Reformulating and testing the perfectionism model of binge eating among undergraduate women: a short-term, three-wave longitudinal study

The perfectionism model of binge eating (PMOBE) is an integrative model explaining why perfectionism is related to binge eating. This study reformulates and tests the PMOBE, with a focus on addressing limitations observed in the perfectionism and binge-eating literature. In the reformulated PMOBE, concern over mistakes is seen as a destructive aspect of perfectionism contributing to a cycle of binge eating via 4 binge-eating maintenance variables: interpersonal discrepancies, low interpersonal esteem, depressive affect, and dietary restraint. This test of the reformulated PMOBE involved 200 undergraduate women studied using a 3-wave longitudinal design. As hypothesized, concern over mistakes appears to represent a vulnerability factor for binge eating. Bootstrapped tests of mediation suggested concern over mistakes contributes to binge eating through binge-eating maintenance variables, and results supported the incremental validity of the reformulated PMOBE beyond perfectionistic strivings and neuroticism. The reformulated PMOBE also predicted binge eating, but not binge drinking, supporting the specificity of this model. The reformulated PMOBE offers a framework for understanding how key contributors to binge eating work together to generate and to maintain binge eating.     

Exploring metacognitive accuracy in visual search

For decades, researchers have examined visual search. Much of this work has focused on the factors (e.g., movement, set size, luminance, distractor features and proximity) that influence search speed. However, no research has explored whether people are aware of the influence of these factors. For instance, increases in set size will typically slow down target detection; yet no research has measured participants' metacognitive awareness of this phenomenon. The present research explores this area by integrating a visual search task with a metacognitive monitoring paradigm. All of the explored factors influenced search latency. However, all of the factors except target presence influenced ratings. Saliency and suppression are discussed as two possible explanations for the results. Future directions for extending the theory and the practical benefits of this research are also outlined.     

Greed is good? Student disciplinary choice and self-reported psychopathy

The idea of the organisational psychopath has become not only popular in recent times, but increasingly relevant, thanks to the alleged role of high-profile members of the commercial sector in the global recession. To test the proposition that self-reported sub-clinical psychopathy might be disproportionately more common amongst those people electing to study commerce/business at University, 903 first-year students enrolled in a range of academic degrees completed a survey containing Levenson’s Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995) and Paulhus’ (1991) Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding. Even after accounting for social desirability, commerce students reported higher levels of primary psychopathy than other students, regardless of sex.     

New Generation,Great Expectations: A Field Study of the Millennial Generation

Purpose  

This study investigated the career expectations and priorities of members of the “millennial” generation (born in or after 1980) and explored differences among this cohort related to demographic factors (i.e., gender, race, and year of study) and academic performance.     

Sequence effects in estimating spatial location

Three experiments provide evidence for a primacy effect in judgments of spatial location. Participants viewed and immediately estimated a series of spatial locations that were serially ordered from left to right or from right to left. In a subsequent block, they judged the rightmost, leftmost, and center of the distribution or were shown dots at those locations, which they then estimated from memory. Both judgments and memories were biased toward locations that had been presented earliest in the sequence. The findings indicate that participants incorporate not only geometric categories, but also aspects of their prior spatial experience, when estimating locations. The results mirror recent evidence for a primacy effect in nonspatial category induction, suggesting that this effect generalizes across domains.     

Psychometric evaluation of the Drive for Muscularity Scale in a community-based sample of Scottish men participating in an organized sporting event

As the drive for muscularity is an important construct for researchers involved in understanding men's body image, having reliable and valid measures of the construct is essential. This study assessed the Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS) in a community-based sample of 594 Scottish men participating in an organized running event. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two subscales (Muscularity-oriented body image and Muscularity behavior) as well as a higher-order factor. Both subscales and the total score had acceptable levels of internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and construct validity. These findings provide support for the DMS as a measure of the drive for muscularity in men. It is recommended that, in future, careful consideration is given to the distinction between muscularity attitudes and behavior.     

On being a living contradiction: the struggle of an elite intercollegiate Christian coach

While some research has been conducted on the manner in which Christian athletes utilize their faith to cope with the dominant culture of winning, there appears to be a relative paucity of investigation on the manner in which elite coaches function in this environment. The purpose of this study was to describe an elite intercollegiate coach’s response to the dominant culture of sport as it related to his spiritual life. We attempted to examine the thought processes and behaviors of an individual held in high esteem by his peers, and report his solutions to some of the dilemmas reported in the previous work by S. J. Hoffman and C. L. Stevenson. This elite intercollegiate coach was extremely committed to his relationship with Christ, but he was likewise heavily involved with the dominant culture of sport.     

WHAT DOES HOLISM HAVE TO DO WITH MORAL PARTICULARISM?

Moral particularists are united in their opposition to the codification of morality, and their work poses an important challenge to traditional ways of thinking about moral philosophy. Defenders of moral particularism have, with near unanimity, sought support from a doctrine they call ‘holism in the theory of reasons.’ We argue that this is all a mistake. There are two ways in which holism in the theory of reasons can be understood, but neither provides any support for moral particularism.