DePaul University

About: DePaul University is a education organization based out in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 5658 authors who have published 11562 publications receiving 295257 citations.

Meta-analysis of the age-related positivity effect: Age differences in preferences for positive over negative information.

Abstract: In contrast to long-held axioms of old age as a time of “doom and gloom,” mounting evidence indicates an age-related positivity effect in attention and memory. However, several studies report inconsistent findings that raise critical questions about the effect’s reliability, robustness, and potential moderators. To address these questions, we conducted a systematic meta-analysis of 100 empirical studies of the positivity effect (N!7,129). Results indicate that the positivity effect is reliable and moderated by theoretically implicated methodological and sample characteristics. The positivity effect is larger in studies that do not constrain (vs. constrain) cognitive processing—reflecting older adults’ natural information processing preferences—and in studies incorporating wider (vs. narrower) age comparisons. Analyses indicated that older adults show a significant information processing bias toward positive versus negative information, whereas younger adults show the opposite pattern. We discuss implications of these findings for theoretical perspectives on emotion‐cognition interactions across the adult life span and suggest future research directions.

On the theory of harmonic functions of several variables

Abstract: This paper is the first of series concerned with certain aspects of the theory of harmonic functions of several variables. Our particular interest will be to extend to n variables some of the deeper properties known to hold in the case of two variables. The study of the more fundamental properties of harmonic functions of two real variables i s ' l inked, by the notion of the conjugate harmonic function, to the s tudy of analytic functions of one complex variable. Therefore, the investigation of the deeper properties of harmonic functions of several variables appears, at first sight, to be connected with either the theory of analytic functions of several complex variables or with an appropriate extension of the notion of conjugate harmonic function. The theory of analytic functions of several complex variables, though widely studied, does not seem to have direct applications to the theory of harmonic functions of several real variables. On the other hand, there are known notions of \"conjugacy\" of harmonic functions which seem to us to be both more natural and more fruitful for the development of the latter theory. I t is these notions tha t form the starting point for our investigation. We begin by sketching their background. Let us first consider a function u=u(re i~ which is harmonic in the interior of the unit circle 0 ~ r < l . Suppose that , for 0 ~ < r < l and ~0>~1,

Cookie Cutter vs. Character: The Micro Structure of Small Business Lending by Large and Small Banks

Abstract: The informational opacity of small businesses makes them an interesting area for the study of banks', lending practices and procedures. We use data from a survey of small businesses to analyze the micro level differences in the loan approval processes of large and small banks. We provide evidence that large banks ($1 billion or more in assets) employ standard criteria obtained from financial statemetits in the loan decision process, whereas small banks rely to a greater extent on information about the character of the borrower. These cookie-cutter and character approaches are compatible with the incentives and environments facing large and small banks.

Emotional Development: Action, Communication, and Understanding

Abstract: The chapter begins by addressing the theoretical platform endorsed by the authors that consists of an integration of functionalist perspectives with dynamic systems and social contextualism. This integrated perspective entails a flexible approach to emotional behavior: Expressive behavior, action tendencies, and cultural influence on emotion meaning all have their place in understanding emotional development. The chapter goes on to examine early emotional development, highlighting the importance of emotion communication as evidenced in infants through their emotional signaling to caregivers, their social referencing to significant others, and their growing skills at affective sharing with others. The final half of the chapter examines the development of eight specific skills of emotional competence, emphasizing their social effectiveness and individual adaptiveness. We conclude with a discussion of future research directions, including what may be the relational limits of emotion, individual differences in emotional responsiveness to contextual cues, attention processes, and emotion-related goals, some of which may become interiorized with development. Keywords: adolescent development; childhood development; emotion; emotional competence; functionalism; infanct development; social context; social effectiveness

Stressors and child and adolescent psychopathology: measurement issues and prospective effects.

Abstract: This article reviews existing research on the association between stressors and symptoms of psychopathology in children and adolescents with a focus on measurement issues and prospective effects. The first half of the article focuses on the measurement of stressors, emphasizing checklists and interviews. Available measures of stressful experiences are reviewed and critiqued. Results of this review reveal both substantial progress (i.e., development of valid stressor assessment tools) and remaining problems (i.e., inconsistent measurement across studies). The second half of this article reviews studies that have tested for prospective associations between stressors and symptoms of psychopathology in children and adolescents. Studies that have examined the prospective effects of recent or prior stressors on current psychological symptoms, while controlling for prior psychological symptoms, are reviewed. Results overall suggest that stressors predict changes in rates of symptoms of psychopathology in children and adolescents over time. Results also suggest that symptoms of psychopathology predict changes in rates of stressors over time. Implications of these findings are that conclusive evidence now exists for the importance of stressors in the development of child and adolescent psychopathology.