Using 88 studies from 1980 to 2006, a meta-analysis compares risk instruments and other psychological measures on their ability to predict general (primarily nonsexual) violence in adults. Little variation was found amongst the mean effect sizes of common actuarial or structured risk instruments (i.e., Historical, Clinical, and Risk Management Violence Risk Assessment Scheme; Level of Supervision Inventory‐Revised; Violence Risk Assessment Guide; Statistical Information on Recidivism scale; and Psychopathy Checklist‐Revised). Third-generation instruments, dynamic risk factors, and file review plus interview methods had the advantage in predicting violent recidivism. Second-generation instruments, static risk factors, and use of file review were the strongest predictors of institutional violence. Measures derived from criminological-related theories or research produced larger effect sizes than did those of less content relevance. Additional research on existing risk instruments is required to provide more precise point estimates, especially regarding the outcome of institutional violence.

THE PREDICTION OF VIOLENCE IN ADULT OFFENDERS A Meta-Analytic Comparison of Instruments and Methods of Assessment

Some contemporary theorists contend that the desire for self-enhancement is prepotent and more powerful than rival motives such as self-verification. If so, then even people with negative self-views will embrace positive evaluations. The authors tested this proposition by conducting a meta-analytic review of the relevant literature. The data provided ample evidence of self-enhancement strivings but little evidence of its prepotency. Instead, the evidence suggested that both motives are influential but control different response classes. In addition, other motives may sometimes come into play. For example, when rejection risk is high, people seem to abandon self-verification strivings, apparently in an effort to gratify their desire for communion. However, when rejection risk is low, as is the case in many secure marital relationships, people prefer self-verifying evaluations. The authors conclude that future researchers should broaden the bandwidth of their explanatory frameworks to include motives other ...

Do People Embrace Praise Even When They Feel Unworthy? A Review of Critical Tests of Self-Enhancement Versus Self-Verification

Both the feedback-seeking literature in management and the self-motives domain in social psychology have focused on how motives affect the way in which people acquire information for self-evaluation purposes. Despite apparent conceptual similarities, the implications of research in these domains have not been fully integrated. This paper aims to link research on feedback-seeking behavior to recent theoretical developments in social psychology. First, the current perspective in management on feedback-seeking motives is depicted. Second, a well-established framework of self-motives in social psychology is introduced. Third, similarities and differences between these two motivational perspectives are discussed and a first step towards integration is proposed. Fourth, it is demonstrated how a self-motives perspective might guide future research on six key issues. Self-motives might be useful in identifying new antecedents of feedback-seeking behavior, resolving inconsistencies in the feedback-seeking literature, understanding the interplay among feedback-seeking motives, integrating feedback-seeking and feedback reactions research, examining attitudinal outcomes of feedback-seeking motives, and enhancing the feedback–performance relationship.

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A self-motives perspective on feedback- seeking behavior: Linking organizational behavior and social psychology research

Do self-enhancement/self-protection and self-esteem reflect fundamental human motivations or are they culturally bound occurrences? The debate on universalism versus cultural relativism of self-motives and self-esteem shows no sign of abatement We advance the debate by proposing the extended self-enhancing tactician model The model aspires to account for two seemingly contradictory phenomena: cross-cultural invariance (equivalence of self-motive strength and self-esteem desire across cultures) and cross-cultural variability (differential manifestations of self-motives and self-esteem across cultures) The model's four foundational tenets address cross-cultural invariance: (1) The individual self is panculturally valued, and it is so over the relational or collective self; (2) The self-enhancement/self-protection motives are equally potent in East and West; (3) The structure of self-enhancement and self-protection strivings is similar across the cultural divide; and (4) the desire for self-esteem is pancultural The SCENT-R model's four key postulates address cross-cultural variability First, Easterners assign relative importance to, and report higher, liking-based self-esteem, as well as consider collectivistic attributes important and self-enhance on them, whereas Westerners assign relative importance to, and report higher, competence-based self-esteem, as well as consider individualistic attributes important and self-enhance on them Second, when constraints on candid self-enhancement are lifted, Easterners behave like Westerners: they report higher modesty and lower self-esteem than Westerners, but, controlling for modesty, differences in self-esteem disappear; they self-enhance in competitive, but self-efface in cooperative, settings; they profit from other-mediated than own-initiated self-enhancement Third, implicit self-esteem is similarly high across cultures Fourth, self-esteem and self-enhancement/self-protection confer parallel benefits in East–West, depending in part on domain relevance Self-enhancement and self-protection, as well as self-esteem, reflect fundamental human motivation

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On the panculturality of self-enhancement and self-protection motivation: the case for the universality of self-esteem

The mnemic neglect model predicts and accounts for selective memory for social feedback as a function of various feedback properties. At the heart of the model is the mnemic neglect effect (MNE), defined as inferior recall for self-threatening feedback compared to other kinds of feedback. The effect emerges both in mundane realism and minimal feedback settings. The effect is presumed to occur in the service of self-protection motivation. Mnemic neglect is pronounced when the feedback poses high levels of self-threat (i.e., can detect accurately one’s weakness), but is lost when self-threat is averted via a self-affirmation manipulation. Mnemic neglect is caused by self-threatening feedback being processed shallowly and in ways that separate it from stored (positive) self-knowledge. The emergence of mnemic neglect is qualified by situational moderators (extent to which one considers their self-conceptions modifiable, receives feedback from a close source, or is primed with improvement-related const...

Mnemic neglect: Selective amnesia of one’s faults

The Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) is a 72-item self-report measure designed to predict violent and nonviolent recidivism among adult male criminal offenders. It was administered to 91 female offenders incarcerated in Pennsylvania and 183 incarcerated in Singapore correctional systems. Results indicated that the SAQ has sound psychometric properties, with acceptable reliability and concurrent and predictive validity for assessing violent and nonviolent recidivism. There were no significant differences between the scores of African American and Asian offenders and the responses of the White offenders. Similar to the findings from male offenders, the present results provide some support for the validity of the SAQ in the prediction of violent and nonviolent recidivism risk among White, African American, and Asian female offenders.

Cross-Validation of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire: A Tool for Assessing Violent and Nonviolent Recidivism With Female Offenders

The authors investigated how self-evaluation motives (self-enhancement, self-assessment, self-verification, self-improvement - and also self-diminishment and no information) shape self-knowledge preferences in male incarcerated juvenile offenders (IJOs). IJOs responded to questions on how much they would like to receive and actually received each of six types of feedback (positive, truthful, improving, consistent, negative and no feedback) from each of six sources (teachers, parents, siblings, best friend, girlfriend and behavioural specialists or psychologists). IJOs disliked negative feedback and the lack of feedback. They preferred truthful feedback to consistent feedback, and received truthful and positive feedback more frequently than improving feedback. Additionally, they received more negative or no feedback from parents than they would like. Finally, IJOs expressed a preference for receiving more improving feedback from their girlfriends than they did. The study highlights the interplay of self-evaluation motives in IJOs and opens up promising research and rehabilitation directions.

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Ariana Shahinfar

Papers

Cross-Validation of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire: A Tool for Assessing Violent and Nonviolent Recidivism With Female Offenders

Self-evaluation in a naturalistic context: the case of juvenile offenders.