Models of human social behavior and their application to health psychology

Abstract

Theoretical models popular in the health domain differ in level of generality. Some were developed to deal with any human social behavior and then applied to health psychology, others were specifically designed to deal with health-related issues. Content-specific theories, such as the health-belief model and the perceptual-cognitive approach, outline in detail factors relevant for our understanding of health-related beliefs and actions. In contrast, it is only in the course of empirical research that content-free models, such as social cognitive theory and the theory of planned behavior, obtain the specific information required for understanding. Their advantage lies in their applicability across behavioral domains. Whether content-specific or content-free, the major utility of models developed to date has been to organize and communicate knowledge about health-related behavior. Few profound insights have as yet resulted from their application, with the possible exception of the recognition that self-regulation, and especially self-efficacy, plays a major role in all aspects of health, illness, and recovery.     

Gender role conflict and emotional approach coping in men with cancer

The utility of emotional approach coping (EAC), or expressing and processing emotions, has been equivocal for men. Gender role conflict, or the negative cognitive, emotional and behavioural consequences associated with male gender role socialisation, likely shape coping responses and may negatively affect the efficacy of men's emotion-directed coping efforts and adjustment to cancer. Perceptions of receptiveness of one's interpersonal environment may be particularly important to the effectiveness of EAC. This study examined the relationships among EAC, gender role conflict, and distress in a group of 183 men with cancer. Structural equation modelling revealed that higher gender role conflict was associated with lower emotional expression, which in turn was associated with greater distress. Gender role conflict was not related to emotional processing. Higher gender role conflict also was associated directly with more distress. In subsequent analyses, social constraints and age were examined as possible moderators of EAC. Emotional expression was related to more psychological distress for those in highly constrained environments; and emotional processing was associated with more distress with younger age. Emotional expression may be particularly affected by social influences related to gender and social receptivity. More research is needed to better distinguish constructive and unconstructive emotional processing.     

The role of self-regulation strategies and self-efficacy perceptions in successful weight loss maintenance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the self-regulatory strategies which people use to lose, maintain, or manage their weight, and to assess their self-efficacy perceptions to implement these strategies. Thirty-three (N = 33) undergraduate college students were divided into three groups based on their past weight loss experience and confirmed by their current Body Mass Index: (a) overweight participants who tried but failed to lose weight, (b) participants who used to be overweight but lost significant weight and kept it off for at least six months, and (c) participants with an optimal weight. All participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA and correlation analyses. Participants who used self-regulatory strategies such as goal-setting, self-monitoring, self-evaluation, environmental structuring, time management, social assistance and information seeking were better able to maintain or lose weight. Overweight participants reported significantly less strategy use than participants who had lost weight or who had a healthy weight. In addition, overweight participants had lower self-efficacy perceptions about implementing strategies than did healthy weight participants or participants who had successfully lost weight. Finally, a path analysis revealed that participants who reported high self-efficacy perceptions and applied their strategies persistently in the face of difficulties were more likely to successfully manage their weight.     

Approaching Success or Avoiding Failure? Approach and Avoidance Motives in the Work Domain

In our set of studies, we extended research on approach and avoidance motivations by investigating (i) motives in a work setting, (ii) interactions among approach and avoidance motives, and (iii) motives at implicit levels. Results of Studies 1 through 3 provided support for the construct validity of our work motives measure by demonstrating that approach and avoidance work motives are markers of more general approach and avoidance temperaments, they are distinct from other individual difference variables commonly studied by organisational psychologists (e.g. conscientiousness, regulatory focus and cognitive ability) and they are stable over time. In Studies 4 through 7, we confirmed our predictions that approach and avoidance motives predict employees' goal orientations, job appraisals and attitudes (e.g. job satisfaction and perceived support) and supervisor‐rated job behaviours (e.g. task performance and citizenship behaviour). Importantly, we provide the first empirical evidence that approach and avoidance motives interact to predict task performance and that the motives operate at implicit levels. Copyright © 2012 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Recalling courage: An initial test of a brief writing intervention to activate a ‘courageous mindset’ and courageous behavior

ABSTRACT

Though theoretical models propose that courage can be ‘activated,’ little experimental work exists to support this idea. The current study examines a writing intervention that asks individuals to reflect on experiences in which they faced their fears (thus demonstrating courage) to determine if such reflection would promote more approach-oriented cognition (Study 1) and behavioral intentions (Study 2). As expected, when asked to decide if they could/would engage in various approach behaviors related to their fear, participants in the courage condition chose ‘yes’ more often and were comparatively faster to choose ‘yes’ and slower to choose ‘no.’ Furthermore, participants in the courage condition demonstrated greater intentions of approach behavior toward feared situations in the laboratory. These results, though small in effect, suggest that the writing intervention can activate a ‘courageous mindset’ and can promote more courageous behavioral intentions.     

A question of balance: Time perspective and well-being in British and Russian samples

Two studies were conducted investigating the relationship between the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) scales and well-being measures in British (N = 179) and Russian (N = 289) student samples. On the basis of person-oriented approach, a cluster-analysis operationalization of Balanced Time Perspective (BTP) using ZTPI was proposed and validated, demonstrating more evidence for its validity than the previously suggested cut-off-point approach. Four distinct time perspective patterns were discovered in both samples: future-oriented, present-oriented, balanced and negative. The clusters revealed significant differences in well-being, with members of the BTP cluster demonstrating the highest scores in both samples. The relationship between ZTPI and Temporal Life Satisfaction Scale in the British sample was found to be non-uniform for past, present and future. Based on these findings, a distinction between three aspects of time perspective is theoretically proposed, and its implications for the future development of the ZTPI are discussed.     

The influence of position and context on facial attractiveness

It has been shown that a person's position in a group influences how that person is evaluated, with people in the middle perceived as more important than people on the fringe of a group. Four experiments examined whether the position of a face, in a line of five faces, influenced facial attractiveness. The middle position influenced the perceived attractiveness of the target face but the direction of this effect depended on the attractiveness of the target and the surrounding faces. Attractive faces were perceived as less attractive when in the middle of unattractive faces, or faces of average attractiveness. Conversely, unattractive faces were perceived as more attractive when in the middle of other unattractive faces. These results have wide implications, suggesting that the more central a stimulus is in a context then the greater the influence of the context on the judgment of that stimulus.     

Ecosystems and society: Implications for sustainable development

Human systems are interacting with, and dependent on, the global ecosystem. These complex interconnected systems have to obey natural laws and system laws in order to remain viable in the long‐term. “Sustainable development” therefore has to adhere to certain principles and constraints which derive partially from physical conditions, partially from principles of (evolving) ecosystems, partially from principles applying to human systems with conscious actors and normative standards. Although “sustainable development” constrains the spectrum of permissible processes, it does not define a final steady state. The development process must be guided by reference to an ethical principle and to the balanced satisfaction of the basic orientors resulting from a system's interaction with its environment. The systems perspective required encompasses a wide range of scientific disciplines, for which a comprehensive bibliography is provided.     

Identifying predictor variables of weight loss outcome: Implications for a stepped program and weight management

Abstract

Four variables were identified that predicted outcome for the minimal and moderate intensity weight control programs presented in sequence. Predictive models for pounds lost and percentage overweight lost were computed for both programs and follow-up and accounted for 33% to 62% of the variance. The predictor variable that contributed to the two programs and follow-up was success in losing weight previously. Greater rate of weight loss in the first five weeks contributed to the model for the minimal intensity program and for follow-up and total number of calories expended in nonroutine physical activity added to the model for the minimal intensity program. Marital dissatisfaction of subjects was a predictor for the moderate intensity program and follow-up. The findings have utility for a stepped program for weight and provide confirmation of variables noted as predictors in prior research. This study may help in the quest to identify consistent predictors of weight loss success.     

COPY AND RECALL PERFORMANCE OF 6–8-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN AFTER STANDARD VS. STEP-BY-STEP ADMINISTRATION OF THE REY-OSTERRIETH COMPLEX FIGURE

Turner syndrome (TS) is a genetic disorder in females characterized by the complete or partial absence of one X chromosome. Its most consistent physical features include short stature and ovarian dysgenesis. TS individuals demonstrate a characteristic neurocognitive profile involving weaknesses in visuospatial processing. The hypothesis of defective right hemisphere specialization has been offered to explain the visuospatial deficits in TS. In contrast, an alternative explanation proposes a more uniform dysfunction of the left and right hemispheres, based on findings of symmetrical abnormalities. This article presents an overview of the two hypotheses, along with relevant findings on hemispheric specialization with respect to TS. The impact of the genetic and hormonal mechanisms on the neurocognitive profile of TS is also discussed and directions for further empirical research are identified.