Mediterranean diet and wellbeing: evidence from a nationwide survey

Objective: Although there is some evidence of the association between specific food groups, such as plant foods, and subjective wellbeing, this is the first study to assess the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern and subjective wellbeing. Design: Data were collected in 2014–2015, within the Edad con Salud project, a follow-up study of a multistage clustered survey on a representative sample of the population of Spain. The final sample comprised 2397 individuals with ages ranging from 21 to 101 years. Main outcome measures: Experienced wellbeing (positive and negative affect) was measured using the Day Reconstruction Method, and evaluative wellbeing was assessed with the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. Results: A higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet showed a small but statistically significant inverse relationship with negative affect (β?=??0.076, p=.001), and direct with evaluative wellbeing (β?=?0.053, p=.015), whereas it was not related to positive affect. Several components of the Mediterranean diet were independently associated with wellbeing. Conclusion: The results suggest that adherence to a dietary pattern such as the Mediterranean diet, and not only the isolated consumption of its components, is associated with a better subjective wellbeing.     

Acoustic masking disrupts time-dependent mechanisms of memory encoding in word-list recall

Recall of recently heard words is affected by the clarity of presentation: Even if all words are presented with sufficient clarity for successful recognition, those that are more difficult to hear are less likely to be recalled. Such a result demonstrates that memory processing depends on more than whether a word is simply “recognized” versus “not recognized.” More surprising is that, when a single item in a list of spoken words is acoustically masked, prior words that were heard with full clarity are also less likely to be recalled. To account for such a phenomenon, we developed the linking-by-active-maintenance model (LAMM). This computational model of perception and encoding predicts that these effects will be time dependent. Here we challenged our model by investigating whether and how the impact of acoustic masking on memory depends on presentation rate. We found that a slower presentation rate causes a more disruptive impact of stimulus degradation on prior, clearly heard words than does a fast rate. These results are unexpected according to prior theories of effortful listening, but we demonstrated that they can be accounted for by LAMM.     

Am I My Genes? Perceived Genetic Etiology,Intrapersonal Processes,and Health

With the increasing popularity and affordability of DNA sequencing through direct‐to‐consumer DNA sequencing services, it has become apparent that researchers need to understand how the results of sequencing one's DNA affects consumers psychologically and behaviorally. In this paper, the authors discuss several intrapersonal processes that may impact how learning about our own genetic predispositions affects us. In particular, this paper sets out to identify the interplay between three relevant perspectives: genetic essentialist biases, perceived identity, and need for certainty. These interrelated perspectives and the empirical research that supports relevant underlying predictions provide a useful basis from which researchers can further identify testable hypotheses on these intrapersonal perceived genetics effects. Such research has potential far‐reaching implications, not the least of which are in the health domain.     

Social sharing of emotion,post‐traumatic growth,and emotional climate: Follow‐up of Spanish citizen's response to the collective trauma of March 11th terrorist attacks in Madrid

A questionnaire measuring social sharing of emotion, coping, intensity of emotions and rumination related to March 11th (2004) terrorist attacks in Madrid, emotional climate, social integration, and post‐traumatic growth was completed by 644 students and their relatives (38%) in 5 Spanish regions and 8 universities 1 week, 3 weeks, and 8 weeks after the terrorist act. Results supported a two‐sided model of the effects of social sharing of emotion derived from Durkheim's classic model of the social functional effects of collective remembering. Higher levels of sharing initially predicted (1) higher event‐related emotional arousal and mental rumination and (2) superior social integration and well‐being assessed in later weeks. Structural equation modeling showed that higher levels of initial sharing and coping by search for social support predicted directly or indirectly (1) higher social integration (2) higher perceived post‐traumatic growth, and (3) higher perceived contentment, hope, solidarity, and confidence in the emotional climate. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Worry and Rumination in Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Ample work has already been conducted on worry and rumination as negative thought processes involved in the etiology of most of the anxiety and mood related disorders. However, minimal effort has been exerted to investigate whether one type of negative thought process can make way for another type of negative thought process, and if so, how it subsequently results in experiencing a host of symptoms reflective of one or the other type of psychological distress. Therefore, the present study was taken up to investigate whether rumination mediates the relationship between worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and between worry and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in two clinical groups. Self-report questionnaires tapping worry, rumination, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) were administered to a clinical sample of 60 patients aged 30–40. Worry, rumination, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) correlated substantially with each other, however, rumination did not mediate the relationship between worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and between worry and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). We also analyzed differences of outcome variables within two clinical groups. These results showed that worry and rumination were significantly different between GAD and OCD groups.     

Famously Anonymous Artistic Outlaws: The Negotiation of Dual Identities Among Former Graffiti Writers

Graffiti artists must establish a second, anonymous identity that is managed alongside each writer’s “real” self. This study explores the negotiation of these dual identities—one actual, the other virtual—by investigating the management of these identities through retirement. Results reveal that identity making is a collective practice, even for anonymous artists. Participants described a hierarchical graffiti world where invisible social relations are used to establish understanding of the self as a writer. Stealth graffiti artists breach one set of rules but strictly adhere to another set. Even anonymous identities are socially embedded and reflect a politics of belonging. Writer identities can be retired by either integrating them into a public self or transcended through complete role exit.     

Individual differences in social desirability are associated with white-matter microstructure of the external capsule

Humans tend to present themselves in a positive light to gain social approval. This behavioral trait, termed social desirability, is important for various types of social success. Surprisingly, investigation into the neural underpinnings of social desirability has been limited and focused only on interindividual differences in dopamine receptor binding. These studies revealed reduced dopamine receptor binding in the striatum of individuals who are high in trait social desirability. Interestingly, high dopamine signaling has been associated with low white-matter integrity, irrespective of social desirability. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that a positive association exists between trait social desirability and the white-matter microstructure of the external capsule, which carries fibers to the striatum from the prefrontal cortex. To test this hypothesis, we collected diffusion tensor imaging data and examined the relationship between fractional anisotropy of the external capsule and participants’ social desirability—our analysis revealed a positive association. As a second exploratory step, we examined the association between social desirability and white-matter microstructure throughout the whole brain. Our whole-brain analysis revealed associations within multiple major white-matter tracts, demonstrating that socially desirable behavior relies on connectivity between distributed brain regions.     

Social representations of history,cultural values,and willingness to fight in a war: A collective‐level analysis in 40 nations

This study explores at the national level beliefs about world history and their relationship with cultural values and attitudes towards a national war. A country‐level analysis of university samples from 40 nations involving 7279 students showed that beliefs about history as a superior plan, as social progress, and lawful processes were positively associated with lower human development, and materialistic and power distance values, as well as with willingness to fight in a future national war. Further, beliefs about history as a superior plan, as social progress, and as lawful process were positively related with a stronger disposition to fight, even after controlling for cultural values and human development. Results are discussed in the framework of conceptualizing social representations of history as part of national political cultures.     

Scientific productivity and Hirsch's h index of Spanish social psychology: convergence between productivity indexes and comparison with other areas

This article describes Hirsch's h index as a measure of researchers' scientific productivity and quality, examining its convergent validity with other productivity and quality measures (total citations, maximum citation, sexennials, years since earning Ph.D., and years as a full professor). It shows the distribution of the index among Spanish Social Psychology professors, and a comparison is made among the ten professors with highest h index of the six knowledge areas into which academic Psychology is divided in Spain. The results show that the index largely correlates with the citations but only very modestly with the number of sexennial investigations. The distributions by areas show that Psychobiology and Basic Psychology, as a whole, have a higher h index than the other areas, with Social Psychology in fourth place. Lastly, we discuss the implications of these results and we offer some recommendations for using the index in academic and research decision making.     

Mortality salience and religion: divergent effects on the defense of cultural worldviews for the religious and the non‐religious

Religious and non‐religious individuals differ in their core beliefs. The religious endorse a supernatural, divinely inspired view of the world, while the non‐religious hold largely secular worldviews. As a result they may respond differently to existential threats. Three studies confirmed this prediction. After a mortality salience (MS) or control prime, Canadian participants read, and responded to, an essay hostile to Western civilization, allegedly written by a radical Muslim student. Results indicated that the non‐religious reliably showed the conventional cultural worldview defense by devaluating the content of the message and decreasing support for the civil rights of anti‐Western individuals when death was salient. No such effect was found for the religious. Religious and non‐religious participants did not differ in self‐esteem levels or in death‐thought accessibility. These results suggest that a religious stance among believers plays a defensive role against the awareness of death. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.