Beauty is in the ease of the beholding: A neurophysiological test of the averageness theory of facial attractiveness

Hundreds of studies have shown that people prefer attractive over unattractive faces. But what is an attractive face, and why is it preferred? Averageness theory claims that faces are perceived as being attractive when their facial configuration approximates the mathematical average facial configuration of the population. Conversely, faces that deviate from this average configuration are perceived as being unattractive. The theory predicts that both attractive and mathematically averaged faces should be processed more fluently than unattractive faces, whereas the averaged faces should be processed marginally more fluently than the attractive faces. We compared neurocognitive and behavioral responses to attractive, unattractive, and averaged human faces to test these predictions. We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) and reaction times (RTs) from 48 adults while they discriminated between human and chimpanzee faces. The participants categorized averaged and high-attractive faces as being “human” faster than low-attractive faces. The posterior N170 (150–225 ms) face-evoked ERP component was smaller in response to high-attractive and averaged faces than to low-attractive faces. Single-trial electroencephalographic analysis indicated that this reduced ERP response arose from the engagement of fewer neural resources, and not from a change in the temporal consistency of how those resources were engaged. These findings provide novel evidence that faces are perceived as being attractive when they approximate a facial configuration close to the population average, and they suggest that processing fluency underlies preferences for attractive faces.     

Precipitating Circumstances of Suicide among Active Duty U.S. Army Personnel Versus U.S. Civilians, 2005–2010

To help understand suicide among soldiers, we compared suicide events between active duty U.S. Army versus civilian decedents to identify differences and inform military prevention efforts. We linked 141 Army suicide records from 2005 to 2010 to National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) data. We described the decedents’ military background and compared their precipitators of death captured in NVDRS to those of demographically matched civilian suicide decedents. Both groups commonly had mental health and intimate partner precipitating circumstances, but soldier decedents less commonly disclosed suicide intent.     

Revitalizing Narcissistic Perfectionism: Evidence of the Reliability and the Validity of an Emerging Construct

Theorists have long speculated about narcissistic perfectionism—an outwardly directed need for perfection marked by grandiosity, entitlement, and lofty expectations for others. This study provides evidence of reliability and predictive validity for an emerging model of narcissistic perfectionism using two waves of measurement and multiple data sources (self-report and informant-report) in a sample of 155 undergraduate students. As hypothesized, confirmatory factor analysis showed manifest indicators of narcissistic perfectionism cohered together as a constellation of traits while showing reliability and factorial validity across time and source. Hierarchical multiple regression indicated narcissistic perfectionism uniquely and incrementally predicted anger beyond competing measures of other-oriented perfectionism and narcissism. Informant-reports of narcissistic perfectionism uniquely predicted anger beyond self-reports. These results offer promising empirical support for the often discussed, but seldom tested, concept of narcissistic perfectionism.     

Ethnic Identity in Emerging Adults in Sub‐Saharan Africa and the USA,and Its Associations with Psychological Well‐Being

Ethnic identity as a social dimension of identity is argued to be developmentally important for psychological well‐being. However, the relationships between these constructs are mainly examined in Western contexts, amongst dominant–non‐dominant groups. We investigate ethnic identity across the mainstream group of a prototypical Western society (the USA) and several multi‐ethnic sub‐Saharan African countries (Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia), as well as how it relates to psychological well‐being. A total of 1255 university students (61.8% females, M_age = 20.94 years, SD = 2.97) completed a questionnaire with ethnic identity and psychological well‐being measures. Results indicated that ethnic identity was most salient in two different South African ethnocultural samples and least salient in a mainstream US sample. These results suggest that groups that are more exposed to ethnic strain in multicultural societies tend to have more salient ethnic identities. Furthermore, the underlying structure in the ethnic identity psychological well‐being relationship was similar across groups. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of background chewing sounds on learning: The role of misophonia sensitivity

Misophonia refers to one's sensitivity to specific sounds, which can range from minor annoyance to extreme distress. This experiment tested the role of individual differences in misophonia sensitivity on learning. College students read a text passage about migraines in a quiet room with 2 or 3 other participants and 1 confederate. In some sessions, the confederate audibly chewed gum while reading the text (sound group); in other sessions, the confederate read silently (control group). All participants then completed a comprehension test on the material, followed by an assessment of their misophonia sensitivity. Although there was no overall difference between the two groups on the comprehension test, misophonia sensitivity significantly moderated the effect of the trigger sound on learning. Students who scored relatively high on misophonia sensitivity performed worse on the comprehension test if they were in the sound group but performed better if they were in the control group.     

Interpersonal predictors of stress generation: Is there a super factor?

Hammen's (1991, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 555–561) seminal paper on stress generation highlighted the reciprocal relationship between stress and depression. Not only does stress predict depression, but women with a diagnosis of depression also experienced subsequent increased levels of stress. In the ensuing years, depression researchers have moved beyond clinical predictors and examined whether depression vulnerability factors also contribute to stress generation. This interest has led to a growing focus on interpersonal vulnerability factors that contribute to stress generation. To date, the research examining interpersonal predictors of stress generation has tended to examine vulnerability factors singly and thus potential overlap and unique predictions among vulnerability factors have not been determined. This study examines interpersonal vulnerability factors from various schools of thought (dependency, attachment, and unmitigated communion) as predictors of interpersonal stress generation. Three hundred and sixty-four young adults completed baseline measures of interpersonal vulnerabilities and provided weekly reports of depressive symptoms and stressful life events. Multilevel models were estimated to examine their unique predictions of interpersonal stress generation. Despite converging theories, there does not appear to be a single super factor. Of the interpersonal vulnerability factors tested, anxious attachment emerged as a consistent predictor of interpersonal stress generation both when examined singly and when in combination with related variables.     

Only correlated sequences that are actively processed contribute to implicit sequence learning

The purpose of the study was to investigate how implicit sequence learning is affected by the presence of secondary information that is correlated with the primary sequence but not necessarily relevant to performance. In a previous work, we have shown that correlation plays an important role but other prerequisites may also be involved. In Experiments 1 and 2, using a task sequence learning paradigm, we found that primary sequence learning was not affected by secondary information that was sequenced but irrelevant to performance, even though the two streams of information were correlated. In contrast, in Experiment 3, we found that sensitivity to the main sequence was greater with the provision of extra sequenced information that was relevant to performance in addition to being correlated. This suggests that sequence learning was enhanced through the integration of information. We conclude that information in secondary as well as primary sequences must be actively processed if it is to have a beneficial impact. By actively processed we mean information that is selectively attended and necessary for carrying out the tasks.     

The Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP): content validation using prototypical analysis

The Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP; Cooke, Hart, Logan, & Michie, 2004) is a new personality-based model and clinical assessment of psychopathy. This study was the first to examine the content validity of the English-language CAPP. Content validation is a crucial part of the development and refinement of any new instrument. Prototypical analysis was used to evaluate the representativeness of CAPP symptoms to the psychopathy construct in adults. Symptoms were rated by international mental health professionals (N = 132). Findings support good content validity of the CAPP, with most symptoms rated as highly representative of psychopathy. Domains relating to interpersonal style were particularly prototypical. Confirmatory factor analyses further suggested that CAPP domains are highly unidimensional. However, some CAPP symptoms may be weaker items in the model and further refinement is needed.