Don't sit so close to me: unconsciously elicited affect automatically provokes social avoidance

Behavior may be automatically prompted by cues in our social environment. Previous research has focused on cognitive explanations for such effects. Here we hypothesize that affective processes are susceptible to similar automatic influences. We propose that exposure to groups stereotyped as dangerous or violent may provoke an anxiety response and, thus, a tendency to move away. In the present experiment, we subliminally exposed participants to images of such a group, and found that they displayed greater avoidance in a subsequent interaction. Critically, this effect was explained by their increased sensitivity to threat-related information. These findings demonstrate an affective mechanism responsible for nonconscious priming effects on interpersonal behavior.     

Simple arithmetic processing: Individual differences in automaticity

This study investigated individual differences in the ability to automatically access simple addition and multiplication facts from memory. It employed a target-naming task and a priming procedure similar to that utilised in the single word semantic-priming paradigm. In each trial, participants were first presented with a single digit arithmetic problem (e.g., 6+8) and were then presented with a target that was either congruent (e.g., 14) or incongruent (e.g., 17) with this prime. Response times for congruent and incongruent conditions were then compared to a neutral condition (e.g., X+Y, with target 14). For the high skilled group, significant facilitation in naming congruent multiplication and addition targets was found at SOAs of 300 and 1000?ms. In contrast, for the low skilled group, facilitation in naming congruent targets was only observed at 1000?ms. Significant inhibition in naming incongruent multiplication and addition targets at 300?ms, and addition targets at 1000?ms, was found for the high skilled group alone. This advantage in access to simple facts for the high skilled group was then further supported in a problem size analysis that revealed individual differences in access to small and large problems that varied by operation. These findings support the notion that individual differences in arithmetic skill stem from automaticity in solution retrieval and additionally, that they also derive from strategic access to multiplication solutions.     

Personality,interests, and career indecision: a multidimensional perspective

Researchers have consistently linked neuroticism to career indecision; however, other personality traits have been inconsistent predictors despite sound theoretical arguments. Similarly, little research has examined a trait‐based analysis of the relationship between vocational interests and career indecision. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the structure of career indecision and to examine the prediction of this construct as both a unidimensional and multidimensional construct. Results suggest that career indecision is multifaceted and that both personality and vocational interests are more strongly related to career indecision than has been suggested by past research. Furthermore, consideration of this multidimensional nature can explain past inconsistencies in the relationships between indecision and personality.     

A Reinforcement Account of Altruism

The Psychological Record - The foundation of modern behavior science is the selection of behavior by its consequences. So, behavior that benefits an organism should be maintained (through...     

Childhood physical and sexual abuse and lifetime number of suicide attempts: a persistent and theoretically important relationship

BACKGROUND: Research to date has indicated that childhood abuse is associated with suicide, though little research has examined the unique contribution of specific types of abuse to suicidal behavior. We predict that childhood physical and violent sexual abuse will have a greater effect on suicide attempts than molestation and verbal abuse. METHODS: The National Comorbidity Survey data were used to test these predictions while controlling for a number of psychiatric and psychosocial variables. RESULTS: As expected, childhood physical and violent sexual abuse showed similar effects on lifetime suicide attempts, which were stronger than the effects of molestation and verbal abuse. LIMITATIONS: This was a cross-sectional, retrospective study, so true causality cannot be shown. Some measurement limitations exist. Additionally, effect sizes were small but still significant. CONCLUSIONS: While all forms of childhood abuse are troubling and create risk for future psychopathology and suicidality, the present study indicates that childhood physical and violent sexual abuse should be seen as greater risk factors for future suicide attempts than molestation and verbal abuse.     

DO FEMINIST IDENTITY STYLES MODERATE THE RELATION BETWEEN PERCEIVED SEXIST EVENTS AND DISORDERED EATING?

Feminist consciousness is theorized to be a powerful resource against the detrimental effects of sexism. The present study examined whether feminist identity styles moderated the relation of perceived lifetime and recent sexist events to disordered eating for 256 college women. Using hierarchical moderated regression, we found two styles of feminist identity (i.e., synthesis and active commitment) buffered the relation between perceived sexist events and disordered eating; the three remaining styles of feminist identity did not moderate this relationship. For women low on synthesis and active commitment, both perceived lifetime and recent sexist events positively predicted disordered eating. In contrast, for women high on synthesis and active commitment, neither perceived lifetime nor recent sexist events predicted disordered eating. Our results substantiate extant theory that sexist events contribute more to the psychological distress of nonfeminist women than of feminist women.     

The Social Nature of Perception and Action

ABSTRACT— Humans engage in a wide range of social activities. Previous research has focused on the role of higher cognitive functions, such as mentalizing (the ability to infer others' mental states) and language processing, in social exchange. This article reviews recent studies on action perception and joint action suggesting that basic perception–action links are crucial for many social interactions. Mapping perceived actions to one's own action repertoire enables direct understanding of others' actions and supports action identification. Joint action relies on shared action representations and involves modeling of others' performance in relation to one's own. Taking the social nature of perception and action seriously not only contributes to the understanding of dedicated social processes but has the potential to create a new perspective on the individual mind and brain.     

Emotion,gender, and gender typical identity in autobiographical memory

Gender differences in the emotional intensity and content of autobiographical memory (AM) are inconsistent across studies, and may be influenced as much by gender identity as by categorical gender. To explore this question, data were collected from 196 participants (age 18–40), split evenly between men and women. Participants narrated four memories, a neutral event, high point event, low point event, and self-defining memory, completed ratings of emotional intensity for each event, and completed four measures of gender typical identity. For self-reported emotional intensity, gender differences in AM were mediated by identification with stereotypical feminine gender norms. For narrative use of affect terms, both gender and gender typical identity predicted affective expression. The results confirm contextual models of gender identity (e.g., Diamond, 2012 Diamond, L. M. (2012). The desire disorder in research on sexual orientation in women: Contributions of dynamical systems theory. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 73–83. doi: 10.1007/s10508-012-9909-7[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. The desire disorder in research on sexual orientation in women: Contributions of dynamical systems theory. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 73–83) and underscore the dynamic interplay between gender and gender identity in the emotional expression of autobiographical memories.     

Effects of stimulus variation on the reinforcing capability of nonpreferred stimuli

We examined the effects of stimulus (reinforcer) variation in several different contexts. In Study 1, we identified high-quality (HQ) and low-quality (LQ) stimuli based on results of a paired-stimulus assessment and examined their effects when available under concurrent-reinforcement schedules for 8 participants. No participants showed preference for the LQ stimuli when compared singly or in a varied arrangement to the HQ stimulus. In Study 2, we identified nonpreferred (NP) stimuli based on results of a single-stimulus assessment and examined their effects when available under single-reinforcement schedules for 3 participants. Results of Study 2 were mixed. One participant's data indicated that the varied presentation of NP stimuli produced a modest improvement in performance over that observed when the stimuli were presented singly. By contrast, a second participant's data showed no facilitative effect for the varied delivery of NP stimuli and that the inclusion of an HQ stimulus in the varied arrangement obscured the reinforcing effects of the HQ stimulus. The 3rd participant's data showed no effect for the varied delivery of NP stimuli but an apparent facilitative effect when an HQ stimulus was included in the varied arrangement, which was attributable solely to the presence of the HQ stimulus.