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Michael Pluess

Professor of Psychology, Queen Mary University of London
I’m a chartered psychologist and reader in developmental psychology spending most of my day researching how environmental experiences shape the course of psychological development across the life course.

The predominant part of my research deals with questions related to Developmental Plasticity, the understanding that experiences while growing up affect developmental outcomes. More specifically, I’m interested in individual differences in the capacity for such developmental plasticity as a function of different individual characteristics (e.g., genetic variants, personality traits etc.), a notion brought forward in the Differential Susceptibility (Belsky & Pluess, 2009) and Vantage Sensitivity (Pluess & Belsky, 2013) frameworks.

According to Differential Susceptibility reasoning individuals differ fundamentally in the degree they are affected by environmental influences regarding their psychological development: Some people are generally more and some less influenced not only by negative but also by positive environmental influences. Most of my work falls in one of three areas: Developmental Plasticity, Gene-Environment Interaction, and Positive Development and Resilience.

Relationship help programmes may be more successful for people who have 'sensitivity' genes

Mar 23, 2022 10:26 am UTC| Life

If the pandemic has put a strain on your relationship, you might be thinking about going to couples therapy or taking a relationship course to help. After all, research shows that certain relationship education courses can...

How sensitive you are may be partly down to your genes – new research

Jun 11, 2020 11:10 am UTC| Science

People differ substantially in how much theyre affected by experiences in their lives. Some people seem to be more affected by daily stress, or the loss of someone close to them. On the other hand, some people seem to get...

Economy

Citigroup Delays Fed Rate Cut Forecast Amid Strong Jobs Data and Inflation Concerns

Citigroup has revised its Federal Reserve rate cut timeline, pushing back expectations following stronger-than-anticipated U.S. job growth and lingering inflation pressures. The Wall Street giant now anticipates 75 basis...

Gold Prices Slip in Asia as Iran Strait Deadline Looms

Gold prices retreated in Asian trading on Monday following a strong weekly performance, with investors closely watching escalating tensions between the United States and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Spot gold...

Strait of Hormuz Crisis Fuels Oil Surge as Asian Markets Brace for Impact

Asian markets opened with a cautious tone Monday as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued shaking investor confidence. U.S. President Donald Trumps stern warning to Iran threatening devastating military...

Dollar Holds Steady as Yen Nears Critical 160 Level Amid Iran War Escalation

Global currency markets opened cautiously on Monday as the U.S. dollar maintained its footing while the Japanese yen hovered dangerously close to the psychologically significant 160-per-dollar threshold. Thin trading...

Morgan Stanley: Fed Rate Cuts Still on Track Despite Oil-Driven Inflation

Morgan Stanley believes the Federal Reserve will push forward with interest rate cuts in 2026, even as rising oil prices temporarily inflate headline inflation figures. According to the banks analysts, the current...

Politics

Iran-US Ceasefire Talks: Pakistan Brokers "Islamabad Accord" to Reopen Strait of Hormuz

Pakistan is playing a central role in high-stakes diplomatic efforts to end hostilities between Iran and the United States, with a proposed peace framework now on the table that could reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz...

Kim Jong Un's Daughter Emerges as North Korea's Likely Successor, South Korean Intelligence Says

South Koreas National Intelligence Service (NIS) has concluded that Kim Jong Uns teenage daughter, believed to be around 13 years old and named Ju Ae, is being actively positioned as the next leader of North Korea. Unlike...

North Korea Tests Advanced Solid-Fuel ICBM Engine With Carbon Fiber Technology

South Korean lawmakers revealed Monday that North Koreas latest solid-fuel rocket engine test represents a major leap forward in the countrys intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program. The development raises...

Taiwan Opposition Leader's China Visit: A Peace Mission Amid Rising Tensions

Taiwans Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun is heading to China on Tuesday in a landmark visit the first by a KMT leader in over a decade. She describes the trip as a peace mission, with a potential meeting with...

U.S. and Iran Edge Toward Potential 45-Day Ceasefire Amid Escalating Tensions

Diplomatic efforts between the United States and Iran are gaining momentum, with mediators from Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey joining negotiations aimed at brokering a potential 45-day ceasefire, according to a report by...

Science

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

Technology

Britain Courts Anthropic Amid US Defense Department Dispute

The United Kingdom is actively working to attract Anthropic, the company behind the popular Claude AI app, to expand its footprint in the country. This diplomatic push comes as Anthropic finds itself in the middle of a...

OpenAI Executive Shake-Up Ahead of Anticipated 2026 IPO

OpenAI is navigating a significant leadership restructuring at one of the most pivotal moments in its history. The AI powerhouse confirmed that Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap is transitioning into a newly created...

Elon Musk Ties SpaceX IPO Access to Mandatory Grok AI Subscriptions

Elon Musk is reportedly making Grok subscriptions a prerequisite for banks and advisers involved in SpaceXs highly anticipated initial public offering. According to the New York Times, citing insiders familiar with the...

MATCH Act Targets ASML and Chinese Chipmakers in New U.S. Export Crackdown

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has unveiled the MATCH Act, a landmark piece of draft legislation designed to tighten export restrictions on advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment destined for China. The...

Microsoft's $10 Billion Japan Investment: AI Infrastructure and Data Sovereignty Push

Microsoft is set to pour approximately $10 billion into Japan between now and 2029, channeling funds into data center expansion and artificial intelligence infrastructure to meet the countrys growing demand for data...