Showing papers by "Roy F. Baumeister published in 1991"

Binge eating as escape from self-awareness.

Abstract: This article proposes that binge eating is motivated by a desire to escape from self-awareness. Binge eaters suffer from high standards and expectations, especially an acute sensitivity to the difficult (perceived) demands of others. When they fall short of these standards, they develop an aversive pattern of high self-awareness, characterized by unflattering views of self and concern over how they are perceived by others. These aversive self-perceptions are accompanied by emotional distress, which often includes anxiety and depression. To escape from this unpleasant state, binge eaters attempt the cognitive response of narrowing attention to the immediate stimulus environment and avoiding broadly meaningful thought. This narrowing of attention disengages normal inhibitions against eating and fosters an uncritical acceptance of irrational beliefs and thoughts. The escape model is capable of integrating much of the available evidence about binge eating.

Meanings of Life

Abstract: In this extraordinary book, an eminent social scientist explores what empirical studies from diverse fields tell us about the human condition. Meanings of Life draws together evidence from psychology, history, anthropology, and sociology, integrating copious research findings into a clear and conclusive discussion of how people attempt to make sense of their lives. In a lively and accessible style, emphasising facts over theories, Baumeister explores why people desire meaning in their lives, how these meanings function, what forms they take, and what happens when life loses meaning. The volume includes a review of interdisciplinary literature that covers what the social sciences say about such matters as happiness, suffering, and death. It explores people's need for a sense of purpose, values, control over their lives, and a sense of self worth. Divorce and religious conversion are also examined. The book attempts to analyze the myths of fulfilment and higher meaning, illusions of eternity, the suppression of female sexuality, the failure of the work ethic, why death is more threatening to us than it was to our ancestors, and how suffering stimulates the quest for meaning. It demonstrates how happiness depends more upon one's interpretation than actual circumstances, and shows that the keys to happiness are attitude, judicious comparison, a bit of luck and a healthy dose of self-deception.

Escaping the self : alcoholism, spirituality, masochism, and other flights from the burden of selfhood

Abstract: Presents a new view of the darker side of human nature. America's concern with self-fulfilment and personal identity has become a burden for many people. Overwhelmed by the demands of creating and maintaining a positive self-image, some are turning to potentially dangerous escapist practices.

A Three-Component Model of Children's Teasing: Aggression, Humor, and Ambiguity

Abstract: This exploratory investigation of children's teasing consists of a literature review, theory development, and the report of preliminary data. We propose that teasing consists of a communication, directed by an agent to a target, which synthesizes elements of aggression, humor, and ambiguity. Teasing messages are not meant literally, and often they exaggerate or overstate the intended derogation. For the target, making an attribution for the teaser's intention may be a complex task, and incorrect decoding may cause misunderstandings. Teasers see their motives as benign and friendly, whereas targets, especially young children, often experience teasing as hostile and painful. Social patterns suggest that teasing is an expression of status dominance and a mechanism for promoting conformity within groups. Much teasing occurs as a power-oriented interaction in which bullies dominate unassertive children, but there are also playful and beneficial aspects of teasing.

Escaping the Self: The Moderating Effect of Self-Complexity

Abstract: The present experiment measured the speed with which people escaped from a highly self-focusing situation after an initial failure or success. Consistent with predictions, the fastest escapes were found among people who were low in self-complexity and who experienced initial failure. These results support the notion that high self-complexity serves as a buffer against the threatening implications of failure, presumably because many aspects of the self-concept remain untouched by the failure. Additional findings showed that failure impaired the subsequent performance (in writing an essay about the self of people with low self-complexity, but it actually improved the performance of people with high self-complexity. These results suggest that an identical failure may have different levels of global aversiveness and may elicit different coping styles as a function of self-complexity.

On the Stability of Variability: Retest Reliability of Metatraits

Abstract: The variance in a subject's responses to the different -items on a trait scale has been interpreted as an indication of behavioral consistency, truthfulness, and/or traitedness. The present study examined the retest stability of intritem variances on three trait scales. Interitem variance scores showed fairly high retest reliability (in the. 7 range). Shorter, more homogeneous subscales had lower retest reliability scores. Interitem variances did not moderate the stability of trait scores. These results suggest that (a) people are consistent in their degree of variability on a given dimension, (b) highly variable responding to different items on a scale may be a consistent, meaningful pattern rather than an indication of incompetent or random responding, and (c) the simple deletion of high-variance (or "untraited") subjects from a sample will not automatically improve results. Additional findings suggested a positive but weak tendency for people who responded consistently (vs. variably) to the items on on...