Showing papers in "Psychological Bulletin in 1984"

Subjective Well-being

Abstract: The literature on subjective well-being (SWB), including happiness, life satisfaction, and positive affect, is reviewed in three areas: measurement, causal factors, and theory. Psychometric data on single-item and multi-item subjective well-being scales are presented, and the measures are compared. Measuring various components of subjective well-being is discussed. In terms of causal influences, research findings on the demographic correlates of SWB are evaluated, as well as the findings on other influences such as health, social contact, activity, and personality. A number of theoretical approaches to happiness are presented and discussed: telic theories, associationistic models, activity theories, judgment approaches, and top-down versus bottom-up conceptions.

Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states

Abstract: A number of apparently diverse personality scales—variously called trait anxiety, neuroticism, ego strength, general maladjustment, repression-sensitization, and social desirability—are reviewed and are shown to be in fact measures of the same stable and pervasive trait. An integrative interpretation of the construct as Negative Affectivity (NA) is presented. Extensive data indicate that high-NA individuals are more likely to experience discomfort at all times and across situations, even in the absence of overt stress. They are relatively more introspective and tend differentially to dwell on the negative side of themselves and the world. Further research is needed to explain the origins of NA and to elucidate the characteristics of low-NA individuals. Rorer and Widiger (1983) recently bemoaned that in the field of personality "literature reviews appear to be disparate conglomerations rather than cumulative or conclusive integrations" (p. 432). We intend this review to be an exception to this discouraging statement. Distinct and segregated literatures have developed around a number of specific personality measures that, despite dissimilar names, nevertheless intercorrelate so highly that they must be considered measures of the same construct. Following Tellegen (1982), we call this construct Negative Affectivity (NA) and present a comprehensive view of the trait that integrates data from a wide variety of relevant research. We are not the first to note this broad and pervasive personality trait. The Eysencks, for example, (e.g. Eysenck & Eysenck, 1968) have done extensive research in the area, traditionally calling the dimension "Neuroticism," although in their most recent revision (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1975) they suggest a label, "emotionality," that is similar to our own. Nonetheless, in discussing the relation between our interpretation and previous views of the domain, we argue for the preferability of our term, Negative Affectivity. We also present

Validity and Utility of Alternative Predictors of Job Performance

Abstract: Meta-analysis of the cumulative research on various predictors of job performance shows that for entry-level jobs there is no predictor with validity equal to that of ability, which has a mean validity of .53. For selection on the basis of current job performance, the work sample test, with mean validity of .54, is slightly better. For federal entry-level jobs, substitution of an alternative predictor would cost from $3.12 billion (job tryout) to $15.89 billion per year (age). Hiring on ability has a utility of $15.61 billion per year, but affects minority groups adversely. Hiring on ability by quotas would decrease this utility by 5%. A third strategy—using a low cutoff score—would decrease utility by 83%. Using other predictors in conjunction with ability tests might improve validity and reduce adverse impact, but there is as yet no data base for studying this possibility.

Knowledge of results and motor learning: a review and critical reappraisal.

Abstract: Previous analyses of knowledge of results (KR) and motor learning have generally confounded the transient performance effects as shown when KR is present and the relatively permanent (i.e., learned) effects that we argue should be evaluated on a transfer test without KR. In this review, we classify investigations according to this distinction, and a number of new relations emerge between KR and both learning and performance. In addition to the motivational and associational roles of KR, we emphasize that it also acts as guidance, enhancing performance when it is present but degrading learning if it is given too frequently.

The mean IQ of Americans: Massive gains 1932 to 1978.

Abstract: This study shows that every Stanford-Binet and Wechsler standardization sample from 1932 to 1978 established norms of a higher standard than its predecessor. The obvious interpretation of this pattern is that representative samples of Americans did better and better on IQ tests over a period of 46 years, the total gain amounting to a rise in mean IQ of 13.8 points. The implications of this finding are developed: The combination of IQ gains and the decline in Scholastic Aptitude Test scores seems almost inexplicable; obsolete norms have acted as an unrecognized confounding variable in hundreds of studies; and IQ gains of this magnitude pose a serious problem of causal explanation.

Distraction and coping with pain.

Abstract: Distraction is thought to be an effective strategy for coping with pain-produced distress. The purpose of this article is to offer explicit conceptual explanations of why and when distraction will be effective and to review research related to this conceptual scheme. A theoretical case for the effectiveness of distraction is drawn from assumptions about (a) the importance of cognition in mediating the pain experience, and (b) the limited capacity available for focusing attention on different stimulus events. Combining these assumptions led to four principles that were examined with available data. Principle 1: Distraction will reduce distress as compared with uninstructed and placebo control conditions. Principle 2: Distraction techniques that require more attentional capacity will be more effective. Principle 3: Distraction will have stronger effects on pain stimuli of low intensity. Principle 4: Distraction will be more effective than sensation redefinition for mild pain stimuli, but the reverse will be true for intense pain stimuli. The data supported these principles, and this review discusses implications and research necessary for helping persons to cope with pain. Common sense suggests that an effective way to cope with pain is to distract oneself from the sensations or emotional responses resulting from the painful stimulus. When persons are asked to evaluate coping strategies, for example, distraction is rated as highly effective and is strongly preferred over alternative techniques (Ahles, Blanchard, & Leventhal, 1983; Corah, Gale, & Illig, 1979a, 1979b; Hackett & Horan, 1980; McCaul & Haugvedt, 1982). Kant (cited in Turk, 1978) illustrated the common sense use of distraction as follows:

On the Cost and Benefit of Cost and Benefit

Abstract: Cost-benefit analysis of reaction times has become a popular chronometric tool in the study of cognitive processes. We review the technique, assumptions underlying its application, and pitfalls that are encountered in actually implementing it in various experimental contexts, this review suggests that the unthoughtful application of the technique may cause one to draw improper conclusions about the underlying mechanisms that produce costs and benefits. The keys to the mind are few in number. Because of this, the small number of paradigms available to experimental cognitive psychology are exploited ubiquitously to reveal characteristics of a variety of mental activities. When a new technique is invented, it is eagerly coopted by large numbers of investigators who hope to unravel yet more of the mysteries of cognitive life. This is as it should be, given the limited repertoire of methodological resources. However, care must be taken to ensure that new empirical tools are examined critically and that their flaws are laid bare before they are put to use. Often this is not feasible until a technique has been used for some time, thereby permitting sufficient examples of its product to be scrutinized. Also, some period of fairly extensive application of an experimental procedure is required before investigators begin to amass occasionally discomforting feelings about its use. These feelings typically arise during day-to-day activities in the laboratory when otherwise mundane decisions about the details of an experimental design lead one to question some basic assumptions about the empirical technique that is being applied. We have had such feelings of uncertainty. The paradigm that produces our symptoms is

Outliers and influential data points in regression analysis.

Abstract: Because the results of a regression analysis can be quite sensitive to outliers (either on y or in the space of the predictors), it is important to be able to detect such points. This article discusses and interrelates the following four diagnostics that are useful in identifying outliers: studentized residuals, the hat elements, Cook's distance, and Mahalanobis distance. Guidelines are given for interpretation of the diagnostics. Outliers will not necessarily be influential in affecting the regression coefficients. This important fact is illustrated and emphasized.

Hidden impact of minorities: Fifteen years of minority influence research.

Abstract: This article reviews and evaluates the literature on minority influence since Moscovici's original formulation of minority influence theory in 1969. Alternative theoretical explanations (attributional accounts and formal models of social influence) are discussed. Special attention is given to studies contrasting minority influence with conformity processes. These studies suggest that people tend to yield to the majority in public (public compliance in the conformity paradigm), while accepting the position of the minority in private (private acceptance in the minority influence paradigm). Theoretical implications of this finding are discussed. Since Sherif's (1935) and Asch's (1951) early work on conformity, it has become a social psychological truism that individuals tend to yield to a majority position even when that position is clearly incorrect. Conformity became a term nearly equivalent in meaning to social influence. It was not until 1969 that Moscovici and his coauthors pointed out that social influence is by no means limited to a one-direction dependency of the minority on the majority. Reversing the usual conformity paradigm, Moscovici, Lage, and Naffrechoux (1969) demonstrated that a consistent minority is able to exert a remarkable degree of influ

Postpartum depression: a critical review.

Abstract: The available literature on postpartum depression has failed to distinguish among the maternity blues, postpartum affective psychoses, and mild to moderate postpartum depression. Mild to moderate postpartum depression, which is similar to an untreated nonpostpartum clinical depression, merits further study for two reasons. First, it is a relatively common disorder, affecting as many as 20% of new mothers, and it has clear ramifications for the well-being of women and their infants. Second, the study of postpartum depression offers a unique opportunity to clarify the relation between a specific stressor (the birth of a child) and the development of psychiatric illness. Previous research on postpartum depression is reviewed and critically evaluated. Methodological and conceptual shortcomings of existing studies have resulted in inconsistent findings, which in turn have prevented the development of a coherent theoretical framework for understanding the etiology, course, and treatment of this disorder. Because recent data indicate a relation between stress and depression, one promising area for further research is the contribution of psychosocial factors, specifically life events and social support, to postpartum depression. Recommendations that may lead to the development of a comprehensive theoretical model of this disorder are proposed for future research.

Effect of television violence on aggressiveness.

Abstract: L'auteur recense et propose une analyse critique des recherches visant a etablir des correlations positives entre la vue d'un spectacle televise violent et l'augmentation de l'agresssivite subsequente