In search of the active ingredient of respect: a closer look at the role of acceptance

The experiment (N = 67) tested whether the effectiveness of intragroup respect can be traced back to the symbolic value of intragroup respect as a sign or message of acceptance. In addition to intragroup respect, intragroup acceptance was manipulated as a second independent variable so that the hypothesized acceptance message of intragroup respect was either confirmed or undermined. Collective identification and willingness to engage in group‐serving behaviour were the main dependent variables. Mediation tests—based on the experimental manipulations as well as additional measurement of the critical variables—provided no evidence that intragroup acceptance is the active ingredient of intragroup respect. Instead, we replicated the respect effects known from the literature and secured further evidence of their internal validity. We also found an effect of intragroup acceptance similar to that of intragroup respect, but the former was mediated by feelings of being liked which played no role in intragroup respect. Theoretical and methodological implications of the results are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relation between infant freezing and the development of internalizing symptoms in adolescence: A prospective longitudinal study

Given the long‐lasting detrimental effects of internalizing symptoms, there is great need for detecting early risk markers. One promising marker is freezing behavior. Whereas initial freezing reactions are essential for coping with threat, prolonged freezing has been associated with internalizing psychopathology. However, it remains unknown whether early life alterations in freezing reactions predict changes in internalizing symptoms during adolescent development. In a longitudinal study (N = 116), we tested prospectively whether observed freezing in infancy predicted the development of internalizing symptoms from childhood through late adolescence (until age 17). Both longer and absent infant freezing behavior during a standard challenge (robot‐confrontation task) were associated with internalizing symptoms in adolescence. Specifically, absent infant freezing predicted a relative increase in internalizing symptoms consistently across development from relatively low symptom levels in childhood to relatively high levels in late adolescence. Longer infant freezing also predicted a relative increase in internalizing symptoms, but only up until early adolescence. This latter effect was moderated by peer stress and was followed by a later decrease in internalizing symptoms. The findings suggest that early deviations in defensive freezing responses signal risk for internalizing symptoms and may constitute important markers in future stress vulnerability and resilience studies.     

The influence of episodic memory decline on value-based choice

Recent studies suggest the involvement of episodic memory in value-based decisions as a source of information about subjective values of choice options. We therefore tested the link between age-related memory decline and inconsistencies in value-based decisions in 30 cognitively healthy older adults. Within the pre-registered experiment, the inconsistencies were measured in two ways: i) the consistency between stated preferences and revealed choices; ii) the amount of intransitivities in choice triplets, revealed in a forced paired choice task including all possible pairings of 20 food products. Although no significant association of memory functions to number of intransitive triplets was observed, participants with lower memory scores were more likely to choose the item for which they stated a lower preference. The results suggest a higher noise in the underlying preference signal in participants with lower memory. We discuss the results in the context of the unique needs of elderly consumers.     

The use of snowball sampling for multi source organizational research: Some cause for concern

In snowball sampling for multisource studies, researchers ask target participants to recruit informants. Despite its widespread use, especially for recruiting informants for multisource research, virtually no published research has addressed possible biases snowball sampling may cause in findings of this type of research. Such potential biases were tested empirically in a multisource study with a sample of 1,058 employed students asked to collect online ratings from their supervisors and coworkers. Informant ratings were obtained for 358 target participants. Objective indicators were employed to identify informant ratings suspicious of being fabricated. Results indicated that target participants who report (a) better relationship quality with informants, (b) fewer organizational constraints, and (c) more favorable self‐evaluations on behaviors to be rated by informants were more likely to be included in multisource data unsuspicious of being fabricated. Inclusion of informant ratings suspicious of being fabricated led to inflated estimates of self‐other consensus and of variance accounted for in criterion measures, to deflated informant rating means, but also to a target sample less restricted in terms of relevant organizational variables. In sum, the present findings suggest that potential biases should be identified in future uses of snowball sampling. Some practical recommendations toward that end are derived.     

Breakdown of Intimacy. Insights into the world of a depressive lock-in

Breakdowns are states in which the continuity of being was destroyed. A breakdown has happened but could not be experienced. It is not possible to observe these states because they are beyond our intuition. We have to paraphrase them as ‘shadow’, ‘non-existence’, or ‘black hole’. In these dynamics, the development of a Super-Ego precedes the development of the ego. Under such a Super-Ego, the unthinkable turns into omniscience – no intimacy is left.

This process is demonstrated using the example of a treatment in which a patient regresses into a severe autistoid depression (major depression). In a depressive lock-in, all mental life collapsed and intrapsychic and interpsychic communication was not possible, neither of the depression nor of the panic. The ‘me’ is threatened with dissolution, the ‘not-me’ is flattened into a two-dimensional non-existence. For the analyst, it is nearly impossible to understand anything, to build up any empathy, i.e., to grasp the depression intuitively. Finally, intimacy gets lost – until it is possible to communicate this agony (e.g., by projective identification).     

The relationship of GMA to counterproductive work behavior revisited

Recent research reported that general mental ability (GMA) predicted counterproductive work behavior (CWB), whereas some previous studies failed to find such a relationship. We tested occupational homogeneity of the sample and criterion measurement as two potential explanations for these inconsistencies. Study 1 replicated major design features of one previous study, which found no GMA–CWB relation in a heterogeneous sample, with occupationally homogeneous groups. Results confirmed previous null findings, indicating no effect of sample homogeneity. In Study 2, using a controlled laboratory setting, GMA was again unrelated to self‐reported CWB, but partially predicted observed CWB negatively. Combined findings suggest that GMA is consistently unrelated to CWB self‐reports but may predict objectively measured CWB independently of the likelihood of being caught. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implicit but Not Explicit Affectivity Predicts Circadian and Reactive Cortisol: Using the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test

ABSTRACT Self-report measures assess mental processes or representations that are consciously accessible. In contrast, implicit measures assess automatic processes that often operate outside awareness. Whereas self-report measures have often failed to show expected relationships with endocrine stress responses, little effort has been made to relate implicit measures to endocrine processes. The present work examines whether implicit affectivity as assessed by the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (IPANAT) predicts cortisol regulation. In Study 1 , implicit low positive affectivity, but not negative affectivity, significantly predicted circadian cortisol release. In Study 2 , implicit negative affectivity, but not positive affectivity, significantly predicted the cortisol response to acute stress. By contrast, cortisol regulation was not predicted by self-reported affectivity. The findings support the use of implicit affectivity measures in studying individual differences in endocrine stress responses and point to a differential role of positive and negative affectivity in baseline versus stress-contingent cortisol release, respectively.