Understanding Exercise and Diet Motivation in Overweight Women Enrolled in a Weight-Loss Program: A Prospective Study Using the Theory of Planned Behavior

The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine the utility of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs for exercise and diet behavior with women enrolled in a 4-week weight-loss program. Sixty-nine females participated in group exercise 3 times a week and they consumed a low-calorie diet for 1 month. They completed baseline measures of exercise behavior, demographic variables, and the TPB constructs for exercise and diet at the start of the program. Adherence to the exercise and diet was recorded, along with pre- and post-measurements of body composition. Significant decreases in body mass index, body fat percentage, and circumference measurements occurred from pre- to post-program. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that diet adherence was predicted by intention. However, the TPB constructs failed to predict exercise adherence, exercise intention, and diet intention. These results are discussed in relationship to previous research, and recommendations for future studies with this special population are highlighted.     

P300 as an index of attention to self-relevant stimuli

Past work suggests that information related to the self receives ‘preferential access’ to the limited pool of attentional resources. However, these studies have been limited by their reliance on response-time measures, which require overt responding and represent the combined effects of multiple stages of information processing. One aim of the present study was to extend past work by obtaining a response-independent index of attention allocation sensitive to changes in discrete stages of information processing. An additional goal was to explore the potential time course of differential sensitivity to self-relevant cues. We assessed the P300, an ERP component that provides an index of attentional resources, evoked by autobiographical self-relevant stimuli (e.g., one’s own name). As expected, P300 was augmented for self-relevant stimuli relative to control stimuli. In addition, analyses of P300 latency indicate that the effects of self-relevance are present during higher-order stages of cognitive processing related to selective attention. These results complement and extend previous work on the role of self-relevance in the selection of material for further processing.     

Group membership and everyday social comparison experiences

In two everyday experience studies, we examined the degree to which everyday social comparisons are framed by group membership. In the first study, 30 undergraduates attending a public university in the United States completed short questionnaires about their social comparison experiences whenever they were signalled. In the second study, 34 ethnic minority undergraduates from the same university completed similar questionnaires about their social comparison experiences. Across both studies, comparisons in which participants viewed themselves as an ingroup member in comparison to an outgroup comprised less than 10% of the comparison experiences reported by participants. However, minorities in the second study who reported closer identification with their ethnic group reported more comparison experiences in which they mentioned their own or the comparison target's ethnicity.     

Embodied and Embedded Morality: Divinity, Identity, and Disgust

Our understanding of human morality would benefit from an integrated interdisciplinary approach, built on the assumption that human beings are multidimensional unities with real, irreducible, and mutually interdependent spiritual, relational, emotional, rational, and physiological aspects. We could integrate relevant information from neurobiological, psychosocial, and theological perspectives, avoiding unnecessary reductionism and naturalism. This approach is modeled by addressing the particular limited role of disgust in morality. Psychosocial research reveals disgust as a universal emotion that enables evaluation and regulation of certain moral behaviors and is involved in cultural identity. Theologically, many religious traditions, including the Judeo‐Christian, use disgust in conjunction with moral codes designed to preserve purity and communal identity as the people of God. The concept of natural moral law suggests that morality is embodied in human nature. Neurobiology is beginning to trace the neural circuitry involved in disgust and in moral evaluation, suggesting that emotions are a necessary basis for moral judgment and revealing intriguing relationships between disgust, morality, and other aspects of the psyche. Several problems that arise within these disciplines and at their intersections are identified. Extension of the model to other aspects of human morality would further illuminate our understanding of morality without sacrificing its complexity and richness.     

Event frequency and children's suggestibility: a study of cued recall responses

Research examining the effect of repeated experience on children's suggestibility for particular kinds of information has produced differing results. In one study, responses to recognition questions revealed heightened suggestibility for variable details in children who repeatedly experienced an event compared to children who experienced an event once. In other studies, no such effect was found with cued recall. In this study, 4–5‐year old children engaged in one or four play sessions. Children were later given a biasing interview wherein half of the details were incorrectly represented. Children were then given a final memory test using free and cued recall prompts that was preceded by one of three instruction types: no special instructions, moderate instructions, or opposition instructions. Children in the repeated‐event condition were more suggestible than those in the single‐event condition, regardless of instructions. No significant differences in suggestibility were found across instructions conditions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Participant Retention in the Parents Matter! Program: Strategies and Outcome

We present a discussion of the literature addressing retention of ethnic minority samples in longitudinal studies. In addition, we describe the retention procedures implemented in the Parents Matter! Program (PMP), a community-based sexual risk reduction intervention for African American families. Finally, the results of PMP's retention strategies are presented.     

Primacy of Affect Over Cognition in Determining Adult Men's Condom–Use Behavior: A Review1

Prior research suggests that failure to use condoms can be understood within the context of condom‐related attitudes. We reviewed quantitative and qualitative literature on adult men's condom‐use attitudes; condom‐related attitudinal beliefs were classified as cognitive (e.g., effectiveness) or affective (e.g., pleasure‐related), and their relationships to behavior were examined. To determine differences in the effects of cognitive and affective beliefs, we conducted a critical qualitative review, a meta‐analysis, and a “vote‐count.” In support of the primacy of affect hypothesis (Zajonc, 1984), cognitive beliefs were weaker predictors of condom use than were affective beliefs. Results suggest that HIV‐prevention interventions will have greater success by addressing negative affective reactions to condom use in addition to promoting the protective value of condoms.     

Peer victimization and social anxiety in adolescence: a prospective study

This study reports a one‐year prospective investigation of the relations between overt and relational victimization and social anxiety and phobia in a sample of adolescents. The Social Experience Questionnaire—Self Report Form (SEQ‐S), Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS‐A), and Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI‐C) were administered to 144 ninth grade adolescents. A follow‐up assessment with the SEQ‐S, SAS‐A, and SPAI‐C was conducted one year later. Results indicated that relational victimization predicted symptoms of social phobia but not general social anxiety and avoidance one year later. Overt victimization was not a significant predictor of social anxiety and phobia one year later. Social anxiety and phobia did not predict peer victimization one year later. However, increases in social anxiety and social phobia symptoms (for boys) over time were positively associated with increases in relational victimization over time. Implications of these findings for peer victimization and social anxiety in the development of social phobia and negative peer experiences are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 00:1–16, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Racial Identity as Mediator of the Relationship Between Gender Role Conflict and Severity of Psychological Symptoms in Black, Latino, and Asian Men

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the extent to which racial identity attitudes mediate the relationship between gender role conflict and psychological symptoms in Men of Color. The mediating role of racial identity was tested in Study 1 with a sample of Black men and in Study 2 with a sample of Asian and Latino men. The results of Study 1 provided support for full mediation, whereas in Study 2 evidence was found for partial mediation. The combination of the studies' findings underscores the importance of considering the extent to which Men of Color identify with their own racial group when examining the relationship between gender role conflict and psychological symptoms.