Showing papers in "Psychological Inquiry in 2002"

Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind.

Abstract: Hope is defined as the perceived capability to derive pathways to desired goals, and motivate oneself via agency thinking to use those pathways. The adult and child hope scales that are derived from hope theory are described. Hope theory is compared to theories of learned optimism, optimism, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. Higher hope consistently is related to better outcomes in academics, athletics, physical health, psychological adjustment, and psychotherapy. Processes that lessen hope in children and adults are reviewed. Using the hope theory definition, no evidence is found for "false" hope. Future research is encouraged in regard to accurately enhancing hope in medical feedback and helping people to pursue those goals for which they are best suited.

Immersive Virtual Environment Technology as a Methodological Tool for Social Psychology

Abstract: Historically, at least 3 methodological problems have dogged experimental social psychology: the experimental control-mundane realism trade-off, lack of replication, and unrepresentative sampling. We argue that immersive virtual environment technology (IVET) can help ameliorate, if not solve, these methodological problems and, thus, holds promise as a new social psychological research tool. In this article, we first present an overview of IVET and review IVET-based research within psychology and other fields. Next, we propose a general model of social influence within immersive virtual environments and present some preliminary findings regarding its utility for social psychology. Finally, we present a new paradigm for experimental social psychology that may enable researchers to unravel the very fabric of social interaction.

Explaining the relationships between religious involvement and health.

Abstract: There is increasing research evidence that religious involvement is associated both cross-sectionally and prospectively with better physical health, better mental health, and longer survival. These relationships remain substantial in size and statistically significant with other risk and protective factors for morbidity and mortality statistically controlled. In this article, we review the social and psychological factors that have been hypothesized to explain the health-promoting effects of religious involvement. The four potential psychosocial mechanisms that have received empirical attention are health practices, social support, psychosocial resources such as self-esteem and self-efficacy, and belief structures such as sense of coherence. Evidence concerning these potential mediators is mixed and inconsistent, suggesting there is more to be learned about the pathways by which religion affects health. Other possible explanations for the salubrious effects of religious involvement on health and longevity...

The Bitter and the Sweet: An Evaluation of the Costs and Benefits of Religiousness

Abstract: Psychologists have tended to view religion from a distance as a global, undifferentiated, stable process that is largely good or largely bad. This article presents a more fine-grained analysis of religion and its implications for well-being, positive and negative. The empirical literature points to five conclusions. First, some forms of religion are more helpful than others. Well-being has been linked positively to a religion that is internalized, intrinsically motivated, and based on a secure relationship with God and negatively to a religion that is imposed, unexamined, and reflective of a tenuous relationship with God and the world. Second, there are advantages and disadvantages to even controversial forms of religion, such as fundamentalism. Third, religion is particularly helpful to socially marginalized groups and to those who embed religion more fully in their lives. Fourth, religious beliefs and practices appear to be especially valuable in stressful situations that push people to the limits of th...

Feeling and Doing: Affective Influences on Interpersonal Behavior

Abstract: (2002). Feeling and Doing: Affective Influences on Interpersonal Behavior. Psychological Inquiry: Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 1-28.

Stumbling Blocks on the Religious Road: Fractured Relationships, Nagging Vices, and the Inner Struggle to Believe

Abstract: Religion, although often a powerful source of comfort, can also become a source of sadness, stress, or confusion in people's lives. Given the many demonstrated links between religiosity and well-being, some people may turn to religion with the primary aim of seeing how religion might help or profit them. Granted, religious belief and involvement can provide many benefits, including social support, a sense of meaning, purpose, and direction for one's life, an environment that fosters the development of virtue, and perhaps even a close, personal relationship with God. However, problems can arise in any of these areas, creating stumbling blocks that can create personal distress and weaken religious interest or commitment. This article considers four major stumbling blocks associated with religion: interpersonal strains, negative attitudes toward God, inner struggles to believe, and problems associated with virtuous striving.

In search of the unique aspects of hope: Pinning our hopes on positive emotions, future-oriented thinking, hard times, and other people

Abstract: We have three sets of concerns about Snyder's hope formulation as it is presented in the target article. First, the lack of integration with several closely related constructs and well-validated theoretical frameworks that examine similar processes is problematic for several reasons. Second, the cognitive conceptualization of hope seems to be missing some of the central and defining positive emotional aspects of hope, and the hope model does not correspond well to current research on the role of emotion in self-regulation. Third, several other aspects of Snyder's approach, such as its relative neglect of beliefs about the future, its emphasis on individual agency and problems that are amenable to personal control, its portrayal ofhope as fragile, and its relative neglect of interpersonal aspects of hope, seem to correspond poorly to the nature of hope and thus to unnecessarily limit the concept and the situations to which it can be applied. Addressing such questions is essential to developing a more complete account of nature and function of hope and to further developing of the promising interventions described in the target article.

AUTHORS' RESPONSES: Is Religion Nothing But. ..? Explaining Religion Versus Explaining Religion Away

Abstract: What accounts for the links between religion and health and well-being? This question was central to the commentators' responses to the target articles. Many of the commentators provided fresh new ways of explaining religion in psychological, social, physiological, and evolutionary terms. A few, however, came perilously close to the slippery slope of radical reductionism. In this article, I argue that religion is, by definition, unique, for it has a singular point of reference, the sacred. In addition, I review empirical studies assessing the independent predictive power of religion; they suggest that religion is a unique source of motivation and values, a unique form of coping, and a unique source of distress. Finally, I contend that social scientists should learn more about the connections between religion and health and well-being, not to explain religion away, but to gain a more complete understanding of religion and human nature more generally. Researchers should remember that religion represents not...

How does religion benefit health and well-being? Are positive emotions active ingredients?

Abstract: on the general effects of religion on the average person seems disappointing in that such small relationships were found. Thus, we need more longitudinal research in which particular psychological processes are tracked over time in relationship to religious practices and beliefs. One clear caution from these data is that researchers should not draw firm conclusions about religiosity and SWB from single, relatively small samples. Because of the size of these samples, substantial correlations were less likely to appear by chance. Thus, findings about the effects of religion, especially when they come from relatively small samples of convenience, should be replicated before they are taken seriously. Thus, conclusions such as that a certain type of religiosity correlates more strongly with SWB or that the correlations are stronger for a certain group ought to be replicated in large samples and across diverse cultures before firm conclusions are drawn. The findings that correlations differ between communist and noncommunist nations indicate that the benefits of religion might differ depending on the cultural context. It appears that religiosity is not a strong predictor of life satisfaction across broad samples; we need to now understand when and why it might be beneficial for certain individuals in certain circumstances and in certain cultures.

AUTHORS' RESPONSE: Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Hope Theory Weathers Its First Decade

Abstract: (2002). AUTHORS' RESPONSE: Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Hope Theory Weathers Its First Decade. Psychological Inquiry: Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 322-331.

Savoring life, past and present: Explaining what hope and gratitude share in common.

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AUTHORS' RESPONSE: Immersive Virtual Environment Technology: Just Another Methodological Tool for Social Psychology?

Abstract: We reply to commentaries on our target article (Blascovich et al., this issue). We focus on the more critical comments, agreeing with some, disagreeing with some, and rebutting some. We conclude that the test of the value of immersive virtual environment technology is the degree to which it becomes diffused throughout the field.

Religion and Psychology: Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract: (2002). Religion and Psychology: Introduction to the Special Issue. Psychological Inquiry: Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 165-167.

Toward Understanding the Role of Affect in Social Thinking and Behavior

Abstract: No doubt refering to society gossip, Oscar Wilde once said that the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. Presumably this dictum applies as much to psychological theories as to anything else. Writing a target article in Psychological Inquiry is a good way to avoid the terrible fate of not being talked about. I am most grateful to the editors for this opportunity, and I am greatly indebted to the commentators for their most useful and constructive ideas. Of course, being talked about is not always an unmitigated pleasure either, as Oscar Wilde surely knew better than most. Reading these commentaries, I feel a bit like somebody at a cocktail party who has just been the subject of a lot of society gossip: somewhat embarrassed but certainly excited and stimulated. To persist with the cocktail party metaphor a bit longer, I was of course very pleased to overhear so many kind and encouraging comments above the din of the conversation. Maybe my hearing could have been a bit selective, but even so, it was nice to have the AIM and our research described as "right on target" (Bless), "a new state-of-the art review" (Fiedler), a "thoughtful essay" and "a generative contribution" (Keltner, Anderson, & Gonzaga) "that takes the field in new directions" (Clore & Tamir) and "accounts admirably for mood effects on memory" (Macaulay & Eich). Commentators note "important contributions to our understanding of social behavior" (Schwarz), the "general approach is ... a valuable one" (Haidt), "an impressive range of empirical evidence" (Perrott & Bodenhausen), "highly integrative theory building" (Detweiler-Bedell & Salovey), "a unique contribution" (Martin, Shelton, & Shrira), "compelling evidence" (Manstead & van der Pligt), and so on. Of course, praise is not what commentaries in Psychological Inquiry are all about. The comments raised a number of interesting and exciting issues about affect research in general and our approach in particular. With so many comments, a record for Psychological Inquiry, I cannot hope to respond to every point in detail. Rather, I organize my response around some main themes raised in the commentaries. In the process, I hope to explain and clarify issues that were perhaps not as clear in the target article as they could have been.

Evolutionary Psychology: A View From Evolutionary Biology

Abstract: (2002). COMMENTARY: Evolutionary Psychology: A View From Evolutionary Biology. Psychological Inquiry: Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 150-156.

AUTHORS' RESPONSES: The Picture Is Getting Clearer, But Is the Scope Too Limited? Three Overlooked Questions in the Psychology of Religion

Abstract: In this article I suggest that at least three crucial questions have been largely overlooked in recent research on the psychology of religion: First, is the field currently placing too much emphasis on the effects of religion on physical and mental health? Second, could negative emotions associated with religion lead to adaptive outcomes in some situations? Finally, should we begin to devote greater attention to specific religious beliefs or doctrines? Attention to issues such as these may help to increase the impact of research on the psychology of religion.

Sex, marriage, and religion: What adaptive problems do religious phenomena solve?

Abstract: Religion is best regarded as an impressive array of diverse phenomena. As Pargament (this issue) noted, “religiousness is too rich and too complex to be captured by easy formulas or simple summaries.” Explanations for some religious phenomena, such as rituals and rites, may fail to account for other phenomena such as piousness or prayer. Kirkpatrick (1999) phrased this point succinctly: “‘Religion’... refers to such a diverse and multifaceted constellation of beliefs and behaviors that it is highly unlikely to be the product of a unitary adaptation with a single identifiable function” (p. 926). An ultimate understanding of religion, therefore, will require careful analysis of the panoply of its components and their origins. An evolutionary psychological analysis of religion poses these related questions: What adaptive problems, if any, are religious phenomena designed to solve? Have specific religious mechanisms evolved to solve these problems? Alternatively, are religious experiences by-products of evolved psychological mechanisms that were designed for other purposes? It is important to note that successful solutions to adaptive problems in the evolutionary sense, be they religious or nonreligious solutions, do not always correspond to human intuitions about “desirable” or “beneficial” or “good.” Consider the finding that religious fundamentalism is linked with prejudice and outgroup discrimination (Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 1992). Our intuitions, informed by modern Western sensibilities, tell us thatprejudiceanddiscriminationareundesirable, and thus, they are from the perspective of those unfortunate enough to be at the wrong end of the their hostile gun. However, evolution by selection operates by the ruthless currency of the relative reproductive success of competing “designs.” Inflicting costs on rival individuals or groups, therefore, can be and often is an effective solution toasuiteofadaptiveproblems thatare tributary to reproductive success, even if modern sensibilities judge these phenomena undesirable, bad, or evil. The goal of this brief article is not to provide an exhaustive evolutionary analysis of all religious phenomena. Interested readers are referred to Kirkpatrick (1999), who provided the most insightful evolutionary analysis to date of many varieties of religious experience, including spirits and other unseen forces, animism, priests, medicine men, and shamans, morality, ethics, mystical experiences, and beliefs about death. Rather, this article has a more delimited aim, seeking to illustrate how an evolutionary analysis might shed a modest light on just a few delimited components of religious phenomena as they relate to sex and marriage.

Turning hope thoughts into goal-directed behavior

Abstract: with life, it is easy to imagine how improved health and well-being might result. Similarly, insofar as perceiving the good things in one's life as the result of die intentional benevolence of another person or persons makes those benefits even more enjoyable, it is easy to imagine how one might be happier and healthier as a result. Obviously, much of daily life occurs without conscious control and without a second thought. Nonetheless, some people may stop periodically to savor their lives, thereby (perhaps) extracting meaning and purpose from what they are doing or what is happening to them. This capacity for mindful attentiveness and the resulting ability to make positive meaning from goal pursuits, from the benefits we receive in life, and other life activities and events may be useful terrain to explore in future work not only on hope and gratitude, but also on other positive psychological traits and virtues as well.

Clarifying the Foundations of Evolutionary Psychology: A Reply to Lloyd and Feldman

Abstract: Department of PsychologyNew Mexico State UniversityLloyd and Feldman’s (this issue) continuing com-mentary on our recent target article and rejoinder (Ellis& Ketelaar, 2000; Ketelaar & Ellis, 2000) focuses ontwooverarchingissues.First,LloydandFeldmanclaimthatourdescriptionofthecoremetatheoreticalassump-tions of modern evolutionary theory overemphasizesthe role of inclusive fitness (i.e., the so-called selfishgeneapproach)attheexpenseofunderemphasizingim-portant alternative approaches (e.g., multilevel selec-tion models, gene–culture coevolution models). Sec-ond, Lloyd and Feldman criticize some of the methodsandassumptionsthatostensiblycharacterizetheevolu-tionarypsychologyresearchprogram.Thesecriticismsconcerntheconceptualizationoforganismsasinclusivefitness maximizers, the soundness of the epistemologyof evolutionary psychology, the modularity of psycho-logicalmechanisms,andtheuniversalityofpsychologi-calmechanisms.Inthefirstpartofthisrejoinder,weac-knowledge that different schools of thought existregarding the plausibility and importance of variousmetatheoretical assumptions in human evolutionarypsychology. We argue that to date, however, only thegene-centered adaptationist program (consistent withinclusive fitness theory) has demonstrated scientificprogressivitybygeneratingacoherent,integratedbodyofnewknowledgeandexplainingawayseveralapparentanomalies. In the second part of this rejoinder, wediscuss several misunderstandings that underlie Lloydand Feldman’s criticisms of human evolutionarypsychology.The Role of Inclusive Fitness Theory inEvolutionary PsychologyLloyd and Feldman (this issue) criticize our refer-ence to inclusive fitness theory as providing the foun-dation of modern evolutionary theory:

What makes hope hopeful? The relationship between hope and self-regulation

Abstract: In his target article, Snyder presents a compelling set of theoretical postulates and empirical findings about hope. Hope, as conceptualized by Snyder in the target article, consists of cognitive processes designed to motivate behavior to reach a desired goal. To that end, we see hope as being closely related to self-regulation, with its emphasis on goal structures, motivational mechanisms, and strategies used to meet standards and obtain goals. There are strong similarities between hope and self-regulation, as Snyder himself points out in the target article. Snyder (target article) outlines the trilogy of goals, pathways, and agency that together make up hope and, in doing so, defines hope in regulatory terms. Broadly construed, self-regulation encompasses any goal-directed activity. In the target article, Snyder does recognize the interplay between hope and self-regulation, referring to calling goal-directed thoughts as the "anchor" of hope theory, but we think perhaps Snyder underutilizes self-regulation research in analyzing the processes underlying hopeful thinking. We view high hope as being similar to good self-regulation, which is, from our perspective, a function of possessing ample self-regulatory resources, high-trait self-control abilities, or both. Indeed, Snyder's (target article) conceptualization of hope as both state and trait is similar to our approach in studying self-regulation and self-control. In our commentary, we highlight the interrelations between these two constructs, hope and self-regulation, with the intent of illuminating the places where they do and do not overlap.

The way you make me feel: Integral affective influences on interpersonal behavior

Abstract: Forgas (this issue) reviews an impressive range of empirical evidence showing that incidental mood states can impinge upon interpersonal behavior in a variety of noteworthy ways, and his affect infusion model (AIM) provides a systematic account of the contingencies in this body of evidence. As such, his review takes us a long way toward the laudable goal he sets forth of providing an understanding of how affect influences strategic interpersonal behavior. We contend that a truly comprehensive understanding of this important topic, however, requires that theorists and researchers look beyond the effects of mood states and begin to examine the affective dynamics that are integral to particular interpersonal settings. In attempting to characterize the affective context of intergroup relations, Bodenhausen, Mussweiler, Gabriel, and Moreno (2001) proposed a tripartite typology of intergroup affect that applies equally well to the interpersonal sphere of social functioning. According to this typology, the affective states that have been investigated by Forgas in his extensive research program (i.e., moods and emotions that have arisen for reasons unrelated to the current behavioral situation) fall into the category of incidental affect. However, this kind of affect is by no means the only, or the most important, kind of interpersonal affect. It can be contrasted with integral affect, which comes in two forms. Chronic integral affect refers to enduring affective reactions to a social target that are activated in a particular interaction. Episodic integral affect refers to affective reactions that are situationally created in a particular dyadic interaction. Our claim is that an overly exclusive focus on incidental affect-and a corresponding neglect of the integral varieties of interpersonal affect-is likely to leave us with only a partial understanding of how affect impinges upon strategic interpersonal behavior. In what circumstances may chronic integral affect arise? Most obviously, it could arise in the context of interpersonal interactions involving individuals who are previously acquainted with one another. In many important contexts (such as spousal relationships or work-related relations), people engage in strategic interactions with other persons toward whom they have potentially quite strong, enduring affective reactions. However, an enduring relationship is certainly not a necessary condition for the elicitation of chronic integral affect. Such reactions could arise, for example, when a novel interaction partner can be categorized into a social group about which the individual has chronic feelings (e.g., feeling anxious when meeting one's new dentist, feeling happy to meet a fellow countryman when traveling abroad). How do these kinds of feeling states direct or constrain the course of strategic behavior that is pursued in the context of an interaction with persons who arouse these feelings? Can the principles embodied within the AIM be adapted to make predictions about these integral affective influences, or will additional theoretical assumptions be necessary? For the most part, research on integral interpersonal affect has tended to treat this phenomenon as the outcome to be studied and explained, rather than focusing on its potential role in influencing social cognition and thereby mediating subsequent interpersonal conduct. The literature on the affective state of love typifies this state of affairs. Although much research has examined the quality of feeling love for another individual, focusing on its determinants and the diversity of its character (see, e.g., Hendrick & Hendrick, 1992), the effects of feelings of love on processes of social cognition have not yet been extensively studied. Some researchers have attempted to map out the cognitive and behavioral consequences of hostile marital affect (e.g., Gottman, 1993), jealousy (e.g., White, 1981), and "limerence," or obsessive love (Tennov, 1979); however, these efforts have often not involved the careful tracing of the impact of these affective states on interactants' information-processing strategies, attentional capacity, epistemic motivation, memorial biases, or other key potential social-cognitive mediators of the observed links between feeling and behaving. In principle, however, a theoretical analysis focusing on these kinds of potential mediating processes could open the door to greater theoretical integration, and the growing interest in processes of relationship cognition signals that this kind of theoretical development is on the horizon. The more general point we are making is that, in focusing on interactions involving strangers or superficially known others, we fail to learn about some of the more affectively potent contexts of strategic social behavior, namely our interactions with family members, friends, and coworkers. It is arguably much more important to successfully negotiate and engage in social influence within these kinds of relationships. A model of affective influences on interper-

What Immersive Virtual Environment Technology Can Offer to Social Cognition

Abstract: Immersive virtual environment technology (IVET) offers exciting potential for social cognition research. Yet the reasons for our enthusiasm differ from those of Blascovich et al. (this issue, target article). We have reservations about the plausibility and even the value of boosting mundane realism, replicability, and external validity through IVET. However, IVET does offer valuable ways to enhance internal, construct, and statistical conclusion validity. So that social cognition researchers can capitalize on these strengths, we discuss the need for theoretical understanding of psychology in the virtual environment, increased practical feasibility of IVET, and creativity on the part of researchers.

The what, when, and how of affective influences on interpersonal behavior

Abstract: Comments on the article by J. P. Forgas on psychological theories linking affect, cognition, and behavior. The studies reviewed provide compelling evidence of the influence of affect on different types of interpersonal behavior (i.e., "the what"). Less compelling is the evidence concerning the conditions under which this influence occur (i.e., the "when") and concerning the processes that are responsible for such influence (i.e., "the how"). As Forgas himself acknowledges, a great deal more research is needed.