Comparing preference and resistance to change in constant- and variable-duration schedule components

Two experiments explored preference and resistance to change in concurrent chains in which the terminal links were variable-interval schedules that ended either after a single reinforcer had been delivered (variable duration) or after a fixed period of access to the schedule (constant duration). In Experiment 1, pigeons' preference between the same pair of terminal links overmatched relative reinforcement rate when the terminal links were of constant duration, but not when they were of variable duration. Responding during the richer terminal link decreased less, relative to baseline, when response-independent food was presented during the initial links according to a variable-time schedule. In Experiment 2, all subjects consistently preferred a terminal link that consisted of 20-s access to a variable-interval 20-s schedule over a terminal link that ended after one reinforcer had been delivered by the same schedule. Results of resistance-to-change tests corresponded to preference, as responding during the constant-duration terminal link decreased less, relative to baseline, when disrupted by both response-independent food during the initial links and prefeeding. Overall, these data extend the general covariation of preference and resistance to change seen in previous studies. However, they suggest that reinforcement numerosity, including variability in the number of reinforcers per terminal-link entry, may sometimes affect preference and resistance to change in ways that are difficult to explain in terms of current models.     

Facets of Emotion Regulation and Emotional Disorder Symptom Dimensions: Differential Associations and Incremental Validity in a Large Clinical Sample

A growing literature suggests robust associations between dimensions of emotion regulation and emotional disorder psychopathology. However, limited research has investigated associations of emotion regulation dimensions across several emotional disorders (transdiagnostic associations), or the incremental validity of emotion regulation versus the higher-order construct of neuroticism. The current study used exploratory structural equation modeling and a large clinical sample (N = 1,138) to: (a) develop a multidimensional emotion regulation measurement model, (b) evaluate the differential associations between latent emotion regulation dimensions and five latent emotional disorder symptom dimensions (social anxiety, depression, agoraphobia/panic, obsessions/compulsions, generalized worry), and (c) determine the incremental contribution of emotion regulation in predicting symptom dimensions beyond neuroticism. The best-fitting measurement model of emotion regulation included four dimensions: Problematic Responses, Poor Recognition/Clarity, Negative Thinking, and Emotional Inhibition/Suppression. Although many zero-order associations between the four latent emotion regulation dimensions and five latent symptom dimensions were significant, few associations remained significant in a structural regression model that included neuroticism. Specifically, Negative Thinking and Problematic Responses incrementally predicted depression symptoms, while Emotional Inhibition/Suppression predicted both social anxiety and depression symptoms. Associations between neuroticism and the emotional disorder dimensions were similar regardless of whether the emotion regulation dimensions were held constant. These results suggest that self-reported emotion regulation dimensions are associated with the severity and expression of a range of emotional disorder symptoms, but that some emotion regulation dimensions have limited incremental validity after accounting for general emotional reactivity. Studies of emotion regulation should assess neuroticism as a key covariate.     

Ambient lighting alters motivational responses to advertisements for foods of different energetic value

Motivation and Emotion - Ambient lighting has been identified as a motivationally relevant context that affects cognition, emotion, and behavior, including food consumption and choice. This study...     

The Effects of Shopping Well-Being and Shopping Ill-Being on Consumer Life Satisfaction

Individuals hold two distinct sets of beliefs about shopping activities: Positive beliefs regarding the degree to which shopping contributes to quality of life (shopping well-being), and negative beliefs related to the degree to which shopping activities result in overspending time, effort, and money (shopping ill-being). Shopping well-being and shopping ill-being are conceptualized as independent constructs in that shopping ill-being is not treated as negative polar of a single dimension. That is, one can experience both shopping well-being as well as shopping ill-being, simultaneously. We hypothesized that (1) shopping well-being is a positive predictor of life satisfaction, (2) shopping ill-being is a negative predictor of life satisfaction, and (3) shopping well-being does contribute to life satisfaction under conditions of low than high shopping ill-being. The study surveyed 1035 respondents in the UK. The study results supported hypotheses 1 and 3, not Hypothesis 2. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for retailers, macro-marketers, and policy makers.     

Just following orders? The rhetorical invocation of ‘obedience’ in Stanley Milgram's post‐experiment interviews

Recent research has begun to challenge the received idea that Milgram's ‘obedience’ experiments are demonstrations of obedience as typically understood (i.e., as social influence elicited in response to direct orders). One key warrant for explaining the studies in terms of obedience has been the post‐experiment interviews conducted with participants. The present study uses data from archived audio recordings of these interviews to highlight the extent to which participants used rhetorical strategies emphasising obedience when pressed by the interviewer to account for their behaviour. Previous research that has used these accounts as reports of underlying processes misses the extent to which they performed particular social actions in the context of their production. It is concluded that the standard social psychological version of ‘obedience’ is present in the experiments after all, but in a rather different way than is typically assumed—rather than an empirical finding, obedience is a participants' resource.     

Structural Barriers to Inclusion in a Latino Immigrant New Destination: Exploring the Adaptive Strategies of Social Service Organizations in South Carolina

A growing number of Latino immigrants are settling in immigrant new destinations with restrictive anti-immigrant policies. Poverty and legal status create obstacles to social and economic inclusion in these places. Theoretically, local social service providers are in a structural position to ameliorate these obstacles, but the localized nature of service delivery in the USA requires that immigrants physically travel to access these supports. A growing literature on new destinations has begun to identify barriers to inclusion in immigrant new destinations, but few have explored how local mainstream social service providers are developing strategies to address these concerns. Building on the immigrant new destinations literature and the expansion of immigration enforcement to these areas, this qualitative study examines barriers to services in South Carolina from the perspective of local organizations. In-depth interviews with leaders from 50 direct service providers yield several themes related to structural barriers and organizational strategies to respond to these barriers. Cutting across these themes are limitations imposed by state-level policies and the impact of social exclusion due to marginalized legal status. We discuss the implications of this context for social service providers and the social inclusion of low-income Latino immigrants in South Carolina.     

“I'm Having a Little Struggle With This,Can You Help Me Out?”: Examining Impacts and Processes of a Social Capital Intervention for First‐Generation College Students

Social capital plays a key role in college and career success, and research indicates that a dearth of on‐campus connections contributes to challenges first‐generation college students face in effectively navigating the college environment. This study investigates a novel intervention that focuses on the development of skills and attitudes to empower first‐generation college students to cultivate social capital and on‐campus connections during the transition to college. A mixed methods, explanatory design was used to evaluate impacts and processes of the intervention among first‐generation college students (n = 164) in the context of an ethnically diverse, urban, public university in the Northeast. Results indicated that students who participated in the intervention demonstrated improved attitudes and behaviors around seeking support in college, closer relationships with instructors, and higher GPAs at the end of their first year in college. These results suggest the potential benefits of a relatively scalable approach to supporting the needs of first‐generation college students.     

A dysphoric's TALE: The relationship between the self-reported functions of autobiographical memory and symptoms of depression

Autobiographical memory (AM) is believed to serve self, social and directive functions; however, little is known regarding how this triad of functions operates in depression. Using the Thinking About Life Experiences questionnaire [Bluck, S., & Alea, N. (2011). Crafting the TALE: Construction of a measure to assess the functions of autobiographical remembering. Memory, 19, 470–486.; Bluck, S., Alea, N., Habermas, T., & Rubin, D. C. (2005). A TALE of three functions: The self–reported uses of autobiographical memory. Social Cognition, 23, 91–117.], two studies explored the relationship between depressive symptomology and the self-reported frequency and usefulness of AMs for self, social and directive purposes. Study 1 revealed that thinking more frequently but talking less frequently about past life events was significantly associated with higher depression scores. Recalling past events more frequently to maintain self-continuity was also significantly associated with higher depressive symptomology. However, results from Study 2 indicated that higher levels of depression were also significantly associated with less-frequent useful recollections of past life events for self-continuity purposes. Taken together, the findings suggest atypical utilisations of AM to serve self-continuity functions in depression and can be interpreted within the wider context of ruminative thought processes.     

The Adverse Influence of Permissive Parenting on Personal Growth and the Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence

In this research the presumed negative associations between permissive parenting and both adolescents' emotional intelligence and personal growth were examined. Previous studies have demonstrated a positive association between emotional intelligence and personal growth as well as a negative association between permissive parenting and personal growth. The authors extend previous research by testing a hypothesized process model through which permissive parenting negatively predicts scores on an ability measure of emotional intelligence that, in turn, predicts personal growth. The results indicated that emotional intelligence is both negatively associated with permissive parenting and that individual differences in emotional intelligence predict increased personal growth. In addition, we found that permissive parenting's negative influence on subsequent personal growth is mediated by emotional intelligence. It is suggested that permissive parenting might adversely influence the development of emotional intelligence by limiting both the number of challenging emotional experiences and the extent to which parents directly facilitate emotional growth.     

Phonetic Symbolism and Memory for Advertisements

This study investigated whether phonetic symbolism within brand names influences the memory of advertisements. Participants both saw and heard brand names with front vs. back vowels paired with small vs. large products in a congruent vs. incongruent fashion. When later given several unexpected memory tasks, it was found that congruent (vs. incongruent) pairings led to enhanced brand name and product recall as well as the efficiency of both brand name and paired recognition. These findings are consistent with a theory of cross‐modal processing involving perceptual unification. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.