Examination of the Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Affect at Varying Levels of Aerobic Exercise Intensity

Although proposed as an explanation for increases in positive and decreases in negative affect, little evidence supports the notion of a stronger efficacy-affect relationship as acute aerobic exercise intensity increases. Relationships between self-efficacy (SE), positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA) were examined with respect to 3 randomly assigned conditions: (a) no exercise (control), (b) cycling at 55% VO_2max, and (c) cycling at 70% VO_2max. Twenty subjects (age = 22.6 years; M VO_2max= 47.8 ml · kg⁻¹· min⁻¹) participated in each. Preexercise SE predicted in-task NA and postexercise PA in the 55% condition and postexercise PA in the 70% condition ( ps < .05). Although SE significantly increased from pre- to postexercise, in-task affect failed to predict these increases in SE. These data suggest that in a fit college-aged population, a stronger reciprocal relationship between preexercise SE, in-task affect, and postexercise SE does not exist with increasing levels of exercise intensity. Contrary to self-efficacy theory, no evidence was found for a reciprocal relationship. However, the relationship between efficacy and affect was such that when collapsed across conditions and time, subjects with higher SE scores reported lower NA ( p < .05).     

The Preconditions and Consequences of Relative Deprivation: Two Field Studies1

Two field studies assessed the preconditions and behavioral consequences of relative deprivation. A sample of single mothers receiving government assistance participated in Study 1, and a sample of working women participated in Study 2. We found general support for a 2-factor model of the preconditions of relative deprivation, in which wanting the desired state and deserving the desired state were the best predictors of discontent. In both studies, discontent regarding the status of one's group (i.e., single mothers or working women) was specifically predictive of reports of group-directed protest behaviors. In Study 2, discontent regarding one's own status was specifically predictive of willingness to engage in self-improvement behaviors. Participants in both studies reported more group discontent than personal discontent. These findings provide support from naturalistic settings for the construct of relative deprivation.     

Intrusive Thoughts as Determinants of Distress in Parents of Children With Cancer1

This study investigated the relationship between frequency of intrusive thoughts and susceptibility to reminiscent stimuli and consequent distress in parents of children with cancer and parents with healthy children. Cancer-related words embedded in the Stroop task (e.g., “chemo” printed in green ink), served as the reminiscent stimuli. Results indicated that frequency of intrusive thoughts reported 2 months before the experimental session was positively correlated with evoked thoughts and associated distress among parents with ill children. Intrusive thoughts predicted 11–17% of the variance in evoked thoughts and in elicited distress, whereas other symptoms of chronic stress did not predict evoked thoughts and elicited distress. Cognitive and affective task reactivity by parents of children with cancer were not accompanied by behavioral or physiological reactivity. Future research should examine the extent to which more acute and naturalistic intrusive thoughts elicit reactivity across cognitive, affective, behavioral, and physiological dimensions, and long-term physical and mental health effects associated with chronic intrusive thoughts.     

Precursors of Vocational Psychology in Ancient Civilizations

The authors examine philosophical theories produced by two ancient civilizations (Eastern Mediterranean and Chinese) for applications to an applied psychology of work and conclude that they possessed recognizably “modern” elements of an effective vocational psychology.     

Managing stress and managing illness: Survival and quality of life in chronic disease

Interest has been steadily building in the impact of stress on psychological and physiological functioning, in particular on immune system responses, furthering the concept of a strong connection between the mind and the body. Implications for prevention of disease onset or treatment of stress-induced illness or immunocompromised conditions have been explored through the implementation of stress management techniques. Cognitive behavioral stress management interventions, biofeedback, relaxation, guided imagery, hypnosis, individual and group psychotherapy, aerobic exercise, and guided self-efficacy treatment are briefly reviewed to identify possible treatment mechanisms that may affect immune function and promote quality of life. The application of behavioral techniques to reduce distress and sharpen coping skills has great promise in reducing the costs associated with chronic disease and in enhancing quality of life among those afflicted.Presented at the APA Presidential Miniconvention, To Your Health: Psychology Through the Life Span, Session VIII, Assuring a Healthy Lifestyle: Psychology Delivers. Chair: Diane J. Willis, Ph.D. The third author received partial funding through the Terry Fox Research Fellowship 5257, National Cancer Institute of Canada.     

PREDICTORS OF RESPONSES TO UNWANTED SEXUAL ATTENTION

Data were collected from 4,011 male and female university students, faculty, and staff regarding responses to unwanted sexual attention. Women and undergraduate students reported the highest incidence of unwanted sexual attention; most harassers were peers. Ignoring the behavior was the most common response, followed by avoiding the harasser and talking to others about the harassment. Harassment severity was the strongest predictor of responses, with more direct responses being made to more severe harassment. Bivariate correlational analyses suggested that unwanted sexual attention was rated as more distressing by women than by men, by faculty/staff than by students, by individuals with less tolerant attitudes toward harassment, and when the harasser was in a position of authority or when the harassment was of longer duration. In path analyses, only the relations between attitudes and responses were mediated by differences in perceived severity. The gender and status (i.e., student vs. faculty/staff) of the harassee, the duration of the harassment, and whether the harasser was in a position of authority had direct effects on responses not attributable to perceived severity. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

Influence of Maternal Depressive Symptoms on Ratings of Childhood Behavior

This study uses information collected on two occasions from a probability sample of families with 5- to 12-year-old children (N = 1151) participating in a general population study in 1983 and follow-up in 1987. It evaluated the importance of maternal bias in the assessment of child behavior by comparing the relative strengths of association between maternal depression and childhood behavior and between maternal depression and mother reporting errors. Conduct problems and hyperactivity were measured as latent criterion variables constructed from mother, teacher, and youth (aged 12 to 16 years) ratings and their associations with maternal depression were modeled using covariance structure analysis. The analyses revealed that maternal depression was associated significantly with conduct problems ( = .35) and hyperactivity ( = .38) among 5- to 7-years-olds in 1983 but not 4 years later in 1987. None of the associations between maternal depression and mother reporting errors were significant. Among 8- to 12-year-olds in 1983, maternal depression was associated significantly not only with conduct problems ( = .17) and hyperactivity ( = .15) but also with mother rating errors of these behaviors ( = .13 and .17, respectively). Four years later in 1987 when this cohort was 12 to 16 years old, the only significant association was between maternal depression and conduct disorder ( = .25). Although evidence exists for associations between maternal depressed mood and mother rating errors, there also appears to be a substantive association between maternal depression and childhood behavior.     

Repetition priming and face processing: Priming occurs within the system that responds to the identity of a face

A familiar stimulus that has recently been recognized will be recognized a second time more quickly and more accurately than if it had not been primed by the earlier encounter. This is the phenomenon of “repetition priming”. Four experiments on repetition priming of face recognition suggest that repetition priming is a consequence of changes within the system that responds to the familiarity of a stimulus. In Experiment 1, classifying familiar faces by occupation facilitated subsequent responses to the same faces in a familiarity decision task (Is this face familiar or unfamiliar?) but not in an expression decision task (Is this face smiling or unsmiling?) or a sex decision task (Is this face male or female?). In Experiment 2, familiar faces showed repetition priming in a familiarity decision task, regardless of whether a familiarity judgment or an expression judgment had been required when the faces were first encountered. Expression decisions to familiar faces again failed to show repetition priming. In Experiment 3, familiar faces showed repetition priming in a familiarity decision task, regardless of whether a familiarity judgment or a sex judgment had been asked for when the faces were first encountered. Sex decisions to familiar faces again failed to show repetition priming. In Experiment 4, familiarity decisions continued to show repetition priming when a brief presentation time with encouragement to respond while the face was displayed reduced response latencies to speeds comparable to those for sex and expression judgments in Experiments 1 to 3. The results are problematic for theories that propose that repetition priming is mediated by episodic records of previous acts of stimulus encoding.