Operationalizing the effect of the group on the individual: A self-attention perspective

The effect of the group on the individual is considered from the perspective of self-attention theory. It is proposed that group members will become more self-attentive, and thus become more concerned with matching to standards of appropriate behavior, as the relative size of their subgroup decreases. A simple algorithm, termed the Other-Total Ratio, is presented which numerically describes this effect of the group on the individual. An analysis of group effects on individuals' self-attention supports this perspective, as do analyses of the results of 42 previous studies in four other areas (conformity, prosocial behavior, social loafing, and antisocial behavior). This orientation to the effect of the group on the individual is linked to recent developments in self-attention theory and compared to Latané's social impact theory.     

Accuracy in perceptions of consensus: Differential tendencies of people with majority and minority positions

When people are interested in how common one or more of their attributes is in a reference population, they must often generate their own comparison information based on a limited sample of acquaintances and experiences. Subjects in the present research were asked to describe themselves in terms of a variety of attributes, and were also asked to estimate the percentage of other college students who would indicate possession of each attribute. For each attribute, subjects were assigned a majority or minority status, depending on whether the majority of the population did or did not share their attribute. The principle findings were (1) the majority subjects generated more accurate comparison information than did the minority; (2) the majority subjects were better than chance and better than minority subjects in distinguishing between attributes for which there was high versus moderate consensus; and (3) the minority subjects tended to overestimate the consensus for their attributes, while the majority subjects tended to err in the direction of underestimation of their Consensus. The discussion focused on possible causes of these tendencies, and on research implications involving attributional biases and intergroup conflict.     

Investigating Relationships Among Distress Tolerance,PTSD Symptom Severity,and Alcohol Use

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment - Exposure to trauma (particularly interpersonal trauma), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and low distress tolerance (DT; the...     

Improving academic attitudes among ethnic minority youth at risk for early school leaving: the interactive effects of cross‐group friendships and ethnic identity

A growing body of research suggests that positive interethnic experiences enhance academic attitudes among ethnic minority youth. A number of studies also show that minority youth with an achieved ethnic identity have better academic attitudes and performance. Integrating these literatures, we aim to verify the combined effects of cross‐group friendships and ethnic identity on academic attitudes among a sample of youth at risk for early school leaving. The results showed that cross‐group friendships had a positive impact on academic attitudes for minority youth, but not for majority youth. However, individual levels of ethnic identity moderated these effects, which held true for minority youth with higher levels of ethnic identity. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Examination of the Association Among Personality Traits,Anxiety Sensitivity,and Cannabis Use Motives in a Community Sample

Personality factors, such as neuroticism, are important for understanding motives for cannabis use; however, few studies have examined the role of neuroticism in the context of other personality factors, or possible mechanisms accounting for an association between neuroticism and motives for use. The present study examined concurrent associations between personality traits (i.e., conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) and cannabis use motives, and the role of anxiety sensitivity (AS) in the association between neuroticism and coping cannabis use motives. Seventy young adults endorsing past-month cannabis use (58.6 % female, M _age = 20.91) completed self-report measures. Linear regressions were conducted to examine the concurrent associations between personality factors and cannabis use motives. Higher levels of neuroticism, but no other personality traits, were significantly associated with greater coping (β = 45, p < .01) and expansion (β = 0.29, p = <.05) motives. Bootstrap analysis (10,000 re-samples) revealed that a significant portion of the relationship between neuroticism and coping motives was explained by AS (point estimate = 0.029, PB 95 % CI: 0.0089 to 0.0615). Greater neuroticism may result in heightened sensitivity to arousal, which may then increase motivation to use cannabis to alleviate such arousal.     

Comparing Maltreating and Foster Families in Italy

Maltreating and foster families belong to different research areas and have rarely been considered together. This exploratory study compared maltreating and foster families to demonstrate an integrated approach that overcomes the dichotomic view that often separates problematic families from those who have resources. This study had 81 participants: 48 maltreating parents and 33 foster parents and the children who were in foster care. We examined family functioning (FES), adult attachment styles (ASQ) and foster children’s strengths and difficulties (SDQ) in maltreating and foster families to examine the differences and similarities between families. Both types of families had significant differences on the FES and ASQ scales. Maltreating families had a stronger orientation to succeed and a family profile that was more orientated towards independence. Maltreating parents had higher scores on the scale that measured discomfort with closeness than foster families. However, both family types had a high level of confidence. Many foster children had SDQ scores that were in the borderline and problem categories. These components may promote a theoretical view of an integrated model for family and children’s problems that promotes children’s welfare and supports maltreating parents. Practitioners can build on parent’s strengths or protective factors and provide services to address less developed areas.     

Anxiety symptom interpretation in high-anxious, defensive high-anxious, low-anxious and repressor sport performers

For the first time in a sport setting this study examined the intensity and direction of the competitive state anxiety response in collegiate athletes as a function of four different coping styles: high-anxious, defensive high-anxious, low-anxious and repressors. Specifically, the study predicted that repressors would interpret competitive state anxiety symptoms as more facilitative compared to high-anxious, defensive high-anxious, and low-anxious performers. Separate Multivariate Analyses of Variance (MANOVA) were performed on the intensity and direction subscales of the modified Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2). A significant main effect was identified for trait worry revealing that low trait anxious athletes reported lower intensities of cognitive and somatic anxiety and higher self-confidence and interpreted these as more facilitative than high trait anxious athletes. The prediction that performers with a repressive coping style would interpret state anxiety symptoms as more facilitative than performers with non-repressive coping styles was not supported.     

Use of social networking sites and associations with skin tone dissatisfaction,sun exposure,and sun protection in a sample of Australian adolescents

Objective: Previous research has indicated that greater exposure to traditional media (i.e. television, film, and print) predicted skin cancer risk factors in adolescents; however, the relationship between social media usage and these outcomes remains unexplored. We examined whether social networking site (SNS) usage, and the particular manner of this use, was associated with skin tone dissatisfaction, sun exposure and sun protection among Australian adolescents. We also explored sex differences in SNS usage related to tanning.

Method: A total of 1856 South Australian secondary school students completed the Australian School Students Alcohol and Drug 2014 survey. SNS usage related to tanning comprised posting pictures, posting text, viewing pictures, viewing text and liking or sharing posts.

Results: Adolescents spent 214.56 minutes, on average, per day using SNSs. Behaviours related to tanning that involved pictures (i.e. viewing pictures, posting pictures, and liking or sharing content) were significantly associated with more skin tone dissatisfaction, more sun exposure and less sun protection. Females performed all SNS-linked behaviours more frequently than did males, with the exception of posting text.

Conclusion: Australian adolescents spend a considerable amount of time using SNSs, and their behaviours related to tanning on these SNSs are significantly associated with skin cancer risk factors.     

Romance,Sexual Attraction,and Women’s Political Ambition: Initial Findings from Two Experiments

This study develops and begins to test the hypothesis that considerations of romance and sexual attractiveness may impede women’s expression of political ambition (in the sense of either interest in holding public office or willingness to disclose such interest). As this is a very new area of research, and as the subject is difficult to test, this study does not draw firm conclusions, but the initial data results suggest at least some support for the hypothesis. It does seem from these two experiments that politics makes one less popular as a date or mate choice, and that women who hypothetically hold office would be less likely to reveal that fact to a potential sexual or romantic partner. Further research is needed to both develop the measurements for this exciting new area of study and confirm these initial results.     

Career meta-capacities and retention factors of recruitment advertising agencies: An exploratory study

This study aimed to determine the extent to which employees’ career adaptability and employability capacities predicted employee retention factors in the information sector industry. A probability sample of 337 South African recruitment advertising employees participated in the study (females = 65.9%; black Africans = 53.4%, predominantly early career stage (aged > 40 years = 57.9%). The employees responded to surveys on their career adaptability, employability capacities, and job retention considerations. Step-wise hierarchical regression analysis was computed to predict employee retention factors from their career meta-capacities of career adaptability and employability attributes. Results suggest the career meta-capacities to explain 71% of the variance in employee retention factors. Moreover, overall career adaptability (concern, control, curiosity, and cooperation) predict the overall retentions factors of employees. White employees self-reported with higher work retention and career opportunities than employees of other races/ethnicities. Career adaptability and employability capabilities matter for talented employee retention in the information sector industry.