Angelique Blackburn | Texas A&M University - Commerce (original) (raw)

Papers by Angelique Blackburn

ProQuest LLC eBooks, 2013

SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks, 2021

Frontiers in Psychology, Sep 30, 2020

We first provide a critical review of the existing findings on bilingualism as a contributor to c... more We first provide a critical review of the existing findings on bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve from moderator-mediator warranting cause-effect research conclusions. We next address the question of direct or indirect effects between bilingualism and neurocognitive protective factors influencing the associated age-related mental deficits. The existing findings support bilingualism as a predictor and as a moderator. Third, we propose cognitive reserve models of bilingualism describing analytical approaches that allow testing of these models and hypotheses related to path strength and causal relationships between predictors, moderators, and mediators. Lastly and most importantly, we suggest using large datasets available via open repositories. This can aid in the testing of theoretical models, clarifying the roles of moderators and mediators, and assessing the research viability of multi-causal paths that can influence cognitive reserve. Creating collaborative datasets to test these models would greatly advance our field and identify critical variables in the study of the bilingual aging brain.

Love is a worldwide known phenomenon that affects many aspects of human life, including consideri... more Love is a worldwide known phenomenon that affects many aspects of human life, including considering a romantic partner with whom to bond. Thus, developing a reliable and valid measure of love experiences is crucial. One of the most popular tools to test love levels is Sternberg's 45-item Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45), which measures three love components: Intimacy, Passion, and Commitment. However, our literature review reveals that the majority of studies (64%) use a broad variety of shortened versions of the TLS-45. To achieve scientific consensus and improve the reliability, comparability, and generalizability of results across studies, here, we develop a short version of the scale–the TLS-15–which contains 15 items with a 5-point rather than 9-point response scale. In Study 1 (N = 7,332), we re-analyzed secondary data from a large-scale multinational study that validated the original TLS-45 to establish whether the scale could be truncated. In Study 2 (N = 307), we provided...

Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy

Languages

Switching between languages, or codeswitching, is a cognitive ability that multilinguals can perf... more Switching between languages, or codeswitching, is a cognitive ability that multilinguals can perform with ease. This study investigates whether codeswitching during sentence reading affects early access to meaning, as indexed by the robust brain response called the N400. We hypothesize that the brain prioritizes the meaning of the word during comprehension with codeswitching costs emerging at a different stage of processing. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while Spanish–English balanced bilinguals (n = 24) read Spanish sentences containing a target noun that could create a semantic violation, codeswitch or both. Self-reported frequency of daily codeswitching was used as a regressor to determine if the cost of reading a switch is modulated by codeswitching experience. A robust N400 to semantic violations was followed by a late positive component (LPC). Codeswitches modulated the left anterior negativity (LAN) and LPC, but not the N400, with codeswitched semantic violati...

With contemporary events that have spotlighted social injustices, including the Black Lives Matte... more With contemporary events that have spotlighted social injustices, including the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and the COVID-19 pandemic, any discussion of child development should take into account the diverse experiences of children facing injustice. In this article, I focus on social justice as it pertains to child development and how this topic has been addressed in literature targeted at students of child development theory. I focus on the contribution of two recent books (Anthis, 2020; De Houwer, 2021) within the greater context of reviewing literature regarding social inequities in cognitive, emotional, and language development. Anthis (2020) reviews human developmental stages, with a focus on the impact of inequitable access to resources. She concentrates primarily on socioeconomic, gender, racial, and ethnic inequalities in the United States. A continuation of this literature should consider not only these inequalities, but also those faced by bilingual an...

Methods in Bilingual Reading Comprehension Research, 2016

This chapter reviews developments in bilingual reading comprehension from anatomical magnetic res... more This chapter reviews developments in bilingual reading comprehension from anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), functional connectivity analysis, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Networks involved in orthographic, semantic, and syntactic levels of processing are discussed, considering language-specific processing requirements and the role of age of acquisition and proficiency. Reading in the first (L1) and second language (L2) is subserved by largely overlapping networks, with additional recruitment for language-specific aspects of processing. Semantic access is largely shared, while syntactic processing in particular is affected by individual differences in language acquisition. L2 acquisition builds on the existing L1 system and, as L2 proficiency improves, processing becomes more native-like, substantiating the convergence hypothesis. Increased activity in a cognitive control network during effortful L2 reading provides support for an anatomically and functionally distinct task system during comprehension, as predicted by the Bilingual Interactive Activation Plus Model (BIA+). Converging evidence from fMRI and other techniques is considered to illustrate the power of combining methodologies.

SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided the opportunity to investigate factors associated to complianc... more The COVID-19 pandemic has provided the opportunity to investigate factors associated to compliance with public health measures. We analysed cross-country data (k = 121, N = 15,740) collected one year into the COVID-19 pandemic to investigate factors related to compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, including social norms, trust, stress, demographic factors, and moral values. We also explored cross-country differences in individuals’ stress, trust in government and science, compliance behaviours, social norms, and vaccine hesitancy. We found that social norms to follow preventive measures were positively correlated with compliance. Compliance was also predicted by trust in government and science, stress, demographic factors, and concern about the moral value of harm and care. Finally, we discuss country-level differences in the associations between predictors and compliance. Overall, results indicate that trust and social norms are critical to the development of programs and policies a...

Primary stressors are direct outcomes of extreme events (e.g., viruses, floodwater) whereas secon... more Primary stressors are direct outcomes of extreme events (e.g., viruses, floodwater) whereas secondary stressors stem from pre-disaster life circumstances and societal arrangements (e.g., illness, problematic pre-disaster policies) or from inefficient responses to the extreme event. Secondary stressors can cause significant long-term damage to people affected but are also tractable and amenable to change. In this study we explored the association between secondary stressors, social identity processes, social support, and perceived stress and resilience. Pre-registered analyses of data from the COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey Round II (N = 14,600; 43 countries) show that secondary stressors are positively associated with perceived stress and negatively associated with resilience, even when controlling for the effects of primary stressors. Being a woman or having lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with higher exposure to secondary stressors, higher perceived stress, and lower re...

Objective: Although compliance scales have been used to assess compliance with health guidelines ... more Objective: Although compliance scales have been used to assess compliance with health guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19, no scale known to us has shown content validity regarding global guidelines and reliability across a large international sample. Here, we have assessed the validity and reliability of the Compliance Scale developed by the COVIDiSTRESS II Global Consortium, a group of over 150 researchers from across the globe. Methods: We used exploratory factor analysis to determine the most reliable items on the English version of the survey. We conducted a measurement invariance test to determine whether the different language versions of the scale are measuring the same construct with the same measurement structure. Invariance testing indicated that measurement alignment was needed to ensure that the scales are comparable across languages and cultures. After alignment, we employed a novel R code to run MC simulation for alignment validation. Results: We found that al...

Objective: Vaccines are an effective means to reduce the spread of diseases, but they are sometim... more Objective: Vaccines are an effective means to reduce the spread of diseases, but they are sometimes met with hesitancy that needs to be understood.Methods: In this study, we analysed data from a large, cross-country survey conducted between June and August 2021 in 43 countries (N = 15,740) to investigate the roles of trust in government and science in shaping vaccine attitudes and willingness to be vaccinated. Results: We found that, despite significant variability between countries, both forms of institutional trust were associated with a higher willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Further, we found that conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments predicted reduced trust in government and science, respectively, and that trust mediated the relationship between these beliefs and ultimate vaccine attitudes. Although most countries displayed similar relationships between conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments, trust, and vaccine attitudes, we identified three c...

The COVIDiSTRESS Survey (https://osf.io/2ftma/) was one of the largest studies regarding the glob... more The COVIDiSTRESS Survey (https://osf.io/2ftma/) was one of the largest studies regarding the global impact of COVID-19 during the initial months of the 2020 pandemic (Lieberoth et al. 2021; Yamada et al. 2021). The survey was translated into 47 languages and administered in 179 countries and generated a rich dataset that has resulted in a comprehensive understanding of the global effects of the pandemic (Lieberoth et al. 2021; Yamada et al. 2021). This survey is an extension of the COVIDiSTRESS consortium project to assess the global impact of COVID-19 approximately one year after the initial survey. It is our goal to address questions that were left unanswered in the initial study and include countries that were not assessed.

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-accessglo... more During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-accessglobal survey to understand and improve individuals’ experiences related to the crisis. A year later,we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of thepandemic. This survey was released with the goal of addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion byworking with over 150 researchers across the globe who collected data in 48 languages and dialectsacross 137 countries. The resulting cleaned dataset described here includes 15,740 of over 20,000responses. The dataset allows cross-cultural study of psychological wellbeing and behaviours a yearinto the pandemic. It includes measures of stress, resilience, vaccine attitudes, trust in government andscientists, compliance, and information acquisition and misperceptions regarding COVID-19. Openaccessraw and cleaned datasets with computed scores are available. Just as our initial COVIDiSTRESSdataset has ...

ProQuest LLC eBooks, 2013

SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks, 2021

Frontiers in Psychology, Sep 30, 2020

We first provide a critical review of the existing findings on bilingualism as a contributor to c... more We first provide a critical review of the existing findings on bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve from moderator-mediator warranting cause-effect research conclusions. We next address the question of direct or indirect effects between bilingualism and neurocognitive protective factors influencing the associated age-related mental deficits. The existing findings support bilingualism as a predictor and as a moderator. Third, we propose cognitive reserve models of bilingualism describing analytical approaches that allow testing of these models and hypotheses related to path strength and causal relationships between predictors, moderators, and mediators. Lastly and most importantly, we suggest using large datasets available via open repositories. This can aid in the testing of theoretical models, clarifying the roles of moderators and mediators, and assessing the research viability of multi-causal paths that can influence cognitive reserve. Creating collaborative datasets to test these models would greatly advance our field and identify critical variables in the study of the bilingual aging brain.

Love is a worldwide known phenomenon that affects many aspects of human life, including consideri... more Love is a worldwide known phenomenon that affects many aspects of human life, including considering a romantic partner with whom to bond. Thus, developing a reliable and valid measure of love experiences is crucial. One of the most popular tools to test love levels is Sternberg's 45-item Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45), which measures three love components: Intimacy, Passion, and Commitment. However, our literature review reveals that the majority of studies (64%) use a broad variety of shortened versions of the TLS-45. To achieve scientific consensus and improve the reliability, comparability, and generalizability of results across studies, here, we develop a short version of the scale–the TLS-15–which contains 15 items with a 5-point rather than 9-point response scale. In Study 1 (N = 7,332), we re-analyzed secondary data from a large-scale multinational study that validated the original TLS-45 to establish whether the scale could be truncated. In Study 2 (N = 307), we provided...

Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy

Languages

Switching between languages, or codeswitching, is a cognitive ability that multilinguals can perf... more Switching between languages, or codeswitching, is a cognitive ability that multilinguals can perform with ease. This study investigates whether codeswitching during sentence reading affects early access to meaning, as indexed by the robust brain response called the N400. We hypothesize that the brain prioritizes the meaning of the word during comprehension with codeswitching costs emerging at a different stage of processing. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while Spanish–English balanced bilinguals (n = 24) read Spanish sentences containing a target noun that could create a semantic violation, codeswitch or both. Self-reported frequency of daily codeswitching was used as a regressor to determine if the cost of reading a switch is modulated by codeswitching experience. A robust N400 to semantic violations was followed by a late positive component (LPC). Codeswitches modulated the left anterior negativity (LAN) and LPC, but not the N400, with codeswitched semantic violati...

With contemporary events that have spotlighted social injustices, including the Black Lives Matte... more With contemporary events that have spotlighted social injustices, including the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and the COVID-19 pandemic, any discussion of child development should take into account the diverse experiences of children facing injustice. In this article, I focus on social justice as it pertains to child development and how this topic has been addressed in literature targeted at students of child development theory. I focus on the contribution of two recent books (Anthis, 2020; De Houwer, 2021) within the greater context of reviewing literature regarding social inequities in cognitive, emotional, and language development. Anthis (2020) reviews human developmental stages, with a focus on the impact of inequitable access to resources. She concentrates primarily on socioeconomic, gender, racial, and ethnic inequalities in the United States. A continuation of this literature should consider not only these inequalities, but also those faced by bilingual an...

Methods in Bilingual Reading Comprehension Research, 2016

This chapter reviews developments in bilingual reading comprehension from anatomical magnetic res... more This chapter reviews developments in bilingual reading comprehension from anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), functional connectivity analysis, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Networks involved in orthographic, semantic, and syntactic levels of processing are discussed, considering language-specific processing requirements and the role of age of acquisition and proficiency. Reading in the first (L1) and second language (L2) is subserved by largely overlapping networks, with additional recruitment for language-specific aspects of processing. Semantic access is largely shared, while syntactic processing in particular is affected by individual differences in language acquisition. L2 acquisition builds on the existing L1 system and, as L2 proficiency improves, processing becomes more native-like, substantiating the convergence hypothesis. Increased activity in a cognitive control network during effortful L2 reading provides support for an anatomically and functionally distinct task system during comprehension, as predicted by the Bilingual Interactive Activation Plus Model (BIA+). Converging evidence from fMRI and other techniques is considered to illustrate the power of combining methodologies.

SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided the opportunity to investigate factors associated to complianc... more The COVID-19 pandemic has provided the opportunity to investigate factors associated to compliance with public health measures. We analysed cross-country data (k = 121, N = 15,740) collected one year into the COVID-19 pandemic to investigate factors related to compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, including social norms, trust, stress, demographic factors, and moral values. We also explored cross-country differences in individuals’ stress, trust in government and science, compliance behaviours, social norms, and vaccine hesitancy. We found that social norms to follow preventive measures were positively correlated with compliance. Compliance was also predicted by trust in government and science, stress, demographic factors, and concern about the moral value of harm and care. Finally, we discuss country-level differences in the associations between predictors and compliance. Overall, results indicate that trust and social norms are critical to the development of programs and policies a...

Primary stressors are direct outcomes of extreme events (e.g., viruses, floodwater) whereas secon... more Primary stressors are direct outcomes of extreme events (e.g., viruses, floodwater) whereas secondary stressors stem from pre-disaster life circumstances and societal arrangements (e.g., illness, problematic pre-disaster policies) or from inefficient responses to the extreme event. Secondary stressors can cause significant long-term damage to people affected but are also tractable and amenable to change. In this study we explored the association between secondary stressors, social identity processes, social support, and perceived stress and resilience. Pre-registered analyses of data from the COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey Round II (N = 14,600; 43 countries) show that secondary stressors are positively associated with perceived stress and negatively associated with resilience, even when controlling for the effects of primary stressors. Being a woman or having lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with higher exposure to secondary stressors, higher perceived stress, and lower re...

Objective: Although compliance scales have been used to assess compliance with health guidelines ... more Objective: Although compliance scales have been used to assess compliance with health guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19, no scale known to us has shown content validity regarding global guidelines and reliability across a large international sample. Here, we have assessed the validity and reliability of the Compliance Scale developed by the COVIDiSTRESS II Global Consortium, a group of over 150 researchers from across the globe. Methods: We used exploratory factor analysis to determine the most reliable items on the English version of the survey. We conducted a measurement invariance test to determine whether the different language versions of the scale are measuring the same construct with the same measurement structure. Invariance testing indicated that measurement alignment was needed to ensure that the scales are comparable across languages and cultures. After alignment, we employed a novel R code to run MC simulation for alignment validation. Results: We found that al...

Objective: Vaccines are an effective means to reduce the spread of diseases, but they are sometim... more Objective: Vaccines are an effective means to reduce the spread of diseases, but they are sometimes met with hesitancy that needs to be understood.Methods: In this study, we analysed data from a large, cross-country survey conducted between June and August 2021 in 43 countries (N = 15,740) to investigate the roles of trust in government and science in shaping vaccine attitudes and willingness to be vaccinated. Results: We found that, despite significant variability between countries, both forms of institutional trust were associated with a higher willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Further, we found that conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments predicted reduced trust in government and science, respectively, and that trust mediated the relationship between these beliefs and ultimate vaccine attitudes. Although most countries displayed similar relationships between conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments, trust, and vaccine attitudes, we identified three c...

The COVIDiSTRESS Survey (https://osf.io/2ftma/) was one of the largest studies regarding the glob... more The COVIDiSTRESS Survey (https://osf.io/2ftma/) was one of the largest studies regarding the global impact of COVID-19 during the initial months of the 2020 pandemic (Lieberoth et al. 2021; Yamada et al. 2021). The survey was translated into 47 languages and administered in 179 countries and generated a rich dataset that has resulted in a comprehensive understanding of the global effects of the pandemic (Lieberoth et al. 2021; Yamada et al. 2021). This survey is an extension of the COVIDiSTRESS consortium project to assess the global impact of COVID-19 approximately one year after the initial survey. It is our goal to address questions that were left unanswered in the initial study and include countries that were not assessed.

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-accessglo... more During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-accessglobal survey to understand and improve individuals’ experiences related to the crisis. A year later,we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of thepandemic. This survey was released with the goal of addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion byworking with over 150 researchers across the globe who collected data in 48 languages and dialectsacross 137 countries. The resulting cleaned dataset described here includes 15,740 of over 20,000responses. The dataset allows cross-cultural study of psychological wellbeing and behaviours a yearinto the pandemic. It includes measures of stress, resilience, vaccine attitudes, trust in government andscientists, compliance, and information acquisition and misperceptions regarding COVID-19. Openaccessraw and cleaned datasets with computed scores are available. Just as our initial COVIDiSTRESSdataset has ...