Adolescents' implicit theories predict desire for vengeance after peer conflicts: correlational and experimental evidence

Why do some adolescents respond to interpersonal conflicts vengefully, whereas others seek more positive solutions? Three studies investigated the role of implicit theories of personality in predicting violent or vengeful responses to peer conflicts among adolescents in Grades 9 and 10. They showed that a greater belief that traits are fixed (an entity theory) predicted a stronger desire for revenge after a variety of recalled peer conflicts (Study 1) and after a hypothetical conflict that specifically involved bullying (Study 2). Study 3 experimentally induced a belief in the potential for change (an incremental theory), which resulted in a reduced desire to seek revenge. This effect was mediated by changes in bad-person attributions about the perpetrators, feelings of shame and hatred, and the belief that vengeful ideation is an effective emotion-regulation strategy. Together, the findings illuminate the social-cognitive processes underlying reactions to conflict and suggest potential avenues for reducing violent retaliation in adolescents.     

Dissociation of Hippocampal and Striatal Contributions to Spatial Navigation in the Water Maze

Two experiments were conducted to compare the effects of fornix/fimbria and caudate-putamen lesions in Long–Evans hooded rats (Rattus norvegicus) trained on two water maze tasks that differed in the type of spatial localization required for optimum solution. In Experiment 1, the lesioned rats and surgical controls were trained on the standard place task in the water maze (Morris, 1981) and given two postacquisition tests (a platform removal probe and platform relocation test). In Experiment 2, rats with similar lesions and control rats were trained on a modified cue navigation task. Fornix/fimbria lesions impaired a late stage of place task acquisition but did not impair acquisition of the cue task. Caudate-putamen lesions resulted in a severe place acquisition impairment and a transient cue acquisition impairment, both of which were characterized by an initial tendency to swim near the wall of the pool. Post-hoc analyses of the direction and angles of departure from the start points suggested that rats with fornix/fimbria lesions used non-allocentric spatial strategies to solve the place task. These rats also demonstrated a significantly weakened spatial bias for the former training quadrant on the platform removal probe and reduced flexibility in navigating to a novel platform location on the platform relocation test. In contrast, rats with caudate-putamen lesions showed a significant spatial bias for the former training quadrant but failed to cross the exact location within the quadrant where the platform was formerly positioned. The results suggest that the hippocampus mediates the allocentric spatial component of the water maze place task while the dorsomedial striatum may play an important role in the acquisition of the procedural aspects of both place and cue versions of the task.     

Exploring the determinants of the graded structure of vocal emotion expressions

We examined what determines the typicality, or graded structure, of vocal emotion expressions. Separate groups of judges rated acted and spontaneous expressions of anger, fear, and joy with regard to their typicality and three main determinants of the graded structure of categories: category members' similarity to the central tendency of their category (CT); category members' frequency of instantiation, i.e., how often they are encountered as category members (FI); and category members' similarity to ideals associated with the goals served by its category, i.e., suitability to express particular emotions. Partial correlations and multiple regression analysis revealed that similarity to ideals, rather than CT or FI, explained most variance in judged typicality. Results thus suggest that vocal emotion expressions constitute ideal-based goal-derived categories, rather than taxonomic categories based on CT and FI. This could explain how prototypical expressions can be acoustically distinct and highly recognisable but occur relatively rarely in everyday speech.     

Towards Working Life: Effects of an intervention on mental health and transition to post-basic education

The Towards Working Life group method was designed to promote the transition to the upper secondary level or vocational studies and to support mental health among young people finishing their basic education. This study examined the effects of the intervention during upper secondary and vocational studies in a randomized field experimental study among a total of 1034 students. At the one-year follow-up, the program had increased both education related social ties and the number of adults in these ties. The group intervention had interaction effects with baseline risk of depression and learning difficulties on symptoms of depression and school burnout. Among those initially at risk of depression, the intervention decreased symptoms of depression. For students who were at risk of depression and had learning difficulties, the intervention decreased school burnout.     

Generating leads with sequential persuasion: should sales influence tactics be consistent or complementary?

Firms are becoming increasingly systematic in sales lead generation activities and recognize that multiple interactions are often required to generate leads and to reassure buyers of the benefits of an offering. However, the literature is contradictory regarding what types of persuasive messages should be used across these multiple interactions. This paper investigates what combination of sales influence tactics (SITs) should be used when customers are approached more than once regarding the same offering, that is, sequentially. Should the SITs be consistent (the same), or complementary (different)? Consistent vs. complementary SIT approaches were tested in two field experiments, one with an electronics manufacturer in a single communication channel setting and one with a financial services provider in a cross-channel setting. The results supported our hypothesis and indicated that the use of complementary SITs across interactions, regardless of the order, increases lead conversion.     

Distinct emotional abilities converge: Evidence from emotional understanding and emotion recognition through the voice

One key criterion for whether Emotional Intelligence (EI) truly fits the definition of “intelligence” is that individual branches of EI should converge. However, for performance tests that measure actual ability, such convergence has been elusive. Consistent with theoretical perspectives for intelligence, we approach this question using EI measures that have objective standards for right answers. Examining emotion recognition through the voice—that is, the ability to judge an actor’s intended portrayal—and emotional understanding—that is, the ability to understand relationships and transitions among emotions—we find substantial convergence, r = .53. Results provide new data to inform the often heated debate about the validity of EI, and further the basis of optimism that EI may truly be considered intelligence.     

Changes in goal-related affects: Decrease burnout during a group psychotherapy intervention

The study examined the role played by changes in employees' goal-related affects in decreasing burnout during a group intervention. 62 white-collar employees, suffering from severe burnout, were randomized into 10-month group intervention programmes consisting of 16 intensive 1-day sessions every second week. The participants appraised their work and interpersonal goals according to their positive and negative affects weekly for 54 weeks. During the pre- and postintervention and follow-up (6 months later) measurements, the participants filled out a burnout measurement. The results, analysed by multilevel modelling, showed that a decrease in the negative affects and an increase in the positive affects of work and interpersonal goals during the later part of the intervention was related to a decrease in burnout symptoms. The decrease in goal-related negative affects was associated with a decrease in burnout in the postintervention measurement, whereas the increase in goal-related positive affects was related to a decrease in follow-up burnout.     

Anxiety and watching the war in Ukraine

On 24 February 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine. Millions of people tuned into social media to watch the war. Media exposure to disasters and large-scale violence can precipitate anxiety resulting in intrusive thoughts. This research investigates factors related to anxiety while watching the war. Since the war began during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, threat from COVID-19 is seen as a predictor of anxiety when watching the war. A theoretical model is put forward where the outcome was anxiety when watching the war, and predictors were self-reported interference of watching the war with one's studies or work, gender, worry about the war, self-efficacy and coronavirus threat. Data were collected online with independent samples of university students from two European countries close to Ukraine, Germany (n = 348) and Finland (n = 228), who filled out an anonymous questionnaire. Path analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings showed that the model was an acceptable fit to the data in each sample, and standardised regression coefficients indicated that anxiety, when watching the war, increased with interference, war worry and coronavirus threat, and decreased with self-efficacy. Women reported more anxiety when watching the war than men. Implications of the results are discussed.     

The Negative Association of Obesity with Subjective Well-Being: Is it All About Health?

In this paper we examine whether health status and functional capacity explain the fact that obese individuals report significantly lower levels of subjective well-being. We use comprehensive measures of body composition such as waist circumference, body fat percentage, and lean body mass along with body mass index. All these are measured by health professionals in a population-based sample. When controlling for health and functional status, we find very limited evidence for any independent influence of obesity on subjective well-being. This implies that the adverse effects of obesity on health and functioning are the primary explanation for the observed negative relationship between obesity and subjective well-being.