Ethnicity of Dating Partner,Pressure for Thinness,and Body Dissatisfaction

Two studies explored the relation between ethnicity, attitudes toward body weight, dating behavior, and female body satisfaction. Study 1 found that White men expressed a lighter female ideal weight, more resentment about their girlfriend's weight, and more pressure for their partner's thinness than did Black men. Study 2 found that regardless of their own ethnicity, women who dated White men had lower body mass index (BMI), lower ideal weights, and reported experiencing lower levels of body acceptance by their dating partners. This lack of acceptance was associated with lower levels of body satisfaction. These results support the view that the differing aesthetic preferences of Black and White men contribute to differing levels of body satisfaction among Black and White women.     

Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Job Performance: Job Ambivalence as a Moderator

Based on research regarding the role of attitudinal ambivalence in the validity of attitudes in predicting behavior, we propose job ambivalence as a promising concept for job satisfaction research. In particular, we argue that job ambivalence (i.e., coexistence of positive and negative evaluations of one's job) may moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance. Results of a study conducted with managers of an IT company show, as predicted, that job satisfaction is a better predictor of job performance (i.e., higher satisfaction related to higher performance) when individuals experience low job ambivalence, as compared to when individuals experience high job ambivalence. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Lay Beliefs About Psychological and Social Problems Among Adolescents: Motivational and Cognitive Antecedents1

This study attempted to apply theoretical concepts from personality and social psychology to understand the nomological network informing clinical models held by laypersons. Personal values and social axioms predicted the lay beliefs of Chinese adolescents about the causes and cures of 2 psychological problems (agoraphobia and schizophrenia) and 2 social problems (child abuse and corruption). Using path analyses, we developed a model of lay beliefs for each specific problem, and found that social problems were perceived to be caused by social‐personal factors, whereas psychological problems varied in their perceived etiology, with agoraphobia perceived to be caused by the environmental/hereditary factor and schizophrenia by the social‐personal factor. Clinical methods were perceived to be the important curative factor in overcoming most problems.     

Researching Faith Maturity Questions on the Methods and Findings of Valuegenesis

The issue of Catholic elementary-school survival is complex. This study found in general that astute management is more important than overall wealth. Major contributors to survival include integrated church/school financial planning; a combination of a certain level of church support for the school and efficient school management; and clarity about the role of the school in the Church's evangelical mission. The most vulnerable moments for the Catholic elementary schools, presuming otherwise strong management, are during times of sweeping neighborhood change. This study produced some financial ratios that may be helpful in strenghtening Catholic elementary schools.     

An Introduction to Sports Concussion for the Sport Psychology Consultant

This paper was designed to introduce the sport psychology consultant (SPC) to the relevant practical and theoretical information pertaining to sports concussion. The paper discusses four key areas related to sports concussion: 1) recognition, 2) management, 3) psychological issues following a concussion, and 4) prevention and education. Throughout the paper, the authors emphasize the role of the SPC in each of these four areas. An integrated review of the sport concussion literature and current research and guidelines regarding the definition, pathophysiology, symptoms, neuropsychological testing, and risk factors for concussion is presented. The SPC's roles in educating and helping athletes deal with post-concussion issues such as the pressure to return to play and fear of reinjury are examined. The authors highlight the need for baseline neuropsychological testing of athletes; and advocate a multidimensional team approach to sport concussion, involving the SPC as a key member of that team.     

THE VALUE OF UNCERTAINTY

The author discusses some of the characteristics of Roy Schafer's contributions to psychoanalysis that he finds most valuable, such as his openness to uncertainty, his anti‐reductive view of analytic constructions, his unique formulation of the analyst's role, and his close attention to how the patient engenders particular emotional reactions in the analyst. The author also presents a clinical vignette illustrating the value of the analyst's tolerance of uncertainty in the face of the patient's push for interpretations, explanations, and reassurance.     

A new kind of friendship - An essay on Philip Pullman's The Subtle Knife

This paper discusses the second volume of Pullman's trilogy in which the quests of the two children to establish the nature of their link to parental objects intersect across time and space. They enter an imaginary world on their journey, and we observe their relationship develop into one of friendship and psychological interdependence. There is a shift from dominant persecutory anxieties towards depressive concern, alongside an increasing capacity to differentiate between hubris and courage, and to depend on the protection and love of surrogate parental figures. Cet article explore le deuxième tome de la trilogie de P. Pullman, dans lequel il décrit l'entrecroisement dans le temps et dans l'espace de la quête menée par chacun des deux enfants pour comprendre la nature de sa relation à ses objets parentaux. Au cours de leur voyage, ils entrent dans un monde imaginaire; nous voyons comment leur relation se mue en amitié et en dépendance psychologique réciproque. Les angoisses persécutrices, auparavant prédominantes, se transforment en souci dépressif pour l'autre; en méme temps, ayant acquis une capacité de plus en plus affinée à distinguer entre orgueil prétentieux et courage véritable, ils se montrent davantage aptes à s'en remettre à la protection et à l'amour de figures parentales de substitution. Questo articolo discute il secondo volume della trilogia di Pullman, nel quale la ricerca di due bambini per scoprire la natura del loro legame con le figure genitoriali si interseca nel tempo e nello spazio. Essi entrano in un mondo immaginario nel loro viaggio e noi osserviamo lo svilupparsi della loro relazione di amicizia e interdipendenza psicologica. Si vede uno spostamento dalle ansie persecutorie dominanti verso un tipo di preoccupazione depressiva, e allo stesso tempo una crescente capacita' di differenziare l'arroganza dal coraggio ed essere dipendenti dalla protezione e amore di figure parentali sostitutive. Dieser Artikel diskutiert den zweiten Band der Pullman Trilogie, in der die Suche der zwei Kinder, die Art ihrer Verbindung zu elterlichen Objekten zu etablieren, sich über Zeit und Raum erstreckt. Sie betreten auf ihrer Reise eine imaginäre Welt und wir beobachten, wie sich ihre Beziehung zu der einer Freundschaft und psychologischen gegenseitigen Abhängigkeit entwickelt. Es findet eine Veränderung von den dominierenden Verfolgungsängsten zu depressiven Sorgen statt, gleichzeitig mit einer wachsenden Fähigkeit, zwischen Anmassung und Mut zu unterscheiden und vom Schutz und der Liebe von Ersatzelternfiguren abzuhängen.     

The General Confidence Scale: Coping With Environmental Uncertainty and Threat

We investigated general confidence as a psychological buffer for coping with environmental uncertainty and threat. In Study 1, a new scale to measure general confidence was developed and cross‐validated with different samples. Study 2 examined general confidence as a moderator of the influence of environmental stress on individual strains. Two groups of participants were presented with photographs either of terrorist attacks or of neutral scenes. We found a significant interaction between presented scenes and general confidence. Study 3 examined the effect of general confidence on acceptance of mobile phone stations while controlling for relevant variables. The results showed good incremental validity for the General Confidence Scale over related personality and social psychological constructs.     

Creative Self‐Efficacy and Innovative Behavior in a Service Setting: Optimism as a Moderator

Creativity research on the personality approach has focused on the relationship between individual attributes and innovative behavior. However, few studies have empirically examined the effects of positive psychological traits on innovative behavior in an organizational setting. This study examines the relationships among creative self‐efficacy, optimism, and innovative behavior as well as the moderating effect of optimism. Longitudinal data across two periods were collected from 120 spa employees of a diet and beauty salon company in Taiwan. After controlling for the effects of job tenure and the Big Five personality traits, this study found that employees with a high level of creative self‐efficacy demonstrate a high level of innovative behavior at work, and optimism does not have a direct effect on employees' innovative behavior, but it does play a moderating role. When employees' creative self‐efficacy is high, those with greater optimism exhibit greater innovative behavior at work. Toward the end, this paper offers suggestions for future research and discusses the practical implications of this study.