Aggression Predicts Changes in Peer Victimization that Vary by Form and Function

Peer victimization is predictive of serious problems in adjustment, especially among children who are both victimized and aggressive. This study investigated how different types of aggression contribute to later victimization. Specifically, we examined prospective relationships between the types of aggression that children perpetrated and the types that they experienced at the hands of others. Trained observers coded schoolyard behavior of 553 children in grades 3–6 during the initial year of a bullying intervention program. Both observed aggression and victimization were specified by form (direct, indirect) and function (proactive, reactive). Total hourly rates of victimization were highest in the upper grades. Direct-reactive aggression uniquely predicted increases in victimization, while direct-proactive aggression predicted decreases, particularly in direct-proactive victimization. Indirect-proactive aggression (e.g., derogatory gossip) predicted increases in indirect-proactive victimization only in the control group. Indirect-reactive aggression and victimization occurred too rarely to detect change. Aggression-victimization relationships did not differ for boys and girls. Discussion considers why children might risk direct reactive aggression in the face of increased victimization. Different sequelae for different forms and functions of aggression highlight the need to resolve theoretical ambiguities in defining proactive and reactive aggression.     

The Relationship between Performance in Near Match-to-Sample Tasks and Fluid Intelligence

Match-to-sample is a timed task in which a subject is presented with a visual stimulus (the probe) and must select a match to that stimulus (the target) from among an array of distractors. These tasks are frequently employed as tests of basic cognitive abilities and demonstrate consistent correlations with measures of intelligence. In the current study, a match-to-sample task was modified to produce near-match conditions (trials for which no exact match existed). Two factors were manipulated: type of discrepancy between the target and probe (additive or subtractive) and degree of discrepancy between target and probe (1 element or 2 elements). It was hypothesized that introducing near-match conditions would change the processing demands of the task, resulting in increased correlations between decision time and fluid intelligence. Degree and type of discrepancy affected decision times: participants required more time for 2 element discrepancies and additive type discrepancies. Contrary to expectations, increased decision time on a task did not correspond to higher correlations with fluid intelligence. For type, correlations were larger when participants needed to mentally subtract elements from the target in order to make it match the probe (mean r_additive = .399; mean r_subtractive = .451). For degree, correlations were larger for trials where the probe and target differed by one element (mean r = .470) than for trials where the probe and target differed by two elements (mean r = .380). These results seem to indicate that the relationship between the complexity of a task and general intelligence is not as straightforward as has been commonly believed.     

Why People Try to Actively Change Unchangeable Situations: The Role of Anticipated Affect

Past research revealed that people were prone to persist with losing courses of action. However, in these studies, it was unclear in advance whether discontinuation of the course of action was not too early. The present research showed that participants tried to actively change a troubling situation (primary control) even if they were aware that the situation was not amenable to change. It was further examined why people use primary control in unchangeable situations. It was hypothesized and found that unchangeable (relative to changeable) situations give rise to extreme anticipated affect, which in turn is associated with the use of primary control strategies. Thus, it appears that anticipated affects (partly) underlie people’s tendency to cling to losing courses of action.     

The process of selective exposure: Why confirmatory information search weakens over time

The present research investigated whether the tendency to prefer decision-consistent to decision-inconsistent information after making a preliminary choice would vary during the sequential process of searching for additional pieces of decision-relevant information. Specifically, it was tested whether decision makers would be more confirmatory in their information evaluation and search at the commencement rather than end of an information search process. In fact, five studies revealed that participants exhibited stronger confirmatory tendencies in both information evaluation (Studies 2 and 5) and search (Studies 1, 3, and 4) immediately after making a preliminary decision compared to during the later stages of an information search process. With regard to the underlying mechanism, results further revealed that individuals appear to be more motivated to detect the best decision alternative at the beginning (as opposed to the end) of an information search process, which leads to increases in confirmatory information processing during these stages.     

What Matters in Social Accounts? The Roles of Account Specificity,Source Expertise,and Outcome Loss on Acceptance

Although we know that social accounts favorably affect fairness outcomes, we still do not know what makes them work. An experimental design was used to assess the impact of message specificity, source expertise, and outcome loss on account acceptance. Also examined was how account acceptance mediates the relationship between these factors and a range of fairness outcomes. Specificity had a main effect on acceptability, but interacted with expertise across levels of loss. Expertise had a slight positive effect on acceptance under low loss conditions, but its effect turned sharply negative under conditions of higher loss. Acceptability partially mediated the relationship between specificity and all fairness outcomes, and fully mediated the impact on commitment to the trainer.     

Information search and presentation in advisor–client interactions

When making a decision, people often search for more information supporting than conflicting with their preferred alternative. This can be counterproductive because potential risks and liabilities of the intended decision may be overlooked. However, when confronted with a decision problem, people often turn to advisors for help. We examined what kind of information advisors search for when confronted with a client’s decision problem and what information they present to their clients. Experiment 1 suggested that advisors (participants in the role of travel agents or friends) conducted a more balanced information search than personal decision-makers. However, when presenting information to their client, mock travel agents passed on more information supporting their recommendation than conflicting with it, whereas friends presented information in a balanced way. Experiment 2 replicated the balanced information search of advisors and suggested that this effect was partly mediated by the advisors’ increased accuracy motivation. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Psychological effects of the Euro—experimental research on the perception of salaries and price estimations

In five studies we show that the introduction of the Euro influences price estimations and the perception of salaries among people in Germany. People confronted with wages given in Euros compared to the German Mark (DM) showed a reduced willingness to face long distances to get to work when accepting a job offer. When asked to price various consumer goods appropriately, they estimated higher prices if they used the ‘Euro’ currency compared to price estimations made in DM. This phenomenon only occurred with regard to the Euro, but not in comparison with other currencies (cf. the British Pound and Austrian Schilling). The differing price estimations between the Euro and the German Mark were not influenced by participants' attitude towards the Euro. Moreover, it turned out that they depended on how the judgement context was framed. Only if participants expected to make price estimations for shops in their home country, Germany, did the familiar nominal DM figures serve as an anchor heightening the estimated prices in Euro. The same effect disappeared if participants were instructed to make their price estimations for shops in a foreign country (Ireland). Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Use of Multisystemic Therapy to Improve Regimen Adherence Among Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes in Poor Metabolic Control: A Pilot Investigation

The purpose of the current study was to conduct a pilot investigation to determine the effectiveness of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for improving regimen adherence and metabolic control among adolescents with poorly controlled Type 1 diabetes. Thirty-one adolescents were randomly assigned to either MST or a control condition. MST treatment lasted approximately six months. Data were collected at study entry and at a six-month posttest. Twenty-five adolescents completed the study. Adolescents who received MST had significantly improved adherence to blood glucose testing and metabolic control from study entry to the six-month posttest, whereas controls did not. Adolescents receiving MST also had a decreased number of inpatient admissions at the six-month posttest. Improvements in metabolic control were related to improvements in parent report of adolescent adherence. Results suggest that MST holds promise as an intervention for improving adherence behavior and health outcomes among adolescents in poor metabolic control.