Responses to Self-Threat: Linking Self and Relational Constructs with Approach and Avoidance Motivation

Over the past few decades, researchers have amassed a large body of evidence documenting the consequences of self-esteem (SE), attachment styles, rejection sensitivity (RS), domain-specific aspects of SE (e.g., contingencies of self-worth), and RS (e.g., race-RS; appearance-RS) following self-threats. The present article suggests that these personality constructs share a common substrate reflecting approach and avoidance temperament and motivation. Approach and avoidance temperaments are theorized to interact with intrapersonal and interpersonal experiences to shape approach and avoidance motivation. Personality constructs serve as dispositional markers of underlying approach-avoidance motivational orientations, which, in turn, lead to predictable patterns of goal pursuit following self-threats. Individuals who feel self-confident and relationally secure (e.g., high SE, securely attached, and low RS individuals) respond to self-threats by adopting approach-motivated goals to attain positive outcomes. Individuals who lack self-confidence and feel less relationally secure (e.g., low SE, avoidantly attached, and high RS individuals) respond to self-threats by decreasing approach motivation and/or increasing avoidance-motivated goals to prevent negative outcomes. Consequences of adopting approach- and avoidance-motivated goals are discussed.     

Brief Report: Physician Narcissism,Ego Threats,and Confidence in the Face of Uncertainty

Although adequate self‐esteem is essential for psychological health, people with high but fragile self‐esteem have been shown to exhibit defensive, often aggressive behavior when their self‐esteem is threatened. We measured physician narcissism (as a proxy for high but fragile self‐esteem) and used a subtle manipulation to examine how physicians who varied in levels of narcissism responded to an ego threat. We found that physicians high in narcissism, as compared with those lower in narcissism, were more likely to respond to ego threat by attempting to bolster their self‐image. Concerned about self‐image, physicians in this situation may be insufficiently receptive to new information and instead attempt to justify initial opinions.     

Opinion formation in evaluating the adjudicative competence and restorability of criminal defendants: a review of 8,000 evaluations

Evaluations of competence to stand trial (CST) are the most common type of criminal forensic evaluation conducted, and courts tend to defer to clinician opinions regarding a defendant's competence. Thus, it is important to study the ways in which clinicians arrive at opinions regarding adjudicative competence and the data they consider in forming their opinions. We reviewed 8,416 evaluations conducted by forensic evaluators in Virginia over a 12 year period, and examined (a) the clinical, demographic, and criminal characteristics of a defendant as related to opinions regarding competence, predicted restorability, and impairment on "prongs" of the Dusky standard, (b) process and outcome differences in evaluations conducted by psychiatrists versus psychologists and inpatient versus outpatient evaluators, and (c) the consistency of incompetence base rates over a 10 year period. Overall, clinicians opined that 19% of defendants were incompetent and considered 23% of these unlikely to be restored to competence. Not surprisingly, psychotic and organic/intellectual disorders were most strongly associated with findings of incompetence. However, there were some notable differences between evaluations by psychologists versus psychiatrists and between evaluations conducted in inpatient versus outpatient settings.     

The Use of Exploratory Factor Analysis and Principal Components Analysis in Communication Research

Exploratory factor analysis is a popular statistical technique used in communication research. Although exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and principal components analysis (PCA) are different techniques, PCA is often employed incorrectly to reveal latent constructs (i.e., factors) of observed variables, which is the purpose of EFA. PCA is more appropriate for reducing measured variables into a smaller set of variables (i.e., components) by keeping as much variance as possible out of the total variance in the measured variables. Furthermore, the popular use of varimax rotation raises some concerns about the relationships among the factors that researchers claim to discover. This paper discusses the distinct purposes of PCA and EFA, using two data sets as examples to highlight the differences in results between these procedures, and also reviews the use of each technique in three major communication journals: Communication Monographs, Human Communication Research, and Communication Research.     

Career-Related Interests and Values,Perceived Control,and Acculturation of Asian-American and Caucasian-American College Students1

The present study compares the career-related interests and values of Asian-American and Caucasian-American college students and explores the relationships among career interests, perceived control, and acculturation. Career-related interests were defined by Holland's (1959, 1985a) model of vocational personality types and work environments, and career-related values were defined by Schein's (1987) career anchors. The Career Anchor Inventory (Nordvik, 1991), the Self-Directed Search (Holland, 1991), and the Spheres of Control Scale (Paulhus & Van Selst, 1990), were completed by 184 Asian-American and 130 Caucasian-American undergraduate students. The Asian-Americans also completed the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (Suinn, Rickard-Figueroa, Lew & Vigil, 1987). In comparison to Caucasian-American students, Asian-American students showed higher interest in the Investigative and Conventional vocational categories, but lower interest in the Social category. Asian-American subjects were lower in perceived control in the Personal and Interpersonal spheres. Among the Asian-Americans, acculturation was positively correlated with perceived control in the Personal and Interpersonal spheres and with the Enterprising vocational category. Acculturation was negatively correlated with Investigative and Conventional interests.     

Moderating Effects of Prevention-Focus on the Paths from Two Insecure Attachment Dimensions to Depression

The present study investigated the moderating effects of prevention-focus on the paths from the dimensions of insecure attachment (attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety) to depression. Two hundred twenty eight Korean college students completed the Experience in Close Relationship – Revised Scale; the Regulatory Focus Strategies Scale; and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Results revealed a significant moderating effect for prevention-focus on the path from attachment avoidance to depression, but not on the path from attachment anxiety to depression. They further suggest that different interventions are needed for different combinations of persons' insecure attachment dimensions and levels of prevention-focus. Counseling implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Expertise in Deception Detection Involves Actively Prompting Diagnostic Information Rather Than Passive Behavioral Observation

In a proof‐of‐concept study, an expert obtained 100% deception‐detection accuracy over 33 interviews. Tapes of the interactions were shown to N = 136 students who obtained 79.1% accuracy (Mdn = 83.3%, mode = 100%). The findings were replicated in a second experiment with 5 different experts who collectively conducted 89 interviews. The new experts were 97.8% accurate in cheating detection and 95.5% accurate at detecting who cheated. A sample of N = 34 students watched a random sample of 36 expert interviews and obtained 93.6% accuracy. The data suggest that experts can accurately distinguish truths from lies when they are allowed to actively question a potential liar, and nonexperts can obtain high accuracy when viewing expertly questioned senders.     

Culture and sensory response to visual stimuli

This study investigated the influence of culture on people's sensory responses, such as smell, taste, sound and touch to visual stimuli. The sensory feelings of university students from four countries (Japan, South Korea, Britain and France) to six images were evaluated. The images combined real and abstract objects and were presented on a notebook computer. Overall, 280 participants (144 men and 136 women; n = 70/country) were included in the statistical analysis. The chi‐square independence analysis showed differences and similarities in the sensory responses across countries. Most differences were detected in smell and taste, whereas few variations were observed for sound responses. Large variations in the response were observed for the abstract coral and butterfly images, but few differences were detected in response to the real leaf image. These variations in response were mostly found in the British and Japanese participants.     

Religiosity and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours in Malaysian Muslims: The Mediating Role of Subjective Well-Being and Self-Regulation

Past research on healthy lifestyle behaviours has been primarily conducted within Western or Judeo–Christian contexts, while non-Western or Muslim contexts remain under-represented. This study examined predictors of healthy lifestyle behaviours (religiosity, goal-setting, impulse control, and subjective well-being) in Malaysian Muslims and explored the mechanisms underlying the relationship between religiosity and healthy lifestyle behaviours. Self-report survey responses from 183 healthy adults (M _age = 28.63 years, 18–50 years) were analysed using regression and multiple mediation analyses. The results indicated that subjective well-being emerged as the strongest predictor, followed by goal-setting. Furthermore, subjective well-being and goal-setting mediated the religiosity–healthy lifestyle behaviour relationship. The findings provide guidance for future health-promoting interventions.