Psychological effects of risk glorification in the media: Towards an integrative view

Media contents that glorify risk-taking (e.g., video games that simulate illegal street racing, TV depictions of dangerous extreme sports or stunts) are becoming increasingly popular. Theory and research suggest that risk glorification is associated with risk-taking among the audience. Until recently the evidence was limited in three ways: First, most studies, being correlational, did not permit clear causal inferences. Second, we did not know the strength of the effect of different types of media and different types of risk-taking outcomes. Third, early research did little to isolate the underlying psychological processes that mediate the pernicious effects of risk glorifying media formats. In order to address these open questions we review the results of an experimental programme of research and the findings of a comprehensive meta-analysis. The main findings are that (a) the risky media contents do indeed have causal force; (b) according to our meta-analysis active participation in risk glorifying media interfaces has a larger effect than passive consumption; (c) psychological processes include the priming of risk-related constructs, effects of risk-positive situational heuristic cues, perceived social norms, personal risk habituation, and changes in the recipient's self-concept. To integrate these findings we propose a theoretical framework derived from broad-range socio-cognitive models. We conclude with a discussion of possible directions for future research.     

Genetic Counselors’ Current Use of Personal Health Records-Based Family Histories in Genetic Clinics and Considerations for Their Future Adoption

Given the widespread adoption of electronic medical records and recent emergence of electronic family history tools, we examined genetic counselors’ perspectives on the emerging technology of the personal health record (PHR)-based family history tool that links to an electronic medical record (EMR). Two-hundred thirty-three genetic counselors responded to an on-line survey eliciting current use of electronic family history (EFH) tools and familiarity with PHR-based family history tools. Additionally, after being shown a series of screen shots of a newly developed PHR-based family history tool based on the U.S. Surgeon General’s My Family Health Portrait (United States Department of Health and Human Services 2009), participants were surveyed about the perceived usefulness, ease of use, and impact on current workflow that this kind of tool would have in their practices. Eighty-three percent reported that their institution has an EMR, yet only 35 % have a dedicated space for family history. Eighty-two percent reported that less than 5 % of their patients have a PHR, and only 16 % have worked with patients who have a PHR. Seventy-two percent or more agreed that a PHR-based family history tool would facilitate communication, increase accuracy of information, ensure consistency in recording information, increase focus on actual counseling, reduce repetitive questions, improve efficiency, and increase the legibility and clarity. Our findings suggest that participants were familiar with existing EFH tools, but that the majority did not use them in practice. Genetic counselors’ adoption of such tools is limited due to non-existence of this kind of technology or inability to integrate it into their clinics. They are also strongly in favor of adopting a PHR-based family history tool in genetics clinics, but have practical concerns that must be addressed before the tool can be implemented.     

Plasticity during childhood and adolescence: innovative approaches to investigating neurocognitive development

Adolescence is a period of profound change, which holds substantial developmental milestones, but also unique challenges to the individual. In this opinion paper, we highlight the potential of combining two recently developed behavioural and neural training techniques (cognitive bias modification and functional magnetic neuroimaging‐based neurofeedback) into a research approach that could help make the most of increased levels of plasticity during childhood and adolescence. We discuss how this powerful combination could be used to explore changing brain–behaviour relationships throughout development in the context of emotion processing, a cognitive domain that exhibits continuous development throughout the second decade of life. By targeting both behaviour and brain response, we would also be in an excellent position to define sensible time windows for enhancing plasticity, thereby allowing for targeted intervention approaches that can help improve emotion processing in both typically and atypically developing populations.     

Self‐paced study time as a cue for recall predictions across school age

Recent work on metacognition indicates that monitoring is sometimes based itself on the feedback from control operations. Evidence for this pattern has not only been shown in adults but also in elementary schoolchildren. To explore whether this finding can be generalized to a wide range of age groups, 160 participants from first to eighth grade participated in a study based on a self‐paced study time (ST) allocation paradigm. In contrast to previous studies, picture pairs instead of word pairs were used as stimuli to compensate for reduced reading skills in younger participants. Actual ST and judgments of learning (JOLs) made at the end of each study trial were used as core variables. The results are in line with previous findings, in that children's JOLs decreased with increasing ST, suggesting that JOLs were based on the memorizing effort heuristic that easily learned items are more likely to be remembered. Weaker inverse relationship between JOLs and ST was found for the younger children. Overall, these results underline the importance of mnemonic cues in shaping metacognitive feelings not only in adults but also in older children and expose a developmental trend in their use along childhood.     

Discrepancy in Personality Perceptions Is Related to Relationship Satisfaction: Findings from Dyadic Latent Discrepancy Analyses

The current study investigated discrepancies in self‐, partner‐, and meta‐perceptions of the Big Five traits and their associations with relationship satisfaction in intimate couples. The study was based on a subsample of the Swiss study “Co‐Development in Personality: Longitudinal Approaches to Personality Development in Dyads Across the Life Span” (CoDiP) including cross‐sectional data of 216 heterosexual couples. We adapted the Latent Congruence Model (LCM) for the study of discrepancies in personality perceptions in dyads. Beyond personality trait levels, the discrepancies between self‐ and partner‐perceptions and between partner‐ and meta‐perceptions of the Big Five traits were related to relationship satisfaction as actor and partner effects. In general, flattering and favorable partner‐perceptions in relation to self‐ and meta‐perceptions seem to positively contribute to relationship satisfaction. The present study implies that not only personality trait levels but also discrepancies between personality perceptions are important for understanding relationship satisfaction.     

Where grounding and causation part ways: comments on Schaffer

Does the notion of ground, as it has recently been employed by metaphysicians, point to a single unified phenomenon (the “Unity Hypothesis”)? Jonathan Schaffer holds that the phenomenon of grounding exhibits the unity characteristic of a single genus. In defense of this hypothesis, Schaffer proposes to take seriously the analogy between causation and grounding. More specifically, Schaffer argues that both grounding and causation are best approached through a single formalism, viz., that utilized by structural equation models of causation. In this paper, I present several concerns which suggest that the structural equation model does not transfer as smoothly from the case of causation to the case of grounding as Schaffer would have us believe. If it can in fact be shown that significant differences surface in how the formalism in question applies to the two types of phenomena in question, Schaffer’s attempt at establishing an analogy between grounding and causation has thereby been weakened and, as a result, the application of the Unity Hypothesis to the case of grounding once again stands in need of justification.     

It’s in the means: Process focus helps against procrastination in the academic context

Two studies tested the hypotheses (1) that focusing on the process of goal pursuit is associated with lower levels of procrastination and (2) that this relationship is moderated by fear of failure and task aversiveness. Study 1 used a between-subjects design with hypothetical scenarios (N = 92). Study 2 used a 5-week longitudinal within-subject design in a real-life context (N = 50). Both studies found converging evidence for the main-effect hypothesis, that is, process focus is negatively associated with procrastination in the academic context (e.g., studying for an exam). Process focus was also negatively related to task aversiveness and fear of failure. However, findings regarding moderation effects of fear of failure and task aversiveness were mixed. Taken together, findings support the hypothesis that the cognitive representation of a goal primarily in terms of its means (i.e., process focus) versus its outcome is related to less procrastination: Focusing on the process of a task can help to reduce procrastination.     

Direct Democracy and Institutional Trust: Relationships and Differences Across Personality Traits

Direct democracy plays a prominent role in the explanation of institutional trust. To date, however, empirical findings on the effects of direct democracy remain inconclusive. In this article, we argue that this inconclusiveness can be partly ascribed to the diverse effects direct democracy has on individuals. In other words, direct democracy influences institutional trust, but how and to what degree depends on individuals’ personality traits. Running hierarchical analyses of unique survey data from a random sample of eligible Swiss voters, we document three findings: First, we show that the number of ballot measures is not directly associated with institutional trust. Second, we demonstrate that the Big Five personality traits affect the propensity to trust. Third, some of these traits also alter the relationship between direct democracy and institutional trust, suggesting that certain personality types are more likely to be sensitive to popular votes than others and that not everyone is equally likely to respond to political stimuli, even in highly democratic environments.