Anxiety: The cognitive perspective,by Michael W. Eysenck Hove,UK: Lawrence erlbaum; 1992; 195 pp.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was twofold: To investigate the structure of the test anxiety construct. and to compare the psychometric properties of rating scales versus questionnaire scales of test anxiety.

The intercorrelations among fourteen test anxiety measures, representing the one-, two-and four-dimensional models were examined as well as the correlations between those scales and eight measures of test-related perceptions.

The sample consisted of 172 undergraduate and graduate students of education. The results indicated that the underlying structure of the test anxiety construct consists of four primary factors. It was noted that the pattern of the relationships among the test anxiety measures remained intact when the broader context, which included also test-related perceptions, was studied. Based on the intra- and intercorrelations among the test anxiety and the test-related perceptions, a speculative causal model for explaining the effect of test anxiety on performance was suggested.

The findings regarding the format issue seemed to support the contention that rating scales are at least as valid measures of a simple single trait as questionnaire scales. However, it was stressed that further research is needed in order to find out whether or not rating scales are robust enough to be considered valid measures in situations that elicit social desirability distortion.     

Performance deficits following failure: Integrating motivational and functional aspects of learned helplessness

Abstract

This paper deals with the psychological processes that mediate between repeated, uncontrollable failure on one task and performance deficits on subsequent tasks. A model is presented that integrates Seligman's (1975) motivational and Kuhl's (1981) functional interpretation of performance deficits following failure. The central assumptions of this model were tested in a laboratory study with college students. In accordance with our model, repeated failure (1) increasingly led to task- and solution-irrelevant cognitive activities (state orientation, according to Kuhl) the more it was attributed to internal, stable, and global causes, and (2) led to an increment in effort the more it was attributed to unstable and specific causes. Furthermore, results indicated that the influence of failure on state orientation was partly mediated by the importance subjects attached to the failure, and that the performance on subsequent tasks was influenced by both the motivational (effort) and functional (state orientation) consequences of failure.     

Books

(Sargant, W. Battle for the Mind: A Physiology of Conversion and Brain-Washing. New York: Doubleday, 1957. Pp. 263.) Reviewed by Gladys C. Schwesinger.

(Anastasi, A. Differential Psychology, 3rd Ed. New York: Macmillan, 1958. Pp. 664.) Reviewed by Gladys C. Schwesinger.     

Affect Intensity Contributes to Perfectionistic Self-presentation in Adolescents Beyond Perfectionism

Perfectionistic self-presentation in adolescents is associated with psychological maladjustment and distress. Yet, no study so far has investigated what personality characteristics contribute to perfectionistic self-presentation in adolescence. Using a cross-sectional correlational design with 119 adolescents aged 11–16 years, this study investigated how perfectionism (self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism) and affect intensity (positive affectivity, negative intensity, and negative reactivity) predicted individual differences in three modes of perfectionistic self-presentation: perfectionistic self-promotion, nondisplay of imperfection, and nondisclosure of imperfection. Results showed a unique prediction pattern for all three modes of perfectionistic self-presentation. Moreover, affect intensity contributed to perfectionistic self-presentation beyond perfectionism in two of the three modes. Perfectionistic self-promotion was predicted by high self-oriented perfectionism, high socially prescribed perfectionism, high positive affectivity, and low negative reactivity. In contrast, nondisplay of imperfection was predicted by high self-oriented perfectionism, high negative reactivity, and low positive affectivity. Nondisclosure of perfectionism was predicted by high socially prescribed perfectionism only. The findings suggest that affect intensity is a personality characteristic contributing to perfectionistic self-presentation in adolescence beyond perfectionism.     

Why ‘punk’? Religion,anarchism and feminism in Pussy Riot’s Punk Prayer

Pussy Riot became world famous after their Punk Prayer in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. This paper looks at the religious and political statements of some Pussy Riot members against the background of their Russian context and explains why the politically radical left-wing, anarchist and feminist group used the form of a punk prayer to express protest. Elaborating the connection of punk, religion and politics, I argue that punk is a sub-culturally established medium to express leftist, anarchist and feminist political convictions and to offend the religious and political hierarchy, especially when performed in the country’s most prominent cathedral; and also that the religiosity of at least some of the Pussy Riot members is not an obstacle to using a punk performance as their form to express protest; by contrast, punk is an adequate medium for ‘liminoid’ anti-authoritarian forms of religion like that of Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova. In Russia, a punk prayer is not only a way for young anarchistically orientated feminists to celebrate their lifestyle, but also one of the very few ways to get attention for their concerns.     

Introduction to Bayesian Inference for Psychology

We introduce the fundamental tenets of Bayesian inference, which derive from two basic laws of probability theory. We cover the interpretation of probabilities, discrete and continuous versions of Bayes’ rule, parameter estimation, and model comparison. Using seven worked examples, we illustrate these principles and set up some of the technical background for the rest of this special issue of Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. Supplemental material is available via https://osf.io/wskex/.