Worry and rumination: do they prolong physiological and affective recovery from stress?

Background: Anxiety and depression have been linked to repetitive negative self-regulation styles in the form of worry and rumination respectively. Following predictions of the metacognitive model [Wells, A., & Matthews, G. (1994). Attention and emotion: A clinical perspective. Hove: Erlbaum], the current study compared the effect on recovery from stress of three strategies: worry, rumination, and distraction using a stress exposure paradigm. It was predicted that worry and/or rumination would be associated with delayed recovery on physiological and/or self-report indices when compared to distraction.

Method: Fifty-four participants were randomly assigned to one of the self-regulation conditions and then completed a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test [TSST; Kirschbaum, C., Pirke, K. M., & Hellhammer, D. H. (1993). The “TSST” – A tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology, 28, 76–81. doi:10.1159/000119004]. Skin conductance and negative affect (NA) measurements were obtained at six different time points.

Results: Skin conductance indicated a prolonged recovery in the rumination condition when compared with the distraction condition. Individuals in the worry condition reported an immediate-delayed recovery from stress marked by higher NA scores in comparison to the distraction condition.

Conclusions: These findings may provide important insights into the effects of different forms of repetitive negative thinking on physiological and psychological recovery from stress. The different response patterns observed are discussed within the context of the metacognitive model.     

A Two-Phase Approach to Developing SNAP: an iPhone Application to Support Appointment Scheduling and Management for Women with a <Emphasis Type="Italic">BRCA</Emphasis> Mutation

Professional organizations provide surveillance guidelines for BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA) carriers with intact breasts and/or ovaries to facilitate early cancer detection. However, literature indicates adherence to surveillance guidelines is inconsistent at best. Using the Messaging Model for Health Communication Campaigns framework, we undertook a two-phase formative research approach to develop an intervention to promote adherence to surveillance guidelines. Discussion groups identified preferred intervention format and function in phase I. Findings indicated carriers desired a phone application (app) to assist with surveillance management and appointment tracking. Thus, an iPhone app for carriers to track appointments based on published surveillance guidelines was developed. In phase II, we obtained feedback from BRCA carriers via a survey during a prototype demonstration at a regional conference. Participants in phase II wanted reminder capabilities and the ability to add and modify information fields. This feedback informed intervention modifications, resulting in the Scheduling Necessary Advised Procedures (SNAP) iPhone app currently being pilot tested by BRCA carriers throughout the USA.     

Visualized prosocial behavior and emotion in late life

Correlational research suggests that among older adults prosociality relates to positive emotions; yet causality remains unclear. We conducted an experiment to investigate whether visualizing a prosocial action would experience enhanced positive and lower negative emotion, and whether this would be particularly true for those with certain altruistic personality traits. Participants aged sixty and above were primed with a prosocial (helping a needy stranger), social (going out with friends), or neutral (walking down the street) induction. Results indicated that positive affect was highest among those who visualized a prosocial interaction, and that this effect was strongest among those higher in social responsibility. In contrast, less altruistically oriented participants reported higher negative affect in the prosocial condition. Thus, while prosociality promoted positive affect particularly among the socially responsible, it led to increased negative affect among those lower in altruistic orientation. Results suggest that individual differences influence older adults’ responses to exposure to prosocial involvement.     

Collaboration facilitates abstract category learning

We examined the effects of collaboration (dyads vs. individuals) and category structure (coherent vs. incoherent) on learning and transfer. Working in dyads or individually, participants classified examples from either an abstract coherent category, the features of which are not fixed but relate in a meaningful way, or an incoherent category, the features of which do not relate meaningfully. All participants were then tested individually. We hypothesized that dyads would benefit more from classifying the coherent category structure because past work has shown that collaboration is more beneficial for tasks that build on shared prior knowledge and provide opportunities for explanation and abstraction. Results showed that dyads improved more than individuals during the classification task regardless of category coherence, but learning in a dyad improved inference-test performance only for participants who learned coherent categories. Although participants in the coherent categories performed better on a transfer test, there was no effect of collaboration.     

Forgive them for I have sinned: The relationship between guilt and forgiveness of others' transgressions

We propose that guilt leads to forgiveness of others' transgressions. In Study 1, people prone to experience guilt (but not shame) were also prone to forgive others for past misdeeds. In Study 2, we manipulated harm‐ and inequity‐based guilt; both increased forgiveness of others' transgressions. Further, the effect of guilt on forgiveness was mediated by identification with the transgressor. In Study 3, we replicated the guilt–forgiveness relationship and examined three other plausible mediators: capability for similar wrongdoing, empathic understanding, and general identification; only identification with the transgressor satisfied the criteria for mediation. In Study 4, we induced guilt by asking participants to harm a friend or stranger. Guilt induced by harming a friend led to greater forgiveness of third‐party transgressors, and again, identification with the transgressor mediated the effect. We discuss the implications of these results for understanding how the prosocial effects of guilt extend beyond the boundaries of a single interpersonal relationship.     

Comparing Data Sets: Implicit Summaries of the Statistical Properties of Number Sets

Comparing datasets, that is, sets of numbers in context, is a critical skill in higher order cognition. Although much is known about how people compare single numbers, little is known about how number sets are represented and compared. We investigated how subjects compared datasets that varied in their statistical properties, including ratio of means, coefficient of variation, and number of observations, by measuring eye fixations, accuracy, and confidence when assessing differences between number sets. Results indicated that participants implicitly create and compare approximate summary values that include information about mean and variance, with no evidence of explicit calculation. Accuracy and confidence increased, while the number of fixations decreased as sets became more distinct (i.e., as mean ratios increase and variance decreases), demonstrating that the statistical properties of datasets were highly related to comparisons. The discussion includes a model proposing how reasoners summarize and compare datasets within the architecture for approximate number representation.     

Perceptions of Nepotism Beneficiaries: The Hidden Price of Using a Family Connection to Obtain a Job

Purpose

This study tested competing predictions about the impact of nepotistic hiring on perceptions of nepotism beneficiaries, focusing specifically on the performance attributions made about nepotism hires. Of particular interest is how the qualifications of the family member compared to other applicants impacts perceptions of the nepotism hire.

Methodology

Two experimental studies, using scenarios that simulated the hiring process, were conducted. Participants reviewed materials describing the hiring process for a manager and then completed a questionnaire assessing their perceptions of the person hired.

Findings

Results showed that successful performance of nepotism beneficiaries was attributed more to political skills and relationships with upper management and less to ability and effort than was the case for non-beneficiaries and that they were perceived as less competent and as having fewer characteristics of successful managers. These negative perceptions occurred regardless of the family member’s qualifications.

Implications

This study contributes to our understanding of nepotistic hiring practices. More negative performance attributions and perceptions of competence for nepotism beneficiaries may hinder their effectiveness on the job. Knowledge gained from this study may help businesses who want to hire family members of current employees to manage this process more effectively.

Originality/Value

This is one of the first studies to examine the consequences of nepotistic hiring for nepotism beneficiaries and the first study to examine how nepotistic hiring effects the performance attributions made about nepotism beneficiaries. It is also the only study to empirically examine how the qualifications of the nepotism beneficiary influence others’ reactions to them.