Confidently Biased: Comparisons with Anchors Bias Estimates and Increase Confidence

Across a wide variety of situations, exposure to anchors has been shown to bias people's estimates. What is not known, however, is whether externally provided anchors influence the confidence that people have in their estimates. Our studies had two goals. First, we tested whether exposure to anchors influenced people's subjective confidence levels (Studies 1 and 2). These studies revealed that people who made estimates after making comparisons with externally provided anchors tended to be more confident in their estimates than people who did not see anchors. The second goal was to test two explanations as to why anchors increase people's confidence. In Study 3, we tested the explanation that anchors increase confidence because participants thought the anchors provided useful information. In Study 4, we tested the explanation that exposure to anchors causes people to consider a narrower range of plausible values as compared to when not exposed to anchors. Support was found only for the explanation that comparisons with anchors increase confidence because people who are exposed to anchors consider a narrower range of plausible values. Taken together, these studies reveal the powerful influence anchors can have—they not only bias estimates, but also increase people's confidence in their biased estimates. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceptions of Engaging With a Super-Strengths Approach in Elite Sport

Strengths-based approaches (underpinned by positive psychology) are scarcely documented in sport. This study explored perceptions of a strengths-based approach (termed super-strengths) on psychological characteristics and performance in elite sport. Semistructured interviews were conducted with athletes (N = 12) who had previous experience of working with a sport psychology practitioner on super-strengths. Thematic analysis of the data indicated that super-strengths had a positive influence on athletes’ mind-set, confidence (e.g., self-belief), clarity of purpose (e.g., goal direction), drive, coping ability, and performance. Findings highlight the potential benefits of adopting strengths-based approaches in sport, and recommendations for future research are provided.     

The Effect of Manipulating Training Demands and Consequences on Experiences of Pressure in Elite Netball

Testing the efficacy of a pressure training framework (Stoker, Lindsay, Butt, Bawden, &; Maynard, 2016 Stoker, M., Lindsay, P., Butt, J., Bawden, M., &; Maynard, I. (2016). Elite coaches' experiences of creating pressure training environments. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 47(3), 262–281.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), the present study investigated whether manipulating training demands and consequences altered experiences of pressure. Elite Netballers (M_age = 26.14 years) performed a Netball exercise in a randomized, within-subject design with four conditions: a control, consequences, demands, and demands plus consequences condition. Compared with the control, self-reported pressure was significantly higher in the consequences and demands plus consequences condition but not in the demands condition. The findings provide mixed support for manipulating demands and strong support for manipulating consequences as a means for producing pressure.     

Latent Variable Mixture Modeling of Ecological Momentary Assessment Data: Implications for Screening and Adolescent Mood Profiles

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies typically rely on arbitrary decision rules for identifying and excluding invalid responses from the data. In addition, most studies treat independent variables as separate from each other even if their combinations might have importance above the independent contribution of each. Our study aimed to conduct an exploratory latent profile analysis of EMA data to demonstrate an empirical method of identifying invalid responses, and to provide a preliminary investigation of mood profiles. We recruited 20 adolescents between the ages of 13–18 to complete 4 surveys about their internal states each day for 20 days. Participants provided responses on study smartphones using an Android app developed by the study team. Our profile analysis revealed 9 independent profiles. We determined that 3 of these profiles consisted of invalid responses because the integers provided by the participant were nearly invariant. The invalid responses comprised 24.9% of the sample. We also identified 6 valid profiles that were labeled: fatigued (8.7%), good mood/energetic (19.9%), angry/depressed (2.3%), good mood (37.1%), angry (5.7%), and depressed (1.4%). One important implication of the current study is that researchers and clinicians should screen electronic diary data, especially for invariant responding. In addition, it is important for clinicians to note that more than one internal state may drive the mood of an adolescent patient.     

Does a rat release a soaked conspecific due to empathy?

In Experiment 1, rats choosing in an E maze preferred to release a rat standing in a pool of water to dry ground over a rat already standing on dry ground. Five additional experiments showed that the choosing rat’s preference for releasing the wet rat was maintained by two separable outcomes: (1) the social contact offered by the released rat and (2) the reinforcing value of proximity to a pool of water. These results call into question Sato et al.’s (Anim Cogn 18:1039–1047, 2015) claim to have demonstrated that a rat’s releasing of a wet rat to dry ground is empathically motivated.     

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation and behavioral analysis of mouse mutants with altered glucocorticoid or mineralocorticoid receptor function

Corticosteroid receptors are critical for the maintenance of homeostasis after both psychological and physiological stress. To understand the different roles and interactions of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) during stress, it is necessary to dissect the role of corticosteroid signaling at both the system and sub-system level. A variety of GR transgenic mouse lines have recently been used to characterize the role of GR in the CNS as a whole and particularly in the forebrain. We will describe both the behavioral and cellular/molecular implications of disrupting GR function in these animal models and describe the implications of this data for our understanding of normal endocrine function and stress adaptation. MRs in tight epithelia have a long established role in sodium homeostasis. Recently however, evidence has suggested that MRs in the limbic brain also play an important role in psychological stress. Just as with GR, targeted mutations in MR induce a variety of behavioral changes associated with stress adaptation. In this review, we will discuss the implications of this work on MR. Finally, we will discuss the possible interaction between MR and GR and how future work using double mutants (through conventional means or virus based gene alteration) will be needed to more fully understand how signaling through these two steroid receptors provides the adaptive mechanisms to deal with a variety of stressors.     

Exposure to a Mnemonic Interferes with Recall of Suicide Warning Signs in a Community‐Based Suicide Prevention Program

The incremental impact of adding a mnemonic to remember suicide warning signs to the Air Force Suicide Prevention Program (AFSPP) community awareness briefing was investigated with a sample of young, junior‐enlisted airmen. Participants in the standard briefing significantly increased their ability to list suicide warning signs and improved consistency with an expert consensus list, whereas participants in the standard briefing plus mnemonic demonstrated no learning. Both groups demonstrated positive changes in beliefs about suicide. Results suggest that inclusion of the mnemonic in the AFSPP briefing interfered with participants' ability to learn suicide warning signs, and that increased confidence in the perceived ability to recognize suicide risk is not related to actual ability to accurately recall warning signs.     

Gender and Suicide Risk: The Role of Wound Site

That males have higher suicide rates than females is one of the most empirically documented social facts in suicidology, but the reasons for this continue to be debated. For the present paper, we tested a neglected contributing factor to the gender suicide ratio: wound site or the area of the body that is wounded in firearm suicides. Males may have a higher suicide rate, in part, due to their greater likelihood than women for shooting themselves in the head as opposed to the body. This has been related to gender differences in fear of facial disfigurement and suicide intent. Data from the Wayne County Medical examiner's office regarding 807 suicides committed with firearms was analyzed. The dependent variable was dichotomous and referred to the location of the site of the wound: gunshot to the head vs. gunshot to the body. Controls for demographic covariates of suicide included age and race of the suicide victim. The results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis determined that women were 47% less apt than men to shoot themselves in the head. Further analysis determined that women were less apt than men to use shotguns and rifles in their suicides (weapons that make head shooting more awkward). The findings are consistent with the notion that women are more concerned than men with facial disfigurement, and that women have a lower desire to die than men.     

Suicidal Behavior in the Western Pacific Region: Characteristics and Trends

Current knowledge of suicidal behavior in the Western Pacific region is relatively limited when compared to other areas of the world. This area is characterized by a wide diversity of social, economic, and cultural aspects that do not permit any homogenous reading of suicide phenomena. Data from countries of the region included in this article suggest the existence of important differences among nations in terms of gender, age, and methods of suicide, as well role of mental illness. In addition, the Western Pacific region appears to be affected by higher rates of suicide than other areas in the world, with signs of progressive worsening in recent years and worrying predictions for the next two decades. The Suicide Trends in At‐Risk Territories (START) Study, initiated by the World Health Organization Regional Office in Manila, seeks to research the incidence of both fatal and nonfatal suicidal behavior in countries of the region and to implement interventions for suicide attempters. This ambitious project is expected to standardize data collection procedures and improve the knowledge cultural factors in suicide.