Achieving abstraction: Generating far analogies promotes relational reasoning in children.

Analogical reasoning is essential for transfer by supporting recognition of relational similarity. However, not all analogies are created equal. The source and target can be similar (near), or quite different (far). Previous research suggests that close comparisons facilitate children's relational abstraction. On the other hand, evidence from adults indicates that the process of solving far analogies may be a more effective scaffold for transfer of a relational strategy. We explore whether engaging with far analogies similarly induces such a strategy in preschoolers. Children were provided with the opportunity to solve either a near or far spatial analogy using a pair of puzzle boxes that varied in perceptual similarity (Experiment 1), or to participate in a control task (Experiment 2). All groups were then presented with an ambiguous spatial reasoning task featuring both object and relational matches. We were interested in the relationship between near and far conditions and two effects: (a) children's tendency to spontaneously draw an analogy when solving the initial puzzle, and (b) their tendency to privilege relational matches over object matches in a subsequent, ambiguous task. Although children were more likely to spontaneously draw an analogy in the near condition, those who attempted the far analogy were more likely to privilege a relational match on the subsequent task. We argue that the process of solving a far analogy-regardless of a learner's spontaneous success in identifying the relation-contextualizes an otherwise ambiguous learning problem, making it easier for children to access and apply relational hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Recor

Is conservative opposition to climate change threat-based? articulating an integrated threat model of climate change attitudes

Throughout the literature, there are assertions that those endorsing conservative ideologies reject the science and solutions of climate change due to perceived threat. That is, they fear that accepting climate change means accepting problems with a favoured socioeconomic system and supporting action on climate change threatens to disrupt these systems. We draw together lines of research and reasoning on this topic to outline three key predictions this perspective makes about the drivers of conservative denial of climate change and opposition to climate policy. The first is that an asymmetry exists in climate-related threat perceptions, whereby greater endorsement of conservative ideology predicts lower perceived threat from climate change and greater perceived threat from climate reform. Second, climate-related threat perceptions are multifaceted, such that threats to economic and cultural well-being can be experienced, at personal or collective levels. Third, the asymmetry in threat perceptions explains conservatives\u27 lower support for pro-climate reforms. We then specify a new integrated threat model of climate change attitudes, review the current evidence for and against each prediction in this model and outline ways to interrogate these theoretical predictions with empirical research. Doing so will advance understanding of the underpinnings of ideological disagreement on climate change

Energy-Rich Mesopelagic Fishes Revealed as a Critical Prey Resource for a Deep-Diving Predator Using Quantitative Fatty Acid Signature Analysis

Understanding the diet of deep-diving predators can provide essential insight to the trophic structure of the mesopelagic ecosystem. Comprehensive population-level diet estimates are exceptionally difficult to obtain for elusive marine predators due to the logistical challenges involved in observing their feeding behavior and collecting samples for traditional stomach content or fecal analyses. We used quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) to estimate the diet composition of a wide-ranging mesopelagic predator, the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), across five years. To implement QFASA, we first compiled a library of prey fatty acid (FA) profiles from the mesopelagic eastern North Pacific. Given the scarcity of a priori diet data for northern elephant seals, our prey library was necessarily large to encompass the range of potential prey in their foraging habitat. However, statistical constraints limit the number of prey species that can be included in the prey library to the number of dietary FAs in the analysis. Exceeding that limit could produce non-unique diet estimates (i.e., multiple diet estimates fit the data equally well). Consequently, we developed a novel ad-hoc method to identify which prey were unlikely to contribute to diet and could, therefore, be excluded from the final QFASA model. The model results suggest that seals predominantly consumed small mesopelagic fishes, including myctophids (lanternfishes) and bathylagids (deep sea smelts), while non-migrating mesopelagic squids comprised a third of their diet, substantially less than suggested by previous studies. Our results revealed that mesopelagic fishes, particularly energy-rich myctophids, were a critical prey resource, refuting the long-held view that elephant seals are squid specialists

Medication and road test performance among cognitively healthy older adults

IMPORTANCE: Older adults are increasingly prescribed medications that have adverse effects. Prior studies have found a higher risk of motor vehicle crashes to be associated with certain medication use. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether specific medication classes were associated with performance decline as assessed by a standardized road test in a community sample of cognitively healthy older adults, to evaluate additional associations of poor road test performance with comorbid medical conditions and demographic characteristics, and to test the hypothesis that specific medication classes (ie, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, sedatives or hypnotics, anticholinergics, antihistamines, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or acetaminophen) would be associated with an increase in risk of impaired driving performance over time. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a prospective cohort study of 198 cognitively healthy adults 65 years and older with a valid driver\u27s license who were followed up annually, with rolling enrollment. Data were collected from participants in St Louis, Missouri, and neighboring Illinois who were enrolled in the Knight Alzheimer\u27s Disease Research Center. Data were collected from August 28, 2012, to March 14, 2023, and analyzed from April 1 to 25, 2023. Participants with healthy cognition, defined as a Clinical Dementia Rating score of 0 at baseline and subsequent visits, who had available clinical, neuropsychological, road tests, and self-reported medication data were included. EXPOSURE: Potentially driver-impairing medication use. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome measure was performance on the Washington University Road Test (pass or marginal/fail). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate associations between potentially driver-impairing medication use and road test performance. RESULTS: Of the 198 included adults (mean [SD] baseline age, 72.6 [4.6] years; 87 female [43.9%]), 70 (35%) received a marginal/fail rating on the road test over a mean (SD) follow-up of 5.70 (2.45) years. Any use of antidepressants (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.68; 95% CI, 1.69-4.71), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (aHR, 2.68; 95% CI, 1.54-4.64), sedatives or hypnotics (aHR, 2.70; 95% CI, 1.40-5.19), or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (aHR, 2.72; 95% CI, 1.31-5.63) was associated with an increase in risk of receiving a marginal/fail rating on the road test compared with control individuals. Conversely, participants taking lipid-lowering agents had a lower risk of receiving a marginal/fail rating compared to control individuals. There were no statistically significant associations found between anticholinergic or antihistamines and poor performance. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this prospective cohort study, specific medication classes were associated with an increase in risk of poor road test performance over time. Clinicians should consider this information and counsel patients accordingly when prescribing these medications

Cognitive and brain reserve predict decline in adverse driving behaviors among cognitively normal older adults

Daily driving is a multi-faceted, real-world, behavioral measure of cognitive functioning requiring multiple cognitive domains working synergistically to complete this instrumental activity of daily living. As the global population of older adult continues to grow, motor vehicle crashes become more frequent among this demographic. Cognitive reserve (CR) is the brain\u27s adaptability or functional robustness despite damage, while brain reserve (BR) refers the structural, neuroanatomical resources. This study examined whether CR and BR predicted changes in adverse driving behaviors in cognitively normal older adults. Cognitively normal older adults (Clinical Dementia Rating 0) were enrolled from longitudinal studies at the Knight Alzheimer\u27s Disease Research Center at Washington University. Participants

Solastalgia mediates between bushfire impact and mental health outcomes: A study of Australia\u27s 2019–2020 bushfire season

In 2019–2020, Australia experienced an unprecedented bushfire season that caused widespread environmental destruction across the continent, and especially to its south-east corner. Over two studies, we examine mental health outcomes of individuals impacted by bushfire, drawing on the concept of solastalgia – the sense of distress arising from unwanted environmental change – as a potential explanation for the mental health consequences of bushfire. In Study 1, we surveyed 2084 residents from the Australian Capital Territory and surrounding regions directly after the bushfire season. Participants were asked about exposure to the 2019–2020 bushfires, and to a previous regional fire of significance, experience of solastalgia, and five mental health indicators. In Study 2, we broaden our focus to all of Australia, and administer our measures with a nationally representative sample six months after the conclusion of the bushfire season (N = 1477). In both studies, we find the severity of reported bushfire impact is significantly associated with mental health, such that greater impact predicts poorer outcomes. Moreover, we find the experience of solastalgia mediates the relationship between bushfire impact and mental health and wellbeing. Experiencing solastalgia is a partial, but important, mechanism for understanding the impact of bushfire exposure on mental health and wellbeing. Importantly, people not directly impacted by a bushfire event also experience solastalgia and subsequent poorer mental health outcomes following bushfires. We suggest that future measurements of the impact of abrupt environmental change events, including bushfires, consider the role of solastalgia and localised environmental contexts in shaping the mental health impacts to the population

Variety is the spice of life : flying-foxes exploit a variety of native and exotic food plants in an urban landscape mosaic

Generally, urbanization is a major threat to biodiversity; however, urban areas also provide habitats that some species can exploit. Flying-foxes (Pteropus spp.) are becoming increasingly urbanized; which is thought to be a result of increased availability and temporal stability of urban food resources, diminished natural food resources, or both. Previous research has shown that urban-roosting grey-headed flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) preferentially forage in human-modified landscapes. However, which land-use areas and food plants support its presence in urban areas is unknown. We tracked nine P. poliocephalus roosting in Adelaide, South Australia, between December 2019 and May 2020, using global positioning systems (GPS), to investigate how individuals used the urban landscape mosaic for feeding. The most frequently visited land-use category was “residential” (40% of fixes) followed by “road-side,” “reserves” and “primary production” (13–14% each). However, “reserves” were visited four times more frequently than expected from their areal availability, followed by the “residential” and “road-side” categories that were visited approximately twice more than expected each; in contrast, the “primary production” category was visited approximately five times less than expected. These results suggest that while residential areas provide most foraging resources supporting Adelaide’s flying-fox population, reserves contain foraging resources that are particularly attractive to P. poliocephalus. Primary production land was relatively less utilized, presumably because it contains few food resources. Throughout, flying-foxes visited an eclectic mixture of diet plants (49 unique species), with a majority of feeding fixes (63%) to locally indigenous Australian native species; however, in residential areas 53% of feeding visits were to non-locally indigenous species, vs only 13% in reserves. Flowering and fruiting phenology records of the food plants visited further indicated that non-locally indigenous species increase the temporal availability of foraging resources for P. poliocephalus in urban Adelaide. Our findings demonstrate the importance of residential areas for urban-roosting P. poliocephalus, and suggest that the anthropogenic mixture of food resources available in the urban landscape mosaic supports the species’ year-round presence in urban areas. Our results further highlight the importance of conserving natural habitats within the urban landscape mosaic, and stress the need for accounting for wildlife responses to urban greening initiatives

The Brief Solastalgia Scale: A Psychometric Evaluation and Revision

Witnessing degradation and loss to one’s home environment can cause the negative emotional experience of solastalgia. We review the psychometric properties of the 9-item Solastalgia subscale from the Environmental Distress Scale (Higginbotham et al. (EcoHealth 3:245–254, 2006)). Using data collected from three large, independent, adult samples (N = 4229), who were surveyed soon after the 2019/20 Australian bushfires, factor analyses confirmed the scale’s unidimensionality, while analyses derived from Item Response Theory highlighted the poor psychometric performance and redundant content of specific items. Consequently, we recommend a short-form scale consisting of five items. This Brief Solastalgia Scale (BSS) yielded excellent model fit and internal consistency in both the initial and cross-validation samples. The BSS and its parent version provide very similar patterns of associations with demographic, health, life satisfaction, climate emotion, and nature connectedness variables. Finally, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated comparable construct architecture (i.e. configural, metric, and scalar invariance) across validation samples, gender categories, and age. As individuals and communities increasingly confront and cope with climate change and its consequences, understanding related emotional impacts is crucial. The BSS promises to aid researchers, decision makers, and practitioners to understand and support those affected by negative environmental change