Experiencing Range in an Electric Vehicle: Understanding Psychological Barriers

Range of electric vehicles (EVs) has long been considered a major barrier in acceptance of electric mobility. We examined the nature of how range is experienced in an EV and whether variables from other adaptation contexts, notably stress, have explanatory power for inter‐individual differences in what we term comfortable range. Forty EVs were leased to a sample of users for a 6‐month field study. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of range experiences were performed, including regression analyses to examine the role of stress‐buffering personality traits and coping skills in comfortable range. Users appraised range as a resource to which they could successfully adapt and that satisfied most of their daily mobility needs. However, indicators were found that suggested suboptimal range utilisation. Stress‐buffering personality traits (control beliefs, ambiguity tolerance) and coping skills (subjective range competence, daily range practice) were found to play a substantial role in comfortable range. Hence, it may be possible to overcome perceived range barriers with the assistance of psychological interventions such as information, training, and interface design. Providing drivers with a reliable usable range may be more important than enhancing maximal range in an electric mobility system.     

Extraversion and task properties as determinants of incidental recall

The present research investigated in a dual task design the effects of extraversion level and structural task properties on the recall of an incidentally learned text. First, the hypothetical relation between arousal level and attentional selectivity was tested. Second, the relation between structural levels in the text and recall of text elements was studied. It was found that (a) extraverts performed significantly better on incidental recall compared to introverts; (b) the nuclear sentences at the top of the hierarchical structure were the best recalled sentences, independently of arousal level; (c) the effect of differences in arousal on recall was only significant in case of the top sentences. The effect was absent in case of specificúsecondary sentences.     

Adaptation and vulnerability in high-risk adolescents: An examination of environmental mediators

The relationship of characteristics of the social environment to the adaptation of adolescents from high-risk predisposing environments was examined. Specifically, the degree to which adolescents' perceptions of various dimensions of their family and school environment as well as sources of social support related to differential levels of personal well-being and academic adjustment was explored. Multiple regression analyses revealed differences in the salience of the dimensions of the social environment as a function of the particular sphere of functioning under consideration. Implications of the findings for developing a model for understanding the relative vulnerability of individuals at risk as well as of the design of preventive interventions are discussed.     

Assessment of antisocial behaviour in children and adolescents: new data with the ASB scale

Information is given about a series of studies with Allsopp and Feldman's ASB scale (1976) in its Spanish version, which compliments the information collected in Silva, Martorell and Clemente (1986a). It deals with test-retest reliability with an interval of 12 months; with comparisons between anonymous and non-anonymous data, and comparison between self-evaluation and evaluation by others. The results support the metric quality of the ASB scale, inviting revision of some of the common criticisms made of these types of instruments.     

All's well that ends well? Outcome bias in pilots during instrument flight rules

The objective of the present study was to examine if the Outcome Bias also occurs in pilots flying under instrument flight rules (IFR). In a scenario-based survey, 60 pilots evaluated weather-related decisions made by hypothetical pilots. Participants rated the decisions as better, less risky, and regarded the probability that they would have made the same decision as higher when they were followed by a positive outcome, than when they were followed by a negative outcome. This effect showed likewise for novice pilots and for experienced pilots. These findings could be relevant for the flight-related decision-making of pilots, which sometimes is affected by the decisions made by third-party pilots. In particular, decisions made by other pilots that have led to positive outcomes might be hastily followed, whereas those that have led to negative outcomes might be hastily rejected.     

Mental rotation as a mediator for sex-related differences in visualization

This study was designed to analyze whether Mental Rotation (MR) played a role as a mediating variable for sex-related differences in Visualization (VZ). Two psychometric tests measuring MR and VZ were applied to a representative sample of 309 males and 390 females in their last year of high school. Three non-zero correlations between sex and MR, sex and VZ, and MR and VZ were found, and the effect of sex on VZ was eliminated when MR was introduced as a covariable. When three subgroups of different VZ ability were made by dividing up the VZ distribution by the first and third quartiles, sex-differences were only found for the high-scorers group, for which previous results were replicated. Results clearly indicate that MR is a plausible mediator variable for sex differences in VZ when such differences do exist. Theoretical, methodological and practical consequences of these results are discussed.     

Latinas with Arthritis: Effects of Illness, Role Identity, and Competence on Psychological Well-Being

Tested a theoretical model on the effects of social role identity, illness intrusion, and competence on psychological well-being among 109 low-income Latinas with arthritis. All six roles studied were rated as highly important identities. Sex-role nontraditionalism was associated with less importance of the homemaker, mother, and grandmother roles. Negative affect increased as a function of intrusions into valued identities. Having important role identities contributed to feelings of competence (i.e., self-esteem and self-efficacy), which in turn, contributed to psychological well-being. Competence also mediated the effects of pain, identity, and illness intrusions on psychological well-being. Results suggest competence processes play an important role in well-being.     

Repetition,cuing, and state-dependent memory

Two experiments examined the effects of several types of repetition on state-dependent memory for conceptually categorized words. In both experiments, compatibility between pharmacological states at encoding and at retrieval facilitated the uncued recall of nonrepeated categories but had no appreciable effect on the recall of words within recalled categories. In both experiments, compatibility between encoding/retrieval states failed to facilitate the uncued recall of repeated categories li.e., categories whose names and/or exemplars were presented at least twice, in a constant or variable order, and with substantial spacing between successive presentations). And again, in both experiments, the level of uncued recall was higher for repeated than for nonrepeated categories, irrespective of the compatibility or incompatibility of encoding/retrieval states. These findings, together with other relevant observations reported in the literature, suggest that repetition in general, and repetition of category names in particular, influences recall in much the same ways as does explicit cuing with category names: It enhances the accessibility of higher order units, as reflected in uncued category recall, and it diminishes to the extent to which access to these units is state dependent.     

Injustice impairs self-regulation and affects food choice

Overweight and obesity are risk factors for a range of chronic diseases, many of them caused by excessive consumption of unhealthy foods and insufficient consumption of healthy foods. The present study aims to experimentally test the effect of being exposed to injustice on the intention to consume healthy and unhealthy foods, through self-regulation. We predicted that injustice decreases self-regulation which in turn increases the intention to consume unhealthy foods and decreases the intention to consume healthy foods. Undergraduate students (N = 175; 89% women; M_age = 24.28, SD = 7.36) were randomly exposed to a scenario describing an unjust or a just academic situation. In a subsequent allegedly unrelated task, participants were asked to indicate their intention to consume each of 26 food items (half depicting unhealthy foods and half healthy foods, random order) during the subsequent week. As expected, injustice decreased self-regulation which in turn increased the intention to consume unhealthy foods and decreased the intention to consume healthy foods. These results highlight the central importance of justice perceptions in the study of consumption and contribute to frame it in the study of the consequences of economic inequalities for nutrition.