Economic Predictors of Differences in Interview Faking Between Countries: Economic Inequality Matters,Not the State of Economy

Many companies recruit employees from different parts of the globe, and faking behavior by potential employees is a ubiquitous phenomenon. It seems that applicants from some countries are more prone to faking compared to others, but the reasons for these differences are largely unexplored. This study relates country-level economic variables to faking behavior in hiring processes. In a cross-national study across 20 countries, participants (N = 3,839) reported their faking behavior in their last job interview. This study used the random response technique (RRT) to ensure participants’ anonymity and to foster honest answers regarding faking behavior. Results indicate that general economic indicators (gross domestic product per capita [GDP] and unemployment rate) show negligible correlations with faking across the countries, whereas economic inequality is positively related to the extent of applicant faking to a substantial extent. These findings imply that people are sensitive to inequality within countries and that inequality relates to faking, because inequality might actuate other psychological processes (e.g., envy) which in turn increase the probability for unethical behavior in many forms.     

The (non-)benefit of choosing: If you get what you want it is not important that you chose it

Self-Determination Theory argues that autonomy plays a major role in intrinsic motivation. Autonomy can be operationalized as choice. Whether positive effects on motivation are caused by the mere act of choosing or by confounding variables is still unclear. In this study (N?=?299, M_age?=?13.1?±?0.6 years), students could work with two polarizing animals. The first group was allowed to choose (choosing & match), two groups were not. In these groups, the teacher allocated the animals to the students resulting in a second group that received the wanted animal (no choosing & match), and a third group that received the unwanted animal (no choosing & no match). Situational motivation and flow experience were assessed. Regarding intrinsic motivation and flow, students in the no choosing & match treatment scored the highest, students of the no choosing & no match group the lowest. In conclusion, matching and not choosing made the difference.     

Verbal-Motor Attention-Focusing Instructions Influence Kinematics and Performance on a Golf-Putting Task

The authors examined how varying the content of verbal-motor instructions and requesting an internal versus external focus influenced the kinematics and outcome of a golf putting task. On Day 1, 30 novices performed 120 trials with the instruction to focus attention either on performing a pendulum-like movement (internal) or on the desired ball path (external). After 20 retention trials on Day 2, they performed 20 transfer trials with the opposite instruction. Group differences for retention and a group by block interaction showed that external instruction enhanced movement outcome. Kinematic data indicated that specific instruction content influenced outcomes by eliciting changes in movement execution. Switching from the external to the internal focus instruction resulted in a more pendulum-like movement.     

Forgivingness and subjective well-being in adulthood: The moderating role of future time perspective

This cross-sectional study tested the hypothesis that future time perspective moderates the association between forgivingness and subjective well-being. Results from a sample of adults (N = 962, 19-84 years) indicate that time perspective and forgivingness were strongly associated with positive affect, life satisfaction and optimism. In support of the hypothesis, forgivingness was more strongly associated with positive well-being for those who perceived their future time as limited as compared to those with an open-ended time perspective. The moderating effect of future time perspective holds over and above the effect of chronological age. Moderating effects were not found for negative affect and pessimism. The results underscore the importance of perceived time horizons for the interplay between forgivingness and well-being.     

Differential effects of cognitive inhibition and intelligence on creativity

There are different conceptions about how cognitive inhibition is related to creativity. Creativity has either been associated with effective inhibition, or with disinhibition, or with an adaptive engagement of inhibition. In this study, we examined the relationship of cognitive inhibition, assessed by means of the random motor generation task, with different measures of creativity. We also analyzed whether this relation is mediated by intelligence. We generally found a positive correlation of inhibition and creativity measures. Moreover, latent variable analyses indicate that inhibition may primarily promote the fluency of ideas, whereas intelligence specifically promotes the originality of ideas. These findings support the notion that creative thought involves executive processes and may help to better understand the differential role of inhibition and intelligence in creativity.     

Factorial structure and age-related psychometrics of the MIDUS personality adjective items across the life span

The present study addresses issues of measurement invariance and comparability of factor parameters of Big Five personality adjective items across age. Data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) survey were used to investigate age-related developmental psychometrics of the MIDUS personality adjective items in 2 large cross-sectional samples (exploratory sample: N = 862; analysis sample: N = 3,000). After having established and replicated a comprehensive 5-factor structure of the measure, increasing levels of measurement invariance were tested across 10 age groups. Results indicate that the measure demonstrates strict measurement invariance in terms of number of factors and factor loadings. Also, we found that factor variances and covariances were equal across age groups. By contrast, a number of age-related factor mean differences emerged. The practical implications of these results are discussed, and future research is suggested.     

Bindungsforschung und therapeutische Beziehung

Zusammenfassung Die von John Bowlby konzipierte Bindungstheorie postuliert ein primäres Bedürfnis nach Bindung und Nähe zu versorgenden Personen, das in der frühen Kindheit zur Ausbildung innerer Repräsentanzen/Arbeitsmodelle von Bindung und Bindungserfahrungen führt, in die sowohl Aspekte des Selbstkonzeptes als auch Konzepte über die Reaktionen relevanter Anderer integriert werden. Die entwicklungspsychologische Forschung hat in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten ein tragfähiges empirisches Fundament für die Bindungstheorie geliefert und mit dazu beigetragen, dass die Theorie auch im klinischen Kontext zunehmend reflektiert wird. Die therapeutische Beziehung kann aus bindungstheoretischer Sicht zumindest unter bestimmten Umständen als eine spezifische Form einer Bindungsbeziehung erachtet werden. Ein derartiges Modell hat in jüngster Vergangenheit zu einer Vielzahl theoretischer Überlegungen über die Qualität der therapeutischen Beziehung aus bindungstheoretischer Sicht geführt. Neben theoretischen Beiträgen zur Thematik gibt es mittlerweile auch eine immer größer werdende Zahl empirischer Untersuchungen, die sich mit der Relevanz bindungstheoretischer Konstrukte für den Therapieerfolg, den therapeutischen Prozess und die therapeutische Allianz beschäftigen. Eine Zusammenfassung dieser Studien zeigt, dass es für Psychotherapeuten lohnend sein kann, sich mit den Konzepten der Theorie näher zu beschäftigen, beispielsweise um Brüche und Schwierigkeiten in der therapeutischen Beziehung besser zu verstehen und ggf. verhindern zu können.Eine modifizierte Version dieser Übersicht wird erscheinen in: Hermer M, Röhrle B (Hrsg) (2006) Handbuch der therapeutischen Beziehung – Beziehungsgestaltung, Bündnisprobleme, Kontexte. dgvt, Tübingen. Der Vorabdruck erfolgt mit Genehmigung der Herausgeber.