Finding the person in personal relationships

The search for dispositional factors that influence the course and conduct of close relationships has long and popular roots. No cogent theory of interpersonal processes would deny that dispositional factors matter, and, furthermore, both scholarly and lay analyses often emphasize them. Although existing research has made progress in understanding how dispositions affect behavior in ongoing relationships, when all is said and done, this progress has been modest. In this paper, we discuss several interlocking theoretical and methodological principles that may facilitate movement to the next (and more sophisticated) generation of theory and research. We draw particularly on interdependence theory to discuss the concepts of relationship and persons-in-relationship. Central to our analysis is the principle that interaction in relationships is an inherently dynamic, temporal, and thoroughly interdependent process that cannot be properly understood from examination of the static, global dispositions of one of its members. To provide grounding for our analysis, we also discuss several specific implications of these concepts for the conduct of research seeking to understand personality in relationships.     

Predictors of college students' alcohol consumption: implications for student education

Understanding why young adults consume alcohol the way they do can lead to more effective educational programming for promotion of students' personal health and safety. The authors examined the predictive role of expectations about alcohol, perceived peer norms of consumption, awareness of rules, and individual self-efficacy in conjunction with demographic variables for male and female college students' weekly alcohol consumption. The sample of 4,960 students analyzed here is 10 to 20 times larger and more nationally representative than the samples used in similar studies. The authors used a general linear model; 41% of the men's variance and 33% of the women's variance in self-reported weekly alcohol consumption were explained by the set of predictors. In descending order of variance accounted for in male and female students' self-reported weekly alcohol consumption, perceived gender-specific norms of consumption, expectations about the effects of alcohol, and the importance of drinking in high school were significant predictors for both men and women. The salience of psychological variables for young adults' consumption of alcohol underscores the importance of recognizing individual predictors of behavior in the broader ecological context in which those behaviors are performed.     

Knowing that strawberries are red and seeing red strawberries: the interaction between surface colour and colour knowledge information

This study investigates the interaction between surface and colour knowledge information during object recognition. In two different experiments, participants were instructed to decide whether two presented stimuli belonged to the same object identity. On the non-matching trials, we manipulated the shape and colour knowledge information activated by the two stimuli by creating four different stimulus pairs: (1) similar in shape and colour (e.g. TOMATO–APPLE); (2) similar in shape and dissimilar in colour (e.g. TOMATO–COCONUT); (3) dissimilar in shape and similar in colour (e.g. TOMATO–CHILI PEPPER) and (4) dissimilar in both shape and colour (e.g. TOMATO–PEANUT). The object pictures were presented in typical and atypical colours and also in black-and-white. The interaction between surface and colour knowledge showed to be contingent upon shape information: while colour knowledge is more important for recognising structurally similar shaped objects, surface colour is more prominent for recognising structurally dissimilar shaped objects.     

Depth perception: cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) respond to visual texture density gradients

Studies concerning the perceptual processes of animals are not only interesting, but are fundamental to the understanding of other developments in information processing among non-humans. Carefully used visual illusions have been proven to be an informative tool for understanding visual perception. In this behavioral study, we demonstrate that cuttlefish are responsive to visual cues involving texture gradients. Specifically, 12 out of 14 animals avoided swimming over a solid surface with a gradient picture that to humans resembles an illusionary crevasse, while only 5 out of 14 avoided a non-illusionary texture. Since texture gradients are well-known cues for depth perception in vertebrates, we suggest that these cephalopods were responding to the depth illusion created by the texture density gradient. Density gradients and relative densities are key features in distance perception in vertebrates. Our results suggest that they are fundamental features of vision in general, appearing also in cephalopods.     

The influence of surface color information and color knowledge information in object recognition

In order to clarify whether the influence of color knowledge information in object recognition depends on the presence of the appropriate surface color, we designed a name-object verification task. The relationship between color and shape information provided by the name and by the object photo was manipulated in order to assess color interference independently of shape interference. We tested three different versions for each object: typically colored, black and white, and nontypically colored. The response times on the nonmatching trials were used to measure the interference between the name and the photo. We predicted that the more similar the name and the photo are, the longer it would take to respond. Overall, the color similarity effect disappeared in the black-and-white and nontypical color conditions, suggesting that the influence of color knowledge on object recognition depends on the presence of the appropriate surface color information.     

Visual rapid naming and phonological abilities: different subtypes in dyslexic children

One implication of the double-deficit hypothesis for dyslexia is that there should be subtypes of dyslexic readers that exhibit rapid naming deficits with or without concomitant phonological processing problems. In the current study, we investigated the validity of this hypothesis for Portuguese orthography, which is more consistent than English orthography, by exploring different cognitive profiles in a sample of dyslexic children. In particular, we were interested in identifying readers characterized by a pure rapid automatized naming deficit. We also examined whether rapid naming and phonological awareness independently account for individual differences in reading performance. We characterized the performance of dyslexic readers and a control group of normal readers matched for age on reading, visual rapid naming and phonological processing tasks. Our results suggest that there is a subgroup of dyslexic readers with intact phonological processing capacity (in terms of both accuracy and speed measures) but poor rapid naming skills. We also provide evidence for an independent association between rapid naming and reading competence in the dyslexic sample, when the effect of phonological skills was controlled. Altogether, the results are more consistent with the view that rapid naming problems in dyslexia represent a second core deficit rather than an exclusive phonological explanation for the rapid naming deficits. Furthermore, additional non-phonological processes, which subserve rapid naming performance, contribute independently to reading development.     

An Empirical Analysis of Fraternity and Sorority Individual-Environmental Interactions With Alcohol

Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze fraternity and sorority individual-environmental interactions for 3,756 Greek undergraduate students at a large public university. Alcohol expectancies were measured with items used to assess the degree to which people believe alcohol has positive effects. For sorority students, expectancies were negatively related to chapter culture emphasizing service and civic responsibility. Expectancies were positively associated with chapter culture emphasizing glorification of alcohol use in both fraternity and sorority chapters. Among sorority students, consumption was predicted by group-level service orientation, holding expectancies constant. The strength of the relationship between alcohol expectancies and consumption level increased among fraternity and sorority members, according to chapters' progressive exaltation of the role of alcohol. The implications of the findings are discussed for observed gender differences, the role of self-selection into these unique student organizations, and current efforts to recalibrate Greek chapters toward greater personal safety and control.     

Knowledge of sex-role stereotypes in children aged 3 to 5

When do children begin acquiring adult sex-role stereotypes? This study examined the sex-stereotypic knowledge of four groups of young children: 3.0–3.5, 3.5–4.0, 4.0–4.5, and 4.5–5.0 years old. To assess the development of their knowledge, the same children were retested six months later. Evidence of sex-stereotyping appeared at 3.5 years and increased both across the different age groups and within the same children as they aged. The children's knowledge encompassed both feminine and masculine traits, and was related to general intellectual development. These results are interpreted as supporting cognitive-developmental theories that children learn sex-role stereotypes as structural rules for organizing and understanding behaviors present in their social environment.Thanks are due to Diane Bulow, Grace Horsman, Barbara Kutner, Joan Strutts, and the other teachers for aiding our access to children enrolled in their centers. Moira Davidson, Beth Kaplan, Keith Miller, Suzanna Nam, Dan Birecree, Sara Corse, Jim Gilbert, Jean Merenda, Anna Steiner, and Steve Tannenbaum served graciously as testers.     

Attachment, sleep quality, and depressed affect.

This study examined the role of attachment insecurity in sleep problems among married adults (N=78 couples). Using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and structural equation modeling, attachment anxiety was associated with higher levels of self-reported sleep difficulties for men and women, whereas attachment avoidance was not. Depressed affect was included as a control variable, and the effect of attachment anxiety remained significant. Men and women did not differ significantly in the magnitude of the effect of attachment anxiety on sleep quality. In addition, there were no cross-partner effects of attachment insecurity on sleep quality or depressed affect. Implications and future directions are discussed.