On the Explanation of the Hostile Attributional Bias: Traumatic Experiences,Schemas, and Migrant Status

Aggressive individuals often exhibit a hostile attributional bias (HAB). To examine why some people exhibit the HAB to a higher degree than others, we tested the hypothesis put forth by Dodge (2006). Dodge hypothesized HAB results from traumatic experiences and this relation is mediated by schemas. This hypothesis was tested among 135 Dutch and migrant participants. Among Dutch participants, traumatic experiences were not related to the HAB but were related to schemas. However, among migrants, traumatic experiences were related both to the HAB and schemas, but schemas were not related to the HAB. Therefore, traumatic experiences are related to a HAB only in migrants. Furthermore, in both groups, schemas do not mediate the relation between traumatic experiences and the HAB.     

The consequences of mimicry for prosocials and proselfs: Effects of social value orientation on the mimicry–liking link

People often mimic each other's behaviors. As a consequence, they share each other's emotional and cognitive states, which facilitates liking. Mimicry, however, does not always affect liking. In two studies, we investigate whether the mimicry–liking link is influenced by people's social value orientations. More specifically, we examine whether prosocials and proselfs are differently affected when being mimicked or not. Prosocials and proselfs indicated their liking for the interaction partner after being or not being mimicked in a face‐to‐face interaction. The results of two studies showed that prosocials rated the interaction partner as less likeable when they were not mimicked than when they were mimicked. Proselfs, however, were not affected by mimicry. These results show that people's social motives play a role in whether or not the effects of mimicry on liking occur: Proselfs are less sensitive to the mimicry acts of others. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding Goal Motivations in Deprived Contexts: Perspectives of Adults in Two Rural South African Communities

The aim of the present study was to explore and describe the goals and motivations underlying them for adults living in rural African contexts using an inductive approach. Seventy participants (n = 25 males, n = 45 females) between 43 and 89 years (mean age 60.85 years) were selected from a total of N = 537 residing in the rural Ganyesa and Tlakgameng communities in South Africa. Participants were asked to indicate the three most important goals in their present lives and then provide reasons why each of these goals was important to them. Themes emerging from the data analysis referred to financial security, meeting social needs, environmental considerations, generative caring, and relational goals. Goal motivations were not mere intrinsic processes aimed at personal need satisfaction, but had a strong interdependent focus embedded in existing relational ties. Based on the findings we conceptualise an integration of key constructs found in diverse perspectives used in goal research and emphasise the unique role of contextual factors in the understanding of goals and motivations underlying them. These findings highlight important considerations in the enhancement of the quality of life of rural residents of Ganyesa and Tlakgameng.

     

Would we rather lose our life than lose our self? Lessons from the Dutch debate on euthanasia for patients with dementia

This article reviews the Dutch societal debate on euthanasia/assisted suicide in dementia cases, specifically Alzheimer's disease. It discusses the ethical and practical dilemmas created by euthanasia requests in advance directives and the related inconsistencies in the Dutch legal regulations regarding euthanasia/assisted suicide. After an initial focus on euthanasia in advanced dementia, the actual debate concentrates on making euthanasia/assisted suicide possible in the very early stages of dementia. A review of the few known cases of assisted suicide of people with so-called early dementia raises the question why requests for euthanasia/assisted suicide from patients in the early stage of (late onset) Alzheimer's disease are virtually non-existent. In response to this question two explanations are offered. It is concluded that, in addition to a moral discussion on the limits of anticipatory choices, there is an urgent need to develop research into the patient's perspective with regard to medical treatment and care-giving in dementia, including end-of-life care.     

Multicultural personality and effectiveness in an intercultural training simulation: The role of stress and pro-active communication

Multicultural personality traits have been shown to predict intercultural outcomes in a range of settings. However, how these traits affect behaviour during intercultural interactions remains an understudied area. A study was conducted among participants in intercultural training sessions, to examine whether scores on the five dimensions of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) could predict how they performed in the intercultural simulation game “Barnga.” Both a self-rating and other-rating of intercultural effectiveness were included. Furthermore, we examined whether perceived stress and pro-active communication played a mediating role. Results of Latent Growth Curve Modelling (LGCM) show that emotional stability has a positive effect on mean scores (intercept) of both self-rated and other-rated outcomes, mediated through perceived stress. Social Initiative has a positive effect on the rate of improvement (slope) in other-rated outcomes during the simulation, mediated through pro-active communication.     

What's in it for Me? Motivational Differences between Farmers' Subsidised and Non‐Subsidised Conservation Practices

Through nature conservation practices, farmers can strongly enhance nature quality and biodiversity in rural areas. In this paper, the social psychological underpinnings of farmers' nature conservation practices are investigated using the Theory of Planned Behavior, to which the concepts of self‐identity and personal norms were added. A distinction is made between nature conservation practices done on a non‐subsidised basis and nature conservation practices for which farmers receive some form of remuneration from the Dutch government. Eighty‐five arable farmers participated in our survey. Results show that our model explains more variance in the intention to perform non‐subsidised than subsidised nature conservation practices. Also, the concepts of self‐identity and personal norms appear to be related to the intention to perform non‐subsidised, not subsidised conservation.     

A Model-Free Diagnostic for Single-Peakedness of Item Responses Using Ordered Conditional Means

In this article we propose a model-free diagnostic for single-peakedness (unimodality) of item responses. Presuming a unidimensional unfolding scale and a given item ordering, we approximate item response functions of all items based on ordered conditional means (OCM). The proposed OCM methodology is based on Thurstone &; Chave's (1929) Thurstone, L. L. and Chave, E. J. 1929. The measurement of attitude: A psychophysical method and some experiments with a scale for measuring attitude toward the church. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] criterion of irrelevance, which is a graphical, exploratory method for evaluating the “relevance” of dichotomous attitude items. We generalized this criterion to graded response items and quantified the relevance by fitting a unimodal smoother. The resulting goodness-of-fit was used to determine item fit and aggregated scale fit. Based on a simulation procedure, cutoff values were proposed for the measures of item fit. These cutoff values showed high power rates and acceptable Type I error rates. We present 2 applications of the OCM method. First, we apply the OCM method to personality data from the Developmental Profile; second, we analyze attitude data collected by Roberts and Laughlin (1996) Roberts, J. S. and Laughlin, J. E. 1996. A unidimensional item response model for unfolding responses from a graded disagree-agree response scale. Applied Psychological Measurement, 20: 231–255. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] concerning opinions of capital punishment.