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Publications

Journal Article Ahead of print

PubMed: 41716489 DOI: 10.1080/10888691.2025.2501050

Rubbing off on each other: Applying a developmental science perspective to variance in primal world beliefs by family and culture.

Appl Dev Sci

Authors: W Andrew Rothenberg, Jennifer E Lansford, Kirby Deater-Deckard, Jeremy D W Clifton, Marc H Bornstein, Laura Di Giunta, Kenneth A Dodge, Sevtap Gurdal, Daranee Junla, Paul Oburu, Concetta Pastorelli, Ann T Skinner, Emma Sorbring, Laurence Steinberg, Liliana Maria Uribe Tirado, Saengduean Yotanyamaneewong, Liane Peña Alampay, Suha M Al-Hassan, Dario Bacchini, Lei Chang

Affiliations

  • Duke University Center for Child and Family Policy, USA.
  • University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA and Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, Finland.
  • Positive Psychology Center, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, USA; UNICEF, USA; and Institute for Fiscal Studies, UK.
  • Università di Roma "La Sapienza," Italy.
  • Duke University, USA.
  • University West, Sweden.
  • Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
  • Maseno University, Kenya.
  • Temple University, USA, and King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia.
  • Universidad de San Buenaventura, Colombia.
  • Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.
  • Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, UAE.
  • University of Naples "Federico II," Italy.
  • University of Macau, China.

Abstract

Primals are beliefs about the world's basic character (e.g., good, safe, enticing, or alive) that are associated with well-being and behavioral patterns. But primals' developmental origins remain mysterious, hampering theoretical understanding and clinical efforts to change primals. The current preregistered study of 905 families from 11 cultural groups adopts bioecological theory to examine (1) variance in primals accounted for by individual, family, and cultural differences, (2) concordance in primals within families, and (3) mean differences in primals across cultures. Results indicate most variance in primals is attributable to individual differences, but significant variance also emerges due to family and cultural differences. Positive correlations between mothers' and fathers' primals suggest assortative mating, and positive correlations between parents' and children's primals suggest intergenerational transmission. Findings shed light on primals' mysterious origins: humans do appear to somehow "rub off on each other." Future clarification of this interchange can help equip clinicians to leverage primals to improve wellbeing.