Maternal attachment representations in relation to emotional availability and discipline behaviour

Maternal attachment representations have been investigated in relation to sensitivity and emotional support, but rarely in relation to other important areas of daily parent–child interactions in early childhood, like limit setting and discipline strategies. This study investigates maternal attachment representations in relation to parenting sensitive and discipline behaviours. The sample consists of 37 Portuguese high-risk severely economically disadvantaged mothers and their 1- to 4-year-old children, that responded to the Adult Attachment Interview, and were observed in play and discipline interaction contexts. The results showed that a more preoccupied state of mind was related to less emotional availability in free play interaction with child. A more secure attachment representation was related to more psychologically controlling discipline tactics. These findings highlight the relevance of maternal attachment states of mind in understanding parenting practices in several domains, and are discussed in light of sociocultural factors.     

Influence of Three Interventions on Group Participation in an Acute Psychiatric Facility

In this article the authors present a comparison of three modes of group-based intervention within an acute psychiatric facility. The group-based interventions were: (1) verbal discussion, (2) verbal discussion with a psychoeducation component, and (3) verbal discussion and psychoeducation within a therapeutically designed occupational environment. Outcome measures were group member participation, perceived social support, and perceived helpfulness of intervention. Researchers conducted retrospective analysis of group records to determine if differences existed among the three modes of interventions. Analysis revealed a significant difference in participation among the interventions. Perceived social support and helpfulness of intervention were high, but not statistically significant among the interventions.     

The Cultural Divide and Changing Beliefs about Gender in the United States, 1974–2010

The present paper examines claims of a growing cultural divide in the United States. We analyze social change in beliefs about gender over a period of 36 years (from 1974 to 2010) in the United States using data from the nationally representative General Social Survey (GSS). We find evidence of growing gender egalitarianism until the mid-1990s, with a reversal between 1996 and 2000, and a decline in state differences in beliefs about gender over time in our decomposition analysis and multilevel models. Although we find significant differences in gender beliefs among states in the 1970s based on their voting record on the Equal Rights Amendment and based on patterns of family formation and family life associated with the Second Demographic Transition, these differences among states decreased or disappeared entirely by the early years of the twenty-first century. We highlight the implications of our findings for the ongoing public and academic debate surrounding growing cultural differences among states.     

Dynamic analysis of multivariate panel data with non-linear transformations

Many models for multivariate data analysis can be seen as special cases of the linear dynamic or state space model. Contrary to the classical approach to linear dynamic systems analysis, in which high-dimensional exact solutions are sought, the model presented here is developed from a social science framework where low-dimensional approximate solutions are preferred. Borrowing concepts from the theory on mixture distributions, the linear dynamic model can be viewed as a multi-layered regression model, in which the output variables are imprecise manifestations of an unobserved continuous process. An additional layer of mixing makes it possible to incorporate non-normal as well as ordinal variables.Using the EM-algorithm, we find estimates of the unknown model parameters, simultaneously providing stability estimates. The model is very general and cannot be well estimated by other estimation methods. We illustrate the applicability of the obtained procedure through an example with generated data.     

Shaping cooperation behavior: The role of accessibility experiences and uncertainty

The present research investigates the influence on cooperative behavior of accessibility experiences associated with the retrieval of fairness‐relevant information from memory. We argue that the decision whether to cooperate in negotiations depends not only on information about the appropriateness of the negotiation procedure, but also on the experience of how difficult or easy it is to come up with this information. Supporting this hypothesis, it is shown that in the context of a bargaining experiment, participants' experiences of ease or difficulty in retrieving unfair aspects of the respective negotiation procedure strongly influence their cooperation behavior. In addition, we hypothesize and empirically substantiate that the influence of accessibility experiences on cooperation behavior occurs particularly in situations of certainty salience. Implications for future research on cooperation and on accessibility experiences are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of perpetrator similarity in reactions toward innocent victims

Building and extending on just world theory, this paper studies people's negative reactions to innocent victims of rape or sexual assault. Specifically, we focus on an as yet unexplored variable that may help to explain these reactions, namely whether the perpetrator of the crime was similar or dissimilar to people who observed what happened to the victim. Perpetrator similarity refers to whether the perpetrator belongs to the personal world of the observer or not, and in accordance with predictions derived from just world theory, findings of three studies reveal that especially men take more physical distance from an innocent victim (Study 1) and blame (Study 2) and derogate (Study 3) an innocent victim more when the perpetrator is similar to them as opposed to when the perpetrator is different from them. Implications are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of T-shirt graphics on perceptions and behavioral intentions

Do graphics on clothing drive perceptions? We used a between group design to test if athletic, academic, or suggestive graphics on clothing differentially influence perceptions and behavioral intentions. In study 1, participants (N = 199) rated five female t-shirt models, and in study 2 and 3, participants rated five male t-shirt models (N = 120) or university students (N = 50). Analyses of variance controlling for sex (ANCOVA) showed participants were least likely to want to interact with models/students wearing sexually suggestive graphics: Study 1, F(3,165) = 30.263, p < .001, η_p ²  = .30, power = 1.00; Study 2, F (3,119) = 11.630, p < .000, η_p ² = .234, and Study 3, F(1, 42) = 12.578, p < .000. Participants did not rate models in the academic and athletic graphic shirts differently from models with plain white shirts. Results support the concept that people form different perceptions based upon the clothing a person wears, changing behavioral intentions. Neither sex role ideation (Study 1) or sexism (Study 2) were significant covariates of perceptions and intentions.     

Creating Through Deviancy or Adjustment? The Link between Personality Profile Normativeness and Creativity

Does deviancy or adjustment predict creativity? To address this question, we tested the association between personality profile normativeness (similarity between one's personality profile and the average profile—a proxy for the deviancy–adjustment continuum) and creativity across four different samples (total N = 348 768). We used a wide range of creativity measures, including self‐reported, informant‐reported, behavioural, and occupational creativity, as well as several essential statistical controls (i.e., demographics, socio‐economic background, intelligence, and life satisfaction). Furthermore, we employed both cross‐sectional and longitudinal designs, including samples of college students and representative adult populations. We found that people who had more normative personality profiles were more creative. However, this association only held within modality (i.e. when both personality and creativity were either self‐reported or informant‐reported). We did not find robust associations between personality profile normativeness and laboratory‐based behavioural measures of creativity, occupational creativity, or creative achievements. We discuss alternative explanations for the observed adjustment–creativity link, specifically, implicit theories of creativity and person perception biases (halo effects). Notably, the findings did not support the idea that deviancy breeds creativity, suggesting that the famed ‘mad genius’ hypothesis might not hold among the general population. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology