Defensive Pessimism and Optimism: The Bitter-Sweet Influence of Mood on Performance and Prefactual and Counterfactual Thinking

Three studies demonstrated that manipulated moods influence the prefactual (alternative preoutcome predictions) and counterfactual (alternative postoutcome “what might have beens”) mental simulations of defensive pessimists and optimists. In Study 1, negative moods induced more upward (better than expected) prefactuals, and defensive pessimists performed best under such conditions; optimists performed best under induced positive moods, after which they used little prefactual thinking. In Studies 2 and 3, manipulated moods again influenced the strategies of defensive pessimists and optimists. In Study 2, optimists responded with more downward (worse than actuality) counterfactuals, suggesting attempts at mood repair. In Study 3, defensive pessimists and optimists each coped effectively by using preferred mental simulation strategies; both groups rebounded on a second task from poor performances on a first task.     

Expressions and Projections of Evil in Mass Violence

This article examines two recent school shooting cases in Finland, and the use of the concept of evil as a tool to discern the violence and cruelty of the incidents. The analysis is based on qualitative, focused interviews with local residents. Participants used the notion of evil to describe and understand school shootings and their perpetrators. Evil was mostly associated with the act of violence and with the perpetrators. Processing the experience of evil included the projection and externalization of evil. This process was associated with the fear of being labeled and reluctance to work through the traumatic experiences.     

Mental Simulation, Affect, and Personality: A Conceptual Framework

Recent advances in theory and research on the relations among mental simulation, affect, and personality are summarized and combined. Research has shown that (a) affect and mental simulations can influence each other, (b) mental simulations can serve diverse self-motives, and (c) personality characteristics are related to divergent functions of mental simulations. Findings in these three areas are synthesized into a conceptual framework on the basis of three attributes of mental simulations: (a) time, whether simulations are prospective or retrospective; (b) direction, whether simulations are upward or downward; and (c) focus, whether simulations are contrasted or assimilated. This integrated framework not only may enable a greater understanding of existing findings, but also suggests novel and unique predictions for future research on understanding personality processes, automaticity in simulations, and coping with life events.     

Identity processing style and cognitive attributional strategies: similarities and difference across different contexts

Identity processing style refers to the manner in which individuals approach or manage to avoid identity relevant problems and decisions. Two studies were designed to investigate the relationship between identity style and the specific cognitive and attributional strategies youth deploy in achievement and affiliative contexts. In Study 1, 198 American late adolescents filled in the revised Identity Style Inventory and a Strategy and Attribution Questionnaire. In Study 2, 109 Finnish late adolescents filled in the same measures. Study 1 revealed that diffuse/avoidant‐oriented American youth relied on maladaptive strategies in both contexts. Information‐oriented youth engaged in more strategic planning than did their normative and diffuse/avoidant counterparts. Study 2 indicated an identical pattern of associations among the identity processing styles and cognitive and attributional strategies for Finnish youth in achievement but not in interpersonal settings. The results are discussed in the context of a social–cognitive theory of identity development. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Winding paths: Ambivalence in consumers' buying processes

This paper investigates ambivalence in the buying process. The existing literature has rarely studied ambivalence in longitudinal processes and has therefore not been able to capture its dynamics. Those studies that have studied ambivalence longitudinally have focused on general attitudinal ambivalence rather than its subtypes (cognitive, affective, and intercomponent ambivalence) and have therefore ignored some of the more detailed dynamics. Hence, this study addresses these different types of ambivalence longitudinally, exploring what these different ambivalences consist of, what their roles are in the buying process, and how they occur under different types of involvement conditions. A longitudinal video diary method is used in conjunction with a multimodal analysis technique to explore not only the verbally expressed aspects of ambivalence but also its nonverbal expression, which further reveals differences between different types of ambivalence. The findings suggest that cognitive ambivalence involves conflicting evaluations of utilitarian brand and product aspects and is resolved through more effortful mechanisms, whereas intercomponent ambivalence involves conflicting evaluations of varying utilitarian, hedonic, and symbolic brand and product aspects and is resolved through both more and less effortful mechanisms. Finally, affective ambivalence involves conflicting anticipations about the outcome of the buying process but is not resolved through similarly clear mechanisms. As the key outcome of the exploration, propositions and a synthesising framework about the different types of ambivalence in the buying process are developed for future research. This paper hence contributes to the ambivalence literature and offers managerial implications especially for marketers of multifaceted and high‐involvement products.     

MATERNAL TRAUMA AFFECTS PRENATAL MENTAL HEALTH AND INFANT STRESS REGULATION AMONG PALESTINIAN DYADS

We examined how diverse and cumulated traumatic experiences predicted maternal prenatal mental health and infant stress regulation in war conditions and whether maternal mental health mediated the association between trauma and infant stress regulation. Participants were 511 Palestinian mothers from the Gaza Strip who reported exposure to current war trauma (WT), past childhood emotional (CEA) and physical abuse, socioeconomic status (SES), prenatal mental health problems (posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms), and perceived stress during their secondtrimester of pregnancy as well as infant stress regulation at 4 months. While all trauma types were associated with high levels of prenatal symptoms, CEA had the most wide‐ranging effects and was uniquely associated with depression symptoms. Concerning infant stress regulation, mothers’ CEA predicted negative affectivity, but only among mothers with low WT. Against hypothesis, the effects of maternal trauma on infant stress regulation were not mediated by mental health symptoms. Mothers’ higher SES was associated with better infant stress regulation whereas infant prematurity and male sex predisposed for difficulties. Our findings suggest that maternal childhood abuse, especially CEA, should be a central treatment target among war‐exposed families. Cumulated psychosocial stressors might increase the risk for transgenerational problems.     

A preliminary study of perfectionism and loneliness as predictors of depressive and anxious symptoms in Latinas: a top-down test of a model

In the present study, we used a top-down approach to examine perfectionism and loneliness as additive sociocognitive predictors of depressive and anxious symptoms in a sample of 121 Latina college students. Consistent with expectations, we found perfectionism and loneliness to be associated with both depressive and anxious symptoms. In addition, results of conducting hierarchical regression analyses indicated that certain dimensions of perfectionism, especially doubts about actions, accounted for significant variance in both depressive and anxious symptoms. Moreover, the inclusion of loneliness as a predictor was found to predict additional unique variance in both depressive and anxious symptoms beyond what was accounted for by perfectionism. Implications of the present findings for future research on negative affective conditions in Latinas are discussed.     

Understanding emerging adulthood from a goal-setting perspective

The chapter first introduces the concept of emerging adulthood as a period of life that is characterized by instabilities and fluctuations. Then, the role of goal setting and aspirations in individual development during this stage of life is discussed. Following this, seven chapters of the present special issue are introduced, and the ways in which goal processes affect individual trajectories and outcomes are discussed. The chapter concludes with a discussion of future perspectives in the field, such as the need to investigate the relationships between goals and goal adjustment, the need to carry out cross-cultural comparisons, as well as the need to develop intervention based on goal and aspiration framework.     

Dynamics of goal pursuit and personality make-up among emerging adults: typology, change over time, and adaptation

In recent years young people's lives have been characterized by postponement of developmental timetables, inconsistencies of transitions, and loss of direction in life. Data from a longitudinal study of Israeli young adults show that the capacity for setting realistic work and love goals reflects inner strengths and is associated with adaptive outcomes. Less-articulated love and work goals are associated with underlying personality difficulties and are predictive of less stable and less adaptive outcomes. The interplay of goal constellations and personality constructs, and its association with adaptive and less adaptive outcomes is presented and discussed.     

大鼠注意定势转移任务模型的深入研究：种系和检测程序的影响

注意定势转移任务(attentional set-shifting task, AST)可用于特异性检测啮齿类动物前额叶皮层及其皮层下神经通路介导的认知灵活性, 是目前研究认知灵活性及其障碍神经基础的重要模型。本研究系统调查了大鼠种系和检测程序差异对AST结果的影响。通过比较Wistar和Sprague Dawley (SD)两个种系大鼠在七阶段和五阶段两种AST检测程序中的认知表现, 研究发现：(1) SD和Wistar大鼠前额叶认知功能存在差异, 后者的总体认知表现优于前者。尤其是Wistar大鼠在逆反学习阶段的达标训练次数及错误率显著低于SD大鼠, 表明Wistar大鼠具有更高的策略转换灵活性。(2)在AST测试中逆反学习和外维度定势转移是认知灵活性评价的核心指标。这两种认知转换过程分别以前期策略和注意定势建立为基础。结果显示在两种AST检测程序中Wistar和SD大鼠在逆反学习和/或外维度定势转移等复杂学习阶段的达标训练次数和错误率均高于其它简单关联学习阶段, 表明在目前实验条件下大鼠均表现出定势形成和转换困难的反应模式, 不同认知反应间的结构关系具有稳定性。这些结果提示大鼠前额叶皮质介导的认知灵活性存在种系差异, AST各阶段认知反应间的结构效度不受目前使用的大鼠种系和检测程序差异的影响, 扩展了对AST模型的认识。