Ambiguity between self and other: Individual differences in action attribution

Individuals differ in their ability to attribute actions to self or other. This variance is thought to explain, in part, the experience of voice-hearing. Misattribution can also be context-driven. For example, causal ambiguity can arise when the actions of two or more individuals are coordinated and produce similar effects (e.g., music-making). Experience in such challenging contexts may refine skills of action attribution. Forty participants completed a novel finger-tapping task which parametrically manipulated the proportion of control that ‘self’ versus ‘other’ possessed over resulting auditory tones. Results showed that action misattribution peaked in the middle of the self-to-other continuum and was biased towards other. This pattern was related to both high hallucination-proneness and to low musical-experience. Findings suggest not only that causal ambiguity plays a key role in agency but also that action attribution abilities may improve with practice, potentially providing an avenue for remediation of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia.     

不同目击者对儿童道德情绪判断与归因的影响

本研究考察不同权威目击者对儿童道德情绪判断与归因的影响。实验以90个7~8岁儿童为被试,采用3(行为情境)×3(目击权威类型)的组间设计,考察了不同权威目击者条件下儿童对不同行为者的道德情绪判断和归因。结果发现,目击权威的类型对儿童道德情绪判断与归因的影响在不同的行为情境条件下是不同的。成人权威目击条件下,儿童对亲社会行为者的道德情绪判断分数最高,即更多判断他们会感到高兴,对损人者的道德情绪判断分数最低,即更多判断他们会感到不高兴。而同龄权威和非权威目击条件下儿童对不同行为者的情绪判断分数不存在显著差异。不同权威目击条件下儿童对行为者的情绪归因存在显著差异,奖惩定向更多出现在成人权威目击条件。研究显示,成人权威对儿童道德情绪的培养具有重要意义,能够显著影响儿童的道德情绪判断与归因。     

Coping Styles,Pain Expressiveness,and Implicit Theories of Chronic Pain

Whereas some individuals use active coping strategies and are able to adaptively cope with their pain, others use passive strategies and catastrophic appraisals, which are often associated with increased displays of pain behavior and negative pain-related outcomes. To investigate attribution-based implicit theories as a potential underlying mechanism that might affect coping success, we hypothesized that pain patients with an incremental implicit theory of pain (i.e., view pain as malleable) would have more active coping strategies, lower levels of pain expressiveness, and better pain-related outcomes than those with an entity implicit theory of pain (i.e., view pain as nonmalleable). Patients with chronic back pain undergoing a functional assessment completed a variety of self-report measures and participated in a pain-inducing physiotherapy procedure. The results revealed those with an incremental theory of pain used more active coping strategies, displayed less pain behavior, and reported better pain-related outcomes (e.g., lower levels of depression) than individuals with an entity theory of pain. The findings suggest implicit theories of pain may represent an underlying social-cognitive mechanism linked to important coping, emotional, and expressive reactions to chronic pain. Identifying such a mechanism may provide valuable information for the assessment and treatment of chronic pain.     

Le rôle de la stigmatisation dans la symptomatologie dépressive de femmes françaises en surpoids ou en situation d’obésité

IntroductionDespite the high prevalence of depressive symptoms among women being overweight or having obesity, the role of stigma and causal attributions in the expression of these symptoms in French women has been largely under-explored to date.ObjectiveThe aim of this research is to study the role of internalized stigmatization, stigmatizing experiences and causal attribution in the intensity of depressive symptoms in overweight and obese French women.MethodThese four variables were measured in 160 French women being overweight or having obesity.ResultsOur analyses highlight positive correlations between stigmatizing experiences, internalized stigmatization and depressive symptomatology. It is important to note that stigmatizing experiences seem to play a more preponderant role than internalized stigmatization in the expression of depressive symptoms.ConclusionFor women with significant depressive symptoms, it appears essential to integrate interventions aimed at reducing their level of stigma. Moreover, from a preventive perspective, it also seems essential to promote campaigns in France aimed at reducing the stigmatization in this population.     

Explaining unexplainable food choices

In recent years, psychologists have started to investigate the downstream consequences of nonconsciously activated behaviour (acting in an ‘explanatory vacuum’). Results have shown that when such behaviour is norm‐violating, people experience a need to confabulate reasons for this behaviour. The present paper aims to add more convincing evidence for this assumption. Study 1 addresses this question by replicating Study 2 of Adriaanse, Weijers, De Ridder, De Witt Huberts, and Evers ( 2014 ) while adding a condition in which people are post hoc provided with an explanation for their behaviour. Study 2 addresses this question by explicitly demanding an explanation for a nonconsciously steered choice. Both studies were conducted in the context of eating behaviour. Results of both studies were indicative of confabulation as a downstream consequence of nonconsciously steered eating behaviour (Study 1) or food choice (Study 2). Future research should address the potential of confabulated reasons spilling over to next occasions.     

消极刻板印象对老年人医疗决策的影响及归因偏差的作用

随着年龄的增长, 对老年人的消极刻板印象和医疗决策逐渐成为了与老年群体越来越相关的两个概念。在此背景下, 很有必要系统地探讨消极刻板印象对老年人医疗决策的效应及其机制。本研究以158名老年人为被试, 通过两个实验考察了消极刻板印象、归因偏差和老年人医疗决策质量间的关系。实验1结果发现, 消极刻板印象负向影响老年人的医疗决策质量, 同时, 归因偏差在刻板印象对老年人医疗决策质量的效应中起到中介作用。实验2结果表明, 减少归因偏差的干预控制可以有效降低刻板印象对医疗决策质量的消极效应。本研究对理解刻板印象效应机制、缓解刻板印象消极效应、以及改善老年人医疗决策质量具有一定的理论意义和实践价值。     

Explaining Own and Others' Behavior in a Controversial Issue: Animal Experimentation

Abstract

The authors investigated how 2 groups with different attitudes toward animal experimentation–researchers who conducted animal experiments and members of animal welfare organizations who protested against animal experiments–made attributions for the behavior of the opposing group. The 2 groups showed an actor-observer effect, mentioning more internal causes for the opponents' behavior and more external causes for their own behavior. Both groups were able to take the other's perspective, resulting in a reversed actor-observer effect. The less involved participants followed the pattern of ratings of the group whose attitudes corresponded to their own. In particular, the participants with a negative attitude toward animal experimentation rated researchers' behavior as more internally caused than did those with a positive attitude. The results illustrated how the participants formed and defended attitudes in a social context.     

Still Stable After All These Years: Perceptions of Sexual Harassment in Academic Contexts

Abstract

When 2 persons—an acquaintance who could not have avoided a problem and a close relative who is responsible for her own plight—ask for help, attribution theory and sociobiology conflict about who will receive help. Attribution theorists assume that the nonresponsible acquaintance will be supported, but sociobiologists argue that the responsible sibling will receive help. The authors tested the hypothesis that characteristics of the situation affect which theory better predicts help giving. The results confirmed that in situations that do not affect life and death, a nonresponsible acquaintance would receive more help than a responsible sibling. But in life-or-death situations, inasmuch as the reproductive fitness of the person in need is in danger, a responsible sibling would be supported more than a nonresponsible acquaintance.     

Are modern health worries associated with somatosensory amplification,environmental attribution style,and commitment to complementary and alternative medicine?

Relationship among modern health worries (MHWs), somatosensory amplification (SSA), and attributional styles was investigated in a cross-sectional questionnaire study. A total of 99 university students, 104 patients visiting their General Practitioners, and 102 future alternative therapists completed questionnaires assessing MHWs, SSA, negative affect (NA), and psychological, somatic and normalizing (environmental) attribution styles. Significant correlation between SSA and MHWs was found in all three samples. MHWs and psychological attribution style were significantly associated with Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)-orientation in the regression equation even after controlling for SSA, NA, and sociodemographic variables. MHWs were independent from any attribution styles in the student and patient samples, while significant correlations with all three styles were found in the CAM group. Previously described association between MHWs and SSA was replicated in three different samples. The connection between MHWs and CAM preference seems to be independent from SSA, NA or any particular attribution style.