Showing papers in "Social and Personality Psychology Compass in 2013"

The Dark Triad of Personality: A 10 Year Review

Abstract: Ten years ago Paulhus and Williams (2002) called attention to the 'Dark Triad', a constellation of three conceptually distinct but empirically overlapping personality variables. The three members -- Machiavellianism, narcissism and subclinical psychopathy -- often show differential correlates but share a common core of callous-manipulation. There are now dozens of studies on the triad and, according to Google Scholar, over 350 citations. The goal of this review is to update and critically evaluate this rapidly expanding literature. The standard measures of each Dark Triad member are reviewed along with newer combination measures. The Dark Triad members are located in in mainstream structural models, namely, the interpersonal circumplex as well as Five- and Six-Factor Models. Key issues and controversies are addressed. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Procrastination and the priority of short‐term mood regulation: Consequences for future self.

Abstract: Procrastination is a common and pervasive problem associated with a range of negative outcomes across a variety of life domains that often occurs when people are faced with tasks that are seen as aversive. In this paper, we argue that as a form of self-regulation failure, procrastination has a great deal to do with short-term mood repair and emotion regulation. Moreover, we contend that a temporal understanding of self and the mood-regulating processes involved in goal pursuit is particularly important in understanding procrastination, because the consequences of procrastination are typically borne by the future self. After summarizing the research on the priority of short-term mood regulation in procrastination, we then draw the connection between the focus on short-term mood repair and the temporal disjunction between present and future selves. We present research that exemplifies these intra-personal processes in understanding temporal notions of self characterized by procrastination, and then link these processes to the negative consequences of procrastination for health and well-being. We conclude with a discussion of possible avenues for future research to provide further insights into how temporal views of the self are linked to the dynamics of mood regulation over time in the context of procrastination. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Motivation and Personality: A Neuropsychological Perspective

Abstract: Personality is strongly influenced by motivation systems that organise responses to rewards and punishments and that drive approach and avoidance behavior. Neuropsychological research has identified: (a) two avoidance systems, one related to pure active avoidance and escape, and one to passive avoidance and behavioral inhibition produced by goal-conflict; and (b) two approach systems, one related to the actions of reward seeking and one to experience and behavior related to pleasure on receiving reward. These systems mediate fluid moment-by-moment reactions to changing stimuli, with relatively stable person-specific sensitivities to these stimuli manifested in personality traits. We review what is known about these motivational traits, integrating the theory-driven approach based on animal learning paradigms with the empirical tradition of the Big Five personality model.

Four Core Social‐Psychological Motivations to Undertake Collective Action

Abstract: Collective action against collective disadvantage is a theoretically and socially relevant phenomenon that has received increased scientific attention in recent years. Because recent work combines different theoretical traditions, the last decade can be rightly called an ‘age of integration’. In this article, I take stock and look ahead by briefly reviewing four core social-psychological motivations for undertaking collective action (based on identity, morality, emotion, and efficacy). I then review recent accumulating evidence for an encompassing social-psychological model of collective action that integrates all four core motivations. Based on this model's shortcomings, I close by calling for an ‘age of innovation’ for which I propose a theoretical and research agenda.

Concealable Stigmatized Identities and Psychological Well-Being.

Abstract: Many people have concealable stigmatized identities: Identities that can be hidden from others and that are socially devalued and negatively stereotyped. Understanding how these concealable stigmatized identities affect psychological well-being is critical. We present our model of the components of concealable stigmatized identities including valenced content - internalized stigma, experienced discrimination, anticipated stigma, disclosure reactions, and counter-stereotypic/positive information - and magnitude - centrality and salience. Research has shown that negatively valenced content is related to increased psychological distress. However, smaller identity magnitude may buffer this distress. We review the research available and discuss important areas for future work.

Reducing Implicit Prejudice

Abstract: Implicit prejudices are social preferences that exist outside of conscious awareness or control. In this review, we summarize evidence for three mechanisms that influence the expression of implicit prejudice: associative change, contextual change, and change in control over implicit prejudice. We then review the evidence (or lack thereof) for answers to five open issues in implicit prejudice reduction research: (1) what shows effectiveness in real-world application; (2) what doesn’t work for implicit prejudice reduction; (3) what interventions produce long-term changes in implicit prejudice; (4) measurement diversity in implicit prejudice reduction research; and (5) the relationship between implicit prejudice and behavior. Addressing these issues provides an agenda for clarifying the conditions and implications of reducing implicit prejudice.

Nostalgia as a Resource for Psychological Health and Well‐Being

Abstract: Historically, nostalgia has been viewed as a disease of the brain or the mind. However, in recent years, nostalgia has received a conceptual rehabilitation due to a revival of scholarly interest accompanied by the use of contemporary empirical methods. Drawing upon this recent work, we propose that nostalgia is an important resource for psychological health and well-being. We begin by detailing the characteristics of the nostalgic experience and then discuss a wide range of studies demonstrating that psychological threat triggers nostalgia, nostalgia enhances psychological health and well-being, and nostalgia promotes adaptive psychological functioning among individuals at risk for poor mental health. We also highlight the need for future research on nostalgia's relation to psychological health.

Self-Affirmation: Understanding the Effects

Abstract: Self-affirmation theory proposes that individuals possess a flexible self-system, such that they can respond to threats in one domain of life by affirming self-worth in other domains. In social psychology research, this has been examined in studies where people affirm important values in the context of self-threatening events or information. This paper reviews the literature demonstrating the effects of values affirmations and proposes a theoretical account to understand how self-affirmations reduce defensiveness in response to threats to individuals’ health, attenuate physiological stress responses to laboratory and naturalistic stressors, and improve academic performance among individuals experiencing identity threat. The proposed model has three components: Self-affirmations boost self-resources, broaden the perspective with which people view information and events in their lives, and lead to an uncoupling of the self and the threat, reducing the threat’ si mpact in affecting the self. This model helps explain what occurs when individuals affirm values in the context of threats, and how self-affirmations may instantiate lasting effects through changing the nature of ongoing experience.

Personality and creativity: the Dual Pathway to Creativity model and a research agenda

Abstract: To better understand the relation between personality traits and creativity, we invoke the Dual-Pathway to Creativity model (DPCM) that identifies two pathways to creative outcomes: (1) flexible processing of information (cognitive flexibility) and (2) persistent probing, and systematically and incrementally combining elements and possibilities (cognitive persistence). DPCM further proposes that dispositional or situational variables may influence creativity through either their effects on flexibility or persistence. Here, we propose the idea that approach-related traits (e.g., openness to experience, extraversion, positive affectivity, and power-motivation) may lead to greater creativity because they link to enhanced cognitive flexibility, whereas avoidance-related traits (e.g., negative affectivity and neuroticism) under the right circumstances may lead to greater creativity because they link to enhanced cognitive persistence. Empirical support for this proposition is discussed, and a research agenda for future work on personality and creativity is set.

‘The Ostrich Problem’: motivated avoidance or rejection of information about goal progress

Abstract: Monitoring one's current standing with respect to goals can promote effective self-regulation. However, the present review suggests that there is an ostrich problem such that, in many instances, people have a tendency to "bury their head in the sand" and intentionally avoid or reject information that would help them to monitor their goal progress. For example, people with diabetes avoid monitoring their blood glucose, and few people monitor their household energy consumption, check their bank balances, keep track of what they are eating and so on. While situational constraints can explain some problems with progress monitoring, we use a self-motives framework to posit that the decision to avoid monitoring often represents the product of an interaction between different motives. For example, the desire to accurately assess progress may conflict with the desire to protect or enhance the self. The present review collates evidence pertaining to the ostrich problem, identifies different motives that underlie the decision to monitor versus not monitor goal progress, illustrates how the ostrich problem might be integrated into models of self-regulation, and provides suggestions for future research. In so doing, the review advances our understanding of the nature and determinants of intentionally deficient monitoring. © 2013 The Authors. Social and Personality Psychology Compass published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Navigating Social Roles in Pursuit of Important Goals: A Communal Goal Congruity Account of STEM Pursuits

Abstract: Our exploration of communal goal processes in decisions about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers integrates research on goal pursuit processes with research on stereotyping and on social role occupancy. Social roles encompass expectations and resources that can originate from group membership in broad social categories, such as gender, ethnicity, or nationality, or from more narrowly focused occupational and family roles. Our review elaborates on three ways in which social roles intersect with goal pursuit processes, with particular attention to how communal goals influence STEM pursuits. First, social roles influence goal selection or what goals are prioritized generally and at a particular time. Second, beliefs about social roles can influence the kinds of roles that people shy away from or seek out. Third, occupying a particular social role can actually facilitate or impede goal progress. With regard to STEM pursuits, we demonstrate that communal goals are valued both generally by people and especially by women, and that consensual stereotypes describe STEM fields as less likely to afford communal goals than other occupational roles. However, emphasizing the communal aspects of STEM fields elicits greater positivity toward these roles. Finally, we explore the ways in which STEM occupational roles are or might be enacted in communally-oriented ways. The goal congruity perspective thus can offer a unifying framework to integrate an understanding of the social structure – that is, roles and contexts – with the social cognition of the individual – that is, critical motivational and cognitive processes.

The Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat: Using the Heart to Measure the Mind

Abstract: The biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat (BPS) holds that during active goal pursuit, psychological processes reliably lead to specific patterns of cardiovascular responses. Because psychological experience during goal pursuit is not otherwise easily accessible, using cardiovascular responses to infer psychological states can provide valuable insight. In this context, challenge results from evaluating high resources and low demands, whereas threat results from evaluating low resources and high demands. Both challenge and threat lead the heart to beat faster and harder than during rest, but challenge results in dilation in arteries and more blood pumped, whereas threat results in constriction and less blood pumped. This article summarizes the BPS, presents recent research applications, and discusses remaining questions and future directions, including how research from other theoretical perspectives may clarify the nature of task engagement and how the BPS can inform the study of resilience to stressors.

Goal Adjustment Capacities, Subjective Well‐being, and Physical Health

Abstract: This article addresses how individuals can adjust to the experience of unattainable goals and protecttheir subjective well-being and physical health. We discuss theoretical aspects involved in the self-regulation of unattainable goals and point to the importance of general individual differences in goaldisengagement and goal reengagement capacities. In addition, we review the extant literature,suggesting that goal disengagement capacities can reduce psychological distress and ameliorate patternsof biological dysregulation and physical health problems if individuals experience unattainable goals.Goal reengagement capacities, by contrast, are shown to be associated with positive indicators ofsubjective well-being (e.g., positive affect or purpose in life) but rarely predict psychological distressor physical health outcomes. We finally address several remaining issues that have become apparentin the extant literature and may deserve more attention in future research. Self-regulation approaches to personality functioning often emphasize that the successfulattainment of desired goals facilitates subjective well-being and physical health (Bandura,1997; Carver & Scheier, 1981, 1998; Emmons, 1986; Heckhausen, Wrosch, & Schulz,2010). This is not surprising as goals are the building blocks for the accomplishment of avariety of developmental tasks, and their attainment is likely to foster long-term patterns ofsuccessful development (Heckhausen, 1999; Ryff, 1989). At times, however, it is impossiblefor a person to make further progress toward an important goal because the goal itself is notattainable. Such circumstances associated with the experience of unattainable goals are arelatively common phenomenon (Bauer, 2004) and can result from a lack of individual skillsnecessary for realizing a desired goal. In addition, goals may become unattainable if individ-uals encounter stressful life circumstances or age-related changes that deplete their resourcesand opportunities necessary for attaining them (e.g., an accident, unemployment, or a healthproblem, Wrosch, Scheier, Carver, & Schulz, 2003a). Regardless of its reasons, facing anunattainable goal creates a problem for a person’s quality of life because goal failure has thepotential to trigger psychological distress and physical health problems (Carver & Scheier,1990; Higgins, 1987).Approximately 10years ago, we began to examine how individuals can minimize theadverse consequences associated with encountering unattainable goals (Wrosch, Scheier,Miller, Schulz, & Carver, 2003b). In brief, our theoretical model postulates that adaptationto unattainable goals requires individuals to disengage from the unattainable goal and toreengage in more feasible goals. In addition, it assumes that individuals differ widely andreliably in their general tendencies to disengage from unattainable goals and to reengage inother goals across different domains (i.e., in goal adjustment capacities, Wrosch et al.,2003b, 2007a; for conceptually related approaches, see Brandtstadter & Renner, 1990;

Nudge to Health: Harnessing Decision Research to Promote Health Behavior

Abstract: We review selected literature that examines how biases in decision making can be utilized to encourage individual health behavior, such as vaccination, and promote policy decisions, such as resource allocation. These studies use simple interventions to nudge people towards more optimal health decisions without restricting decision-makers’ freedom of choice. Examples include framing effects, defaults, implementation intentions, position effects, social norm, incentives, and emotions. We suggest that nudges are an effective way to promote healthy behavior. Research on health behavior indicates that, too often, individuals fail to do what is good for them - by engaging in risky behavior and neglecting to take preventive measures. Meanwhile, research on decision making indicates that decision makers are often irrational, or biased, in the sense that their behavior deviates systematically from normative principles that would maximize their goal satisfaction, or utility (Baron, 2000; Baron, 2004). It may seem that humanity is fated to be both unhealthy and irrational. However, in the current paper we explore whether decision biases can be exploited to make us healthier. That is, we investigate whether psychological research about decision making can be harnessed to improve health behavior and health outcomes. We review selected recent research that addresses this question. Human beings are not perfect decision makers. Too often, they use mental short cuts or rules of thumb instead of making a comprehensive cost ⁄ benefits analysis to arrive at a decision. Our tendency to conserve cognitive effort means that a majority of our daily decisions are made using System 1 thinking (fast, automatic, based on intuition, gut feelings, rules and heuristics), from which route to drive to work, what we put in our morning coffee, to what to order for lunch ⁄ dinner. In contrast, some complicated decisions usually elicit System 2 thinking (slow, systematic, deliberative, based on reason and calculation), such as which stock performs better, and what kind of mortgage loans offers the best financial outcome (Kahneman, 2003). The field of judgment and decision making has traditionally examined biases and errors, which are common by-product of our reliance on System 1 thinking. A wellknown example of such biases and errors is the framing effect: two normatively equivalent descriptions of the same decision often lead to systematically different choices. In Tversky and Kahneman’s (1981) classic demonstration, participants were presented with a description of the outbreak of a new Asian disease that was expected to kill 600 people. Two strategies for combating the disease were described. For participants in the gain frame condition, the strategies were framed in terms of lives saved (save 200 for sure versus save 600 with a 1 ⁄ 3 probability and none with a 2 ⁄ 3 probability). For participants in the loss frame condition, the strategies were framed in terms of lives lost (400 die for

Humble Beginnings: Current Trends, State Perspectives, and Hallmarks of Humility

Abstract: After decades of neglect, research in humility is finally turning a corner Within the past few years, investigators have articulated two promising strategies to overcome methodological concerns – namely, using personality judgments and designing humility “stress tests” to elicit humility-relevant behavior We also highlight an alternative perspective of humility that has not yet gained much attention: the investigation of humility as a state, which helps to understand what humility actually is, how it functions, and its variability within individuals over time To improve the observation of humility-relevant behavior, we propose five intrapersonal and interpersonal hallmarks of humility that have strong theoretical support, can distinguish between humility’s conceptual foils of narcissism and low self-esteem, and provide broad theoretical ties between ongoing research endeavors: A secure, accepting identity, freedom from distortion, openness to new information, other-focus, and egalitarian beliefs Finally, to increase methodological rigor, we recommend using a combination of self-reports and other-reports and employing multiple raters with demonstrated inter-rater reliability in validation studies

Health message framing: Moderators, mediators, and mysteries.

Abstract: Health message framing is an important aspect of health communication. Over the past 20 years, researchers have sought to identify the contexts in which gain-framed and loss-framed health messages are most likely to motivate healthy behavior. Two major approaches have emerged: One approach focusing on matching the frame of the message to how people perceive the risks and uncertainties of the advocated health behavior and the other approach focusing on matching the frame of the message to the motivational orientation of the recipient. In this review, we describe these two major approaches to health message framing, identify the most likely psychological mediators that explain why these approaches motivate behavior, suggest a way to integrate these two approaches, and outline several key future directions for both basic and applied research in health message framing.

Toward a Critical Race Psychology

Abstract: Critical Race Theory (CRT) emerged as an identity-conscious intervention within critical legal studies and has subsequently developed an interdisciplinary presence. We draw upon CRT perspectives to articulate five core ideas for a Critical Race Psychology (CRP). CRT perspectives (1) approach racism as a systemic force embedded in everyday society (rather than a problem of individual bias); (2) illuminate how ideologies of neoliberal individualism (e.g., merit, choice) often reflect and reproduce racial domination; (3) identify interest convergence as the typical source of broad-based support for reparative action; (4) emphasize possessive investment in privileged identities and identity-infused realities that reproduce racial domination; and (5) propose practices of counter-storytelling to reveal and contest identity-infused bases of everyday society. In summary, we propose a CRP that consider race not as one domain (among many) for psychological investigation but instead as a conceptual lens through which to analyze all of psychological science.

In Godlessness We Distrust: Using Social Psychology to Solve the Puzzle of Anti-atheist Prejudice

Abstract: Most people believe in a god of some sort. Nonetheless, there are hundreds of millions of atheists in the world, and they face considerable discrimination and prejudice. This is a puzzling form of prejudice: Atheists do not form a coherent group, they are individually inconspicuous, and they are not, in general, oppositional or threatening. Recent research in social, evolutionary, and cultural psychology, however, offers suggestions for solving the puzzle of anti-atheist prejudice, in terms of both uncovering its psychological causes and also suggesting interventions for reducing it. Antipathy towards atheists derives specifically from moral distrust – to many people, belief in a watchful, moralizing god is seen as a uniquely powerful and perhaps necessary component of morality. Without religious belief, atheists are viewed as moral wildcards who cannot be trusted. This unique basis in turn implies specific ways in which distrust of atheists might be ameliorated.

When Mental States Matter, When They Don't, and What That Means for Morality

Abstract: Research has shown that moral judgments depend on the capacity to engage in mental state reasoning. In this article, we will first review behavioral and neural evidence for the role of mental states (e.g., people’s beliefs, desires, intentions) in judgments of right and wrong. Second, we will consider cases where mental states appear at first to matter less (i.e., when people assign moral blame for accidents and when explicit information about mental states is missing). Third, we will consider cases where mental states, in fact, matter less, specifically, in cases of “purity” violations (e.g., committing incest, consuming taboo foods). We will discuss how and why mental states do not matter equivalently across the multi-dimensional space of morality. In the fourth section of this article, we will elaborate on the possibility that norms against harmful actions and norms against “impure” actions serve distinct functions – for regulating interpersonal interactions (i.e., harm) versus for protecting the self (i.e., purity). In the fifth and final section, we will speculate on possible differences in how we represent and reason about other people’s mental states versus our own beliefs and intentions. In addressing these issues, we aim to provide insight into the complex structure and distinct functions of mental state reasoning and moral cognition. We conclude that mental state reasoning allows us to make sense of other moral agents in order to understand their past actions, to predict their future behavior, and to evaluate them as potential friends or foes.

Salivary Cortisol as a Biomarker in Social Science Research

Abstract: Cortisol, a neuroendocrine hormone measurable in saliva, responds to internal and external triggers In providing a peripheral ‘window on the brain’, it has been increasingly incorporated into social psychological studies Cortisol secretion can be studied in two main ways, examination of acute stress reactivity and examination of the basal circadian patterns These can inform aspects of acute and chronic stress exposure and relationships with health Within non-clinical populations, cortisol effects are largely driven by differences in the perception of threat For social psychologists, this provides an interesting avenue for the investigation of social factors that mediate perceptions of threat, such as social support, relationship processes, and group dynamics in acute and chronic stress This paper provides a background to understanding the regulation and function of cortisol, and issues arising in relation to its measurement in saliva It discusses and makes recommendations on the use of appropriate cortisol measures in the study of both acute and chronic stress Used and interpreted appropriately, stress reactivity and basal ambulatory measures of salivary cortisol can provide a valuable adjunct to self-report and observation in social psychological research

Stress and Disease: A Structural and Functional Analysis

Abstract: Social and Personality Psychology Compass 7/4 (2013): 217–227, 10.1111/spc3.12020 Stress and Disease: A Structural and Functional Analysis Joshua Smyth*, Matthew Zawadzki, and William Gerin Pennsylvania State University Abstract Chronic stress, a validated health risk factor, remains an ambiguous construct in spite of years of research. We propose that chronic stress is best understood as a series of acute stress responses, and that these responses become maladaptive when they occur frequently or are of long duration. We focus on the factors that contribute to chronic stress: whether the presence of a stressor, real or imagined, is long-lived and ⁄ or frequent (repeated activation), the degree to which the stressor is perceived as a threat even when no longer present (low or slow adaptation), and the extent to which the duration of responding is prolonged (delayed or failure to return to homeostasis). Importantly, we examine how perseverative cognitions (such as rumination and worry) contribute to chronic stress by creating and sustaining acute stress responses, largely via influencing activation, adaptation, and return to homeostasis. Finally, we discuss the implications of our stress model: that interventions can be ideographically tailored to address how an individual is experiencing chronic stress; that researchers may be better able to identify specific characteristics of chronic stress that relate most strongly to poor health; and that moderators of chronic stress may function through these contributing factors rather than via general effects on the system. Introduction Everyone ‘‘knows’’ that stress is bad for you – we are told that it can make you ill and even kill you. Research generally supports this view; stress is related to the risk of cardio- vascular disease, HIV ⁄ AIDS, and major depression, with emerging evidence linking stress to upper respiratory tract infections, asthma, herpes viral infections, autoimmune diseases, and wound healing (e.g. Cohen, Janicki-Deverts, & Miller, 2007). Additionally, the liter- ature describing plausible biological pathways whereby chronic stress may influence dis- ease onset and ⁄ or progression is rapidly growing (see Miller, Chen, & Cole, 2009; for review). Recent reviews have concluded that stress is related to complex alterations in both endocrine (e.g. Miller, Chen, & Zhou, 2007) and immune processes (e.g. Byrne- Davis & Vedhara, 2008; Segerstrom, 2010), and highlighted large individual differences in response to stress. Some work also suggests that stress may impair normal genetic pro- cesses, notably DNA expression and repair (e.g. Flint, Baum, Chambers, & Jenkins, 2007; Kiecolt-Glaser, Stephens, Lipetz, Speicher, & Glaser, 1985). The Scope of This Paper In spite of the ubiquity of stress as a construct, and the tremendous amount of research on stress in behavioral medicine and health psychology, it remains a challenge to clearly label, model, and understand. Providing comprehensive reviews on the extensive comple- ment of stress theories is beyond the scope of this paper; where appropriate, we direct the reader to source material. The overarching purpose of this paper is to synthesize the major extant perspectives so as to provide a simple schematic for helping to understand a 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Long-term Effects of Dieting: Is Weight Loss Related to Health?

Abstract: Success in dieting interventions has traditionally been defined as weight loss. It is implicit in this definition that losing weight will lead to improved health, and yet, health outcomes are not routinely included in studies of diets. In this article, we evaluate whether weight loss improves health by reviewing health outcomes of long-term randomized controlled diet studies. We examine whether weight-loss diets lead to improved cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose and test whether the amount of weight lost is predictive of these health outcomes. Across all studies, there were minimal improvements in these health outcomes, and none of these correlated with weight change. A few positive effects emerged, however, for hypertension and diabetes medication use and diabetes and stroke incidence. We conclude by discussing factors that potentially confound the relationship between weight loss and health outcomes, such as increased exercise, healthier eating, and engagement with the health care system, and we provide suggestions for future research. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Aversive for Me, Wrong for You: First‐person Behavioral Aversions Underlie the Moral Condemnation of Harm

Abstract: Many studies attest to the critical role of affect in the condemnation of harmful actions, but few attempt to identify the precise representations underlying this affective response. We propose a distinction between two potential sources of affect: an aversion to the negative outcomes of an action versus an aversion grounded in the action itself. Whereas previous models have focused on outcome-oriented processes (e.g. empathy and victim perspective-taking), we argue that moral judgment is also strongly influenced by action-based aversions. Specifically, we propose that individuals engage in a process of ‘evaluative simulation’ when judging others, imagining how much it would bother them to perform the same action. Furthermore, we present evidence that this aversion can be based in superficial sensory or motor properties of the action. We consider how such ‘action aversions’ might be acquired, and we highlight important areas for future research.

A Closer Look Into the Multi-Layer Structure of Motivational Intensity Theory

Abstract: Drawing on the idea that humans aim to avoid wasting energy that is important for survival, motivational intensity theory postulates that task difficulty and success importance determine energy investment. Additionally, the theory makes predictions on how task characteristics moderate the relationship between task difficulty, success importance, and energy investment. In this article, I will show how the different predictions of motivational intensity theory relate to one another and to what extent they can be derived from the fundamental principle of energy conservation. I will also discuss the application of the theory to effort mobilization and cardiovascular reactivity. Specifically, I will discuss the additional assumptions and predictions that are necessary to link these applications to motivational intensity theory’s basic rationale, the energy conservation principle.

Resilience: A Disability Studies and Community Psychology Approach

Abstract: This paper contests traditional psychological understandings of resilience through reference to a research project exploring resilience in the lives of disabled people. The paper briefly historically locates individualistic accounts of resilience (which have often been unhelpful in the lives of disabled people) and then moves into more recent social constructionist theories of this phenomenon. This latter perspective necessarily locates resilience in a network of resources including material resources, relationships, identity, bodies and minds, power and control, community participation, community cohesion and social justice. We argue that the recognition of resilience as a relational product is important and in tune with attempts to make psychology less an individualistic encounter and more a community intervention. However, disabled people, their politics and the development of critical disability studies, contest and challenge normative ideas of what it means to live with a resilient network of resources. In this sense disability offers new and exciting ways of addressing resilience.

Ignoring Versus Exploring Differences Between Groups: Effects of Salient Color‐Blindness and Multiculturalism on Intergroup Attitudes and Behavior

Abstract: Multiculturalism and color-blindness represent distinct, and in many ways conflicting, approaches to intergroup relations. We provide a review of the research and theory guiding use of these ideologies as prejudice reduction strategies: Is it best for individuals to ignore category memberships and focus on fundamental human qualities that everyone shares, as color-blindness would suggest? Or should people adhere to multicultural ideals, recognizing and indeed celebrating differences between groups? After describing these ideologies and their respective theoretical underpinnings, we examine their effects on attitudes, perceptions, and intergroup interaction behavior. We emphasize in particular the link from color-blindness to self-focus and prevention orientation and from multiculturalism to an other-focused learning orientation. Although color-blindness can have positive effects in the short term, the efforts that it prompts to inhibit and suppress negative responses can be taxing and difficult to sustain. Multiculturalism triggers more positive intergroup attitudes and behavior in nonconflictual circumstances, but has the opposite effect in threatening situations. Nonetheless, because it leads to a focus on learning about others in intergroup situations multiculturalism has the virtue of generally fostering greater attention and responsiveness to outgroup members.

The Sensitivity to Mean Intentions (SeMI) Model: Basic Assumptions, Recent Findings, and Potential Avenues for Future Research

Abstract: A large body of research has demonstrated that people who are habitually sensitive towards victimization tend to behave uncooperatively and immorally in socially uncertain situations. The “Sensitivity to Mean Intentions” (SeMI) model (Gollwitzer & Rothmund 2009) aims at describing social-cognitive mechanisms that underlie and explain this effect. The model posits that in socially uncertain situations, victim-sensitive individuals are asymmetrically sensitive to cues of untrustworthiness. When such cues are present, suspicious cognitive and motivational reactions are triggered in victim-sensitive individuals, and they behave preemptively selfish to avoid being exploited by others. Although functional at times, victim sensitivity does have dysfunctional side effects. The present article reviews recent findings regarding the SeMI model and sketches potential avenues for future research.

The Distinct Psychologies of “Looking” and “Leaping”: Assessment and Locomotion as the Springs of Action

Abstract: Actions require two essential functions: assessment and locomotion. Assessment determines one’s goals and selects the means. Locomotion translates these into concrete behavior. In past work, assessment and locomotion have been portrayed as co-ordinated and interdependent, or associated with different action phases. In contrast, we review recent theorizing and research that depict assessment and locomotion as autonomous and complementary. Recent evidence supports this conception for the behavior of individuals, groups, organizations, and cultures in reference to actions at different levels of analysis.

The Hormonal Correlates of Implicit Motives

Abstract: Implicit motives represent nonconsciously represented dispositions to seek specific classes of incentives and to avoid corresponding classes of disincentives. Growing evidence suggests that the implicit power motive is associated with basal levels and reactivity of the gonadal steroid hormones testosterone in men and estradiol in women. It is also associated with increased release of stress hormones (cortisol, norepinephrine) in response to dominance challenges and social defeat. The implicit affiliation motive is linked to the release of progesterone: increases in progesterone are followed by increases in affiliation motivation, and arousal of affiliation motivation is associated with concurrent or subsequent progesterone increases. There is limited evidence for a role of vasopressin in achievement motivation. These findings point to a key role of the hypothalamus for implicit motives, a role that is consistent with the existence of function-specific nuclei within this brain area.

Emotion Regulation Frequency and Success: Separating Constructs from Methods and Time Scale

Abstract: Research on emotion regulation (ER) has largely focused upon two related lines of inquiry: ER frequency and ER success. First, research on ER frequency has focused upon the relationship between how often individuals attempt to use ER strategies in everyday life which is typically measured by subjective reports on questionnaires and interpreted as trait ER. Second, research on ER success has focused on the degree to which experimentally instructed use of different strategies results in change of one or more measures of affect as measured by relatively objective measures. Therefore, distinctions between ER frequency and success are very often confounded by time scale (ER frequency measured in the long-term, ER success measured in the short-term) and methods (ER frequency measured with subjective questionnaires, ER success measured with more objective affective variables). I offer examples from the literature on ER and offer suggestions for ways to uncouple ER frequency and success from the methods that are currently being used to measure them. Clarity on the distinction between these constructs should lead to the most appropriate interpretation of results from current studies and more precisely inform clinical interventions that target one or more ER process.