Above, on, or shang (上)? Language and spatial representations among English–Mandarin bilinguals

This study investigated if exposure to spatial language could affect spatial cognition in English-Mandarin bilinguals by focusing on contact/noncontact distinctions, an area that has been a source of contention in the language-and-thought literature. Sixty-three participants were first primed with sentences containing spatial terms (e.g., above, on) before performing a spatial decision task. Approximately half of the participants (n = 33) were primed in English; for the remaining participants (n = 30), primes comprising Mandarin spatial terms―which mark spatial distinctions differently than in English (e.g.,shang in Mandarin signifies both above and on in English)―were employed instead. Our findings revealed that participants' performance was influenced by spatial primes in the English experiment, thereby proffering evidence for thinking-for-speaking effects. However, these findings were not mirrored for the Mandarin experiment, confirming that the contact/noncontact specificity of spatial terms may have been instrumental in engendering the thinking-for-speaking effects observed in English

Similar but not quite the same: Differential unique associations of trait fear and trait anxiety with inhibitory control

Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier

Executive function and subjective well-being in middle and late adulthood

OBJECTIVES: A growing body of research has investigated psychosocial predictors of subjective well-being (SWB), a key component of healthy aging, which comprises life satisfaction and affective well-being. However, few studies have examined how executive function (EF)—a collection of adaptive, goal-directed control processes—could affect SWB in middle and late adulthood. METHODS: By analyzing a nationally representative adult cohort ranging from the early 30s to early 80s from the Midlife Development in the United States 2 study, we examined two potential mediators (i.e., sense of control vs positive reappraisal) that could underlie the relation between EF and SWB. Further, we assessed how these mediational pathways would differ across midlife and older adulthood. RESULTS: Our results revealed that sense of control, but not positive reappraisal, significantly mediated the relation between EF and life satisfaction and affective well-being. Moreover, these mediation effects were significantly moderated by age, with more pronounced effects among older adults. DISCUSSION: We found that EF in later adulthood facilitates a sense of control over obstacles that interfere with the attainment of goals, which in turn is associated with greater life satisfaction and positive affect. This underscores the role of EF as an increasingly valuable resource that buffers against declines in sense of control and SWB in late adulthood

Commentary: Influence of smartphone addiction proneness of young children on problematic behaviors and emotional intelligence: Mediating self-assessment effects of parents using smartphones

Singapore MOE Academic Research Fund Tier