Factors for radical creativity, incremental creativity, and routine, noncreative performance

This study extends theory and research by differentiating between routine, noncreative performance and 2 distinct types of creativity: radical and incremental. We also use a sensemaking perspective to examine the interplay of social and personal factors that may influence a person's engagement in a certain level of creative action versus routine, noncreative work. Results demonstrate that willingness to take risks, resources for creativity, and career commitment are associated primarily with radical creativity; that the presence of creative coworkers and organizational identification are associated with incremental creativity; and that conformity and organizational identification are linked with routine performance. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Demographic and familial predictors of early executive function development: Contribution of a person-centered perspective

Executive function (EF) skills are integral components of young children’s growing competence, but little is known about the role of early family context and experiences in their development. We examined how demographic and familial risks during infancy predicted EF competence at 36 months of age in a large, predominantly low-income sample of nonurban families from Pennsylvania and North Carolina in the United States. Using latent class analysis, six ecological risk profiles best captured the diverse experiences of these families. Profiles with various combinations of family structure, income, and psychosocial risks were differentially related to EF. Much of the influence of early risks on later EF appears to be transmitted through quality of parent-child interactions during infancy. Findings suggest that early family environments may prove to be especially fruitful contexts for the promotion of EF development.     

Rater Wealth Predicts Perceptions of Outgroup Competence

National income has a pervasive influence on the perception of ingroup stereotypes, with high status and wealthy targets perceived as more competent. In two studies we investigated the degree to which economic wealth of raters related to perceptions of outgroup competence. Raters’ economic wealth predicted trait ratings when (1) raters in 48 other cultures rated Americans’ competence and (2) Mexican Americans rated Anglo Americans’ competence. Rater wealth also predicted ratings of interpersonal warmth on the culture level. In conclusion, raters’ economic wealth, either nationally or individually, is significantly associated with perception of outgroup members, supporting the notion that ingroup conditions or stereotypes function as frames of reference in evaluating outgroup traits.     

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adolescent Body Dysmorphic Disorder

The onset of appearance-related concerns associated with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) typically occurs in adolescence, and these concerns are often severe enough to interfere with normal development and psychosocial functioning. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for adults with BDD. However, no treatment studies focusing on adolescents with BDD have been conducted. The need for an effective treatment in this population led to the development of a brief CBT protocol with family involvement. The treatment focuses on enhancing an adolescent's quality of life through the reduction of maladaptive thoughts and behaviors, and incorporates skills training and parent training. Similar treatment packages have already been shown to be efficacious for children and adolescents with similar disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia. The following case illustrates the application of this brief CBT protocol for BDD in an adolescent, and highlights clinical considerations needed when adapting CBT for a pediatric population. Treatment was associated with clinically significant improvement in symptoms of BDD, self-esteem, depression, and quality of life. This report extends extant literature by suggesting that CBT may be a helpful treatment for adolescents with BDD.     

‘It’s the unknown’ – understanding anxiety: from the perspective of people with multiple sclerosis

Objective: A qualitative study of PwMS who had clinically significant levels of anxiety was conducted to gain a richer perspective on their experience. The objective was to explore PwMS’ experiences of anxiety and their perspectives on causes and outcomes. Design: Twenty in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with PwMS consecutively recruited from the Neurology Department of a NHS University Hospital. Sixteen had a relapsing-remitting course, three had a secondary progressive course and one person had primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Although participants thought different factors had initially triggered their anxiety, being given the diagnosis of MS appeared to be the most significant factor for many participants. Difficulties in the workplace and in relationships, particularly related to perceived dependence on others were also important themes. A wide range of emotional responses and negative thinking patterns were associated with anxiety; this suggested the presence of comorbid depression. Participants were able to acknowledge the positive and negative coping strategies that impacted on their anxiety. Conclusion: This review confirms that anxiety can have many negative implications for PwMS and suggests that early detection and intervention are necessary in order to improve patient’s well-being.     

Sex-specific clinical correlates of hoarding in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Little is known about whether the clinical correlates of hoarding behavior are different in men and women with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In the current study, we evaluated the association of hoarding with categories of obsessions and compulsions, psychiatric disorders, personality dimensions, and other clinical characteristics separately in 151 men and 358 women with OCD who were examined during the OCD Collaborative Genetics Study. We found that, among men but not women, hoarding was associated with aggressive, sexual, and religious obsessions and checking compulsions. In men, hoarding was associated with generalized anxiety disorder and tics whereas, among women, hoarding was associated with social phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, nail biting, and skin picking. In women but not men, hoarding was associated with schizotypal and dependent personality disorder dimensions, and with low conscientiousness. These findings indicate that specific clinical correlates of hoarding in OCD are different in men and women and may reflect sex-specific differences in the course, expression, and/or etiology of hoarding behavior in OCD.     

Maternal and child contributions to cortisol response to emotional arousal in young children from low-income, rural communities

Relations of maternal and child characteristics to child cortisol reactivity to and recovery from emotional arousal were examined prospectively at approximately 7 months of age (infancy) and then again at approximately 15 months of age (toddlerhood). The sample was diverse and population based (N = 1,292 mother-infant dyads) and included families from predominantly low-income, rural communities. Maternal behavior, family income-to-need ratio and social advantage, and child temperament, attention, and mental development were assessed, and children's saliva was sampled before and after standardized procedures designed to elicit emotional arousal. Maternal engagement in infancy was associated with greater cortisol reactivity at the infancy assessment and with reduced overall cortisol level at the toddler assessment. Also at the toddler assessment, child attention, mental development, and temperamental distress to novelty were associated with increased cortisol reactivity and regulation, whereas temperamental distress to limitations and African American ethnicity were associated with reduced cortisol reactivity. Findings are consistent with prior work linking early caregiving to the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis stress response system and with a conceptual model in which developing temperament is characterized by the interplay of emotional reactivity and the emergence of the ability to effortfully regulate this reactivity using attention.     

Remembrance of Eyewitness Testimony: Effects of Emotional Content,Self‐Relevance,and Emotional Tone1

This experiment concerned the effects of emotional content, self‐relevance, and emotional tone of testimony on memory. Eyewitness accounts of 4 events were constructed that systematically differed in emotionality and self‐relevance. The testimony, captured on videotape, was expressed with or without negative emotion. After viewing one of the videotaped accounts, participants were administered cued‐recall and recognition memory tests. Significant main effects indicated that participants best remembered testimony that was emotional in content, self‐relevant, and negatively expressed. Although emotional content and self‐relevance interacted to affect state anxiety, the latter did not mediate memory effects. Overall, significant gender differences in state anxiety but not memory emerged. Implications for understanding the influence of emotion on juror memory are discussed.     

A prognostic utility bias in judgments of similarity between past and present instances: How available information is deemed useful for prediction

A variety of theorists have proposed that individuals desire to be confident in their inferences and predictions. One way this can be accomplished is by overestimating the extent to which available information provides a logic basis for such conclusions. Thus, when one's goal is to make an accurate prediction, if information about a prior known instance has potential implications for the prediction, one may overestimate the similarity of the prior known instance to the current instance. In this way, the perceived utility of the information as a basis for prediction can be inflated. To test this idea, three studies were conducted. In each study, subjects were asked to judge the similarity of past instances to an upcoming instance for which an outcome prediction was required. Judging a past instance as similar to the upcoming instance should only provide a firm basis for outcome prediction if outcome information regarding the past instance is known. Therefore, it was expected that when subjects are asked to make an outcome prediction, they would judge a past instance more similar to the upcoming instance if outcome information about the past instance is known than if it is not. Support for this hypothesis was obtained along with evidence concerning the conditions under which the eflect does and does not occur.