The Deadly Sins: How They Are Viewed and Experienced Today

The results of a survey conducted in 1988 on the traditional deadly sins and the schedule of virtues formulated by Erik H. Erikson were previously reported by Capps (Pastoral Psychology 37:229–253, 1989). The results of a second survey conducted in 1998 were reported by Capps and Cole (Pastoral Psychology 48:359–376, 2000). This article reports on a third survey conducted in 2008–2009. All three surveys employed a research instrument constructed by Capps titled Life Attitudes Inventory. Major findings of the third survey are that lust and melancholy are considered the deadliest of the deadly sins, with anger rounding out the top three. Envy is thought to be the least deadly sin. The sins most personally struggled with are pride, envy, and apathy, with both genders accounting for the high ranking of pride, women for envy, and men for apathy. Men’s and women’s views whether individual sins are more characteristic of men or of women were also reported, with greed especially ascribed to men and envy to women. Similarities and differences between young, middle and mature adults’ views on and experiences of the deadly sins are reported, as are comparisons between the members of two Christian denominations (Presbyterians and Methodists).     

Affect in the aftermath: how goal pursuit influences implicit evaluations

Previous research has shown that the activation of a goal leads to more implicit positivity toward goal-relevant stimuli. We examined how the actual pursuit of a goal influences subsequent implicit positivity toward such stimuli. Participants were consciously or non-consciously primed with a goal, or not, and then completed a goal-relevant task on which they succeeded or failed. We then measured their goal-relevant implicit attitudes. Those who were primed with the goal (consciously or non-consciously) and experienced success exhibited more implicit positivity toward the goal, compared with the no-goal condition. Experiencing failure in the goal priming conditions reduced implicit positivity toward the goal, indicating disengagement from the goal. We discuss the theoretical implications for understanding the role of implicit attitudes in self-regulation.     

Using Coaching to Support Teacher Implementation of Classroom-based Interventions

Despite the growing evidence base for the efficacy of preventive interventions, the level of implementation of these interventions in schools is often less than optimal. One promising approach to supporting teachers in implementation of interventions is the use of coaching. In this study, teachers were trained in a universal classroom management intervention and provided ongoing coaching. The association between the type and amount of coaching activities and teacher implementation of proactive classroom management over time were investigated. Results indicated that teachers who received more performance feedback had higher levels of implementation over time in comparison with teachers who received less feedback. In addition, a significant interaction between the amount of coaching a teacher received and his or her implementation of proactive classroom management was found. Increased implementation over time was observed for teachers with lower initial levels of implementation who received more coaching, whereas implementation decreased over time for teachers who received less coaching. The importance of coaching as a support system for enhancing implementation quality of classroom-based preventive interventions is discussed.     

Young Adults’ Pre-Existing Knowledge of Cystic Fibrosis and Sickle Cell Diseases: Implications for Newborn Screening

Parental distress following newborn screening is thought to result from inadequate preparation for screening results which can result in maladjustment to screening results after birth. Although prior awareness of relevant genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell diseases, and preparedness for screening is suggested to enhance information uptake and reduce parental distress, little is known about how young adults’ prior knowledge prepares them for screening or affects the assimilation and retention of screening information. Thirty-four young adults, without familial genetic disease or screening experience took part in one of seven focus groups which examined knowledge of cystic fibrosis and sickle cell diseases and ability to assimilate new disease information. Thematic analysis revealed that adults had limited understanding of how cystic fibrosis and sickle cell diseases were inherited or how symptoms manifest, leaving them inadequately prepared for screening results if they do not engage with information interventions. Further, they selectively assimilated new disease information and had difficulty understanding new information in the absence of prior disease knowledge. Young adults’ prior disease knowledge should be considered within a newborn screening context and written materials should consider the inclusion of carrier statistics to improve information relevance.     

Followership at a distance: Follower adjustment to distal leadership during COVID-19

Leader distance theory has received scant empirical attention in the extant literature; however, the “work from home” orders associated with COVID-19 have made this theory and its empirical findings highly relevant for organizations. Our study integrates leader distance theory and followership theory to understand how follower role beliefs affect follower effort, performance, and withdrawal under physical leader distance and varying conditions of leader interaction frequency. Using a three-wave survey methodology with 260 adults working remotely, our study finds that followers' levels of effort, performance, and withdrawal were contingent on leader interaction frequency. Specifically, followers with a coproduction role orientation, who see their role as more collaborative, reported higher levels of effort under conditions of high leader interaction. Furthermore, the indirect effect of coproduction on follower performance and withdrawal via effort was moderated by leader interaction frequency. The results for followers with passive role orientations, however, were in the opposite direction. These followers reported less effort when leader interaction was high, and the mediational chain predicting performance and withdrawal was contingent on leader interaction frequency. Our study contributes to the ongoing conversation about the positive and negative effects of leader distance and positions followership characteristics as important boundary conditions of distal leadership.     

Coping with COVID-19: Longitudinal Impact of the Pandemic on Adjustment and Links with Coping for Adolescents with and without ADHD

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Understanding factors that foster resilience and buffer against the negative psychological impact of COVID-19 is critical to inform efforts to...     

From Social Burden to Support Elicitation: Development and Validation of a New Measure of Workplace Support Elicitation Experiences

Journal of Business and Psychology - Receiving social support is widely considered a positive workplace phenomenon, but what about the employees from whom the support is being sought? Following...     

The Effect of Effort and Weight Controllability on Perceptions of Obese Individuals

We examined the impact of offset controllability (capability of losing weight) and offset effort (efforts to lose weight) on judgments of an obese target. Participants (n = 216) read about an obese person whose body weight was controllable/uncontrollable, and who did/did not put in effort to eat healthily and exercise. Effort played a more important role than controllability in evaluations of the target. Targets who put in effort to be healthy were ascribed fewer obesity stereotypes, evoked less disgust, and were considered to have a more acceptable lifestyle. These findings extend attribution theory and have implications for strategies to reduce weight bias.     

The Association Between Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and Academic Functioning in Youth with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the relation between Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) and academic functioning in a sample of 52 adolescents (40 males, 12 females) with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; M _age?=?13.75). This study builds on prior work by utilizing an empirically-based and psychometrically validated measure of SCT, collecting ratings of SCT from both parents and teachers, and examining associations with multiple domains of academic functioning from both the parent and teacher perspective as well as grade point average (GPA). Both SCT and DSM-IV symptoms of inattention were significantly correlated with domains of academic functioning. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that the parent-rated SCT Slow subscale predicted overall academic functioning, organizational skills impairment, and homework problems above and beyond ADHD symptoms and child and demographic characteristics known to be associated with academics, including intelligence, academic achievement, and family income. The teacher-rated SCT Low Initiation/Persistence subscale also predicted homework problems and was the only SCT variable to predict school grades above and beyond ADHD symptoms and relevant covariates. Both the SCT Slow and Low Initiation/Persistence subscales include items related to youth seeming apathetic, unmotivated, and lacking initiative, behaviors that are strongly related to ADHD symptoms of inattention but not currently captured by the DSM-IV. Implications of these findings towards supporting the external validity of the SCT construct are discussed along with potential implications for intervention.