Standing upright on stable and unstable surfaces requires postural control. Postural control declines as humans age, presenting greater risk of fall-related injury and other negative health outcomes. Secondary cognitive tasks can further impact balance, which highlights the importance of coordination between cognitive and motor processes. Past research indicates that this coordination relies on executive function (EF; the ability to control, maintain, and flexibly direct attention to achieve goals), which coincidentally declines as humans age. This suggests that secondary cognitive tasks requiring EF may exert a greater influence on balance compared to non-EF secondary tasks, and this interaction could be exaggerated among older adults. In the current study, we had younger and older adults complete two Surface Stability conditions (standing upright on stable vs. unstable surfaces) under varying Cognitive Load; participants completed EF (Shifting, Inhibiting, Updating) and non-EF (Processing Speed) secondary cognitive tasks on tablets, as well as a single task control scenario with no secondary cognitive task. Our primary balance measure of interest was sway area, which was measured with an array of wearable inertial measurement unit sensors. Replicating prior work, we found a main effect of Surface Stability with less sway on stable surfaces compared to unstable surfaces, and we found an interaction between Age and Surface Stability with older adults exhibiting significantly greater sway selectively on unstable surfaces compared to younger adults. New findings revealed a main effect of Cognitive Load on sway, with the single task condition having significantly less sway than two of the EF conditions (Updating and Shifting) and the non-EF condition (Processing Speed). We also found an interaction of Cognitive Load and Surface Stability on postural control, where Surface Stability impacted sway the most for the single task and two of the executive function conditions (Inhibition and Shifting). Interestingly, Age did not interact with Cognitive Load, suggesting that both age groups were equally impacted by secondary cognitive tasks, regardless the presence or type of secondary cognitive task. Taken together, these patterns suggest that cognitive demands vary in their impact on posture control across stable vs. unstable surfaces, and that EF involvement may not be the driving mechanism explaining cognitive-motor dual-task interference on balance.

Preventing the negative impacts of major, intersectional social issues hinges on personal concern and willingness to take action. This research examines social comparison in the context of climate change, racial injustice, and COVID‐19 during Fall 2020. Participants in a U.S. university sample ( n = 288), reported personal levels of concern and action and estimated peers' concern and action regarding these three issues. Participants estimated that they were more concerned than peers for all three issues and took more action than peers regarding COVID‐19 and climate change. Participants who reported higher levels of personal concern also estimated that they took greater action than peers (relative to participants who reported lower levels of concern). Exploratory analyses found that perceived personal control over social issues were associated with greater concern and action for racial injustice and climate change but not for COVID‐19. This indicates that issue‐specific features, including perceived controllability, may drive people to differently assess their experiences of distinct social issues.

Social support can benefit recipients when it is provided effectively, but giving effective support can be demanding. Prior research outlines givers’ traits (e.g., compassion) and choices of methods that can make support more beneficial, but it remains unclear how givers regulate their own internal processes to provide optimal support. Through the novel Self-Regulation in Social Support model, we leverage past research on self-regulation (based primarily in North America/Europe) to examine how self-regulatory processes influence effective social support provision. Potential support givers must first evaluate their aims and prioritize relational goals with recipients. Next, support givers must utilize self-regulatory processes (e.g., effort, cognitive control) to enact support by representing recipient’s goals and delivering and maintaining support. More effective self-regulation thus may enhance support exchanges. We also identify factors that may facilitate support givers’ regulatory processes (e.g., recipient closeness). This framework generates testable future research questions exploring how people give effective support.

Research suggests that perceived social support bolsters emotional well-being. We tested whether perceived support from friends, family, and spouses/partners was associated with reduced negative and greater positive affectivity (i.e., everyday affective baseline), and whether perceived strain in these relationships had the opposite effects. Using data from the third waves of the Midlife in the United States survey and National Study of Daily Experience (n = 1,124), we found negative affectivity decreased with more support from friends, and increased with more strain among family. Positive affectivity increased with more support from friends and family and decreased with more strain among friends and partners. We replicated analyses using second-wave Midlife in Japan survey data (n = 657) and found friends’ support and familial tension had the same impacts on positive and negative affect cross-culturally. Some relationship dynamics may vary, but perceived support—especially in friendships—might cross-culturally enhance everyday emotional well-being.