Situation Trait Relevance, Trait Expression, and Cross-Situational Consistency: Testing a Principle of Trait Activation

An interactionist principle of trait activation is proposed, emphasizing situation trait relevance (i.e., opportunity for trait expression) as a moderator of trait–behavior relations and cross-situational consistency (CSC). One hundred fifty-six students completed trait measures and expressed intentions in 10 scenarios targeted to each of five traits (e.g., risk taking). Trait–intention correlations within scenario sets were themselves correlated with mean situation trait relevance ratings provided by 26 proficient judges; CSCs in intentions (45 correlations per trait) were correlated with an index of shared trait relevance in situation pairs. In support of trait activation, (a) trait–intention relations for three traits were higher in more relevant situations (e.g., second-order r = .66 for risk taking) and (b) CSCs were higher in scenarios jointly high in targeted trait relevance (e.g., second-order r = .55 for risk taking). Discussion highlights applications of trait activation in diverse research domains.     

The generality of the relation between familiarity and judged validity

Using factual information of uncertain truth value as the stimulus material, previous investigators have found that repeated statements are rated more valid than non-repeated statements. Experiments 1 and 1A were designed to determine if this effect would also occur for opinion statements and for statements initially rated either true or false. Subjects were exposed to a 108-statement list one week and a second list of the same length a week later. This second list was comprised of some of the statements seen earlier plus some statements seen for the first time. Results suggested that all types of repeated statements are rated as more valid than their non-repeated counterparts. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the validity-enhancing effect of repetition does not occur in subject domains about which a person claims not be knowledgeable. From the results of both studies we concluded that familiarity is a basis for the judged validity of statements. The relation between this phenomenon and the judged validity of decisions and predictions was also discussed.     

Gender and Sex Role Differences in Group Decision-Making Social Interactions: A Behavioral Analysis1

Sex role formulations assume relationships between role orientation and adjustive social behavior. However, few studies have examined behavioral differences with respect to both gender and sex role orientation in realistically complex social interactions. In the current study, groups composed of four male and four female “representatives” from each sex role category (masculine-typed, feminine-typed, androgynous, and undifferentiated) were presented with two group decision-making tasks. Group interactions were videotaped and subjects' behavior was rated on social skill variables. Analyses of variance revealed gender differences with males performing more actively than females, especially when the content of the decision-making task involved more historically male-oriented topics. However, when subjects' group behavior was examined in relation to their sex role orientation, androgynous and masculine-typed persons of both sexes performed in a more active, instrumental manner than feminine-typed or undifferentiated persons. Further, correlational analyses indicated that females' masculinity scores were substantially associated with ratings of effectiveness in the decision-making groups. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Feeling happy and sad,but only seeing the positive: Poignancy and the positivity effect in attention

Poignancy is a mixed emotional experience that occurs in the face of meaningful endings (Ersner-Hershfield et al. J Pers Soc Psychol 94(1):158–167, 2008). Despite documentation of the phenomenological component of poignancy, no study to date has examined the relationship between such a state and information processing. We therefore examined the link between poignancy and attentional patterns using an eyetracking paradigm. To induce poignancy, experimental condition participants imagined being in a personally chosen meaningful location for a final time; control participants also imagined being in a meaningful location but with no ending. After, both groups were shown emotional images. Experimental condition participants looked more at positive images relative to negative images, whereas participants in the control condition did not display such a preference. Findings suggest that despite being a mixed emotional experience, poignancy may produce a subsequent positivity effect in information processing.     

Regret, Valuation, and Inaction Inertia

In three experiments we sought to determine the cause of the “inaction inertia” effect, which occurs when bypassing an initial opportunity decreases the likelihood that a subsequent similar action will be taken. Experiment 1 required some participants to estimate their likelihood of buying shoes as a function of the magnitude and geographical location of an earlier forsaken bargain; others estimated their amount of regret over failing to take advantage of the bargain. The inverse relation between regret and propensity to buy strongly implicated regret as the cause of inaction inertia. In Experiment 2 we found evidence that experienced regret over having missed an earlier bargain rather than anticipated regret over paying too much for the subsequent purchase was the source of our participants' inaction inertia. In Experiment 3 we demonstrated through a mediational analysis that those who had missed a large bargain placed a significantly lower value on the subsequent purchase opportunity than those who earlier had missed a more modest bargain. This difference in valuation, along with experienced regret, are two factors which play a significant mediational role in the inaction inertia effect.     

The Eye of Suffering: Reflections on <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Passion of the Christ</Emphasis>

This reflection on Mel Gibsons Passion views the movie as myth and takes an archetypal perspective on the role of suffering in the deep transformation of both person and God. My approach is intentionally in contrast to most liberal reviewers who have taken issue with the movie from historical perspectives.     

Central New York Psychiatric Center: an approach to the treatment of co-occurring disorders in the New York State correctional mental health system

Central New York Psychiatric Center operates a maximum security inpatient treatment hospital and outpatient mental health services for all of the 72 New York State prisons. In this article prevalence data, patient characteristics, and interventions offered to inmates diagnosed with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorders in the New York State prison system are reviewed and discussed. Available interventions have resulted from the close collaboration of the State Department of Correctional Services and State Office of Mental Health. Aspects of current programs and plans for future service developments are discussed along with implications for the treatment of an offender population diagnosed with a co-occurring disorder.     

A Hierarchical Modeling Approach to Data Analysis and Study Design in a Multi-site Experimental fMRI Study

We propose a hierarchical Bayesian model for analyzing multi-site experimental fMRI studies. Our method takes the hierarchical structure of the data (subjects are nested within sites, and there are multiple observations per subject) into account and allows for modeling between-site variation. Using posterior predictive model checking and model selection based on the deviance information criterion (DIC), we show that our model provides a good fit to the observed data by sharing information across the sites. We also propose a simple approach for evaluating the efficacy of the multi-site experiment by comparing the results to those that would be expected in hypothetical single-site experiments with the same sample size.     

Sun protection behaviour of children and their parents at the beach

Abstract

The present study observed the sun protection behaviour of 8–12 year old children and their parents on the beach. Interviews with children and parents were then conducted to examine possible influences on sun protection and the relationship between observed and self reported behaviour.

The sample consisted of 50 children and 68 parents. All 50 children were observed and interviewed. All the parents were observed and 33 were interviewed. Indices of sun protection cover were computed as a sum of clothing and sunscreen cover. Most parents and children were inadequately covered against the sun. Factors related to children's sun protection included parent's cover and the child's tan level. The relationship between attitude to sun protection and observed behaviour could not be examined as all children and parents indicated they thought it was important to protect their skin against the sun.

Inconsistencies between observed and self-reported sun protection were found for children who were not protecting themselves. The possibility that self-report may overestimate actual protective behaviour is discussed.     

A gendered approach to workforce participation patterns over the life course for an Australian baby boom cohort

Population ageing and its future implications for governments and individuals have been central to much policy debate and research targeted to retain older people in the workforce. This study identified workforce participation patterns across the adult life course for women and men entering later life, and explored the influences of various early and adult life socio-demographic circumstances. Data were collected from 1261 men and women aged 60 to 64 years in the Life History and Health (LHH) Survey (a sub-study of the Sax Institute's 45 and Up Study, Australia) in 2010–11. LHH provides detailed information on personal histories of paid work, socio-economic resources from childhood (number of books and father's occupation) and adult life factors such as educational attainment, marital histories, childcare and informal caring. Latent class analysis (LCA) was undertaken to identify patterns of workforce participation for participants across their adult life. Significant gender differences were confirmed. Further analysis (LCA with covariates) showed that women who reported having books during childhood, and those who had post-school qualification, were more likely to have mostly been in paid work and less likely to have not been in paid work; while ever partnered women had significantly higher odds of increasing part time work over time. Men who had reported ever having had informal caring activities were likely to have had decreasing participation in paid work over time, and were highly likely to be not in paid work after 55 years. Ever partnered status was protective for being in paid work for men. These findings indicate the need for gender-specific policies and strategies to enable continued workforce participation throughout adult life and into later working years, particularly for people who had fewer social or economic opportunities earlier in life.