Posts in Paper
Giftedness: a Brief Literature Synthesis

This paper provides a brief synthesis of the literature reviewed for an introductory research methods class. Highlighting a broad range of discourse related to the topic of giftedness, including: education, assessment, definition and intergenerational presentation. Also discussed is methodological considerations for future giftedness researchers. Future syntheses would benefit from specifying their topic area to one domain of gifted literature (i.e assessment, education, etc.). Overviews presented in this paper may present similarly to Worksheet for Critiquing Research (Stein, 2019).

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A Brief Introduction to Stress Mitigation in Children

This paper presents a brief introduction to stress-mitigation in children by addressing stress assessment considerations specific to working with children and the use of behavioral interventions. Of behavioral intervention studies reviewed: biofeedback cases outline positive results in children with tension-type headaches and those with trauma; guided imagery and progressive muscle relaxation yield variable results; studies discussing the use of yoga show positive results with little negative side-effects, slow-paced diaphragmatic respiration training proves to be a valuable tool in teaching children how to relax and hypnosis could potentially positively inform other interventions. Future papers would benefit from specifying their review, honing in on one modality so as to better ascertain its clinical utility.

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Cortisol and Children

This paper provides an introduction to cortisol production in children. A brief discussion is presented, noting moderators in the production of cortisol in children, such as age, biological sex, and caregiver attachment. Specifically identifying differences in cortisol production amongst securely attached, insecurely attached, and neglected/abused children. Finally, considerations for future investigators are overviewed. Future papers would benefit from narrowing their search to a sub-population of children (i.e., abused/maltreated).

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Oxytocin and Time Perception

The physiological mechanisms that modulate the intersubjective experience of time are still being understood. This paper provides an overview of recent investigations that elucidate oxytocin’s role in time perception, noting the intersubjective variables that, along with oxytocin, modulate a time dilation effect, including context, emotional salience, and character traits (Colonnello, Domes, & Heinrichs, 2016; Liu, Yuan, Chen, Jiang, & Zhou, 2018). Finally, a brief discussion is presented noting considerations for future investigators interested in integrating what we understand of oxytocin’s role in time perception into a psychobiological theoretical understanding of hypnosis.

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