The Mating Sociometer and Attractive Others: A Double-Edged Sword in Romantic Relationships

Eighty-one participants were recruited to test the sensitivity of the mating sociometer to mate-value feedback in the context of ongoing intimate relationships. Experiences of social rejection/acceptance by attractive opposite-sex confederates were manipulated. The effects of this manipulation on self-esteem, relationship satisfaction and commitment, perceptions of dating alternatives, and friendship-dedication were assessed. Social rejection/acceptance by members of the opposite sex altered relationship satisfaction and commitment; this causal link was amplified by changes in state self-esteem; and these effects were specific to intimate relationships and did not generalize to friendship-dedication. This research supports a domain-specific conceptualization of sociometer theory, extending the theory in important directions.     

Three Dimensions of Oppositionality in Autism Spectrum Disorder

In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) are common but poorly understood. DSM-5 has adopted a tripartite model of ODD, parsing its features into ‘angry and irritable symptoms’ (AIS), ‘argumentative and defiant behavior’ (ADB) and ‘vindictiveness’. This was based on findings in non-autistic populations that each of these dimensions of oppositionality has a distinct constellation of associations with internalising and externalising psychopathology. We applied the tripartite DSM-5 ODD model to ASD to test its generalisability beyond non-ASD populations; and to elucidate the nature of ODD symptoms in ASD. Participants were 216 verbally-fluent young people (mean age?=?9.6 years, range 3.0 to 16.2 years, 82 % male) with ASD. Cross-sectional parent-and teacher-report data were analysed using bootstrap multiple regression to test the following predictions, derived from studies of non-ASD young people: (1) AIS will be the main predictor of internalising problems; (2) ADB will be the main predictor of ADHD symptoms; (3) all ODD traits will independently predict conduct disorder symptoms; (4) vindictiveness will be the main predictor of aggressive conduct problems. Our findings using both parent and teacher data were consistent with the non-ASD ODD literature. AIS were associated with internalising but not externalising problems; ADB and vindictiveness were associated with externalising but not internalising problems; and vindictiveness was the main predictor of aggression. The DSM-5 tripartite model of ODD appears to be generalisable to ASD: for people with an autistic disorder, AIS, ADB and vindictive dimensions of oppositionality have distinct associations with concurrent psychopathology, suggesting the need to assess them as separate constructs.     

Pilgrims sailing the Titanic: Plausibility effects on memory for misinformation

People rely on information they read even when it is inaccurate (Marsh, Meade, & Roediger, Journal of Memory and Language 49:519–536, 2003), but how ubiquitous is this phenomenon? In two experiments, we investigated whether this tendency to encode and rely on inaccuracies from text might be influenced by the plausibility of misinformation. In Experiment 1, we presented stories containing inaccurate plausible statements (e.g., “The Pilgrims’ ship was the Godspeed”), inaccurate implausible statements (e.g., . . . the Titanic), or accurate statements (e.g., . . . the Mayflower). On a subsequent test of general knowledge, participants relied significantly less on implausible than on plausible inaccuracies from the texts but continued to rely on accurate information. In Experiment 2, we replicated these results with the addition of a think-aloud procedure to elicit information about readers’ noticing and evaluative processes for plausible and implausible misinformation. Participants indicated more skepticism and less acceptance of implausible than of plausible inaccuracies. In contrast, they often failed to notice, completely ignored, and at times even explicitly accepted the misinformation provided by plausible lures. These results offer insight into the conditions under which reliance on inaccurate information occurs and suggest potential mechanisms that may underlie reported misinformation effects.     

Resisting temptation of unhealthy food: interaction between temptation-elicited goal activation and self-control

Counteractive control theory suggests that the cognitive accessibility of a goal in response to a temptation cue predicts self-regulation of behaviour consistent with that goal. The current study provided a novel test of this effect in the eating domain, exploring the moderating role of trait self-control. A sample of 124 women (18–25 years) completed a lexical decision task to assess cognitive accessibility of the weight-management goal after food temptation priming. Eating self-regulation was operationalised as unhealthy snack food intake measured in a task disguised as a taste-test. Participants completed trait self-control and temptation experience intensity measures. Cognitive accessibility predicted lower food intake, but only among high self-control participants. The relationship was mediated by temptation experience intensity: participants with high cognitive accessibility felt less tempted, and subsequently ate less food. Results suggest that changing the processes underlying the temptation experience, rather than the cognitive accessibility of a goal may more effectively enhance self-regulation among low self-control individuals.     

ENTHEOGENS IN A RELIGIOUS CONTEXT: THE CASE OF THE SANTO DAIME RELIGIOUS TRADITION

This essay first draws upon the work of William James and others to propose a nonphysicalistic understanding of the relationship between the brain and consciousness in order to articulate a philosophical perspective that can understand entheogenic visionary/mystical experiences as something other than hallucinations. It then focuses on the Santo Daime tradition, a religious movement that began in Brazil in the early part of the twentieth century, to provide an example of the personal and social ramifications of taking an entheogen (ayahuasca) within a disciplined religious context. The essay claims that the Santo Daime is one example of a contemporary mystery school; gives a brief history of the development of this religion; discusses the key theological assumptions of this movement; investigates the important role played by visionary/mystical experiences within this religion; underscores the centrality of healing and spiritual transformation for members of this tradition; and ends with an examination of the crucial significance of spiritual discipline within this entheogenically based religion.