Estrogen predicts multimodal emotion recognition accuracy across the menstrual cycle.

Researchers have proposed that variation in sex hormones across the menstrual cycle modulate the ability to recognize emotions in others. Existing research suggests that accuracy is higher during the follicular phase and ovulation compared to the luteal phase, but findings are inconsistent. Using a repeated measures design with a sample of healthy naturally cycling women (N = 63), we investigated whether emotion recognition accuracy varied between the follicular and luteal phases, and whether accuracy related to levels of estrogen (estradiol) and progesterone.

At what age can children initiate and execute a mutually beneficial exchange?

Using a novel exchange paradigm, we demonstrate that Australian preschool children from middle to high socioeconomic backgrounds may be capable of executing a mutually beneficial exchange. In Study 1, 3- to 5-year-old children completed a tower building task, in which they were given an opportunity to make trading choices via preset options that could allow both them and a puppet to succeed. A majority of children across age groups selected the efficient trade option over other alternatives.

Validating emotional attention regulation as a component of emotional intelligence: A Stroop approach to individual differences in tuning in to and out of nonverbal cues.

Emotional intelligence (EI) has captivated researchers and the public alike, but it has been challenging to establish its components as objective abilities. Self-report scales lack divergent validity from personality traits, and few ability tests have objectively correct answers. We adapt the Stroop task to introduce a new facet of EI called emotional attention regulation (EAR), which involves focusing emotion-related attention for the sake of information processing rather than for the sake of regulating one's own internal state.