The influence of competition and performance goals on decoding complex emotions

Motivation and Emotion - The present research examines the processes through which competitive contexts influence performance in an understudied domain: social perception. In two experiments (one...     

The Hierarchical Model of Approach-Avoidance Motivation

Approach motivation is the energization of behavior by, or the direction of behavior toward, positive stimuli (objects, events, possibilities), whereas avoidance motivation is the energization of behavior by, or the direction of behavior away from, negative stimuli (objects, events, possibilities). In this article, I provide a brief overview of this distinction between approach and avoidance motivation. In addition, I provide a brief overview of a model of motivation in which this approach-avoidance distinction plays an integral role—the hierarchical model of approach-avoidance motivation.     

Evidence for the Continuity of Early Problem Behaviors: Application of a Developmental Model

Evidence of the continuity of early problem behaviors in young girls and boys was examined developmentally. Data were gathered on 104 mother-child dyads from low-income families when children were between 1 and 5 years of age. Difficult temperament, aggression, and noncompliance from 12 to 24 months, and externalizing and internalizing problems at 36 and 60 months, were assessed. The results provide evidence for the continuity of early behavioral and emotional problems and support for the early differentiation between internalizing and externalizing problems. Implications of the current findings for prevention efforts are presented.     

WASI profile variability in a sample of psychiatric inpatients

This study examined the variability of Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence profiles using the subtest range and profile variability index in a sample of 70 psychiatric inpatients. The subtest range and profile variability index were correlated .93 (p<.001), indicating that either measure may be used to assess profile variance. Comparison of profile variability on this abbreviated scale with other Wechsler intelligence scales in similar populations suggests that variability measures are not comparable across the tests.     

Reactions to merit pay increases: a longitudinal test of a signal sensitivity perspective

The relationships among merit pay raises, trait positive affectivity (PA), and reactions to merit pay increases (pay attitudes and behavioral intentions) were explored in a longitudinal study of hospital employees. Drawing on signal sensitivity theory, the authors expected that PA would moderate the relationship between merit pay raise size and reactions to the increase such that pay raise size would be more strongly related to pay attitudes and behavioral intentions among those low in PA. Results strongly supported the predictions in the case of reactions to the raise amount (happiness and effort intentions) but not for pay level satisfaction. Implications of the results and directions for future research are identified.     

Annotated Bibliography of Writings in Feminism and Aesthetics

This is a selective annotated bibliography of publications in the area of feminist aes‐thetics from 1990 to 2003. It is intended to compliment the bibliography presented by Linda Krumholz and Estella Lauter in the Spring 1990 issue of Hypatia.     

Plasma interleukin-6 and soluble IL-6 receptors are associated with psychological well-being in aging women.

OBJECTIVE: This study tested the hypothesis that psychological well-being would predict lower plasma levels of inflammatory factors in aging women. DESIGN: One hundred thirty-five women ages 61-91 years (M = 74.5 years) participated in this study. After completing self-administered questionnaires in their homes, participants stayed overnight at the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Blood samples for cytokine analyses were obtained in participants' homes after the GCRC visit. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychological well-being and ill-being, history of health problems, and health behaviors were assessed via self-administered questionnaires. Detailed medical history and concurrent health measures were obtained during the GCRC stay. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to determine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) concentrations in plasma. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Regression analyses showed that plasma IL-6 levels were lower in women scoring higher on positive relationships, whereas sIL-6R levels were lower in women scoring higher on purpose in life, even after a variety of sociodemographic and health factors were controlled. These outcomes, combined with the absence of significant links with other measures of well-being and ill-being, suggest selective patterns of association between later life inflammatory processes and psychological factors, particularly those focused on positive ties with others and purposeful engagement.     

Is implicit sequence learning impaired in schizophrenia? A meta-analysis

Cognition in schizophrenia seems to be characterized by impaired performance on most tests of explicit or declarative learning contrasting with relatively intact performance on most tests of implicit or procedural learning. At the same time there have been conflicting results for studies that have used the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task to examine implicit learning in people with schizophrenia. In the present research, we used meta-analysis to clarify whether or not people with schizophrenia show impaired performance on the SRT task. A systematic review found nine studies published in peer review journals that had each compared the performance of a group of people with schizophrenia with healthy controls on the standard SRT task or a variant of it. The resulting meta-analysis represented the responses of 205 participants with schizophrenia and 159 healthy controls on the SRT task. The analysis found that participants with schizophrenia perform less well than controls reflected by a pooled effect size of 0.51. A secondary analysis of all nine studies found that they all reported a point estimate of the change in reaction time between sequence and random trials that was greater for the controls. We conclude that there is a moderate impairment in implicit sequence learning among people with schizophrenia and speculate on the implications of this for understanding this disorder. Suggestions for improving the methodological quality and statistical reporting of studies of this topic are made.     

Developmental theories of parental contributors to antisocial behavior

In view of the increased interest in a developmental approach to psychopathology, and mounting evidence of the importance of parent-child interactions in the etiology of early antisocial behavior, the following questions were posed for this review. What theories of parent-child relationships and family management techniques are available? How developmental are they, how specific and transactional are they relative to parent and child behaviors involved? And how well do they cover the period in which antisocial behavior develops? Six theories have some developmental features but the attachment theories (by L. A. Sroufe, B. Egeland, and M. T. Greenberg) and two social learning theories (by G. R. Patterson and J. Martin) are most clearly developmental. They postulate reciprocal interactions of parent and child, and transformations in the form of normative changes in the child or changes in family processes. The social learning theories of Patterson and Martin are most specific, microanalytic in fact, as to the interaction processes involved, and the attachment theories at least specify kinds of behavior involved and also do not rely on traits or types of influence as their units of analysis. Conceptualization is most weak and overly general between late infancy and the preschool years. This gap makes it difficult to link attachment and social learning theories, both of which have driven a large number of studies. A bridging theory is offered to link the two sets of theories in the critical period involved.