Perceptions and metaperceptions of same-sex social interactions in college women with disordered eating patterns

This study compared perceptions and metaperceptions after a social interaction between a woman with disordered eating (subclinical bulimia nervosa) and a female interaction partner. Hypotheses were: women with disordered eating would have more negative metaperceptions of social interactions than women without disordered eating, and women with disordered eating would show a greater discrepancy between metaperceptions and perceptions than women without disordered eating. All participants completed questionnaires about their perceptions and metaperceptions post-interaction. Results showed women with disordered eating thought that they had made a negative impression; findings addressing the relationships among social desirability, loneliness, social support utilization, and fear of negative evaluation are also discussed.     

Personality assessment across selection and development contexts: insights into response distortion

Insight into applicant intentional distortion on personality measures was obtained by comparing individual responses provided in an organizational context with high motivation to distort (selection) and those provided in an organizational context with low motivation to distort (development). An assessment firm database containing responses to the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) was searched for within-subject data. Seven hundred and thirteen individuals were identified as having completed the CPI twice: once for selection purposes and once for development purposes or twice for the same purpose. Scale-score analyses both within and across contexts revealed a limited degree of response distortion.     

False memories for end-of-life decisions

OBJECTIVE: To examine people's false memories for end-of-life decisions. DESIGN: In Study 1, older adults decided which life-sustaining treatments they would want if they were seriously ill. They made these judgments twice, approximately 12 months apart. At Time 2, older adults and their self-selected surrogate decision makers tried to recall the older adults' Time 1 decisions. In Study 2, younger adults made treatment decisions twice, approximately 4 months apart. At Time 2, younger adults tried to recall their Time 1 decisions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Percentage of participants who falsely remembered that their original treatment decisions were the same as their current decisions. RESULTS: In Study 1, older adults falsely remembered that 75% of their original decisions were the same as their current decisions; surrogates falsely thought that 86% of older adults' decisions were the same. In Study 2, younger adults falsely remembered that 69% of their original decisions were the same as their current decisions. CONCLUSION: Age alone cannot account for people's false memories of their end-of-life decisions; we discuss other mechanisms. The results have practical implications for policies that encourage people to make legal documents specifying their end-of-life treatment decisions.     

Femi-Nazis and Bra Burning Crazies: A Qualitative Evaluation of Contemporary Beliefs about Feminism

Despite data demonstrating a substantial gender gap in the United States, many women do not self-identify as feminist. An evaluation of the literature suggests four potential reasons for the lack of identification, 1) a negative connotation associated with the term “feminist,” 2) the dichotomous presentation of feminism (e.g., the lack of grey area between feminism and non-feminism), 3) a belief that feminism may no longer be necessary, and 4) a perceived lack of cultural relevance. Previous research on feminism has not adequately addressed the dynamic and contextual factors that can influence a woman’s decision of whether to self-identify. Therefore, the goal of this project was to use qualitative methodology to allow for the identification of potential personal barriers for women associating with the feminist movement. The data suggest that feminism is viewed as an obsolete entity with largely negative connotations associated with the term. The implications of these barriers and several suggestions for change in the movement are discussed.     

Decision Difficulty in the Age of Consumer Empowerment

In this review, we examine the impact of two key factors of consumer empowerment–choice freedom and expansion of information--on the choice difficulty consumers experience in today’s decision environment. We posit that though these two consumer empowerment factors offer numerous potential benefits, they also can magnify such sources of decision difficulty as task complexity, tradeoff difficulty, and preference uncertainty. Next we review several key moderators, including consumer knowledge, mental representation, and maximization tendencies as well as information type and organization, that can exacerbate or mitigate the effect of these consumer empowerment factors on decision difficultly outcomes. Lastly, we examine the effectiveness of decision aids in assisting consumers navigate the complexity of today’s decision environment, and we identify areas for future investigation.