The processing of deviant information in prediction and evaluation

Analyses of information integration and of retention were used to examine the processing of deviant information in prediction and evaluation tasks. Sets of test scores were presented serially for a group of hypothetical students, and subjects were asked to evaluate the performance of each student or predict each student’s performance on a comprehensive final exam. An averaging model with greater weight for the more recent scores than for the earlier scores was supported for both types of task, but the recency was more pronounced in the prediction task. Weighting of deviant scores differed in the prediction and evaluation tasks. Significant discounting (underweighting) of deviant scores was obtained only in the prediction task, The ability to recall deviant scores on uncued tests of retention was higher in the prediction task than in the evaluation task. Prediction of future performance based on inconsistent measures of past performance thus appears to be an active process involving the discovery and discounting of unrepresentative information.     

Avoidant attachment and the experience of parenting

Guided by attachment theory, this research investigated connections between avoidant attachment styles and the experience of parenting after the birth of a couple's first child. One hundred and six couples completed a battery of measures approximately 6 weeks before and 6 months after the birth of their first child. As anticipated, parents with more avoidant attachment styles experienced greater stress after the birth of their child and perceived parenting as less satisfying and personally meaningful. Attachment theory maintains that adult attachment styles should affect relationships with adults and with one's children. The present findings provide some of the first evidence that self-reported adult romantic attachment styles, which have been the focus of attachment research by social and personality psychologists, are systematically associated with parent-child relationships. They also provide insight into the processes through which secure and insecure attachment styles might be transmitted from one generation to the next.     

Regulation processes in intimate relationships: the role of ideal standards

This research investigated the consistency between partner perceptions and ideal standards (ideal-perception consistency) and the partner regulation attempts of 200 individuals involved in relationships (Study 1) and 62 heterosexual couples (Study 2). As predicted, greater regulation attempts were associated with lower ideal-perception consistency, and these links operated within 3 pivotal mate-evaluation dimensions and were moderated by perceived regulation success. Ideal-perception consistency also mediated the relation between partner regulation and relationship quality, and cross-lagged analyses suggested that ideal consistency and regulation influenced each other over time. Finally, stronger partner regulation was generally associated with more negative self-evaluations and more self-regulation by the targeted partner. These novel results support and extend the Ideal Standards Model (J. A. Simpson, G. J. O. Fletcher, & L. Campbell, 2001).     

Perceptions of conflict and support in romantic relationships: the role of attachment anxiety

Guided by attachment theory, a 2-part study was conducted to test how perceptions of relationship-based conflict and support are associated with relationship satisfaction/closeness and future quality. Dating partners completed diaries for 14 days (Part 1) and then were videotaped while discussing a major problem that occurred during the diary study (Part 2). Part 1 reveals that more anxiously attached individuals perceived more conflict with their dating partners and reported a tendency for conflicts to escalate in severity. Perceptions of daily relationship-based conflicts negatively impacted the perceived satisfaction/closeness and relationship futures of highly anxious individuals, whereas perceptions of greater daily support had positive effects. Part 2 reveals that highly anxious individuals appeared more distressed and escalated the severity of conflicts (rated by observers) and reported feeling more distressed. The authors discuss the unique features of attachment anxiety and how changing perceptions of relationship satisfaction/closeness and stability could erode commitment over time.     

Spousal agreement regarding relationship aggression on the Conflict Tactics Scale-2

The current study assessed agreement within 273 treatment-seeking couples that reported on aggression in their relationship using the Conflict Tactics Scale-2 (CTS-2; M. A. Straus, S. L. Hamby, S. Boney-McCoy, & D. B. Sugarman, 1996), the dominant instrument for assessing violence among couples. Results revealed low-to-moderate levels of agreement, consistent with previous studies using earlier versions of the CTS. Both husbands and wives reported a lower level of aggression for themselves than their partners attributed to them, though this discrepancy was generally stronger for husbands. In addition, both husbands and wives showed higher agreement on items rated as more objective and specific. The implications of these findings for researchers and clinicians are discussed.     

Factors responsible for performance on the day–night task: response set or semantics?

In a recent study Diamond, Kirkham and Amso (2002) obtained evidence consistent with the claim that the day-night task requires inhibition because the picture and its corresponding conflicting response are semantically related. In their study children responded more accurately in a dog-pig condition (see /day picture/ say "dog"; see /night picture/ say "pig") than the standard day-night condition (see /day picture/ say "night"; see /night picture/ say "day"). However, there is another effect that may have made the day-night condition harder than the dog-pig condition: the response set effect. In the day-night condition the names of the two stimuli ("day" and "night") and the two corresponding conflicting responses ("night" and "day") are from the same response set: both "day" and "night". In the dog-pig condition the names of the stimuli ("day", "night") and the corresponding responses ("dog", "pig") are from a different response set. In two experiments (Experiment 1 with 4-year-olds (n = 25); Experiment 2 with , 4-, 5-, 7- and 11-year-olds (n = 81)) children were tested on four experimental conditions that enabled the effects of semantics and response set to be separated. Overall, our data suggest that response set is a major factor in creating the inhibitory demands of the day-night task in children of all ages. Results are discussed in relation to other inhibitory tasks.