Contextual fear conditioning predicts subsequent avoidance behaviour in a virtual reality environment

Avoidance behaviour is a crucial component of fear and is importantly involved in the maintenance of anxiety disorders. Presumably, fear conditioning leads to avoidance of the feared object or context. A virtual reality contextual fear conditioning paradigm was used to investigate the association between explicit conditioning effects and subsequent avoidance behaviour. Mild electric shocks were administered in one context (anxiety context), but never in a second context (safety context). Subsequent avoidance behaviour was assessed by asking participants to choose two out of three contexts (a neutral context was added) to visit again. Participants avoided the anxiety context, but did not prefer the safety over the neutral context. Participants with substantial conditioning effects, as reflected in differential valence, arousal and anxiety ratings, avoided the anxiety context but not the safety context. In sum, we demonstrated an association between context conditioning effects on an explicit level and later avoidance behaviour.     

Individual Differences in How Work and Nonwork Life Domains Contribute to Life Satisfaction: Using Factor Mixture Modeling for Classification

This study used factor mixture modeling to investigate individual differences in how life satisfaction is construed. Referring to the cognitive regulation of well-being we aimed to identify individuals for whom work and nonwork life domains contribute differently to overall life satisfaction. In a sample of 1,704 working adults two subgroups with different response patterns were identified. In the first subgroup work and nonwork life domains contributed equally to overall life satisfaction. In the second subgroup satisfaction with nonwork rather than work-related life domains were important sources of life satisfaction. Furthermore, participants in the second group processed negative affect from the work domain in ways that enabled them to maintain high levels of life satisfaction. We examined the external validity of class assignment and replicated our findings in a second sample. How factor mixture modeling can be used to uncover cognitive mechanisms that operate in evaluations of life satisfaction is discussed.     

Japanese Children's Reactions to Family Photographs: Associations with Mothers' Attachment Status

This study examined differences in children's responses to their family photographs within a sample of Japanese 6‐year‐olds (N = 44), exploring associations with their mothers' attachment status. The differences in children's photo reactions were captured by a 5‐point continuous scale to rate how engaged children were and how positively they responded to the photographs taken earlier with their mothers. Mothers' attachment security was assessed by the Adult Attachment Interview. The findings revealed that children of mothers with secure attachment status were significantly more engaged/positive in their photo reactions than were children of mothers with insecure attachment status. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of Media Images on Attitudes Toward Tanning

Two experiments evaluated the effects of exposure to pictures of suntanned and untanned fashion models on attitudes regarding the importance of having a tan. In Experiment 1, 128 women were randomly assigned to view images of photographer's models that had been digitally altered to make it appear that the model either did or did not have a tan. Participants who viewed images of the models without a tan expressed significantly less positive attitudes toward tanning than did those who viewed the same models with a tan. In Experiment 2, 169 women were randomly assigned to view advertisements taken from fashion and beauty magazines that contained models who appeared to have suntanned skin, models who appeared not to have a tan, or no models at all. The results demonstrated that participants who viewed ads depicting models with untanned skin expressed less favorable attitudes toward tanning than did those who viewed control ads or those who viewed tan models. Given escalating skincancer rates, it is important to examine the role that media exposure may play in promoting risky behaviors.     

Affective mechanisms linking dysfunctional behavior to performance in work teams: a moderated mediation study

The present study examines the association between dysfunctional team behavior and team performance. Data included measures of teams' dysfunctional behavior and negative affective tone as well as supervisors' ratings of teams' (nonverbal) negative emotional expressivity and performance. Utilizing a field sample of 61 work teams, the authors tested the proposed relationships with robust data analytic techniques. Results were consistent with the hypothesized conceptual scheme, in that negative team affective tone mediated the relationship between dysfunctional team behavior and performance when teams' nonverbal negative expressivity was high but not when nonverbal expressivity was low. On the basis of the findings, the authors conclude that the connection between dysfunctional behavior and performance in team situations is more complex than was previously believed--thereby yielding a pattern of moderated mediation. In sum, the findings demonstrated that team members' collective emotions and emotional processing represent key mechanisms in determining how dysfunctional team behavior is associated with team performance.     

Six-year-olds' perception of home literacy environment and its influence on children's literacy enjoyment,frequency, and early literacy skills

Home literacy environment (HLE) makes an important contribution to children's reading acquisition in early years. Even though some research on children's perception exists, children's reports about HLE have been neglected. The present study focuses on N = 281 six-year-old's reports about HLE and its influences on literacy enjoyment, frequency, and early literacy skills. Parents' educational background was expected to predict children-perceived HLE. A positive impact of active HLE on literacy enjoyment and frequency were found. HLE also mediates the relation between parents' background and enjoyment. The importance of children's perspective on HLE regarding family literacy programs is discussed.     

Systems change reborn: rethinking our theories, methods, and efforts in human services reform and community-based change

This article introduces the reader to this special issue on Systems Change and highlights six lessons learned about theory, methods, and interventions for systems change that emerged across the included articles. The value of a systems approach to systems change is examined, including the need for frameworks, methods, and change activities that attend to the characteristics of systems.