Trajectories of Big Five Personality Traits: A Coordinated Analysis of 16 Longitudinal Samples

This study assessed change in self‐reported Big Five personality traits. We conducted a coordinated integrative data analysis using data from 16 longitudinal samples, comprising a total sample of over 60 000 participants. We coordinated models across multiple datasets and fit identical multi‐level growth models to assess and compare the extent of trait change over time. Quadratic change was assessed in a subset of samples with four or more measurement occasions. Across studies, the linear trajectory models revealed declines in conscientiousness, extraversion, and openness. Non‐linear models suggested late‐life increases in neuroticism. Meta‐analytic summaries indicated that the fixed effects of personality change are somewhat heterogeneous and that the variability in trait change is partially explained by sample age, country of origin, and personality measurement method. We also found mixed evidence for predictors of change, specifically for sex and baseline age. This study demonstrates the importance of coordinated conceptual replications for accelerating the accumulation of robust and reliable findings in the lifespan developmental psychological sciences. © 2020 European Association of Personality PsychologyPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156004/1/per2259.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156004/2/per2259-sup-0001-Data_S1.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156004/3/per2259-sup-0002-Open_Practices_Disclosure_Form.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156004/4/per2259_am.pd

OpenMx 2.0:Extended Structural Equation and Statistical Modeling

The new software package OpenMx 2.0 for structural equation and other statistical modeling is introduced and its features are described. OpenMx is evolving in a modular direction and now allows a mix-and-match computational approach that separates model expectations from fit functions and optimizers. Major backend architectural improvements include a move to swappable open-source optimizers such as the newly-written CSOLNP. Entire new methodologies such as Item Factor analysis (IRT) and State-space modeling have been implemented. New model expectation functions including support for the expression of models in LISREL syntax and a simplified multigroup expectation function are available. Ease-of-use improvements include helper functions to standardize model parameters and compute their Jacobian-based standard errors, access to model components through standard R $ mechanisms, and improved tab completion from within the R Graphical User Interface

Sensitivity to Semantic Relationships in U.S. Monolingual English-Speaking Typical Talkers and Late Talkers

Purpose: Late talkers are a group of children who exhibit delays in language development without a known cause (Fisher, 2017). While a hallmark of late talkers is a reduced expressive vocabulary, little is known about late talkers’ processing of semantic relations among words in their emerging vocabularies. This study uses an eye-tracking task to compare two-year-old late talkers’ and typical talkers’ sensitivity to semantic relationships among early acquired words. Method: U.S. monolingual English-speaking late talkers (n = 21) and typical talkers (n = 24) completed a looking-while-listening task in which they viewed two images on a screen (e.g., a shirt and a pizza) while they heard words that referred to one of the images (e.g., Look! Shirt!; target-present condition) or a semantically related item (e.g., Look! Hat!; target-absent condition). Children’s eye movements (i.e., looks to the target) were monitored to assess their sensitivity to these semantic relationships. Results: Both late talkers and typical talkers looked longer at the semantically related image than the unrelated image on target-absent trials, demonstrating sensitivity to the taxonomic relationships used in the experiment. There was no significant group difference between late talkers and typical talkers. Both groups also looked more to the target in the target-present condition than in the target-absent condition. Conclusions: These results reveal that, despite possessing smaller expressive vocabularies, late talkers have encoded semantic relationships in their receptive lexica and activate these during real-time language comprehension. This study furthers our understanding of late talkers’ emerging linguistic systems and language processing skills

Specificity of Phonological Representations in U.S. English-Speaking Late Talkers and Typical Talkers

Late talkers are a heterogeneous group of children who experience delayed language development in the absence of other known causes (Fisher, 2017). Late talkers show delays in expressive phonological development, but less is known about their receptive phonological development. In the current study, a group of U.S. monolingual English-speaking typical talkers (n = 23, mean age = 26.27 months, 57 % male; 78.3 % White) and late talkers (n = 22, mean age = 24.57 months, 59% male, 72.7% White) completed a Looking-While-Listening task to assess their sensitivity to mispronunciations. Results revealed that late talkers and typical talkers looked less to the referent of a word when it was mispronounced than when it was correctly pronounced, suggesting they were sensitive to mispronunciations. Moreover, there were no significant differences between the two groups in their sensitivity to mispronunciations