The fast and the dangerous: the speed of events influences risk judgements

A risk-as-feelings approach suggests that factors irrelevant to the potential risk can influence risk perception. This investigation focused on the speed of events as one such factor. Negative events that occur relatively quickly were judged as more likely to occur than events that occur more slowly. Speed influenced risk perception when it was salient and differences in risk perception were reduced when it was not salient. Further, the likelihood of a negative outcome was judged to be more likely when the same event was described as occurring relatively quickly compared to slowly. Even when only the speed at which information was presented changed, faster events were judged to be riskier than slower events. Theoretically, these findings suggest that speed of an event contributes to risk judgements and suggest speed may be the reason people fear fast but low incidence events and fail to fear slower but higher incidence events.     

Is energy expenditure in emotion regulation dependent on individual differences and the specific emotion in question?

This study tested the hypothesis that the degree of self-control exerted in suppressing emotions would depend on the combination of personality (independence and dutifulness/self-discipline) and the specific type of emotion being suppressed (anger vs. appreciation). In a between-subjects design, 245 college students were induced to experience either anger or appreciation and were then instructed to suppress their emotional expression. Self-control strength was measured using a handgrip task. Exertion of self-control strength over two time points was differentially associated with levels of independence and dutifulness/self-discipline (conscientiousness) and emotion suppression condition. Specifically, individuals higher in dutifulness/self-discipline had a harder time if they were suppressing appreciation than if they were suppressing anger at others, whereas individuals higher in independence had a harder time if they were suppressing anger at others than if they were suppressing appreciation. Implications for understanding personality, self-control, and emotion regulation are discussed.     

Measures of infant behavioral and physiological state regulation predict 54‐month behavior problems

This study investigated whether measures of infant temperament, regulatory disorders, and physiological reactivity and concurrent measures of family environment were predictors of child behavior problems at 54 months of age. The sample consisted of 23 children–mother dyads. The sample recruitment strategy emphasized testing both typical and fussy/difficult infants at 9 months of age. Children were categorized into low and high behavioral problem groups at 54 months of age. The children in the high behavioral problem group were more likely at 9 months to have been temperamentally difficult, to have been classified as regulatory disordered, and to have displayed respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) regulation difficulties. These children also were more likely to come from families described as less cohesive and providing less focus on active/recreational activities when the children were 54 months old. A logistic regression analysis, including only the 9‐month infant measures (i.e., difficultness, regulatory disorders classification, and RSA regulation), resulted in a significant model with 100.0% accurate classification into high or low behavioral problem groups. Data suggest that infant measures of behavioral and physiological state regulation may be early indicators of child behavior problems, especially internalizing problems.     

Social cognitive influences on Mexican Americans’ career choices across Holland’s themes

This study examined several propositions of social cognitive career theory ( [Lent et al., 1994] and [Lent et al., 2000]) with a sample of 393 Mexican American college students. It was hypothesized that person input (i.e., age) and background contextual variables (i.e., Anglo orientation, Mexican orientation, familism, instrumentality, and expressivity) would predict career self-efficacy across Holland’s (1997) six RIASEC types. In addition, we examined the proposed relations between career self-efficacy, career interests, and career choice goal across the six RIASEC areas. Our results indicated that (a) Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional career models were similar across gender and university affiliation groups, (b) gender differences were found in the Realistic career model, (c) institutional affiliation differences were found in the Investigative career model, and (d) the models were a good fit to the data. Implications for future vocational research and career interventions are discussed.     

Pursuing Medicina [Medicine]: Latina Physicians and Parental Messages on Gendered Career Choices

Sex Roles - Prior research underscores that college-educated Latinas are hyper-segregated into highly feminized occupations and that Latino parents socialize their daughters to seek out these...     

Semantic activation during object naming

Summary The study deals with the processes of semantic activation which accompany the response of naming an object. A general model of semantic activation is presented, characterized by the proposal of the existence of different components of the semantic representations that constitute the conceptual nodes corresponding to objects. Within these, a distinction is made between elements corresponding to physical properties of the stimulus objects, and more abstract, functional elements. Two distinct routes are proposed for the activation of the concept node, a direct and an indirect one. A further distinction made in the present study is between categories characterized predominantly in terms of perceptual properties, and primarily conceptual categories.The study reports two sets of experiments, the first one offering support to the distinction of two activation routes, the second to the notion of the existence of two types of categories. This latter distinction also allows a convincing explanation for various facts reported in the literature, in particular for the difference in categorization and in naming latencies for objects and for words.     

Group psychotherapy as taught by the polsters and the gouldings

Psychotherapy has been viewed by many as a subtle form of interpersonal persuasion. However, persuasion, or the lack of it, in a psychotherapy relationship is not always clearly definable. Most agree that persuasion is influenced by a number of important factors, of which the personal characteristics of the therapist are generally recognized as the most significant. Experience, credibility, training, dedication, values and enthusiasm are attributes usually agreed upon as being important contributors to the therapist's power to persuade. Understandably, psychotherapy conceptualized in this manner raises significant issues of values, ethics and responsibility in treatment. While not all agree or recognize persuasive influences existing in psychotherapy, it is suggested that persuasion is a salient feature of psychotherapy, whether or not it is identified as such. It is important to remember that in all psychotherapy, trouble is apt to follow the ignorant applications of important forces. Further, it is suggested that these persuasive influences cross doctrinal differences and can be augmented by applying them with a group psychotherapy setting. In the hands of a skilled and ethical psychotherapist, these persuasive influences can be enhanced and the group can become a powerful tool in the therapeutic process. These issues are explored in this paper in relation to two different group psychotherapy training experiences with Bob and Mary Goulding and Erv and Miriam Polster.     

Perceived racial/ethnic discrimination, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and health risk behaviors among Mexican American adolescents

Utilizing the concept of race-based traumatic stress, this study tested whether posttraumatic stress symptoms explain the process by which perceived discrimination is related to health risk behaviors among Mexican American adolescents. One hundred ten participants were recruited from a large health maintenance organization in Northern California. Mediational analyses indicated that adolescents who perceived more discrimination reported worse posttraumatic stress symptoms, controlling for covariates. In turn, adolescents who experienced heightened posttraumatic stress symptoms reported more alcohol use, more other drug use, involvement in more fights, and more sexual partners. Perceived discrimination was also directly related to involvement in more fights. Results provide support for the notion of race-based traumatic stress, specifically, that perceived discrimination may be traumatizing for Mexican American adolescents. Counseling psychologists and counselors in schools and community settings should assess Mexican American adolescents for the effects of discrimination and provide appropriate interventions to reduce its negative emotional impact.