Set-size and Frequency-of-occurrence Judgements in Young and Older Adults: The Role of the Availability Heuristic

Two experiments examined the cognitive processes underlying judgements of set size and judgements of frequency of occurrence in young (Experiments 1 and 2) and older (Experiment 2) adults. Previous research has implicated the availability heuristic in set-size judgements, whereas an automatic processing mechanism has been implicated in judgements of frequency of occurrence. In the current experiments, path analysis was employed to investigate the role of an availability bias in performance on the judgement tasks. In Experiments 1 and 2, both types of judgement were influenced by repetition frequency of words independent of the availability (recall) of specific exemplars. Experiment 2 extended the investigation to include age differences. Although older adults' recall performance was poorer overall, the availability bias was age invariant, and there were no age differences in either set-size or frequency-of-occurrence judgements. Our results indicate that both set-size and frequency-of-occurrence judgements are independent of the availability bias evident in recall, and they support the notion that an automatic processing mechanism underlies both types of judgement.     

Profiles of psychological well‐being in a sample of Australian university students

The present study identified psychological well‐being profiles in a sample of Australian university students (N = 207, Mean age = 30.16 years; SD = 11.90). Respondents completed two measures: Ryff's (1989) Psychological Well‐Being (PWB) scale and Lovibond and Lovibond's (2002) Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales‐21 (DASS‐21) assessing their levels of PWB and depression. Latent profile analysis was applied to six indices of positive functioning derived from PWB scale: self‐acceptance, purpose in life, environmental mastery, positive relations with others, personal growth and autonomy. An optimal 5‐profile solution, reflecting significant incremental shifts from very low to very high PWB, was interpreted. As predicted, profile membership distinguished participants on depression. Importantly, profiles indicating moderate to very high PWB, particularly with the presence of above average autonomy, reported significantly lower levels of depression. Our results suggest prevention of, and treatment efficacy for, mental health problems may be improved by incorporating strategies that address positive functioning attributes, particularly associated with a sense of autonomy.     

Executive Functioning as a Mediator of Conduct Problems Prevention in Children of Homeless Families Residing in Temporary Supportive Housing: A Parallel Process Latent Growth Modeling Approach

A culturally diverse sample of formerly homeless youth (ages 6–12) and their families (n?=?223) participated in a cluster randomized controlled trial of the Early Risers conduct problems prevention program in a supportive housing setting. Parents provided 4 annual behaviorally-based ratings of executive functioning (EF) and conduct problems, including at baseline, over 2 years of intervention programming, and at a 1-year follow-up assessment. Using intent-to-treat analyses, a multilevel latent growth model revealed that the intervention group demonstrated reduced growth in conduct problems over the 4 assessment points. In order to examine mediation, a multilevel parallel process latent growth model was used to simultaneously model growth in EF and growth in conduct problems along with intervention status as a covariate. A significant mediational process emerged, with participation in the intervention promoting growth in EF, which predicted negative growth in conduct problems. The model was consistent with changes in EF fully mediating intervention-related changes in youth conduct problems over the course of the study. These findings highlight the critical role that EF plays in behavioral change and lends further support to its importance as a target in preventive interventions with populations at risk for conduct problems.     

The Effect of Emotion on Visual Attention to Information and Decision Making in the Context of Informed Consent Process for Clinical Trials

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of emotion on visual information processing and decision making in the context of informed consent. Researchers are ethically obligated to ensure informed consent in clinical trials; however, many volunteers have unrealistic expectations about the value of an experimental therapy. Moreover, suboptimal participation rates for clinical trials may be partially attributable to perceptions that ethical obligations to volunteers are not met. This study examines whether discrete negative emotions (fear, anger, and sadness) differentially influence information processing, visual attention, and decisions in the context of clinical trial informed consent. Community participants completed a standard emotion induction (or control) and then read an actual consent form from a clinical trial while eye movements were tracked. Fear and anger produced the most prominently different patterns of systematic processing and visual attention, such that fear induced longer fixations to information presented, whereas anger induced shorter fixations. Moreover, among women only, fear increased decisions to participate, compared with anger and neutral emotion. Examinations of associations between eye‐tracking variables and self‐reported outcomes indicated that for angry participants only, less systematic processing was associated with greater decisions to participate. Negative emotions of any kind decreased accurate perceptions of trial benefit. These patterns suggest a complex interplay among emotion, processing style, and decision making. Future research is necessary to further probe these effects among potential clinical trial volunteers. Published 2016. This article is a U.S Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

Coping with an insecure employment environment: The differing roles of protean and boundaryless career orientations

In this paper, we utilize a sample of working adults (N = 362) in the context of the recent economic recession to explore the coping mechanisms associated with different career attitudes and their subsequent impact on important individual work outcomes. Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) demonstrated that boundaryless mindset and self-directed protean career attitudes were differentially correlated with external support seeking, active coping, and identity awareness, which in turn were differentially correlated with individual work outcomes of job search behavior, performance, career success, and psychological well-being. Evidence for both full and partial mediation within the model tested is presented, as well as the potential implications of these findings and suggested avenues for future research.     

Work–family planning attitudes among emerging adults

Using social learning theory as a framework, we explore two sets of antecedents to work and family role planning attitudes among emerging adults: their work–family balance self-efficacy and their perceptions of their parents' work-to-family conflict. A total of 187 college students completed a questionnaire concerning their work–family balance self-efficacy, their perceptions of their parents' work-to-family conflict, and their work and family role planning attitudes. Participants' work–family balance self-efficacy was positively related to their knowledge of and commitment to future work and family roles. In addition, perceptions of their same-gender parent's work-to-family conflict were positively related to knowledge of, commitment to, and involvement in planning for future work and family roles. Results suggest that enhancing emerging adults' self-efficacy to balance work and family may improve their attitudes toward planning for future work and family roles. Also, emerging adults appear to be more knowledgeable of, involved in, and committed to planning for work and family roles when their same-gender parents expose them to, rather than shield them from, work-to-family conflict.     

Working in Indigenous Contexts: Self‐Reported Experiences of Non‐Indigenous Australian Psychologists

Despite assertions in the literature that psychologists adopt culturally inappropriate strategies for working with Indigenous clients, there is little empirical evidence about this. The aim of this study was to document the self‐reported experiences of non‐Indigenous psychologists working with Indigenous clients, the factors that they felt constrain these interactions, and the clinical, assessment and communication strategies they perceived as effective in Indigenous contexts. Structured interviews were held with 23 psychologists, 18 females and five males, with age groups ranging from 20–30 to 50+. Thematic analysis of the data revealed that participants experienced contradictions between the typical Western white psychologists' ways of interacting with clients, which they had been taught and the typical ways in which relationships are structured in Indigenous communities. The results suggest that the Western model of psychological training does not work very well in Indigenous contexts, and that psychologists working in Indigenous contexts have to work out their own methods on a trial‐and‐error basis. This points to the need for more systematic cultural competence training. However, there is a lack of research into the effectiveness of psychological intervention from the viewpoints of Indigenous clients themselves.     

Sometimes pursuits don't pan out: Anticipated destinations and other caveats: Comment on Hom, Mitchell, Lee, and Griffeth (2012)

Hom, Mitchell, Lee, and Griffeth (2012) presented an extensive review of employee turnover research, reconceptualized the turnover criterion to include multiple destinations, and proposed to expand the predictor domain. They illuminated the multiple destinations employees pursue following turnover. By crossing desire to remain and volitional control dimensions, Hom et al. defined and described 4 withdrawal states (or predeparture mind-sets). This commentary begins by introducing the issue that people do not know precisely where they will turn over to until they have actually gone. This suggests that researchers should consider anticipated destinations when conducting research on withdrawal states. We note the limitations of measuring withdrawal states as taxonomic categories; instead, we advocate for measuring the underlying continuous dimensions of desire and control or the weight associated with the pressures to leave or stay. Finally, we highlight some temporal considerations, as withdrawal states are temporary and there is much to be learned from studying changes in such states. We conclude with some directions for future turnover research based on Hom et al.'s contribution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).