The relation between antisocial personality and the perceived ability to deceive

The current study investigated relations between the perceived ability to deceive and the Dark Triad personality traits in two samples. In study 1, the sample consisted of 1074 participants (329 male, 745 female) aged 17–71 years (M = 22.96, SD = 6.92). Participants completed the perceived ability to deceive scale, in which they were asked to estimate the percentage of people who are worse at lying than they are in a number of situations. Participants also completed the Short-D3 – a measure of the Dark Triad personality traits. As expected, correlational analyses demonstrated that Machiavellianism was most highly correlated with the perceived ability to deceive (r = .41), followed by psychopathy (r = .35), and narcissism (r = .33). These findings were replicated in study 2, which consisted of 1448 undergraduate students (498 males, 947 females, 3 other), aged 18–43 (M = 18.35, SD = 1.77). Study 2 also investigated the association of the Dark Triad and perceived ability to deceive with dimensions of the Big Five model of personality. Implications are discussed.     

Associative learning of discrimination with masked stimuli

Great controversy exists on whether associative learning occurs without awareness. In Experiment 1, 31 participants received discrimination training by repeated presentations of two stimulus sequences (S1_A → S2_A, and S1_B → S2_B), S1 being a masked stimulus. S2 were imperative stimuli for a reaction time (RT) task. After the acquisition phase, all participants were tested with 20 presentations of congruent (S1_A → S2_A and S1_B → S2_B) and incongruent (S1_A → S2_B and S1_B → S2_A) stimulus sequences. The RT in the testing phase was faster in congruent than in incongruent stimulus sequences. These results are considered strong evidence of associative learning without awareness of the contingency between the stimuli. A second experiment was designed with SOA varied between three groups (23, 58, and 117 ms). The results showed that the participants responded more quickly to congruent stimulus sequences and that the SOA did not affect RT. The SOA did not modify the effect of congruence either, although the interaction was near significance.     

The loss spiral of work pressure, work-home interference and exhaustion: Reciprocal relations in a three-wave study

This study tested the ‘loss spiral’ hypothesis of work-home interference (WHI). Accordingly, work pressure was expected to lead to WHI and exhaustion, and, vice versa, exhaustion was expected to result in more WHI and work pressure over time. Results of SEM-analyses using three waves of data obtained from 335 employees of an employment agency offered strong support for this hypothesis. It was found that T1 work pressure and exhaustion were determinants of T2 and T3 WHI, whereas T1 WHI was a causal determinant of T2 and T3 exhaustion and work pressure. In addition, work pressure and exhaustion had causal and reversed causal relationships over time. These empirical findings suggest that common theoretical models postulating the causal chain of work pressure → WHI → exhaustion are inadequate. Rather, more elaborated models including reciprocal relationships between work characteristics, WHI and employee well-being seem more appropriate.     

Occasion setting is specific to the CS-US association

In Experiment 1, rats were trained on a discrimination in which one occasion setter, A, signaled that one cue (conditioned stimulus, CS), x, would be followed by one outcome, p (unconditioned stimulus, US), and a second CS, y, by a different outcome, q (x → p and y → q); a second occasion setter, B signalled the reverse CS-outcome relations (x → q and y → p). In a subsequent stage, the animals were divided into two groups, and trained as before, except that both A and B were presented in compound with a novel occasion setter, C. For Group S (same) the CS-outcome relations following A and B were identical to those in the pretraining stage, whereas in Group D (different) they were reversed. In a subsequent test, stimulus C was shown to be a more effective occasion setter in Group D than in Group S. In Experiment 2, rats were trained on a negative occasion-setting discrimination in which CS x signaled outcome p, and y outcome q; when x and y were signaled by the occasion setter A then no outcome followed (x → p, y → q, A:x-, and A:y-). In a subsequent stage, A was now trained as a positive occasion setter, signaling reinforcement of x and y. In Group S, x and y signaled the same outcomes as in the prior training stage (x-, y-, A:x → p, and A:y → q), whereas in Group D they signaled the opposite outcomes (x, y, A:x → q, and A:y → p); more efficient test performance was seen in the latter group. These results suggest that the each occasion setter conveyed information about the specific combination of CS and US paired in its presence (i.e., x → p and y → q, or x → no p and y → no q). These results are consistent with the suggestion that occasion setters operate, at least in part, on a specific CS-US association.     

Positive Traits Linked to Less Pain through Lower Pain Catastrophizing

The present study examined the association between positive traits, pain catastrophizing, and pain perceptions. We hypothesized that pain catastrophizing would mediate the relationship between positive traits and pain. First, participants (n = 114) completed the Trait Hope Scale, the Life Orientation Test-Revised, and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Participants then completed the experimental pain stimulus, a cold pressor task, by submerging their hand in a circulating water bath (0 °C) for as long as tolerable. Immediately following the task, participants completed the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ-SF). Pearson correlation found associations between hope and pain catastrophizing (r = −.41, p < .01) and MPQ-SF scores (r = −.20, p < .05). Optimism was significantly associated with pain catastrophizing (r = −.44, p < .01) and MPQ-SF scores (r = −.19, p < .05). Bootstrapping, a non-parametric resampling procedure, tested for mediation and supported our hypothesis that pain catastrophizing mediated the relationship between positive traits and MPQ-SF pain report. To our knowledge, this investigation is the first to establish that the protective link between positive traits and experimental pain operates through lower pain catastrophizing.     

Just world beliefs, causal beliefs, and acquaintance: Associations with stigma toward eating disorders and obesity

The current study investigated the relationship between just world beliefs and stigmatizing attitudes toward eating disorders and obesity. Further, the associations between stigma and causal beliefs, and between stigma and acquaintance with these conditions, were examined. Participants (n = 447) read four vignettes describing an individual with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or obesity. After each vignette, participants completed questionnaires assessing stigmatizing attitudes, just world beliefs, causal beliefs, and acquaintance with the condition depicted in the vignette. Stronger just world beliefs were associated with greater stigma toward all three eating disorders, as well as obesity (rs ranging from −.11 to −.18). More stigmatizing attitudes were associated with greater attribution of individual responsibility for the development of the disorder. However, participants with personal experience or who knew someone with the depicted problem did not have lower stigma scores than those who did not. The current study suggests that justification ideologies such as just world beliefs and controllability beliefs may underlie the stigmatization of eating disorders and obesity. These findings provide support for stigma reduction efforts aimed at targeting justification ideologies and altering causal beliefs.     

The ability to process emotional information predicts loss aversion

On the basis of previous research it was hypothesized that alexithymia is associated with a higher tolerance for losses. This hypothesis is extended to explore whether the putative link between loss aversion and alexithymia remains once traits associated with risk taking (sensation seeking) and broad based personality traits (the Big 5) are controlled. Participants (N = 260) completed indices of alexithymia, sensation seeking and the Big 5 and both a riskless (endowment effect) and risky (lottery task) measure of loss aversion. It was found that the higher the alexithymia score the lower the loss aversion for both riskless and risky decisions even when sex, sensation seeking and the Big 5 are taken into account. The implications for this finding are discussed in the light of a neurological explanation of the relationship between alexithymia and loss aversion.     

A hierarchical investigation of personality and behavior: Examining Neo-Socioanalytic models of health-related outcomes

Based on proposed hierarchical relations derived from the Neo-Socioanalytic Theory of personality [Roberts, B. W., & Wood, D. (2006). Personality development in the context of the Neo-Socioanalytic Model of personality. In D. K. Mroczek & T. D. Little (Eds.), Handbook of personality development (pp. 11–39). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers], the present study examined the relationships between trait and motivation constructs and health-related outcomes. Participants (N = 201) completed a Big Five measure of personality traits, parallel exercise and diet behavioral identity trait measures, measures of personal values, exercise and diet-related personal strivings, and exercise and diet self-reports. Participants also completed a physical activity assessment and were weighed on a calibrated electronic scale from which body fat percentage could be determined. It was expected that contextualized trait and motivation constructs would mediate the relations between broad trait and motivation constructs and the health-related outcomes. The patterns of relations across trait and motivation constructs also were explored. The trait domain exhibited the expected pattern of hierarchical relations, but the motivation domain showed a more complex pattern of relations. The results are discussed in relation to a hierarchical model of personality and behavior that brings together trait and motivation constructs at multiple levels of analysis.     

General causality orientations are distinct from but related to dispositional traits

This study examines overlaps and distinctions between concepts of individual differences in the five-factor model and self-determination theory. Participants were 223 Danish adults (age M = 43.74; 60.09% women) originating in a national probability sample. Participants completed questionnaires of personality traits (NEO-FFI) and general causality orientations (GCOS). Distinct and overlapping latent models were tested using structural equation modeling, statistical re-sampling, and confirmatory factor analysis. Results indicate that all three causality orientations are distinct from but related to traits. From a perspective of integrative personality psychology, general causality orientations can be conceived of as characteristic adaptations.     

Electrophysiological difference between the representations of causal judgment and associative judgment in semantic memory

Causally related concepts like “virus” and “epidemic” and general associatively related concepts like “ring” and “emerald” are represented and accessed separately. The Evoked Response Potential (ERP) procedure was used to examine the representations of causal judgment and associative judgment in semantic memory. Participants were required to remember a task cue (causal or associative) presented at the beginning of each trial, and assess whether the relationship between subsequently presented words matched the initial task cue. The ERP data showed that an N400 effect (250–450 ms) was more negative for unrelated words than for all related words. Furthermore, the N400 effect elicited by causal relations was more positive than for associative relations in causal cue condition, whereas no significant difference was found in the associative cue condition. The centrally distributed late ERP component (650–750 ms) elicited by the causal cue condition was more positive than for the associative cue condition. These results suggested that the processing of causal judgment and associative judgment in semantic memory recruited different degrees of attentional and executive resources.     

Integrating the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide Into the Depression/Suicidal Ideation Relationship: A Short-Term Prospective Study

We examined the hypothesis that depressive symptoms are associated with increased beliefs about perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness identified in the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide and that these beliefs are associated with changes in suicidal ideation. Participants with clinical levels of depressive symptoms (n = 299) were selected from a larger group (n = 508) and completed measures of depressive symptoms, perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness, and suicidal ideation twice over a period of 2 months. Results of a structural equation model found that depressive symptoms were associated with increases in burdensomeness and lack of belonging, which were associated with suicidal ideation. Moreover, this hypothesized integrated model demonstrated a significantly better fit than an alternative model that assumed burdensomeness and lack of belonging were associated with changes in depressive symptoms, which were associated with suicidal ideation. Our findings suggest that the well-established relationship between depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation is associated with changes in beliefs that one is a burden on others and lacks belonging. More generally, these results suggest that it may be fruitful to integrate theories of suicide risk to form a comprehensive model that can inform future research and clinical interventions.     

Would I lie to you? “leakage” in deceptive facial expressions relates to psychopathy and emotional intelligence

This was the first investigation of individual differences in adopting deceptive universal emotional expressions. We hypothesized that psychopathic traits would lead to a heightened ability to suppress emotional expressions and exhibit less “leakage” of inconsistent emotions during deceptive displays. Further, we predicted that emotional intelligence (EI) would lead to a heightened ability to simulate emotional expressions. Participants (N = 100) viewed emotionally arousing (happy, sad, fearful, disgusting) images, responding to each with a genuine or deceptive expression. Each video frame (30/sec) was coded for emotion (in)consistent with the intended expression (365,550 frames coded for 2437 expressions). As predicted, psychopathic traits - specifically, high levels of interpersonal manipulation - were related to shorter durations of unintended emotional “leakage” during deceptive expressions. In contrast, the erratic lifestyle element of psychopathy predicted greater emotional inconsistency during deceptive displays. Individuals higher in EI - specifically, the ability to perceive and express emotion - feigned emotions more convincingly than others but were not more immune to emotional leakage.     

Turning social identity threat into challenge: Status stability and cardiovascular reactivity during inter-group competition

The current research examined the occurrence of threat and challenge in low and high status groups resulting from the stability of inter-group status differences during an inter-group competition. It was hypothesized that members of low status groups are relatively threatened when status differences are stable, but that this threat turns into a challenge when status differences become unstable. By contrast, unstable status relations were predicted to lead to threat in members of high status groups. Participants (N = 40) were categorized in minimal groups. Inter-group status differences, and the stability of these differences, were manipulated by providing feedback on three group tasks. During these tasks cardiovascular threat and challenge responses were measured following the biopsychosocial model [BPS; Blascovich, J., & Tomaka, J. (1996). The biopsychosocial model of arousal regulation. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 28, pp. 1-51). New York: Academic Press]. Results were in line with expectations and are discussed in terms of the BPS model and social identity theory.     

Does language about similarity play a role in fostering similarity comparison in children?

Commenting on perceptual similarities between objects stands out as an important linguistic achievement, one that may pave the way towards noticing and commenting on more abstract relational commonalities between objects. To explore whether having a conventional linguistic system is necessary for children to comment on different types of similarity comparisons, we observed four children who had not been exposed to usable linguistic input - deaf children whose hearing losses prevented them from learning spoken language and whose hearing parents had not exposed them to sign language. These children developed gesture systems that have language-like structure at many different levels. Here we ask whether the deaf children used their gestures to comment on similarity relations and, if so, which types of relations they expressed. We found that all four deaf children were able to use their gestures to express similarity comparisons (point to cat + point to tiger) resembling those conveyed by 40 hearing children in early gesture + speech combinations (cat + point to tiger). However, the two groups diverged at later ages. Hearing children, after acquiring the word like, shifted from primarily expressing global similarity (as in cat/tiger) to primarily expressing single-property similarity (as in crayon is brown like my hair). In contrast, the deaf children, lacking an explicit term for similarity, continued to primarily express global similarity. The findings underscore the robustness of similarity comparisons in human communication, but also highlight the importance of conventional terms for comparison as likely contributors to routinely expressing more focused similarity relations.     

A longitudinal multilevel model analysis of the within-person and between-person effect of effortful engagement and academic self-efficacy on academic performance

Using data from an accelerated longitudinal study, we examined the within-person and between-person effect of effortful engagement and academic self-efficacy on academic performance across students (N = 135) in elementary school. Teachers assessed participants' effortful engagement and participants rated their academic self-efficacy once per year for 3 years. Academic performance was assessed through standardized test scores in reading and math. Multilevel models indicated that within-person change in Effortful Engagement and Academic Self-Efficacy scores significantly predicted concomitant within-person change in reading test scores, B = 2.71, p = .043, Pseudo-R² = .02 and B = 4.72, p = .005, Pseudo-R² = .04, respectively. Participants with higher between-person levels of Effortful Engagement had higher initial reading test scores, B = 10.03, p = .001, Pseudo-R² = .09, and math test scores, B = 11.20, p < .001, Pseudo-R² = .15, whereas participants with higher between-person levels of Academic Self-Efficacy showed a faster rate of increase in math test scores across elementary school, B = 10.21, p = .036, Pseudo-R² = .25. At the between-person level, Effortful Engagement mediated the association between Academic Self-Efficacy and both reading and math test scores, although no support was found for mediation at the within-person level. Collectively, results suggest that trait-level psychological factors can vary meaningfully within school-aged children and that both within-person change and between-person individual differences in these traits have important consequences for academic performance.     

Profiles of career adaptivity and their relations with adaptability,adapting, and adaptation

Career adaptivity is the first factor in a chain of putative effects posited in the career construction theory (CCT): Adaptivity → Adaptability → Adapting → Adaptation. Hitherto, research on adaptivity has chiefly used variable-centered strategies to investigate the independent effects of adaptivity-related traits on adaptability, adapting, and adaptation averaged over all individuals constituting a sample. The present research, comprising two studies, seeks to extend this work by using person-centered analytic strategies to identify distinct profiles of adaptivity based on combinations of the Big-Five personality dimensions. We also examine the associations of profile membership with adaptability, adapting, and adaptation from the CCT perspective. Latent profile analyses revealed that a comparable 3-profile solution, comprising so-called “adaptive ready”, “ordinary”, and “rigid” adaptivity profiles, fit best in both studies using distinct measures of the Big-Five. Furthermore, across both studies, the latent subgroups were found to differ on levels of adaptability measured using two distinct instruments. Adaptability was highest in the “adaptive ready” subgroup followed by the “ordinary” and “rigid” subgroups, respectively. Finally, Study 2 showed that the adaptivity profiles differed with respect to indices of adapting (viz., organized study behaviors) and adaptation (viz., academic and career-choice satisfaction) in line with expectations from the CCT. The present findings constitute the first evidence showing that career adaptivity can be adequately represented via trait interactions. The findings also add to the empirical literature underpinning the CCT. Furthermore, this research is an informative demonstration of the utility of finite mixture analyses.     

Covering all the BAS’s: A closer look at the links between BIS,BAS, and socio-emotional functioning in childhood

The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between the BIS, BAS, and socio-emotional functioning in childhood. Participants were 368 children (181 boys) ranging in age from 9 to 13 years (M_age = 10.16, SD = .95). Children provided self-report assessments of BIS/BAS sensitivity, indices of internalizing problems (e.g., depression, social anxiety, loneliness), and perceptions of their peer relations. Parents also rated child internalizing and externalizing problems. Results from confirmatory factor-analysis suggested that the three-factor solution for the BAS (typically reported in adult samples) provided a better fit of the data than a one-factor (typically employed in previous studies with children). Moreover, BAS subscales were associated differentially with different indices of socio-emotional functioning. Support for the joint subsystems hypothesis was also found, with specific BAS subscales serving as moderators of the relations between the BIS and socio-emotional functioning.     

Differential relationships in the association of the Big Five personality traits with positive mental health and psychopathology

According to the two continua model of mental health, psychopathology and positive mental health (emotional, psychological, and social well-being) are related but distinct continua. This study investigates the two continua model by examining whether psychopathology and positive mental health show differential associations with the Big Five personality traits. The paper draws on data of the representative LISS panel (CentERdata). Participants (N = 1161; age 18-88) filled out questionnaires on personality, psychopathology, and positive mental health. Personality traits were differentially related to psychopathology and positive mental health, supporting the two continua model. Emotional stability (reversed neuroticism) is the main correlate of psychopathology, whereas the personality traits extraversion and agreeableness are uniquely associated with positive mental health.     

Age-related changes in cognitive processing of moral and social conventional violations

Moral and conventional violations are usually judged differently: Only moral violations are treated as independent of social rules. To investigate the cognitive processing involved in the development of this distinction, undergraduates (N = 34), adolescents (N = 34), and children (N = 14) read scenarios presented on a computer that had 1 of 3 endings: moral violations, conventional violations, or neutral acts. Participants judged whether the act was acceptable or unacceptable in a condition in which social rules were assumed, or in a condition in which they imagined the absence of rules (rule-removed condition). At all ages reaction times (RTs) were faster for moral than conventional violations when a rule was assumed. RTs in the rule-removed condition were longer than in the rule-assumed condition, only for adults’ moral judgments. In addition to this age difference, adolescents made more normative judgments than children. These findings extend previous work by showing different time courses of processing conventional versus moral violations and revealing age-related differences in the tendency to make normative judgments.