Examining the cross‐cultural validity of the positive affect and negative affect schedule between an Asian (Singaporean) sample and a Western (American) sample

The positive affect and negative affect schedule (PANAS) is a popular measure of positive (PA) and negative affectivity (NA). Developed and validated in Western contexts, the 20‐item scale has been frequently administered on respondents from Asian countries with the assumption of cross‐cultural measurement invariance. We examine this assumption via a rigorous multigroup confirmatory factor analysis, which allows us to assess between‐group differences in both strength of scale item‐to‐latent factor relationship (metric invariance test) and mean of each scale item (scalar invariance test), on a large sample of 1,065 respondents recruited from Singapore (Asian sample) and the United States (Western sample). We found that two items assessing PA (“excited” and “proud”) and three items assessing NA (“guilty,” “hostile,” and “ashamed”) exhibited metric noninvariance whereas 11 of the remaining metric invariant items exhibited scalar noninvariance, suggesting that the PA and NA constructs differ from what the PANAS is expected to measure for Asian respondents. Our findings serve as a cautionary note to researchers who intend to administer the PANAS in future studies as well as to researchers interpreting the results of past studies involving respondents from Asian countries.     

Word‐of‐mouth information processing routes: The mediating role of message and source characteristics

This study investigates word‐of‐mouth (WOM) information processing routes from active WOM seeking behaviour. Employing the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), the direct and indirect effects of factors within information processing routes are examined in a credence service context. A deeper exploration of the causal chains of each route was conducted using serial mediation models of message quality and source characteristics. Data were collected in the higher education context from a survey of 509 high school students applying for tertiary study. Findings indicate that active WOM seeking and the serial mediation effects elicit two routes of information processing: central and peripheral. This study is amongst the first to intensively reveal the underlying causal chains of WOM processing and supports the application of ELM theory in WOM research.     

When the bullied peer is native-born vs. immigrant: A mixed-method study with a sample of native-born and immigrant adolescents

An increasing number of immigrant students attend Italian schools, with the possibility of being involved in bullying episodes. A few studies have investigated this phenomenon, providing some evidence that immigrant students may face an increased risk of being bullied compared to native-born students. The present study adopted a mixed-method design, which may better detect the dynamics of bullying towards immigrant peers. Participants were 692 native-born and immigrant students (20.5% with immigrant background; 54.8% females) who filled in self-report measures about their bullying experiences, popularity, acceptance of diversity at school, and prejudice. Thirty-five pupils (54% with immigrant background) were also interviewed. Two hypothetical bullying scenarios were presented: one depicting a native-born victim and one depicting an immigrant victim. After each scenario, adolescents were encouraged to reason about the motives for bullying. Quantitative data showed that general bullying was associated with perceived popularity status among peers, while racial bullying was associated with prejudice but not peer status. The relevance of anti-immigrant prejudices in driving racial bullying emerged also from adolescents’ interviews. The qualitative data indicated that among the reasons for bullying, adolescents mentioned a desire for dominance and popularity, in particular when the victim was non-immigrant. Findings suggest that, in addition to individual and peer group-related risk factors, prejudice also needs to be addressed in anti-bullying interventions aimed to counteract racial bullying.     

Roles of Boredom and Life Goals in Juvenile Delinquency1

The relationship between possible selves and boredom in juvenile delinquency was examined in 418 high school students. The construct Possible Selves refers to the representation of the self that each person would like to become, could become, and is afraid of becoming. Participants who acknowledged high levels of delinquent behaviors reported more negative possible selves, a higher tendency to experience boredom, and fewer positive possible selves than did adolescents who engaged in lower levels of delinquent behaviors. Also, the number of negative possible selves, the number of positive possible selves, boredom proneness, and gender accounted for 32% of the variance in juvenile delinquency. Overall, the results provide evidence that boredom and a negative view of one's future play a significant role in adolescent delinquent behavior.     

Describing our “humanness”: Can genetic science alter what it means to be “human”?

Over the past several decades, geneticists have succeeded in identifying the genetic mutations associated with disease. New strategies for treatment, including gene transfer and gene therapy, are under development. Although genetic science has been welcomed for its potential to predict and treat disease, interventions may become ethically objectionable if they threaten to alter characteristics that are distinctively human. Before we can determine whether or not a genetic technique carries this risk, we must clarify what it means to be “human”. This paper inquires how “humanness” has been defined within various academic fields. The views of several legal theoreists, scientists, bioethicists, psychologists, philosophers and anthropologists whose works seem to best reflect how “humanness” is understood in their respective fields of study are considered. Our survey attempts to chart a path for a more detailed study on the meaning of “humanness” in the future. We assess four traits commonly identified in the literature as defining what it means to be human: cognition, biological or physiological composition, social interaction with other “human” beings, and spirituality. The nature of the relationship between these characteristics, in our view, is symbiotic: genetic intervention which alters one of them could have repercussions on one or more of the others. In conclusion, we offer guidance to those participating in genetic research and treatment regarding the parameters within which they may proceed without threatening the preservation of what is distinctively human.     

How honest do counsellors dare to be in the supervisory relationship?: An exploratory study

A study was conducted to investigate the extent to which psychodynamic counsellors feel able to disclose sensitive issues in supervision. Ninety-six counsellors in supervision responded to a questionnaire that asked about supervision arrangements, the supervisory working alliance, and the likelihood of disclosing issues such as erotic feelings towards clients and discomfort with the supervisor. Results showed that supervisees were likely to disclose more in individual rather than in collective supervision, when their supervisor was someone whom they themselves had chosen rather than had allocated to them, and when they were supervised independently of the setting in which they counselled rather than in-house. There was a positive correlation between the quality of the supervisory working alliance as experienced by the supervisee and the extent of his or her disclosure. Implications of counsellors feeling inhibited from disclosing particular issues in supervision, and the impact on the quality of their work with clients, are discussed.     

The Effects of a Can’t-Answer Response Option and Instructions on Stimulus Equivalence

The Psychological Record - Two interlocking conditional discriminations were established in a paper-and-pencil match-to-sample format by written rule-like instructions to 104 college...     

The Importance of Context in the US Preexposure Effect in CTA: Novel versus Latently Inhibited Contextual Stimuli

Three experiments were conducted to examine the role of novel contextual stimuli in producing the unconditioned stimulus (US) preexposure effect. Experiment 1 demonstrated that novel contextual stimuli produce a significantly stronger US preexposure effect than familiar or “latently inhibited” contextual stimuli. Moreover, subjects preexposed in the presence of latently inhibited contextual cues failed to show a significant US preexposure effect. Experiments 2 and 3 attempted to provide evidence that the addition of a single novel stimulus to the latently inhibited context would result in a significantly stronger US preexposure effect than when no such novel cue was present. Experiment 3 was able to demonstrate this effect. Results are consistent with the Rescorla–Wagner (1972) model of conditioning.     

Interpersonal variables affecting attributions of defensiveness

Two studies explored interpersonal factors influencing attributions of defensiveness. In Experiment 1, 22 pairs of undergraduate participants interviewed one another regarding their “worst failure.” Participants’ self- and other-attributions of defensiveness following the interview did not differ significantly, indicating the absence of a self-serving bias. In Experiment 2, 48 participants, assigned to one of three conditions, were interviewed by the experimenter about their “worst failure.” Those who received “extremely defensive” ratings from a fictitious psychologist produced significantly higher self-ratings of defensiveness (p<.0001) than did participants who simply completed self-ratings following the interview or who watched a videotape of the interview prior to completing self-ratings of their interview behavior. A new model of psychological defense is presented, which can account for these results.