Mediterranean diet and wellbeing: evidence from a nationwide survey

Objective: Although there is some evidence of the association between specific food groups, such as plant foods, and subjective wellbeing, this is the first study to assess the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern and subjective wellbeing. Design: Data were collected in 2014–2015, within the Edad con Salud project, a follow-up study of a multistage clustered survey on a representative sample of the population of Spain. The final sample comprised 2397 individuals with ages ranging from 21 to 101 years. Main outcome measures: Experienced wellbeing (positive and negative affect) was measured using the Day Reconstruction Method, and evaluative wellbeing was assessed with the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. Results: A higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet showed a small but statistically significant inverse relationship with negative affect (β?=??0.076, p=.001), and direct with evaluative wellbeing (β?=?0.053, p=.015), whereas it was not related to positive affect. Several components of the Mediterranean diet were independently associated with wellbeing. Conclusion: The results suggest that adherence to a dietary pattern such as the Mediterranean diet, and not only the isolated consumption of its components, is associated with a better subjective wellbeing.     

Psychometric properties of the Brief Symptoms Inventory-18 (Bsi-18) in a Spanish sample of outpatients with psychiatric disorders

This study analyzes the psychometric and structural properties of the BSI-18 in a sample of Spanish outpatients with psychiatric disorders (N = 200), with three basic objectives: (a) to study the structural validity of the instrument; (b) to analyse reliability (internal consistency and test-retest stability) and validity (convergent and discriminant) of the instrument, and (c) to evaluate sensitivity to change in a therapeutic context. Using confirmatory factor analysis, two models were tested: the three-dimensional theoretical model proposed by its authors, and the empirical four-factor model obtained by the same authors through exploratory factor analysis. Our results showed that the best structure was a four-dimensional model, with the General Distress index and Somatization, Depression, General Anxiety and Panic scores. These four scales showed good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, validity and sensitivity to therapeutic change. The BSI-18 has been shown to be a reliable and useful tool for psychiatric assessment of patients, with the added advantage provided by its simplicity and ease of application.     

Cross-notational semantic priming between symbolic and nonsymbolic numerosity

Symbolic and nonsymbolic numerosities produce similar behavioural effects and activate the same brain areas. These results have usually been interpreted in terms of a common, notation-independent magnitude representation. However, semantic priming between symbolic and nonsymbolic inputs has been somehow elusive (e.g., Koechlin, Naccache, Block, & Dehaene, 1999). In Experiment 1, we looked at whether cross-notational semantic priming depends on exact numerical meaning. Dice faces and digits were mixed as prime and target. Semantic priming occurred when prime and target were in the same notation as much as when they were in different notation. In Experiment 2, we found cross-notation semantic priming even when the nonsymbolic numerosity was presented as a set of random dots. Priming, however, occurred only from sets of dots to digit, not vice versa. These data support the computational model recently proposed by Verguts and Fias (2004; Verguts, Fias, & Stevens, 2005).     

Inattentional blindness for negative relationships in human causal learning

The present study focuses on the effect of selective attention on causal learning. Three effects of the level of attention to predictive symptoms in positive and negative contingency learning tasks are reported. First, participants accurately detected a positive relationship between an incidental cue and a contingent outcome, although judgements were slightly lower than those for the attended cue. Second, participants were unable to detect negative relationships between incidental cues and outcomes, which suggests a major role of selective attention in this type of learning. Third, participants retrieved the frequency of each trial type more accurately in the attended conditions than in the incidental conditions. These findings show how attention guides and constrains human causal learning and reveal an inattentional blindness effect for negative contingency learning.     

Factors that influence emotional disturbance in adults living in extreme poverty

Living in poverty conditions implies exposure to severe circumstances of social disadvantage, associated with greater propensity to contract illnesses. A negative correlation has consistently been observed between health and poverty. The chronic exposure to stress affects people's well-being through the development of symptoms of anxiety and depression. The suffering of these symptoms for a long time period may be considered as part of a more general syndrome of emotional disturbance, in detriment to a person's mental health. The objective of this study is to identify psychological factors that influence emotional disturbance, measured as symptoms of anxiety and depression, in adults living in poverty conditions in Mexico's central region. A total of 913 adults, 65.2% female, were surveyed. The mean age of the participants was 43.71 (±12.58) years and the mean number of years of schooling was 4.04 (±3.36). Variables corresponding to personal characteristics were measured. The results indicate that the most important risk factor for depression is anxiety and vice versa. Additionally, gender, negative self-esteem, lack of adequate strategies for confronting and resolving difficulties, and lack of self-regulation predicted depression, whereas stress, lack of self-regulation, and coping style predicted anxiety. These variables were better predictors than optimism, locus of control, sense of humor or religiosity.     

Semantic processing in the production of numerals across notations

In the present work, we conducted a series of experiments to explore the processing stages required to name numerals presented in different notations. To this end, we used the semantic blocking paradigm previously used in psycholinguist studies. We found a facilitative effect of the semantic blocked context relative to the mixed context for Arabic digits and number words. However, the blocked context produced an interference effect for physical numerosity and Roman numbers. Our results provided further evidence to models suggesting that Arabic digits may be named through an asemantic route similar to that of number words, whereas a semantic route is mandatory to name physical numerosity and Roman numerals.     

Selling & Sales Management in Action: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INCENTIVES IN A SALES FORCE CONTEST

The sales job of the early twenty-first century has evolved due to myriad rapidly changing environmental factors. Customer relationship focus, technology, global competition, shifting customer preferences and demands, forced downsizing, increased competitive pressure, and other factors have contributed to altering the salesperson role—what salespeople do. Yet outdated taxonomies are referenced when researching and writing about sales jobs. This paper develops an empirically generated sales position taxonomy based on changing selling activities and strategies. First, a set of 105 activities are factor analyzed to create 12 dimensions of selling. Second, the factor scores are entered into a cluster analysis. The resulting factor score centroids allow for interpretation of a taxonomy of six categories of contemporary sales jobs.     

Abstractness and Messages Describing Consequences Promote Healthier Behavioral Intentions

Many health-risk behaviors present a self-control conflict in which the short-term outcomes of an action conflict with its long-term consequences. Across three studies, we find that an abstract construal level leads people to focus on long-term rather than short-term consequences when both are described in a message (vs. no message). Studies 1 and 2 explore this hypothesis through a risk behavior (snacking on sugary products), and Study 3 does the same through a health behavior (physical exercise). In Study 1, the Behavioral Identification Form scale is used to measure the construal level as a personal disposition; Studies 2 and 3 use a priming task designed by Freitas, Gollwitzer, and Trope to manipulate the construal level. All these studies show that, under an abstract mindset, people who have read a mixed-outcome message (vs. no message) tend to base their behavioral plans on long-term outcomes. Individually or in small groups (e.g. school class, therapy groups) health messages can be presented along with protocols to change construal level and thus, promote healthier intentions.     

Locus of control as a mediator of the association between attachment and children’s mental health

Locus of control—the expectation that one is in control of one’s outcomes in life—is linked to well-being. The authors explored one of the possible antecedents of locus of control such as secure children’s attachment. The hypothesis was that locus of control acts as a mediator of the association between children’s attachment and their mental health, in terms of depression, anxiety (internalizing problems), and aggression (externalizing problems). Participants were 206 children with ages ranging from 8 to 14 years. The authors obtained data from teachers as well as by self-report. Structural equations modelling yielded significant results for both a direct path from insecure attachment to internalizing problems and an indirect pathway in which locus of control functions as a mediating variable between children’s attachment and internalizing problems. Although the data were consistent with the mediated pathway with regard to internalizing problems, different findings emerged for aggression. Insecure attachment was a significant predictor of aggressive behavior, while locus of control was not a mediator between attachment and aggressive behavior. The authors’ findings confirm the mediating role of the locus of control between attachment and internalizing problems, but not between attachment and externalizing ones.     

Effect of the light intensity upon the agonistic behaviour of juvenile of white‐seabream (Diplodus sargus cadenati de la Paz,Bauchot and Daget, 1974)

Ambient light levels were manipulated to vary potential predation risk, and aggressive behaviour was examined. Juveniles of white‐seabream (Diplodus sargus cadenati) interacted aggressively more frequently at intermediate light intensity (500 lux), being agonistic interactions at higher (3000 lux) or lower (5 lux) illumination less frequent. Aggr. Behav. 30:313–318, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.