Psychological reality of cross-media artistic styles

The sensitivity of artistically naive people to cross-media styles (baroque, neoclassic, and romantic) and to period styles (works composed by artists born during the same epoch) in four media (painting, poetry, music, and architecture) was assessed. In two studies, adult subjects tended spontaneously to sort stimuli according to both cross-media styles and period styles. In a third study, nursery school children were shown to be able to sort pictures of paintings and architectural facades on the basis of cross-media styles. Other experiments using rating scales again demonstrated that artistically naive adults are sensitive to both cross-media styles and period styles even when they are not implicitly urged to disregard medium. These and other studies using rating scales suggested that the bases for discrimination of both cross-media styles and period styles are the dimensions of realistic versus unrealistic and of overall arousal potential.     

Coping styles as predictors of college adjustment among freshmen

Based on Tyler's model of psychosocial competence, the present study tested the hypothesis that students' differential coping styles could impact their adjustment to college. A college adjustment measure and a coping styles instrument were administered to 161 freshmen at a small eastern college. First-year students were chosen because college adjustment is particularly salient in the freshmen year. The results indicated that academic adjustment and personal/emotional adjustment were related to the coping strategies, while social adjustment and attachment/goal commitment were not related to coping strategies. Active coping, which focuses on doing something positive to solve the problem, was predictive of academic adjustment. Academic adjustment was negatively predicted by suppression of competing activities which consists of attending to one problem at a time to the exclusion of other things. Personal/emotional adjustment was negatively related to the focus on emotion/venting of emotions dimension which is coping by emotional catharsis. Personal/emotional adjustment was also positively predicted by active-coping. Gender differences were also examined and discussed. These findings were interpreted as supportive of Tyler's model and their counselling implications were discussed.     

Attachment styles and personality disorders as predictors of symptom course.

Adult attachment styles and personality disorders (PDs) show some conceptual and empirical overlap and both may complicate the course of symptoms among psychiatric patients. In this naturalistic prospective study, 149 patients with affective, anxiety, substance use, and other disorders were interviewed shortly after entering treatment, which included psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, or both. Follow-up interviews were conducted 6 and 12 months later. Attachment styles, DSM-III-R PDs, and symptoms were assessed using structured interviews and consensus ratings. At intake, borderline, avoidant, and dependent PD features correlated consistently with symptom severity and secure attachment correlated inversely with two of four symptom scales. Secure attachment was linked with greater relative improvement in global functioning and a more benign course of anxiety symptoms over 6 months. Borderline PD features predicted less relative improvement of depressive symptoms over 6 months. These findings clarify the relations between attachment styles and PD features and they point to potential mediators of treatment response.     

Cognitive and affective variables as predictors of life satisfaction

This work shows the association between personality variables, such as cognitive and affective variables, and psychological adjustment, such as life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Accordingly, this study assessed the role of outcome expectancies (optimism and pessimism) and affectivity (positive and negative affect) as a predictors of life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. A total of 458 students from the University Rovira i Virgili completed the scales LOT-R, PANAS, the Satisfaction with Life Scale and BDI. Path analysis results suggest that affectivity variables are more important to predict life satisfaction and depressive symptoms than outcome expectancies. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Parent coping styles and schizophrenic patient behavior as predictors of expressed emotion

Several studies have examined relationships between levels of expressed emotion in relatives of individuals with schizophrenia and the coping strategies these relatives employ. In an attempt to elucidate these relationships, 44 parents were assessed using the Camberwell Family Interview and the Strategic Approach to Coping Scale. Associations between these measures were examined. Additionally, interactions between parent coping style and patient aggression were assessed with respect to expressed emotion. The results indicate that scores on the coping scale generally were not directly related to levels of expressed emotion. However, an interaction was found between parent coping style and patient behavior which predicted level of expressed emotion. This finding supports the idea that research into the variables underlying expressed emotion should include the assessment of both parent and patient characteristics and examine the interactions between these variables.     

Cognitive bias and irrational belief as predictors of avoidance

Cognitive bias, i.e. overestimates of subjective probability and cost of catastrophic events, and irrational belief were explored as predictors of avoidance. Three groups-anxiety disordered clients, a mixed group of clinic outpatients, and normals--were administered several self-report inventories. Multiple regression analyses were used to investigate a modified version of the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire, the Belief Scale, and the Body Sensations Questionnaire as predictors of avoidance, as measured by the Mobility Inventory. It was hypothesized that frequency x probability x cost of catastrophic cognitions (and the occurrence of the events they represent) would be a better predictor of avoidance than frequency alone. It was also hypothesized that irrational thinking would be a significant predictor of avoidance. The results generally supported the hypotheses, with subjective probability emerging as a particularly potent predictor of avoidance. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.     

Cognitive styles: illusory phenomena

The relationship between cognitive style and illusion magnitude was examined using the assimilation and contrast Delboeuf distortions. As in previous research, field dependence correlated positively with assimilation; however, a significant negative correlation with contrast was also found, suggesting that, while field dependence may involve the illusory integration of the stimulus field, field independence may involve its equally illusory differentiation.     

Cognitive styles and moral reasoning

It was hypothesized that field-dependent persons would be reasoning at the conventional level, whereas field-independent persons would reason at the post-conventional level. Data from 7 female and 3 male graduate students in Canada supported the first hypothesis (8 field-independent vs 2 field-dependent scorers), but not the second one.     

Attachment styles as predictors of Facebook‐related jealousy and surveillance in romantic relationships

Facebook has become ubiquitous over the past 5 years, yet few studies have examined its role within romantic relationships. Two studies tested attachment anxiety and avoidance as predictors of Facebook‐related jealousy and surveillance (i.e., checking a romantic partner's Facebook page). Study 1 found that anxiety was positively associated, and avoidance negatively associated, with Facebook jealousy and surveillance. The association of anxiety with Facebook jealousy was mediated in part by lower trust. Study 2 replicated this finding, and daily diary results further showed that over a 1‐week period, anxiety was positively associated, and avoidance negatively associated, with Facebook surveillance. The association of anxiety with greater surveillance was mediated in part by daily experiences of jealousy.     

Cognitive and emotional factors in health behaviour: Dual-process reasoning,cognitive styles and optimism as predictors of healthy lifestyle,healthy behaviours and medical adherence

Current Psychology - Although it is today commonly accepted that cognitive and emotional factors interact in guiding decisions and behaviour in various domains, including medical and health related...     

Cognitive styles: errors in directional judgments

Previous studies on spatial memory have shown that, in judging direction, participants are more accurate and faster when a map is aligned with the perspective of the spatial layout they had learned (alignment effect). Rossano and Warren (1989 Perception 18 215-229) have shown that when participants have to do a contra-aligned judgment they can either answer correctly, or make alignment or mirror-image errors. We think that the kind of response depends on the different way in which people acquire environmental knowledge: landmark, route, and survey. We hypothesise that landmark and route participants show alignment effects and make, respectively, alignment errors and mirror-image errors, whereas survey participants do not show an alignment effect. An experiment is reported in which participants performed three tasks in order to distinguish their cognitive style. We selected thirty landmark, thirty route, and twenty-eight survey participants. They were then submitted to directional judgment tasks to verify whether the alignment effect was present and to observe the kind of responses. The results revealed that survey participants did not show an alignment effect, and that the kind of errors could depend on the directional judgment task participants had to do, and not only on the cognitive style.     

Cognitive schemas as longitudinal predictors of self-reported adolescent depressive symptoms and resilience

Given that depression risk intensifies in adolescence, examining associates of depressive symptoms during the shift from childhood to adolescence is important for expanding knowledge about the etiology of depression symptoms and disorder. A longitudinal youth report was employed to examine the trajectory of both the content and structure of positive and negative schemas in adolescence and also whether these schemas could prospectively predict depressive symptoms and youth-reported resilience. One hundred and ninety-eight participants (aged 9 to 14) were recruited from four schools to complete measures of youth depressive symptoms, resilience, and schema content and structure. Those who consented to a follow-up study completed the same measures online (50 participants completed). Negative and positive schema content and structure were related over time. After controlling depressive symptoms/resilience at Time 1, negative schema content was the only significant predictor (trend level) of depressive symptoms and resilience at Time 2. Implications for cognitive theories and clinical practice are discussed.     

The role of coping styles as predictors of depressive symptoms among adolescents: a prospective study

The present study prospectively explored the main and interactive effect of approach and avoidant like coping styles, as well as school-related stress on depressive symptoms in a sample of 327 (167 females, 160 males) students in two Norwegian secondary schools. The results showed that seeking parental support as a coping style served as a negative predictor of later depression, and results give some support for aggressive coping styles being a risk factor for depressive symptoms. A significant interaction between aggressive coping style and stress in relation to depressive symptoms was found. We were also able to show that school-related stress at T(1) predicted depressive symptoms at T(2).     

Cognitive styles and behavior problems of clinic boys

Groups of hyperactive, learning-disabled, epileptic, and normal boys matched on age and intelligence were compared on measures of cognitive style and maternal reports of behavioral pathology. All clinical groups were more impulsive, more field dependent, and weaker automatizers than their nonclinic peers. Although the clinical groups were described by their mothers as showing more behavior problems than controls, hyperactive boys were seen as having more conduct problems, while learning-disabled boys were seen as immature.     

Cognitive styles in the development of medical careers

Recent research has shown that academic choice and achievement may be partly a function of the student's standing on the field-dependence-independence cognitive-style dimension. The results of two longitudinal studies suggest that information about field dependence-independence may be of value for student guidance in the medical setting. The first, a study of college undergraduates who early expressed an interest in medicine, showed that these cognitive styles play a discernible role in determining who will eventually enter medical school. The second, a study of medical students, showed that field-dependent and field-independent students subsequently tend to choose different medical specialties. These results are consistent with cognitive-style theory, which proposes that field-independent people will choose vocations that require cognitive restructuring skills, whereas field-dependent people will choose vocations that require greater social-interpersonal involvement.