Show me what threatens you,and I can tell who you are: Perception of threat and the self

Abstract

This article proposes a methodical way to understand the self from the angle of psychologically meaningful threat. On the basis of systematic cross-cultural examination of threats to core self-motives, this comprises the notion of self as being most reliably described by instances in which a person shows a motivated response to information from the social environment. Building on accounts of cultural differences in self- construal, this approach allows insight into self-related processes, because motivated responses to self-threat should depend on how the self is defined in the social space. The research conducted from this approach has examined cultural differences to threats to freedom, belonging and consistency. For people with a collectivistic cultural background, as well as for those with a more interdependent self-construal within a given culture, responses to freedom, belonging and consistency threats were less intense, particularly when threats were directed at the individual sense of self. Looking at the self from this perspective further allows for insight into underlying mechanisms into self-related processes, as well as for more direct information on the influence of context on what constitutes the self.     

Adult attention and interaction can increase moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity in young children

Evidence suggests that physical inactivity is prevalent among young children. To combat this, one recommendation for caregivers is to become actively involved in their child's physical activities. However, this general recommendation does not specify how or when a parent should become involved. The purpose of the current study was to conduct a functional analysis to identify a social consequence that would increase the moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity (MVPA) exhibited by preschool‐aged children, and then to compare the effects of that social consequence when it was provided contingent on MVPA and when provided independent of MVPA. The results of the functional analyses indicated that 3 of 7 children were most active when attention or interactive play was provided contingent on MVPA. Results of the intervention analysis suggested that caregivers of young children should provide attention or interactive play contingent on MVPA when those consequences are identified as reinforcers in a functional analysis.     

Power Analysis for the Likelihood-Ratio Test in Latent Markov Models: Shortcutting the Bootstrap p-Value-Based Method

The latent Markov (LM) model is a popular method for identifying distinct unobserved states and transitions between these states over time in longitudinally observed responses. The bootstrap likelihood-ratio (BLR) test yields the most rigorous test for determining the number of latent states, yet little is known about power analysis for this test. Power could be computed as the proportion of the bootstrap p values (PBP) for which the null hypothesis is rejected. This requires performing the full bootstrap procedure for a large number of samples generated from the model under the alternative hypothesis, which is computationally infeasible in most situations. This article presents a computationally feasible shortcut method for power computation for the BLR test. The shortcut method involves the following simple steps: (1) obtaining the parameters of the model under the null hypothesis, (2) constructing the empirical distributions of the likelihood ratio under the null and alternative hypotheses via Monte Carlo simulations, and (3) using these empirical distributions to compute the power. We evaluate the performance of the shortcut method by comparing it to the PBP method and, moreover, show how the shortcut method can be used for sample-size determination.     

Early alternative derivations of Fechner's law

Historians of psychology, notably Boring, fostered Fechner's idea that Weber's law is the indispensable basis for the derivation of the logarithmic psychophysical law. However, it is shown here that Bernoulli in 1738 and Thurstone in 1931 derived the logarithmic law using principles other than Weber's law and that Fechner and Thurstone based their derivations on the principles originally employed by Bernoulli. It is concluded that awareness of researchers about Bernoulli's and Thurstone's derivations could expand the directions of research on the form of the psychophysical law. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Dietary patterns and intelligence in early and middle childhood

The association between intelligence and diet at 3.5 and 7 years was examined in 591 children of European descent. Approximately half of the children were born small-for-gestational age (birth weight ≤ 10th percentile). The relationship between IQ and diet (measured by food frequency) was investigated using multiple regression analyses. Eating margarine at least daily was associated with significantly lower IQ scores at 3.5 years in the total sample and at 7 years in SGA children. For all children, eating the recommended daily number of breads and cereals was associated with significantly higher IQ scores at 3.5 years, and those who ate fish at least weekly had significantly higher IQ scores at 7 years than those who did not. The consumption of fish, breads and cereals commeasurable with nutritional guidelines may be beneficial to children's cognitive development. In contrast, consuming margarine daily was associated with poorer cognitive functioning. Further research is needed to identify the nutrients that may underlie this association.     

AMICAI: A Method Based on Risk Analysis to Integrate Responsible Research and Innovation into the Work of Research and Innovation Practitioners

Science and Engineering Ethics - The integration of ethics into the day-to-day work of research and innovation (R&I) is an important but difficult challenge. However, with the Aachen method...     

Reactance,the self,and its group: When threats to freedom come from the ingroup versus the outgroup

We investigated the assumption that independent versus interdependent self‐construals yield different manifestations of psychological reactance in different group contexts. We expected collectivists (interdependent) to value the collective freedom of an ingroup more in face of an outgroup threat than individualists (independent) who should be protective of their individual freedom especially within an ingroup. In Study 1, we showed that collectivists (Taiwanese students) did not show reactance when a threat to their freedom of choice originated in the ingroup, but they did show reactance when it originated in an outgroup. In Study 2, Austrian students showed more reactance the more interdependent their self‐construal was when confronted with an outgroup restriction. However, the more independent Austrian students' self‐construal was, the more reactance they showed when the threat came from the ingroup. Priming an independent (versus interdependent) self‐construal in Study 3, we again observed more reactance when freedom was restricted by the ingroup. The findings underline the importance of understanding psychological reactance as a socially situated phenomenon. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Views on aging and emotional benefits of physical activity: Effects of an exercise intervention in older women

Objectives

This intervention study evaluated the effects of exercise in old age on views on one’s own aging and on direct approach motivation for physical activity. It further examined the mechanism between these variables.

Design

Two hundred forty-seven healthy women aged 70−93 years were randomized to an exercise course (n = 86), an active (n = 85), or a passive control group (n = 76) for a 6-month participation in Berlin, Germany. Activity interventions (3 × 1.5 h/wk) were conducted using standardized manuals.

Method

Group differences in changes of views on aging and direct approach were evaluated by analyses of covariance adjusted for baseline. A mediating effect of direct approach between exercise participation and views on aging was tested with percentile-based bootstrapping.

Results

In contrast to both the active and the passive control groups, higher direct approach, F(2, 226) = 6.97, p = .001, and less aging dissatisfaction, F(2, 225) = 5.39, p = .005, were observed in the exercise group after 6 months. Exercise had an indirect beneficial effect on aging dissatisfaction through direct approach, B = −0.31, 95% CI = −0.68 to −0.05.

Conclusion

In women above 70 years, exercise participation increases direct approach motivation which in turn leads to lower aging dissatisfaction. This shows that exercise holds the potential to overcome subjective ageist bias.     

Dimensional overlap between time and space

Several pieces of evidence suggest that our mental representations of time and space are linked. However, the extent of this linkage between the two domains has not yet been assessed. We present the results of two experiments that draw on the predictions of the dimensional overlap model (Kornblum, Hasbroucq, & Osman, Psychological Review 97:253–270, 1990). The stimulus and response sets in these reaction time experiments were related to either time or space. The obtained stimulus–response congruency effects were of about the same size for identical stimulus–response sets (time–time or space–space) and for different stimulus–response sets (time–space or space–time). These results support the view that our representations of time and space are strongly linked.