Implicit but not explicit self-esteem predicts future depressive symptomatology

To date, research on the predictive validity of implicit self-esteem for depressive relapse is very sparse. In the present study, we assessed implicit self-esteem using the Name Letter Preference Task and explicit self-esteem using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale in a group of currently depressed patients, formerly depressed individuals, and never depressed controls. In addition, we examined the predictive validity of explicit, implicit, and the interaction of explicit and implicit self-esteem in predicting future symptoms of depression in formerly depressed individuals and never depressed controls. The results showed that currently depressed individuals reported a lower explicit self-esteem as compared to formerly depressed individuals and never depressed controls. In line with previous research, all groups showed a positive implicit self-esteem not different from each other. Furthermore, after controlling for initial depressive symptomatology, implicit but not explicit self-esteem significantly predicted depressive symptoms at six months follow-up. Although implicit self-esteem assessed with the Name Letter Preference Test was not different between formerly depressed individuals and never depressed controls, the findings suggest it is an interesting variable in the study of vulnerability for depression relapse.     

Why and when peer prediction is superior to self-prediction: the weight given to future aspiration versus past achievement

Peer predictions of future behavior and achievement are often more accurate than those furnished by the self. Although both self- and peer predictions correlate equally with future outcomes, peers tend to avoid the degree of overoptimism so often seen in self-predictions. In 3 studies, the authors tested whether this differential accuracy arises because people give more weight to past behavior when predicting others, but emphasize agentic information, in particular data about their aspiration level, when predicting the self. Studies 1 and 3 showed that the exact same participants rated past behavior more diagnostic of future performance when predicting another person but viewed aspiration-level data as more valuable when someone else was trying to predict them. In Studies 2 and 3 (predicting an upcoming exam score and performance in a lab task, respectively), participants gave greater weight in self-predictions to aspiration-level data than did a yoked peer, who instead gave greater weight to evidence of past achievement. This differential weighting explained why peer predictions tended to be less optimistic and, thus, more accurate. Discussion centers on strategies for predicting future behavior and why people may remain ignorant of their own incompetence despite feedback.     

Spatial judgments in the horizontal and vertical planes from different vantage points

Todorovi? (2008 Perception 37 106-125) reported that there are systematic errors in the perception of 3-D space when viewing 2-D linear perspective drawings depending on the observer's vantage point. Because these findings were restricted to the horizontal plane, the current study was designed to determine the nature of these errors in the vertical plane. Participants viewed an image containing multiple colonnades aligned on parallel converging lines receding to a vanishing point. They were asked to judge where, in the physical room, the next column should be placed. The results support Todorovi? in that systematic deviations in the spatial judgments depended on vantage point for both the horizontal and vertical planes. However, there are also marked differences between the two planes. While judgments in both planes failed to compensate adequately for the vantage-point shift, the vertical plane induced greater distortions of the stimulus image itself within each vantage point.     

Coarse-to-fine eye movement behavior during visual search

It has previously been argued that, during visual search, eye movement behavior is indicative of an underlying scanning “strategy” that starts on a global, or “coarse,” scale but then progressively focuses to a more local, or “fine,” scale. This conclusion is motivated by the finding that, as a trial progresses, fixation durations tend to increase and saccade amplitudes tend to decrease. In the present study, we replicate these effects but offer an alternative explanation for them—that they emerge from a few stochastic factors that control eye movement behavior. We report the results of a simulation supporting this hypothesis and discuss implications for future models of visual search.     

Trust and the value of overconfidence: a Bayesian perspective on social network communication

The paper presents and defends a Bayesian theory of trust in social networks. In the first part of the paper, we provide justifications for the basic assumptions behind the model, and we give reasons for thinking that the model has plausible consequences for certain kinds of communication. In the second part of the paper we investigate the phenomenon of overconfidence. Many psychological studies have found that people think they are more reliable than they actually are. Using a simulation environment that has been developed in order to make our model computationally tractable we show that in our model inquirers are indeed sometimes better off from an epistemic perspective overestimating the reliability of their own inquiries. We also show, by contrast, that people are rarely better off overestimating the reliability of others. On the basis of these observations we formulate a novel hypothesis about the value of overconfidence.     

Employability and Employees’ Well‐Being: Mediation by Job Insecurity1

The current study's aims are twofold: first, we investigate the relationship between employability and both work‐related (engagement) and general (life satisfaction) well‐being. Second, we study how employability may be relevant in times of high job insecurity. Specifically, we hypothesise (1) a positive relationship between employability and employees’ well‐being, (2) a negative relationship between employability and job insecurity, and (3) a negative relationship between job insecurity and employees’ well‐being, so that (4) job insecurity mediates the relationship between employability and employees’ well‐being. Results based on a sample of 559 respondents from divisions of seven Belgian organisations support our hypotheses. We conclude that employability may be a means to secure one's labour market position, rather than a means to cope with job insecurity. Les objectifs de cette étude sont doubles: nous étudions d’abord la relation entre l’employabilité et à la fois le bien‐être relatif au travail (implication) et le bien‐être global (la satisfaction provenant de l’existence). Ensuite, nous nous interrogeons sur la pertinence de l’employabilité en période de grande insécurité professionnelle. Plus précisément, nous posons les hypothèses 1) d’une relation positive entre l’employabilité et le bien‐être des employés, 2) d’une relation négative entre l’employabilité et l’insécurité professionnelle et 3) d’une relation négative entre l’insécurité professionnelle et le bien‐être des salariés, si bien que 4) l’insécurité professionnelle régule la relation entre l’employabilité et le bien‐être des salariés. Les résultats issus d’un échantillon de 559 répondants provenant de départements de sept organisations belges confortent nos hypothèses. On conclut que l’employabilité peut être une façon de sécuriser sa situation sur le marché du travail plutôt qu’un moyen pour affronter l’insécurité professionnelle.     

Acceptability,Feasibility, and Effectiveness of Internet-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in New York

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), consisting of exposure and response prevention (EX/RP), is both efficacious and preferred by patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), yet few receive this treatment in practice. This study describes the implementation of an Internet-based CBT program (ICBT) developed in Sweden in individuals seeking OCD treatment in New York. After translating and adapting the Swedish ICBT for OCD, we conducted an open trial with 40 adults with OCD. Using the RE-AIM implementation science framework, we assessed the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of ICBT. The Yale–Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was the primary outcome measure. Of 40 enrolled, 28 participants completed the 10-week ICBT. In the intent-to-treat sample (N = 40), Y-BOCS scores decreased significantly over time (F = 28.12, df = 2, 49, p < . 001). Depressive severity (F = 5.87, df = 2, 48, p < . 001), and quality of life (F = 12.34, df = 2, 48, p < . 001) also improved. Sensitivity analyses among treatment completers (N = 28) confirmed the intent-to-treat results, with a large effect size for Y-BOCS change (Cohen’s d = 1.38). ICBT took less time to implement than face-to face EX/RP and participants were very to mostly satisfied with ICBT. On a par with results in Sweden, the adapted ICBT program reduced OCD and depressive symptoms and improved quality of life among individuals with moderate to severe OCD. Given its acceptability and feasibility, ICBT deserves further study as a way to increase access to CBT for OCD in the United States.