Affect,meaning in life,and life satisfaction among immigrants and non-immigrants: A moderated mediation model

Current Psychology - Immigration has become a global phenomenon as part of modern life. However, immigrants often demonstrate negative emotional states following the immigration process, which may...     

Unique and Joint Effects of Sexual and Racial Harassment on College Students' Well-Being

An analysis is presented of issues involved in the differences noted between female and male leaders of mixed-sex groups. After surveying some of the different types of reactions of followers of both sexes to female or male leaders, this paper calls attention to such contributing factors as the nature of the group task, attitudes of leader and followers toward appropriate sex roles, and the criterion measures used. Implications for future research are derived and discussed.     

The shared leadership process in decision-making teams

The present study examined the process of shared leadership in 45 ad hoc decision-making teams. Each team member's leadership behavior (n = 180) was assessed by behaviorally coding videotapes of the teams' discussions. The within-team patterns of leadership behavior were examined using cluster analysis. Results indicated that the likelihood of a team experiencing a full range of leadership behavior increased to the extent that multiple team members shared leadership, and that teams with shared leadership experienced less conflict, greater consensus, and higher intragroup trust and cohesion than teams without shared leadership. This study supports previous findings that shared leadership contributes to overall team functioning, and begins to delineate the extent to which team members may naturally share leadership.     

WAIS-IV subtest covariance structure: conceptual and statistical considerations

D. Wechsler (2008b) reported confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) with standardization data (ages 16-69 years) for 10 core and 5 supplemental subtests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). Analyses of the 15 subtests supported 4 hypothesized oblique factors (Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, Perceptual Reasoning, and Processing Speed) but also revealed unexplained covariance between Block Design and Visual Puzzles (Perceptual Reasoning subtests). That covariance was not included in the final models. Instead, a path was added from Working Memory to Figure Weights (Perceptual Reasoning subtest) to improve fit and achieve a desired factor pattern. The present research with the same data (N = 1,800) showed that the path from Working Memory to Figure Weights increases the association between Working Memory and Matrix Reasoning. Specifying both paths improves model fit and largely eliminates unexplained covariance between Block Design and Visual Puzzles but with the undesirable consequence that Figure Weights and Matrix Reasoning are equally determined by Perceptual Reasoning and Working Memory. An alternative 4-factor model was proposed that explained theory-implied covariance between Block Design and Visual Puzzles and between Arithmetic and Figure Weights while maintaining compatibility with WAIS-IV Index structure. The proposed model compared favorably with a 5-factor model based on Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory. The present findings emphasize that covariance model comparisons should involve considerations of conceptual coherence and theoretical adherence in addition to statistical fit.     

Reactions to social vs self-evaluation: Moderating effects of personal and social identity orientations

People differ in the degree to which their identities are based on personal versus social identity characteristics. This experiment tested the hypothesis that people are most concerned about evaluations that are relevant to their salient identity orientation. The Aspects of Identity Questionnaire was used to classify subjects as low or high in personal and social identities. Subjects then anticipated taking a test, believing that their performance would be known by only them, by only a research assistant, by both them and a research assistant, or by no one. Subjects then completed thought-listing and self-report measures of evaluation apprehension. Subjects who scored high in social identity reacted more strongly to the social evaluation than subjects low in social identity. Although subjects high in personal identity were not particularly threatened by private feedback, personal identity seemed to buffer subjects against the threat of social-evaluation. The results are discussed in the context of recent work on private and public aspects of the self.     

Direct comparison of auditory implicit memory tests

In this experiment, we examined the degree to which four implicit tests and two explicit tests, all involving auditory presentation, were sensitive to the perceptual characteristics of the stimuli presented during study. Presenting stimuli visually decreased priming in all the implicit memory tests, relative to auditory presentation. However, changing voice between study and test decreased priming only in the implicit memory tests requiring identification of words degraded by noise or by low-pass filtering, but not in those tests requiring generation from word portions (stems and fragments). Modality effects without voice effects were observed in cued recall, but the opposite pattern of results (voice effects without modality effects) was obtained in recognition. The primary new finding is the demonstration that auditory memory tests, both explicit and implicit, differ in their sensitivity to the perceptual information encoded during study.     

The Values and Lifestyles of Idiocentrics and Allocentrics in an Individualist Culture: A Descriptive Approach

A considerable degree of research in cross‐cultural consumer psychology has focused on the effects of individualism–collectivism on consumer preference for advertising appeals. Recently, psychologists have demonstrated a growing interest in the individual‐level manifestations of individualism–collectivism. Idiocentrism refers to person‐level individualism, whereas allocentrism refers to person‐level collectivism. Drawing on individualism–collectivism theory, in this article we look at the lifestyle of idiocentrics and allocentrics. Our findings suggest a convergence between the etic‐ and emic‐level approaches, thus strengthening individualism–collectivism theory. The emic‐level findings of this study also suggest additional questions to be explored at the etic level. Finally, we make suggestions for applications in consumer communication.     

Sexual Harassment Severity: Assessing Situational and Personal Determinants and Outcomes1

The current study bridges literatures on sexual harassment, person‐environment systems, and stress and appraisal processes. Conventional wisdom equates severity of sexual harassment with type of harassment. We test this notion empirically and posit a more comprehensive model that examines both person‐ and situation‐level variables. Data came from 13,743 U.S. Armed Forces women responding to survey questions about a significant experience of sexual harassment. Multiple regression results indicate that pervasiveness of sexual harassment relates outcomes better than does type of sexual harassment. Pervasiveness and type interact to predict subjective appraisal of harassment. Additionally, according to multiple‐group structural equation models, appraisal mediates relations between pervasiveness and outcomes. Results further suggest that relations among sexual‐harassment antecedents and outcomes are consistent, regardless of the type of sexual harassment. These findings highlight the importance of examining both persons and situations when assessing sexual harassment severity.     

Comparing responses to novel objects in wild baboons (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Papio ursinus</Emphasis>) and geladas (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Theropithecus gelada</Emphasis>)

Behavioral flexibility is considered by some to be one of the hallmarks of advanced cognitive ability. One measure of behavioral flexibility is how subjects respond to novel objects. Despite growing interest in comparative cognition, no comparative research on neophilia in wild primates has been conducted. Here, we compare responses to novel objects in wild chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) and geladas (Theropithecus gelada). Baboons and geladas are closely related taxa, yet they differ in their ecology and degree of social tolerance: (1) baboons are habitat and dietary generalists, whereas geladas have one of the most specialized primate diets (90% grass); (2) baboons exhibit an aversion toward extra-group individuals, whereas geladas typically exhibit an attraction toward them. Using subjects of all age and sex classes, we examined responses to three different objects: a plastic doll, a rubber ball, and a metal can. Overall, baboon subjects exhibited stronger responses to the objects (greater neophilia and exploration) than gelada subjects, yet we found no evidence that the geladas were afraid of the objects. Furthermore, baboons interacted with the objects in the same way they might interact with a potential food item. Responses were unrelated to sex, but immatures showed more object exploration than adults. Results corroborate novel object research conducted in captive populations and suggest that baboons and geladas have differences in behavioral flexibility (at least in this cognitive domain) that have been shaped by ecological (rather than social) differences between the two species. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Assessing PTSD in the military: Validation of a scale distributed to Danish soldiers after deployment since 1998

Since 1998, soldiers deployed to war zones with the Danish Defense (≈31,000) have been invited to fill out a questionnaire on post‐mission reactions. This provides a unique data source for studying the psychological toll of war. Here, we validate a measure of PTSD‐symptoms from the questionnaire. Soldiers from two cohorts deployed to Afghanistan with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in 2009 (ISAF7, N = 334) and 2013 (ISAF15, N = 278) filled out a standard questionnaire (Psychological Reactions following International Missions, PRIM) concerning a range of post‐deployment reactions including symptoms of PTSD (PRIM‐PTSD). They also filled out a validated measure of PTSD‐symptoms in DSM‐IV, the PTSD‐checklist (PCL). We tested reliability of PRIM‐PTSD by estimating Cronbach's alpha, and tested validity by correlating items, clusters, and overall scale with corresponding items in the PCL. Furthermore, we conducted two confirmatory factor analytic models to test the factor structure of PRIM‐PTSD, and tested measurement invariance of the selected model. Finally, we established a screening and a clinical cutoff score by application of ROC analysis. We found high internal consistency of the PRIM‐PTSD (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88; both cohorts), strong item‐item (0.48–0.83), item‐cluster (0.43–0.72), cluster‐cluster (0.71–0.82) and full‐scale (0.86–0.88) correlations between PRIM‐PTSD and PCL. The factor analyses showed adequate fit of a one‐factor model, which was also found to display strong measurement invariance across cohorts. ROC curve analysis established cutoff scores for screening (sensitivity = 1, specificity = 0.93) and clinical use (sensitivity = 0.71, specificity = 0.98). In conclusion, we find that PRIM‐PTSD is a valid measure for assessing PTSD‐symptoms in Danish soldiers following deployment.