of bias was low across domains of incomplete outcome data and selective outcome reporting but was unclear in other domains. Conclusions Evidence from the MBI studies suggested that universal interventions with a shorter duration had more significant effects, particularly for 10–12-year-old participants. Future research should investigate programme design features and the suitability of content and skill-focus for different age groups, employing qualitative techniques for analysis. This could lead to reconsideration of typical intervention formats for primary school children. Pre-registration PROSPERO #CRD42019139283.

A wealth of studies have shown that humans are remarkably poor at determining whether two face images show the same person or not (face matching). Given the prevalence of photo-ID, and the fact that people employed to check photo-ID are typically unfamiliar with the person pictured, there is a need to improve unfamiliar face matching accuracy. One method of improvement is to have participants complete the task in a pair, which results in subsequent improvements in the low performer (“the pairs training effect”). Here, we sought to replicate the original finding, to test the longevity of the pairs training effect, and to shed light on the potential underlying mechanisms. In two experiments, we replicated the pairs training effect and showed it is maintained after a delay (Experiment 1). We found no differences between high and low performers in confidence (Experiment 1) or response times (Experiment 2), and the content of the pairs’ discussions (Experiment 2) did not explain the results. The pairs training effect in unfamiliar face matching is robust, but the mechanisms underlying the effects remain as yet unexplained.

Automatic facial recognition technology (AFR) is increasingly used in criminal justice systems around the world, yet to date there has not been an international survey of public attitudes toward its use. In Study 1, we ran focus groups in the UK, Australia and China (countries at different stages of adopting AFR) and in Study 2 we collected data from over 3,000 participants in the UK, Australia and the USA using a questionnaire investigating attitudes towards AFR use in criminal justice systems. Our results showed that although overall participants were aligned in their attitudes and reasoning behind them, there were some key differences across countries. People in the USA were more accepting of tracking citizens, more accepting of private companies’ use of AFR, and less trusting of the police using AFR than people in the UK and Australia. Our results showed that support for the use of AFR depends greatly on what the technology is used for and who it is used by. We recommend vendors and users do more to explain AFR use, including details around accuracy and data protection. We also recommend that governments should set legal boundaries around the use of AFR in investigative and criminal justice settings.