- Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, Israel
Ariel Knafo
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Psychology, Faculty Member
Entwicklung von Identität und Werten unter eingesessenen und eingewanderten Jugendlichen und ihren Familien in Deutschland und Israel. Allgemeine persönliche Werte und Werte im Kontext Familie, Schule bzw. Arbeit, nationale Gruppe und... more
Entwicklung von Identität und Werten unter eingesessenen und eingewanderten Jugendlichen und ihren Familien in Deutschland und Israel. Allgemeine persönliche Werte und Werte im Kontext Familie, Schule bzw. Arbeit, nationale Gruppe und ethnische Gruppe. Wohlbefinden und Selbstwertgefühl. Identifikation mit der nationalen Gruppe und ethnischen Minderheitengruppen. A: Kinderfragebogen Welle 1: Allgemeine persönliche Werte und Werte im Kontext Familie, Schule, nationale Gruppe und ethnische Gruppe: Identifikation als Familienmitglied, Schüler, Isreali bzw. Deutscher (wichtiger Teil der eigenen Identität, für die Selbstwahrnehmung bzw. die Fremdwahrnehmung wichtig); Wichtigkeit verschiedener Eigenschaften für das Selbstverständnis als Familienmitglied, Schüler, Israeli bzw. Deutscher; Zuwanderung des Befragten bzw. seiner Eltern aus der Ehemaligen Sowjetunion nach Israel bzw. nach Deutschland; Russisches Selbstverständnis als wichtiger Teil der eigenen Identität, für die Selbstwahrnehmun...
Unraveling factors that influence parenting is of great importance, since parents play an important role in their children’s development. In this study we focused on parental prenatal expectations, parents’ gender and child’s distress to... more
Unraveling factors that influence parenting is of great importance, since parents play an important role in their children’s development. In this study we focused on parental prenatal expectations, parents’ gender and child’s distress to limitations as possible influences on parental behavior and observed the longitudinal associations between mothers’ and fathers’ parenting and their children’s distress to limitations. The first wave of the study took place during early pregnancy, while the second and third waves took place when the children were 9 and 18 months old, respectively. Children’s distress to limitations was assessed using observations and parental behavior was assessed using questionnaires. All parental variables showed moderate continuity from pregnancy until the child was 18 months, while children’s distress did not. Children’s distress when they were 9 months predicted an increase in both parents’ negativity at 18 months, while fathers’ control at 9 months predicted a decrease in children’s distress from 9 to 18 months. The results shed light on the intricate parent–child relationship and emphasize children’s role in the parenting they receive, as well as differences between mothers and fathers and their associations with children’s distress to limitations.
Research Interests:
It is well established that boys are born heavier and longer than girls, but it remains unclear whether birth size in twins is affected by the sex of their co-twin. We conducted an individual-based pooled analysis of 21 twin cohorts in 15... more
It is well established that boys are born heavier and longer than girls, but it remains unclear whether birth size in twins is affected by the sex of their co-twin. We conducted an individual-based pooled analysis of 21 twin cohorts in 15 countries derived from the COllaborative project of Development of Anthropometrical measures in Twins (CODATwins), including 67,850 dizygotic twin individuals. Linear regression analyses showed that boys having a co-twin sister were, on average, 31 g (95% CI 18 to 45) heavier and 0.16 cm (95% CI 0.045 to 0.274) longer than those with a co-twin brother. In girls, birth size was not associated (5 g birth weight; 95% CI -8 to -18 and -0.089 cm birth length; 95% CI -0.202 to 0.025) with the sex of the co-twin. Gestational age was slightly shorter in boy-boy pairs than in boy-girl and girl-girl pairs. When birth size was standardized by gestational age, the magnitude of the associations was attenuated in boys, particularly for birth weight. In conclusio...
Research Interests:
Early emerging child temperament forms the basis for adult personality and has a multitude of developmental implications. Studies have shown that some aspects of temperament can be observed prenatally, and prenatal parent ratings predict... more
Early emerging child temperament forms the basis for adult personality and has a multitude of developmental implications. Studies have shown that some aspects of temperament can be observed prenatally, and prenatal parent ratings predict postnatal child temperament, thereby influencing future family dynamics. Little research has examined prenatal mother–father agreement on predictions of temperament, or patterns of cross-dimension associations before birth. Parental expectations of their future child’s temperament were investigated in a sample of pregnant Israeli women and their partners. Three modified temperament questionnaires were used to investigate mother–father agreement and associations between temperament dimensions. There were few significant mean differences between mothers’ and fathers’ expectations of child temperament. Parent agreement within temperament dimensions, and associations across dimensions were consistent with the postnatal literature. Findings indicate that parent impressions of child temperament are partially formed before birth, and may represent a shared hope or a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ in families.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Psychology and Rivalry
ABSTRACT The study aimed to determine whether internal locus of control (ILOC) predicts longitudinal psychological reactions to a stressful event. The research began two months prior to the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and... more
ABSTRACT The study aimed to determine whether internal locus of control (ILOC) predicts longitudinal psychological reactions to a stressful event. The research began two months prior to the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and lasted 10 months. ILOC and adjustment were assessed prior to the event (T1), immediately after the event (T2), and eight months after the event (T3), with 1,623, 216, and 156 participants completing questionnaires at each time, respectively. Participants with low T1 ILOC had more negative views and demonstrated low adjustment to the operation at T1 and T2 and reported lower levels of well-being at T3 than did individuals with high ILOC. T1 ILOC was correlated to positive and negative views at T2. Sense of threat, unit cohesion, and preparedness mediated some of this correlation.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Public Opinion, Politics, Lebanon, Multidisciplinary, Israel, and 4 moreWar, Motivation, Humans, and Awareness
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Peer relationships become central to children's development as they develop social skills and theory of mind in their early development. We investigated the role of temperament in... more
Peer relationships become central to children's development as they develop social skills and theory of mind in their early development. We investigated the role of temperament in children's peer problems. Mothers of three-year-old twins (N=759 pairs) rated their children's temperament using the EAS scale (1) and children's peer problems using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (2). Children's peer problems were positively associated with their negative emotionality, and related negatively to their sociability and activity level. Genetics contributed to individual differences in temperament and peer problems, with peer problems substantially heritable (44%). The remaining variance is attributed to environmental factors. Genetic factors largely mediated the correlations between peer problems and temperament.The findings point to the importance of children's temperamentally-based characteristics in their social development.
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT
Research Interests:
The study of socialization substantially contributes to identification of the underpinnings of personality and psychopathology, and to the promotion of children’s healthy development and well-being. However, the lion’s share of... more
The study of socialization substantially contributes to identification of the underpinnings of personality and psychopathology, and to the promotion of children’s healthy development and well-being. However, the lion’s share of psychological research to date has investigated the environment as the force shaping development, and has therefore focused on the “nurture” while neglecting the “nature” part of the equation. Indeed, even though the age-old debate of nature versus nurture has turned into the realization that nature and nurture contribute to development synergistically (Plomin & Asbury, 2005), the integration of knowledge from quantitative genetic and, later, molecular studies into psychological research is only beginning to happen in a new wave of studies. In this chapter we review some of these studies and attempt to provide a glimpse of the intricate web of influences that mold child development. Throughout their development, children are exposed to many socialization agen...
Parenting is best understood as a transactional process between parents and their offspring. Each responds to cues in the other, adapting their own behavior to that of their partner. One of the goals of parenting research in the past... more
Parenting is best understood as a transactional process between parents and their offspring. Each responds to cues in the other, adapting their own behavior to that of their partner. One of the goals of parenting research in the past twenty years has been to untangle reciprocal processes between parents and children in order to specify what comes from the child (child effects) and what comes from the parent (parent effects). Child effects have been found to relate to genetic, pre and perinatal, family-wide, and child-specific environmental influences. Parent effects relate to stresses in the current context (e.g. financial strain, marital conflict), personality and ethnicity but also to adverse childhood experiences (e.g. parental mental health and substance abuse, poverty, divorce). Rodent models have allowed for the specification of biological mechanisms in parent and child effects, including neurobiological and genomic mechanisms, and of the causal role of environmental experience on outcomes for offspring through random assignment of offspring-mother groupings. One of the methods that have been developed in the human and animal models to differentiate between parent and child effects has been to study multiple offspring in the family. By holding the parent steady, and studying different offspring, we can examine the similarities and differences in how parents parent multiple offspring. Studies have distinguished between family average parenting, child-specific parenting and family-wide dispersion (the within family standard deviation). These different aspects of parenting have been differentially linked to offspring behavioral phenotypes.
Research Interests: Parenting, Biological Sciences, Humans, Female, Animals, and 3 moreMale, Siblings, and Parent‐child Relations
Peer relationships become central to children's development as they develop social skills and theory of mind in their early development. We investigated the role of temperament in children's peer problems. Mothers of... more
Peer relationships become central to children's development as they develop social skills and theory of mind in their early development. We investigated the role of temperament in children's peer problems. Mothers of three-year-old twins (N=759 pairs) rated their children's temperament using the EAS scale (1) and children's peer problems using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (2). Children's peer problems were positively associated with their negative emotionality, and related negatively to their sociability and activity level. Genetics contributed to individual differences in temperament and peer problems, with peer problems substantially heritable (44%). The remaining variance is attributed to environmental factors. Genetic factors largely mediated the correlations between peer problems and temperament.The findings point to the importance of children's temperamentally-based characteristics in their social development.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
Research Interests: Social Psychology, Values, Control, Socialization, German, and 9 moreInternalization, Transmission, Conformity, S, M, U, R, L, and A
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT A new typology of school-level values is reported in three cultural contexts. School values were assessed by aggregating the scores of 862 students, (ages 15-19) in 32 Jewish and Arab Israeli schools (Study 1), and 1,541 students... more
ABSTRACT A new typology of school-level values is reported in three cultural contexts. School values were assessed by aggregating the scores of 862 students, (ages 15-19) in 32 Jewish and Arab Israeli schools (Study 1), and 1,541 students (ages 11-21) from 8 European schools and 163 teachers from 6 of these schools (Study 2), using Schwartz’s Portrait Values Questionnaire. Six school values emerged in both studies: achievement, autonomy, egalitarianism, harmony, compliance, and dominance. The importance of studying school-level values was demonstrated by relating the values of compliance and dominance to violence, and harmony values to student support measures (Study 1). Strong (minimal r = .64) school-level correlations between students of different ages and teachers supported the validity of the findings (Study 2).
ABSTRACT The study aimed to determine whether internal locus of control (ILOC) predicts longitudinal psychological reactions to a stressful event. The research began two months prior to the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and... more
ABSTRACT The study aimed to determine whether internal locus of control (ILOC) predicts longitudinal psychological reactions to a stressful event. The research began two months prior to the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and lasted 10 months. ILOC and adjustment were assessed prior to the event (T1), immediately after the event (T2), and eight months after the event (T3), with 1,623, 216, and 156 participants completing questionnaires at each time, respectively. Participants with low T1 ILOC had more negative views and demonstrated low adjustment to the operation at T1 and T2 and reported lower levels of well-being at T3 than did individuals with high ILOC. T1 ILOC was correlated to positive and negative views at T2. Sense of threat, unit cohesion, and preparedness mediated some of this correlation.
Research Interests:
The Longitudinal Israeli Study of Twins (LIST) is a social developmental study, which implements social-developmental, molecular genetic, epigenetic, and behavioral genetic methods to advance knowledge on the development of individual... more
The Longitudinal Israeli Study of Twins (LIST) is a social developmental study, which implements social-developmental, molecular genetic, epigenetic, and behavioral genetic methods to advance knowledge on the development of individual differences in social behavior. Twins are followed from the age of three and both observational and parental-questionnaire data are collected on their empathy, temperament, and pro-social behavior. The parenting styles of parents are also evaluated using self-reports and observations and DNA samples are collected from parents and twins. In the current paper, we provide a review of our recent work and discuss the future aims of the LIST.
Research Interests:
... knowledge indirectly affects their opinions about environmental considerations (Ballantyne,Connell, & Fien ... of being influenced by their children (eg, Ambert, 1992; Mosavel, Simon & van ...Ariel Knafo's research... more
... knowledge indirectly affects their opinions about environmental considerations (Ballantyne,Connell, & Fien ... of being influenced by their children (eg, Ambert, 1992; Mosavel, Simon & van ...Ariel Knafo's research focuses on understanding the development and consequences of ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... Schwartz. The author wishes to thank Shalom Schwartz, Nir Halevy, Gitit Kave´, Gila Melech, Lilach Sagiv, Noga Sverdlik, and four anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier versions of the paper. Correspondence ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The authors investigated genetic and environmental contributions to the relationships between children's (N=9,319 twin pairs) prosocial behavior and parental positivity and negativity toward them.... more
The authors investigated genetic and environmental contributions to the relationships between children's (N=9,319 twin pairs) prosocial behavior and parental positivity and negativity toward them. Children's prosocial behavior was rated by parents at ages 3, 4, and 7 and by teachers at age 7. At each age, parents described their feelings and discipline toward each twin. Parental positivity was indexed by positive feelings and positive, non-coercive discipline, and parental negativity was indexed by negative feelings and coercive, punitive discipline. Genetics and the environment both contributed to individual differences in prosocial behavior and in parenting. At all ages, parental positivity correlated positively, and parental negativity correlated negatively with prosocial behavior. Genetic factors largely mediated the negative correlation between prosocial behavior and parental negativity. Shared environmental effects contributed mainly to the positive relationship between prosocial behavior and parental positivity. This pattern was found both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. The findings point to the importance of children's characteristics and of the parent-child relationship in family processes.
Research Interests: Marketing, Genetics, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Parenting, and 27 moreSocial Interaction, Prosocial Behavior, Twins, Social behavior, Child Behavior, Humans, Child, Social Development, Female, Male, Infant, Environmental Effect, Early development, Genetic determinism, Social Environment, Phenotype, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Parents, Adult, Cross Section, Social Behavior, Indexation, Parent-Child Relationship, Individual Difference, Parent‐child Relations, Nino, and Child preschool
Prediction of antisocial behavior is important, given its adverse impact on both the individuals engaging in antisocial behavior and society. Additional research identifying early predictors of future antisocial behavior, or antisocial... more
Prediction of antisocial behavior is important, given its adverse impact on both the individuals engaging in antisocial behavior and society. Additional research identifying early predictors of future antisocial behavior, or antisocial propensity, is needed. The present study tested the hypothesis that both concern for others and active disregard for others in distress in toddlers and young children predict antisocial behavior during middle childhood and adolescence. A representative sample of same-sex twins (N=956) recruited in Colorado was examined. Mother-rated and researcher-observed concern and disregard for others assessed at age 14-36 months were examined as predictors of parent- (age 4-12), teacher- (age 7-12), and self-reported (age 17) antisocial behavior. Observed disregard for others predicted antisocial behavior assessed by three different informants (parents, teachers, and self), including antisocial behavior assessed 14 years later. It also predicted a higher order antisocial behavior factor (β=.58, p<.01) after controlling for observed concern for others. Mother-rated disregard for others predicted parent-reported antisocial behavior. Contrary to predictions, neither mother-rated nor observed concern for others inversely predicted antisocial behavior. RESULTS of twin analyses suggested that the covariation between observed disregard for others and antisocial behavior was due to shared environmental influences. Disregard for others in toddlerhood/early childhood is a strong predictor of antisocial behavior in middle childhood and adolescence. The results suggest the potential need for early assessment of disregard for others and the development of potential interventions.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Children's affective perspective-taking (APT) may provide a basis for efficient social interaction. The APT abilities of 83 children from 46 same-sex sibling pairs (ages 36 to 72 months, M = 52.8; SD = 12.6) were... more
Children's affective perspective-taking (APT) may provide a basis for efficient social interaction. The APT abilities of 83 children from 46 same-sex sibling pairs (ages 36 to 72 months, M = 52.8; SD = 12.6) were assessed through their reactions to affectively loaded story situations, and children whose APT ability (but not general cognitive abilities) was low relative to other children of their age were designated as Low-APT children. These children were not less pro-social when specific social cues or requests for pro-social behavior were given by experimenters. However, low APT may hinder children's ability to infer the need for pro-social action from relatively subtle social cues. Although 46.9% of nonlow APT children behaved pro-socially in at least two of three opportunities they were given to perform a self-initiated pro-social behavior, none of the children who were low on APT did.
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Emotion, Emotional intelligence, Social Interaction, and 21 moreSocial Perception, Prosocial Behavior, Affect, Social behavior, Humans, Child, Social Development, Cues, Female, Male, Child Psychology, Social Skills, Siblings, Interpersonal Relations, Social Adjustment, Social Skill, Cognitive Ability, Social Behavior, Pro Social Behavior, Nino, and Child preschool
Research Interests:
Prosocial behavior is important for the functioning of society. This study investigates the extent to which environment shared by family members, nonshared environment, and genetics account for... more
Prosocial behavior is important for the functioning of society. This study investigates the extent to which environment shared by family members, nonshared environment, and genetics account for children's prosocial behavior. The prosocial behavior of twins (9,424 pairs) was rated by their parents at the ages of 2, 3, 4, and 7 and by their teachers at age 7. For parent ratings, shared environmental effects decreased from .47 on average at age 2 to .03 at age 7, and genetic effects increased from .32 on average to .61. The finding of weak shared environmental effects and large heritability at age 7 was largely confirmed through the use of teacher ratings. Using longitudinal genetic analyses, the authors conclude that genetic effects account for both change and continuity in prosocial behavior and nonshared environment contributes mainly to change.
Research Interests: Genetics, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Genomics, and 21 morePersonality Assessment, Socialization, Development, Prosocial Behavior, Social behavior, Humans, Child, Female, Male, Infant, Behavior change, Environmental Effect, Social Environment, Phenotype, Longitudinal Studies, Sex Factors, Age Factors, Genetic variation, Social Behavior, Cross Sectional Studies, and Child preschool
We examined the associations between language skills and concern and disregard for others in young children assessed longitudinally at ages 14, 20, 24, and 36 months, testing the hypothesis that language skills have a specific role... more
We examined the associations between language skills and concern and disregard for others in young children assessed longitudinally at ages 14, 20, 24, and 36 months, testing the hypothesis that language skills have a specific role (distinct from that of general cognitive ability) in the development of concern and disregard for others. We found that higher language skills predicted higher concern for others and lower disregard for others even after controlling for general cognitive ability, whereas the association between general cognitive ability and concern/disregard for others was not significant after controlling for language skills. Language skills at 14 months predicted concern for others at 36 months, and results suggested that the relations between language skills and concern and disregard for others begin early in development. Gender differences in concern and disregard for others were at least partially explained by differences in language skills. These results support the specific role of language skills in concern and disregard for others.
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Cognition, Child Development, and 18 morePrediction, Language Development, Language, Empathy, Identification, Humans, Correlation, Female, Male, Infant, Validity, Longitudinal Studies, Cognitive Ability, Age Factors, Psychological Models, Statistics as Topic, Neuropsychological Tests, and Child preschool
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Concern for others has been thought to emerge in the 2nd year of life (Hoffman, , , ). Three related ideas underlying this view assume that younger infants cannot distinguish between self and other, cannot experience concern for... more
ABSTRACT Concern for others has been thought to emerge in the 2nd year of life (Hoffman, , , ). Three related ideas underlying this view assume that younger infants cannot distinguish between self and other, cannot experience concern for others, and show self-distress because they misinterpret others' distress as their own. In this article, we review evidence contradicting these assumptions and propose an alternative view of early empathy development. Specifically, we argue that empathic concern does not depend on self-reflective abilities and exists during the 1st year of life, manifesting young infants' fundamental social nature. We also touch on avenues for research.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Values are considered relatively stable individual characteristics, and there is little research to date on the conditions that underlie value-priorities change. This small-scale short-term longitudinal study tested whether a major life... more
Values are considered relatively stable individual characteristics, and there is little research to date on the conditions that underlie value-priorities change. This small-scale short-term longitudinal study tested whether a major life event of war changes the priority that early adolescents assign to values. Thirty-nine Israeli adolescents completed the Schwartz Values Survey on four occasions-at the beginning, middle, and end of the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese war during which their hometown was bombed. As hypothesized, anxiety-based values of tradition, power, and security increased in importance, while conformity values decreased in importance. Anxiety-free values of benevolence, universalism, self-direction, stimulation, and hedonism decreased in importance. Achievement values decreased and then increased in importance. Despite methodological limitations, the findings demonstrate that value development, at least during early adolescence, can take place rather quickly under circumstances of major traumatic events such as war.