Relative deprivation and referent cognitions

Determinants of relative deprivation were examined in a laboratory experiment. Discontent associated with relative deprivation was hypothesized to be a function of likelihood, or the perceived probability of actually obtaining a desired outcome under existing circumstances, and referent cognitions, which involve the subjunctive probability of obtaining that outcome under alternative (hypothetical) circumstances. Male and female undergraduates discovered that their alleged chances of receiving experimental credit were either poor (low likelihood) or good (high likelihood). They also learned that if a different procedure had been used, their chances of receiving credit would have been either poor (low referent) or good (high referent). Responses to a subsequent questionnaire indicated that whereas discontent did not differ by referent conditions under high likelihood, greater discontent was shown by low-likelihood/high-referent subjects than by low-likelihood/low-referent subjects. This low- versus high-referent difference under low likelihood was also found in two conceptual replications designed to eliminate any influence of social comparison. The relevance of this model to other findings and theoretical formulations is discussed.     

Competing roles for the subfactors of need for closure in committing the fundamental attribution error

Webster’s (1993) finding that the need for closure (NFC) trait predicts the fundamental attribution error (FAE) is well-cited but has mixed support. After detailing failed replications and contradictory findings, this article reports an attempt to verify the positive NFC–FAE relation using the questioner–contestant paradigm. Rarely investigated but potentially vital to the field, this research also considered the two orthogonal subfactors of NFC, decisiveness and need for structure (Neuberg, Judice, & West, 1997). Results showed that need for structure predicted, overall NFC partially predicted, but decisiveness attenuated the FAE. Thus, Webster’s finding was both replicated and reversed by different aspects of NFC. Decisiveness adds to a short list of trait moderators of the FAE. Implications are discussed for how to measure NFC.     

Dyadic Coping in Couple Therapy Process: An Exploratory Study

This study aimed at moving beyond previous research on couple therapy efficacy by examining moment‐by‐moment proximal couple and therapist interactions as well as final treatment outcomes and their reciprocal association. Seven hundred four episodes of dyadic coping within 56 early therapy sessions, taken from 28 married couples in treatment, were intensively analyzed and processed using a mixed‐methods software (T‐LAB). Results showed that negative dyadic coping was self‐perpetuating, and therapists tended to passively observe the negative couple interaction; on the contrary, positive dyadic coping appeared to require a therapist's intervention to be maintained, and successful interventions mainly included information gathering as well as interpreting. Couples who dropped out of treatment were not actively engaged from the outset of therapy, and they used more negative dyadic coping, whereas couples who successfully completed treatment showed more positive dyadic coping very early in therapy. Results highlight the role of therapist action and control as critical to establishing rapport and credibility in couple therapy and suggest that dyadic coping patterns early in therapy may contribute to variable treatment response.     

身体动作趋势对道德词空间-效价一致性效应的影响

在经典的空间—效价一致性范式的基础上,控制向上或向下看的动作趋向及幅度大小,探讨身体动作趋势对空间—效价一致性效应的影响。实验一分别在屏幕上方视野或下方视野进行词汇道德效价的判断。结果表明,在屏幕的上方视野和屏幕的下方视野不道德词汇都出现了空间—效价一致性效应,而道德词汇只在下方视野出现了一致性效应。实验二将注视点居于屏幕中央,改变词汇上下位置之间垂直距离的大小。发现在小间距条件下出现了显著的一致性效应,但是在大间距条件下一致性效应消失。综合两个实验表明,道德词的空间—效价一致性效应同时受到概念隐喻和极性相关的影响,当空间极性不明显时,概念隐喻的影响较大,而空间位置极性较明显时,空间位置极性会掩盖概念隐喻的作用。