Parenting practices and children's cognitive effort: a laboratory study

We examine the association between parenting practices (discipline and support) and children's cognitive effort. Cognitive effort is hard to measure; hence, little is known in general about effort dispositions, and in particular about the influence of parenting practices on effort. We present data from a study on almost 1,400 fifth grade students from Berlin and Madrid. Cognitive effort is measured with tests of executive function. The students do the tests under an unincentivised and incentivised condition. We study two effort-related outcomes: "effort direction" - the child's decision to voluntarily do a real-effort task &- and "effort intensity" - the child's performance on the task. Results indicate that both parental discipline and support are associated with effort direction and the presence of incentives moderates this association. However, only parental discipline is (weakly) associated with effort intensity. We conclude that parenting practices primarily influence deliberative rather than instinctual types of cognitive effort.This research has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 758600)

A model of indirect crowding

The introduction of material rewards has often been proposed to improve the participation of disadvantaged people in areas such as education, politics, and sustainability. But people differ in their intrinsic motivation to exert effort on a given task. And, as the literature on "crowding" effects emphasizes, introducing incentives can sometimes alter intrinsic motivation, or its association with effort. We introduce a distinction between "direct" crowding, which directly affects intrinsic motivation, and "indirect" crowding, which affects the relationship between intrinsic motivation and effort. The former is intriguing, but likely of limited generalizability. The latter, we argue, is of greater prevalence. We present a simple model of indirect crowding, building on extant cognitive and social scientific approaches. The model shows that if the marginal costs increase quickly (relative to the marginal benefits), then increasing material incentives leads to "indirect crowding out": individuals with low intrinsic motivation increase effort at a greater rate than highly motivated individuals. Conversely, if marginal costs increase slowly relative to marginal benefits, "indirect crowding in" occurs, with highly motivated individuals pulling away from lesser motivated ones. However, this result only holds if total benefit is the sum of intrinsic and extrinsic benefit. If intrinsic and extrinsic benefit are multiplicative, only crowding in can occur. The model demonstrates that introducing or increasing extrinsic rewards may inadvertently increase inequality, with implications for policy makers

The race is not to the swift : the role of social cognition in reproducing class-based inequality

Defence date: 25 January 2023Examining Board: Prof. Klarita Gërxhani, EUI (EUI Supervisor); Prof. Arnout van de Rijt (EUI); Prof. Cecilia L. Ridgeway (Stanford University); Prof. Carlo Barone (Sciences Po)For sociologists, social class determines life outcomes in a myriad of different ways. But for the general public, class has never mattered as little. Class has become the “dark matter” of society, a potent yet invisible force shaping social reality. What accounts for the persistent, yet invisible power of class? In this thesis I argue that much of contemporary class inequality is driven by the widespread belief that “class = competence”. This belief biases third party assessment of performance, directly affects performance and decision-making through internalising expectations, and buttresses the status quo by legitimising inequality as the result of meritocratic processes. Yet, potent as it is, the effects of this belief are not obvious because it appears to be nothing more than the common sense observation that those who achieve positions of power, wealth, and prestige are highly competent. In this thesis, I explore how this belief is driven by social cognitive processes. In particular, I look at psychological heuristics designed to facilitate social action in the context of uncertainty. Each empirical chapter sets out to address three important mechanisms related to the “class = competence” belief. The first empirical chapter establishes that the “class = competence” belief leads to biased third party evaluations of performance. The second empirical chapter shows that working class students internalise the “class = competence” belief, decreasing their likelihood of attending university. The third chapter explores how the belief emerges by testing a mechanism based on cognitive dissonance reduction

Anomalies in low-energy Gamma-Ray Burst spectra with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor

A Band function has become the standard spectral function used to describe the prompt emission spectra of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). However, deviations from this function have previously been observed in GRBs detected by BATSE and in individual GRBs from the \textit{Fermi} era. We present a systematic and rigorous search for spectral deviations from a Band function at low energies in a sample of the first two years of high fluence, long bursts detected by the \textit{Fermi} Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM). The sample contains 45 bursts with a fluence greater than 2$\times10^{-5}$ erg / cm$^{2}$ (10 - 1000 keV). An extrapolated fit method is used to search for low-energy spectral anomalies, whereby a Band function is fit above a variable low-energy threshold and then the best fit function is extrapolated to lower energy data. Deviations are quantified by examining residuals derived from the extrapolated function and the data and their significance is determined via comprehensive simulations which account for the instrument response. This method was employed for both time-integrated burst spectra and time-resolved bins defined by a signal to noise ratio of 25 $\sigma$ and 50 $\sigma$. Significant deviations are evident in 3 bursts (GRB\,081215A, GRB\,090424 and GRB\,090902B) in the time-integrated sample ($\sim$ 7%) and 5 bursts (GRB\,090323, GRB\,090424, GRB\,090820, GRB\,090902B and GRB\,090926A) in the time-resolved sample ($\sim$ 11%).} The advantage of the systematic, blind search analysis is that it can demonstrate the requirement for an additional spectral component without any prior knowledge of the nature of that extra component. Deviations are found in a large fraction of high fluence GRBs; fainter GRBs may not have sufficient statistics for deviations to be found using this method

Tumour-specific HMG-CoAR is an independent predictor of recurrence free survival in epithelial ovarian cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Our group previously reported that tumour-specific expression of the rate-limiting enzyme in the mevalonate pathway, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutharyl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoAR) is associated with more favourable tumour parameters and a good prognosis in breast cancer. In the present study, the prognostic value of HMG-CoAR expression was examined in tumours from a cohort of patients with primary epithelial ovarian cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>HMG-CoAR expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry (IHC) on tissue microarrays (TMA) consisting of 76 ovarian cancer cases, analysed using automated algorithms to develop a quantitative scoring model. Kaplan Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards modelling were used to estimate the risk of recurrence free survival (RFS).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seventy-two tumours were suitable for analysis. Cytoplasmic HMG-CoAR expression was present in 65% (n = 46) of tumours. No relationship was seen between HMG-CoAR and age, histological subtype, grade, disease stage, estrogen receptor or Ki-67 status. Patients with tumours expressing HMG-CoAR had a significantly prolonged RFS (p = 0.012). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that HMG-CoAR expression was an independent predictor of improved RFS (RR = 0.49, 95% CI (0.25-0.93); p = 0.03) when adjusted for established prognostic factors such as residual disease, tumour stage and grade.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>HMG-CoAR expression is an independent predictor of prolonged RFS in primary ovarian cancer. As HMG-CoAR inhibitors, also known as statins, have demonstrated anti-neoplastic effects <it>in vitro</it>, further studies are required to evaluate HMG-CoAR expression as a surrogate marker of response to statin treatment, especially in conjunction with current chemotherapeutic regimens.</p

An Observed Correlation Between Thermal and Non-Thermal Emission in Gamma-Ray Bursts

Recent observations by the $Fermi$ Gamma-ray Space Telescope have confirmed the existence of thermal and non-thermal components in the prompt photon spectra of some Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Through an analysis of six bright Fermi GRBs, we have discovered a correlation between the observed photospheric and non-thermal $\gamma$-ray emission components of several GRBs using a physical model that has previously been shown to be a good fit to the Fermi data. From the spectral parameters of these fits we find that the characteristic energies, $E_{\rm p}$ and $kT$, of these two components are correlated via the relation $E_{\rm p} \propto T^{\alpha}$ which varies from GRB to GRB. We present an interpretation in which the value of index $\alpha$ indicates whether the jet is dominated by kinetic or magnetic energy. To date, this jet composition parameter has been assumed in the modeling of GRB outflows rather than derived from the data

CfAIR2: Near Infrared Light Curves of 94 Type Ia Supernovae

CfAIR2 is a large homogeneously reduced set of near-infrared (NIR) light curves for Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) obtained with the 1.3m Peters Automated InfraRed Imaging TELescope (PAIRITEL). This data set includes 4607 measurements of 94 SN Ia and 4 additional SN Iax observed from 2005-2011 at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona. CfAIR2 includes JHKs photometric measurements for 88 normal and 6 spectroscopically peculiar SN Ia in the nearby universe, with a median redshift of z~0.021 for the normal SN Ia. CfAIR2 data span the range from -13 days to +127 days from B-band maximum. More than half of the light curves begin before the time of maximum and the coverage typically contains ~13-18 epochs of observation, depending on the filter. We present extensive tests that verify the fidelity of the CfAIR2 data pipeline, including comparison to the excellent data of the Carnegie Supernova Project. CfAIR2 contributes to a firm local anchor for supernova cosmology studies in the NIR. Because SN Ia are more nearly standard candles in the NIR and are less vulnerable to the vexing problems of extinction by dust, CfAIR2 will help the supernova cosmology community develop more precise and accurate extragalactic distance probes to improve our knowledge of cosmological parameters, including dark energy and its potential time variation.Comment: 31 pages, 15 figures, 10 tables. Accepted to ApJS. v2 modified to more closely match journal versio

The Grizzly, November 18, 1983

No More Heat? • Electron Scope Donated • Letters to the Editor: Critical Appraisal Needed • Hazard: The Grizzly Interview Part Two (A Year Ago) • Like to Write? • Women\u27s Basketball: Short in Stature, Tall in Talent • Women\u27s Swim Team Optimistic • Bear Blades Shooting for Third Straight Perfect Season • Brown Qualifies for Nationals • U.C. Soccer Captures Regional Title • Grizzlies Achieve Several Pre-season Goals • Men\u27s Swimming Looking for Strong Seasonhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1108/thumbnail.jp