Comparing Delay Discounting Rates When Using the Fill-in-the-Blank and Multiple-Choice Methods

Several methods have been devised to measure delay discounting. The present study recruited university students to complete a delay-discounting task involving five different outcomes (finding a dating partner, free cigarettes, winning $100,000, being owed $100,000, and obtaining one's ideal body image) that was administered using either the fill-in-the blank (FITB) or multiple-choice (MC) method. Results showed that the different administration methods sometimes produced significantly different rates of discounting, the direction of which differed by outcome. Hyperbolic discounting and the area under the discounting curve were nearly always significantly correlated when the FITB method was used but were never significantly correlated when the MC method was used. Discounting across the five outcomes produced a two-factor solution when the FITB data were factor analyzed. The MC data were described by a one-factor solution. The present results illustrate that procedural variables have a potentially profound impact on delay-discounting data, and generalizing from studies on delay discounting should be done with caution until those variables are fully understood.     

Delay Discounting as a Function of Intrinsic/Extrinsic Religiousness,Religious Fundamentalism,and Regular Church Attendance

Delay discounting occurs when the subjective value of an outcome decreases because its delivery is delayed. Previous research has suggested that the rate at which some, but not all, outcomes are discounted varies as a function of regular church attendance. In the present study, 509 participants completed measures of intrinsic religiousness, extrinsic religiousness, religious fundamentalism, and whether they regularly attended church services. They then completed a delay-discounting task involving five outcomes. Although religiousness was not a significant predictor of discounting for all outcomes, participants scoring high in intrinsic religiousness tended to display less delay discounting than participants scoring low. Likewise, participants scoring high in religious fundamentalism tended to display more delay discounting than participants scoring low. These results partially replicate previous ones in showing that the process of discounting may vary as a function of religiousness. The results also provide some direction for those interested in altering how individuals discount.     

Moral Virtue and Practical Wisdom: Theme Comprehension in Children,Youth, and Adults

The authors tested 3 hypotheses about the relation of moral comprehension to prudential comprehension by contrasting comprehension of themes in moral stories with comprehension of themes in prudential stories among third-grade, fifth-grade, and college students (n = 168) in Study 1, and among college students, young and middle-aged adults, and older adults (n = 96) in Study 2. In both studies, all groups were statistically significantly better at moral theme comprehension than prudential theme comprehension, suggesting that moral comprehension may develop prior to prudential comprehension. In Study 2, all groups performed equally on moral theme generation whereas both adult groups were significantly better than college students on prudential theme generation. Overall, the findings of these studies provide modest evidence that moral and prudential comprehension each develop separately, and that the latter may develop more slowly.     

A Two-Factor Model of Defensive Pessimism and Its Relations With Achievement Motives

The author first examined the underlying factor structure of the defensive pessimism construct and its relations with achievement motives. The author used a sample of 542 Singaporean undergraduate students and found that defensive pessimism is a 2-factor construct that comprises (a) negative expectation, in which individuals worry about possible pitfalls, and (b) reflectivity, in which individuals put forth efforts to prevent possible pitfalls. Then, the author used a sample of 160 Singaporean undergraduate students for Study 2, which supported the proposed model in which mastery predicted the reflectivity factor of defensive pessimism, competition predicted the negative-expectation factor of defensive pessimism indirectly through the mediation of fear of shame, and negative-expectation factor predicted the reflectivity factor of defensive pessimism because, for the defensive pessimists, the act of worrying helps them to respond to their anxiety by initiating the planning process to direct efforts to prevent potential disasters.     

A Primer on Psychological Theory

This paper addresses some of the principal constituent elements in the formation of theories in the science of psychology. To that end, means of theory construction, concomitant theory functions and types, and norms of acceptance are presented. Where appropriate, efforts were made to cite particular historic or contemporary theories of human behavior as cogent exemplars.     

Domain-specificity in perfectionism: Variations across domains of life

Perfectionism has been assessed in relation to salient or narrow domains within specific populations, yet little is understood across broader domains of life. The aim was to assess positive perfectionism (PP) and negative perfectionism (NP) in five broad domains; university/work, relationships, physical activity, domestic environment and appearance and to determine any gender differences within domains. One hundred and forty four university students (females n = 101; males n = 43) completed a modified perfectionism measure for each domain. Correlations within and between domains for PP and NP ranged from low to moderate with differential patterns by gender, supporting more domain specificity and less of a universal trait. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed that, overall, PP and NP in the university/work domain was significantly higher than all other domains. Females reported greater PP in the university domain compared to other domains, and more PP in the relationship, domestic environment and appearance domains as compared to the physical activity domain. In contrast, males reported significantly higher PP in the physical activity domain. Females reported significantly higher NP in the university and appearance domains, while males had similar NP across all domains. These findings present a more complex picture of perfectionism with implications for domain-specificity in perfectionistic behavior.     

Achievement emotions in elementary,middle, and high school: How do students feel about specific contexts in terms of settings and subject‐domains?

The present work investigates students' representation of achievement emotions, focusing in context‐specific situations in terms of settings and subject‐domains, as a function of grade level. We involved 527 fourth‐, seventh‐, and eleventh‐graders, who evaluated ten discrete emotions through questionnaires, with reference to verbal language and mathematics, and different settings (class, homework, tests). Confirmatory multitrait‐multimethod analyses indicated higher salience of subject‐domains rather than settings for all the emotions; however, complexity of reality was best explained when also settings were accounted for. Analyses of variance revealed higher intensity of positive emotions for younger students, and the opposite pattern for older students; significant differences for most of the emotions based on the evaluative nature of settings, moderated by class levels; more intense positive emotions for mathematics and more intense negative emotions for Italian. Results are discussed considering their theoretical and applied relevance, corroborating previous literature on domain‐specificity.     

Causal Attribution: Analysis of Patterns and Influencing Factors Among Learners at a Higher Education Institution

The study explored the academic patterns and implications of academic attributions made by students who had been given test feedback at a higher learning institution in Zimbabwe. A random sample of 8 (female = 4; male= 4; mean age = 21.9, passed a test = 4; failed the test = 4) participants was purposefully selected from a class of second year students majoring in psychology and human resources management. Audio-taped semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data. Results indicate that culture and gender moderate academic causal attributions.     

Career Development for Psychology Students through an Inpatient Mental Health Volunteer Programme

We report on a volunteer programme for undergraduate psychology students, as a prospective career pathway into the inpatient mental health context. Data on motives for joining the programme, as well as their expectations and career plans were collected from 56 students (mainly under 25 years of age; approximately 80% females) in a volunteer placement within an inpatient mental health setting. About 89.3% of the volunteers reported being on the programme to enhance their applications for postgraduate training prospects in the same field. Only 10.7% were motivated primarily by the desire to help mentally ill patients. Over three-quarters planned to pursue postgraduate training in clinical psychology.