The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 Among a School Sample of Portuguese Male and Female Adolescents

Few personality traits are as socially relevant as impulsivity, but few self-report measures have been specifically developed for adolescents and children. The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale version 11 (BIS-11) among a mixed-gender sample of 782 Portuguese youth (M = 15.87 years; SD = 1.72), in a school context. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the expected 6-factor first-order structure, but the 3-factor second-order factorial structure did not present a good fit. Cross-gender measurement invariance was demonstrated only in terms of weak invariance. Nonetheless, the Portuguese adaptation of the BIS-11 demonstrated some generally acceptable psychometric properties of internal consistency, mean inter-item correlation, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity of statistically significant associations with conduct disorder symptoms, alcohol abuse, drug use, and unprotected sex. The use of the BIS-11 among the male and female youth population is psychometrically justified, and it can be a useful measure to identify impulsive adolescents who are at considerable risk of personal injury and present a potential source of injury to others.     

Wellbeing at Work and the Great Recession: The Effect of Others’ Unemployment

The recent recession has generated a tremendous increase in unemployment rates in Spain. In this paper we use a very rich repeated cross-section dataset on workers’ job conditions, together with regional unemployment rates, to investigate whether peers’ unemployment affects individuals’ job satisfaction. We find that, once perceived job stability is controlled for, peers’ unemployment shows a positive effect on individuals’ wellbeing at work, greater and more precisely estimated for men and private-sector workers. The impact is highly non-linear and the greatest effect is found for unemployment rates exceeding 10 %. Interestingly, the results are robust to controlling for workforce selection.     

An Exercise in Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: Treating Emotional Distress in Melanoma Patients

This study presents a retrospective assessment of a psychological intervention examined for its potential cost-effectiveness if implemented into standard care. It discusses (1) the cost of instituting a psychological intervention for distressed melanoma patients, (2) the effectiveness of that intervention for reducing distress when compared with a standard care group, and (3) the costs of providing the treatment as compared to costs of physician time to answer distress-driven questions as part of standard care. Although the per-minute cost of providing the psychological intervention was marginally greater than standard care, providing the intervention was significantly cheaper in terms of distress reduction. Inclusion of 60% payer reimbursement rates for the intervention further suggested that incorporating a psychological intervention into standard medical care for melanoma patients would potentially generate revenue.     

Proposition 187 reexamined: Attitudes toward immigration among California voters

The purposes of this study were to examine socio-demographic predictors of attitudes toward immigration in a community-based sample (N = 494) from the Los Angeles area; and to explore the relationship between attitudes toward immigration and the providing of educational and health services to the children of undocumented immigrants. Not providing services to the children of undocumented immigrants was a key element of California's Proposition 187. Attitudes toward immigration were measured with the Attitudes Toward Immigration Scale (ATIS). The providing of services was measured through the participants' evaluations of a school scenario and a health care scenario. Results indicated that participants who were middle-aged or older, less educated, identified as Republican, and were third generation or greater were more likely to hold negative attitudes toward immigration. Furthermore, participants holding negative attitudes toward immigration were less likely to provide education and health care services to the children of undocumented immigrants.     

Workers' self‐objectification and tendencies to conform to others

Recent research showed that workers' self‐objectification—their self‐perception as objects rather than human beings—leads to detrimental intrapersonal consequences. In the present research, we explored whether this phenomenon may also affect interpersonal relations, by increasing workers' tendencies to conform. In a correlational study, Italian workers who perceived their work as more objectifying self‐objectified more—self‐attributed less human mental states and self‐perceive as more instrument‐like than human‐like—and, in turn, were more inclined to conform with others. The second study experimentally confirmed this pattern, showing that British workers who recalled an objectifying (vs. a non‐objectifying) work experience self‐objectified more. Self‐perception as instrument‐like was associated, in turn, with an increased tendency to adapt to others' opinions. The implications for organizational and social psychology are discussed.     

Effect of task presentation on students’ performances in introductory statistics courses

Research on academic learning indicates that many students experience major difficulties with introductory statistics and methodology courses. We hypothesized that students’ difficulties may depend in part on the fact that statistics tasks are commonly viewed as related to the threatening domain of math. In two field experiments which we carried out in the ecological context of introductory statistics courses, the representation of a statistics task administered to undergraduate students in Psychology (Study 1; n = 127) and Biology (Study 2; n = 166) was manipulated. In both studies we found that students who reported the least favorable prior attainments in math had their performance thwarted when the task was presented as related to the math domain, whereas no performance impairment was observed when the task was presented as related to the verbal/linguistic domain. Implications of the findings for the design and delivery of introductory statistics and research methodology courses are discussed.