Evaluations,Attitude Similarity,and Interpersonal Attraction: Testing the Hypothesis of Weighting Interference Across Responses

The greater effect of negative than positive stimuli on judgments—the positive-negative asymmetry (PNA)—is rather pervasive. However, the effects of the valence of evaluations of the participant by the partner and attitude similarity between them on attraction have been inconsistent with PNA. The hypothesis that the weighting rule instigated by the first response interferes with the weighting rule normally expected for the second response was tested. As hypothesized, evaluations and attitude similarity interacted when attraction response was assessed prior to competence response but not when competence response was assessed first. The effects in the first measured response fully mediated the effects in the second measured response but not vice versa. Implications of the finding for attraction and PNA are discussed.     

Creating mutual identification and solidarity in highly diversified societies. The importance of identification by shared participation

Abstract

Like the liberal nationalists, we insist that a sense of belonging together is necessary for the practice of an egalitarian democracy. Therefore, we can take a shared national identity as one of the building blocks of the welfare state. However, we argue that a shared cultural or civic national identity can not be a necessary condition for this sense of belonging together. The mere fact of co-operation and common participation in shared activities and projects can create a sense of belonging together, regardless of whether the participants do share a national identity. Governments of diversified societies can try to establish a shared national culture, but equally important is their task to create a sense of belonging together by virtue of co-operation and shared participation. It is particularly important that people can meet each other, and therefore efforts by the government to establish social mix and a common language may be legitimate policies.     

Healthy and Maladaptive Dependency and Its Relationship to Pain Management and Perceptions in Physical Therapy Patients

This study examined the association among healthy and maladaptive aspects of interpersonal dependency and the management of pain in physical therapy outpatients. Ninety-eight patients were administered the Relationship Profile Test, West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory, and Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Results indicated that Destructive Overdependence was positively associated with an increased number of office visits, pain interference in one’s daily life, pain severity, affective distress, and receiving positive partner responses. Dysfunctional Detachment was associated with affective distress, pain interference in one’s daily life, and rumination about pain. Healthy Dependency was only associated with receiving distracting responses from others. Believing that a spouse/partner is supportive and caring about one’s pain partially mediated the relationship between overdependency and pain interfering in one’s life. These results support the clinical utility of assessing interpersonal dependency for its relationship to managing one’s pain and health care utilization.     

The Impact of Race on Metabolic Disease Risk Factors in Women With and Without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

The literature on PTSD and metabolic disease risk factors has been limited by lacking investigation of the potential influence of commonly comorbid disorders and the role of race. In this study data were provided by a sample of 134 women (63 PTSD and 71 without PTSD). Separate sets of models examining associations of psychiatric disorder classifications with metabolic disease risk factors were used. Each model included race (African American or Caucasian), psychiatric disorder, and their interaction. There was an interaction of race and PTSD on body mass index, abdominal obesity, and triglycerides. While PTSD was not generally associated with deleterious health effects in African American participants, PTSD was related to worse metabolic disease risk factors in Caucasians. MDD was associated with metabolic disease risk factors, but there were no interactions with race. Results support the importance of race in the relationship between PTSD and metabolic disease risk factors. Future research would benefit from analysis of cultural factors to explain how race might influence metabolic disease risk factors in PTSD.     

Employee reactions to flattening organizational structures

This article examines the effectiveness of a newly introduced integrative structure and its impact on employee job perceptions in an aircraft maintenance organization. It is not common to find studies, that relate such changes to lower level employee reactions. The implementation of the change programme involved a system-wide approach incorporating both structural and cultural change. Using a retrospective methodology we assessed employee reactions to the changes introduced. We found that both intrinsic job satisfaction and job characteristics perceptions improved in the new integrative organization. The fact that positive findings have been identified when other studies found no relationship between such changes and attitudinal outcomes illustrates the efficacy of a system-wide approach to change. Extrinsic satisfaction and organizational commitment however did not improve. This can perhaps be explained by the fact that the latter areas are concerned with factors outside the direct completion of the job and may take much longer to change if indeed they can be shown to change over time at all.     

Social support as a moderator of the relationship between religious participation and psychological distress in a sample of community dwelling older adults

This study investigated relationships among religious participation, social support, and psychological distress within a sample of older adults while controlling for the influence of significant demographic variables. Community-dwelling older adults between the ages of 65 and 90 (n?=?115) completed a packet of instruments including the Negative Affect Scale of the PANAS, the Social Provisions Scale (SPS) and a tailored survey that included questions regarding religious participation and demographic variables. Correlational and multiple regression analyses were performed to determine predictors of negative affect. Results indicated that religious participation continued to predict negative affect with the effect of demographic variables statistically controlled for. Subjective social support was also found to moderate the relationship between religious participation and psychological distress. Religious participation appears to be more important regarding alleviating distress for those elderly low in social support compared with those high in social support. Religious participation may thus occupy an important position with regards to factors that manage psychological distress among elderly individuals, particularly for those low in social support.     

Family,public and private religiousness and psychological well-being over time in at-risk adolescents

Positive effects of different dimensions of religiousness (including private, public and familial) on well-being as well as the stress buffering effects of religiousness have been documented. However, relatively little research has explored how these different facets of religiousness are related to psychological well-being in at-risk adolescents. This study examined family, public and private religiousness and their protective influence on psychological adjustment in adolescents at risk for poor psychological and behavioural outcomes. Participants include 186 urban teens divided between African Americans and European Americans. Structured interviews assessed religiousness, stress, as well as change in emotional distress and substance abuse problems over a one-year period. Greater private religiousness protects adolescents exposed to higher levels of stress from emotional and behavioural problems. In contrast, higher levels of family religiousness exacerbate emotional problems over time in adolescents exposed to greater stress. Findings demonstrate the complex influence of religiousness on psychological well-being in adolescence.     

Flashbulb Memories for September 11th can be Preserved in Older Adults

Flashbulb memories (FMs) are vivid, long-lasting memories for the source of surprising, arousing news. Laboratory studies have consistently found that older adults, especially those with below-average frontal lobe (FL) function, are impaired in source memory relative to young. We tested memory for the source of news concerning the September 11th terrorist attacks in older adults with high or low frontal lobe function and in young people. We found no age differences in source memory a year after the event and no differences related to FL function. Flashbulb memories may be different from usual cases of source memory because of their emotional content, personal importance, or social relevance.     

An Exploration of Coaching Research in Journal of Applied Sport Psychology from 1989 to 2017

This article seeks to examine the treatment of coaching research within Journal of Applied Sport Psychology (JASP) and, specifically, to explore whether the Association for Applied Sport Psychology’s mission in recognizing the coach as a performing “other” is being adopted in the field. The study followed a 3-phase design. In Phase 1, an exhaustive search was conducted to identify all coach-related research published in JASP from 1989 to 2017. Phase 2 consisted of accessing the 101 identified articles from a total of 690 articles that had been published in JASP during the review period. In Phase 3, articles were categorized into the multidisciplinary sport and exercise psychology (M-SEP) and contemporary multidisciplinary sport and exercise psychology (C-SEP) periods, and analysis of the articles was completed. Main results indicated that articles that focused on coach perceptions about different topics related primarily to SEP decreased in focus from 40% in the M-SEP period to 23% in the C-SEP period. A prominent focus in both periods was the impact of coaches (often interpersonal behaviors) on their athletes’ performance (M-SEP?=?35%, C-SEP?=?46%). A coach performance focus was coded in only 10% of articles in both periods. Articles decreased in their explicit discussion of how research applied to consulting from 60% to 44% across periods. The findings suggest that currently the literature in JASP does not directly provide SEP professionals with effective knowledge application for working with coaches as a performer within the sport context. This review emphasizes the lack of research positioning of coach as a performing “other” within JASP and may increase awareness of viewing the coach as a performer within the field of applied sport psychology.

Lay Summary: This study was a review of research articles published within the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology (JASP) between 1989 and 2017. Only research with a main focus in coaching was included in the review. A multiple-step process was used to examine the articles and pinpoint the type of research about coaches that was being published in JASP. Results showed a large focus on how coaches contribute to their athletes’ performance, however, a lack of research examining aspects of the coach themselves and how they might enhance their own performance as a coach.