Comment on McCall, Trombetta, and Gipe's 2004 proposed impression management explanation for the credit card effect

There is a dearth of empirically supported theoretical explanation since its introduction; Feinberg's 1986 credit card effect showed greater product valuations and donation intentions by experimental participants when asked to make such estimates in the presence of credit card stimuli. This comment on McCall, Trombetta, and Gipe (2004) notes potential flaws and adjudged over-interpretation of results in their attempt to replicate successfully and derive theoretical explanation for the credit card effect.     

Exposure to negative emotional cues and alcohol cue reactivity with alcoholics: a preliminary investigation

Fifty-one male and female inpatient alcoholics received cue exposure treatment involving in vivo exposure to alcohol cues and imaginal exposure to individualized high-risk drinking situations involving negative emotional cues. At post-test, self-report measures of urge to drink alcohol and negative emotional states were obtained during an alcohol cue reactivity assessment. Contrary to our hypothesis, greater exposure to negative emotional cues during treatment was associated with greater urge and negative emotional responses at post-test. In addition, greater duration of exposure to negative emotional cues predicted greater attention to alcohol-related stimuli and thoughts about drinking during the post-test. Implications for future research in this area include extending the duration of exposure to negative emotional cues in order to establish the optimal exposure durations within which a majority of individuals achieve clinically significant reductions in their urge to drink alcohol.     

Consumer credit card use: the roles of creditor disclosure and anticipated emotion

In response to federal legislative reform aimed, in part, at reducing consumer bankruptcy filings, the authors conducted 2 experiments examining the role of affect in purchasing behavior. In Experiment 1, they examined consumer debtors, and in Experiment 2, they examined nondebtors. In both experiments, they investigated purchasing decisions made during a simulated online shopping trip, with some participants receiving standard disclosures of interest rates and money owed and with other participants receiving information under the new enhanced disclosure regulations. Results demonstrated support for the influence of anticipated affect in credit card use among both debtors and nondebtors and indicated that anticipated emotion may moderate the impact of the enhanced disclosure regulations.     

Determinants of credit card debt: Differentiating between revolving credit debt and petty installment loan in China

This research explores the determinants of the probability of having credit debt, as well as the determinants of the severity of credit card debt. Credit card debt includes revolving credit debt and petty installment loan. The severity of credit card debt was measured by the duration of revolving credit debt and the amount of petty installment loans. Analysis of behavioral data from a Chinese commercial bank showed a significant difference between the determinants of the probability of having credit card debt and the determinants of the severity of credit card debt. Specifically, credit limit, gender, length of ownership of a credit card, and the total credit card expenditure were closely related to the likelihood of having revolving credit debt and to the duration of revolving credit debt. However, age, the square of age, credit ranking, and risk ranking were significantly correlated with the likelihood of having revolving credit debt rather than the duration of revolving credit debt. Credit card balance had a special influence on the duration of revolving credit debt. Compared with revolving credit debt, petty installment loan had few significantly related factors. Both age and the square of age could significantly predict both the likelihood of having petty installment loan and amount of petty installment loan. Credit ranking, risk ranking, and gender predicted the likelihood of having petty installment loan but did not correlate with the amount of petty installment loan. The frequency of petty installment use was closely related to the amount of petty installment loan. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Child and adult learning of surface structure cues to deep structure using a picture card technique

An experiment requiring the learning of “new” (nonsense) words replacing the words “eager” and “easy” in the linguistic structure “John is eager/easy to please” showed that only adults and higher-IQ children could perform better than chance on the new words. Contrary to prediction, children showed no differential learning ability on two types of words to be learned. However, an analysis of the strategies used gave evidence of a language-specific learning ability in children but not in adults. It is proposed that the inability of lower-IQ children to learn the words, as well as the lack of differential learning of the two types by higher-IQ children, was due to the nature of the task-being more like that used in concept formation experiments than like natural language.     

Adolescents' sexual self-disclosure on the internet: deindividuation and impression management

This study examined the effect of anonymity on adolescents' sexual self-disclosure on the Internet and the impact of topic intimacy on their reply intent for sexual disclosure by conducting a survey with 1,347 adolescents. It was found that male participants were more likely than females to engage in sexual self-disclosure and to correspondingly respond to cyber partners' sexual disclosure. Results showed that the greater the anonymity, the greater the intent for sexual self-disclosure. Participants exhibited greater reply intent when cyber partners self-disclosed sexual topics with greater intimacy, and the effect of topic intimacy was more pronounced in male participants. The findings suggest that male adolescents tend to adopt a reciprocal strategy in responding to partners' sexual disclosure on the Internet, whereas females tend to employ a conservative strategy. It was concluded that male and female adolescents revealed differential self-presentation and impression management for their sexual self-disclosing and responding on the Internet.     

Seeking social connectedness: interdependent self-construal and impression formation using photographic cues of social connectedness

Impression formation research has traditionally focused on either the characteristics of the target or of the participant, failing to examine their interplay. In the present study, we explored the role of interdependent self-construal on ratings of others who are portrayed as alone or connected. We hypothesized that participants with an interdependent view of the self would prefer others who are portrayed as socially connected, while the opposite would be true for participants low on interdependence. Results showed that college students high on interdependence rated a university professor photographed with another person relatively more positively than a professor photographed alone. This pattern was reversed for participants low on interdependence.     

Perceived competence and impression management: Testing the mediating and moderating mechanisms

Using a diverse and unique sample of triads (N = 191 self, peer, and supervisor reports) from a field survey of two service sector organisations, this study examined the effects of perceived competence (self‐reported) and supervisor‐rated performance ratings on peer‐rated impression management. The study also tested the mediating role of performance in competence–impression management relationships and the moderating role of job satisfaction (self‐reported) in performance–impression management relationships using bootstrapping techniques. The study further examined the conditional indirect effects (i.e., moderated mediation) of perceived competence on impression management. The sample consisted of white collar employees from a government organisation and a leading cellular company in a developing country (i.e., Pakistan). Employees with low perceived competence were more likely to use impression management tactics than were those with high perceived competence. Similarly, poor performance ratings produced high impression management. Moreover, performance mediated the relationship between competence and impression management. The findings also suggest that perceived competence has a negative indirect effect on impression management for those with high levels of job satisfaction. Finally, impression management was highest when performance and satisfaction were low.     

Eliciting information and cues to deception using a model statement: Examining the effect of presentation modality

Forensic interviewing involves gathering information from a suspect or eyewitness. Administering a model statement during an interview results in greater information elicitation, which can enhance lie detection. Typically, a model statement is a highly detailed statement, on an unrelated topic to that of the interview. This study examined the effect of manipulating the modality of the MS, either by allowing participants to listen to (Audio‐MS), or read (Written‐MS) a model statement. A total of 162 (81 truth tellers, 81 liars) participants were randomly allocated to one of three interviewing conditions where they received either the Audio‐MS, Written‐MS, or No‐MS (control condition). Truth tellers honestly reported a “spy” mission, whereas liars performed a covert mission and lied about their activities. Results showed both model statements were equally more effective at eliciting information and facilitating lie detection, compared with a control condition. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Religiosity and social desirability: impression management and self-deceptive positivity

The first aim of the present study was to replicate previous research, which has investigated the association between scores on the Francis Scale of Attitudes towards Christianity (FSAC) (Francis & Stubbs, 1987) and scores on Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R Short Scale) (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1991). Further evidence is presented that higher religiosity is associated with lower scores on the psychoticism scale. The main aim of the present study, however, was to investigate the association between social desirability and religiosity. Although no association was found between religiosity and Lie scale scores in the present study, there is debate over what the Lie scale is actually measuring and so we also included, among other measures, the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR: Paulhus, 1988), which consists of two subscales, self deceptive positivity and impression management. It was found that although religiosity was not associated with self-deception it was associated with impression management.     

Effects of the timing and identity of retrieval cues in individual recall: An attempt to mimic cross-cueing in collaborative recall

Inhibitory effects in collaborative recall have been attributed to cross-cueing among partners, in the same way that part-set cues are known to impair recall in individuals. However, studies of part-set cueing in individuals typically involve presenting cues visually at the start of recall, whereas cross-cueing in collaboration is likely to be spoken and distributed over time. In an attempt to bridge this gap, three experiments investigated effects of presenting spoken part-set or extra-list cues at different times during individual recall. Cues had an inhibitory effect on recollection in the early part of the recall period, especially when presented in immediate succession at the start of recall. There was no difference between the effects of part-set and extra-list cues under these presentation conditions. However, more inhibition was generated by part-set than extra-list cues when cue presentation was distributed throughout recall. These results are interpreted as suggesting that cues presented during recall disrupt memory in two ways, corresponding to either blocking or modifying retrieval processes. Implications for explaining and possibly ameliorating inhibitory effects in collaborative recall are discussed.     

Effects of the timing and identity of retrieval cues in individual recall: an attempt to mimic cross-cueing in collaborative recall

Inhibitory effects in collaborative recall have been attributed to cross-cueing among partners, in the same way that part-set cues are known to impair recall in individuals. However, studies of part-set cueing in individuals typically involve presenting cues visually at the start of recall, whereas cross-cueing in collaboration is likely to be spoken and distributed over time. In an attempt to bridge this gap, three experiments investigated effects of presenting spoken part-set or extra-list cues at different times during individual recall. Cues had an inhibitory effect on recollection in the early part of the recall period, especially when presented in immediate succession at the start of recall. There was no difference between the effects of part-set and extra-list cues under these presentation conditions. However, more inhibition was generated by part-set than extra-list cues when cue presentation was distributed throughout recall. These results are interpreted as suggesting that cues presented during recall disrupt memory in two ways, corresponding to either blocking or modifying retrieval processes. Implications for explaining and possibly ameliorating inhibitory effects in collaborative recall are discussed.     

The effect of public social context on self-control: depletion for neuroticism and restoration for impression management

The present study explores the role of personality in moderating the effect of public social context on self-control. The authors predicted that in public settings neuroticism would be associated with ego-depletion effects and individual differences in impression management (IM) would be associated with restoration effects. Three experiments supported the hypothesis. In Study 1 neuroticism was associated with impaired self-control and IM was associated with enhanced self-control following an initial phase of working on a simple task in public (vs. in private). Study 2 replicated and extended these results to other domains of self-control. Study 3 explored whether public social context can cancel out early depletion effects. In this study, depleted participants engaged in a task that required self-control either alone or in public. As expected, the public settings were associated with restored self-control resources mostly among high IM individuals. Implications for self-control, neuroticism, and IM are discussed.     

Revisiting the relationship between impression management and job performance

Although theoretical arguments suggest that impression management should be related to job performance, empirical results have been unsupportive of the association. We argue that this relationship, however, may be found for specific jobs (sales) using a specific objective criterion (sales revenue). We tested this hypothesis across two samples. The first sample utilized a concurrent design and found a significant association between impression management and objective job performance. Furthermore, impression management demonstrated incremental validity over conscientiousness. In the second sample, using a different impression management scale and a predictive design we found that impression management was related to sales revenue, and showed incremental validity over cognitive ability. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

After the attempt: maintaining the therapeutic alliance following a patient's suicide attempt

The risk of a patient's suicide is a prominent occupational hazard for psychotherapists. The precise number of patients who attempt suicide while in treatment and then resume therapy with the same therapist is not known, but this situation is a relatively common occurrence in clinical practice. Such scenarios can pose significant challenges to the reestablishment of the therapeutic trust and a workable treatment alliance. The aim of this paper is to identify the challenges facing a clinician treating a patient who resumes therapy following a serious suicide attempt, and to offer guidelines for maintaining the viability of the therapeutic alliance.     

Manager behavior in a social context: the impact of impression management on attributions and disciplinary actions

Two experimental studies were run to test the effects of subordinate impression management on the appraisals and responses of a manager, following an incident of poor performance. Two common impression management tactics, accounts and apologies, were manipulated in each of the studies. Subjects in both studies were experienced nursing supervisors. On the basis of the "discounting effect" reported in the attributional literature it was hypothesized that accounts of external causes for poor performance, i.e., excuses, would lead subjects to (1) attribute less responsibility to the subordinate, (2) be less personal in their responses, and (3) be less punitive in their responses. Apologies, because of their "equity restoration" effects, were expected to influence subjects' disciplinary responses to the poor performance, without necessarily affecting their attributions of responsibility. Experiment 1. which employed written stimulus materials and a repeated-measures design, provided strong support for all hypotheses. Experiment 2. which employed a film stimulus and between-subjects design, provided strong support for the accounts hypotheses but only minimal support for the apology hypotheses. The results highlight the importance of social information cues in the appraisal of performance.     

Getting a cue: the need to belong and enhanced sensitivity to social cues

To successfully establish and maintain social relationships, individuals need to be sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others. In the current studies, the authors predicted that individuals who are especially concerned with social connectedness--individuals high in the need to belong--would be particularly attentive to and accurate in decoding social cues. In Study 1, individual differences in the need to belong were found to be positively related to accuracy in identifying vocal tone and facial emotion. Study 2 examined attention to vocal tone and accuracy in a more complex social sensitivity task (an empathic accuracy task). Replicating the results of Study 1, need to belong scores predicted both attention to vocal tone and empathic accuracy. Study 3 provided evidence that the enhanced performance shown by those high in the need to belong is specific to social perception skills rather than to cognitive problem solving more generally.