Making plans for healthy diet: The role of motivation and action orientation

The main objective of the present study was to examine the role of motivation and action orientation in forming spontaneous (i.e., without specific instruction or manipulation) implementation intentions for a healthy diet goal. We hypothesized that (1) the adoption of a diet goal would be determined by (either intrinsic or extrinsic) motivation only whereas, (2) forming implementation intentions would be determined by intrinsic motivation and (either low or high) action orientation. These hypotheses were addressed in a sample of 142 normal weight subjects who were concerned about their dietary habits. Primary outcomes were goal intentions and implementation intentions. Our hypothesis regarding the prediction of goal intentions was confirmed whereas results relating to the prediction of implementation intentions demonstrated that intrinsic motivation and low (but not high) action orientation proved significant predictors of intentions to implement a healthy diet goal. These findings suggest that self‐regulatory skills as assessed by the concept of action orientation may relate to short‐term strategies of initiating behavior change only. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Examining “fat talk” experimentally in a female dyad: How are women influenced by another woman's body presentation style?

Fat talk, the verbal dissatisfaction that women express about their bodies, was studied in a female dyad whereby participants interacted with a female confederate who either self-derogated, self-accepted, or self-aggrandized. A 2 (participant body esteem: high vs. low) ×3 (confederate style of body image presentation) design was used. Results revealed that participants’ public disclosure of their body image varied according to confederate's style. Consistent with a reciprocity effect, participants disclosed the lowest public body image ratings in the self-derogate condition, with moderate ratings in the self-accept condition, and highest ratings in the self-aggrandize condition. Moreover, participants with low compared to high body esteem stated lower public body image. Participants’ judgments of the confederates’ likeability did not vary as a function of the confederate's body presentational style. Findings support the recursive nature of the social psychology of body image such that personal body image dissatisfaction is partially influenced by fat talk social norms.     

Surfing for sex: Studying involuntary celibacy using the internet

The Internet offers possibilities for sexuality research that could not have been imagined even a decade ago. Although Internet users are not representative of the general population, they are easily accessible, and the openness with which they discuss sensitive topics has created a tremendous and largely untapped pool of respondents for sex research. Moreover, the web provides access to populations that are largely hidden and difficult to reach using traditional methods. In this article, we explore such issues as sampling, research design, data collection and management, and the ethics of web-based research. In doing so, we review past research, investigate the advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet in sexuality studies, draw examples from our web-based study of involuntary celibacy, and recommend guidelines for future web based inquiries.     

Victim and Perpetrator Accounts of Hurtful Messages: An Actor–Partner Interdependence Model

This study examined how message characteristics and relational turbulence correspond with victim and perpetrator experiences of hurtful messages. Romantic partners described 2 events: one where each of them was a victim of the partner's hurtful message. Trained judges evaluated qualities of hurtful messages and participants reported relationship qualities, intensity of hurt experienced as a victim, and the partner's hurt feelings when the respondent was the perpetrator. Third‐party ratings of hurtfulness were associated with victims' intensity of hurt. For females, relational turbulence was associated with their intensity of hurt as victims. For males, relational turbulence was associated with their perception of the female victims' hurt. The authors discuss the implications for the work on hurtful messages and relational turbulence.     

The child as go-between: consulting with parents and teachers

In becoming a pupil a child also takes on the role of go-between and must negotiate daily the transitions from home to school. This puts the child in a triangular position in relation to his parents and teachers who often stand in a highly ambivalent relationship to each other, making it difficult for the child to keep a balance between the two systems. Coping mechanisms described include dissociating one system fromanother or skewing the triangle so that the child is cast in the role of victim either because the school or home is seen as unsatisfactory. The presence of 'themes' or issues around deprivation and authority, or the more familiar 'care' and 'control', aggravate the difficulties of the go-between. 'Good' parents are likely to produce 'good' pupils and successful go-betweens.     

INFANTS' RECOGNITION OF THE SOUND PATTERNS OF THEIR OWN NAMES

Abstract— Among the earliest and most frequent words that infants hear are their names Yet little is known about when infants begin to recognize their own names Using a modified version of the head-turn preference procedure, we tested whether 4 5-month-olds preferred to listen to their own names over foils that were either matched or mismatched for stress pattern. Our findings provide the first evidence that even these young infants recognize the sound patterns of their own names Infants demonstrated significant preferences for their own names compared with foils that shared the same stress patterns, as well as foils with opposite patterns. The results indicate when infants begin to recognize sound patterns of items frequently uttered in the infants' environments.     

In the Eye of the Beholder? Parental Ratings of Externalizing and Internalizing Symptoms

Variations in ratings of externalizing and internalizing symptoms may contain a trait (i.e., shared view) component when behavioral symptoms that generalize across context are perceived and an individual view component when they are misperceived or when each informant has access to different symptoms. Using a LISREL model, we estimated the trait and the informant-specific, individual view components in parental ratings of externalizing and internalizing symptoms of adolescent siblings. The model demonstrated that mothers' and fathers' ratings contained a substantial individual view component (from 21% to 50% of total rating variance, depending on rater and trait). Except for fathers' ratings of internalizing symptoms (13%), parental ratings also contained a substantial trait component (42% to 58%). Mother's, father's, and child's ratings may be averaged to estimate a trait of externalizing. To estimate an internalizing trait, it may be best to combine just the mother's rating with the child's self-rating.