Environmentalism as a context for expressing identity and generativity: patterns among activists and uninvolved youth and midlife adults

Previous qualitative studies have identified themes of generativity and identity development in the interviews of environmental activists (Chan, 2009 ; Horwitz, 1996 ), suggesting their importance as motives for environmental behavior. The purpose of our study was to extend this work by identifying positive relationships between identity maturity, generativity, and environmentalism using quantitative methodologies. To explore these relationships, we designed quasi‐experimental and correlational studies. We recruited 54 environmental activists and 56 comparison individuals, half of whom were youth (mean age = 22 years) and the other half midlife adults (mean age = 43 years). Sixty‐three percent of our sample was female. Participants completed several environmental, generativity, and identity questionnaires. We found that activists and comparison individuals differed on the identity maturity, generativity, and environmental measures overall. Further, greater identity maturity and generativity were associated with higher environmental engagement. And generativity was found to mediate the relation between identity maturity and environmentalism. Our findings suggest that engaging in generative behaviors may be an important part of the process in forming an environmental identity and engaging in environmental actions.     

Crossing the Threshold: The Spillover of Community Racial Diversity and Diversity Climate to the Workplace

We examined the spillover of community diversity to the workplace using a sample of 2,045 professionals living in communities across the U.S. Spillover effects were examined using 2 measures of community diversity: the degree to which employees were racially or ethnically similar to others in their community and perceptions of their community's diversity climate. Aligned with theories of group threat and racial segregation, Whites who were racially dissimilar to their communities expressed stronger intentions to leave their communities, and ultimately their workplaces, than those living in primarily White communities. However, community diversity climate offset these relationships; Whites who lived in communities that were racially dissimilar to them, but experienced the climate as inclusive, had lower moving intentions than those in communities that were experienced as racially intolerant. In contrast, for people of color, community diversity climate, rather than racial similarity to the community, predicted moving intentions. For both groups, the diversity climate in the community predicted moving intentions, which in turn predicted work turnover intentions, job search behaviors, and physical symptoms of stress at work. These findings suggest that the intention to leave one's community, and ultimately one's workplace, is influenced by community experiences and the community's perceived diversity climate.     

Wanting what’s not best

Philosophical Studies - In this paper, we propose a novel account of desire reports, i.e. sentences of the form $$\ulcorner$$ S wants p $$\urcorner$$ . Our theory is partly motivated by...     

Shifting Preferences for Choice-Making Opportunities through Histories of Differential Reinforcer Immediacy

The Psychological Record - Drifke, Tiger, and Gifford (2019) showed that preschool-aged children’s preferences for otherwise equated choice- and no-choice conditions could be shifted by...     

An Actor–Partner Interdependence Analysis of Associations between Affect and Parenting Behavior among Couples

Prior studies evaluating associations between parental affect and parenting behavior have typically focused on either mothers or fathers despite evidence suggesting that affect and parenting behavior may be interdependent among couples. This study addressed this gap in the literature by evaluating associations between self‐reported affect and parenting behavior using an actor–partner interdependence analysis among a sample of 53 mother‐father dyads of 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children. Results suggested that mothers' and fathers' negative affect, as well as mothers' and fathers' positive affect, were positively associated. Both mothers' and fathers' negative affect were negatively associated with fathers' positive affect. Mothers' and fathers' harsh/negative parenting behavior, and supportive/engaged parenting behavior, were positively associated. Furthermore, mothers' negative affect was positively associated with mothers' and fathers' harsh/negative parenting behavior while mothers' positive affect was negatively associated with mothers' harsh/negative behavior and positively associated with mothers' supportive/engaged behavior. Fathers' negative affect was positively associated with fathers' supportive/engaged parenting behavior, while fathers' positive affect was positively associated with mothers' and fathers' supportive/engaged behavior. Results highlight the importance of conceptualizing and measuring characteristics of both mothers and fathers, if applicable, when researching the dynamics of interpersonal relationships within families.     

A sociofunctional approach to prejudice at the polls: are atheists more politically disadvantaged than gays and Blacks?

Prejudice against atheists is pervasive in the United States. Atheists lag behind virtually all other minority groups on measures of social acceptance. The sociofunctional approach suggests that distrust is at the core of anti‐atheist prejudice, thus making it qualitatively different than prejudice against other disadvantaged groups. Accordingly, this research examined political bias against atheists, gays, and Blacks and the affective content accompanying such biases. Results indicated that atheists suffered the largest deficit in voting intentions from Christian participants, and this deficit was accompanied by distrust, disgust, and fear, thereby suggesting that the affective content of anti‐atheist prejudice is both broader and more extreme than prejudice against other historically disadvantaged groups. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.     

Aging and Religious Participation in Late Life

The aim of the study is to evaluate the relationship between two dimensions of religiosity and the process of aging. Secondary analysis of longitudinal data from the Florida Retirement Study was used to assess the trajectories of religious development over time. We analyzed data from six interview waves with 1,000 older adults aged 72 or over. A baseline model of growth processes only indicated significant variation and mean decline in religious attendance, but no significant variation nor mean change in religious beliefs over time. A final model including a set of 17 covariates was estimated, and the model fit statistics indicated very good fit for this latent growth curve model. The decline in mean religious attendance across time did not accompany a mean increase in religious beliefs as expected. There were numerous individual differences in the trajectory of decline for religious attendance, as well as in the initial levels of attendance and religious beliefs.     

Loss and the Organization of Affect

The present studies evaluated the association between positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) following romantic relationship loss experiences, as well as following less stressful romantic relationship situations, given theoretical evidence that the structure of affect may differ following a relationship loss. Across two studies, evidence suggested that the association between NA and PA was more strongly inverse following romantic relationship loss experiences when compared to less stressful relationship experiences. Such findings provide important implications for the study of romantic relationship loss, as well as the treatment of psychopathology following romantic relationship loss.