Heteronormativity,Disgust Sensitivity,and Hostile Attitudes toward Gay Men: Potential Mechanisms to Maintain Social Hierarchies

Within a social hierarchy based on sexual orientation, heteronormative ideology serves as a social force that maintains dominant group members’ status (e.g., heterosexual men). Disgust may be an emotional reaction to gay men’s violation of heteronormativity (i.e., same-sex sexual behavior) and motivate hostile attitudes toward gay men to promote interpersonal and intergroup boundaries. Based on this theoretical framework, we hypothesized that sexual disgust—compared to pathogen or moral disgust—would be most strongly associated with antigay hostility and would statistically mediate its relationship with heteronormativity. Heterosexual men in the United States (n?=?409) completed an online questionnaire assessing heteronormative ideology, disgust sensitivity, and hostile attitudes toward gay men. Results support the hypotheses and suggest that gay men’s sexual behavior is the most likely elicitor of disgust and antigay hostility, as opposed to a perceived pathogen threat or moral transgression. The findings indicate that heteronormative attitudes and sexual disgust are likely contributors to antigay hostility. Thus, intervention efforts should seek to improve tolerance of same-sex sexual behavior among heterosexual men, which may mitigate emotional reactions and hostile attitudes toward gay men.

     

绿色助推（英文）

我们人类当前的生活方式不是可持续的。提升可持续性的途径之一是发展更绿色的科学技术,另一种补充性途径是改变人们的态度、习惯和行为。在本文中,我们讨论了6种心理技术,其宗旨是推动或助推(nudge)人们做出更环保的选择和行为。这些心理技术涵盖范围非常广泛,有些可以远程使用,如在通知公告中建构沟通信息,有些则涉及对人们的决策情境做出的改变。因此,本综述关乎到各行业从业人员,如市场营销人员、政策制定者、消费者代表等。对于每项心理技术,我们讨论了其认知和(或)情绪的理论性基础。此外,我们探讨了目前文献中存在的空白,并提出了可填补这些空白的未来研究方向。     

Paper-and-pencil and web-based testing: the measurement invariance of the Big Five personality tests in applied settings

This study investigates the measurement equivalence of a five-factor measure of personality across two groups applying for jobs, who completed the same questionnaire using either a paper-and-pencil (n = 429) or a web online answer format (n = 651). The data were collected using the Big Five Questionnaire-2 (BFQ-2; which is a measure of the Five Factor Model) of personality traits. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis was used to test for the equivalence of factor covariance and mean structures of the BFQ-2. Findings suggested that the Five Factor Model scales have the same measurement unit and origin across applicants using different administration modes. However, latent means were slightly higher for applicants who responded in a web and unproctored condition than for applicants who completed a paper-and-pencil version of the same test. Practical implications for personality assessment are discussed.     

Drivers’ subtypes in a sample of Italian adolescents: Relationship between personality measures and driving behaviors

Considering a limited number of relevant personality measures (e.g., sensation seeking, impulsivity, locus of control, anxiety and altruism), the present study aimed to identify subtypes of drivers in an Italian sample of 207 adolescents aged 14–15 (52.7% girls) with heterogeneous moped riding experiences. Subtypes were compared on the basis of both self-report driving behaviors and two measures extracted from students’ performances on a moped simulator employing a specifically developed Rasch-based method. On the basis of cluster analysis, three subgroups were identified (profiles A, B, C). Profile B was characterized by high levels of sensation seeking and impulsivity, and low levels of altruism and anxiety. It showed high risk propensity considering both self-report and simulator measures. Profile A consisted of mostly females and was characterized by high levels of anxiety, externality and low levels of sensation seeking and altruism. While showing cautious driving behaviors, it did not differ from profile B in terms of crash involvement. Profile C was characterized by high levels of altruism and a more internal orientation; it showed the safest driving attitude.A relevant feature of this study is the direct assessment of driving behaviors by means of simulation performances, which nonetheless showed high concordance with self-report data. Congruence of our findings with previous studies on older and more experienced samples is discussed, along with the use of simulation, in the light of future perspective for research.     

Space coding for sensorimotor transformations can emerge through unsupervised learning

The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is fundamental for sensorimotor transformations because it combines multiple sensory inputs and posture signals into different spatial reference frames that drive motor programming. Here, we present a computational model mimicking the sensorimotor transformations occurring in the PPC. A recurrent neural network with one layer of hidden neurons (restricted Boltzmann machine) learned a stochastic generative model of the sensory data without supervision. After the unsupervised learning phase, the activity of the hidden neurons was used to compute a motor program (a population code on a bidimensional map) through a simple linear projection and delta rule learning. The average motor error, calculated as the difference between the expected and the computed output, was less than 3°. Importantly, analyses of the hidden neurons revealed gain-modulated visual receptive fields, thereby showing that space coding for sensorimotor transformations similar to that observed in the PPC can emerge through unsupervised learning. These results suggest that gain modulation is an efficient coding strategy to integrate visual and postural information toward the generation of motor commands.     

The Body Doesn't Lie: Five Tales of Superobesity as Somatic Language

The bodies of the five patients described here seemed to signal their ongoing dilemma: they could not fully grow up and therefore resorted to a somatic language that fairly shouted to be recognized. The author presents the case histories from an unusual point of view: She reaches her patients by working with the incomplete body images in both verbal and nonverbal modes. While the patients are on the couch, she uses verbal interpretations. When pre- and nonverbal phenomena raise their heads, she uses dance therapeutic interventions. She describes how and what she does with her patients from the point of view that motility is another way to reach the unconscious. Some of her patients were able to use movement improvisation like free association. Her highly sophisticated conceptualizations about the why and how of superobesity shine a new light on the etiology of this particular syndrome     

Rethinking psychological approaches towards health promotion

The purpose of the present study was to test the factorial and discriminant validity of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R), a measure of illness representations based on Leventhal, Meyer and Nerenz's Self-Regulation Theory, in a cervical screening context using confirmatory factor analysis. Six hundred and sixty women, who had attended a colposcopy clinic and were invited to re-attend, completed the IPQ-R. Data were analysed using covariance structure analysis. The adequacy of an a priori confirmatory factor analytic model that included seven dimensions of the cognitive illness representation: identity, timeline-acute/chronic, serious consequences, personal control, treatment control, illness coherence, and causal attributions, and one emotional representation factor was tested against the observed data. After the elimination of two items responsible for large standardised residuals and with low factor loadings, the model adequately accounted for covariances among the IPQ-R items according to multiple criteria for goodness-of-fit. Factor inter-correlations supported the discriminant validity of the constructs and the factors exhibited satisfactory composite reliability. A theoretically predictable pattern of relationships among the representation dimensions was evident. In particular, the control-related constructs and the illness coherence dimension were negatively related to other illness representation constructs. The present study provided confirmatory evidence using a robust hypothesis-testing framework to support the proposed structure of the illness representation dimensions in a cervical screening context.     

But I Still Feel Guilt: A Test of a Moral Disengagement Propensity Model

ABSTRACT

We explored the impact of moral disengagement on individual experiences of guilt. We modeled three forms of workplace deviance (withdrawal, interpersonal deviance, and work-family deviance) as mediators between the propensity to morally disengage and guilt, and also includes the moderating effects of perceived work hours culture. Data were collected from 226 employees matched with a colleague and spouse. Results demonstrated that moral disengagement released individuals who engaged in interpersonal and work-family deviance from subsequent feelings of guilt, but only reduced feelings of guilt for those who withdrew. We also found an interactive effect of perceived work hours culture on the relationships between moral disengagement propensity and all three forms of deviance. The indirect effect from moral disengagement propensity to guilt through withdrawal was stronger when perceived work hours was high.     

Category-bounded emotional enhancement: spillover effects in the valuation of public goods

ABSTRACT

We examined whether enhancing (vs. not enhancing) the emotionality of a referent public good influences the subsequent valuation of a target public good. We predicted that it would and that the directionality of its impact would depend on a fundamental cognitive process – categorisation. If the target and referent goods belong to the same domain, we expected that the effect on the target would be in the same direction as the emotional enhancement of the referent (assimilation effect). However, if the target and referent goods belong to different domains, we expected that the effect on the target would be either negligible or in the opposite direction to that of the emotional enhancement of the referent (null or contrast effect). In Experiment 1 we examined the impact of emotionally enhancing a referent public good on feelings towards a target public good, whereas in Experiment 2 on the willingness to contribute towards a target public good. The results support the predicted interaction, which was driven by an assimilation effect for same-domain goods and a null effect for different-domain goods. In doing so, the present findings highlight the interplay between cognition and emotion in the valuation of public goods. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.     

Memory Deficits Among Alcoholics: Performance on a Selective Reminding Task

ABSTRACT

This article compared alcoholics and healthy controls on the Buschke Selective Reminding Task. Alcoholics demonstrated deficits in memory and learning when compared to healthy controls, even when controlling for age. Examination of the alcoholic sample initially showed that age predicted memory deficits; however, age was no longer a significant predictor once the number of years of heavy drinking was entered into the regression equation. Findings suggest a direct link or mechanism of action between alcohol use and memory impairments, above and beyond effects of age or education.