Within-person covariation of agentic and communal perceptions: Implications for interpersonal theory and assessment

Interpersonal theory identifies agency and communion as uncorrelated (orthogonal) dimensions, largely evidenced by research examining between-person analyses of single-occasion measures. However, longitudinal studies of interpersonal behavior demonstrated the within-person association of agency and communion is not orthogonal for many individuals, and between-person differences in these associations relate to adjustment. We applied a similar approach to investigate the association of interpersonal perceptions. 184 university students completed a 7-day event-contingent study of their interpersonal experiences. Using multilevel regression models, we demonstrated that agentic and communal perceptions were positively associated, and the strength of this within-person association was moderated by between-person scores of dependency and narcissism. We discuss the benefits of incorporating within-person interpersonal associations (termed interpersonal covariation) into interpersonal theory and assessment.     

Integrating Methods to Optimize Circumplex Description and Comparison of Groups

The ‘self-steering behaviour’ syndrome, as measured by the barrier index of the body image boundary, was investigated as a predictor of level of adjustment to stress induced by physical-disability. Rorschach blots were administered to three groups of 24, randomly selected subjects differing in degree of disability, and Barrier scores were derived according to the Fisher and Cleveland technique. It was hypothesized that Barrier score would significantly discriminate between levels of adjustment and degrees of disability, but the results did not support these hypotheses. Results indicated that ‘self-steering behaviour’ as indexed by Barrier score is not a valid technique for predicting typical behavioural patterns of reaction to disability-stress.     

Group transformation: How demonstrability promotes intra-group cooperation in social dilemmas

Intra-group cooperation in a social dilemma is increased after a group has discussed and reached a decision, especially if the dilemma is easily understood (‘demonstrable’). This paper examines how demonstrability affects the decision of a group that consists entirely of participants who are initially non-cooperative. Thirty-eight 6-person groups with unanimous prior preference for cooperation or non-cooperation discussed a prisoner’s dilemma before making a group decision. When demonstrability was low groups reflected the prior (either cooperative or non-cooperative) preferences of their members. When demonstrability was high we found that groups showed no effect of prior preference. Specifically, groups of prior non-cooperators made more cooperative group decisions and subsequently their members remained cooperative when asked to express preferences individually. The combined advantages of group process and high demonstrability for facilitating optimal cooperation are discussed.     

Rats place greater value on rewards produced by high effort: An animal analogue of the “effort justification” effect

The effort justification phenomenon, in which greater value is given to rewards that require more effort to obtain, is frequently explained in terms of cognitive dissonance (Festinger & Carlsmith, 1959). Here, we employed a novel combination of operant and lick analysis techniques to show that rats place more value on a sucrose reward when it follows high effort than when the same reward follows low effort. This is the first demonstration of a direct analogue of the effort justification phenomenon in nonhuman animals. As the behavior of rats is normally considered in terms of relatively simple mechanisms, the current results question the need for complex cognitive accounts for the effort justification phenomenon (in rats or humans). As an alternative, we examine the possibility that high effort produces an aversive state that enhances reward value by a process of contrast.     

Shooting behaviour: How working memory and negative emotionality influence police officer shoot decisions

Previous research on police officer shoot decisions has focussed on the influence of situational factors that lead to the shooting error. Focussing instead on the ‘shooter’, the present study examined whether working memory capacity and threat‐related increases in negative emotionality influenced participant shoot decisions in a simulated shooting task. Following a working memory test, 24 police officers viewed a police‐relevant threatening video while physiological indices of arousal and negative affect were obtained and then completed a computerized shoot‐don't shoot task. Results indicated that lower working memory capacity was associated with a greater likelihood of shooting unarmed targets and a failure to shoot armed targets. Moreover, an interaction effect indicated that these associations were only significant for officers who experienced heightened negative emotionality in response to the video. Results suggest that when negatively aroused via threat, limited working memory capacity increases the risk of shooting error. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seeing a singer helps comprehension of the song’s lyrics

When listening to speech, we often benefit when also seeing the speaker’s face. If this advantage is not domain specific for speech, the recognition of sung lyrics should also benefit from seeing the singer’s face. By independently varying the sight and sound of the lyrics, we found a substantial comprehension benefit of seeing a singer. This benefit was robust across participants, lyrics, and repetition of the test materials. This benefit was much larger than the benefit for sung lyrics obtained in previous research, which had not provided the visual information normally present in singing. Given that the comprehension of sung lyrics benefits from seeing the singer, just like speech comprehension benefits from seeing the speaker, both speech and music perception appear to be multisensory processes.     

Neural codes for conscious vision

What makes cerebral activity conscious - is it the location of the activity or the type of processing taking place? A recent study of binocular fusion adds to the increasing evidence in favour of processing, not location, as the crucial factor. It also provides evidence for the co-localization of perceptual and non-perceptual activity within individual cortical areas.     

Multidimensional Fear of Failure Measurement: The Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory

The Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI) is a multidimensional measure of cognitive-motivational-relational appraisals associated with fear of failure (FF). College students ( N = 544) completed the PFAI and a variety of other measures. Calibration sample analyses reduced the PFAI to 25 items measuring five appraisals in a higher-order factor structure that demonstrated tight cross-validity in the second half of the sample. The five aversive consequences of failure assessed by the PFAI included (a) experiencing shame and embarrassment, (b) devaluing one's self-estimate, (c) having an uncertain future, (d) important others losing interest, and (e) upsetting important others. A five-item short form also demonstrated tight cross-validity. FF was associated with (a) high levels of worry, somatic anxiety, cognitive disruption, and sport anxiety, and (b) low levels of optimism. General FF was unrelated to either perceived competence or fear of success.     

A Preliminary Investigation into Pre-Competitive Mood States of Advanced and Novice Equestrian Dressage Riders

Emotional composure is considered critical in equestrian sports. The aim of the study was to investigate pre-competitive mood states in dressage riders. Thirteen advanced and 13 novice British riders completed the Profile of Mood States Questionnaire (POMS) prior to competing. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to test for a main effect of mood states on competence levels, with subsequent investigation for significant differences of individual mood states using Bonferroni adjusted alpha levels. Levels of confusion were nearing significance between advanced and novice riders, suggesting greater processing efficacy and task-specific concentration for more advanced riders. Sport psychological interventions for equestrians should focus on lowering levels of confusion and increasing task-orientated focus in novice riders.