The role of familiarity in daily well-being: developmental and cultural variation

The present study examined life stage and cultural differences in the degree to which familiarity of one's physical location and interaction partner is associated with daily well-being. Participants reported all the activities they engaged in and how they felt during these activities on a previous day using the Day Reconstruction Method (Kahneman, Krueger, Schkade, Schwarz, & Stone, 2004). Both Korean and American retirees were happier when in a familiar place than in an unfamiliar place, whereas the reverse was true for both Korean and American working adults. In addition, we found cultural differences in the role of familiarity of the interaction partner. Specifically, Koreans (both retirees and working adults) were substantially happier when they interacted with a familiar person than when they interacted with an unfamiliar person. In contrast, Americans (both retirees and working adults) were no happier with a familiar person than with an unfamiliar person.     

Dimensions of acculturation: associations with health risk behaviors among college students from immigrant families

In the present study, we examined a bidimensional model of acculturation (which includes both heritage and U.S. practices, values, and identifications) in relation to hazardous alcohol use, illicit drug use, unsafe sexual behavior, and impaired driving. A sample of 3,251 first- and second-generation immigrant students from 30 U.S. colleges and universities completed measures of behavioral acculturation; cultural values (individualism, collectivism, and self-construal); ethnic and U.S. identity; and patterns of alcohol and drug use, engagement in potentially unsafe sexual activities, and driving while (or riding with a driver who was) intoxicated. Results indicate that heritage practices and collectivist values were generally protective against health risk behaviors, with collectivist values most strongly and consistently protective. Nonetheless, heritage identifications were positively associated with sexual risk taking for Hispanics. U.S. practices, values, and identifications were not consistently related to risk behavior participation. Results are discussed in terms of bidimensional approaches to acculturation, the immigrant paradox, and implications for counseling practice.     

Rater Personality and Performance Dimension Weighting in Making Overall Performance Judgments

Purpose  

The present study examined the effects of rater personality on the performance appraisal process. Specifically, we determined the relative weights that raters place on different performance dimensions when making overall performance evaluations, and examined whether rater personality influenced this weighting process. The literatures on social/political values and mate/friend selection were used as guiding frameworks in developing specific hypotheses.     

Predicting excessive body image concerns among British university students: The unique role of Appearance-based Rejection Sensitivity

The present research examined the extent to which interpersonal concerns about rejection based on appearance, or Appearance-based Rejection Sensitivity (Appearance-RS), serves as an indicator of risk for excessive body image concerns. Extending previous research, we examined the association between Appearance-RS and symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and cosmetic surgery attitudes among 106 British university students. Consistent with predictions, Appearance-RS uniquely predicted greater degree of BDD symptoms after controlling for other known predictor variables. Also, as expected, Appearance-RS uniquely predicted acceptance of cosmetic surgery for both intrapersonal and social reasons and greater consideration of having cosmetic surgery in the future. These findings highlight the importance of assessing individuals’ sensitivity to rejection from others based on their physical appearance in investigations of excessive body image concerns.     

In-person contact begets calling and texting: interpersonal motives for cell phone use, face-to-face interaction, and loneliness

This study examined how cell-phone use is related to interpersonal motives for using cell phones, face-to-face communication, and loneliness. A survey of 232 college students who owned a cell phone revealed that affection and inclusion were relatively strong motivations for using voice calls and text messaging, and that interpersonal motives were positively related to the amount of cell-phone use, including calling and texting. The amount of face-to-face interaction was positively associated with the participants' cell-phone use and their interpersonal motives for using cell phones: the more the participants engaged in face-to-face interaction with other people, the higher their motives were and the more frequent cell-phone use was. Loneliness did not have a direct relation to cell-phone use. Instead, the participants with higher levels of loneliness were less likely to engage in face-to-face social interaction, which led them to use cell phones less and to be less motivated to use cell phones for interpersonal purposes.     

Age-related changes in multi-finger interactions in adults during maximum voluntary finger force production tasks

This study aimed to continue our characterization of finger strength and multi-finger interactions across the lifespan to include those in their 60s and older. Building on our previous study of children, we examined young and elderly adults during isometric finger flexion and extension tasks. Sixteen young and 16 elderly, gender-matched participants produced maximum force using either a single finger or all four fingers in flexion and extension. The maximum voluntary finger force (MVF), the percentage contributions of individual finger forces to the sum of individual finger forces during four-finger MVF task (force sharing), and the non-task finger forces during a task finger MVF task (force enslaving), were computed as dependent variables. Force enslaving during finger extension was greater than during flexion in both young and elderly groups. The flexion-extension difference was greater in the elderly than the young adult group. The greater independency in flexion may result from more frequent use of finger flexion in everyday manipulation tasks. The non-task fingers closer to a task finger produced greater enslaving force than non-task fingers farther from the task finger. The force sharing pattern was not different between age groups. Our findings suggest that finger strength decreases over the aging process, finger independency for flexion increases throughout development, and force sharing pattern remains constant across the lifespan.     

Identification of Early Child and Family Risk Factors for Aggressive Victim Status in First Grade

This prospective investigation sought to discriminate children who were both aggressive towards and victimized by peers in the first grade, from those who were only aggressive, only victimized, or neither (i.e., socially adjusted), using early child and family risk factors. Two hundred thirty-eight children, their mothers, and teachers participated in a longitudinal study since birth. All three aggressor/victim subgroups showed greater temperamental dysregulation than the socially adjusted children, but only aggressive victims had significantly poorer social perception skills. Aggressive victims were distinguished from aggressors by greater exposure to maternal depression and from victims by lower levels of early inhibition, but they shared the experiences of negative family emotional expressiveness with aggressors and greater mother-child negativity with victims. The identification of early risk factors is crucial to prevention and early intervention efforts that have the potential to attenuate the long term emotional, social, and academic problems associated with aggressive victim status.     

Assessing interpersonal aspects of schizoid personality disorder: preliminary validation studies

In 2 studies, we examined the reliability and validity of an interpersonal measure of schizoid personality disorder (SZPD) based on nonverbal behaviors and interpersonal interactions occurring during interviews. A total of 556 male jail inmates in the United States participated in Study 1; 175 mentally disordered offenders in maximum security hospitals in the United Kingdom participated in Study 2. Across both samples, scores on the Interpersonal Measure of Schizoid Personality Disorder (IM-SZ) exhibited adequate reliability and patterns of correlations with other measures consistent with expectations. The scale displayed patterns of relatively specific correlations with interview and self-report measures of SZPD. In addition, the IM-SZ correlated in an expected manner with features of psychopathy and antisocial personality and with independent ratings of interpersonal behavior. We address implications for assessment of personality disorder.