This study examines cross-linguistic influence (CLI) in the production of wh-questions by child heritage speakers of Mandarin aged 6;9 to 16;2 years in Canada. The form of CLI addressed is wh-fronting in Mandarin object-questions (where fronting is ungrammatical) and when-questions (where fronting is dispreferred). Our goals were, first, to determine whether the children front more frequently relative to their mothers; and second, to determine the impact of structural overlap between languages (operationalized by question type), relative language dominance, and age on the rate of children’s fronting. Results show that the children front more frequently, and in more contexts, than do their mothers, indicating CLI. Structural overlap increased the likelihood of fronting for only some children, whereas greater dominance in English increased the likelihood of fronting for the group. Age did not correlate with changes in rates of fronting, indicating that CLI may sometimes reflect permanent divergence from the parental grammar.

Instead of following an “end-of-life” concept, the circular economy focuses on reducing, or alternatively reusing, recycling, and recovering materials in production, distribution, and consumption processes. Despite its potential to contribute to organizational environmental sustainability goals, there is much uncertainty about how the circular economy can be effectively implemented. So far, industrial and organizational (I-O) psychological science and practice have largely neglected how factors such as employee attitudes and motivation, teamwork, leadership behavior, and work design may contribute to the implementation of circular economy practices. Accordingly, the aim of this focal article is to outline how expertise from I-O psychology could be used for effective circular economy implementation. To achieve this goal, we first briefly summarize the history and current practices of the circular economy. Second, we expand the current understanding of the circular economy by adding an I-O psychology perspective. Third, we link the circular economy to other relevant topics in I-O psychology, such as corporate social responsibility and employee green behavior. Finally, we outline how I-O psychologists could address one of the major challenges in the circular economy transformation: intra- and interorganizational cooperation within and across the circular value chain.

It remains unclear how language and cognitive control networks interact to support second language (L2) proficiency in the bilingual brain. Our study used gradient network and dynamic causal modelling (DCM) to investigate the brain activity flow in these two brain networks underlying L2 proficiency with sixty-one Chinese-English bilinguals. We found that the gradient values of the right calcarine gyrus and the left supramarginal gyrus were positively correlated with L2 proficiency. However, multivariate pattern and region-of-interest analyses suggested that L2 proficiency may not significantly modulate the brain activity flow of these two networks in global network gradients. Meanwhile, DCM findings demonstrated that L2 proficiency development increased inhibitory effects from the language network to the cognitive control network, indicating that L2 learning would modulate the cognitive control system. In summary, our study provides further insights into how language and cognitive control networks interact to establish a smooth bilingual system underlying L2 proficiency.

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of cultural exposure conditions (i.e., Chinese culture, American culture, dual cultures and control condition) on the bilingual language switch costs during the process of language comprehension. Sixty unbalanced Chinese–English bilinguals performed a modified animacy judgment task across four cultural exposure conditions, judging whether Chinese or English words referred to a living or nonliving objects. Reaction times and accuracy rates were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA. The results showed smaller switch costs in dual-cultural exposure than in the control condition. Furthermore, switch costs under different cultural exposures varied only for the second language (L2), with no significant differences for the first language (L1). Moreover, in the Chinese cultural exposure and control conditions, the switch costs for L2 were found to be larger than those for L1. Conversely, in the American and dual-cultural exposure conditions, the switch costs for L2 were smaller than those for L1.

This study investigated the role of linguistic similarity in the foreign language effect (FLE) on decision-making and emotional resonance. Previous research has found that using a foreign language (L2) leads to reduced emotionality and increased rationality compared to a first language (L1). We report two experiments with different target languages: Experiment 1 investigated L1 and L2 speakers of English, and Experiment 2 investigated L1 and L2 speakers of Swedish. Participants in both experiments completed three decision-making tasks, including the Asian disease problem, a moral dilemma, and the Cognitive reflection test. The L2 speakers also reported their emotional resonance using the Reduced Emotional Resonance in LX scale (RER-LX). Results from Experiment 1 showed no significant FLE in the decision-making tasks but indicated that linguistic similarity affects emotional resonance. Experiment 2 found a classic FLE in all decision-making tasks, with participants in L2 contexts making more rational and utilitarian decisions. However, linguistic similarity did not consistently affect the magnitude of the FLE. The study highlights the complexity of the FLE and suggests that factors such as age of acquisition and immersion may influence its manifestation.

We investigated how bilingual adults lexicalized novel words (bloksom) derived from existing English words (blossom), over a 24-h interval that included sleep, as a function of word-related factors (lexical frequency), task-related factors (inferencing during encoding), and individual differences in compartmentalized versus integrated bilingual use (language entropy). In Experiment 1, 48 bilingual adults explicitly learned novel word–picture pairings. In Experiment 2, 50 bilingual adults implicitly learned the same pairings. Both experiments manipulated task conditions to require an inference (Inference +) versus absence of inference (Inference −). Participant performance was responsive to word-related factors (word frequency). However, participants who use multiple languages in a low-entropy, compartmentalized manner were most responsive to explicitly tuned task factors. In contrast, participants who use their languages in a high entropy, integrated manner were most responsive to implicitly tuned task factors. These data suggest that bilingual experience modulates preferred novel word learning styles in adult bilinguals.

Examining 62 college students who are bilingual in Spanish and English, this study assessed key predictors of irregular English word spelling accuracy, including cognates and non-cognates. Explanatory item response models tested the contributions of word-level (e.g., orthographic similarity [OS] and phonemic similarity [PS] between English and Spanish word forms) and person-level predictors (e.g., literacy skills in English and Spanish) to item-level spelling accuracy. In line with prior investigations of cognate spelling in English, spelling accuracy was predicted by generally stronger English decoding skill and higher OS, with no significant influence of Spanish abilities. However, OS effects diminished after removing identical cognates from the outcome variable. An exploratory analysis revealed similar effects of English and Spanish decoding fluency on the likelihood of non-cognate spelling accuracy. These results have implications for understanding how orthographic representations of cognates are stored and accessed in the bilingual lexicon, particularly in alphabetic orthographies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the importance of public support for non-pharmaceutical public health interventions and the perils of rampant spread of misinformed and conspiratorial beliefs. Open-minded epistemic attitudes may be associated with adherence to public health recommendations and protect against holding false beliefs. In a large (N = 46,745 from 68 countries) global sample collected during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, we find that a six-item self-report measure of open-mindedness predicts decreased belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, increased physical distancing, increased engagement in recommended hygienic behaviors, and increased support for public health policies that aimed at decreasing COVID-19 transmission. In fact, out of 17 individual difference measures that we examined, open-mindedness proved to be the strongest or among the strongest predictors of rejecting conspiracy beliefs, of supporting physical distancing and public health policies, and of engaging in physical hygiene behaviors. In exploratory analyses of the open-mindedness measure, we found that public health support is associated with a learning-orientedfactor while conspiratorial beliefs were associated with a threat-oriented factor. These results suggest that it will be important to investigate whether open-mindedness can be cultivated or encouraged through educational or other interventions to ensure that public health is protected and that conspiracy theories do not spread.

The menopausal transition is a pivotal period in the female reproductive lifespan with potential consequences for long-term health and quality of life. Latine adults in the US often experience menopause earlier and have more frequent vasomotor symptoms (VMS) compared to non-Latine White adults. These differences may be partly attributed to early life adversity, such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which may alter energy allocation towards faster maturation and reproductive efforts, potentially shaping variations in menopausal experiences. Using data from a sample of primarily immigrant, Mexican adults living in an agricultural region in California (N=459), we evaluated the extent to which ACEs were associated with age at menopause and VMS (hot flashes and night sweats). In adjusted models, having ACEs (vs. none) was significantly associated with experiencing hot flashes (1–3 ACEs: OR = 2.50, 95% CI: 1.57 – 4.00; 4+ ACEs: OR = 2.51, 95% CI: 1.49 – 4.24) and night sweats (1–3 ACEs: OR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.02 – 2.76; 4+ ACEs: OR = 2.36, 95% CI: 1.37 – 4.06) but not earlier menopause (e.g., 1–3 ACEs: HR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.59 – 1.21). These results suggest that the sequelae of childhood adversity may influence menopausal symptom burden.

We introduce a new framework for understanding how cognitive systems (e.g., humans) learn from experience, based on the concept of representational capacity—the relative amount of representational resources devoted to encoding past experiences. Most paradigms in cognitive science have operated under the assumption that these resources are constrained, forcing cognitive systems to compress rich and noisy experiences to effectively generalize to new situations. We leverage recent advances in computer science to outline the implications of learning with excess capacity, or applying even more representational resources than needed to perfectly memorize all the details of one’s past experiences. In particular, we review evidence suggesting that excess capacity systems can exhibit many of the characteristics of human learning, such as the simultaneous ability to memorize individual experiences and generalize knowledge to new situations. We define and differentiate between constrained (not enough), sufficient (just enough), and excess (more than enough to perfectly capture all the details of one’s past experiences) capacity. We derive empirical properties of learning in each of these capacity regimes, and compare these predictions to effects documented for human learning. We highlight the broad implications of this framework for advancing theoretical and empirical work across cognitive, clinical, and developmental psychology.

The Bergen 4-day treatment (B4DT) for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a concentrated form of exposure and response prevention that has been implemented at the Icelandic Anxiety Centre. The aim of the present study was to assess 12-month results of 86 participants undertaking the treatment. The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was administered at pre-, post-, and 3- and 12-month follow-up, accompanied by measures on generalised anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), and functional impairment (WSAS). The mean pre-treatment score on Y-BOCS was 30.5 (SE=0.5), the post-treatment score was 10.7 (SE=0.4), and the 12-month follow-up score was 11.5 (SE=0.9). There was no significant difference in Y-BOCS scores from post-treatment to 3- and 12-month follow-up, which indicates that treatment gains were maintained over time. Functional impairment, along with symptoms of anxiety and depression, decreased significantly from pre- to post-treatment, with further reductions in functional impairment observed at the 12-month follow-up. All participants completed treatment, and at 12-month follow-up, 83.7% had responded and 67.4% recovered. Among the participants that had responded or remitted at post-treatment, 22% had a worse outcome at 12-month follow-up, but 54% of the participants in the response or no change categories at post-treatment had a better outcome at follow-up. These results support the effectiveness and long-term benefits of the B4DT when implemented outside of its country of origin.

Key learning aims

1. (1) The Bergen 4-day treatment (B4DT) is a highly intensive format of exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD.

2. (2) Treatment gains from the B4DT for OCD are sustained for at least 12 months, with 67% of patients remaining recovered and 84% showing improvement.

3. (3) Approximately half of those who do not fully benefit initially experience further improvement by the 12-month follow-up.

4. (4) Drop-out rates are negligible, which is unusual for exposure and response prevention.

5. (5) The B4DT demonstrates effectiveness beyond its country of origin.

This article presents the findings from a qualitative study that explored the impact of humanitarian shelter programming on the well-being of Ukrainians who suffered damage to their homes following the full-scale Russian invasion in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine. The impact of humanitarian interventions on mental health is neglected in the global mental health literature. Findings suggest that shelter repairs alone are important to participants’ sense of well-being, because home means ‘everything’ for them and is a focal point for their lives. Homemaking support and internal repairs are signposted as relevant to their well-being. Focus on their lived experience also highlights the importance of understanding the historical and socio-economic context to understand participants’ decisions to stay in or return to their damaged homes amid continued conflict. Beyond mental well-being, home is a site of food security. Family, friends, neighbours and communities are also highlighted as important sources of support that significantly contribute to their well-being. Mobile communication is an important means to stay connected to their loved ones. Findings also suggest that the mental health and psychosocial support in conflict settings should focus on community revitalisation and collaboration with other humanitarian sectors.