Pre‐menstrual period: Do women really consume more?

The aim of this study was to investigate female consumption behavior during the different menstrual cycle phases, regarding impulsivity, regret, willingness to pay, and purchase intention for hedonic and utilitarian products. This paper focuses on the gap between literary theory and common sense beliefs. A survey was conducted to 405 women. The results revealed no idiosyncrasy in behavior during the different cycle phases. Impulsive behavior explains the perception of regret; however, hormonal changes throughout the month could not support this correlation, which suggests the reported behavior to be different from the actual one. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

(Still) Modern Times: Objectification at work

A great deal of research has investigated gender‐related objectification. In the current work, we aim to extend the empirical research on this phenomenon to the working domain. Consistent with several theoretical assumptions, we expected that factory workers would be objectified as a consequence of their work. In Study 1, we showed that each of the critical features of factory work (i.e., repetitiveness of movements, fragmentation of activities and dependence on the machine) significantly affected the view of the worker as an instrument (vs. a human being) and as less able to experience human mental states. Coherently, we found that factory workers, unlike artisans, were perceived as more instrument‐like (Study 2) and as less able to experience mental states (Study 3) when participants were asked to focus on the target's manual activities rather than on the target as a person. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered.     

Social Anxiety Symptoms in Young Children: Investigating the Interplay of Theory of Mind and Expressions of Shyness

Children’s early onset of social anxiety may be associated with their social understanding, and their ability to express emotions adaptively. We examined whether social anxiety in 48-month-old children (N = 110; 54 boys) was related to: a) a lower level of theory of mind (ToM); b) a lower proclivity to express shyness in a positive way (adaptive); and c) a higher tendency to express shyness in a negative way (non-adaptive). In addition, we investigated to what extent children’s level of social anxiety was predicted by the interaction between ToM and expressions of shyness. Children’s positive and negative expressions of shyness were observed during a performance task. ToM was measured with a validated battery, and social anxiety was assessed using both parents’ reports on questionnaires. Socially anxious children had a lower level of ToM, and displayed more negative and less positive shy expressions. However, children with a lower level of ToM who expressed more positive shyness were less socially anxious. Additional results show that children who displayed shyness only in a negative manner were more socially anxious than children who expressed shyness only in a positive way and children who did not display any shyness. Moreover, children who displayed both positive and negative expressions of shyness were more socially anxious than children who displayed shyness only in a positive way. These findings highlight the importance of ToM development and socio-emotional strategies, and their interaction, on the early development of social anxiety.     

Compassion at the mirror: Exposure to a mirror increases the efficacy of a self-compassion manipulation in enhancing soothing positive affect and heart rate variability

We tested whether a mirror could enhance the efficacy of a self-compassion manipulation in increasing soothing positive affect and heart rate variability (HRV). Eighty-six participants generated four phrases they would use to soothe and encourage their best friend. Second, they described an episode where they criticized themselves and were assigned to one of three conditions: (a) repeat the four phrases to themselves while looking at the mirror; (b) repeat the four phrases to themselves without the mirror; (c) look at themselves in the mirror without repeating the phrases. Participants in condition (a) reported higher levels of ‘soothing’ positive affect and HRV compared to participants in conditions (b) and (c). The effect of the ‘phrases at the mirror’ manipulation on soothing affect was mediated by increased common humanity. The mirror enhances the efficacy of this self-compassion manipulation in activating the soothing affect system connected with parasympathetic nervous system activity.     

The relationship between intelligence,working memory,academic self-esteem,and academic achievement

Academic achievement is crucial for life and long-term outcomes. The aim of the present study is to examine the joint role of cognitive (intelligence and working memory) and non-cognitive (academic self-esteem) factors in predicting academic achievement (mathematics and reading literacy) in a sample of Italian sixth and eighth graders. The results showed that within the cognitive factors considered, intelligence was the best predictor of achievement. As regards to non-cognitive factors, academic self-esteem was effective at predicting achievement after controlling for cognitive measures. Academic self-esteem was also found to have an indirect effect, mediated by intelligence, on academic achievement. Both theoretical and practical implications of the present results are discussed.     

Workers' self‐objectification and tendencies to conform to others

Recent research showed that workers' self‐objectification—their self‐perception as objects rather than human beings—leads to detrimental intrapersonal consequences. In the present research, we explored whether this phenomenon may also affect interpersonal relations, by increasing workers' tendencies to conform. In a correlational study, Italian workers who perceived their work as more objectifying self‐objectified more—self‐attributed less human mental states and self‐perceive as more instrument‐like than human‐like—and, in turn, were more inclined to conform with others. The second study experimentally confirmed this pattern, showing that British workers who recalled an objectifying (vs. a non‐objectifying) work experience self‐objectified more. Self‐perception as instrument‐like was associated, in turn, with an increased tendency to adapt to others' opinions. The implications for organizational and social psychology are discussed.     

Home literacy experiences and socio-cultural characteristics associated with the subtypes of reading disability

This study was designed to analyse the home literacy experiences and socio-cultural characteristics associated with the subtypes of reading disability. For this purpose, we used a reading level match design and we selected four samples of families as a function of their children's reading profile: a group of parents (15 fathers and 16 mothers) whose children had a profile of surface dyslexia (DSP); a second group of parents (6 fathers and 6 mothers) whose children had a profile of phonological dyslexia (DFP); a third group of parents (38 fathers and 41 mothers) whose children were matched in age with the children who had learning disabilities (ECP); and a fourth group of parents (33 fathers and 35 mothers) whose children were matched in reading age with children who had learning disabilities (NLP). Both dyslexic subtypes showed a deficit in phonological awareness, but children with surface dyslexia also showed a deficit in orthographical processing assessed by homophone comprehension task. This deficit was related to home literacy experiences because the group of parents whose children had surface dyslexia, in comparison to parents of children matched in reading age, promoted fewer home literacy experiences.     

How to accurately detect autobiographical events

ABSTRACT— We describe a new method, based on indirect measures of implicit autobiographical memory, that allows evaluation of which of two contrasting autobiographical events (e.g., crimes) is true for a given individual. Participants were requested to classify sentences describing possible autobiographical events by pressing one of two response keys. Responses were faster when sentences related to truly autobiographical events shared the same response key with other sentences reporting true events and slower when sentences related to truly autobiographical events shared the same response key with sentences reporting false events. This method has possible application in forensic settings and as a lie-detection technique.     

The case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: a kinematic study on social intention

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of social intentions on action. Participants (N=13) were requested to reach towards, grasp an object, and either pass it to another person (social condition) or put it on a concave base (single-agent condition). Movements' kinematics was recorded using a three-dimensional motion analysis system. The results indicate that kinematics is sensitive to social intention. Movements performed for the 'social' condition were characterized by a kinematic pattern which differed from those obtained for the 'single-agent' condition. Results are discussed in terms of a motor simulation hypothesis, which assumes that the same mechanisms underlying motor intention are sensitive to social intentions.     

Presence and emotions in virtual environments: the influence of stereoscopy.

This study investigates how stereoscopy (the illusion of depth and 3D imaging) affects the sense of presence and the intensity of the positive mood that users feel in virtual environments (VEs). A between-group design was used, and 40 volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions (stereoscopy vs. no stereoscopy) and to one of two emotional VEs (relaxation or joy). The participants' emotions were assessed before and after the VR experience. Presence was measured with two postexperiment questionnaires (ITC-SOPI and SUS). Results show that there were no differences between stereoscopic and monoscopic presentations in VEs (neither subjective sense of presence nor emotional reactions). Practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed herein.