Using Identity Style and Parental Identification to Predict Political Orientation

There has been a recent increase in interest in the psychological differences and antecedents related to political orientation. Personality, disgust sensitivity, attachment, and closeness to parents have all been found or have been theorized to be predictive of political orientation. These variables and the additional roles played by normative identity style and parental identification were examined. The results showed that normative identity style is associated with political orientation and that the role played by parental identification depends on the perceived parental political ranking, the gender of the parent, and the measure used to examine political orientation. No support was found for Lakoff’s (2002) model of parenting and political orientation.     

Female Self-Sexualization in MySpace.com Personal Profile Photographs

This article reports the results of a content analysis of female self-sexualization in personal profile pictures on MySpace.com (N = 24,000). Photographs were analyzed according to three measures: ritualization of subordination, body display, and objectification. Trained evaluators coded the photographs for each measure by race/ethnicity, body type, sexual orientation, and education level. Findings reveal that rates of ritualization of subordination were significantly higher for Hispanics, average body types, and bisexuals. Body display and objectification were both significantly higher for Blacks and Hispanics, bisexuals, and women with higher education levels. Body display and objectification rates were significantly lower for larger body types while body display alone was significantly lower for lesbians. Overall self-sexualizing behavior in this study sample is low based upon study measures. Images presented on MySpace.com do reveal, however, an acceptance of constrained and stereotypical notions regarding both gender and sex roles.     

Increasing Sales Productivity Through Improved Sales Call Allocation Strategies

Abstract

Analytical tools have been found to greatly assist sales managers in making better sales call allocation decisions, but many of these approaches are either too simplified to provide meaningful results or too complex for many sales organizations to use. Recently a grid analysis approach has been suggested as a promising way to increase sales productivity by improving sales call allocations. We present several methodological improvements for developing the grid and report a successful application of grid analysis.     

Development and exploratory cluster-randomised opportunistic trial of a theory-based intervention to enhance physical activity among adolescents

This article reports the development and exploratory testing of a school-based intervention programme designed to enhance levels of physical activity in adolescents. The intervention is based on social cognitive theory (SCT), self-regulation theory (SRT) and planning as evidence-based mediators of physical activity changes. Two classes, paired on socio-economic variables, were selected from each of eight Portuguese schools and randomly assigned to an intervention or control group (N = 291). Primary outcome was ‘moderate to vigorous physical activity’ (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) measured pre and post intervention and at three and nine months follow-up. SCT, SRT and planning variables were secondary outcomes measured pre and post intervention. At post test, participants in the intervention group reported 18 min per week more physical activity (PA), adjusted for pre-intervention, age and sex, than those in the control group (95% confidence interval ?10 to 46; p = 0.249). This difference increased to 33 min (95% CI–4 to 71; p = 0.082) at three months and to 57 min (95% CI 13 to 101, p = 0.008) at nine month follow-up. Moreover, the intervention resulted in changes of some of the theoretical target variables, including outcome expectancies and coping planning. However, no evidence was found for the changes in theoretical moderators to mediate the intervention effects on behaviour. Implications for theory and for future research are discussed.     

Improving Discrimination and Face Matching with Caricature

Identification of faces from photographs is a common security measure, but matching unfamiliar faces produces high rates of error. Caricatures of familiar people are highly identifiable because they exaggerate distinctive features. We investigated whether exaggerating unfamiliar faces through caricaturing could also improve face‐matching accuracy. In Experiment 1, face‐matching arrays were caricatured relative to an average by 30%, 50% and 70%. Correct rejection of the target‐absent arrays was improved at all levels. Accurate matches increased at 30%, but at 70%, the transformation was too extreme, and all of the arrays were more likely to be rejected. In Experiment 2, photographic identification (ID) images were caricatured by 30% and 50% and matched to life‐size photographs. Rejection of foils improved, but the ID of matching images was impaired. Modest levels of caricature may improve discrimination in unfamiliar face matching, but at stronger levels, a conservative response bias may inhibit accurate ID. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evidence for the role of the General Factor of Personality (GFP) in enculturation: The GFP and self-construal in Japanese and American samples

Data from Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) studies, one with American participants and one with Japanese participants, were used to test the hypothesis that the General Factor of Personality (GFP) is positively associated with enculturation. To this end, the relationships between the GFP and independent self-construal and interdependent self-construal were examined. Consistent with the hypothesis, the results showed that an independent self-construal was more closely associated with the GFP in the American sample.     

Classroom Changes in ADHD Symptoms Following Clinic-Based Behavior Therapy

This study examined classroom behavioral outcomes for children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) following their participation in a manualized, 10-week intervention called Family Skills Training for ADHD-Related Symptoms (Family STARS). Family STARS combined behavioral parent training (BPT) and child-focused behavioral activation therapy (CBAT). Participants were children ages 7–10 diagnosed with ADHD-Combined Type. Pre- and post-treatment teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms were compared using a single group, within-subjects research design. Intervention effectiveness was analyzed using paired-samples t-tests. Results indicated statistically significant classroom improvements for externalizing behaviors and attention problems with medium and large main effects (respectively) for the intervention. Possible implications for combining CBAT with BPT for the treatment of ADHD are discussed as well as the relevance of these results for improving the effectiveness and portability of empirically supported interventions.     

Changes in Limb Stiffness Under Conditions of Mental Stress

In 2 experiments, the effects of mental stress on limb stiffness were investigated. The relative contribution to arm stiffness of individual muscle activity, co-contraction, muscle reflexes, and postural adjustments were examined. In each experiment, participants (N = 24, Experiment 1; N = 16, Experiment 2) held their supinated hand under a tray that they were required to return to horizontal after it had been suddenly released. Electromyographic activity in the biceps and triceps muscles was recorded, as were elbow and wrist angles and tray displacement. In Experiment 1, mental arithmetic stress was shown to lead to decreased tray displacement (i.e., increased resistance) compared with displacements under the control, unstressed condition, as well as to increased elbow flexion before tray release. In Experiment 2, the increased resistance to perturbation caused by mental stress was found to be independent of initial elbow angle, but to vary as a function of the amount of upward force exerted before tray release. The authors conclude that stress-induced increases in limb stiffness result from changes in the initial position of the elbow, specified by its angle, together with the initial force exerted by participants to counteract the mechanical perturbations.     

The Many Faces of Self: Ego and Ethnic Identities

This study addressed how adolescents come to develop a sense of ethnic identity. The author examined ethnic identity development as a process that occurs simultaneously with the development of ego identity and attitudes toward groups other than one's own. A multiethnic sample of 297 adolescents and young adults (aged 13 to 26 years) completed the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Scale Revision 2 (EOMEIS2; L. Bennion & G. Adams, 1986), the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; J. Phinney, 1992), and the Other Group Orientation Scale (J. Phinney, 1992). An Age x Ethnic Group x Gender experimental design was used to determine whether these factors contributed differently to ethnic identity and ego identity. Analyses showed significant differences in the level of ethnic identity development among the ethnic groups. More pronounced age differences were found at the lower levels of ego identity development than at the more advanced levels.     

Measuring Postural Sway in Sitting: A New Segmental Approach

Global measures of trunk sway are traditionally used even though the trunk comprises a multiple number of segments. The authors’ aim was to measure the seated sway of typically developing children using a multisegment approach. Twenty typically developing children divided into 2 groups, older and younger than 10 years old, participated in this study. The children sat unsupported for 30 s while their posture and sway were quantified using stereophotogrammetry. The tendency in both age groups was to sit with a backward tilted pelvis and a kyphotic trunk. The sitting position was most varied in the younger group. Marker sway amplitude and velocity in sitting were age dependent, with reduced sway amplitude and velocity with increased age for all segments. Anteroposterior intersegmental angular sway was not age dependent. The difference in marker sway in the anteroposterior direction for the younger group appeared to result from an equally stable trunk supported on a less stable pelvis. Mediolateral marker sway and intersegmental angular sway showed a clearer age dependency. Trunk postural control does not appear to differ between children older and younger than 10 years old, but sagittal plane pelvic stability can explain the increased sway reported in younger children.