A Dangerous Subject: The Fashion Model and the Beauty/Narcissism Double Bind

In the wake of modernity, women's sexuality was positioned in a way that created a beauty/narcissism double bind that is still with us today. My concern in this article is that the subject position of “fashion model” serves as a constant reminder of this split, which is directed at all women and weakens the generalized woman's political agency. Fashion models themselves experience harassment and humiliation as well as pleasure and desire in their work as fashion models. However, the small portion of feminist work that has engaged explicitly with the fashion‐model business sees it mainly as an enterprise that is alienating and hostile to women. Although I do not entirely disagree with this analysis, it neglects the meaning of beauty and what beauty does to us with regard to creativity and pleasure. I wish to explore how some of the work experience of fashion models intersects with and challenges the beauty/narcissism double bind. I suggest that rather than grounding our understanding of the subject position “fashion model” and the fashion business solely in their reinforcement of the beauty/narcissism double bind, we should pay attention to the importance of what beauty and aspects of narcissism may mean.     

Solidarity and Social Justice: Effect of Individual Differences in Justice Sensitivity on Solidarity Behaviour

We investigate the effect of individual differences in justice sensitivity (JS) on giving behaviour in a solidarity game, its potential moderators and the underlying psychological mechanisms. In a solidarity game, subjects are asked to make decisions about transferring money to other players in a case in which they win a random draw and the other players lose. The results of four studies showed the following: (1) JS explains a unique portion of variance in the solidarity behaviour, above and beyond other basic personality dimensions (e.g. HEXACO model); (2) its effect does not depend on contextual factors, such as the degree of moral entitlement not to share and the possibility to attribute the recipients' disadvantage to their own responsibility; and (3) individual differences in the emotions anticipated in response to different outcomes of a random draw and the cognitive interpretation of the allocation situation partially mediate the effect of JS on solidarity behaviour. We also provided the first evidence that JS predicts individual differences in the propensity to take away others' earnings (antisocial behaviour). The results are discussed with respect to the research on personality as a predictor of prosocial and antisocial behaviour. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Food sharing and feeding another person suggest intimacy; two studies of American college students

Ethnographic work indicates that food transfer has social significance, but food transfer has not previously been considered as a nonverbal communication channel. We categorize social food transfer along two dimensions: nature of the behaviour in the transfer (X shares food with or feeds Y), and the state of the food transferred (Y's food never contacted by X, or Y's food previously bitten/tasted/touched by X; we call the latter food consubstantiation (shared substance)). These two dimensions generate the four conditions investigated in this study: no sharing, sharing, sharing with consubstantiation, and feeding. The social significance of these types of situations was assessed in two ways. American college students indicated in a questionnaire both the extent to which they transfer food within different relationships, and what they took to be normative among American college students. Second, a different group of students participated in an Asch impression study in which they observed a videotape of two young adults of opposite sex eating at a restaurant, with the variable across subjects being the four conditions designated above. Viewers were asked to assess the relationship between the young adults, and to rate the degree of intimacy between the adults in terms of mutual feelings and acts of intimacy (e.g. sharing drinks, touching, having sexual relations). Results from both studies are congruent, and indicate that sharing implies a positive/friendly social relationship, and feeding implies a stronger, often romantic relationship. Consubstantiation superimposed on sharing modestly increased judgments of intimacy and closeness of relationship. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Psychological effects of the Euro—experimental research on the perception of salaries and price estimations

In five studies we show that the introduction of the Euro influences price estimations and the perception of salaries among people in Germany. People confronted with wages given in Euros compared to the German Mark (DM) showed a reduced willingness to face long distances to get to work when accepting a job offer. When asked to price various consumer goods appropriately, they estimated higher prices if they used the ‘Euro’ currency compared to price estimations made in DM. This phenomenon only occurred with regard to the Euro, but not in comparison with other currencies (cf. the British Pound and Austrian Schilling). The differing price estimations between the Euro and the German Mark were not influenced by participants' attitude towards the Euro. Moreover, it turned out that they depended on how the judgement context was framed. Only if participants expected to make price estimations for shops in their home country, Germany, did the familiar nominal DM figures serve as an anchor heightening the estimated prices in Euro. The same effect disappeared if participants were instructed to make their price estimations for shops in a foreign country (Ireland). Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

People's awareness of their age-related sensory and cognitive deficits and the implications for road safety

Inevitable declines in sensory abilities may put older drivers and pedestrians at risk unless they become aware of these changes and can safeguard themselves by modifying their behaviour. A questionnaire designed to evaluate older people's awareness of their sensory abilities with regard to road use was administered to 80 individuals aged from 50 to 79 years, who were also given eyesight and hearing tests. Despite marked declines in their objective sensory efficiency, people in their 70s did not rate their sensory abilities as poor any more than did people in their 50s. Individuals of any age who did subjectively perceive declines in their sensory abilities also reported that they had made very sensible adjustments in their road-use behaviour, for example, avoiding complex junctions. Those individuals who reported taking such precautions also reported fewer recent accidents. One month after completing the questionnaire, and being given the results of their eyesight and hearing tests, two-thirds of individuals reported that they had made important changes in their behaviour on the roads. Many now avoided or took particular care in dangerous situations, and some had started to wear prescribed spectacles more appropriately. The implications of older people's lack of awareness of changes in their sensory abilities to their safety on the roads, and in general, are discussed. Factors causing the age-related mismatch between actual and subjectively perceived sensory abilities are discussed.     

Helping behaviour and moral judgement among adolescents

This study examined the development of helping behaviour and moral judgement during adolescence. Adolescents of three age groups, 12–13, 14–15 and 16–17 years, were asked to fill out a moral judgement questionnaire and were later asked to volunteer to help old people under three helping conditions: when tangible reward was promised in return for their help; when social reward was promised; and when no reward was promised. The volunteers who arrived at the appointed hour on the set date were asked by the experimenter to explain in writing why they had decided to help. The results showed that the older the adolescents, the less they expressed their willingness to help. Helping conditions had a differential effect on behaviour and influenced the three age groups differently. Finally, the results showed that the older the adolescents, the more altruistic the motives expressed and the more relativistically oriented they were. These results are explained within the framework of adolescents' social-developmental psychology.     

Fit inside the work‐family black box: An ecology of the life course,cycles of control reframing

Scholars have not fully theorized the multifaceted, interdependent dimensions within the work‐family ‘black box’. Taking an ecology of the life course approach, we theorize common work‐family and adequacy constructs as capturing different components of employees' cognitive appraisals of fit between their demands and resources at the interface between home and work. Employees' appraisals of their work‐family linkages and of their relative resource adequacy are not made independently but, rather, co‐occur as identifiable constellations of fit. The life course approach hypothesizes that shifts in objective demands/resources at work and at home over the life course result in employees experiencing cycles of control, that is, corresponding shifts in their cognitive assessments of fit. We further theorize patterned appraisals of fit are key mediators between objective work‐family conditions and employees' health, well‐being and strategic adaptations. As a case example, we examine whether employees' assessments on 10 dimensions cluster together as patterned fit constellations, using data from a middle‐class sample of 753 employees working at Best Buy's corporate headquarters. We find no single linear construct of fit that captures the complexity within the work‐family black box. Instead, respondents experience six distinctive constellations of fit: one optimal; two poor; and three moderate fit constellations.     

Boys' and girls' perceptions of parental discipline in transgression situations

Children's perceptions of parental discipline methods and their perceptions of child gender differences in their parents' choices of discipline methods were assessed. One hundred and seventy 8‐year‐old children (78 boys, 92 girls) in two‐parent families were asked about disciplinary behaviour in five transgression situations. The results pointed to gender differences when the children were talking about themselves. Boys believed that they would receive more physical punishment, milder requests and less induction than girls. Children also indicated that their parents would choose a different response if they (themselves) were of the other sex. Both boys and girls reported that their parents would treat boys more severely than they would girls. The results showed that the responses of those children with a sibling of the other sex did not reveal any gender‐differentiated experience of their parents' discipline strategies. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Servicescapes: The role that place plays in stay‐at‐home mothers’ lives

Over the past decade, increasing attention has been paid to gender‐related consumption behaviour. However, a relative gap in our knowledge still exists when it comes to understanding the changes that occur as a result of motherhood and how this may influence their interactions in the retail environment. The purpose of this article is to explore stay‐at‐home mothers’ experiences in the servicescape to gain a better understanding of how they associate with servicescapes during this transitional period, how they use retail space to suit their needs, and how they use retail space to negotiate their role as a stay‐at‐home mother. Five stay‐at‐home mothers with children younger than 5 years were provided with disposable cameras and asked to photograph servicescapes that they visited regularly. Over a 1‐year period, they were interviewed several times, and photo‐elicitation techniques were used throughout the interviewing process. The results of this study suggest that when consumers undergo role or identity changes, certain places can be used to smooth this process. Not only can the retail environment be used as a coping mechanism for stay‐at‐home mothers, it can also be viewed as a “second place” as opposed to a “third place”, thus enabling isolated consumers to feel connected with the outside world. Last, this study highlights the temporal dimensions of place. Throughout one's lifetime, one will form attachments to and patronise different places, which will evolve and change as individuals, accordingly, take on different roles and identities. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The decoy effect as a covert influence tactic

The purpose of this research was to determine whether individuals could use the decoy effect to influence others' choices. In study 1, undergraduates (n = 50) and executive master's of business administration (EMBA) students (n = 24) read an employee selection scenario in which they were randomly assigned to prefer one of two candidates that were equal in overall attractiveness, but that had different strengths and weaknesses. They were then asked to choose one of three inferior candidates to add to the choice set that would make their preferred candidate more likely to be chosen by other decision makers. The “correct” inferior candidate was asymmetrically dominated—dominated by one of the two existing candidates, but not the other. Participants chose the “correct” decoy candidate at better than chance levels. In study 2, undergraduates and EMBA students (total n = 66) completed a set of four decision tasks, in which they were asked to choose from potential decoy alternatives that would highlight their preferred job candidate or the product they preferred to sell to a customer. Participants again chose the correct option at better than chance levels. When participants provided free‐response reasons for their choices, these responses indicated a fairly strong recognition of the influential nature of creating a dominating relationship. Implications for understanding this effect and how it may be used by hiring managers, sales personnel, and others who attempt to influence others people's decisions at work, are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Les théories implicites de l’intelligence : une question de perspectives ?

IntroductionImplicit theories of intelligence are beliefs that people form regarding the malleability of intelligence. The so-called “growth” and “fixed” mindsets respectively view intelligence as a characteristic that can or cannot be changed. Psychology, as a science, also offers diverging responses. The developmental and differential traditions in the study of intelligence merely provide different answers because they do not focus on the same sources of variability nor on the same dimensions of intelligence.ObjectivesThe research question that guided the present studies was: Are people's naïve theories influenced by the same factors that drive developmental and differential psychologists to different conclusions?MethodIn Study 1, we first assessed participants’ (n = 509) reference norm orientation (i.e. whether they tend to focus on individual or social comparison), using a task in which they had to predict the school results of an hypothetical child. Then we administered a French version of Dweck's (2007) mindset scale. In study 2, we first asked participants (n = 530) to choose between two definitions of intelligence focusing either on its fluid or crystalized dimensions. Then we administered the French Mindset Scale and asked participants to justify their conclusion.ResultsBoth variables of interest (reference norm orientation and preferred definition of intelligence) had a significant effect on the participant's incremental beliefs.ConclusionThe results of the two studies as well as the qualitative analysis of participants’ arguments suggest that mindsets, like scientific theories, partly stem from the fact that the same question regarding intelligence malleability can be approached with two different perspectives.     

Those Who Leave and Those Who Feel Left: The Complexity of Quaker Disaffiliation

Unprogrammed Friends (Quakers) in Britain provide an interesting counter-example within the sociology of religion, particularly with regard to their patterns of believing and belonging. Due to its permissive belief patterns and conformist behavioural patterns, the group has been described in terms of a 'double-culture', as a group which behaves as both sect and denomination in alternate spheres of church life. The paper reports on a study of British Quakers who have resigned their Membership in the last five years. Quakers leave either because they are 'de-convinced' or because, in a group which places emphasis on continuing revelation, they are grieving the loss of what has passed before. A third type resigns because they feel the group is too slow to support new revelation. In these latter two cases, the disaffiliated feel left by the group. This typology is placed across the concept of the double-culture to give six types of ex-Quaker and to show how conservative or progressive thinking in each sphere of the double-culture may lead to different patterns of resistance to resignation from the group. Recent work on the Quaker group as an 'implicit sect' is briefly considered to examine how this new thinking affects the typology of church-leavers. It is suggested that the extended typology of the disaffiliated challenges conceptions of the disaffiliated as a single group and that it could be usefully employed in studying other religious groups.     

Cognitive styles and person–environment fit: Investigating the consequences of cognitive (mis)fit

There is currently considerable interest in the key elements of person–environment fit to understand vocational behaviour and to develop strategic human resource management practices. In the light of this interest, we wanted to investigate (1) whether people within similar functions have similar cognitive styles, and (2) what the consequences of cognitive (mis)fit are on three work attitudes, using two large-scale databases (N = 24,267 and N = 2,182). We identified a knowing-oriented cognitive climate in finance, information technology (IT), and research and development (R&D) functions; a planning-oriented cognitive climate in administrative and technical and production functions; and a creating-oriented cognitive climate in sales and marketing functions and general management. Furthermore, we found that the relationship between people's cognitive styles and work attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction, job search behaviour, and intention to leave) does not depend on the cognitive climate in which they work. However, we did find that people with a higher creating style on average score higher on intention to leave and job search behaviour in comparison with people who score lower on the creating style, irrespective of the cognitive climate they are working in. The cognitive climate also partially affects job satisfaction and intention to leave after controlling for cognitive styles. In summary, cognitive styles and cognitive climate seem to have separate influences on people's work attitudes. Our findings are relevant for selection and recruitment policies of organizations and in the context of training, job design, and workforce planning.     

Moral emotions and the development of the moral self in childhood

Researchers have been emphasizing the importance of moral emotions for young children's moral self. However, the relationship between children's moral self and moral emotions has never been investigated empirically. The present study examined the relationship between children's self-representations about (im)moral behaviour and moral emotions attributions in a sample of 132 elementary-school children (M _age = 8.39 years, SD = 2.50). Participants were presented a newly developed moral self measure, along with a measure of moral emotion attributions. Two dimensions of children's moral self-concept were identified: preference for prosocial behaviour and avoidance of antisocial behaviour. Results revealed a slight decrease in preference for prosocial behaviour with age, as well as an increased correlation between preference for prosocial behaviour and moral emotion attributions. Overall, findings suggest that moral emotions do not play a pivotal role for young children's moral self-concept. Children's moral self-concept becomes increasingly coordinated with moral emotions as they approach adolescence.     

How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world

To investigate the process of habit formation in everyday life, 96 volunteers chose an eating, drinking or activity behaviour to carry out daily in the same context (for example ‘after breakfast’) for 12 weeks. They completed the self‐report habit index (SRHI) each day and recorded whether they carried out the behaviour. The majority (82) of participants provided sufficient data for analysis, and increases in automaticity (calculated with a sub‐set of SRHI items) were examined over the study period. Nonlinear regressions fitted an asymptotic curve to each individual's automaticity scores over the 84 days. The model fitted for 62 individuals, of whom 39 showed a good fit. Performing the behaviour more consistently was associated with better model fit. The time it took participants to reach 95% of their asymptote of automaticity ranged from 18 to 254 days; indicating considerable variation in how long it takes people to reach their limit of automaticity and highlighting that it can take a very long time. Missing one opportunity to perform the behaviour did not materially affect the habit formation process. With repetition of a behaviour in a consistent context, automaticity increases following an asymptotic curve which can be modelled at the individual level. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parental depression,parenting behaviours,and behaviour problems in young children

In the past, research has demonstrated that parental depression and parenting practices are related. More recently, there has been an increase in research examining child outcomes as they are related to maternal and paternal psychopathology. To continue with this line of research, this study examined the relationships among mothers' and fathers' symptoms of depression, characteristics of their parenting practices, and their ratings of their young children's internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems. The results of this study demonstrated that these variables are related significantly. Further, the results of this study suggested that mothers' parenting, particularly their limit setting with their young children, is an important predictor of their ratings of their young children's externalizing behaviour problems in the context of their own symptoms of depression. A different pattern of relationships may be present for fathers, as both their symptoms of depression and their parenting characteristics predicted their ratings of their young children's externalizing behaviour problems. Such findings were not supported for young children's internalizing behaviour problems. These findings suggested that interventions should have different targets for mothers and fathers. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Short horizons and tempting situations: Lack of continuity to our future selves leads to unethical decision making and behavior

People who feel continuity with their future selves are more likely to behave in ethically responsible ways as compared to people who lack continuity with their future selves. We find that individual differences in perceived similarity to one’s future self predicts tolerance of unethical business decisions (Studies 1a and 1b), and that the consideration of future consequences mediates the extent to which people regard inappropriate negotiation strategies as unethical (Study 2). We reveal that low future self-continuity predicts unethical behavior in the form of lies, false promises, and cheating (Studies 3 and 4), and that these relationships hold when controlling for general personality dimensions and trait levels of self-control (Study 4). Finally, we establish a causal relationship between future self-continuity and ethical judgments by showing that when people are prompted to focus on their future self (as opposed to the future), they express more disapproval of unethical behavior (Study 5).     

The relationship between individual differences in intraindividual variability in core affect and interpersonal behaviour

How people's feelings and interpersonal behaviour change across time can be represented as movements within a core affect and an interpersonal space. To gain insight into the relationship between affect and behaviour dynamics, the present study examined how individual differences in intraindividual variability in core affect relate to those in interpersonal behaviour, and how both are related to personality traits. In an experience sampling study, 63 participants were asked to monitor their core affect during one week and their interpersonal behaviour during another one. The results demonstrated a fairly consistent correspondence between several indices of people's variability in core affect and interpersonal behaviour, indicating that emotional lability also signals behavioural volatility and vice versa. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.