Significance,structure, and gender differences in life domains of college students

The purpose of this study was to assess the significance and structure of life domains of college students and to explore the patterns of gender differences on different indices of significance. Four hundred fifty-seven college students rated 21 life domains in terms of degree of importance, frequency of involvement, and level of impact. They also responded to a measure of global life satisfaction. Gender differences on significance indices were investigated by means of three types of analyses. First, gender mean ratings on 21 life domains were compared via one-way multivariate analyses of variance. Second, the underlying dimensions of the 21 domains for each gender were compared via exploratory factor analyses. Third, the correlation patterns between perceived positive impact of each life domain and life satisfaction were calculated separately for men and women. Within-group comparisons revealed that men and women shared the same nine most significant domains: education, friends, biological needs, leisure, family, health, couple, esthetics, and physical activities. However, several gender differences were consistently found in the three types of analyses. The results indicated that although traditionally feminine domains are rated as more significant to women than men, traditional masculine domains were rated as equally significant by men and women. Domains considered sex role neutral (e.g., personal planning) were rated as more significant by women than men. In general, women appear to experience greater cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of significance in a wider spectrum of activities and as well perceive their general life satisfaction as deriving from a broader range of sources. Results also highlight the importance of assessing the degree of significance of life domains as an initial step in the development of multidimensional self-related constructs.Preparation of this paper was made possible through grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Fonds pour la Formation des Chercheurs et l'Aide à la Recherche (FCAR-Québec) and the Université du Québec à Montréal. We would like to thank Richard Koestner and Richard Bourhis for their valuable comments on an earlier version of this paper.     

On the Development of Harmonious and Obsessive Passion: The Role of Autonomy Support, Activity Specialization, and Identification With the Activity

ABSTRACT Recent research ( Vallerand et al., 2003 ) has supported the existence of two types of passion for activities: a harmonious and an obsessive passion. The purpose of this investigation was to study the processes likely to lead to the development of passion. Three studies using correlational and short-term longitudinal designs with varied populations ranging from beginners to experts reveal that identification with the activity, activity specialization, parents' activity valuation, and autonomy support predict the development of passion. Furthermore, results show that children and teenagers whose environment supports their autonomy are more likely to develop a harmonious passion than an obsessive one. Conversely, children and teenagers who highly value activity specialization, who rely heavily on their activity for self-definition, and whose parents highly value the activity are more likely to develop an obsessive passion.     

“When passion breeds justice”: procedural fairness effects as a function of authority's passion

The present research examined how procedural fairness predicts negative emotions and withdrawal behavior as a function of authority's display of passion. A first study revealed that reinforcing the concept of passion made the concept of justice and fairness more accessible to participants, as such suggesting that authority passion should make people focus more on procedural fairness information. Corroborating this line of reasoning, a scenario experiment and a laboratory experiment thereafter yielded consistent evidence that the effects of procedural fairness (i.e., voice vs. no voice) were stronger on negative emotions and willingness to withdraw when the authority was passionate relative to not being passionate. In addition, the results of both studies also revealed that negative emotions mediated the effect of procedural fairness on withdrawal, but only so when the authority was passionate (i.e., mediated moderation). It is concluded that more research is needed focusing on the interactions between different authority styles/characteristics and procedural fairness effects. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of Scarcely Dressed Models in Advertising on Body Esteem for Belgian Men and Women

We explore how more revealing displays of models’ bodies in advertising impact individuals’ body esteem. The first study exposed a snowball sample of 215 Belgian men and women starting from a research department’s database to an advertisement containing a male or female model in pajamas or underwear. Scarcely dressed models had a negative effect on individuals’ body esteem compared to dressed models, especially for opposite-sex models. The second study replicated the results of the first with a representative sample of 123 women from a consumer panel, using different models. Both scarce dress of the opposite-sex model and reported sexual arousal affected body esteem. Model attractiveness served as a moderator for same-sex models.     

Maternal distancing and event memory at 20 months

Maternal distancing strategies (Sigel, 1993 in The Development and Meaning of Psychological Distance , Cocking R, Renninger KA (eds). Erlbaum: Hillsdale, NJ; 141–158) with 20‐month‐olds were analysed during a mother–child interaction in a free play situation. Then, they were related to memory performance of the children as assessed by the elicited imitation paradigm with 4 three‐step sequences of actions (Bauer, Hertsgaard, Child Dev. 1993; 64 :1204). The aim of this work was to (1) confirm that the Sigel's model of distancing could be used with very young children under two; (2) study relationships between maternal distancing that stimulate representational competence of the child and memory performance of the children. Results showed two different patterns of correlations depending on the sequence type: for enabling sequences, significant positive correlations were obtained for the first two distancing levels whereas for arbitrary sequences no correlation was found whatever the distancing level. As discussed, the first pattern brings new arguments in support of declarative memory before the age of 2 years and reframes the memory development in a Vygotskyian interactionist perspective. The second pattern of correlations calls for replication and more investigation about the processes implied in memory of very young children for different sequence types. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Impact of Performance-Contingent Rewards on Perceived Autonomy and Competence

Two studies examined the impact of performance-contingent rewards on perceived autonomy, competence, and intrinsic motivation. Autonomy was measured in terms of both decisional and affective reports. The first study revealed an undermining effect of performance-contingent rewards on affective reports of autonomy among university students, and an increase in reports of competence. Decisional autonomy judgements were unaffected by rewards. The second study replicated this pattern of findings among elementary school children. These results help resolve Cognitive Evaluation Theory's (E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985; R. M. Ryan, V. Mims, & R. Koestner, 1983) and Eisenberger, Rhoades, et al.'s (R. Eisenberger, L. Rhoades, & J. Cameron, 1999) divergent positions on the impact of performance-contingent rewards on autonomy. The studies also included measures of intrinsic motivation.     

Victimization, social support, and psychosocial functioning among children of same-sex and opposite-sex couples in the United Kingdom

To further develop an understanding of psychological and social functioning of children raised by lesbian couples, the authors compared 18 students ages 12-16 raised in families led by female same-sex couples, who were identified from a large school-based survey, with 18 matched students raised by opposite-sex couples and the general student sample. Comparisons were made on factors including victimization, social support, and psychological functioning. Results indicate that those students raised by female same-sex couples did not differ significantly from those raised by opposite-sex couples or the general student sample in terms of reports of victimization, psychological functioning, experience of common adolescent concerns, or prospective use of support outlets provided by family and peers. However, children of same-sex couples reported significantly less likelihood of using school-based support than did children of opposite-sex couples or the general student sample. Findings indicate the need for school administrators, teachers, and psychologists to be knowledgeable of and provide appropriate support and resources for these children. Additional implications for research and application are discussed.     

Paradoxical effects of base rates and representation in category learning

The inverse base rate effect (IBRE) continues to be a puzzling case of decision making on the basis of conflicting information in human category learning. After being trained via feedback over trials to assign combinations of cues to high- and low-frequency categories, participants tend to respond with the low-frequency category to an otherwise perfectly conflicting pair of test cues, contrary to the category base rates. Our Experiment 1 demonstrated that decision making on the basis of an explicit summary of the cue-outcome and outcome base rate information from the standard learning task does not result in the effect. The remaining experimental conditions evaluated the necessary and sufficient conditions for the effect by systematically exploring experimental deviations between the standard learning task and the pure decision-making task. In partial disagreement with both recent theoretical accounts of the effect, these experiments indicate that asymmetric outcome representation and profound base rate neglect are individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions. Broader theoretical implications are discussed.     

Religious and National Identity after the Belfast Good Friday Agreement

National and religious identification processes can be seen as the basis of the conflict in Northern Ireland, and over the course of the conflict preferred social and political identities became increasingly oppositional and entrenched. This paper reviews this evidence using population-level studies of self-categorized national and religious identity. In an attempt to explore the bases of these identities, two interrelated qualitative studies examining the constructions of national and religious identification are reported. The findings presented suggest the continuing predominance of national and religious identities that have generally been constructed as opposing. Evidence of complete overlap of the identities is evidenced in conflation of religion and nationality in adolescents' essays. Theoretical sampling of adults living on the border between Northern Ireland, the republic of Ireland, and those in mixed marriages highlight the strategic use of national and religious identities that may act to support divisions in post-Agreement Northern Ireland.