The Mediating Role of Rumination in the Relation Between Quality of Attachment Relations and Depressive Symptoms in Non-Clinical Adolescents

This study examined associations between indices of the quality of attachment relationships of adolescents with parents and peers, rumination, and symptoms of depression. More specifically, a mediation model was investigated in which rumination was hypothesized to mediate the relation between quality of attachment relations and symptoms of depression. A total of 455 high school students completed a battery of questionnaires, including quality of attachment relations, rumination, and depression. Results showed that most indices of quality of attachment relations were significantly associated with rumination and symptoms of depression. When examining the relative contribution of these variables in explaining variance in depression symptoms, trust in parents, communication with peers, and alienation from peers accounted for a significant portion of the variance in depression scores. Finally, the relation between communication with peers and depressive symptoms was fully mediated by rumination, whereas partial mediation was found for the relations between parental trust and depressive symptoms, and between alienation from peers and depressive symptoms. Implications of the findings may be that the treatment of depression in adolescence should consist of both cognitive interventions aimed at targeting ruminative thinking as well as a focus on interpersonal relationships of the adolescent with parents and peers.     

Why do lie-catchers fail? A lens model meta-analysis of human lie judgments

Decades of research has shown that people are poor at detecting lies. Two explanations for this finding have been proposed. First, it has been suggested that lie detection is inaccurate because people rely on invalid cues when judging deception. Second, it has been suggested that lack of valid cues to deception limits accuracy. A series of 4 meta-analyses tested these hypotheses with the framework of Brunswik's (1952) lens model. Meta-Analysis 1 investigated perceived cues to deception by correlating 66 behavioral cues in 153 samples with deception judgments. People strongly associate deception with impressions of incompetence (r = .59) and ambivalence (r = .49). Contrary to self-reports, eye contact is only weakly correlated with deception judgments (r = -.15). Cues to perceived deception were then compared with cues to actual deception. The results show a substantial covariation between the 2 sets of cues (r = .59 in Meta-Analysis 2, r = .72 in Meta-Analysis 3). Finally, in Meta-Analysis 4, a lens model analysis revealed a very strong matching between behaviorally based predictions of deception and behaviorally based predictions of perceived deception. In conclusion, contrary to previous assumptions, people rarely rely on the wrong cues. Instead, limitations in lie detection accuracy are mainly attributable to weaknesses in behavioral cues to deception. The results suggest that intuitive notions about deception are more accurate than explicit knowledge and that lie detection is more readily improved by increasing behavioral differences between liars and truth tellers than by informing lie-catchers of valid cues to deception.     

Perceiving communion in the dyadic relationship of others

The present research took an ecological approach to explore a relational issue in social perception ? are the perceived personality characteristics of dyad members and their perceived behavioural exchanges related to perceptions of that dyad’s perceived level of friendship? To this end, observers reported on a dyad they knew well using an indigenous measure of personality perception and the Dyadic Behavioural Exchange Scale, combined with an adapted version of Hays’ Friendship Observation Checklist. Perceived similarity of personality on the dimensions of application, emotional stability (negative) and helpfulness (negative) along with the perceived level of dyadic behaviour exchange were found to be additive predictors of perceived communion or friendship strength. This interplay of personal and interpersonal processes has demonstrated the application of methodological relationalism in the social domain, and broadened the ambit of social cognition to include knowledge of relationship units of which the observer is not a member, but which plays a part in his or her social world.     

Putting the “We” Into Well‐being: Using Collectivism‐Themed Measures of Well‐Being Attenuates Well‐being's Association With Individualism

Studies repeatedly have documented that societal well‐being is associated with individualism. Most of these studies, however, have conceptualized/measured well‐being as individual life satisfaction—a type of well‐being that originates in Western research traditions. Drawing from the latest research on interdependent happiness and on family well‐being, we posit that people across cultures pursue different types of well‐being, and test whether more collectivism‐themed types of well‐being that originate in Confucian traditions also are associated with individualism. Based on data collected from 2,036 participants across 12 countries, we find support for the association between individual life satisfaction and individualism at the societal level, but show that well‐being's association with individualism is attenuated when some collectivism‐themed measures of well‐being are considered. Our article advances knowledge on the flourishing of societies by suggesting that individualism may not always be strongly linked with societal well‐being. Implications for public policies are signaled.     

The triangle of interpersonal models

This article develops a framework for social psychology, the triangle of interpersonal models (TIM). TIM is a 2-dimensional classification scheme for the impact of people on social-psychological phenomena. TIM classifies a social-psychological phenomenon by the number of people who contribute to the phenomenon and the number of distinct social-psychological functions that those people serve. TIM includes models for phenomena that involve 1 person, 2 people, 3 people, and p people. In those phenomena, people serve 1, 2, 3, or f distinct social-psychological functions. TIM decomposes complex phenomena into components that reflect different levels of interpersonal causation. It brings rigor to holistic conceptions of social psychology and offers a fresh perspective on the relationship between the individual and the group.     

Skin-to-Skin contact (Kangaroo care) promotes self-regulation in premature infants: sleep-wake cyclicity, arousal modulation, and sustained exploration

The effect of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care, or KC) on self-regulatory processes of premature infants was studied. Seventy-three infants who received KC were compared with 73 infants matched for birth weight, gestational age, medical risk, and family demographics. State organization was measured in 10-s epochs over 4 hr before KC and again at term. No differences between KC infants and controls were found before KC. At term, KC infants showed more mature state distribution and more organized sleep-wake cyclicity. At 3 months, KC infants had higher thresholds to negative emotionality and more efficient arousal modulation while attending to increasingly complex stimuli. At 6 months, longer duration of and shorter latencies to mother-infant shared attention and infant sustained exploration in a toy session were found for KC infants. The results underscore the importance of maternal body contact for infants' physiological, emotional, and cognitive regulatory capacities.     

Self-cutting: patient characteristics compared with self-poisoners

A large ( n = 14,892) consecutive sample of deliberate self-harm (attempted suicide) patients who presented to a general hospital in the United Kingdom during a 23-year study period was examined (over two consecutive time periods) in order to compare the characteristics of those who used self-cutting ( n = 428) and those who self-poisoned ( n = 11,065). Patients who used different methods on other occasions, or were not assessed by the psychiatric service, were excluded. In the first time period (January 1976-June 1988), the self-cutters were distinguished from the self-poisoners by more often being male, single, not employed, and having a history of previous deliberate self-harm. In the second time period (July 1988-December 1998) the self-cutters were again distinguished by more often being male and having a history of previous deliberate self-harm, but also by being more likely to live alone, misuse alcohol, and have low suicidal intent scores. The finding of an excess of males among the self-cutters is contrary to the impression in the literature that self-cutting presentations to general hospitals more often involve females. It also indicates that the treatment needs of those who deliberately cut themselves are likely to differ from those of self-poisoners.     

The role of acceptance and job control in mental health, job satisfaction, and work performance

Acceptance, the willingness to experience thoughts, feelings, and physiological sensations without having to control them or let them determine one's actions, is a major individual determinant of mental health and behavioral effectiveness in a more recent theory of psychopathology. This 2-wave panel study examined the ability of acceptance also to explain mental health, job satisfaction, and performance in the work domain. The authors hypothesized that acceptance would predict these 3 outcomes 1 year later in a sample of customer service center workers in the United Kingdom (N = 412). Results indicated that acceptance predicted mental health and an objective measure of performance over and above job control, negative affectivity, and locus of control. These beneficial effects of having more job control were enhanced when people had higher levels of acceptance. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical relevance of this individual characteristic to occupational health and performance.     

Meta-analysis of raw mean differences

This article discusses the meta-analysis of raw mean differences. It presents a rationale for cumulating psychological effects in a raw metric and compares raw mean differences to standardized mean differences. Some limitations of standardization are noted, and statistical techniques for raw meta-analysis are described. These include a graphical device for decomposing effect sizes. Several illustrative data sets are analyzed.     

Beyond Beauty: Design Symmetry and Brand Personality

Our research explores connections between a fundamental element of visual design, namely symmetry, and consumer inferences regarding brand personality. In contrast to prior work focused on broad affective responses, we propose that symmetry plays an additional, nuanced role in the communication of brand personality. Results of four experiments reveal that asymmetry in visual brand elements is associated by consumers with brand excitement, and that the effect is driven in part by the experience of subjective arousal. These findings contribute to growing interest in visual design and consumer processing, while extending current understanding regarding the communication of brand personality.