Value-based choice: An integrative,neuroscience-informed model of health goals

Objective: Traditional models of health behaviour focus on the roles of cognitive, personality and social-cognitive constructs (e.g. executive function, grit, self-efficacy), and give less attention to the process by which these constructs interact in the moment that a health-relevant choice is made. Health psychology needs a process-focused account of how various factors are integrated to produce the decisions that determine health behaviour.

Design: I present an integrative value-based choice model of health behaviour, which characterises the mechanism by which a variety of factors come together to determine behaviour. This model imports knowledge from research on behavioural economics and neuroscience about how choices are made to the study of health behaviour, and uses that knowledge to generate novel predictions about how to change health behaviour. I describe anomalies in value-based choice that can be exploited for health promotion, and review neuroimaging evidence about the involvement of midline dopamine structures in tracking and integrating value-related information during choice. I highlight how this knowledge can bring insights to health psychology using illustrative case of healthy eating.

Conclusion: Value-based choice is a viable model for health behaviour and opens new avenues for mechanism-focused intervention.     

The ‘Anti-Social’ Nature of Prosocial Research; A Psychosocial Critique

This article provides a critical review of recent psychological articles on prosocial behaviour. Even though it focuses on a specific section of this literature – giving to charities and prosocial responses to humanitarian disasters – the paper aims to offer a wider critique as it interrogates the epistemological and methodological underpinnings of the prosocial literature as a whole. It aims to illustrate how the problematic aspects of traditional quantitative, deductive, experimental research in prosocial behaviour in general, when applied to giving to charities, preclude a deeper and more complex understanding of a phenomenon quintessentially social and altruistic. I identify three specific issues that make mainstream approaches to prosocial behaviour problematic and limited in scope. The first relates to the insularity of mainstream psychology and the lack of contextualisation of its findings, in particular the problematic neglect of ideological and socio-historical factors in prosocial behaviour. The second relates to mainstream psychology's disregard for the role played by conflict, contradiction and ambivalence, in attitudes and decision making as well as in the emotional aspects of prosocial behaviour. The third looks at the constraints imposed by scientifically inspired methods, how they predetermine the range of participants' responses and make it hard to apply the findings to real life situations. I claim that these epistemological and methodological constraints severely limit the applicability and comprehensiveness of current research. The discussion of these issues is woven through the review and uses some specific studies to illustrate the limitations imposed by these constraints. Throughout the paper I also argue for the need to incorporate a psychosocial approach to research into prosocial behaviour.     

Gender-Related Effects in the Job-Design–Job-Satisfaction Relationship: An Interactional Approach

In this study, we took an interactional approach to understanding how ethic of care opportunity and self-actualization opportunity, two job design variables, are related to job satisfaction. Ethic of care opportunity in a job is theorized to result in satisfaction when job incumbents have high relational self-definition. Self-actualization opportunity in a job is theorized to result in satisfaction when incumbents have low relational self-definition. To the extent that women are likely to develop high relational self-definition, and men are likely to develop low relational self-definition, we hypothesized that the relationship between ethic of care opportunity and satisfaction would be strongest for women with high relational self-definition. We also hypothesized that the relationship between self-actualization opportunity and satisfaction would be strongest for men with low relational self-definition. Hypotheses were tested in a sample of women (n = 119) and men (n =115) with diverse job titles, and were supported. Results are discussed in terms of the strength of the job-design–job-satisfaction relationship for women and for men.     

Irrationality and egoism in Hegel’s account of right

ABSTRACT

Many interpreters argue that irrational acts of exchange can count as rational and civic-minded for Hegel – even though, admittedly, the persons who are exchanging their property are usually unaware of this fact. While I do not want to deny that property exchange can count as rational in terms of ‘mutual recognition’ as interpreters claim, this proposition raises an important question: What about the irrationality and arbitrariness that individuals as property owners and persons consciously enjoy? Are they mere vestiges of nature in Hegel’s system, or do they constitute a simple yet valid form of freedom that is not only a part of Hegel’s rational system of right, but its necessary starting point? I will argue the latter: The arbitrary, purely egoist self-definition of property owners is the simplest possible type of freedom for Hegel, which he dissects in order to show how the very arbitrary self-definition implicitly relies on an identity between persons, and hence foreshadows the more social forms of freedom Hegel will discuss later in his book. I make this argument by highlighting Hegel’s references to his discussion of atoms and freedom in his Logic of Being.     

Residential mobility, self-concept, and positive affect in social interactions

The present research examined (a) the link between personal history of residential mobility and the self-concept and (b) the implications of such a link for positive affect in social interactions. Study 1 showed that the personal self was more central to the self-definition of frequent movers than to that of nonmovers, whereas the collective self was more central to the self-definition of nonmovers than to that of frequent movers. Results from a laboratory and a 2-week event sampling study (Studies 2 and 3) demonstrated that frequent movers felt happier when an interaction partner accurately perceived their personal selves, whereas nonmovers felt happier when a partner accurately perceived their collective selves. These findings present the first direct evidence on how personal history of residential mobility is linked to important individual differences in the self and positive affect in social interactions.     

On the asymmetry in the cognitive construal of ingroup and outgroup: A model of egocentric social categorization

A model of egocentric social categorization (ESC-model) is presented. It predicts an asymmetry in the cognitive construal of ingroups and outgroups which is traced back to an egocentrism in the cognitive differentiation of the social world. The more specific assumptions are: (1) At the most basic level of cognitive differentiation, the perceiver distinguishes between the categories ME and NOT-ME. (2) This basic level categorization predicates an asymmetry in the cognitive construal of ingroup and out-group as social categories: The ingroup is construed as a heterogeneous aggregate of separate entities and the outgroup as a homogeneous social category. (3) Egocentric social categorization thus facilitates self-definition in terms of personal identity relative to self-definition in terms of social identity. The ESC-model is highly relevant to research on perceived ingroup and outgroup homogeneity. Moreover, it alerts researchers to the possibility of ‘quasi-intergroup’ situations in which the outgroup, but not the ingroup, is a salient entity. This article also discusses the relationship between the ESC-model and self-categorization theory and points out some prospects for future research.     

Social game theory: Preferences,perceptions, and choices

ABSTRACT

Building on classic game theory, psychologists have explored the effects of social preferences and expectations on strategic behaviour. Ordinary social perceivers are sensitive to additional contextual factors not addressed by game theory and its recent psychological extensions. We review the results of a research programme exploring how observers judge “players” (i.e., individuals making strategic decisions in social dilemmas) on the dimensions of competence and morality. We explore social perception in several well-known dilemmas, including the prisoner’s dilemma, the volunteer’s dilemma, and the trust dilemma. We also introduce a novel self-presentational dilemma. In research conducted over a decade and a half, we have found that judgements of competence are sensitive to both players’ choices and the dilemma’s (expected and actual) outcomes. In contrast, judgements of morality respond strongly to players’ behaviour and little else. We discuss how these social-perceptual patterns might affect expectations, preferences, and strategic choices.     

Psychopathology: A Simple Twist of Fate or a Meaningful Distortion of Normal Development? Toward an Etiologically Based Alternative for the DSM Approach

In this comment, I focus on a central issue that spans the entirety of Sidney Blatt's research career, namely his contributions to the development of a theoretically consistent and clinically relevant classification system of psychopathology. First, I discuss empirical evidence concerning the key assumptions underlying the currently dominant classification system of mental disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Second, I compare these assumptions with assumptions underlying Blatt's categorization of psychopathology based on his distinction between two developmental lines, that is, self-definition and relatedness, together with a discussion of recent research on these two developmental lines in the context of the development of a more etiologically based classification system of depression and other disorders. Finally, I argue that research concerning Blatt's model of normal and pathological development—aside from direct contributions—may also inform empirically derived criteria for the development of a theoretically consistent and clinically useful way of classifying psychopathology.     

Psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic science, and psychoanalytic research--1986

The present standing of psychoanalysis as a science and the vitality of psychoanalytic research effort are reviewed. The two are interdependent, since the possibilities for empirical research rest on the necessary assumption that psychoanalysis is indeed enough a science to be susceptible to knowledge advance by the (research) methods of science. Concerning our status as a science, I review attacks on our scientific credentials (both from within our ranks and without) by the logical positivists, by the hermeneuticists (a rubric comprising a variety of hermeneutic, phenomenological, exclusively subjectivistic, and/or linguistically based conceptualizations of our field), and the most recent by the philosopher of science, Adolf Grünbaum. I try to demonstrate what I feel to be the failure of each of these assaults, and why I feel there is no reason to see psychoanalysis as anything other than a scientific psychology and, therefore, in theory amenable to empirical research approaches. I then review the history and the current status of these systematic research efforts in psychoanalysis, and the reasons why these have been far less in scope and in accomplishment than has been possible or than has been needed. Here I have focused especially on research involving technique and our theory of change and cure--i.e., research on the analytic process; on what changes take place (outcome) and how those changes come about or are brought about (process).     

Attachment Theory,Psychoanalysis, Personality Development,and Psychopathology

Blatt and Levy place attachment theory and research in a broad theoretical matrix by considering the relationship of attachment patterns to personality development and to different types of psychopathology in adults. Thus Blatt and Levy construct conceptual bridges between the two configurations of personality development and psychopathology that Blatt and colleagues have developed over the past quarter century (e.g., Behrends and Blatt, 1985; Blatt, 1974, 1995; Blatt and Behrends, 1987; Blatt and Blass, 1990, 1996; Blatt and Shichman, 1983) and attachment theory and research. Blatt and Levy identify a polarity that is central to attachment theory and research, the polarity of attachment and separation, and they note that this polarity has also been central in much of classic psychoanalytic theory (e.g., Freud, 1930; Loewald, 1962). This polarity is expressed in attachment theory and research in the differences between avoidant and anxious-preoccupied insecure attachment patterns as well in the distinction between two types of disorganized attachment, helpless-withdrawn and negative intrusive, identified by Lyons-Ruth (1999, 2001).

This polarity of attachment and separation, or relatedness and self-definition is also fundamental to personality development that occurs in the hierarchical dialectic transaction of two basic developmental lines—interpersonal relatedness and self-definition (Blatt and Blass, 1990, 1996). This polarity is also inherent in the conception of two fundamental configurations of psychopathology—anaclitic psychopathology, the dependent (or infantile) and hysterical personality disorders—that are preoccupied with issues of interpersonal relatedness, and introjective psychopathology, the paranoid, obsessive-compulsive and depressive personality disorders, in which issues of self-definition and self-worth are dominant (Blatt, 1974, 1995; Blatt and Shichman, 1983). Thus, the identification of this fundamental polarity provides the basis for establishing links between attachment patterns, personality development, and adult psychopathology. Blatt and Levy also attempt to integrate psychoanalytic concepts of the representational world (e.g., Sandler and Rosenblatt, 1965)—the development of concepts of self and significant others—with the internal working models (IWMs) of attachment relationships. This integration enabled Blatt and Levy to bring a fuller developmental perspective to the IWMs of attachment theory and to note that, based on differences in the content and structural organization of the IWMs or mental representation of self and significant others, several developmental levels can be identified in both avoidant and anxious preoccupied attachment. These developmental levels within each attachment style also identifies less and more adaptive forms of both types of insecure attachment. Thus, the integration of the psychoanalytic concepts of mental representation with concepts of the IWM of attachment theory and research enables Blatt and Levy to create a fuller developmental perspective in the study of insecure attachment patterns.     

WOMEN'S SELF-DEFINITION IN ADULTHOOD: FROM A DIFFERENT MODEL?

This article examines criticisms of existing models of adult development from both feminist and developmental psychologists. To answer these criticisms, a model of women's adult self-definition is presented that is based upon current research on women's adult experience. The model combines a dialectical approach, which considers the effects of social/historical factors, with a feminist approach, which emphasizes the importance of caring and relationships, to illustrate the critical factors affecting a woman's self-knowledge during the adult years.     

Functions of parent-child reminiscing about emotionally negative events

Parent-child reminiscing about negative experiences influences children's developing "emotional self-concept", which comprises three interrelated functions: self-defining (this is the kind of emotional person I am), self-in-relation (this is how I express and share my emotions with others), and coping (this is how I cope with and resolve negative emotion). In this study, we examined how 70 mostly white, middle-class mothers discuss three negative experiences (fear, anger, and sadness) with their 4-year-old children. Conversations about fear elaborate on the facts of the event and emotional resolutions, thus focusing on coping. Conversations about sadness contain evaluative feedback and emotional resolutions, thus focusing on self-in-relation and coping. Finally, conversations about anger highlight the emotional state itself, thus focusing on self-definition. Mothers are also more elaborative and more evaluative with daughters than with sons, and place emotional events in a more interpersonal context with daughters than sons. Thus girls may be forming a more elaborated and more interpersonal emotional self-concept than boys.     

Reimagining gender in psychology: What can critical psychology offer?

In this article, I argue that gender is a complex sociocultural construct, yet how gender is accounted for in psychological research is limited. Specifically, psychologists conflate sex with gender, rely on quantifying gender differences and, by implication, conceptualise gender as merely a participant characteristic. To illustrate, I apply this viewpoint to the topic of gender differences in tobacco use/cessation using on a feminist quality appraisal tool. I show how these three issues promote the narrow study of sex/gender differences, despite problems surrounding this inquiry, and reduce insights into the intersection of gender and behaviour. To offer a way forward for psychology, I describe how a critical psychology perspective attends to the complexities of gender and its influence on behaviour. I showcase diverse ways of attending to gender as a sociocultural construct, inviting psychologists to engage with, and reflect on, their gender analyses.     

On the power of autobiographical memories: from threat and challenge appraisals to actual behaviour

Autobiographical memories are a major feature of mental life in humans. However, research on the influence of autobiographical recall on actual behaviour is scarce. We predicted and found that general memories of failure and specific memories of success resulted in worse performance than general memories of success and specific memories of failure. This performance pattern was mediated by task appraisal, suggesting that autobiographical memories (of failure and success) impact performance by shaping the perception of the upcoming task. Combined with the fact that these effects occurred even when the content of autobiographical memories was unrelated to the upcoming task, the present research represents an important step forward in understanding how autobiographical recall influences actual behaviour.     

Sedimentation and elaborative choice

Abstract

Choice is an essential feature in personal construct psychology, and arguably the main task of the personal construct is to clarify why the person chooses one course of action rather than another. Yet the choice corollary appears to be in danger of being tautological, saying that whatever the person did constituted the elaborative choice. G. A. Kelly proposed the choice corollary as a useful heuristic device to counter external observers' beliefs that they can know what is best for the person. However, there is a danger in overcorrecting, in assuming that every action of the person constitutes an elaborative choice. This is most likely to occur in the neurotic paradox, where clients experience self-definition as problematic for them. I argue that we should emphasize construing as inseparable from action. This leads us to a phenomenological rather than a cognitive reading of construct theory. M. Merleau-Ponty's (1962) concept of sedimentation is then helpful in understanding the type of self-definition that is characterized in the neurotic paradox. The implications of this position for psychological reconstruction are briefly discussed.     

How do I see myself? A systematic review of identities in pro‐environmental behaviour research

Encouraging pro‐environmental behaviour (PEB) is an environmental and societal concern. Encouraging PEB focussing on how consumers see themselves (their identity) has blossomed. However, a theoretical assessment of this research is missing. Three main identity theories seem to best explain the research, specifically, and two‐fold, identity, and social identity theory (SIT), collectively known as the unified identity theory (UIT), and place identity theory (PIT). As these theories overlap more than differ in their understanding of identity, we argue that combining these theories is needed to avoid redundancies in identity theorizing, provide a universal approach to identity in terms of the processes and outcomes, and explain the PEB research most succinctly. Therefore, we understand identity similarly between the theories and offer a universal identity theory approach based on the theoretical definitions and assumptions. Finally, we demonstrate how the theory can be used to explain the research. Next, research was identified by conducting a systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses guidelines, where 62 studies were relevant. Multiple identities relevant for a given PEB are assumed and evidenced: 99. Identities are assumed to be either individually‐, group‐, and/or place‐focused, drawing on the specific subsets of the universal theory: identity theory, social identity theory, and place identity theory, respectively. Identities are assumed to relate to behaviour, where identity increased PEB with medium effect sizes. Finally, to move the field forward, we provide a theoretical framework of how to test identities in relation to other psychological variables relevant for PEB research.     

Religion in the American Congress: the case of the US House of Representatives, 1953–2003

Although there has been a surge of scholarship on the role of religion in American electoral politics, there has been much less analysis of its influence over the behaviour of public officials, such as national legislators. In this study, I review the literature on religion in the Congress, noting the limitations of that research, primarily its failure to measure adequately the religious affiliations, activities and beliefs of members. I then outline an alternative approach that promises a fuller assessment, showing how both ethnoreligious affiliation and theological perspectives have influenced legislative voting since the 1950s. Ethnocultural affiliation was the most powerful influence until the 1990s, but has recently been overlain by deepening ‘culture war’ divisions. The study concludes with a stringent multivariate analysis that controls for important variables typically included in legislative roll call analysis, showing that many religious measures survive those controls.     

The fruits of a functional approach for psychological science

The current paper introduces relational frame theory (RFT) as a functional contextual approach to complex human behaviour and examines how this theory has contributed to our understanding of several key phenomena in psychological science. I will first briefly outline the philosophical foundation of RFT and then examine its conceptual basis and core concepts. Thereafter, I provide an overview of the empirical findings and applications that RFT has stimulated in a number of key domains such as language development, linguistic generativity, rule‐following, analogical reasoning, intelligence, theory of mind, psychopathology and implicit cognition.     

Reactions to self-discrepant feedback: Feminist attitude and symbolic self-completion

Reactions to self-discrepant feedback were theoretically and experimentally investigated. The conceptual frame was provided by the theory of symbolic self-completion. Starting from the assumption that attitudes can function as central aspects of self-definition, 81 female subjects were either presented with feedback that their attitudes were unfeminist (treatment, i.e. incompleteness condition) or they received no feedback (control condition) Then they were given the opportunity for self-symbolizing by subscribing to a feminist journal. Subjects with strongly pro-feminist attitudes who were made incomplete with respect to their feminist self-definition subscribed more often and more intensively to the feminist journal than others. The results illustrate that attitudes can take on the character of self-definitions. Furthermore, reactions to self-discrepant feedback concerning a central attitude were as predicted by the theory of symbolic self-completion.