Making punishment palatable: Belief in free will alleviates punitive distress

Punishing wrongdoers is beneficial for group functioning, but can harm individual well-being. Building on research demonstrating that punitive motives underlie free will beliefs, we propose that free will beliefs help justify punitive impulses, thus alleviating the associated distress. In Study 1, trait-level punitiveness predicted heightened levels of anxiety only for free will skeptics. Study 2 found that higher state-level incarceration rates predicted higher mental health issue rates, only in states with citizens relatively skeptical about free will. In Study 3, participants who punished an unfair partner experienced greater distress than non-punishers, only when their partner did not have free choice. Studies 4 and 5 confirmed experimentally that punitive desires led to greater anxiety only when free will beliefs were undermined by an anti-free will argument. These results suggest that believing in free will permits holding immoral actors morally responsible, thus justifying punishment with diminished negative psychological consequences for punishers.     

How anxiety induces verbal hallucinations

Verbal hallucinations are often associated with pronounced feelings of anxiety, and it has also been suggested that anxiety somehow triggers them. In this paper, we offer a phenomenological or ‘personal-level’ account of how it does so. We show how anxious anticipation of one’s own thought contents can generate an experience of their being ‘alien’. It does so by making an experience of thinking more like one of perceiving, resulting in an unfamiliar kind of intentional state. This accounts for a substantial subset of verbal hallucinations, which are experienced as falling within one’s psychological boundaries and lacking in auditory qualities.     

Separating within-person from between-person effects in the longitudinal co-occurrence of depression and different anxiety syndromes in youth

Cross-lagged panel models (CLPM) are often used to study anxiety-depression co-occurrence. However, the CLPM aggregates within- and between-person variance, which can lead to incorrect estimates. The latent curve model with structured residuals (LCM-SR) parses these sources of variance. We utilized the LCM-SR to examine prospective associations between anxiety (physical, social, separation) and depression. Youth (N = 680; M_age = 11.8; 55% female) completed measures of depression and anxiety every 3 months for 3 years (13 timepoints). The LCM-SR describing anxiety-depression co-occurrence fit well (RMSEA = 0.05, SRMR = 0.06). Depression predicted within-person change in social (b = 0.09), physical (b = 0.04), and separation anxiety (b = 0.06) over 13 timepoints. Separation anxiety predicted within-person change in depression (b = 0.08); social and physical anxiety did not. Findings advance knowledge of within-person development of anxiety-depression co-occurrence.     

School-based prevention of anxiety using the “My FRIENDS” emotional resilience program: Six-month follow-up

Anxiety-related problems are common in childhood and adolescence and, if left untreated, may hold short-term and long-term negative consequences for psychosocial functioning and other domains. In addition to having negative individual-level consequences, anxiety-related problems may have a negative impact at the school level. Because almost all children and adolescents attend school, school plays a significant role in development as a socialisation agent and provides an ideal venue for the delivery of prevention and intervention programs. Here, we present the first evidence regarding the effectiveness of the My FRIENDS emotional resilience program as a method of reducing anxiety among students in Slovenia and the feasibility of implementing the program at the national level. Grade 8 students (N = 78) were assigned either the intervention condition, the My FRIENDS program, or a no-treatment control condition. We measured general anxiety and its components using the AN-UD (Lestvica anksioznosti za učence in dijake) anxiety scale and internalising difficulties using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at preintervention, postintervention, and 6-month follow-up assessments. Students in the intervention condition reported lower amounts of general anxiety and its cognitive component of worrying, and fewer internalising difficulties at the postintervention and follow-up assessments.     

A Study of the Opinions of College Students

ABSTRACT

When judging whether a relationship partner can be counted on to “be there” when needed, people may draw upon knowledge structures to process relevant information. We examined one such knowledge structure using the prototype methodology: indicators of a partner who is likely to be there when needed. In the first study (N = 91), the structure, content, and reliability of the prototype of indicators were examined. Then, using a false recognition study (N = 77), we demonstrated that once activated, the prototype of indicators of a partner who is likely to be there when needed affects information processing. Thus, the prototype of indicators may shape how people process support-relevant information in everyday life, affecting relationship outcomes. Using this knowledge structure may help a person process relevant information quickly and with cognitive economy. However, it may also lead to biases in judgments in certain situations.     

Implications of fear of negative evaluation,state anxiety,and implied level of target-dominance on perceptions of personality traits

ABSTRACT

Fear of negative evaluation (FNE), state anxiety (SA), and dominance have consequences for social functioning. The present study assessed how FNE, SA, and a target’s dominance-relevant label are related to perceptions of personality. One hundred seventy-eight participants who scored high or low on FNE underwent a laboratory manipulation of SA, viewed a photograph of a target with a high or low dominance-relevant label, and rated the target on the Big Five personality traits and dominance. FNE and SA were unrelated to perceptions, but the high-dominance label was associated with perceptions of higher dominance, conscientiousness, and openness. In conclusion, judges did use information about others when making initial judgments of personality, but these judgments were not impacted by trait or state psychological distress.     

Self-Improvement as a Response to Interpersonal Regulation in Close Relationships: The Role of Attachment Styles

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to examine how the two dimensions of adult attachment styles, attachment anxiety and avoidance, would affect young adults' intentions of self-improvement in response to various regulatory strategies used by a close other (i.e., a romantic partner or best friend). One hundred and eighteen undergraduate students were involved in this study. Major findings include (a) the more avoidant an individual was, the less likely he/she would improve on those attributes that were desired to change by their close other; (b) a close other's use of the strategy “voice” was positively associated with individuals' intentions to self-improve, while the use of the strategy “exit” was negatively associated with individuals' intentions to self-improve; (c) a close other's use of “loyalty” was associated with a lower level of intentions to self-improve, except for participants scored high on attachment avoidance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings were discussed.     

Chinese Christians in America: Attachment to God,Stress, and Well‐Being

This study examined whether attachment to God moderated the relation between perceived stress and well‐being (i.e., life satisfaction and positive affect) among 183 Chinese Christian international students and immigrants. Results showed significant main effects of (a) perceived stress on life satisfaction and (b) secure attachment to God and avoidant attachment to God on life satisfaction and positive affect. There was a significant interaction of perceived stress and avoidant attachment to God on life satisfaction. Specifically, high avoidant attachment to God exacerbated the association between perceived stress and life satisfaction, whereas low avoidant attachment to God buffered the association between perceived stress and life satisfaction.     

情侣依恋与情感投入：性别的调节作用

考察情侣依恋、情感投入和性别之间的关系。结果发现,承诺和满意度与焦虑依恋和逃避依恋相关显著,对两种依恋预测作用显著。性别调节作用仅存在于承诺和满意度与焦虑依恋的关系中:男生的承诺与焦虑依恋关系较强;女生的满意度与焦虑依恋关系较强。承诺和满意度与逃避依恋的关系没有性别差异。焦虑依恋和逃避依恋相对独立。性别对承诺和满意度与焦虑依恋和逃避依恋的关系中有不同调节作用。     

性别在企业员工成人依恋对工作绩效关系中的调节作用

本研究探讨了依恋关系对员工工作绩效影响,并进一步考察了性别在两者关系中的调节作用。通过采用亲密关系经历量表(ECR)、关系问卷(RQ)和工作绩效问卷三个研究工具,对110名不同职业和岗位员工的依恋模式与工作绩效的关系进行调查,结果发现：1. 倾注型被试在情境绩效上的得分显著得低于安全型被试和害怕型被试。2.依恋焦虑与任务绩效和情境绩效均呈显著正相关。3.依恋焦虑可以正向预测情境绩效。4. 通过进一步分析,发现男性和女性在情境绩效和任务绩效上有所不同,说明性别在依恋关系和工作绩效之间起调节作用。