Primals Research Awardees
RFP closed September 26, 2021.
Project Title: Child and Adolescent Predictors of Young Adults’ and Their Parents’ Primals in Nine Countries
PI: Dr. Jennifer E. Lansford, Duke University
Abstract: This project addresses the question of how primals are formed. We build on the longitudinal Parenting Across Cultures project, which recruited a sample of 8-year-olds and their parents in nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and United States), with follow-up interviews through age 21. The longitudinal, cross-national, multi-informant, and multi-method design provides an unprecedented opportunity to understand whether and how primals in early adulthood are predicted by childhood and adolescent experiences and how parents’ primals are related to their young adult children’s primals in the most diverse long-term longitudinal study ever conducted.
Project Title: Primals and Romantic Relationships: Implications of Primal World Beliefs for Interpersonal Processes, Relationship Quality, and Well-Being
PI: Dr. Edward P. Lemay, Jr., University of Maryland, College Park
Abstract: This project will examine the implications of primal world beliefs for romantic relationships using a longitudinal study of romantic couples followed over a year. Using self-report, informant-report, behavioral observation, and daily experience methods, this research will examine the role of primals in support processes, relationship maintenance, conflict, shared reality, and intimacy; indirect effects of primals on well-being via interpersonal processes; and the role of relationships in the stability and contagion of primals. This research will also pilot an intervention to improve understanding, compassion, and responsiveness regarding partners’ primals. Results will advance understanding of the role of world views in relationships.
Project Title: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations and Underlying Gene-Environment Interplay
PI: Dr. Miriam A. Mosing, Max Planck Institute and Karolinska Institutet
Co-PIs: Dr. Laura Wesseldijk, Karolinska Institutet and University of Amsterdam; Dr. Fredrik Ullén, Max Planck Institute and Karolinska Institutet
Abstract: This project will collect information on primal world beliefs in a large (N>30,000), longitudinal, genetically informative cohort of twins. The resulting dataset will provide unparalleled possibilities to address associations between primals and a variety of phenotypes using longitudinal, cross-sectional and genetically informative designs. Twin and genotype data will be utilized to explore the underlying etiology of associations including central questions about causality, the importance of genetic and environmental factors, and their interplay. Specifically, we will analyze associations between primals and personality, life stress, cognitive ability, education, mental and physical health, and cultural and social engagement.
Project Title: The Daily Movement Patterns of People Who Find the World Enticing
PIs: Dr. Adrienne Wood, University of Virginia; Dr. Shigehiro Oishi, University of Virginia
Abstract: Some people are explorers. They move about the world in search of novelty, accumulating rich experiences and broad social connections. This project tests the hypothesis that the tendency to explore comes from a fundamental belief that the world is enticing, full of interesting and rewarding experiences. We will use mobile sensing technology to determine whether first-year college students who believe the world is enticing explore their new campus environment more, resulting in richer experiences and broader social network ties. Belief that the world is enticing might explain individual differences in behavior that determine social connectedness and well-being.
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