Ingratiation and Self‐Promotion in the Selection Interview: The Effects of Using Single Tactics or a Combination of Tactics on Interviewer Judgments

This paper investigates the relative effectiveness of the use of 2 impression‐management tactics—ingratiation and self‐promotion—on interviewers' evaluations of an applicant in a laboratory setting. It was suggested that the use of a single tactic would be better than the use of no tactic; that the use of self‐promotion would be more successful than the use of ingratiation; and, finally, that the use of a combination of tactics would lead to the best evaluations. Results were largely in line with our hypotheses. Interviewer ratings and action recommendations were more positive in the combination condition, followed by the self‐promotion condition, the ingratiation condition, and the neutral condition. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

The behavioural self-regulation strategies of Indian South African university students: An exploratory study

This study explored the race-related self-regulation strategies of eight Indian South African university students (females: n = 4) attending a historically white university. Interactive qualitative analysis of their race-related experiences revealed that the students felt that they had been judged as being different, which resulted in overwhelming unwanted emotions, primarily anger and sadness. Moreover, the students reported the use a range of self-regulation strategies (such as introspection, engaging with trusted others, managing the situation, tolerating the experience of being judged, and making friends with people from other races) in a specific sequence to enhance their social acceptance on the campus. The findings suggest that adaptive self-regulation may enhance the social outcomes of historically disadvantaged, racial minority students.     

Book reviews

The Tao and the Logos: Literary Hermeneutics, East and West. Zhang Longxi, 1992 Duke University Press xviii + 239 pp., ISBN 0 8223 1218 2, pb $14.50

Ibn Sinā and Mysticism: Remarks and Admonitions. Shams C. Inati, 1996, London, Kegan Paul International, 114 pp., ISBN 0 7103 0482 X, hb £30.00

Ethics in Early Buddhism. David J. Kalupahana, 1995, Hawaii, University of Hawaii Press, ix+ 171 pp., ISBN 0 8248 1702 8, hb $27.00

On Understanding Buddhists. Essays on Theravāda Tradition in Sri Lanka. John Ross Carter, 1993, Albany, State University of New York Press, xiv+215 pp, hb $16.95

To See the Buddha. A Philosopher's Quest for the Meaning of Emptiness. Malcolm David Eckel, 1994 (1st edn 1992), Princeton, Princeton University Press, x + 262 pp., ISBN 0 691 03773 6, pb US$ 16.95     

Sex differences in the clinical expression of depression

Recent epidemiological studies have established that the lifetime prevalence rate of depression is greater in women than in men. It was the purpose of the present study to investigate the possibility that the true prevalence of male depression is underestimated because males have learned through social rejection that it is inappropriate for them to openly express depressive feelings. Consistent with this notion that men only express depressive symptoms consonant with their traditional male sex role, a discriminant function analysis performed on the self-reported symptomatology of depressed patients revealed that men were more likely to report sex role appropriate symptoms such as work-related problems and somatic concerns. Since other self-presentational concerns may contribute to the sex difference in depression, it is suggested that future research directly examine the ways in which men experience and express symptoms of depression.An earlier draft of this article was presented at the 55th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Baltimore, Maryland, April 1984. This research was supported in part by a grant from the Medical Research Council of Canada, awarded to the first author, and Grant No. 6606-1768-46 from the Health Services and Promotions Branch of Health and Welfare Canada, awarded to the second author. The authors would like to thank Dr. Paul Grof, Kaely Hutchinson, and the staff and patients of Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital for their help and cooperation with the project.     

Notes on E! III: A theory of descriptions

Philosophical Studies -     

An evolutionary hypothesis for obsessive compulsive disorder: a~psychological immune system?

A new hypothesis is presented within the framework of evolutionary psychology that attempts to explain the origins of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is suggested that obsessions and compulsions originate from the overactivity of a mental module that the majority of humans possess and has the function of generating risk scenarios without voluntary intervention. It is hypothesised that obsessional phenomena function as an off-line risk avoidance process, designed to lead to risk avoidance behaviour at a future time, thus distinguishing it from anxiety and related phenomena as on-line emotional states, designed to lead to the avoidance of immediate and direct risks. Finally, the hypothesis makes a number of specific predictions that are testable and refutable. It is contended that the present hypothesis if supported by empirical evidence could serve as a basis for future research on this important disorder.     

Cancer Patients' Illness Experiences During a Group Intervention

The study used secondary data analysis to explore cancer patients' illness experiences during a listening group intervention. Participants were 12 patients (age range 22 to 62 years in age; males = 4; females = 8). Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Analysis of the data yielded twelve prevalent themes namely, support, perspectives and experiences in medical context, perspectives on life and death, emotional experiences, religiosity, role of knowledge and information pertaining to cancer, finances, concern for others, loss, desire for survival, humour, and physical symptoms. A framework suggesting possible moderating factors that could influence cancer patients' illness experiences and outcomes are proposed. The results of the study emphasise how stressful and complex living with cancer can be. However, many cancer patients developed alternative perspectives on life which also seem to bring about personal growth. It is suggested that further research regarding the development of a survivorship care programme within the South African context be undertaken.     

Quantification and existence

Those who want to interpret the quantifier ‘ (3 x) (. . .x. . .)'as having no existence commitment often fail to distinguish between this objective and that of merely changing the values of the variables. The confusion vitiates solutions of the singular existence anomalies which purport to be based on a non‐existential interpretation of the quantifier. An example of one who makes the distinction but still interprets the particular quantifier non‐existentially is offered by Czeslaw Lejewski. Objection to the classical interpretation of the quantifiers often runs hand in hand with aversion to extensional logic. However, it is at least arguable that such an aversion is the result of underestimating the resources of extensional logic. These points arc discussed in the wake of Professor Marcus's recent paper in this journal “Interpreting Quantification”.     

A cognitive map of Slovenia: Perceptions of the regions

Cognitive maps present an important theoretical concept and methodological tool for the acquirement of insight into the mental image of the environment. Part of the study, conducted in 1999–2000 on a representative sample of the inhabitants of Slovenia (N = 1291), is presented in this paper, namely the part devoted to the perception of regions. Participants were questioned about different aspects of their image of Slovenia, including their preferences for residence in different parts of Slovenia, partition of the country into regions, travelling patterns, environmental problems and solutions, possibilities of development, etc. Cognitive maps appeared as highly selective, with certain general similarities, but also with individual idiosyncrasies, depending on the place of living and other demographic characteristics. Though respondents were not highly devoted to the formation of regions, a rather clear mental image of them appeared. Main findings are discussed and applicability of the cognitive map for planning purposes are substantiated.