Implicit associations between smoking and social consequences among smokers in cessation treatment

Explicit expectations of the negative and positive social consequences of smoking are likely to have substantial influence on decisions regarding smoking. However, among smokers trying to quit, success in smoking cessation may be related not only to the content of expectancies about smoking's social effects but also to the ease with which these cognitive contents come to mind when confronted with smoking stimuli. To examine this possibility, we used the implicit association test (IAT) [Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L. K. (1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: The implicit association test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1464-1480] to assess implicit cognitive associations between smoking and negative vs. positive social consequences among 67 heavy social drinkers seeking smoking cessation treatment in a randomized clinical trial. Results showed that the relative strength of implicit, negative, social associations with smoking at baseline predicted higher odds of smoking abstinence during treatment over and above the effects of relevant explicit measures. The only variable that significantly correlated with IAT scores was the density of smokers in participants' social environment; those with more smoking in their social environment showed weaker negative social associations with smoking. Results suggest implicit cognition regarding the social consequences of smoking may be a relevant predictor of smoking cessation outcome.     

When two heads are not better than one: Partner neglect in paired memory tasks

People can monitor the accuracy of their own memories and regulate their responses accordingly. But can they monitor and make use of another person’s memory? We document a new phenomenon whereby participants neglect a partner’s expertise when deciding whether to defer to that partner’s memory or to rely on their own. In two experiments, participants studied images for more time than, less time than, or the same amount of time as a partner, and on subsequent recognition tests they were directed to maximize team performance by either answering themselves or letting their partner respond. In both experiments, individuals failed to use the knowledge that the partner would probably have a better memory for certain items. Only when explicitly instructed to estimate their accuracy relative to their partner’s did participants take advantage of the partner’s greater expertise. Psychonomic Society, Inc.     

A Psychometric Analysis of the Child Behavior Checklist DSM-Oriented Scales

The Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6–18 (CBCL/6-18) possesses newly developed DSM-Oriented Scales, constructed through expert clinical judgment to match selected categories for behavioral/emotional problems as described in the DSM-IV. The present investigation examined the basic psychometric properties for all six DSM-Oriented Scales (i.e., Affective, Anxiety, Somatic, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity, Oppositional, and Conduct Scales) in a large clinical sample of children and adolescents (N = 673). Findings from the present study provide strong evidence for the reliability, as well as convergent and discriminative validity, of these scales. It appears that the DSM-Oriented Scales may provide accurate supplementary information that may be considered when formulating clinical diagnoses.

The Siting of Churches and Mosques as an Indicator of Christian–Muslim Relations

The state of relations between Christians and Muslims can be difficult to assess, particularly on a micro scale. Analysing where and why places of worship are located can be an important indicator of the complexities of inter-religious relations. This paper uses examples and case studies from across time and space to demonstrate how changes to the religious landscape can help ascertain degrees of tolerance and intolerance. These changes can come about through such methods as allowing mosques or churches to be built as a sign of tolerance, destroying or converting mosques or churches as a sign of intolerance, building a place of worship adjacent to another place of worship out of either respect or a sense of superiority, and limiting the location in order to keep the minority religious group in its place.     

Examining the Relations Among Narcissism, Impulsivity, and Self-Defeating Behaviors

ABSTRACT A recent meta-analysis ( S. Vazire & D. C. Funder, 2006 ) suggested that narcissism and impulsivity are related and that impulsivity partially accounts for the relation between narcissism and self-defeating behaviors (SDB). This research examines these hypotheses in two studies and tests a competing hypothesis that Extraversion and Agreeableness account for this relation. In Study 1 , we examined the relations among narcissism, impulsivity, and aggression. Both narcissism and impulsivity predicted aggression, but impulsivity did not mediate the narcissism–aggression relation. In Study 2 , narcissism was related to a measure of SDB and manifested divergent relations with a range of impulsivity traits from three measures. None of the impulsivity models accounted for the narcissism–SDB relation, although there were unique mediating paths for traits related to sensation and fun seeking. The domains of Extraversion and low Agreeableness successfully mediated the entire narcissism–SDB relation. We address the discrepancy between the current and meta-analytic findings.     

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of two forgiveness scales

This study examined the psychometric properties of two forgiveness scales using participants enrolled at a Midwestern Catholic university (N = 328). The Forgiveness Scale is a 15—item Likert-type scale designed to measure forgiveness toward an of-fender. The Forgiveness Likelihood Scale is a 10—item Likert-type scale designed to measure tendency to forgive across situations. Factor analyses revealed that the For-giveness Scale contains two subscales (i.e., Absence of Negative, Presence of Posi-tive) and the Forgiveness Likelihood Scale consists of a single factor. Both scales have adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Both subscales of the Forgiveness Scale were significantly correlated in the expected direction with mea-sures of forgiveness, religiousness, anger, hope, religious well-being, existential well-being, and social desirability. The Forgiveness Likelihood Scale was significantly correlated in the expected direction with measures of forgiveness, religiousness, trait anger, religious well-being, and social desirability. The authors thank Sarah Danko, Anne Hovancsek, Carla Kmett, Jennifer Martin, and Colleen Ryan for their assistance. We kindly request that researchers who use the forgiveness scales evaluated in this study provide us with a summary of their psychometric data for the scales. The idea for creating the Forgiveness Likelihood Scale was based upon the Willingness to Forgive Scale (Hebl & Enright, 1993).     

An Examination of the Validity and Incremental Value of Needed‐at‐Entry Ratings for a Customer Service Job

We examined needed‐at‐entry ratings of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) provided by job experts (N= 285) during a job analysis for a customer service manager position. To serve as an external referent, a group of industrial and organisational psychologists (N= 31) rated the perceived trainability of each KSAO. Analyses revealed only limited support for the validity of inferences drawn from job experts' needed‐at‐entry ratings. Consistent with our hypotheses, less validity evidence was found for ratings of the more person‐oriented and abstract “AO” attributes than for the more job‐oriented and concrete “KS” attributes. In general, job experts tended to rate attributes as needed‐at‐entry that psychologists thought could be developed on the job. We also found that failing to collect needed‐at‐entry ratings, and relying on only the more common importance‐to‐the‐job ratings, would have resulted in a rather different set of critical KSAOs identified for assessment during the selection process.