The Influence of Acceptance Goals on Relational Perceptions

We examined whether relational perceptions (social involvement, relational value, interaction experience) differ depending on interaction acceptance goals (establish, maintain, or repair). Results indicated that relational perceptions were more positive in the maintain condition compared to the establish condition, which in turn was more positive than the repair condition. The data also supported a moderated mediation model: the indirect effects of social involvement and relational value on the relationship between acceptance goals and participant’s interaction experience were contingent on self-esteem. These findings identify boundary conditions that influence the impact of acceptance goals on how much people experience an interaction positively. The findings provide an integrated framework outlining the potential relationship between acceptance goals, relational perceptions, interaction experience, and self-esteem.     

Angel or demon? Self-monitoring differences in the mental representations of current versus former romantic partners

We investigated whether high and low self-monitors had (a) segregated/integrated and (b) uniformly favorable (angelic)/uniformly unfavorable (demonic) mental representations of actual romantic partners. Self-monitoring was assessed using the 25-item Self-Monitoring Scale and the structure of mental representations was calculated using a modified segregation/integration measure. In Study 1, low self-monitors were more likely than high self-monitors to have (a) segregated and (b) disproportionally favorable mental representations of their current romantic partners. In Study 2, low self-monitors were more likely than high self-monitors to have (a) segregated and (b) generally unfavorable mental representations of their former romantic partners. Self-monitoring differences were not moderated in either study by relationship longevity or conflict.     

The Porosity of Autonomy: Social and Biological Constitution of the Patient in Biomedicine

The nature and role of the patient in biomedicine comprise issues central to bioethical inquiry. Given its developmental history grounded firmly in a backlash against 20th-century cases of egregious human subjects abuse, contemporary medical bioethics has come to rely on a fundamental assumption: the unit of care (and the unit of value) is the autonomous self-directing patient. In this article we examine first the structure of the feminist social critique of autonomy. Then we show that a parallel argument can be made against relational autonomy as well, demonstrating how this second concept of autonomy fails to take sufficiently into account an array of biological determinants, particularly those from microbial biology. Finally, in light of this biological critique, we question whether or to what extent any relevant and meaningful view of autonomy can be recovered in the contemporary landscape of bioethics.     

Do episodic self- and partner-uncertainty mediate the association between attachment orientations and emotional responses to relationship-threatening events in dating couples?

This study examined relational-uncertainty perceptions (a form of cognitive appraisal) to investigate how partners in 272 heterosexual couples responded emotionally to a relationship-challenging event. Participants rated themselves on attachment anxiety and avoidance. Then, after listing a challenging event, they rated how uncertain it made them about their own and their partner's continued involvement in the relationship. Participants also rated how angry and fearful the event made them. An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model yielded three sets of results. First, actor effects from insecure attachment orientations to episodic relational uncertainty emerged. Second, proposed mediation between attachment orientations and emotional reactions by uncertainty was partially supported (perceived partner-uncertainty partially mediated the positive association of anxious attachment and fear, and self-uncertainty partially mediated the positive relation between avoidant attachment and anger). Finally, a partner effect was found between one couple member's avoidant attachment and the other's perceived partner uncertainty. Men and women exhibited similar findings.     

Healing Humiliation: From Reaction to Creative Action

In the midst of global crises, feelings of humiliation are intensified (Lindner, 2008 ; Moïsi, 2009 ). Counselors are often on the front lines of suffering during turbulent times. This article explores how the dynamics of humiliation are coming to the forefront of concern around the globe. Applying a relational framework, the authors examine the impact of humiliation, offering a case example that illustrates how counselors can lead their clients out of destructive reactions into creative action.     

Everything Has Changed: An Interview With Judy Jordan

Judy Jordan is one of the founding scholars of relational‐cultural theory (RCT). In this interview, Judy (a) gives historical and personal insight into the development of RCT, (b) describes how the theory has been received both in the United States and internationally, and (c) discusses possible future directions for RCT scholarship.     

Implicit attitudes and the social capacity for free will

In this paper I ask what implicit attitudes tell us about our freedom. I analyze the relation between the literature on implicit attitudes and an important subcategory of theories of free will—self-disclosure accounts. If one is committed to such a theory, I suggest one may have to move to a more social conceptualization of the capacity for freedom. I will work out this argument in five sections. In the first section, I discuss the specific theories of free will that are central to this paper. In the second section, I will show that implicit-bias research raises questions about people’s capacities to exercise (these specific understandings of) free will. In the third section, I will consider how an individual may overcome these failures and argue that the individual ability for self-regulation is significantly limited. One could stop here and conclude that free will is a limited capacity. But I argue that this conclusion would be too hastily drawn. I will instead continue to ask what would be required for free will. By discussing how failures of free will are due to social structures and may be therefore repaired by changing social structures in section 4, I will arrive at an alternative conclusion about the capacity for free will in section 5.     

Selective scanpath repetition during memory-guided visual search

Visual search efficiency improves with repetition of a search display, yet the mechanisms behind these processing gains remain unclear. According to Scanpath Theory, memory retrieval is mediated by repetition of the pattern of eye movements or “scanpath” elicited during stimulus encoding. Using this framework, we tested the prediction that scanpath recapitulation reflects relational memory guidance during repeated search events. Younger and older subjects were instructed to find changing targets within flickering naturalistic scenes. Search efficiency (search time, number of fixations, fixation duration) and scanpath similarity (repetition) were compared across age groups for novel (V1) and repeated (V2) search events. Younger adults outperformed older adults on all efficiency measures at both V1 and V2, while the search time benefit for repeated viewing (V1–V2) did not differ by age. Fixation-binned scanpath similarity analyses revealed repetition of initial and final (but not middle) V1 fixations at V2, with older adults repeating more initial V1 fixations than young adults. In young adults only, early scanpath similarity correlated negatively with search time at test, indicating increased efficiency, whereas the similarity of V2 fixations to middle V1 fixations predicted poor search performance. We conclude that scanpath compression mediates increased search efficiency by selectively recapitulating encoding fixations that provide goal-relevant input. Extending Scanpath Theory, results suggest that scanpath repetition varies as a function of time and memory integrity.