The longitudinal association between social status insecurity and relational aggression: Moderation effects of social cognition about relational aggression

Previous research has shown that adolescents’ insecurity about their social status is related to their use of relational aggression. However, little is known about how adolescents’ social cognition may moderate this association. Employing a mixed-method approach and a short-term longitudinal design, this study addresses this issue by examining the moderation effects of attribution and outcome expectancies regarding relational aggression on the associations between social status insecurity and relational aggression among 476 Chinese adolescents (238 girls). The main results showed that self-serving attributions and instrumental outcome expectancies strengthened the positive and longitudinal association between social status insecurity and self-reported relational aggression. The findings of this study enrich our knowledge about the social cognitive processes pertinent to peer status and relational aggression among adolescents.     

Hope,optimism, and affect as predictors and consequences of expectancies: The potential moderating roles of perceived control and success

Hope and optimism may be differentially influential depending on the situational context. This study sought to (1) experimentally test whether hope and optimism differentially predict specific expectancies in controllable versus uncontrollable situations and (2) examine the relative impact of specific expectancies on affect when desired outcomes are (or are not) achieved. A 2 × 2 independent samples design was used to experimentally manipulate perceived control and situational outcome (i.e., success or failure). Online participants (N = 571) completed self-report measures of hope and optimism before being randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions. Results showed that hope, but not optimism, predicted specific expectancies in the perceived control condition. Conversely, optimism, but not hope, predicted specific expectancies in the no perceived control condition. More optimistic specific expectancies of success predicted greater positive affect regardless of success or failure outcome.     

Response Expectancies and Irrational Beliefs Predict Exam-Related Distress

Individual differences in cognitive factors such as response expectancies and irrational beliefs (IBs) have been shown to contribute to variability in distress associated with stressful situations. However, their independent influence on distress when examined within the same study has not been established, nor has the potential of mediational relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of response expectancies and IBs (both general and exam-specific) to exam-related distress in a prospective study. Results revealed that both response expectancies and general IBs separately predicted exam-related distress (p’s<.05; N=105). Observed effects of general IBs were perfectly mediated by, and observed effects of exam-specific IBs were partially mediated by, response expectancies using the Baron and Kenny approach. These data support the view that cognitive factors contribute to psychological distress and are consistent with response expectancy and rational emotive behavior theories. The results suggest that interventions focused on response expectancies and IBs might be an effective means to reduce psychological distress associated with real life stressors such as exams. Future research is needed to determine whether this effect generalizes to other stressful situations. Dr. Montgomery is Director of the Integrative Behavioral Medicine Program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. David is an associate professor at Babes-Bolyai University, in Romania. Dr. DiLorenzo is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department of Stern College. Dr. Schnur is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Oncological Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. This work was supported by the National Cancer Institute (CA81137) and the American Cancer Society (PF-05-098-01-CPPB).     

青少年饮酒期望与饮酒行为的关系:追踪研究的证据

通过对1000余名青少年为期一年的追踪调查,探讨了青少年饮酒期望与饮酒行为之间的关系,同时考察了饮酒期望的发展和性别差异。研究结果表明:(1)一年来青少年的饮酒行为、饮酒消极期望和饮酒积极期望都显著增加;女生的饮酒行为和饮酒积极期望的增加都显著高于男生。(2)第二次测查时,青少年的饮酒行为、饮酒积极期望和饮酒消极期望高于一年前原同年级的学生。(3)饮酒积极期望、消极期望和饮酒行为之间的基本关系一年来没有发生变化:消极期望可能降低饮酒行为,积极期望可能增加饮酒行为,消极期望对积极期望与饮酒行为的关系具有显著的调节作用。但是消极期望对饮酒行为的作用降低,积极期望的作用升高。     

Understanding perfectionism and depression in an adult clinical population: Is outcome expectancy relevant to psychological functioning?

Perfectionism is a personality trait defined by high standards of performance, which has been identified as a risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD). The present study examined if outcome expectancy involved in perfectionism differs for individuals with depression compared to non-depressed controls, and how outcome expectancy relates to depression symptoms. This study included 49 depressed and 42 non-depressed participants. Perfectionism and depression severity were measured via self-report instruments. This study is the first to provide preliminary evidence that outcome expectancies involved in perfectionism may be related to psychological functioning in depression. Individuals with depression demonstrated higher negative and lower positive outcome expectancies associated with perfectionism compared to non-depressed participants. Perfectionism outcome expectancies are also related to depression severity and symptoms. Future research should prospectively investigate relationships of outcome expectancy involved in perfectionism in individuals at risk for depression.     

工作场所排斥后的应对:期望和效价的作用*

基于期望-效价理论探讨了期望(关系修复可能性)和效价(关系重要性)对工作场所排斥后应对行为的影响。研究1采取回忆范式证实了遭遇工作场所排斥后个体将以积极、消极或不作为行为进行应对,而期望和效价对应对行为有显著预测作用;研究2在研究1基础上,通过情境问卷对期望和效价进行操纵,进一步验证了期望、效价与应对行为之间的因果关系,即关系修复可能性越大、关系越重要,个体越倾向以积极而非消极行为进行应对。     

彩民命运控制对问题购彩的影响:购彩预期和购彩意向的链式中介作用

为考察命运控制对彩民问题购彩的影响,以及购彩预期和购彩意向在其中的链式中介作用,本研究采用问卷法对2538名彩民进行调查。结果发现:(1)彩民问题购彩与命运控制、购彩预期和购彩意向均存在正相关;(2)命运控制不仅能直接预测问题购彩,还能通过两条路径的间接作用影响彩民的问题购彩:购彩意向的中介作用;购彩预期和购彩意向的链式中介作用。本研究构建的中介效应模型在一定程度上揭示了命运控制影响彩民问题购彩的内在机制。     

The roles of encoding strategies and retrieval practice in test-expectancy effects

We investigated whether expectations for different kinds of memory tests induce qualitatively different encoding strategies. In Experiment 1, participants studied four lists of words and after each list completed a cued-recall test that contained either all semantic or all orthographic cues so as to build up an expectancy for receiving the same type of test for the fifth critical study list. To rule out that the test-expectancy effects in Experiment 1 were due to differences in retrieval practice, in Experiment 2, participants received three practice tests each for both cue-types. Participants’ test expectancy for all lists was induced by telling them before each list the type of cue they would receive for the upcoming study list. In both experiments, the critical test contained both expected and unexpected cues. In Experiment 1, participants who expected semantic cues had better recall to the semantic cues than to the orthographic cues and vice versa for those who expected orthographic cues. However, in Experiment 2, there was no effect of test expectancy. These findings suggest that the test-expectancy effects in Experiment 1 were due to more retrieval practice on the expected than unexpected tests rather than to qualitatively different test-expectancy-induced encoding strategies.     

The role of treatment expectancy in youth receiving exposure-based CBT for obsessive compulsive disorder

The purpose of this investigation was to examine correlates of parent, child, and therapist treatment expectations and their role in the exposure-based treatment of childhood obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Treatment expectations were assessed among 49 youth with primary OCD, their parents, and therapists as part of the baseline evaluation and post-treatment clinical outcomes were determined by blind evaluators. Baseline depressive symptoms, child/parent-rated functional impairment, externalizing behavior problems, number of comorbid psychiatric disorders, and a lower perception of control were associated with lower pre-treatment expectations. Parent expectation was associated with parental OCD symptoms, child depressive symptoms and child-reported impairment. Therapist expectations inversely correlated with child depressive symptoms, externalizing problems, and child-rated impairment. Pre-treatment OCD severity and prior treatment history were not linked to expectancy. Finally, higher treatment expectations were linked to better treatment response, lower attrition, better homework compliance, and reduced impairment.     

Pragmatic enrichment: beyond Gricean rational reconstruction – a response to Mandy Simons

It has been claimed that pragmatic effects that arise in embedded clauses pose a problem for the Gricean reasoning procedure. I maintain, however, that the real issue these phenomena raise for Grice, as he himself acknowledged, is their violation of his saying/implicating distinction. While these effects can be accounted for by Gricean reasoning, which Mandy Simons clearly demonstrates, there is no way round this latter problem other than a major revision of Grice’s notion of ‘saying’ and hence of the saying/implicating distinction.