Self‐regulation as relating to one's ideal possible self

People dream of countless ideal possible selves they hope to become, but they have a difficult time actualizing them. In the present work, we review and integrate prior research regarding possible selves, self‐regulation, and interpersonal relationships. We draw on multiple perspectives to define ideal possible selves and clarify their structure. We suggest that framing self‐regulation of an ideal possible self as relating to one's ideal possible self affords an explanation that ideal possible selves can (but sometimes do not) motivate current self‐regulation. We discuss two ways ideal possible selves motivate current self‐regulatory behavior: through increased vividness of the ideal possible self and through commitment to the ideal possible self. These routes pave the way for future research designed to help people increase their efforts toward becoming their ideal possible selves.     

Testing the Ideology of Openness: The Comparative Effects of Talking,Writing, and Avoiding a Stressor on Rumination and Health

A persistent assumption across the psychological literature is that talking and writing about one's stress is inherently more beneficial than avoiding it. This study compared the effects of these stress management strategies on personal and relational health. Two hundred and fifty‐one dating individuals focused on a stressor that was a current source of rumination. Writing about one's stressor for 5 consecutive days (without talking about it) decreased anxiety the most. Talking continuously about one's stressor to a dating partner harmed the relationship more than writing about or avoiding it. The effect of talking repeatedly about one's stressor on relationship quality and brooding, however, depended upon the emotional support received from one's dating partner and the ability to reappraise (positively or neutrally) the stressor.     

The Temporally Extended Self: The Relation of Past and Future Selves to Current Identity,Motivation, and Goal Pursuit

People's current identity is constructed not only in the present moment but also by looking back to past selves and forward to future selves. In this article, we review research on the temporally extended self, with a focus on recent work informed by temporal self‐appraisal theory. People often recall the past and imagine the future in ways that contribute to a favorable current identity. Subjective temporal distance (how near or distant a point in time feels) plays a powerful role in determining temporal self‐appraisals. In turn, people's judgments of subjective distance can shift when considering temporal selves with good or bad implications for current identity. We will describe research exploring the complex interconnections between past, present, and future identity. In addition, we consider some of the unique implications that people's constructions of future selves might have for their plans and goals, and how predicted selves might influence goal‐pursuit motivation and behavior.     

Does change in perceptions of peer teen dating violence predict change in teen dating violence perpetration over time?

Research has previously demonstrated that perceptions of peer's teen dating violence (TDV) is associated with one's own perpetration of TDV, although little research has examined whether this relationship is consistent across developmental time periods (i.e., mid‐to‐late adolescence). The present study examined whether changes in perceptions of peer's TDV predicted change in one's own perpetration of TDV in a sample of ethnically diverse adolescents from ages 15 to 18 (N = 1,042). Parallel process modeling demonstrated that decreases in perceptions of peer's TDV predicted decreases in TDV perpetration over time, and this relationship was more pronounced for males than females. These findings lend further support to the need for TDV prevention and intervention programs to include peer influence in their programs.

     

Fallibility and Trust

I argue that while admission of one's own fallibility rationally requires one's readiness to stand corrected in the light of future evidence, it need have no consequences for one's present degrees of belief. In particular, I argue that one's fallibility in a given area gives one no reason to forego assigning credence 1 to propositions belonging to that area. I can thus be seen to take issue with David Christensen's recent claim that our fallibility has far‐reaching consequences for our account of rational belief and epistemic rationality. My arguments inter alia rely on the idea that in basing one's beliefs on one's evidence, one trusts both that one's evidence has the right pedigree and that one gets its probative force right, where such trust can rationally be invested without the need of any further evidence.     

Mothers,fathers, and the crisis of newborn intensive care

At hospital discharge of their infant from a newborn intensive care unit, 50 mothers and fathers were interviewed and completed questionnaires. There were significant within-couple correlations for appraisals of the harm that ensued from this crisis, perceptions of personal control over the infant's recovery, and expectations about the infant's future health and development. Mothers perceived more personal control, mobilized more social support, and used more escapist coping strategies than did fathers. Mothers and fathers exhibited different patterns of relations between their own coping strategies and emotional well-being. But, neither the coping strategies used by one's spouse nor differences between spouses in the use of individual coping strategies correlated with emotional well-being. Analysis of parents' perceived differences between their own and their partner's coping strategies suggested the possibility of mutually helpful, complementary strategies of coping with this problem.     

Faith in Christ today: An engagement with Klaus Nürnberger

Today's Lutheran theologian must retrieve his or her particular Christian tradition while articulating the faith for our globalized twenty‐first‐century context. South African Klaus Nürnberger's new two‐volume systematic theology, Faith in Christ Today, adds heat to the current creative flurry of red‐hot systematic theologies. Nürnberger, who is oriented both to God's future and the world's future, places the theological articulation of the faith within the context of the worldwide and multi‐cultural Christian church. We all can learn from Nürnberger.     

Testing the Situationism Scale in Europe: Scale validation,self‐regulation and regional differences

The term situationism refers to an individual's belief about the importance of a behaviour's context. This study tested whether the degree of situationism expressed by individuals in various regions of Europe was consistent with self‐regulation and cross‐cultural theories. The English version of a Situationism Scale (measuring beliefs about the relation between the environment and one's own behaviour) was translated into five additional languages: Dutch, German, Hungarian, Italian and Slovenian. Young adults (N = 1106, M_Age = 22.9 years, 79% female) across Europe responded to one of the six language versions of the scale as part of a larger survey. Results indicated that: new language versions were psychometrically valid; there was a positive relation between situationism and the use of situation‐control strategies; and situationism was higher for individuals from regions that are Eastern European and relatively more interdependent, compared with individuals from regions that are Western European and relatively less interdependent. As the first evaluation of the Situationism Scale outside America, this study supports the Scale's validity and suggests not only may some effects of situationism be universal, but between‐ and within‐culture differences in situationism exist. Overall, when making judgments and decisions about the self, cultural background and individual differences in situationism may come into play.     

Perceived responsibility to act: An investigation with respect to registering willingness to become a posthumous organ donor

Two questionnaire studies (Ns=238 and 497) were guided by the original theoretical specification of the triangle model of responsibility. These investigated the relationship between perceived responsibility to register willingness to posthumously donate one's organs and people's self‐reported actual and intended registration behaviour. Exploratory factor analyses suggested that various responsibility‐related constructs could be differentiated, several of which explained unique variance in participants' registration status. Although predominantly derived from it, these constructs provided little support for the specific manner in which the triangle model has previously been conceptualized and operationalized. Implications for theoretical development, future empirical research, and organ procurement are discussed.     

Uncertainty and the Avoidance of the State of One's Family in Stepfamilies,Postdivorce Single‐Parent Families,and First‐Marriage Families

The current study tested the applicability of uncertainty management theory (URT; Berger & Calabrese, 1975) to information‐regulation efforts in families with comparatively different uncertainty levels. Differences in uncertainty and avoidance for parents within the various family types are also discussed. In general, the findings lend further support for URT (e.g., Brashers, 2001) which suggests that in certain situations, such as that of postdivorce family life, individuals may prefer to maintain their uncertainty through avoidance. Contrary to what URT suggests, the association between uncertainty about one's family relationships and the avoidance of the state of one's family was positive and linear for adolescents and young adults in stepfamilies and postdivorce, single‐parent families. For first‐marriage families, however, this association was curvilinear in nature. Unexpectedly, closeness with one's parents or stepparents did not moderate this association for any of the family types. Nevertheless, satisfaction with one's parents was a moderator for children in first‐marriage families. The degree of uncertainty in stepfamilies was also a function of the length of time in the stepfamily, but avoidance was not.     

RELIGIOUS HYPOTHESES AND THE APOPHATIC,RELATIONAL THEOLOGY OF CATHERINE KELLER

In one of its most urgent folds, Catherine Keller's Cloud of the Impossible juxtaposes negative theology with relational theology for the sake of thinking constructively about today's global climate of religious conflict and ecological upheaval. The tension between these two theological approaches reflects her desire to unsay past harmful theological speech but also to speak into the present silences about the (perhaps im)possibility of a future that is not only to be feared. Suffusing Keller's Cloud is the related (perhaps im)possibility of living out one's life in conversation with a religious tradition having accepted the nonknowing character of its wisdom. Here, I develop the notion of “hypothetical faith” as an epistemic posture that commits itself to some particular religious tradition even as it acknowledges the unverifiability of that tradition's deepest truths. Understood as operating at the opposite end of the testability spectrum from science, religion‐as‐hypothesis provides a way of saying and unsaying one's tradition at the same time.     

Expecting to Work,Fearing Homelessness: The Possible Selves of Low‐Income Mothers1

We explored the content of possible selves of low‐income mothers and the strategies they have to work on their possible selves. Positive expected possible selves focus on getting a job, making ends meet, and caregiving. Negative to‐be‐avoided possible selves focus on failing to make ends meet, losing (or not getting) jobs, and problems with mental health. Immediate social context—rather than demographic characteristics or global work–family variables—was associated with content of possible selves. Controlling for demographic and work–family variables, job‐focused possible selves (and strategies to attain them) were more salient; and caregiving and mental‐health‐related possible selves were less salient to mothers in job‐training programs vs. welfare offices.     

Coping Strategies With Minor Stressors in Adolescence: Relationships With Social Support,Self‐Efficacy,and Psychological Well‐Being

This study examined age and gender differences in coping strategies used by adolescents (N = 342; age = 14–19 years) in dealing with everyday minor stressors. Relationships with coping resources (self‐efficacy, social support) and the impact of coping on psychological well‐being were assessed. Coping strategies were measured using the Coping Across Situations Questionnaire (CASQ; Seiffge‐Krenke, 1995 ). Results showed that adolescents' coping strategies differed according to problem domain. The most frequently used strategies were active and internally focused. Females used a wider range of coping strategies than did males. Significant correlations were found among coping strategies and coping resources. Moreover, the adoption of some strategies significantly affected adolescents' psychological well‐being.     

Perfectionistic Concerns,Social Negativity,and Subjective Well‐Being: A Test of the Social Disconnection Model

Partner‐specific perfectionistic concerns (PC) include concern over mistakes, self‐criticism, and socially prescribed perfectionism as it pertains to one's partner. The social disconnection model proposes that PC influences well‐being indirectly through interpersonal problems. Thus, we hypothesized that social negativity (expressed anger, hostility, and rejection) would mediate the relationship between dyadic PC and subjective well‐being. Data from 203 romantic dyads (92.1% heterosexual) were collected using self‐report surveys and a four‐wave, 4‐week longitudinal design. Participants were predominantly female (53.1%), young (M = 22.69 years), and Caucasian (82.3%). Data were analyzed using an actor‐partner interdependence model with multilevel structural equation modeling. There were significant actor effects at the between‐subjects and within‐subjects levels, and significant partner effects for the relationship between PC and social negativity at the within‐subject level. Social negativity mediated the relationships between PC and both negative affect and life satisfaction. However, positive affect was more weakly related to PC and social negativity. The social disconnection model was supported. PC was positively associated with one's own social negativity and evoked hostile behaviors from one's partner. Hostile, rejecting behaviors reduced the well‐being of the actor, but not the partner. Results suggest perfectionism may be best understood within an interpersonal context.     

Exploring the Use of Experience Sampling to Assess Episodic Thought

Mental time travel is the ability to mentally relive events in one's own past (episodic recall) and pre‐live potential personal future events (episodic foresight). Recent research has used experience sampling to reveal when and how often we think about the past and future in everyday life; however, it remains unclear how much of thought is episodic, involving the sense of self that underpins mental time travel. In this study, we investigate the use of experience sampling to assess the frequency of episodic past and future thought in everyday life. Participants (n = 214) were exposed to 20 short message service prompts over 1 or 2 days. Half of thoughts were sited in the present; of the remainder, future‐oriented thoughts were more frequent than past‐oriented thoughts. Participants reported 20% of thoughts as episodic. This study suggests that experience sampling methodology can provide a means of assessing episodic thought during everyday activities.Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Roles of Boredom and Life Goals in Juvenile Delinquency1

The relationship between possible selves and boredom in juvenile delinquency was examined in 418 high school students. The construct Possible Selves refers to the representation of the self that each person would like to become, could become, and is afraid of becoming. Participants who acknowledged high levels of delinquent behaviors reported more negative possible selves, a higher tendency to experience boredom, and fewer positive possible selves than did adolescents who engaged in lower levels of delinquent behaviors. Also, the number of negative possible selves, the number of positive possible selves, boredom proneness, and gender accounted for 32% of the variance in juvenile delinquency. Overall, the results provide evidence that boredom and a negative view of one's future play a significant role in adolescent delinquent behavior.     

GETTING UNDER MY SKIN: WILLIAM JAMES ON THE EMOTIONS, SOCIALITY, AND TRANSCENDENCE

“You are really getting under my skin!” This exclamation suggests a series of psychological, philosophical, and metaphysical questions: What is the nature and development of human emotion? How does emotion arise in social interaction? To what extent can interactive situations shape our embodied selves and intensify particular affective states? With these questions in mind, William James begins to investigate the character of emotions and to develop a model of what he terms the social self. James's studies of mimicry and his interest in phenomena now often investigated using biofeedback begin to explain how affective states develop and how it might be possible for something to “get under one's skin.” I situate these studies in the history of psychology between the psychological schools of structuralism and behaviorism. More important, I suggest continuity between James's Psychology and recent research on mirror neurons, reentrant mapping, and emotional mimicry in the fields of clinical psychology and cognitive neuroscience. This research supports and extends James's initial claims in regard to the creation of emotions and the life of the social self. I propose that James's work in the empirical sciences should be read as a prelude to his metaphysical works that speak of a coordination between embodied selves and wider environmental situations, and his psychological studies should be read as a prelude to his reflections on spiritual transcendence.     

Perceived political self‐efficacy: Theory,assessment, and applications

Political efficacy is addressed within the framework of social cognitive theory and a new measure to assess perceived political self‐efficacy is presented. Three studies document the validity of the new scale of measurement. The first study (N = 1673) examined the psychometric properties of the scale in accordance with classical test theory. This led to the identification of a unidimensional factor structure, including perceived political self‐efficacy in promoting one's own political opinion, in sustaining the political programs of the party to which one belongs, and in monitoring one's own political representatives' commitment. The second study (N = 632) further confirmed the internal and construct validity of the scale; criterion validity was also investigated using several indicators of political interest and participation. The third study (N = 1176) showed that politicians holding offices have higher levels of perceived political self‐efficacy than partisans and voters, further corroborating the criterion validity of the scale. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evidence from a homosexual sample for a sex‐specific rival‐oriented mechanism: Jealousy as a function of a rival's physical attractiveness and dominance

Among heterosexual women in particular, a rival's physical attractiveness evokes jealousy, whereas among heterosexual men in particular, a rival's dominance evokes feelings of jealousy. The present study conducted with gay men and lesbian women examined whether these sex‐differentiated responses reflect an evolved sex‐specific rival‐oriented mechanism according to which males and females pay attention to different rival characteristics or an evolved general partner‐oriented mechanism, according to which males and females pay attention to those characteristics that their actual and potential partners find important. In an experiment, using a 2 (Participant Sex) × 2 (Rival Physical Attractiveness) × 2 (Rival Dominance) mixed factor design, homosexual participants were presented with a scenario in which their partners were flirting with an individual of the same sex. Lesbian women, but not gay men, reported more jealousy when they were exposed to a physically attractive rival as compared with a physically unattractive rival. Gay males, but not lesbian women, reported more jealousy when they were exposed to a rival high in dominance as compared with a rival low in dominance, especially when exposed to a physically unattractive rival. In addition, among women high in dominance, a dominant rival evoked relatively less jealousy, and among women high in social comparison orientation, an unattractive rival evoked relatively more jealousy. It is concluded that males and females posses an evolved sex‐specific rival‐oriented mechanism through which they respond more or less automatically to those rival characteristics that have been important in sexual selection in our evolutionary past.