Self-regulation of unattainable goals in suicide attempters: The relationship between goal disengagement, goal reengagement and suicidal ideation

There is growing interest in models of adaptive self-regulation. Recent research suggests that goal disengagement and goal reengagement (i.e., goal adjustment) are implicated in the self-regulation of emotion. This study extends the self-regulation research to investigate the utility of goal adjustment in understanding suicidal risk. To this end, two hundred adults hospitalised following a suicidal episode completed a range of clinical and psychological measures in hospital and were followed up approximately 2.5 months after discharge (Time 2). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that goal reengagement predicted suicidal ideation at Time 2. In addition, the lack of goal reengagement was especially pernicious when reported concomitantly with high disengagement. These predictive effects were independent of baseline mood, attempt status and suicidal intent. The theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.     

Self-kindness when facing stress: The role of self-compassion,goal regulation,and support in college students’ well-being

This project brought together the constructs of goal and emotion regulation as a way of understanding college students’ well-being, building on previous work that identified the ability to disengage in goal pursuit and to redirect energy toward alternative goals as an important contributor to well-being. In Study 1, we assessed the amount of variance in well-being accounted for by measures of goal management, adding to the regression measures of student stress and self-compassion, the latter defined as a healthy form of self-acceptance and characterized as a tendency to treat oneself kindly in the face of perceived inadequacy. In Study 2, the stress scale was replaced by measures of perceived need and availability of support. Across studies, although factors such as goal management, stress, and need for and availability of support were important predictors of well-being, self-compassion accounted for a significant amount of additional variance in well-being.     

归因方式对心理健康的影响及干预研究之概观

该文就归因方式对心理健康影响的特点、规律及其心理机制以及通过归因干预改善和提高个体与群体健康水平的研究进行了简要的叙述,并对已有研究存在的问题进行了初步的讨论。作者认为,归因干预可能是改善和提高个体与群体的健康水平的一条重要途径;未来的研究应着眼于揭示个体对不同性质、不同类型的生活事件在特定归因和维度归因上对心理健康影响的特点、规律及其心理机制,并就归因干预的理论和实践等问题进行了深入的探讨。     

知觉流畅性对判断和决策的影响

流畅性是个体对加工信息难易程度的一种主观体验, 它分为知觉流畅性、概念流畅性、提取流畅性等。研究者通过操纵刺激与背景的颜色对比度、刺激的字体类型、清晰程度等因素来控制知觉流畅性, 发现知觉流畅性会影响一系列判断和决策任务, 如命题真实性、类别判断、偏好、熟悉性等。知觉流畅性既可以作为判断的直接线索也可以通过选择不同线索和认知策略来间接影响判断和决策。     

Do chimpanzees tailor their gestural signals to fit the attentional states of others?

The use of vocalizations and tactile gestures by seven juvenile chimpanzees was experimentally investigated. The subjects interacted with an experimenter who typically handed them food rewards. In some trials, however, the experimenter waited 20 s before doing so. In these trials the experimenter’s eyes were either open or closed, or the experimenter was either looking away from the subject or looking directly at him/her inquisitively with head movements. Although the chimpanzees produced at least one of the non-visual gestures mentioned (touching/tapping the experimenter or vocalizing) in 72% of all experimental trials, these actions and vocalizations were deployed without regard to the attentional state of their potential recipient, despite evidence that the subjects noticed the postures that defined the experimenter’s attentional state. The results are discussed in the context of the distinction between the evolution of an understanding of seeing/attention as an internal mental state versus an understanding of behavioral postures alone. Recieved: 12 February 1999 / Accepted after revision: 18 August 1999     

Future time perspective drives younger and older adults to continue investing in failing activities

Inspired by socioemotional selectivity theory, we investigated age differences in further investment in failing situations by considering goal type and future time perspective. In Experiment 1, 32 younger and 30 older adults reported their likelihood of continued investing following an unsuccessful investment. Older adults were more willing to invest with emotional goals as opposed to knowledge and unspecified goals, while younger adults showed a greater willingness to invest with emotional and knowledge goals rather than unspecified goals. In Experiment 2, another sample of 32 younger and 34 older adults completed the same decision tasks as those in Experiment 1. After future time perspective restriction, the younger adults made decisions resembling Experiment 1's older adults, while after future time perspective expansion, the older adults behaved like Experiment 1's younger adults. These results indicate that future time perspective modification could reverse participants' goal prioritisation, manifesting in differential willingness to pursue further investment in decision scenarios with different goals. Our results represent important steps towards understanding the mechanism of older and younger adults' further investment in failing situations and illustrate that forging connections between the lifespan theory of motivation and further investment decision is critical for understanding adults' decision behaviours.     

Power Bases and Attribution in Three Cultures

Abstract

The authors used a Saudi context to verify the cross-cultural generality of findings (A. Rodrigues & K. L. Lloyd, 1998) reported for U.S. and Brazilian samples in which compliant behavior caused by reward, informational, and referent influences was perceived as more controllable and more internal than compliant behavior resulting from legitimate, expert, and coercive influences. This differential attribution led, in turn, to different affective and behavioral responses. In the present study, cognitive and affective reactions of Saudi students were measured with regard to compliant behavior (leading to a good outcome or a bad outcome) caused by each of the 6 bases of power described by B. H. Raven (1965). As expected, power bases had significant effects. However, when the outcome of the compliant behavior was bad, compliant behavior caused by a coercive influence led to the perception of more internality and controllability. Also—and not found in previous studies—the perception of less internality and controllability of compliant behavior was caused by an informational influence. Findings are discussed in the light of related research and Saudi cultural characteristics.     

2-8年级儿童的责任心发展

以241名2-8年级儿童为被试,运用情境故事探索儿童责任心发展的特点。结果显示：（1）责任心的认知判断与行为倾向一致性较低;行为倾向与情感体验一致性较高;（2）责任心归因可以分为权威取向、自我取向、认可取向、成本取向、原则取向5种;（3）随着年级升高,自我和社会责任心归因中权威取向比例下降,原则取向比例上升;环境责任心归因中成本取向比例下降,原则取向比例上升;（4）责任心的成本取向似乎与现今的社会转型有关,是以往研究所没有的。