A functional perspective on group memberships: Differential need fulfillment in a group typology

The social motivation functions of intimacy, task, and social category groups were investigated. In two studies, participants were asked to consider the extent to which their group memberships fulfilled several needs. A factor analysis confirmed that the needs comprised three factors: affiliation, achievement, and identity. Intimacy groups were associated with affiliation needs, task groups were associated with achievement needs, and social category groups were associated with identity. A study using implicit measures reinforced those results, revealing the presence of the same implicit associations between group types and need fulfillments. A final study manipulated participants’ need state through a priming procedure. Priming a specific need (affiliation, achievement, and identity) led to an increased accessibility of the group type that was best suited to meet that need (intimacy, task, social category, respectively). Results help clarify the functional aspects of groups and have implications for the perception and organization of group-level information.     

The pen is mightier than the word: Object priming of evaluative standards

Because red pens are closely associated with error‐marking and poor performance, the use of red pens when correcting student work can activate these concepts. People using red pens to complete a word‐stem task completed more words related to errors and poor performance than did people using black pens (Study 1), suggesting relatively greater accessibility of these concepts. Moreover, people using red pens to correct essays marked more errors (Study 2) and awarded lower grades (Study 3) than people using blue pens. Thus, despite teachers' efforts to free themselves from extraneous influences when grading, the very act of picking up a red pen can bias their evaluations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self-Discrepancies and Involvement Moderate the Effects of Positive and Negative Message Framing in Persuasive Communication

One individual difference that is conceptually closely related to the positive and negative framing of outcomes in persuasive communications is the person's self-discrepancy. It was expected that a match between a person's self-discrepancy and framing will lead to more persuasion, under the condition that the information is processed centrally (high involvement). Two experiments were conducted to test this expectation, one through the Internet among obese people and one in the laboratory among students. Both experiments showed that only among those with high involvement—assessed as an individual difference—participants with an ideal-discrepancy were persuaded the most by the positively framed information, whereas participants with an ought-discrepancy were persuaded the most by the negatively framed information.     

Developing a Prevention Synthesis and Translation System to Promote Science‐Based Approaches to Teen Pregnancy,HIV and STI Prevention

The Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation (ISF) is a multi‐system framework that can guide research‐to‐practice efforts by building and supporting the work of three interacting systems: the Prevention Delivery, Support, and Synthesis and Translation Systems. The Synthesis and Translation system is vital to bridging science and practice, yet how to develop it and train support system partners to use it is under‐researched. This article bridges this gap by offering a case example of the planning, development, and use of a synthesis and translation product called Promoting Science‐based Approaches to Teen Pregnancy Prevention using Getting To Outcomes. The case presented documents the process used for developing the synthesis and translation product, reports on efforts to engage the Prevention Support system to use the product, and how we approached building interaction between the Synthesis and Translation System and the Support System partners. Practice‐oriented evaluation data are also presented. Implications for practice, policy and research are discussed. Special Issue: Advances in Bridging Research and Practice Using the Interactive System Framework for Dissemination and Implementation; Guest Editors: Abraham Wandersman, Paul Flaspohler, Catherine A. Lesesne, Richard Puddy; Action Editor: Emilie Phillips Smith     

Age differences in women’s tendency to gossip are mediated by their mate value

In the current study it was investigated whether age differences in women’s tendency to gossip exist, and whether these could be accounted for by self-reported mate value. It was expected that younger women would report a higher tendency to gossip after reading a scenario in which a romantic rival was introduced, because they are at an age when competition for mates is salient and often intense. Moreover, it was hypothesized that this higher tendency to gossip would be attributable to these women’s higher mate value, since younger women have a higher reproductive capacity than older women. The results confirm these expectations: age differences in women’s tendency to gossip disappeared when controlling for mate value. Discussion focuses on the interpretation and implications of these results.     

Methylphenidate enhances extinction of contextual fear

Methylphenidate (MPH, Ritalin) is a norepinephrine and dopamine transporter blocker that is widely used in humans for treatment of attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy. Although there is some evidence that targeted microinjections of MPH may enhance fear acquisition, little is known about the effect of MPH on fear extinction. Here, we show that MPH, administered before or immediately following extinction of contextual fear, will enhance extinction retention in C57BL/6 mice. Animals that received MPH (2.5-10 mg/kg) before an extinction session showed decreased freezing response during extinction, and the effect of the 10 mg/kg dose on freezing persisted to the next day. When MPH (2.5-40 mg/kg) was administered immediately following an extinction session, mice that received MPH showed dose-dependent decreases in freezing during subsequent tests. MPH administered immediately after a 3-min extinction session or 4 h following the first extinction session did not cause significant differences in freezing. Together, these findings demonstrate that MPH can enhance extinction of fear and that this effect is sensitive to dose, time of injection, and duration of the extinction session. Because MPH is widely used in clinical treatments, these experiments suggest that the drug could be used in combination with behavioral therapies for patients with fear disorders.     

Advancing paternal age and simplex autism

De novo events appear more common in female and simplex autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cases and may underlie greater ASD risk in older fathers' offspring. This study examined whether advancing paternal age predicts an increase in simplex (n = 90) versus multiplex ASD cases (n = 587) in 677 participants (340 families). Whether or not controlling for maternal age, results support a significant interaction of linear paternal age and sex of the child on simplex family type. Female ASD cases were significantly more likely to be simplex as paternal age increased, but the increase for males was not significant. Findings suggest that ASD arising from non-familial, de novo events may be far less prominent in males than in females, even if more prevalent in males, due to the substantially larger number of male cases attributable to other, more strongly male-biased risk factors.     

Transformational Leadership and Creative Problem‐Solving: The Mediating Role of Psychological Safety and Reflexivity

Previous research has pointed to the importance of transformational leadership in facilitating employees' creative outcomes. However, the mechanism by which transformational leadership cultivates employees' creative problem‐solving capacity is not well understood. Drawing on theories of leadership, information processing and creativity, we proposed and tested a model in which psychological safety and reflexivity mediate the effect of transformational leadership and creative problem‐solving capacity. The results of survey data collected at three points in time indicate that transformational leadership facilitates the development of employees' creative problem‐solving capacity by shaping a climate of psychological safety conducive to reflexivity processes. However, the findings also indicate that psychological safety is related both directly and indirectly, through reflexivity, to employees' creative problem‐solving capacity. This study sheds further light on the ways in which transformational leaders help to develop and cultivate employees' capacity for creative problem‐solving.     

Mental Illness and the Ministry of the Local Church

Due to the stigma associated with mental illness in America, religious leaders and their congregations might be fearful of caring for and worshipping alongside a person with mental illness. This article recounts some of the challenges encountered by the pastor of a small congregation in attempting to provide care for a church member suffering with schizophrenia. It is proposed here that congregations need to grow in courage as they attempt to serve people who struggle with mental illness, just as people with mental illness exhibit courage in venturing out to participate in church life.