Costs and Benefits of Newcomer Adjustment Tactics

Research on information seeking, feedback seeking, and newcomer proactive behavior reveals that employees use various criteria in deciding how to act. This article investigates an integrative framework for such criteria proposed by Cooper‐Thomas and Wilson, comprising three domains (performance, ego, social) and two factors (cost, benefit). Three independent scenario‐based studies were used to test their model. The results supported some propositions of the model, such as the primacy of performance concerns, yet failed to support other propositions, with benefits consistently predominating over costs. Factors that might underlie the contradictory results were systematically controlled for, namely the sample, hypothetical scenario, and initial asset position. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Gene–Environment Interaction of the Oxytocin Receptor Gene Polymorphism (rs53576) and Unresolved Attachment Status Predict Depersonalization Symptoms: An Exploratory Study

Depersonalization (DP), or feelings of detachment from one’s self or one’s surroundings (i.e., derealization, DR), is considered a maladaptive stress response, frequently occurring in anxiety disorders, depression or as a primary disorder. However, the pathogenesis of DP/DR symptoms is little understood. The present study aimed to elucidate the influence of unresolved attachment status and the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) rs53576 polymorphism on DP/DR symptoms. The study sample consisted of 84 women, including 43 depressed patients and 41 control subjects, aged 19–52. DP/DR symptoms were measured with the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale; unresolved attachment status was assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview. OXTR rs53576 genotypes were obtained from blood samples. We found a highly significant gene–environment interaction: Individuals with unresolved attachment status were significantly more depersonalized when they carried the GG-allele than A-allele carriers than not unresolved subjects. There was no statistically significant main influence of OXTR genotypes or unresolved attachment status on DP/DR symptoms. We suggest that the GG-allele and unresolved attachment status might be considered as risk factors in the etiology of DP/DR symptoms. Replication is needed in larger samples including male subjects.     

The World at 7:00: Comparing the Experience of Situations Across 20 Countries

The purpose of this research is to quantitatively compare everyday situational experience around the world. Local collaborators recruited 5,447 members of college communities in 20 countries, who provided data via a Web site in 14 languages. Using the 89 items of the Riverside Situational Q‐sort (RSQ), participants described the situation they experienced the previous evening at 7:00 p.m. Correlations among the average situational profiles of each country ranged from r = .73 to r = .95; the typical situation was described as largely pleasant. Most similar were the United States/Canada; least similar were South Korea/Denmark. Japan had the most homogenous situational experience; South Korea, the least. The 15 RSQ items varying the most across countries described relatively negative aspects of situational experience; the 15 least varying items were more positive. Further analyses correlated RSQ items with national scores on six value dimensions, the Big Five traits, economic output, and population. Individualism, Neuroticism, Openness, and Gross Domestic Product yielded more significant correlations than expected by chance. Psychological research traditionally has paid more attention to the assessment of persons than of situations, a discrepancy that extends to cross‐cultural psychology. The present study demonstrates how cultures vary in situational experience in psychologically meaningful ways.     

When bad gets worse: Negative wording amplifies negative recall in persons with the borderline personality trait

The emotional valence of memory recall strongly influences the extreme, and often self‐destructive behavioral response. Overall, 4427 people from the community filled out our screening questionnaire, of which 674 (mean age: 32.9 years, 64.7% women) passed the threshold for the likely presence of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Participants watched one of 9 possible video clips differing in valence (positive, negative or neutral). Results indicate support (ß = .151, p < .05) for a negative cognitive tendency in the evaluations proportionate to the severity of BPD but only when the impression is assessed with negatively‐worded items. This effect is detectable regardless of other factors such as negative mood, extremity of the answers or general impression of the character. These effects are unaffected by acute trauma. To conclude, different factors influence the recall of emotional stimuli, depending on the valence of the stimuli and the valence of the rating scale in persons with strong borderline tendencies.     

Decision-making,cognitive functions,impulsivity, and media multitasking expectancies in high versus low media multitaskers

In several studies, individuals who reported to frequently multitask with different media displayed reduced cognitive performance, for example in fluid intelligence and executive functioning. These cognitive functions are relevant for making advantageous decisions under both objective risk (requiring reflection and strategical planning) and ambiguous risk (requiring learning from feedback). Thus, compared to low media multitaskers (LMMs), high media multitaskers (HMMs) may perform worse in both types of decision situations. The current study investigated HMMs and LMMs in a laboratory setting with the Game of Dice Task (GDT; objective risk), the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; ambiguous risk), various tests quantifying cognitive functions (logical reasoning, working memory, information processing, general executive functions), and self-report measures of impulsivity, media multitasking expectancies, and problematic Internet use. From 182 participants, 25 HMMs and 19 LMMs were identified using the Media Multitasking Index. Results show that HMMs compared to LMMs performed weaker on the IGT but not on the GDT. Furthermore, HMMs had slightly decreased performance in tests of logical reasoning and working memory capacity. HMMs tended to increased information processing speed but this difference was not significant. Furthermore, HMMs have more positive expectancies regarding media multitasking and reported higher tendencies toward problematic Internet use. HMMs and LMMs did not differ significantly with respect to impulsivity and executive functions. The results give a first hint that HMMs may have difficulties in decision-making under ambiguous but not under objective risk. HMMs may be more prone to errors in tasks that require feedback processing. However, HMMs appear not to be impaired in aspects of long-term strategic decision-making.

     

Effectiveness of Web- and Mobile-Based Treatment of Subthreshold Depression With Adherence-Focused Guidance: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Evidence for the impact of psychological Interventions for subthreshold depression (sD) is conflicting. Moreover, human resources to deliver such treatments are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based intervention with adherence-focused guidance in the treatment of sD. Participants with sD (CES-D ≥ 16, no Major Depressive Disorder according to DSM-IV criteria, N = 204) recruited via a large health insurance were randomly allocated to a web-based mobile-supported cognitive-behavioral intervention or to a waitlist control condition with unrestricted access to usual care. The primary outcome was the reduction in depressive symptom severity as measured by blind diagnostic raters using the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS) at posttreatment. There was a statistically significant between-group difference in QIDS scores at posttreatment in favor of the intervention group, F(1, 201) = 11.31, p = .001, corresponding to a medium effect size of d = 0.37 (95% CI 0.09–0.64) and a NNT of 7 (95%–CI 3.7–41.2). Significant effects in favour of the intervention group were also found for secondary outcomes such as quality of life, anxiety, and insomnia severity. Web-based self-help interventions with adherence-focused guidance could be an acceptable and effective approach to reduce a range of negative consequences associated with subclinical depression.     

Cognition, action, and object manipulation

Although psychology is the science of mental life and behavior, little attention has been paid to the means by which mental life is translated into behavior. One domain in which links between cognition and action have been explored is the manipulation of objects. This article reviews psychological research on this topic, with special emphasis on the tendency to grasp objects differently depending on what one plans to do with the objects. Such differential grasping has been demonstrated in a wide range of object manipulation tasks, including grasping an object in a way that reveals anticipation of the object's future orientation, height, and required placement precision. Differential grasping has also been demonstrated in a wide range of behaviors, including 1-hand grasps, 2-hand grasps, walking, and transferring objects from place to place as well as from person to person. The populations in which the tendency has been shown are also diverse, including nonhuman primates as well as human adults, children, and babies. The tendency is compromised in a variety of clinical populations and in children of a surprisingly advanced age. Verbal working memory is compromised as well if words are memorized while object manipulation tasks are performed; the recency portion of the serial position curve is reduced in this circumstance. In general, the research reviewed here points to rich connections between cognition and action as revealed through the study of object manipulation. Other implications concern affordances, Donders' law, naturalistic observation, and the teaching of psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).