A latent profile analysis of the Five Factor Model of personality: Modeling trait interactions

Interactions among the dimensions of the Five Factor Model (FFM) have not typically been evaluated in mental health research, with the extant literature focusing on bivariate relationships with psychological constructs of interest. This study used latent profile analysis to mimic higher-order interactions to identify homogenous personality profiles using the FFM, and also examined relationships between resultant profiles and affect, self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and coping efficacy. Participants (N = 371) completed self-report and daily diary questionnaires. A 3-profile solution provided the best fit to the data; the profiles were characterized as well-adjusted, reserved, and excitable. The well-adjusted group reported better psychological functioning in validation analyses. The reserved and excitable groups differed on anxiety, with the excitable group reporting generally higher anxiety than the reserved group. Latent profile analysis may be a parsimonious way to model personality heterogeneity.     

Investigating the modality specificity of response selection using a temporal flanker task

The neurocognitive architecture for response selection is uncertain. Some theorists suggest that it is mediated by an amodal central mechanism, whereas others propose a set of independent control mechanisms. In a functional neuroimaging experiment, we investigated the nature of response selection by examining how its underlying brain mechanisms are affected by stimulus modality. To do this, we used a modified flanker task, in which the target and flanker (distractor) stimuli differed in time rather than space, making it accessible for both visual and auditory stimuli. As in the traditional flanker task, larger reaction times were observed for incongruent than congruent trials (i.e., a congruency effect) for both modalities. Congruency affected brain activation for both modalities in prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, and the putamen. Modality-dependent activation was found in additional prefrontal and parietal regions for the visual modality and in left inferior prefrontal cortex for the auditory modality. Modality-dependent activity specifically related to response congruency was also found in sensory cortical regions. These data suggest that modality affects the brain regions throughout the cortex mediating response selection even for conceptually identical stimuli and tasks. They are consistent with the hypothesis that (at least partially) independent brain networks mediate response selection and that input modality may be a powerful factor for organizing neural activity to support task performance.     

Friendship factors and suicidality: common and unique patterns in Mexican American and European American youth

Research suggests a link between friendships and suicidality among U.S. youth, but this link has not been confirmed across ethnicities. The relationship between friendships and suicidality among Mexican American and European American adolescents was examined in this study. Specifically, the role of friendship problems (i.e., social isolation, poor quality friendships) and problematic friends (i.e., friends who were disconnected from school, delinquent friends) was explored. Participants were 648 community youth. Friends' school disconnection was related to Mexican American girls' suicidal ideation, while friends' delinquency was associated with European American youth suicidal behavior. Friendship factors were no longer associated with suicidality after controlling for suicidality correlates such as depression. These findings indicate that the relationship between friendships and suicidality varies by gender and ethnicity. They also suggest a dominant role of depression.     

Decisional strategy determines whether frame influences treatment preferences for medical decisions

Decision makers are influenced by the frame of information such that preferences vary depending on whether survival or mortality data are presented. Research is inconsistent as to whether and how age impacts framing effects. This paper presents two studies that used qualitative analyses of think-aloud protocols to understand how the type of information used in the decision making process varies by frame and age. In Study 1, 40 older adults, age 65 to 89, and 40 younger adults, age 18 to 24, responded to a hypothetical lung cancer scenario in a within-subject design. Participants received both a survival and mortality frame. Qualitative analyses revealed that two main decisional strategies were used by all participants: one strategy reflected a data-driven decisional process, whereas the other reflected an experience-driven process. Age predicted decisional strategy, with older adults less likely to use a data-driven strategy. Frame interacted with strategy to predict treatment choice; only those using a data-driven strategy demonstrated framing effects. In Study 2, 61 older adults, age 65 to 98, and 63 younger adults, age 18 to 30, responded to the same scenarios as in Study 1 in a between-subject design. The results of Study 1 were replicated, with age significantly predicting decisional strategy and frame interacting with strategy to predict treatment choice. Findings suggest that framing effects may be more related to decisional strategy than to age.     

The Importance of Spirituality in Couple and Family Therapy: A Comparative Study of Therapists’ and Educators’ Beliefs

The purpose of this study was to explore the differences between the beliefs of couple and family therapists (CFTs) and CFT educators in accredited training programs regarding the importance of spirituality in their personal and professional lives. The results suggest a significant difference between the two populations, with clinicians reporting a higher level of agreement regarding the overall role of spirituality in their personal and professional identities compared to CFT faculty members. However, both therapists and educators reported similar levels of agreement in regard to the need for education related to integrating spirituality and its role in clinical practice. Implications for CFT training programs are discussed.     

The Multidimensional Nature of Continuance Commitment: Commitment Owing to Economic Exchanges Versus Lack of Employment Alternatives

Purpose  

The purpose of this investigation was to develop a multidimensional measure of continuance organizational commitment, specifying dimensions for continuance commitment based on the perception of beneficial economic exchanges versus the perception of low job alternatives.     

Perceived Job Discrimination: Toward a model of applicant propensity to case initiation in selection

This paper develops and proposes the novel concept of perceived job discrimination (PJD) and a conceptual model of applicant propensity to case initiation (APCI) in employee selection. Distinguishing PJD from actual job discrimination (AJD) as traditionally viewed in selection, this paper puts forward a definition of PJD that emphasizes perceived unfair treatment and violations of the (pre‐)employment psychological contract. Differences between AJD and PJD are highlighted and a number of crucial situational features and measurement imperatives noted for PJD to be deemed to have occurred. Extending this construct, a detailed model of APCI is proposed specifying the key inputs, processes, and outcomes of applicant complaint and case initiation for unfair discrimination. Both concepts are argued to be relevant regardless of country‐specific legal requirements governing AJD. Future directions for research and selection practices in both PJD and APCI are noted throughout the paper.     

Adolescent Narcissism,Aggression, and Prosocial Behavior: The Relevance of Socially Desirable Responding

An important threat to validity in personality research pertains to an individual's motivation to respond in a socially desirable manner on self-report inventories. This issue was examined in this study in the context of narcissism, aggression, and prosocial behavior in a sample of at-risk adolescents. Participants were 161 adolescents (128 males, 29 females, 4 not reported) ranging in age from 16 to 19 years who were attending a residential program for youth who have dropped out of school. Overall, socially desirable response tendencies were negatively correlated with vulnerable narcissism and self-reported aggression. Moreover, low socially desirable responses strengthened the relation between narcissism and self-reported aggression. Socially desirable responding was not associated with self- or peer-reported prosocial behavior and did not moderate the relation between narcissism and prosocial behavior. These findings indicate that the relation between narcissism and aggression is attenuated by concerns with social desirability. However, further work is needed in broader samples of adolescents to more closely examine whether social desirability concerns actually mitigate aggression among some youth or signify underreporting of one's problem behaviors.     

Prioritizing Harm

In this study, we examined if a self-report of trait spite, the Spitefulness Scale, retains the same associations with dark personality traits in individuals with severe mental illness. We also examine if reports on the Spitefulness Scale are correlated with observed spiteful behavior in a game developed to offer opportunities for spite. One hundred twenty individuals clinically diagnosed with psychotic spectrum disorders and receiving inpatient treatment at a state hospital participated in this study and completed measures of personality. The Spitefulness Scale retained its associations with measures of dark personality traits in individuals with psychosis. Spitefulness Scale scores were also related to a performance measure of spite and spite was evidenced by a significant proportion of participants across measures (20.8%–26.7%). These data suggest the presence of spite as it is understood in the general population in a significant subset of individuals with psychosis. Spite could be considered an independent personality trait and part of the family of dark personality traits.