A Comparison of Normals and Subnormals in Mirror Drawing

A sample of 75 mothers between 15 and 19 years of age was used to investigate the relationship between depression and the maternal behavior of young mothers. Depression, as measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies of Depression (CES-D) Scale, varied with marital status, education, and maternal age and was related to hostile, indifferent and rejecting patterns of mother-child interaction. Levels of depression increased in relation to the amount of stress faced by the young mother and decreased when the mother was involved in a supportive social network.     

How Positive and Negative Feedback Motivate Goal Pursuit

This article explores the feedback individuals give, seek, and respond to in the course of pursuing their goals. We propose that positive feedback motivates goal pursuit when it signals an increase in goal commitment, whereas negative feedback motivates goal pursuit when it signals insufficient goal progress. We review research suggesting that whether individuals are drawn to evaluate their level of commitment versus rate of progress determines the type of feedback (positive or negative) that best motivates them to pursue their goals. We then review research suggesting that these effects of feedback operate by inducing positive and negative general moods as well as specific emotions.     

Relationships among depressive symptoms, benefit-finding, optimism, and positive affect in multiple sclerosis patients after psychotherapy for depression.

OBJECTIVE: While many patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience psychological problems, such as depression, benefit-finding is commonly reported. Using the Broaden-and-Build Model of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2001) and the Expectancy-Value Model of optimism (Carver & Scheier, 1998) as two related, yet, distinct conceptual frameworks, this study examined positive affect and optimism as mediators of the relationship between improved depression and enhanced benefit-finding. DESIGN: MS patients (N=127), who participated in a larger, randomized clinical trial comparing two types of telephone psychotherapy for depression, were assessed at baseline, midtherapy (8 weeks), end of therapy (16 weeks), and 6- and 12-month posttherapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Depression was measured with a telephone administered version of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression; Positive Affect was measured with the Positive Affect Subscale from the Positive and Negative Affect Scale; Optimism was measured with the Life Orientation Test-Revised; Benefit-Finding was measured with the revised version of the Stress-Related Growth Scale. RESULTS: Data were analyzed with multilevel random-effects models, controlling for time since MS diagnosis and type of treatment. Improved depression was associated with increased benefit-finding over time. The relationship between improved depression and benefit-finding was significantly mediated by both increased optimism and increased positive affect. CONCLUSION: Findings provide support to both theoretical models. Positivity appears to promote benefit-finding in MS.     

Truck Driver or Nurse? The Impact of Gender Roles and Occupational Status on Children’s Occupational Preferences

Three experiments examined how US children perceive occupational status and gender roles. In Experiment 1, 107 6-to-12-year-olds rated the status and gender roles of 54 occupations. Feminine occupations were underrepresented among the perceived high status jobs. In Experiment 2, 28 6-to-8-year-olds, and in Experiment 3, 36 9-to-12-year-olds, reported their preferences for equally high status masculine and feminine occupations and low status masculine and feminine occupations. In both experiments, girls preferred feminine to masculine occupations and status only affected preferences for masculine occupations. The younger boys’ preferences were based on both variables, whereas older boys’ preferences were based on status. These findings imply that occupational status may influence boys’ vocational preferences more than pressure to conform to masculine gender roles.     

Psychological Consequences for High School Students of Having Been Sexually Harassed

The psychological and educational consequences of sexual harassment for high school students were investigated in two studies. Both studies involved a modified survey originally designed for the American Association of University Women (1993). In Study 1, which involved 760 male and 779 female high school students (mainly 16- to 19-year-olds), we compared the behaviors and attitudes of (a) students who had recently been harassed and were upset by it, and (b) students who had not been harassed. Harassment led to several negative psychological and educational consequences rather than to a general stress reaction. Consequences varied with the type of harassment experienced. In Study 2, we surveyed 30 male and 67 female university students who were enrolled in a 1st year psychology course. We found that current doubt about romantic relations was associated with two types of harassment experienced during high school. Thus, some specific consequences of harassment might be long-lasting.     

The Who and When of “Gender-Blind” Attitudes: Predictors of Gender-Role Egalitarianism in Two Different Domains

We compared gender-role egalitarianism in two domains: employment and social roles. We also investigated the influence of four variables—gender, ethnicity (Asian and non-Asian), scores on the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), and the perceived importance of men's social privileges—on egalitarianism in each domain. Participants (205 male and female college students of varying ethnicity) were more egalitarian in the employment than in the social domain. Women were more egalitarian than men, but this gender difference was greater in the employment domain. Asian Americans were less egalitarian than non-Asians only in the social domain. Expressiveness score on the PAQ predicted higher egalitarianism, whereas the perceived importance of men's social privileges was negatively related to egalitarianism. Theoretical explanations are discussed.     

Using stress and resource theories to examine the incentive effects of a performance-based extrinsic reward

We expected a positive boosting effect of a performance-based extrinsic reward on motivation and performance for those with higher control-related resources (i.e., perceived task control and trait self-control) and a positive compensating effect for those who lacked these resources. Study 1 supported compensation. Those with lower resources experienced a beneficial effect of reward on motivation and performance (i.e., compared to no reward). In Study 2, coping was examined as a mechanism. Again, reward compensated for lower resources, enhancing motivation, and performance due to enhanced coping. For those with higher resources, reward boosted motivation and performance due to coping. Thus, the interactive effects of reward and resources are paradoxical: higher resources can maximize the utility of a reward, but reward can also compensate for low resources.     

Consequences of ‘tiger’ parenting: a cross‐cultural study of maternal psychological control and children's cortisol stress response

Parenting strategies involving psychological control are associated with increased adjustment problems in children. However, no research has examined the extent to which culture and psychological control predict children's stress physiology. We examine cultural differences in maternal psychological control and its associations with children's cortisol. Chinese (N = 59) and American (N = 45) mother‐child dyads participated in the study. Mothers reported on psychological control. Children's cortisol was collected during a stressor and two indices of Area Under the Curve (AUC) were computed: AUCg which accounts for total output, and AUCi, which captures reactivity. Results indicate that Chinese mothers reported higher levels of psychological control and Chinese children had higher levels of AUCg than their American counterparts. Across both cultures, psychological control was significantly associated with increased cortisol levels as indexed by AUCg. There were no associations for AUCi. Finally, mediation analyses demonstrated that psychological control fully explained cultural differences in children's cortisol stress response as indexed by AUCg.     

The temporal dynamics of global-to-local feedback in the formation of hierarchical motion patterns: psychophysics and computational simulations

Four motion quartets, each ambiguous with respect to the perception of parallel-path horizontal or vertical motion, were arranged in a diamond configuration. Both global parallel-path motion (the same motion axis for all the quartets), which is typical for multiquartet stimuli, and global rotational rocking are perceived. Experiment 1 indicated that rotational rocking is established at different levels of processing. Globally, larger displacements of each quartet's elements increase the angle of rotation and, thereby, the perception of rotational rocking. Locally, larger displacements have the opposite effect, weakening motion percepts. Experiment 2 showed that global-to-local feedback affects the local perception of rotation-consistent versus rotation-inconsistent motion directions. Experiment 3 provided evidence for hysteresis effects indicative of competition between global rotational rocking and parallel-path motion. The experimental results were simulated by a two-level dynamical model incorporating global-to-local feedback, with recurrent feedforward/feedback loops creating detection instabilities that amplify activation at both global and local levels of the rotational-rocking pattern.