Activism and Powerful Others: Distinctions within the Concept of Internal-External Control

Some studies report that activists are Internals, while others claim they are Externals, holding a belief in chance, fate, and powerful others. Three new scales were constructed in order to measure belief in chance (C) as separate from expectancy for control by powerful others (P), and perceived mastery over one's personal life (I). Two studies are reported. (1.) As predicted, responses from 96 adults indicated that only a belief in chance was differentially related to involvement and information on anti-pollution activities. (2.) In factor analyzing the responses of 329 college males to the 24 items of the new scales, three main factors were identified — I, P, and C. The validity and usefulness of the tripartite division in clarifying past findings regarding the multidimensionality of I-E were discussed.     

Sequential Temporal Dependencies in Associations Between Symptoms of Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An Application of Bivariate Latent Difference Score Structural Equation Modeling

Depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are highly comorbid conditions that may arise following exposure to psychological trauma. This study examined their temporal sequencing and mutual influence using bivariate latent difference score structural equation modeling. Longitudinal data from 182 emergency room patients revealed level of depression symptom severity to be positively associated with changes in PTSD intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal over 3 time intervals, beginning shortly after the traumatic event. Higher scores on depression anticipated increases (or worsening) in PTSD symptom severity. The pattern of influence from PTSD symptom severity to change in depression symptom severity simply followed the general trend toward health and well-being. Results are discussed in terms of the dynamic interplay and associated mechanisms of posttrauma depression and PTSD symptom severity.     

Social information processing and cardiac predictors of adolescent antisocial behavior

The relations among social information processing (SIP), cardiac activity, and antisocial behavior were investigated in adolescents over a 3-year period (from ages 16 to 18) in a community sample of 585 (48% female, 17% African American) participants. Antisocial behavior was assessed in all 3 years. Cardiac and SIP measures were collected between the first and second behavioral assessments. Cardiac measures assessed resting heart rate (RHR) and heart rate reactivity (HRR) as participants imagined themselves being victimized in hypothetical provocation situations portrayed via video vignettes. The findings were moderated by gender and supported a multiprocess model in which antisocial behavior is a function of trait-like low RHR (for male individuals only) and deviant SIP. In addition, deviant SIP mediated the effects of elevated HRR reactivity and elevated RHR on antisocial behavior (for male and female participants).     

Cross-modal interaction between vision and hearing: A speed—accuracy analysis

Cross-modal facilitation of response time (RT) is said to occur in a selective attention task when the introduction of an irrelevant sound increases the speed at which visual stimuli are detected and identified. To investigate the source of the facilitation in RT, we asked participants to rapidly identify the color of lights in the quiet and when accompanied by a pulse of noise. The resulting measures of accuracy and RT were used to derive speed-accuracy trade-off functions (SATFs) separately for the noise and the no-noise conditions. The two resulting SATFs have similar slopes and intercepts and, thus, can be treated as overlapping segments of a single function. That speeded identification of color with and without the presence of noise can be described by one SATF suggests, in turn, that cross-modal facilitation of RT represents a change in decision criterion induced by the auditory stimulus. Analogous changes in decision criteria might also underlie other measures of cross-modal interactions, such as auditory enhancement of brightness judgments.     

The impact of orbital prefrontal cortex damage on emotional activation to unanticipated and anticipated acoustic startle stimuli

Damage to the orbital prefrontal cortex has been implicated in selectively diminishing electrodermal autonomic nervous system responses to anticipated punishing stimuli (e.g., losing money; Bechara, Damasio, & Damasio, 2000), but not to unanticipated punishing stimuli (e.g., loud noises; Damasio, Tranel, & Damasio, 1990). We extended this research by examining the effects of orbitofrontal damage on emotional responses to unanticipated and anticipated acoustic startles and collecting a more extensive set of physiological measures, emotional facial behavior, and self-reported emotional experience. Consistent with previous research, patients showed intact physiology to an unanticipated startle but failed to show appropriate anticipatory cardiovascular responses (patients’ heart rates decreased, controls’ increased). In addition, patients displayed more surprise facial behavior and reported marginally more fear than did controls in response to the unanticipated startle. Thus, orbitofrontal damage may compromise the ability to anticipate physiologically the onset of aversive stimuli, despite intact or enhanced emotional responses when such stimuli occur unexpectedly.     

Birds of a feather don't always fly farthest: similarity in Big Five personality predicts more negative marital satisfaction trajectories in long-term marriages

Decades of research suggest that similarity in demographics, values, activities, and attitudes predicts higher marital satisfaction. The present study examined the relationship between similarity in Big Five personality factors and initial levels and 12-year trajectories of marital satisfaction in long-term couples, who were in their 40s and 60s at the beginning of the study. Across the entire sample, greater overall personality similarity predicted more negative slopes in marital satisfaction trajectories. In addition, spousal similarity on Conscientiousness and Extraversion more strongly predicted negative marital satisfaction outcomes among the midlife sample than among the older sample. Results are discussed in terms of the different life tasks faced by young, midlife, and older adults, and the implications of these tasks for the "ingredients" of marital satisfaction.     

The ability to regulate emotion is associated with greater well-being, income, and socioeconomic status

Are people who are best able to implement strategies to regulate their emotional expressive behavior happier and more successful than their counterparts? Although past research has examined individual variation in knowledge of the most effective emotion regulation strategies, little is known about how individual differences in the ability to actually implement these strategies, as assessed objectively in the laboratory, are associated with external criteria. In two studies, we examined how individual variation in the ability to modify emotional expressive behavior in response to evocative stimuli is related to well-being and financial success. Study 1 showed that individuals who can best suppress their emotional reaction to an acoustic startle are happiest with their lives. Study 2 showed that individuals who can best amplify their emotional reaction to a disgust-eliciting movie are happiest with their lives and have the highest disposable income and socioeconomic status. Thus, being able to implement emotion regulation strategies in the laboratory is closely linked to well-being and financial success.