Alexithymia and Self Differentiation: The Role of Fear of Intimacy and Insecure Adult Attachment

It is suggested in literature that there is a link between Alexithymia and Self-Differentiation; however, little is known about possible mediation factors. The goal of this work is to test in a non-clinical population of adults the mediation role of Fear of Intimacy and Adult Attachment in the relationship between Alexithymia and Self-Differentiation. A sample of 258 participants self identified as gay or lesbian, aged 20–50 years (M: 30.29; SD: 7.27), 45% of whom were males, completed self-reported measures of Alexithymia (TAS-20), Self-Differentiation (SDI), Fear of Intimacy (FIS); and Insecure Adult Attachment (RAAS). Our results show that Alexithymia predicts Self-Differentiation both directly and indirectly, through Fear of Intimacy and Insecure adult attachment. In addition, Fear of Intimacy directly influences Self-Differentiation, and also mediates the relationship between Alexithymia and Adult Attachment which, in turn, negatively predicts Self-Differentiation. In conclusion, Alexithymia predicts Self-Differentiation while Fear of Intimacy and adult attachment may act as mediators of the report. Limitations of the study and directions of future research are described.

     

Choosing what to choose from: Preference for inclusion over exclusion when constructing consideration sets from large choice sets

Decision making is a two‐stage process, consisting of, first, consideration set construction and then final choice. Decision makers can form a consideration set from a choice set using one of two strategies: including the options they wish to further consider or excluding those they do not wish to further consider. The authors propose that decision makers have a relative preference for an inclusion (vs. exclusion) strategy when choosing from large choice sets and that this preference is driven primarily by a lay belief that inclusion requires less effort than exclusion, particularly in large choice sets. Study 1 demonstrates that decision makers prefer using an inclusion (vs. exclusion) strategy when faced with large choice sets. Study 2 replicates the effect of choice set size on preference for consideration set construction strategy and demonstrates that the belief that exclusion is more effortful mediates the relative preference for inclusion in large choice sets. Studies 3 and 4 further support the importance of perceived effort, demonstrating a greater preference for inclusion in large choice sets when decision makers are primed to think about effort (vs. accuracy; Study 3) and when the choice set is perceived as requiring more effort because of more information being presented about each alternative (vs. more alternatives in the choice set; Study 4). Finally, Study 5 manipulates consideration set construction strategy, showing that using inclusion (vs. exclusion) in large choice sets leads to smaller consideration sets, greater confidence in the decision process, and a higher quality consideration set.     

Amorphization under fracture surface in hydrogen-charged and low- temperature tensile-tested austenitic stainless steel

ABSTRACT

The microstructure just below the fracture surface in hydrogen-charged stable austenitic SUS 316L stainless steel, which was subjected to a low strain rate tensile test at ?70°C, was studied by a combination of the focused-ion-beam method and transmission electron microscopy. An amorphous region with a chemical composition almost identical to that of the polycrystalline region was found under the lath-like structure on the fracture surface, although no deterioration of tensile properties by hydrogen appeared. In the amorphous region, band-like regions with wavy contrasts were observed, which were often accompanied by cracks at the boundaries. The presence of the amorphous region with band-like regions implies that amorphization occurred due to high-density vacancies accompanied by agglomerations of excess vacancies in the hydrogen-charged SUS 316L stainless steel that was tensile-tested at low temperatures.     

The Greta Thunberg Effect: Familiarity with Greta Thunberg predicts intentions to engage in climate activism in the United States

Despite Greta Thunberg's popularity, research has yet to investigate her impact on the public's willingness to take collective action on climate change. Using cross-sectional data from a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults (N = 1,303), we investigate the “Greta Thunberg Effect,” or whether exposure to Greta Thunberg predicts collective efficacy and intentions to engage in collective action. We find that those who are more familiar with Greta Thunberg have higher intentions of taking collective actions to reduce global warming and that stronger collective efficacy beliefs mediate this relationship. This association between familiarity with Greta Thunberg, collective efficacy beliefs, and collective action intentions is present even after accounting for respondents’ overall support for climate activism. Moderated mediation models testing age and political ideology as moderators of the “Greta Thunberg Effect” indicate that although the indirect effect of familiarity with Greta Thunberg via collective efficacy is present across all age-groups, and across the political spectrum, it may be stronger among those who identify as more liberal (than conservative). Our findings suggest that young public figures like Greta Thunberg may motivate collective action across the U.S. public, but their effect may be stronger among those with a shared political ideology. Implications for future research and for broadening climate activists’ appeals across the political spectrum are discussed.     

Investigating the role of E-contact and self-disclosure on improving Turkish-Kurdish interethnic relations

While recent research has started to pay more attention to the role of contact strategies on promoting intergroup harmony between Turkish and Kurdish communities, the effectiveness of a novel form of indirect contact strategy, E-contact—where participants engage in a cooperative and structured online interaction with an individual from the outgroup—has not yet been tested. Across two studies (N_{Study 1} = 110, N_{Study 2} = 176), we investigated the effects of E-contact among Turks on promoting positive attitudes and behavioral tendencies toward Kurds, testing outgroup trust and intergroup anxiety as mediators and incorporating a distinction between lower and higher self-disclosure conditions. As expected, E-contact led to more positive outgroup attitudes, as well as greater approach tendencies and decreased avoidance tendencies through increased outgroup trust (Studies 1 and 2) and reduced intergroup anxiety (Study 2). Study 2 also found that E-contact produced lower perceived interethnic conflict through increased outgroup trust. While both lower and higher personal disclosure conditions provided similar effects in the two studies, E-contact with heightened self-disclosure was especially effective at promoting more positive outgroup attitudes and reducing avoidance tendencies. Findings highlight potential benefits of using E-contact as a prejudice-reduction strategy in conflict settings.     

Correction to: The development of dynamic perceptual simulations during sentence comprehension

Cognitive Processing - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-021-01027-4     

DISCUSSION: BEHAVIORAL PROCEDURES FOR TRAINING DIRECT CARE STAFF IN FACILITIES SERVING DEPENDENT POPULATIONS

Behavioral training techniques of direct care staff have helped institutions serving dependent populations to progress from custodial settings to therapeutic environments. Most of the recent literature on staff training has focused on contingency management procedures, especially feedback procedures. Long-term studies of these procedures suggest that individual verbal feedback on the performance of the staff member is the best assurance of maintenance of these procedures.     

Sex differences in the perceived causal structure of date rape: A preliminary report

The present study examines the perceived causes of date rape by the use of network analysis. The 142 subjects in the study were presented with grids containing 9 causes listed by row and column. They were asked to indicate if they belived there was a causal link between each of the 72 causal pairings. The resulting network placed emphasis on male and female drunkenness, norms of dating, and society's attitude to date rape as distal causes of date rape. Misunderstanding of behavior by men, male attitude that date rape is unimportant, and need by males for dominance were seen as proximal causes. Further networks for each sex were constructed: these showed clear division of opinion on the causes of date rape. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.