Optimism, perceived risk of breast cancer, and cancer worry among a community-based sample of women.

Optimism is frequently inversely associated with distress; however, less is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Optimism can be defined as having a generalized positive expectancy about the future. The authors hypothesized that a specific expectancy might mediate the relationship between optimism and distress. That model was tested using perceived risk of breast cancer as a specific measure of expectancy and cancer worry as a measure of distress in a community-based sample of 1,366 women. It was hypothesized that optimism would be inversely associated with cancer worry and that perceived risk of breast cancer would mediate the relationship between optimism and cancer worry. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived risk partially mediated the relationship between optimism and cancer worry.     

Perception and the Origins of Temporal Representation

Is temporal representation constitutively necessary for perception? Tyler Burge argues that it is, in part because perception requires a form of memory sufficiently sophisticated as to require temporal representation. I critically discuss Burge's argument, maintaining that it does not succeed. I conclude by reflecting on the consequences for the origins of temporal representation.     

The Effect of Conflict Goals on Avoidance Strategies: What Does Not Communicating Communicate?

Avoidance is proposed to be a goal‐directed behavior rather than a behavior that reflects passivity or inaction. To evaluate this proposition, a typology of conflict goals and a typology of conflict avoidance strategies are created, and the relationship between nonavoidance strategies and the elements of these 2 typologies are evaluated within a structural equation model (N = 352). Findings show that, except for pretending and withdrawal, conflict goals successfully predict avoidance strategies, thereby affirming their strategic importance. The article concludes by addressing areas for future research, including modifications and refinement of the typologies and proposing other strategies and goals that may be theoretically significant.