Perfectionism,discrepancies, and depression: Testing the perfectionism social disconnection model in a short-term,four-wave longitudinal study

Perfectionistic concerns (i.e., negative reactions to failures, exaggerated concerns over others’ criticism and expectations, and nagging self-doubts) are linked to social disconnection and depressive symptoms. According to the perfectionism social disconnection model, perfectionistic concerns contribute to social disconnection (i.e., feeling rejected, excluded, and unwanted by others) which, subsequently, contributes to depressive symptoms. The social world is replete with chances for interpretations. In interpreting their social worlds, people high in perfectionistic concerns tend to perceive interpersonal discrepancies, a distressing form of social disconnection that involves perceptions of others as dissatisfied with them and as disapproving of them. These interpretations are also conceptualized as having depressing consequences for people high in perfectionistic concerns. This study tested whether perceived interpersonal discrepancies mediate the relation between perfectionistic concerns and depressive symptoms; 240 participants were recruited and this mediational model was tested with a four-wave, 4-week longitudinal design. Structural equation modeling with bootstrapped tests of mediation indicated the perfectionistic concerns-depressive symptoms relationship was mediated by interpersonal discrepancies (even after controlling for perfectionistic strivings). People high in perfectionistic concerns perceive others as dissatisfied with them and as disapproving of them. Feeling rejected, excluded, and unwanted by others, people high in perfectionistic concerns are vulnerable to depression.     

Peer attachment and self-esteem: A meta-analytic review

Peer attachment might provide individuals with opportunities to build their sense of self-worth. The purpose of this paper was to meta-analytically review literature on peer attachment and self-esteem. A total of 22 articles reporting 24 studies documenting correlations between peer attachment and self-esteem in adolescents and emerging adults were included in this meta-analysis. Of these studies, most examined links between global peer attachment and self-esteem, while few studies reported any associations between specific dimensions of peer attachment (i.e., trust, communication, and alienation) and self-esteem. Results showed significant correlations between peer attachment and self-esteem, consistently found both in studies focused on global attachment as well as in studies including specific attachment dimensions. Furthermore, since a significant heterogeneity was found across the studies, the effects of various categorical and continuous moderators related to characteristics of the study samples and designs were tested. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.     

Conversation analysis at work: detection of conflict in competitive discussions through semi-automatic turn-organization analysis

This study proposes a semi-automatic approach aimed at detecting conflict in conversations. The approach is based on statistical techniques capable of identifying turn-organization regularities associated with conflict. The only manual step of the process is the segmentation of the conversations into turns (time intervals during which only one person talks) and overlapping speech segments (time intervals during which several persons talk at the same time). The rest of the process takes place automatically and the results show that conflictual exchanges can be detected with Precision and Recall around 70% (the experiments have been performed over 6 h of political debates). The approach brings two main benefits: the first is the possibility of analyzing potentially large amounts of conversational data with a limited effort, the second is that the model parameters provide indications on what turn-regularities are most likely to account for the presence of conflict.     

Exploring the Role of Alternative Perceived Performance Measures and Needs-Congruency in the Consumer Satisfaction Process

Prior research suggests that perceived performance of a product or a service is directly linked to postpurchase satisfaction. We argue that this causal relationship might be a measurement artifact and/or insufficient modeling of the satisfaction process rather than an accurate assessment of how consumers form satisfaction judgments. To test our hypotheses, a 2 x 2 x 2 (Performance x Expectations x Needs) factorial design was used with 2 types of perceived performance measures (value-laden and objective). The findings demonstrate that the observed direct link from perceived performance to overall satisfaction diminishes when more objective perceived performance indicators replace the commonly used value-laden measures. Furthermore, desire-congruency was found to contribute independently to satisfaction over and above a disconfirmation-of-expectations standard. In fact, desire-congruency was found to be a better predictor of satisfaction than disconfirmation-of-expectations. Finally, our results suggest that the direct performance–satisfaction link becomes insignificant when the modeling of the satisfaction process is improved. Taken together, these findings support the view that the frequently observed high correlations between perceived performance and satisfaction might be a reflection of the type of measures used and/or insufficient capturing of the evaluative process leading to satisfaction, rather than support for a direct causal link.     

Emotions naturally and laboriously expressed: Antecedents,consequences, and the role of valence

The emotion regulation literature has focused primarily on comparing the methods of surface acting and deep acting, yet scholars have also noted the importance of naturally felt emotions as a means for achieving a desired emotional display. The literature has also mainly examined positive displays, yet there are many situations that call for the display of negative emotions. To advance theory and research, we draw from theory on central principles of approach/avoidance motivation to understand why an individual would choose a given emotional display method, as well as the extent to which a given method is beneficial versus harmful to individuals. In doing so, we identify the valence of the emotion being displayed as a critical factor influencing the benefits and detriments of emotional display methods. Results of a 3-week experience-sampling study of 218 employees revealed that mood was associated with the natural display of positive emotion, promotion focus was associated with deep acting, and prevention focus was associated with surface acting. In positive display contexts, displaying emotion naturally was most beneficial (in terms of effects on emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, and work withdrawal), whereas surface acting was most detrimental. In negative contexts, this relationship pattern was reversed.