Cohort Effects in Children\u27s Delay of Gratification

In the 1960s at Stanford University’s Bing Preschool, children were given the option of taking an immediate, smaller reward or receiving a delayed, larger reward by waiting until the experimenter returned. Since then, the “Marshmallow Test” has been used in numerous studies to assess delay of gratification. Yet, no prior study has compared the performance of children across the decades. Common wisdom suggests children today would wait less long, preferring immediate gratification. Study 1 confirmed this intuition in a survey of adults in the U.S. (N = 354; Median age = 34 years). To test the validity of this prediction, Study 2 analyzed the original data for average delay-of-gratification times (out of 10 min) of 840 typically developing U.S. children in three birth cohorts from similar middle- high socioeconomic backgrounds in the late 1960s, 1980s, and 2000s, matched on age (3-5 years) at the time of testing. In contrast to popular belief, results revealed a linear increase in delay over time (p \u3c .0001, = .047), such that children in the 2000s waited on average 2 min longer than children in the 1960s, and 1 min longer than children in the 1980s. This pattern was robust with respect to age, sex, geography and sampling effects. We posit that increases in symbolic thought, technology, preschool education, and public attention to executive function skills have contributed to this finding, but caution that more research in diverse populations is needed to examine the generality of the findings and to identify causal factors

Promoting social cohesion and peacebuilding through investment in early childhood development programs

Millions of children worldwide will not reach their potential in terms of education and development. However, it is widely known that investment in high-quality early childhood development (ECD) pays rich dividends throughout the lifespan of an individual, impacting their own lives, families, and communities in a positive way. Further evidence points to the importance of ECD in delivering the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The multi-sectoral, integrated provision of ECD services is ideally placed to facilitate holistic positive change and enhance social cohesion in some of the most inequitable and vulnerable contexts. The LINKS project brings together an international network of researchers, who work in strategic partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Early Years the Organisation for Young Children in Northern Ireland to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of ECD programs in low- and middle-income countries impacted by divisions and conflict. The project is designed to contribute to the international evidence base on ECD for social cohesion and sustaining peace to make a real difference in the lives of children, caregivers, and communities

Café Shapiro Anthology, Selected Poems and Short Stories from the 14th Annual Café Shapiro

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116065/1/CafeShapiro_2011.pd

Alteration of belowground carbon dynamics by nitrogen addition in southern California mixed conifer forests

Nitrogen deposition rates in southern California are the highest in North America and have had substantial effects on ecosystem functioning. We document changes in the belowground C cycle near ponderosa pine trees experiencing experimental nitrogen (N) addition (50 and 150 kg N ha(-1) a(-1) as slow release urea since 1997) at two end-member sites along a pollution gradient in the San Bernardino Mountains, California. Despite considerable differences in N deposition between the two sites, we observed parallel changes in microbial substrate use and soil enzyme activity with N addition. Delta C-14 measurements indicate that the mean age of C respired by the Oa horizon declined 10-15 years with N addition at both sites. N addition caused an increase in cellulolytic enzyme activity at the polluted site and a decrease in ligninolytic enzyme activity at the unpolluted site. Given the likely differences in lignin and cellulose ages, this could explain the difference in the age of microbial respiration with N addition. Measurements of fractionated soil organic matter did not show the same magnitude of changes in response to N addition as were observed for respired C. This lesser response was likely because the soils are mostly composed of C having turnover times of decades to centuries, and 9 years of N amendment were not enough to affect this material. Consequently, Delta C-14 of respired CO2 provided a more sensitive indicator of the effects of N addition than other methods. Results suggest that enhanced N deposition alone may not result in increased soil C storage in xeric ecosystems