Hostility, anger, aggressiveness, and coronary heart disease: an interpersonal perspective on personality, emotion, and health

The related traits of hostility, anger, and aggressiveness have long been suggested as risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). Our prior review of this literature (Smith, 1992) found both considerable evidence in support of this hypothesis and important limitations that precluded firm conclusions. In the present review, we discuss recent research on the assessment of these traits, their association with CHD and longevity, and mechanisms possibly underlying the association. In doing so, we illustrate the value of the interpersonal tradition in personality psychology (Sullivan, 1953; Leary, 1957; Carson, 1969; Kiesler, 1996) for not only research on the health consequences of hostility, anger, and aggressiveness, but also for the general study of the effects of emotion, personality and other psychosocial characteristics on physical health.     

Social context,interpersonal network,and identity dynamics: A social psychological case study of terrorist recidivism

The existing literature on jihadist terrorism has extensively documented the importance of networks, yet the interpersonal element of the networks and how this links to the social identity dynamics of a mujahid have been scarcely explored. It also is still unclear how specific social contexts such as prison, neighbourhood, and home may play a role in the link between interpersonal networks and social identity dynamics. Drawing insights from the social identity perspective, this article examines the relationships between social context, interpersonal networks, and identity dynamics of a mujahid based on a single case of terrorist recidivism in Indonesia. Our analyses showed how transitions across social contexts were related to the subject's opportunities and constraints for the participation in different interpersonal networks that influenced the process of identity negotiation as a mujahid versus alternative identities of family member and belonging to a neighbourhood. It is argued that analysis of the dynamics of a mujahid's identity in local social contexts are an important part of assessing risks of their recidivism.     

Social anxiety and interpersonal perception: a social relations model analysis

Cognitive models of social phobia posit that an individual's negative beliefs about the way he or she is perceived by others (metaperceptions) are a core feature of the disorder. The social relations model () was used to analyze interpersonal perception data collected following unstructured social interactions in 62 socially anxious (SA) and 62 not socially anxious (NSA) individuals. Using this model, the interpersonal perceptions were analyzed to evaluate whether pathological levels of social anxiety are associated with self-perceptions, metaperceptions, and perceptions from others. SA participants saw themselves negatively and believed others saw them negatively. Although seen as more nervous by others, SA participants were not seen as less likeable. A mediational model demonstrated that the negative metaperceptions of SA individuals were more a function of their own self-perceptions than the negative perceptions of others. These findings were not attributable to depressive symptoms. Implications for theory and treatment of social phobia are discussed.     

Donor and recipient: Social development,social interaction,and evolutionary processes

This review examines recent books on altruism and prosocial behaviour. Psychological approaches, biological approaches, and economic approaches are covered. The list of variables known to influence prosocial behaviour includes situational determinants, motivational orientations, and personality variables. Psychological theories emphasizing norms, cost-benefit calculations, and developmental factors have been used successfully to explain prosocial behaviour. Attention is given to models of helping and social and therapeutic treatment programmes. Genetic variables in prosocial behaviour are also reviewed.     

Toward a social psychophysiology of vagally mediated heart rate variability: Concepts and methods in self‐regulation,emotion, and interpersonal processes

Theory and research on self‐regulation, emotional adjustment, and interpersonal processes focus increasingly on parasympathetic functioning, using measures of vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) or respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). This review describes models of vmHRV in these areas, and issues in measurement and analysis. We propose a framework organizing theory and research as examining (a) vmHRV as an individual difference or a situational response, and (b) resting, reactive, or recovery levels. Evidence supports interpretation of individual differences in resting vmHRV as a broad biomarker for adaptive functioning, but its specificity and underlying mechanisms require elaboration. Individual differences in vagal reactivity (i.e., trait‐like differences in vmHRV decreases during challenge or stress) are less commonly studied in adults and results are mixed. Many stressors and challenges evoke temporary decreases in vmHRV, and in some research self‐regulatory effort evokes increases. In a smaller literature, positive interpersonal experiences and some restorative processes increase resting vmHRV, whereas depletion of self‐regulatory capacity through related effort decreases it. Greater attention to conceptual distinctions regarding vmHRV constructs and several methodological issues will strengthen future research. Importantly, researchers should exercise caution in equating vmHRV with specific psychosocial constructs, especially in the absence of converging assessments and precise experimental manipulations.     

社会阶层信号及其对人际水平社会互动的影响

社会阶层信号是指个体据以感知和判断他人社会阶层的一切线索, 人们通过加工这些微妙的线索便能判断出他人的社会阶层, 而他人的社会阶层在很大程度上决定着人们在人际水平的社会互动行为。以穿着打扮、面部特征和说话特点为例, 说明社会阶层信号对个体判断他人阶层的影响, 在此基础上围绕社会交换、社会公平和社会认同这三个动机视角归纳了社会阶层信号对人际水平社会互动的不同影响。针对社会阶层信号本身, 将来有必要探讨社会阶层信号功能弱化的问题; 由于社会阶层信号与社会阶层这一概念的相关度较高, 未来研究有必要阐述二者的联系与区别; 鉴于目前少有研究考察第三方的社会阶层信号如何影响人际水平社会互动的问题, 探索互动中第三方社会阶层信号的影响及其机制将会是对社会阶层心理学研究的一个重要推进。     

Entitlement,exploitativeness, and reasoning about everyday transgressions: A social domain analysis

Social domain theory was used to examine the role of entitlement and exploitativeness in reasoning about everyday transgressions in two studies. Exploitativeness was positively associated with believing that transgressing was acceptable, whereas entitlement was negatively associated. Exploitive participants justified these judgments using personal (e.g., appeal to choice) and less moral (e.g., appeal to welfare of others) reasoning, whereas highly entitled people used more prudential but less personal reasoning. Exploitive participants were less likely to acknowledge the relevance of non-personal concerns (i.e., morality, conventions, and prudence) when considering transgressions. The association between exploitativeness and acceptability of transgressing was mediated by the degree to which issues were believed to involve a concern for others. Implications for narcissistic behavior and decision-making are discussed.     

Aging, selective attention, and inhibitory processes: a psychophysiological approach.

The present study investigated the efficiency with which younger and older adults allocate attention to relevant and irrelevant stimuli. The model of attention guiding this research links the orienting response with the allocation of attention and habituation with the inhibition of the allocation of attention. We adapted a paradigm developed by Iacono and Lykken (1983) in which subjects are instructed unambiguously either to attend to or to ignore a series of innocuous tones, and the skin conductance orienting response elicited by each tone is measured. Results revealed that young subjects instructed to ignore the tones habituated more quickly than did those instructed to attend to the tones. However, older adults exhibited nondifferential orienting across the 2 instruction conditions. These results suggest an age-related deficit in the ability to inhibit attention to irrelevant stimuli.     

Social influence, marriage, and the heart: cardiovascular consequences of interpersonal control in husbands and wives.

Human and experimental animal research suggests that social stress in general--and chronic, effortful attempts to exert social control in particular--may contribute to cardiovascular disease. We examined the effects of exerting social influence or control on cardiovascular responses in married couples. Compared to husbands discussing a problem with their wives, husbands attempting to influence or persuade their wives displayed larger increases in systolic blood pressure (SBP) before and during the discussion. Furthermore, these physiological effects were accompanied by increases in anger and a more hostile and coldly assertive interpersonal style. Although wives who engaged in social influence attempts displayed generally similar behavior, they did not show the elevated SBP response or anger. We discuss the results in terms of the social context of cardiovascular reactivity and potential marital factors in cardiovascular health.     

Personality, type A behavior, and coronary heart disease: the role of emotional expression

The nature of the relation between personality factors and coronary heart disease (CHD, the nation's greatest killer) is one of the most important if controversial issues in the field of psychology and health. Although there is still a great deal of conceptual confusion, progress is being made in refining the key components of a predisposition to heart disease. In this article we examine the construct of a coronary-prone personality in the context of the relations among personality, emotional expression, and disease. Special consideration is given to mode of measurement of the Type A behavior pattern--Structural Interview (SI) versus Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS)--and to components and non-Type A correlates of the general coronary-prone construct. Fifty middle-aged men who had had a myocardial infarction were compared with 50 healthy controls in terms of relevant aspects of their psychological functioning. Results indicate that the SI is better than the JAS as a predictor of coronary heart disease (CHD) because of its attention to emotional expressive style. Traditional emphases on hurry sickness in coronary proneness are deemed wholly inadequate. Furthermore, the results indicate that depression, anxiety, or both may relate to CHD independently of and in addition to Type A behavior. Other aspects of personality and social support are also discussed in the context of improving the construct of coronary proneness.     

A transactional approach to social anxiety and the genesis of interpersonal closeness: Self, partner, and social context

It remains unclear whether social anxiety interferes with the generation of closeness during initial encounters. We addressed the question of whether perceived closeness between strangers differs as a function of dyad characteristics (i.e., self and partner levels of social anxiety) and social context. We conducted an experiment with 90 participants randomly assigned to either a 45-minute personal disclosure or small-talk dyadic conversation. Multilevel modeling results yielded a 3-way interaction, such that the effect of social anxiety on closeness generated during the interaction was moderated by social anxiety reported by interaction partners and social context. In the personal disclosure condition, perceived closeness was greatest when the most socially anxious individuals interacted with each other. In the small-talk condition, perceived closeness was greatest when the least socially anxious individuals interacted with each other. Across conditions, partners with substantial differences in social anxiety (i.e., mixed dyads) reported relatively less closeness than partners with similar levels of social anxiety. Social anxiety effects were not attributable to depressive symptoms or physical attraction to partners. These findings suggest that neglecting specific qualities of interaction partners and social situational factors may lead to spurious conclusions in understanding interpersonal outcomes related to social anxiety.     

Self-regulation and mortality from cancer, coronary heart disease, and other causes: A prospective study

This article introduces a new personality inventory dealing with self-regulation. This is in some ways the opposite of neuroticism, and measures personal autonomy or independence, particularly as far as emotional dependence is concerned. Our concern was the relation between self-regulation and health, and large samples of healthy men and women were tested and followed up to demonstrate high predictability of mortality from cancer, coronary heart disease and other causes of death from scores on the questionnaire. It was also demonstrated that psychological risk factors were largely independent from physical risk factors, and could be changed by behavioural-cognitive treatment, reducing mortality.     

Self-concept, social anxiety, and interpersonal perception skills

The Interpersonal Perception Task videotape provided a criterion variable to test hypotheses about social information processing skills of socially anxious subjects. Results from 68 undergraduates show negative correlations between both shyness social anxiety and nonverbal decoding scores, and positive correlations between shyness and measures of test anxiety. Results are interpreted in light of cognitive conceptions of social anxiety and its role in decoding nonverbal communication.     

Differential aggressiveness and litigiousness: Social support and social status hypotheses

The Qolla Indians have high rates of involvement in agonistic forms of interaction. In previous reports the author suggested that ecological and physiological factors are causally associated with intracommunity differential participation in aggressive behavior. The present article described tests of hypotheses using other variables to explain this behavioral differentiation. The hypothesis that aggressiveness and participation in litigation are a function of the amount of social support the individual can potentially mobilize is tested. The relationships between indicators of social status (wealth, education, age, political activities, and ritual participation), on the one hand, and aggressiveness and litigiousness, on the other, also are examined.     

Pastoral conversation: A social construction view

The purpose of this article is to exhibit a clinical application of a social construction view of psychotherapy in the work of Goolishian and Anderson along with implications for pastoral conversation and for a postmodern pastoral theology.Glenn E. Boyd, M.A., M.Div., LPC, LMFT, is a pastoral counselor on the staff of Interface-Samaritan Counseling Center in Houston, TX. Additional information may be requested by writing him at 4803 San Felipe, Houston, TX 77056.     

A social identity approach to trust: interpersonal perception,group membership and trusting behaviour

Trusting behaviour involves relinquishing control over outcomes valuable to the self. Previous research suggests that interpersonal perceptions of trustworthiness are closely related to this behaviour. The present research suggests that the more proximal determinant of trusting behaviour is the expectation that the other will reciprocate. Based on the Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE) model, reciprocity expectations may be created by interpersonal perceptions of trustworthiness or a shared group membership. To investigate this, group membership and individual identifiability were experimentally manipulated (N = 139): When individuals were not identifiable, trusting behaviour was based on expectations of reciprocity inferred from group membership, not on perceived trustworthiness. In contrast, personal identifiability fostered perceptions of trustworthiness for both in‐ and out‐group members. In this case interpersonal trustworthiness enhanced expectations of reciprocity, which in turn increased trusting behaviour. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An interpersonal circumplex model of children's social goals: links with peer-reported behavior and sociometric status

The objective of the present research was to develop an assessment model for children's social goals. The aims were (a) to fit children's social goals to a circumplex model and to examine links between goals and peer-reported social behaviors (aggression, withdrawal, and prosocial behavior) in a sample of 276 participants (134 girls, 11- to 12-year-olds) and (b) to replicate these findings and examine whether social behavior mediates the relationship between goals and sociometric status in an independent cross-validation sample of 310 participants (143 girls, 11- to 13-year-olds). Results showed a satisfactory fit to the circumplex model and adequate psychometric properties of the goal scales of the new measure, the Interpersonal Goals Inventory for Children. Other findings included significant and meaningful relations between goals and peer-reported behavior. Social behavior mediated the relations between goals and sociometric status.     

Attachment insecurities and interpersonal processes in Spanish couples: A dyadic approach

Several attachment‐related phenomena in Spanish couples using dyadic‐level analyses were examined. A sample of 295 heterosexual couples completed measures of attachment‐related anxiety and avoidance, self‐esteem, social self‐efficacy, and relationship satisfaction. Results, analyzed from a dyadic perspective using the actor–partner interdependence model (APIM), indicate that (a) there are actor but no partner effects of attachment insecurities on intrapersonal variables such as self‐esteem and social self‐efficacy, (b) there are actor and partner effects of avoidant attachment on relationship satisfaction, and (c) actor anxiety is associated with partner avoidance, and actor avoidance is associated with partner anxiety. Overall, the results reveal the importance of a dyadic perspective on couple members' attachment insecurities and their associations with intrapersonal and interpersonal processes and relationship adjustment. They also show that attachment variables and correlates studied mainly in English‐speaking countries are useful in understanding Spanish couple dynamics.