Personality,age, and fluid intelligence

A total of 383 participants (aged 19 to 66 years) completed the Raven's Progressive Matrices, the Myers‐Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation‐Behavior (FIRO‐B), and the California Psychological Inventory‐434 (CPI‐434). Results showed that IQ was positively correlated with perceiving (MBTI), control (FIRO‐B), intellectual efficiency (CPI‐434), achievement via independence (CPI‐434), and negatively correlated with sensing (MBTI), internality (CPI‐434) and norm‐favouring (CPI‐434), supporting the majority of the hypotheses. Participants' age was correlated with many measures, particularly intelligence and accounted for a third of the variance in IQ scores. Limitations are considered.     

The Influence of Families on Early Adolescent School Connectedness: Evidence That This Association Varies with Adolescent Involvement in Peer Drinking Networks

School connectedness is central to the long term well-being of adolescents, and high quality parent–child relationships facilitate school connectedness. This study examined the extent to which family relationship quality is associated with the school connectedness of pre- and early teenagers, and how this association varies with adolescent involvement in peer drinking networks. The sample consisted of 7,372 10–14 year olds recruited from 231 schools in 30 Australian communities. Participants completed the Communities that Care youth survey. A multi-level model of school connectedness was used, with a random term for school-level variation. Key independent variables included family relationship quality, peer drinking networks, and school grade. Control variables included child gender, sensation seeking, depression, child alcohol use, parent education, and language spoken at home. For grade 6 students, the association of family relationship quality and school connectedness was lower when peer drinking networks were present, and this effect was nonsignificant for older (grade 8) students. Post hoc analyses indicated that the effect for family relationship quality on school connectedness was nonsignificant when adolescents in grade 6 reported that the majority of friends consumed alcohol. The results point to the importance of family-school partnerships in early intervention and prevention.     

Migranten in sozial schwachen Stadtteilen von Berlin

Background

The aim of the present study was to compare psychological distress and substance use between migrant and non-migrant populations in a socially deprived area of Berlin.

Methods

A population-based random sample stratified for age (18?C57?years) and gender (50% female) was retrieved from the registration office. A total of 143 persons were included in the study. The participation rate was 48.5% when contact was established. Psychological distress was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) with its four subscales, somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression. Substance use was quantified using the Alcohol Use Identification Disorder Test (AUDIT) and the Fagerstr?m Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND).

Results

Of the study population 51.3% were first or second generation migrants and lived more often in single households. Migrants had lower educational levels and lower employment rates. The mean scores of migrants and non-migrants did not differ on any of the subscales somatic symptoms, anxiety/depression, social dysfunction or severe depression of the GHQ-28. Non-migrants showed significantly higher risks regarding alcohol use.

Discussion

The present study did not reveal any differences regarding symptom profiles in the spectrum of anxiety and depression between non-migrants and migrants who lived in a socially deprived area. Migrants may compensate higher social risk profiles with lower risks regarding alcohol use. Larger samples have to inform on possible differences regarding smoking and other substances.     

Understanding the Academic–Practitioner Gap for Structured Interviews: ‘Behavioral’ interviews diffuse, ‘structured’ interviews do not

Recent studies about the academic–practitioner gap suggest that the nonadoption of evidenced‐based practices can be explained by their diffusion through practitioner‐oriented literature. This study extends these findings by investigating the case of the structured interview, which has not been widely adopted by practitioners despite its good psychometric properties. Using a social representations approach, we investigate how the academic concepts of ‘structured’ and ‘behavioral’ interviewing are diffused to practitioners in advice books. Results show that ‘behavioral’ interviews diffuse while ‘structured’ interviews do not, and that different arguments are used to describe these concepts. Facilitating the diffusion of structured interview practices requires academics to rethink their ways of communicating with practitioners through media.     

Psychophysiological responses to sport-specific affective pictures: A study of morality and emotion in athletes

ObjectivesThe link between morality and emotion has received little attention in the sport context. To address this issue, we examined whether moral disengagement, empathy, antisocial behaviour and psychopathy were associated with emotional reactions to unpleasant pictures depicting players being hurt or deliberately fouled in a sport context.DesignA cross-sectional design was employed.MethodTeam sport athletes (N = 66) completed measures of moral disengagement, empathy, antisocial behaviour and psychopathy and then viewed unpleasant, neutral, and pleasant sport pictures while emotional reactions to the pictures were assessed using valence and arousal ratings of the pictures as well as electrocutaneous startle blink, heart rate, skin conductance, and evoked potentials.ResultsMoral disengagement, empathy and psychopathy, but not antisocial behaviour, were associated with emotional reactions to the unpleasant pictures. Specifically, moral disengagement was related to attenuated startle blink responses and higher valence (less unpleasant) ratings, whereas empathy was associated with lower valence (more unpleasant) ratings. Psychopathy was associated with smaller startle blink responses and less heart rate deceleration.ConclusionOur findings provide support for the link between morality and emotion in athletes. Moral variables may be more closely linked with specific measures of emotion, highlighting the utility of taking a multi-measure approach in the assessment of emotion.     

Sex Differences in Self-Estimates on Two Validated IQ Test Subscale Scores

Two related studies investigated sex differences in self- and parental estimates of IQ scores on specific scales derived from standardized and validated IQ tests. In the first study 210 participants were asked to estimate their scores on the 11 WAIS-R subtests as well as their overall general IQ. Results showed males estimated their overall score, plus their total WAIS score, significantly higher than females, with effect sizes around 0.5. Factor analysis showed participants did differentiate between verbal and performance subscale scores on this test. In the second study 117 participants performed a similar task, but this time on the 12 subscales of the Stanford-Binet test. Males estimated their overall score higher than females. Factor analysis also showed 2 clear factors that reflected exactly the verbal and performance subscale scores.     

The Role of Trait Emotional Intelligence in a Gender‐Specific Model of Organizational Variables1

This article investigated the relationships between trait emotional intelligence (“trait EI” or “emotional self‐efficacy”) and 4 job‐related variables (perceived job control, job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment). Gender‐specific data (N=167, 87 females) were analyzed via multigroup structural equation modeling. Perceived job control had a negative effect on stress and a positive effect on satisfaction. Stress had a negative effect on satisfaction, which, in turn, had the strongest positive effect on commitment. There were many gender differences in the model, mainly concerning age, which was negatively related to control and commitment in the female sample only. Trait EI had specific, rather than widespread, effects in the model. Discussion focuses on trait EI's implications in the workplace.     

Female physical attractiveness in Britain and Japan: a cross‐cultural study

Two purported cues to female physical attractiveness are body mass index (BMI) and body shape as measured by the waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR). This study examined the relative contribution of both cues in two culturally distinct populations. Eighty‐two male participants from Britain and Japan were asked to rate a set of images of real women with known BMI and WHR. Results showed that BMI is the primary determinant of female physical attractiveness, whereas WHR failed to emerge as a significant predictor. Results also showed that there were significant differences in preferences for physical attractiveness, with Japanese participants preferring images of women with significantly lower BMIs than Britons. Finally, results showed that the Japanese are more reliant on body shape than Britons when judging physical attractiveness. The findings are discussed in terms of evolutionary psychological explanations of mate selection, and sociocultural theories which emphasise the learning of preferences in social and cultural contexts. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Type a behavior pattern and attributions of responsibility

This study set out to examine the relationship between the Type A/B behavior pattern and reaction to negative outcomes. It was predicted that whereas the B types would show clear differences in their reactions to controllable versus uncontrollable situations, A types would show significantly less differentiation. Over 160 subjects completed two A-type questionnaires and an attributional control questionnaire with either six controllable or six uncontrollable situations. Results revealed, as predicted, that A and B types differed mainly in their reactions to uncontrollable situations, whereas A types perceived more causal responsibility and more moral responsibility, and reported more anger with self. These results are discussed within the context of the research on attributional style, depression and Type A behavior.