When destiny hurts: Implicit theories of relationships moderate aggressive responses to ostracism

The current research investigates the role of implicit theories of relationships in modulating aggressive responses to ostracism. Three studies tested whether destiny beliefs (that potential relationships are either fundamentally compatible or not) predispose people to behave aggressively in the wake of ostracism. In Study 1, individual differences in destiny beliefs moderated the relationship between ostracism and aggressive affect. Two additional studies showed that manipulated destiny beliefs (vs. growth beliefs) caused ostracized participants to blast a provocateur with aversive noise (Study 2) and to give a destructive job candidate evaluation to a stranger (Study 3). These results highlight the significance of implicit theories in understanding risk factors for ostracism-related aggression.     

Life events and personality predicting loneliness among centenarians: findings from the Georgia Centenarian Study

Regarding the purpose of this study, the researchers analyzed the roles that both life events (life-time positive events and life-time negative events) and personality (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Trust, Competence, and Ideas) played in participants of the Georgia Centenarian Study. The researchers analyzed these variables to determine whether they predicted loneliness. Analyses indicated that life-time negative events significantly predicted loneliness. In essence, the higher was the number of life-time negative life events, the higher was the loneliness score. Moreover, Neuroticism, Competence, and Ideas were all significant predictors of loneliness. The higher was the level of Neuroticism and intellectual curiosity, the higher was the level of loneliness, whereas the lower was the level of Competence, the higher was the level of loneliness. In addition, both life-time positive and life-time negative life events were significant predictors of Neuroticism. The higher was the number of life-time positive events, the lower was the level of Neuroticism, and the higher was the number of life-time negative events, the greater was the level of Neuroticism. These results indicated that life-time negative events indirectly affect loneliness via Neuroticism. Last, our results indicated that the Competence facet mediated the relationship between lifetime negative life events and loneliness. Life-time negative life events significantly affected centenarians' perceived competence, and Competence in turn significantly affected the centenarians' loneliness. These results as a whole not only add to our understanding of the link between personality and loneliness, but also provide new insight into how life events predict loneliness.     

Sexual objectification pushes women away: The role of decreased likability

The present investigation examined the effect of sexual objectification on women's intention to affiliate with men. We predicted that women would perceive an objectifier as less likable following sexual objectification and thus would distance themselves from the perpetrator. Study 1 found that objectification led female participants to perceive their male partner as less likable and to be less willing to affiliate with the partner. Study 2 replicated Study 1 in a concurrent interpersonal interaction and extended these effects to a man having a similar background with the perpetrator. Study 3 showed that power moderated the effect of sexual objectification on women's interaction intention such that only women with equal or low power (as compared to the objectifier) decreased their affiliation intention toward the objectifier, whereas high‐power women did not show this effect. Implications of these findings were discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Consumers' attributions and brand evaluations in product‐harm crises: The role of implicit theories of personality

This study aims to examine the moderating role of implicit theories of personality in the relationship between corporate recovery strategy (i.e., support versus stonewalling) and consumers' attributions (and brand evaluations). It is suggested that consumers' implicit theories about the fixedness/malleability of personality can affect consumers' attributions and brand evaluations during a product‐harm crisis. In addition, corporate image (i.e., strong versus weak) can moderate the influence of the role of implicit theories of personality. Two experiments were conducted to examine the proposed hypotheses. Results of Experiment 1 show that consumers who endorse entity theory (i.e., entity theorists) are likely to attribute crisis as more internal, stable, and controllable, particularly when they do not have any prior knowledge about the firm. The entity theorists would have more negative brand evaluations than incremental theorists (who endorse incremental theory), when “support” strategy was used by the firm. Results of Experiment 2 show that entity theorists are prone to have more external (internal) and unstable (stable) attributions toward a firm with a strong (weak) corporate image. Furthermore, entity theorists would provide more positive brand evaluations than incremental theorists when “stonewalling” strategy was used by a firm with strong corporate image, but not when “support” strategy was used by a firm with weak corporate image. Managerial implications are provided to managers with regard to product‐harm crisis and recovery strategies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bayesian Analysis of Multivariate Probit Models with Surrogate Outcome Data

A new class of parametric models that generalize the multivariate probit model and the errors-in-variables model is developed to model and analyze ordinal data. A general model structure is assumed to accommodate the information that is obtained via surrogate variables. A hybrid Gibbs sampler is developed to estimate the model parameters. To obtain a rapidly converged algorithm, the parameter expansion technique is applied to the correlation structure of the multivariate probit models. The proposed model and method of analysis are demonstrated with real data examples and simulation studies.     

Analysis of ordinal categorical data with misclassification

We develop a method for the analysis of multivariate ordinal categorical data with misclassification based on the latent normal variable approach. Misclassification arises if a subject has been classified into a category that does not truly reflect its actual state, and can occur with one or more variables. A basic framework is developed to enable the analysis of two types of data. The first corresponds to a single sample that is obtained from a fallible design that may lead to misclassified data. The other corresponds to data that is obtained by double sampling. Double sampling data consists of two parts: a sample that is obtained by classifying subjects using the fallible design only and a sample that is obtained by classifying subjects using both fallible and true designs, which is assumed to have no misclassification. A unified expectation–maximization approach is developed to find the maximum likelihood estimate of model parameters. Simulation studies and examples that are based on real data are used to demonstrate the applicability and practicability of the proposed methods.     

Chemistry (intrinsic) and inclusion (extrinsic) effects on the toughness and Weibull modulus of Fe-based bulk metallic glasses

Systematic changes in composition were employed to increase the notch toughness of a variety of Fe-based Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMGs). The Fe₅₀Mn₁₀Mo₁₄Cr₄C₁₆B₆ BMG possessed very high hardness (e.g. 12 GPa) but very low notch toughness (e.g. 5.7 MPa m^1/2) at room temperature, consistent with fracture surface observations of brittle features. Many of the other Fe-BMG variants, created to change the Poisson's ratio via systematic changes in alloy chemistry, exhibited higher toughness but more scatter in the data, reflected in a lower Weibull modulus. SEM examination revealed fracture initiation always occurred at inclusions in samples exhibiting lower toughness and/or Weibull modulus for a given chemistry. Implications of these observations on reliability of BMGs are discussed.     

Comparison of quasicrystalline (T2) and crystalline (R) structures in AlCuLi using high-resolution X-ray diffraction

Abstract

A high-resolution X-ray scattering experiment has been performed on quasicrystalline (T2) and crystalline (R) phases of AlCuLi alloys. Peak widths determined from the diffraction profile of the R phase are found to scale with momentum transfer G, similar to the strain-broadening effect seen in conventional crystals with small unit cells. A narrowing of peak widths on annealing is also observed. On the other hand, diffraction peak widths in I-phase samples obtained by rapid solidification are found to scale with phason momentum G ₁, similar to that observed in large faceted crystals. Thermal annealing of the I phase is found to have no effect on peak widths. Our findings are discussed in the light of models for crystals and quasicrystals.     

A three-stage estimation procedure for structural equation models with polytomous variables

This paper is concerned with the analysis of structural equation models with polytomous variables. A computationally efficient three-stage estimator of the thresholds and the covariance structure parameters, based on partition maximum likelihood and generalized least squares estimation, is proposed. An example is presented to illustrate the method.This research was supported in part by a research grant DA01070 from the U.S. Public Health Service. The production assistance of Julie Speckart is gratefully acknowledged.