The Light = Healthy Intuition

This research documents a “light = healthy” intuition, such that consumers perceive foods that weigh less are healthier than their heavier counterparts with the same serving size. Subsequently, consumers consume a larger quantity of lighter-weight foods. The intuition is based on a coactivation of two meanings of the word “light”: light in physical weight and light in calorie content. An implicit attitude test finds support for this association between physical weight and food healthiness. ​Subsequently, physically lighter foods are perceived to be healthier because they are assumed to contain fewer calories. In line with the proposed coactivation mechanism, the intuition is bidirectional, where consumers also expect healthier foods to weigh less. Consequently, they discredit health claims issued for heavier foods. Finally, it was found that activating a competing intuition is effective at debiasing the “light = healthy” intuition.     

Implicit Person Theories and Change in Teacher Evaluation: A Longitudinal Field Study

Adopting a longitudinal field study, this paper investigates whether entity theorists (students who believe human attributes are fixed) are less likely than incremental theorists (students who believe human attributes are malleable) to change their evaluations of a teacher in accordance with his behavioral changes. An instructor exhibited some forgetful behaviors in the first half of a course, and ceased doing so in the second half. Consistent with our hypothesis, incremental theorists adjusted their perceptions of the instructor. They rated him as less forgetful accordingly at the end of the course than at the middle. Entity theorists, however, did not show this change. With improved ecological validity, this study extends previous laboratory studies to teacher evaluation.     

Attachment Theory and Affect Regulation: The Dynamics,Development, and Cognitive Consequences of Attachment-Related Strategies

Attachment theory (J. Bowlby, 1982/1969, 1973) is one of the most useful and generative frameworks for understanding both normative and individual-differences aspects of the process of affect regulation. In this article we focus mainly on the different attachment-related strategies of affect regulation that result from different patterns of interactions with significant others. Specifically, we pursue 3 main goals: First, we elaborate the dynamics and functioning of these affect-regulation strategies using a recent integrative model of attachment-system activation and dynamics (P. R. Shaver & M. Mikulincer, 2002). Second, we review recent findings concerning the cognitive consequences of attachment-related strategies following the arousal of positive and negative affect. Third, we propose some integrative ideas concerning the formation and development of the different attachment-related strategies.     

The effects of learned helplessness on the processing of a persuasive message

The current study examines the effects of exposure to unsolvable problems on the processing of a persuasive message. Participants exposed to either unsolvable failure or no-feedback tasks were presented with one of four versions of an advertisement about a hair shampoo and rated their attitude towards this product. Two aspects of the message were manipulated: the quality of arguments (strong, weak) and the attractiveness of the communicator (attractive, non-attractive). In addition, participants rated their anxiety and the frequency of off-task thoughts during the experiment. Attitude towards the target product of participants in the failure condition was less affected by the argument’s quality and more influenced by communicator attractiveness than the attitude of participants in the no-feedback condition. Participants exposed to failures reported more anxiety and task-related worries than those exposed to no-feedback, and these ratings were found to mediate the effects of failure on the processing of a persuasive message. Results were discussed in terms of Learned Helplessness theories and the Elaboration Likelihood Model.     

Sociodemographic and Clinical Differences Between Suicide Ideators and Attempters: A Study of Mood Disordered Patients 50 Years and Older

Our study sought to characterize mood disordered suicide ideators and attempters 50 years and older admitted to a psychiatric ward either for a recent suicide attempt or for ongoing suicidal ideation. We enrolled 50 patients with suicide ideation consecutively admitted to an inpatient department and 50 patients admitted for a suicide attempt made in the last 48 hours. Suicide attempters more frequently had low social support and an age of onset of mood disorder of 46 years and older, and less frequently had a history of suicidal behaviors in the family members and pharmacological treatment, despite the fact that the groups did not differ with regard to antidepressants prescribed. The groups were not distinguishable based on several variables assumed to be risk factors for suicide behavior, such as proximal life events and stressors or alcohol use disorders. In both samples, comorbidity with organic diseases, the presence of stressful life events in the past 12 months, and a diagnosis of major depression were frequently reported. In conclusion, the presence of low social support and the absence of a pharmacotherapy may increase suicidal behaviors in patients at risk.