Background: This study examined the relations between students' expectancies for success and a physiological component of test anxiety, salivary cortisol, during an authentic testing setting. Aims: The aim of the study was to better understand the connection between shifts in students' control appraisals and changes in the physiological component…

Studies in mammals have implicated the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) in processes of bond formation and stress modulation, yet the involvement of OT in human bonding throughout life remains poorly understood. We assessed OT in the plasma, saliva, and urine of 112 mothers and fathers interacting with their 4-6-month-old infants. Parent-infant…

Optimization is a component critical to method development. Mathematical modeling of physical phenomena enables an efficient search for the parameters and conditions that optimize methods and systems. Here, optimization of methods in sonoelectrochemistry, electrochemical separations, electrochemical education, and assessment of diabetic status are…

Self-regulation ability is an important component of children's academic success. Physiological reactivity may relate to brain activity governing attention and behavioral regulation. Saliva samples collected from 186 preschool children (101 boys, mean age = 53 months, 34% minority) before and after a series of mildly challenging games and again 30…

This research examined whether variations in salivary measures of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (cortisol) and autonomic nervous system (alpha amylase [sAA]) contribute to individual differences in the association between peer victimization and aggression. Children (N = 132; M age = 9.46 years, SD = 0.33) completed a measure of peer…

Many persons with developmental and physical disabilities experience drooling (i.e., loss of saliva from the mouth). Technology was recently developed to help two of these persons reduce the negative effects of drooling by increasing mouth-wiping responses. This study upgraded our initial approach and tested it with the two persons who we…

Purpose: This article discusses children's development of mature swallowing and feeding as a process of skill acquisition and considers the applicability of motor learning concepts for advancing these capabilities in school-aged children. Method: The motor learning literature was reviewed, with concentration on (a) concepts that are relevant for…

Background: This study with five-year-olds is the first to examine whether low-quality interactions with parents elicit physiological stress in children beyond toddlerhood, as evident from elevated cortisol levels in their saliva. It was hypothesised that particularly children with low levels of ego-resiliency--a personality construct reflecting…

Popular perceptions of the effect of testosterone on "manly" behavior are inaccurate. We need to move away from such simplistic notions by treating testosterone as one component along with other physiological, psychological and sociological variables in interactive and reciprocal models of behavior. Several hormones can now be measured in saliva,…