Showing papers in "Psychological Bulletin in 2004"
TL;DR: Motivated performance tasks elicited cortisol responses if they were uncontrollable or characterized by social-evaluative threat (task performance could be negatively judged by others), when methodological factors and other stressor characteristics were controlled for.
Abstract: This meta-analysis reviews 208 laboratory studies of acute psychological stressors and tests a theoretical model delineating conditions capable of eliciting cortisol responses. Psychological stressors increased cortisol levels; however, effects varied widely across tasks. Consistent with the theoretical model, motivated performance tasks elicited cortisol responses if they were uncontrollable or characterized by social-evaluative threat (task performance could be negatively judged by others), when methodological factors and other stressor characteristics were controlled for. Tasks containing both uncontrollable and social-evaluative elements were associated with the largest cortisol and adrenocorticotropin hormone changes and the longest times to recovery. These findings are consistent with the animal literature on the physiological effects of uncontrollable social threat and contradict the belief that cortisol is responsive to all types of stressors.
5,028 citations
TL;DR: The present report meta-analyzes more than 300 empirical articles describing a relationship between psychological stress and parameters of the immune system in human participants to find that physical vulnerability as a function of age or disease also increased vulnerability to immune change during stressors.
Abstract: The present report meta-analyzes more than 300 empirical articles describing a relationship between psychological stress and parameters of the immune system in human participants. Acute stressors (lasting minutes) were associated with potentially adaptive upregulation of some parameters of natural immunity and downregulation of some functions of specific immunity. Brief naturalistic stressors (such as exams) tended to suppress cellular immunity while preserving humoral immunity. Chronic stressors were associated with suppression of both cellular and humoral measures. Effects of event sequences varied according to the kind of event (trauma vs. loss). Subjective reports of stress generally did not associate with immune change. In some cases, physical vulnerability as a function of age or disease also increased vulnerability to immune change during stressors.
2,756 citations
TL;DR: Meta-analyses confirmed the incremental contributions of the PSF over and above those of socioeconomic status, standardized achievement, and high school GPA in predicting college outcomes.
Abstract: This study examines the relationship between psychosocial and study skill factors (PSFs) and college outcomes by meta-analyzing 109 studies. On the basis of educational persistence and motivational theory models, the PSFs were categorized into 9 broad constructs: achievement motivation, academic goals, institutional commitment, perceived social support, social involvement, academic self-efficacy, general self-concept, academic-related skills, and contextual influences. Two college outcomes were targeted: performance (cumulative grade point average; GPA) and persistence (retention). Meta-analyses indicate moderate relationships between retention and academic goals, academic self-efficacy, and academic-related skills (ps = .340, .359, and .366, respectively). The best predictors for GPA were academic self-efficacy and achievement motivation (ps = .496 and .303, respectively). Supplementary regression analyses confirmed the incremental contributions of the PSF over and above those of socioeconomic status, standardized achievement, and high school GPA in predicting college outcomes.
2,181 citations
TL;DR: The authors illustrate the utility of the multidimensional organizing framework by analyzing the different configuration of elements in 4 major theories of identification.
Abstract: The authors offer a framework for conceptualizing collective identity that aims to clarify and make distinctions among dimensions of identification that have not always been clearly articulated. Elements of collective identification included in this framework are self-categorization, evaluation, importance, attachment and sense of interdependence, social embeddedness, behavioral involvement, and content and meaning. For each element, the authors take note of different labels that have been used to identify what appear to be conceptually equivalent constructs, provide examples of studies that illustrate the concept, and suggest measurement approaches. Further, they discuss the potential links between elements and outcomes and how context moderates these relationships. The authors illustrate the utility of the multidimensional organizing framework by analyzing the different configuration of elements in 4 major theories of identification.
1,634 citations
TL;DR: The present effort illustrates the value of studying choice involving both delayed and probabilistic outcomes within a general discounting framework that uses similar experimental procedures and a common analytical approach.
Abstract: When choosing between delayed or uncertain outcomes, individuals discount the value of such outcomes on the basis of the expected time to or the likelihood of their occurrence. In an integrative review of the expanding experimental literature on discounting, the authors show that although the same form of hyperbola-like function describes discounting of both delayed and probabilistic outcomes, a variety of recent findings are inconsistent with a single-process account. The authors also review studies that compare discounting in different populations and discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings. The present effort illustrates the value of studying choice involving both delayed and probabilistic outcomes within a general discounting framework that uses similar experimental procedures and a common analytical approach.
1,453 citations
TL;DR: The authors conducted a meta-analysis of conscientiousness-related traits and the leading behavioral contributors to mortality in the United States to demonstrate the importance ofcientiousness' contribution to the health process through its relationship to health-related behaviors.
Abstract: Previous research has established conscientiousness as a predictor of longevity (H. S. Friedman et al., 1993; L. R. Martin & H. S. Friedman, 2000). To better understand this relationship, the authors conducted a meta-analysis of conscientiousness-related traits and the leading behavioral contributors to mortality in the United States (tobacco use, diet and activity patterns, excessive alcohol use, violence, risky sexual behavior, risky driving, suicide, and drug use). Data sources were located by combining conscientiousness-related terms and relevant health-related behavior terms in database searches as well as by retrieving dissertations and requesting unpublished data from electronic mailing lists. The resulting database contained 194 studies that were quantitatively synthesized. Results showed that conscientiousness-related traits were negatively related to all risky health-related behaviors and positively related to all beneficial health-related behaviors. This study demonstrates the importance of conscientiousness' contribution to the health process through its relationship to health-related behaviors.
1,410 citations
TL;DR: Common risk factors from longitudinal and cross-sectional studies were gender, ethnicity, early childhood eating and gastrointestinal problems, elevated weight and shape concerns, negative self-evaluation, sexual abuse and other adverse experiences, and general psychiatric morbidity.
Abstract: The aims of the present review are to apply a recent risk factor approach (H. C. Kraemer et al., 1997) to putative risk factors for eating disorders, to order these along a timeline, and to deduce general taxonomic questions. Putative risk factors were classified according to risk factor type, outcome (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, full vs. partial syndromes), and additional factor characteristics (specificity, potency, need for replication). Few of the putative risk factors were reported to precede the onset of the disorder. Many factors were general risk factors; only few differentiated between the 3 eating disorder syndromes. Common risk factors from longitudinal and cross-sectional studies were gender, ethnicity, early childhood eating and gastrointestinal problems, elevated weight and shape concerns, negative self-evaluation, sexual abuse and other adverse experiences, and general psychiatric morbidity. Suggestions are made for the conceptualization of future risk factor studies.
1,288 citations
TL;DR: The authors propose that the importance of self-esteem lies more in how people strive for it rather than whether it is high or low, and argue that in domains in which their self-worth is invested, people adopt the goal to validate their abilities and qualities, and hence theirself-worth.
Abstract: Researchers have recently questioned the benefits associated with having high self-esteem. The authors propose that the importance of self-esteem lies more in how people strive for it rather than whether it is high or low. They argue that in domains in which their self-worth is invested, people adopt the goal to validate their abilities and qualities, and hence their self-worth. When people have self-validation goals, they react to threats in these domains in ways that undermine learning; relatedness; autonomy and self-regulation; and over time, mental and physical health. The short-term emotional benefits of pursuing self-esteem are often outweighed by long-term costs. Previous research on self-esteem is reinterpreted in terms of self-esteem striving. Cultural roots of the pursuit of self-esteem are considered. Finally, the alternatives to pursuing self-esteem, and ways of avoiding its costs, are discussed.
1,255 citations
TL;DR: The authors suggest that 2 dimensions of impairment are needed to conceptualize the relationship between these disorders and to capture phenotypic features that are important for identifying neurobiologically and etiologically coherent subgroups.
Abstract: Developmental dyslexia and specific language impairment (SLI) were for many years treated as distinct disorders but are now often regarded as different manifestations of the same underlying problem, differing only in severity or developmental stage. The merging of these categories has been motivated by the reconceptualization of dyslexia as a language disorder in which phonological processing is deficient. The authors argue that this focus underestimates the independent influence of semantic and syntactic deficits, which are widespread in SLI and which affect reading comprehension and impair attainment of fluent reading in adolescence. The authors suggest that 2 dimensions of impairment are needed to conceptualize the relationship between these disorders and to capture phenotypic features that are important for identifying neurobiologically and etiologically coherent subgroups.
1,206 citations
TL;DR: Terror management theory (TMT) is compared with other explanations for why people need self-esteem, and a critique of the most prominent of these, sociometer theory, is provided.
Abstract: Terror management theory (TMT; J. Greenberg, T. Pyszczynski, & S. Solomon, 1986) posits that people are motivated to pursue positive self-evaluations because self-esteem provides a buffer against the omnipresent potential for anxiety engendered by the uniquely human awareness of mortality. Empirical evidence relevant to the theory is reviewed showing that high levels of self-esteem reduce anxiety and anxiety-related defensive behavior, reminders of one's mortality increase self-esteem striving and defense of self-esteem against threats in a variety of domains, high levels of self-esteem eliminate the effect of reminders of mortality on both self-esteem striving and the accessibility of death-related thoughts, and convincing people of the existence of an afterlife eliminates the effect of mortality salience on self-esteem striving. TMT is compared with other explanations for why people need self-esteem, and a critique of the most prominent of these, sociometer theory, is provided.
1,176 citations
TL;DR: A critical review of the assumptions and findings of studies used to establish psychotherapies as empirically supported suggests a shift from validating treatment packages to testing intervention strategies and theories of change that clinicians can integrate into empirically informed therapies.
Abstract: This article provides a critical review of the assumptions and findings of studies used to establish psychotherapies as empirically supported. The attempt to identify empirically supported therapies (ESTs) imposes particular assumptions on the use of randomized controlled trial (RCT) methodology that appear to be valid for some disorders and treatments (notably exposure-based treatments of specific anxiety symptoms) but substantially violated for others. Meta-analytic studies support a more nuanced view of treatment efficacy than implied by a dichotomous judgment of supported versus unsupported. The authors recommend changes in reporting practices to maximize the clinical utility of RCTs, describe alternative methodologies that may be useful when the assumptions underlying EST methodology are violated, and suggest a shift from validating treatment packages to testing intervention strategies and theories of change that clinicians can integrate into empirically informed therapies.
TL;DR: It is confirmed that the self-serving attributional bias is pervasive in the general population but demonstrates significant variability across age, culture, and psychopathology.
Abstract: Researchers have suggested the presence of a self-serving attributional bias, with people making more internal, stable, and global attributions for positive events than for negative events. This study examined the magnitude, ubiquity, and adaptiveness of this bias. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 266 studies, yielding 503 independent effect sizes. The average d was 0.96, indicating a large bias. The bias was present in nearly all samples. There were significant age differences, with children and older adults displaying the largest biases. Asian samples displayed significantly smaller biases (d = 0.30) than U.S. (d = 1.05) or Western (d = 0.70) samples. Psychopathology was associated with a significantly attenuated bias (d = 0.48) compared with samples without psychopathology (d = 1.28) and community samples (d = 1.08). The bias was smallest for samples with depression (0.21), anxiety (0.46), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (0.55). Findings confirm that the self-serving attributional bias is pervasive in the general population but demonstrates significant variability across age, culture, and psychopathology.
TL;DR: 5 middle-level theories--energetics theory, stress-suppression theory, psychosocial acceleration theory, paternal investment theory, and child development theory--each of which applies the basic assumptions of life history theory to the question of environmental influences on timing of puberty in girls are reviewed.
Abstract: Life history theory provides a metatheoretical framework for the study of pubertal timing from an evolutionary-developmental perspective. The current article reviews 5 middle-level theories--energetics theory stress-suppression theory psychosocial acceleration theory paternal investment theory and child development theory--each of which applies the basic assumptions of life history theory to the question of environmental influences on timing of puberty in girls. These theories converge in their conceptualization of pubertal timing as responsive to ecological conditions but diverge in their conceptualization of: a. the nature extent and direction of environmental influences and; b. the effects of pubertal timing on other reproductive variables. Comparing hypotheses derived from the 5 perspectives are evaluated. An extension of W.T. Boyce and B.J. Elliss (in press) theory of stress reactivity is proposed to account for both inhibiting and accelerating effects of psychosocial stress on timing of pubertal development. This review highlights the multiplicity of (often unrecognized) perspectives guiding research raises challenges to virtually all of these and presents an alternative framework in an effort to move research forward in this arena of multidisciplinary inquiry. (authors)
TL;DR: Individual differences in the capacity to control attention as a major contributor to differences in working memory capacity (WMC) are examined.
Abstract: Dual-process theories of the mind are ubiquitous in psychology. A central principle of these theories is that behavior is determined by the interplay of automatic and controlled processing. In this article, the authors examine individual differences in the capacity to control attention as a major contributor to differences in working memory capacity (WMC). The authors discuss the enormous implications of this individual difference for a host of dual-process theories in social, personality, cognitive, and clinical psychology. In addition, the authors propose several new areas of investigation that derive directly from applying the concept of WMC to dual-process theories of the mind.
TL;DR: Meta-analytic findings indicate that Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness are related to both various domain satisfactions and life satisfaction; however, consistent with a bottom-up approach, domain satisf actions are strongly linked to life satisfaction but only weakly linked to each other.
Abstract: Two main theoretical approaches have been put forward to explain individual differences in life satisfaction: top-down (i.e., personological) and bottom-up (i.e., situational). The authors examine the relative merit of these 2 approaches and the psychological processes underlying top-down models. Consistent with a top-down approach, meta-analytic findings indicate that Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness are related to both various domain satisfactions and life satisfaction; however, consistent with a bottom-up approach, domain satisfactions are strongly linked to life satisfaction but only weakly linked to each other. Path analyses based on meta-analytic estimates did not support a simple "direct-effects" top-down model but supported both (a) a temperament-based top-down model and (b) an integrative model that incorporates the direct influence of domain satisfactions on life satisfaction.
TL;DR: A meta-analysis of 95 studies was conducted to investigate the relations of heart rate (HR) and electrodermal activity (EDA) with aggression, psychopathy, and conduct problems, revealing a complex constellation of interactive effects.
Abstract: A meta-analysis of 95 studies was conducted to investigate the relations of heart rate (HR) and electrodermal activity (EDA) with aggression, psychopathy, and conduct problems Analyses revealed a complex constellation of interactive effects, with a failure in some cases of autonomic patterns to generalize across antisocial spectrum behavior constructs Low resting EDA and low task EDA were associated with psychopathy/sociopathy and conduct problems However, EDA reactivity was positively associated with aggression and negatively associated with psychopathy/sociopathy Low resting HR and high HR reactivity were associated with aggression and conduct problems Physiology--behavior relations varied with age and stimulus valence in several cases Empirical and clinical implications are discussed
TL;DR: The authors review the literature on the 2 main models of the placebo effect: expectancy theory and classical conditioning and suggest that classical conditioning procedures are one shaping factor but that verbal information can also shape placebo effects.
Abstract: The authors review the literature on the 2 main models of the placebo effect: expectancy theory and classical conditioning. A path is suggested to dissolving the theoretical impasse that has long plagued this issue. The key is to make a clear distinction between 2 questions: What factors shape placebo effects? and What learning mediates the placebo effect? The reviewed literature suggests that classical conditioning procedures are one shaping factor but that verbal information can also shape placebo effects. The literature also suggests that conditioning procedures and other sources of information sometimes shape conscious expectancies and that these expectancies mediate some placebo effects; however, in other cases conditioning procedures appear to shape placebo effects that are not mediated by conscious cognition. The placebo effect is a topic of interest to psychologists and health practitioners in a wide variety of areas, and the question of the mechanisms underlying this effect is gaining increasing attention. In this article, we review the literature related to the two main approaches to the placebo phenomenon: expectancy theory and classical conditioning. According to expectancy theory, placebo effects are mediated by explicit (consciously accessible) expectancies. In contrast, according to the classical conditioning approach, they are conditioned responses (CRs). We begin with the problematic issue of defining placebos and placebo effects, and we then turn to the question of whether these effects actually exist. Having established that they do, we shift the focus to the main task of the article: determining the roles of expectancy and conditioning in the placebo effect. This task is divided into two parts. The first has the aim of clearing up the confusion that exists in the placebo literature concerning the relationship between conditioning and expectancy. These approaches are often pitted against one another, under the assumption that either expectancy theory or classical conditioning accounts for the placebo effect. We reject this view, arguing that the two approaches are compatible. One stumbling block is the assumption that classical conditioning is a particular form of learning, necessarily distinct from expectancy learning. However, conditioning is defined in terms of stimulus inputs and their subsequent effects. Specifically, an organism has been classically conditioned when exposure to a contingency between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US) results in a relevant change in the organism’s state or behavior. This leaves open the question of what mechanisms mediate conditioning. In some cases, conditioning procedures lead to nonconscious learning, and the effects of conditioning are not cognitively mediated. In other cases, though, conditioning effects are mediated by conscious expectancies. Thus, expectancy theory provides an explanation for some examples of classical conditioning. Furthermore, expectancies are not shaped only by conditioning procedures, but also by factors such
TL;DR: A meta-analysis was conducted of studies that used random assignment to test the effectiveness of massage therapy, and it is proposed that new MT theories and research use a psychotherapy perspective.
Abstract: Massage therapy (MT) is an ancient form of treatment that is now gaining popularity as part of the complementary and alternative medical therapy movement. A meta-analysis was conducted of studies that used random assignment to test the effectiveness of MT. Mean effect sizes were calculated from 37 studies for 9 dependent variables. Single applications of MT reduced state anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate but not negative mood, immediate assessment of pain, and cortisol level. Multiple applications reduced delayed assessment of pain. Reductions of trait anxiety and depression were MT's largest effects, with a course of treatment providing benefits similar in magnitude to those of psychotherapy. No moderators were statistically significant, though continued testing is needed. The limitations of a medical model of MT are discussed, and it is proposed that new MT theories and research use a psychotherapy perspective.
TL;DR: A 3-stage model for understanding how people make comparative judgments is introduced, various nonmotivational factors can influence the 3 stages of the comparative judgment process are described, and several unresolved issues are discussed.
Abstract: Biases in social comparative judgments, such as those illustrated by above-average and comparative-optimism effects, are often regarded as products of motivated reasoning (e.g., self-enhancement). These effects, however, can also be produced by information-processing limitations or aspects of judgment processes that are not necessarily biased by motivational factors. In this article, the authors briefly review motivational accounts of biased comparative judgments, introduce a 3-stage model for understanding how people make comparative judgments, and then describe how various nonmotivational factors can influence the 3 stages of the comparative judgment process. Finally, the authors discuss several unresolved issues highlighted by their analysis, such as the interrelation between motivated and nonmotivated sources of bias and the influence of nonmotivated sources of bias on behavior.
TL;DR: The results identify promising prevention programs and delineate sample, format, and design features that are associated with larger effects, but they suggest the need for improved methodological rigor and statistical modeling of trials and enhanced theoretical rationale for interventions.
Abstract: This meta-analysis of eating disorder prevention programs found that intervention effects ranged from an absence of any effects to reductions in current and future eating pathology Certain effects persisted as long as 2 years and were superior to minimal-intervention control conditions Larger effects occurred for selected (vs universal), interactive (vs didactic), and multisession (vs single session) programs; for programs offered solely to females and to participants over age 15; for programs without psychoeducational content; and for trials that used validated measures The results identify promising prevention programs and delineate sample, format, and design features that are associated with larger effects, but they suggest the need for improved methodological rigor and statistical modeling of trials and enhanced theoretical rationale for interventions
TL;DR: The evidence supports the view that exposure to prenatal stress may result in a general susceptibility to psychopathology, rather than exerting a direct effect on a specific form of psychopathology.
Abstract: This review focuses on prenatal stress as a risk factor for psychopathology. Evidence from animal studies is summarized, and the relevance of prenatal stress models in animals for human studies is discussed. In the offspring of prenatally stressed animals, overactivity and impaired negative feedback regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis are consistent findings and may reflect a pathophysiological mechanism involved in the development of psychopathology. Reduced activity of the opioid GABA/benzodiazepine, serotonin, and dopamine systems and increased activity of the sympathico-adrenal system have been found as well. These alterations have been linked to a diverse spectrum of psychopathology. Therefore, the evidence supports the view that exposure to prenatal stress may result in a general susceptibility to psychopathology, rather than exerting a direct effect on a specific form of psychopathology.
TL;DR: An integrative conceptual model of unexplained illness based on cognitive psychological principles is presented, which attempts to combine existing theoretical approaches within a single explanatory framework, extending previous theory by explaining how compelling symptoms can exist in the absence of organic pathology.
Abstract: Theories of medically unexplained illness based on the concepts of dissociation, conversion, and somatization are summarized. Evidence cited in support of these theories is described and the conceptual strengths and shortcomings of each approach are considered. It is argued that each of these approaches adds to the understanding of unexplained illness but that none is able to provide a comprehensive explanation of the phenomenon. An integrative conceptual model of unexplained illness based on cognitive psychological principles is then presented. This model attempts to combine existing theoretical approaches within a single explanatory framework, extending previous theory by explaining how compelling symptoms can exist in the absence of organic pathology. The clinical and empirical implications of the model are then considered.
TL;DR: It is proposed that at least 3 separate representational elements-associative networks, verbal/propositional representations, and schemas-are required to generate a comprehensive cognitive theory of PTSD.
Abstract: The evolution of multirepresentational cognitive theorizing in psychopathology is illustrated by detailed discussion and analysis of a number of prototypical models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Network and schema theories, which focus on a single, explicit aspect/format of mental representation, are compared with theories that focus on 2 or more explicit representational elements. The author argues that the latter theories provide a more complete account of PTSD data, though are not without their problems. Specifically, it is proposed that at least 3 separate representational elements-associative networks, verbal/propositional representations, and schemas-are required to generate a comprehensive cognitive theory of PTSD. The argument that the development of multirepresentational cognitive theory in PTSD is a paradigm case for the development of similar theories in other forms of psychopathology is elaborated, and a brief agenda is proposed promoting 2 levels of theorizing-deep, formal theory alongside more localized, applied theory.
TL;DR: This review provides an evaluation of the correlates and/or risk factors associated with disordered eating and the pursuit of muscularity among adolescent boys, finding similar factors and processes are associated with both behavioral problems.
Abstract: This review provides an evaluation of the correlates and/or risk factors associated with disordered eating and the pursuit of muscularity among adolescent boys. One of the main conclusions is that similar factors and processes are associated with both behavioral problems. Several factors found to be consistently associated with disordered eating among boys are also similar to those found with girls. These include body mass index, negative affect, self-esteem, perfectionism, drug use, perceived pressure to lose weight from parents and peers, and participation in sports that focus on leanness. However, as many of the findings have only been verified using cross-sectional designs, prospective studies are now needed.
TL;DR: The authors review the development of representative design, its use in judgment and decision-making research, and the effect of design on research findings, and suggest that some of the practical difficulties associated with representative design may be overcome with modern technologies.
Abstract: Egon Brunswik argued that psychological processes are adapted to environmental properties. He proposed the method of representative design to capture these processes and advocated that psychology be a science of organism-environment relations. Representative design involves randomly sampling stimuli from the environment or creating stimuli in which environmental properties are preserved. This departs from systematic design. The authors review the development of representative design, examine its use in judgment and decision-making research, and demonstrate the effect of design on research findings. They suggest that some of the practical difficulties associated with representative design may be overcome with modern technologies. The importance of representative design in psychology and the implications of this method for ecological approaches to cognition are discussed.
TL;DR: Research favoring the so-called bottom-up and top-down classes of explanations for reversible figures that dominated the literature in last half of the 20th century is reviewed and the utility of distinguishing between 2 components of the observer's experience with reversible figures is emphasized.
Abstract: Research favoring the so-called bottom-up and top-down classes of explanations for reversible figures that dominated the literature in last half of the 20th century is reviewed. Two conclusions are offered. First, any single-process model is extremely unlikely to be able to accommodate the wide array of empirical findings, suggesting that the "final" explanation will almost certainly involve a hybrid conceptualization of interacting sensory and cognitive processes. Second, the utility of distinguishing between 2 components of the observer's experience with reversible figures is emphasized. This distinction between the observer's ability to access multiple representations from the single stimulus pattern (ambiguity) and the observer's phenomenal experience of oscillation between those representations (reversibility) permits the literature to be segregated into useful categories of research that expose overlapping but distinctive cortical processes.
TL;DR: There was a small, consistent, positive association between birth weight and childhood cognitive ability, even when corrected for confounders, and Parental social class accounted for a larger proportion of the variance than birth weight, and these 2 variables were largely independent.
Abstract: Individual differences in cognitive ability may in part have prenatal origins. In high-risk (low birth weight/premature) babies, birth weight correlates positively with cognitive test scores in childhood, but it is unclear whether this holds for those with birth weights in the normal range. The authors systematically reviewed literature on the relationship between normal birth weight (more than 2,500 g) and childhood intelligence in term (37-42-week gestation) deliveries. Six studies met the inclusion criteria, and the authors present a comprehensive narrative review of these studies. There was a small, consistent, positive association between birth weight and childhood cognitive ability, even when corrected for confounders. Parental social class accounted for a larger proportion of the variance than birth weight, and these 2 variables were largely independent.
TL;DR: A meta-analysis of the available judgment and memory data on the sleeper effect in persuasion indicates that recipients of discounting cues were more persuaded over time when the message arguments and the cue had a strong initial impact.
Abstract: A meta-analysis of the available judgment and memory data on the sleeper effect in persuasion is presented. According to this effect, when people receive a communication associated with a discounting cue, such as a noncredible source, they are less persuaded immediately after exposure than they are later in time. Findings from this meta-analysis indicate that recipients of discounting cues were more persuaded over time when the message arguments and the cue had a strong initial impact. In addition, the increase in persuasion was stronger when recipients of discounting cues had higher ability or motivation to think about the message and received the discounting cue after the message. These results are discussed in light of classic and contemporary models of attitudes and persuasion.
TL;DR: The authors conclude that Blatt's and Beck's concepts are continuous, nearly orthogonal dimensions that can be identified and measured independently from Neuroticism, depression, and social context.
Abstract: J. C. Coyne and V. E. Whiffen (1995) reviewed research on personality vulnerability to depression, focusing on S. J. Blatt's (1974, 1990) concepts of dependency and self-criticism and A. T. Beck's (1983) concepts of sociotropy and autonomy. The authors discuss 6 issues raised in that review: (a) the typological or dimensional nature of vulnerability, (b) the theoretical implications of "mixed" vulnerability, (c) the relations of vulnerability to Neuroticism. (d) the potential confounding of vulnerability with concurrent depression, (e) the potential confounding of vulnerability with social context, and (f) the differentiation of dependency from relatedness. The authors conclude that Blatt's and Beck's concepts are continuous, nearly orthogonal dimensions that can be identified and measured independently from Neuroticism, depression, and social context.
TL;DR: An overview of the published literature on substance use prevention among Indian adolescents is provided, providing background epidemiological information, a review of programs developed specifically for Indian adolescents, and recommendations for the most promising prevention strategies currently in practice.
Abstract: Substance abuse has had profoundly devastating effects on the health and well-being of American Indians and Alaska Natives. A wide variety of intervention methods has been used to prevent or stem the development of alcohol and drug problems in Indian youth, but there is little empirical research evaluating these efforts. This article is an overview of the published literature on substance use prevention among Indian adolescents, providing background epidemiological information, a review of programs developed specifically for Indian adolescents, and recommendations for the most promising prevention strategies currently in practice.