The effect of level of construal on the temporal distance of activity enactment

A series of four studies demonstrates that, across different operationalizations of level of construal, different types of activities, and for both the self and another person as targets, construing activities in high-level terms fosters perception of the more distal future as appropriate for their enactment. Specifically, the studies show that thinking about superordinate “why” (rather than subordinate “how”) aspects of actions, about the implications of actions for one’s personality (rather than the objects that would be used in performing the action), and about abstract (rather than concrete) aspects of actions leads people to expect the actions to be performed in the more distant future. These results suggest that the association of level of construal and time perspective is bi-directional, in that time perspective affects level of construal and, in addition, level of construal affects time perspective.     

The generalized sense of power is a psychological resource: Evidence from a disaster response field training exercise

We examined whether the generalized sense of power—the belief that one is able to influence others in one's various social relationships—serves as a psychological resource that enables leadership in high-stakes, unfamiliar group challenges, such as emergencies or crises. We studied current and prospective humanitarian aid professionals (N = 180) during a major field training exercise: a three-day, immersive simulated humanitarian crisis. Individuals who entered the simulated crisis with a greater sense of power in their social relationships experienced lower stress (anxiety), behaved more assertively, and left the simulation with a relatively heightened desire to lead, despite not being deemed better leaders by their teammates. Lacking an initial sense of power was associated with experiences (e.g., feeling timid) that undermined the desire to lead. These results suggest that the psychological sense of power is a key leadership resource, without which one may be at risk of self-selecting out of leadership.     

The natural history of cigarette smoking from adolescence to adulthood in a midwestern community sample: multiple trajectories and their psychosocial correlates.

Previous research on the natural history of smoking has focused on overall group trajectories without considering the possibility of risk subgroup variation. To address this limitation, the authors of the present study aimed to identify subgroups with varying trajectories of smoking behavior. The authors accomplished this within a cohort-sequential study of a large community sample (N = 8,556) with measurements spanning ages 11-31. After removing 2 a priori groups (abstainers and erratics), the authors empirically identified 4 trajectory groups--early stable smokers, late stable smokers, experimenters, and quitters--and psychosocial variables from adolescence and young adulthood were significantly distinguished among them. Given recent advances in quantitative methods, it is now feasible to consider subgroups of trajectories within an overall longitudinal design.     

Assessing Readiness for Advancing Women Scientists Using the Transtheoretical Model

The under-representation of women in science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines is of wide interest. In this article we report on the development of new Transtheoretical Model-based measures to assess readiness to take action to advance women scientists. Reliable measures of Stage of Change, Decisional balance, and Self-efficacy were developed with a sample of science faculty from a northeastern university. Theoretical relationships among the constructs were validated and offer support for extending the Transtheoretical Model to this area. These measures are being used as part of a campus-wide initiative to examine the advancement of women scientists before and after a series of interventions.     

The Farage Quality of Life Measure for Consumer Products: Development and Initial Implementation

Despite the existence of numerous health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures, few if any are geared to evaluating the impact of consumer products. We describe the development and initial implementation of the Farage Quality of Life (FQoL™) general questionnaire, a self-administered questionnaire to assess the potential impact of a variety of consumer products on overall well-being and HRQoL. We developed the 27-item FQoL™ measure, scored on a Likert scale and covering Overall Quality of Life (1 item), Well-Being (12 items), and Energy and Vitality (14 items), and a 3-item Menstrual Module for use with menstruating women. We assessed test-retest reliability by administering the items twice to a sample of 20 women 3 days apart, calculating mean absolute differences in responses. Then, in a study of 119 women ages 18–55 years who were randomly assigned to use a new brand of menstrual pad vs. their usual menstrual pads for 1 menstrual period, we administered the FQoL™ questionnaire 5–7 days before their menstrual period and 5–7 days after the start of their period. We compared changes in responses within groups and between groups pre- vs. during menstruation. Overall, test-retest reliability was good, with a mean (SD) absolute difference for the 27 general items of 0.51 (0.31). In the menstrual pad study, the mean (SD) age of responders was 35.3 (7.9) years; 59 (50%) were age 18–35 and 60 (50%) were age 36–55. Relative to the intervention group, the usual pads group reported worse HRQoL during vs. pre-menstruation on items addressing self-confidence, managing stress, energy, and fatigue (P ≤ 0.05 for each comparison). In subgroup analyses, relative to intervention patients, women age 18-35 in the usual pads group reported greater changes for the worse during vs. pre-menstruation in managing stress; energy; and fatigue, but relatively better work or school attendance during vs. pre-menstruation, and women age 36–55 in the usual pads group reported greater changes for the worse in self-confidence and in desire to go out in public (P ≤ 0.03 for each comparison). The general FQoL™ is a new measure of HRQoL applicable to consumer product evaluation. It has good test-retest reliability. The FQoL™ menstrual module detects changes in HRQoL during vs. before the menstrual period associated with menstrual pad use. Further research is needed to assess the construct validity of the HRQoL.     

Comparison of simultaneous prompting and no-no prompting in two-choice discrimination learning with children with autism

This study compared no-no prompting procedures to simultaneous prompting procedures for 3 children with autism. Using a parallel treatments design, researchers taught rote math skills, receptive labels, or answers to "wh-" questions with both prompting systems. Results indicated that no-no prompting was effective in teaching all skills. By contrast, simultaneous prompting was effective in teaching only one pair of skills to 1 participant in the same amount of teaching time and trials. Researchers conducted a preference assessment to determine which of the two prompting procedures the 3 participants preferred. The participants showed mixed preferences for the two procedures.     

Embodied cognition and health persuasion: Facilitating intention-behavior consistency via motor manipulations

The present research examines health persuasion from an embodied cognition perspective by proposing that engaging the motor system during health persuasion will lead individuals to engage in healthier behavior and have greater consistency between their intentions and behavior. In two studies, participants watched a health video while either imaging themselves performing the behavior or imaging themselves performing the behavior while also engaging their motor systems with minimal, relevant behaviors. In Study 1, after watching a flossing video, females (but not males) flossed more times in the following week after touching a floss and in Study 2, all participants (males and females) exercised more in the week after watching an exercise video while walking in place. In both experiments, participants who engaged the motor system had stronger intention-behavior consistency than those who merely imagined themselves performing the health behavior. Implications of the findings are discussed for theories of embodied cognition, intention-behavior consistency, and health persuasion.