Consuming now or later? The interactive effect of timing and attribute alignability

Decisions are often temporally separated from their outcomes. Using theories of structural alignment and temporal construal, we examined how temporal distance and the associated shift in decision processes moderate susceptibility to context effects. Specifically, in two experiments (one hypothetical, one with real outcomes), we demonstrated that people attend more to nonalignable differences when the outcome of the decision is in the distant future than when it is in the near future. This shift in decision processes was found in preference and choice data, as well as coded written protocols. We further show that this temporal shift cannot be explained by differential involvement with the decision or by the feasibility and desirability of the attributes. Our findings establish temporal distance as an important moderator of structural alignment effects and also extend the implications of temporal construal theory beyond the nature of the attributes to the structural relationships among attributes.     

Mediating role of coping in the dispositional optimism-posttraumatic growth relation in breast cancer patients

The aim of the present study was to examine if coping strategies mediate dispositional optimism-posttraumatic growth relation in postoperative breast cancer patients. The data were collected from 90 patients in two hospitals. Regression analyses revealed that problem-focused coping fully mediated dispositional optimism-posttraumatic growth relation, but emotion-focused coping did not. That is, postoperative breast cancer patients who were optimistic were more likely to use problem-focused coping strategies that, in turn, led to the development of posttraumatic growth. The findings were congruent with the literature in which problem-focused coping was mostly highlighted as compared to emotion-focused coping, and in which optimism and problem-focused coping relationship was emphasized in the path of posttraumatic growth.     

Individual differences as predictors of illicit drug use among Turkish college students

Although the prevalence of drug use in the young adult population in Turkey is still far below the figures reported for most European Union countries and the United States, there seems to be a noteworthy increase in drug use, especially among high school and college students. The purpose of the present study was to examine the extent of drug use among college students in Turkey and to identify some of the individual-difference variables associated with drug use. Participants were 781 college students. A survey package including (a) measures of sensation seeking-risk taking, self-esteem, affectivity level, global mental health, overall life satisfaction, and the rate and nature of substance use and (b) demographic questions was administered to the participants during regularly held class meetings. A logistic regression analysis revealed that sensation seeking-risk taking, parental education level, smoking, and frequency of alcohol use predicted illicit drug experience. Implications of the findings and limitations of the study are discussed using the context of the study as a framework.     

Workplace Sexual Harassment Perceptions in the Turkish Context and the Role of Individual Differences

The major purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of workplace sexual harassment in the Turkish context. In Study 1, 53 working women were interviewed to identify culture‐relevant behaviors that are considered to be sexual harassment. In Study 2, the factor structure of perceptions was explored. In addition, the way in which these perceptions are related to personal variables (i.e. gender role attitudes, self‐esteem, and negative affectivity) was investigated. Participants were 353 women currently employed at various organisations. Five factors were identified: sexist hostility, insinuation of interest, sexual hostility, physical sexual offense, and sexual bribery and coercion. Each factor was regressed on the personal variables. After controlling for relevant demographic and organisational variables, gender role attitudes, self‐esteem, and negative affectivity predicted sexual harassment perceptions. Specifically, negative affectivity predicted milder forms of harassment, attitudes predicted factors that are considered more severe, and self‐esteem predicted all factors but sexist hostility. The extent to which sexual harassment manifestations are universal and how certain manifestations that appeared in the Turkish context broaden the scope of sexual harassment are discussed by referring to the US literature. L’objectif central de cette recherche était l’étude de la perception du harcèlement sexuel au travail en Turquie. Dans une première phase, on a interviewé 53 salariées pour déterminer les comportements relevant du harcèlement sexuel dans ce contexte culturel. Dans une deuxième phase, on a recherché la structure factorielle des perceptions. On a aussi étudié les liens de ces perceptions avec des variables personnelles (Attitudes en rapport avec le rôle découlant du genre, estime de soi et affectivité négative). Les sujets étaient 353 femmes employées dans diverses organisations. Cinq facteurs sont apparus : hostilité sexiste, attirance sous‐entendue, hostilité sexuelle, agression sexuelle physique, coercition et corruption sexuelles. Chaque facteur a subi une analyse de régression sur les variables personnelles. En contrôlant de façon appropriée les variables démographiques et organisationnelles, les attitudes en rapport avec le rôle découlant du genre, l’estime de soi et l’affectivité négative prédisent la perception du harcèlement sexuel. En particulier, l’affectivité négative prédit les formes légères de harcèlement, les attitudes prédisent les facteurs considérés comme plus graves et l’estime de soi prédit tous les facteurs sauf l’hostilité sexiste. On discute à partir de la littérature américaine de l’universalité du harcèlement sexuel et du fait que certaines manifestations propres à la Turquie élargissent le champ de ce harcèlement.     

Integrating the Unified Theory and Stages of Change to Create Targeted Health Messages

This study investigates the effects of targeted health messages toward reducing fat consumption by applying the unified theory of behavior change ( Fishbein et al., 2001 ) and the stages of change model. In Study 1, affect and outcome expectancies significantly discriminated individuals within each stage of change. In Study 2, affect was more effective in changing intention for precontemplative individuals, whereas outcome expectancies were more effective in changing intention for contemplative individuals. Gender was a higher-order moderator of this relationship: Precontemplative males were more influenced by an affective message, whereas contemplative males were more affected by a cognitive message. For females, a cognitive message was more effective for precontemplative individuals. There were no differences between the messages for contemplative females.     

Another Test of Gender Differences in Assignments to Precarious Leadership Positions: Examining the Moderating Role of Ambivalent Sexism

Women face significant hurdles in the attainment of leadership positions. When they do attain them such positions tend to be riskier than those attained by men, a form of bias called glass cliff. This study investigates ambivalent sexism as an individual difference that influences the occurrence of glass cliff. Little research examines individual differences contributing to glass cliff. It is proposed that individuals with high hostile and benevolent sexism are more likely to perceive women to be suitable for leadership of a poorly‐performing organization and men to be suitable for leadership of a well‐performing organization. The sample of our experimental study consisted of 378 students who rated either a female or a male candidate under a poor or good performance condition. We tested our hypotheses using a moderated regression analysis. Both components of sexism impacted how individuals evaluated male and female leaders under different organizational performance conditions. Hostile sexism was the dimension that led to glass cliff. Benevolent sexism had an unexpected effect on leadership choice. The differences between the two types of sexism and the different role each type plays in preference for masculine and feminine leadership are discussed. Leader gender and perceiver's sexist attitudes influence evaluations for leadership positions.     

Exploratory Eye Movements to Pictures in Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

We investigated exploratory eye movements to thematic pictures in schizophrenic, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and normal children. For each picture, children were asked three questions varying in amount of structure. We tested if schizophrenic children would stare or scan extensively and if their scan patterns were differentially affected by the question. Time spent viewing relevant and irrelevant regions, fixation duration (an estimate of processing rate), and distance between fixations (an estimate of breadth of attention) were measured. ADHD children showed a trend toward shorter fixations than normals on the question requiring the most detailed analysis. Schizophrenic children looked at fewer relevant, but not more irrelevant, regions than normals. They showed a tendency to stare more when asked to decide what was happening but not when asked to attend to specific regions. Thus, lower levels of visual attention (e.g., basic control of eye movements) were intact in schizophrenic children. In contrast, they had difficulty with top-down control of selective attention in the service of self-guided behavior.     

An examination of self-presentational concern of Turkish adolescents: an example of physical education setting

The purpose of this study was to examine self-presentational concern of Turkish adolescents with regard to the gender composition of physical education (PE) class and also to investigate the attitude toward PE and PE class preferences of Turkish adolescents based on this concern. A total of 1,807 eighth-grade students (936 females and 871 males) completed the Attitudes Toward Physical Education Scale and Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS). The findings indicated that although self-presentational concern did not differ according to the gender composition of PE class, there was a significant difference in class preference among adolescents based on this concern with most of the females who had a high self-presentational concern preferring noncoed PE class. Additionally, no significant difference was found in attitude toward PE among self-presentational concern groups. These findings are discussed in relation to the sex composition of PE class and self-presentational concerns of adolescents.     

Oculomotor evidence of sequence learning on the serial reaction time task

Manual and oculomotor measures of sequence learning were examined on the serial reaction time (SRT) task Participants were assigned into four groups differing on response modality (manual, oculomotor) and trial type (sequence, pseudorandom). The pattern of manual RTs replicated previous studies. Frequency of anticipatory eye movements followed similar patterns as RTs. Participants made many anticipations, even in pseudorandom blocks, and frequency of anticipations did not depend on presence of concurrent manual responses. Excluding participants with explicit awareness did not change results. Anticipations were negatively related to RTs in both incidental and intentional learning. Anticipations were positively related to sequence recall in intentional, but not incidental, learning. Results suggest that (1) anticipatory eye movements reflected sequence learning and (2) participants made overt and covert shifts of visuospatial attention to likely stimulus locations prior to stimulus onset, whether or not they made manual responses and whether or not there was a sequence.