Conceptions of states and traits: Dimensional attributes with ideals as prototypes

Waist-to-Hip Ratio Predicts Sexual Perception and Responses to Sexual Assault Disclosures

The current work investigates the effects of target of perception's waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) on perceivers' judgments of sexual unrestrictedness and sexual victimization prototypicality. Studies 1a and 1b found that women with lower WHRs were perceived as relatively more sexually unrestricted. Studies 2a and 2b found that women with lower WHRs were perceived as relatively more prototypic of sexual victimization. Study 3 built on these findings to consider implications for responses to sexual assault disclosures. Perceivers disbelieved and minimized a disclosure of assault relatively more when made by a woman with a higher WHR. In sum, this body of work implicates WHR as a body cue that can inform consequential sexual perception. Thereby, this work identifies factors that could influence judgments of credibility of sexual violence reports, which may have implications for hesitancy to report sexual violence.

Impact of patient attributes on the relationship between hearing handicap and readiness to pursue audiologic rehabilitation

OBJECTIVE

This study explored whether select patient attributes were significant predictors of readiness to pursue hearing aids (HAs) and estimated the impacts of hearing aid self-efficacy (HASE) and emotional states, on the relationship between perceived hearing handicap and readiness to pursue HAs.

DESIGN & STUDY SAMPLE

Sixty-two adults with self-reported hearing difficulties and no previous experience with HAs self-reported their hearing handicap, HASE, personality, emotional states in varying contexts, and readiness to pursue HAs.

RESULTS

Individuals with greater hearing handicap and who had experienced hearing loss for a shorter duration were more ready to pursue HAs. Having higher HASE, more positive emotional states in "Social" situations, higher scores for the Agreeableness, and having lower Conscientiousness personality trait scores also independently predicted readiness. Neither HASE nor reported emotional states had a significant impact on the relationship between perceived hearing handicap and readiness to pursue HAs.

CONCLUSIONS

Certain patient characteristics independently motivate people towards or away from pursuing HAs. However, it remains unclear whether targeted modification of these attributes would directly facilitate behaviour change. Future research should further explore these questions to facilitate a more individualised audiologic rehabilitation.

Linking a latent variable trait-state-occasion model of emotion regulation to cognitive control

Emotion dysregulation (ED) is a vulnerability factor for affective disorders that may originate from deficits in cognitive control (CC). Although measures of ED are often designed to assess trait-like tendencies, the extent to which such measures capture a time-varying (TV) or state-like construct versus a time-invariant (TI) or trait-like personality characteristic is unclear. The link between the TV and TI components of ED and CC is also unclear. In a 6-wave, 5-month longitudinal study, community participants (n = 1281) completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16), a commonly used measure of ED and measures of CC. A latent variable (trait-state-occasion) model showed that the proportion of TI factor variance (.80) was greater than the TV factor variance (.19). Although TV factor stability was significant, the coefficients were small in magnitude. Furthermore, regression weights for the ED TI factor (average β  = -.62) were significant and larger than those for the TV factor (average β  = -.10) in predicting latent CC at each of the six-time points. These findings suggest that ED, as assessed by the DERS-16, is largely TI and this TI component is more strongly linked to CC than the TV component.

A review of the personality traits in post-concussion syndrome

INTRODUCTION

Various manifestations ranging from physical symptoms to cognitive and emotional impairments could often be seen following head concussions that lead to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). These symptoms are commonly comprising the post-concussion syndrome (PCS) and their resolution could be influenced by multiple factors. Personality traits have been suggested as potential risk factors for the emergence and persistence of PCS. In this study, we aimed to investigate the possible predisposition to PCS given by certain personality traits.

METHODS

Prospective cohort studies, observational studies, and cross-phenotype polygenic risk score analyses were selected from the main scientific databases (PubMed/Medline, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science) based on multiple-step screening, using keywords (such as "personality traits", "post-concussion syndrome", "traumatic brain injury", "anxiety", "depression", "resilience", and "somatization") and inclusion/exclusion criteria (English written studies available in full text presenting relevant data on TBI patients and their personality traits; reviews, animal studies, and studies not written in English, not available in full text, or not presenting full demographical and clinical data were excluded). The investigated personality traits included emotional reserve, somatic trait anxiety, embitterment, mistrust, parental anxiety, state anxiety, trait anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, pain catastrophizing, helplessness, sports-concussion symptom load, and cognitive resilience.

RESULTS

The reviewed data from 16 selected studies suggested that personality traits play an essential role in the development and persistence of PCS. Emotional reserve, cognitive resilience, and lower levels of somatic trait anxiety were associated with better outcomes in PCS. However, higher levels of anxiety sensitivity, pain catastrophizing, helplessness, and sports-concussion symptom load were associated with worse outcomes in PCS. Parental anxiety was not associated with persistent symptoms in children following concussion. Despite the statistical analysis regarding the included publications bias was low, further studies should further investigate the correlation between TBI and some personality traits, as some of the selected studies did not included healthy individuals and their psychological profiles for comparison and correlation analysis.

CONCLUSION

Personality traits may help predict the development and persistence of PCS following mTBI. Understanding the personality traits roles in PCS could assist the development of targeted interventions for the prevention and treatment of PCS. Further research is needed to better understand the complex interactions between personality traits, neurobiological factors, and psychosocial factors in PCS.

Disentangling the Longitudinal Relationship between Loneliness and Depressive Symptoms in U.S. Adults Over 50

OBJECTIVES

A seminal study on loneliness and depression suggested that loneliness influences depression more than the reverse. However, the study's analytic method has since been criticized for failing to account for the trait-like nature of variables. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal relationship between loneliness and depressive symptoms while accounting for the trait-like nature of both variables.

METHODS

Data (n = 16,478) came from the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2016). Measures included the Hughes Loneliness Scale and a modified Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (loneliness item omitted). Analyses consisted of random intercepts cross-lagged panel models (three time-points evenly spaced across eight years).

RESULTS

There was evidence that loneliness and depressive symptoms are trait-like and these trait-like components are strongly associated. There was not evidence of cross-lagged effects between loneliness and depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

A tendency toward loneliness corresponded with a tendency toward depressive symptoms. However, deviations in one's typical level of loneliness did not predict deviations in one's typical level of depressive symptoms or vice-versa. These findings do not support past assertions that loneliness shapes subsequent depression more than the reverse.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

By middle to late adulthood, loneliness and depressive symptoms are trait-like phenomena that are strongly associated.

“It Depends on the Situation”: How Hearing-Specific Contexts Affect the Way Adults With Hearing Loss Report Their Personal Attributes

Purpose:

This study examined how adults with untreated hearing loss respond to surveys about their self-efficacy, personality traits, and affective states when assessed “in general” and in listening-related contexts. We also explored the associations between hearing aid self-efficacy (HASE) and listening-related personality traits and affective states.

Method:

Sixty-two adults with self-reported hearing difficulties and no experience with hearing aids (HAs) participated in this descriptive study. Participants self-reported their self-efficacy, personality, and affective states in general and in listening-related contexts. Paired t tests and repeated measures with Holm–Šídák corrections were performed to explore differences between reports of patient traits in different contexts. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to explore significant associations.

Results:

On average, there were no significant differences between general and listening-related self-efficacy or personality traits. However, our participants indicated significantly more negative affective states in listening-related situations compared to in general. There was a small positive association between HASE and reported affective states in “General” and “Listening at Home” contexts.

Conclusions:

This study confirms that context-specific measures are not required to accurately assess self-efficacy and personality traits in the initial stages of the hearing health journey. However, reported affective states were listening dependent for this sample. Although reported affective states were related to HASE, context-dependent measures did not provide additional insight into participants' self-efficacy for successful HA use. This suggests that rehabilitation protocols designed to promote HASE and positive affect in general and listening-related situations could facilitate HA success.

Utility and validity of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) as a transdiagnostic scale

The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was originally conceived to assess psychopathology in several psychiatric disorders, making it an appropriate candidate to be used as a transdiagnostic instrument. We analyzed the utility and validity of the BPRS in a diagnostically heterogeneous sample of 600 psychiatric inpatients. As a comparator, we chose the mini-ICF-APP, a scale used to measure functioning and impairment across the diagnostic spectrum. Both scales had good internal consistency. The BPRS and the mini-ICF-APP showed a moderate correlation, with good levels of agreement. We were able to identify general symptoms present across the diagnostic spectrum, influencing severity and a cluster of symptoms specific for each diagnosis. Our results show the utility and validity of the BPRS as a transdiagnostic assessment tool that could easily be introduced in routine clinical work.

Adolescent Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of the Impact of the Pandemic on Developmental Milestones

This review explores the literature regarding the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the navigation of developmental milestones among adolescents, specifically those in late adolescence, across several domains of their lives. The exploration is contextualized globally, focusing on five key areas: mental health, physical health, education, peer relationships, and family relationships. Implications for practice and interventions are explored in each key area to provide recommendations for those working with adolescents, as well as future research. The changes brought about by the pandemic and the readjustment to what some have referred to as the “new normalcy” will undoubtedly have lasting effects on all areas of life for this cohort of adolescents, who have shown remarkable resilience navigating this new and unfamiliar world. These changes are synthesized, with the aim to highlight differences and similarities of the shared experiences of the pandemic globally. After exploring the current realities, this chapter goes on to outline the ways in which the experience of such a significant developmental period of one’s life during the COVID-19 pandemic will have an impact on adolescents for years to come. Although it is still impossible to comprehend the long-term effects, in examining proximal effects, we can postulate distal implications and potential future effects, as well as possible ways to mitigate these implications as we transition back to more of what was experienced pre-pandemic life, from a post-pandemic experience.

Variability and task-responsiveness of electrophysiological dynamics: scale-free stability and oscillatory flexibility

Cortical oscillations and scale-free neural activity are thought to influence a variety of cognitive functions, but their differential relationships to neural stability and flexibility has never been investigated. Based on the existing literature, we hypothesize that scale-free and oscillatory processes in the brain exhibit different trade-offs between stability and flexibility; specifically, cortical oscillations may reflect variable, task-responsive aspects of brain activity, while scale-free activity is proposed to reflect a more stable and task-unresponsive aspect. We test this hypothesis using data from two large-scale MEG studies (HCP: n = 89; CamCAN: n = 195), operationalizing stability and flexibility by task-responsiveness and spontaneous intra-subject variability in resting state. We demonstrate that the power-law exponent of scale-free activity is a highly stable parameter, which responds little to external cognitive demands and shows minimal spontaneous fluctuations over time. In contrast, oscillatory power, particularly in the alpha range (8-13 Hz), responds strongly to tasks and exhibits comparatively large spontaneous fluctuations over time. In sum, our data support differential roles for oscillatory and scale-free activity in the brain with respect to neural stability and flexibility. This result carries implications for criticality-based theories of scale-free activity, state-trait models of variability, and homeostatic views of the brain with regulated variables vs. effectors.

Conceptualizing and Studying Characteristics, Units, and Fits of Persons and Environments: A Coherent Synthesis

Based on a perspective on personality coherence as the extent to which personality-relevant characteristics are differentiated and integrated within a person in his or her environment, we propose a synthesis that builds on and harmonizes existing and partly conflicting theories, methodological approaches, and empirical findings. This understanding of personality coherence needs clear definitions of person and environment characteristics. We define traits as characteristics of the person, adaptations as characteristics of the person-in-contexts, and states as characteristics of the person-in-situations. Thus, our synthesis involves concepts of environments and person-environment units. Next, we provide testable criteria to differentiate characteristics of persons from characteristics of person-environment units and to identify dispositional traits for a narrow-sense perspective on personality coherence. We raise awareness of the importance of fit between (profiles of) person and environment characteristics for an understanding of the integrated uniqueness of persons in their environments. We outline implications of this broader perspective on personality coherence for personality development, self-regulation, social integration, well-being, and psychological interventions. Lastly, we conclude that the analysis of an individual’s uniqueness and personality differences requires information about how well-defined, well-differentiated, well-integrated, and well-operationalized person(ality) variables are actually expressed in, or interact and transact with, the individual environment.

Individual differences in COVID-19 mitigation behaviors: The roles of age, gender, psychological state, and financial status

The present study examined individual characteristics potentially associated with changes in mitigation behaviors (social distancing and hygiene) recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Analysis of online survey responses from 361 adults, ages 20–78, with US IP addresses, identified significant correlates of adaptive behavioral changes, with implications for preventive strategies and mental health needs. The extent to which individuals changed their mitigation behaviors was unrelated to self-rated health or concern regarding the personal effects of COVID-19 but was related to concern regarding the effects of the pandemic on others. Thus, mitigation behaviors do not appear to be primarily motivated by self-protection. Importantly, adaptive changes in mitigation behaviors increased with age. However, these changes, particularly those related to the frequency of close proximity encounters, appear to be due to age-related decreases in anxiety and depression. Taken together, the present results argue against over-reliance on ‘fear appeals’ in public health messages as they may increase anxiety and depression. Instead, the present findings argue for more appeals to people’s concern for others to motivate mitigation as well as indicating an immediate need to address individual mental health concerns for the sake of society as a whole.

The impact of personality on intention to leave the nursing profession: A structural equation model

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To test a mediating effect of compassion satisfaction on the relationship between personality traits (Big Five) and intent to leave.

BACKGROUND

Nursing professionals work in high-stress environments and exhibit more emotional distress and mental health disorders than other hospital professionals. This translates to increased intention to leave their profession. Evidence suggests that compassion satisfaction reduces intention to leave. Research also indicates that personality factors are associated with compassion satisfaction and intent to leave.

DESIGN

Using a cross-sectional design, we collected data from 536 nurses in a maximum-care hospital in Germany via questionnaires; the analyses included 518 participants.

METHOD

We applied the structural equation model and followed the STROBE checklist.

RESULTS

30% of our study participants reported high intent to leave. Compassion satisfaction mediated the relationship between agreeableness and intent to leave. Openness to experience and neuroticism had positive direct effects on intent to leave.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that high compassion satisfaction levels may decrease intention to leave levels. Personality traits impact compassion satisfaction and intention to leave.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Nursing professionals' compassion satisfaction needs to be improved, for example by resilience training. As personality factors remain relatively stable over time, caregivers need to consider them when identifying appropriate areas of work and responsibility.

Watching you descend, I help others rise: the influence of leader humility on prosocial motivation

The fundamental nature of humility and prosocial motivation entails transcending self-interest to enact behaviors that benefit others. We theorize that leader humility may enact a self-transcendent contagion effect that will manifest in enhanced follower prosocial motivation. Due to the fundamental nature of humility, this construct holds great promise in understanding how contextual signals (i.e., leader behaviors) shape prosocial motivation in followers. In this study, we find that leader humility impacts follower prosocial motivation through followers' perception of work meaningfulness. Specifically, we found that leader humility is positively related to prosocial motivation. We also found that this relationship is mediated by followers' perception of work meaningfulness, and that this mediation is moderated by followers' perception of relational vitality. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The food restriction wars: Proposed resolution of a primary battle

Research regarding the definition and consequences of dieting has generated controversy for years. This controversy has spilled over into the public domain, especially as eating disorders and obesity have become more prevalent. One of the earliest and longest-lasting controversies involves the restrained eating framework, which was originally developed by Herman and Polivy and also strongly influenced the development of the cognitive-behavioral model of bulimia nervosa. An alternative framework for understanding the role of dieting in nonclinical and clinical groups, called the Three-Factor Model of Dieting, took a sharply different approach to defining, and understanding the impact of, dieting. This paper provides a brief historical review of the development of these divergent perspectives and updates the Three Factor Model's critical distinction between restraining eating to prevent over-consumption and dieting to lose weight. We suggest that three historical trends impacted the development of Restraint Theory in ways that unfairly impugned dieting for weight control: the emergence of the new eating disorders of bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, a population-based increase in loss of control eating and a population-based increase in obesity. This update is aimed in part at encouraging new research to reconcile ongoing, unresolved issues between Herman and Polivy's restrained eating model and the Three-Factor model of Dieting model. Such research might also contribute to the public's understanding of the pros and cons of dieting and to new approaches to treating eating disorders and obesity.

Five paths to personality coherence: Integrative implications of the Knowledge-and-Appraisal Personality Architecture

The study of personality coherence can be grounded in an analysis of personality architecture, that is, the overall structure and dynamics of intra-individual personality systems. A personality architecture can identify, and organize the study of, interrelated phenomena that each are instances of personality coherence. It thereby can provide an integrative framework for understanding relations among distinct lines of research. This thesis is advanced by drawing on the Knowledge-and-Appraisal Personality Architecture, or KAPA model. KAPA model principles distinguish among three classes of social-cognitive knowledge structures: beliefs, goals, and evaluative standards. These distinctions, in turn, provide a foundation for understanding five aspects of personality coherence: 1) Belief-Based Coherence, 2) Goal-Based Coherence, 3) Evaluative Standards-Based Coherence, 4) Intra-Psychic Coherence (that is, coherent functional interrelations among personality systems), and 5) Phenomenological Coherence. Research documenting each of these five paths to personality coherence is reviewed. The paper also reviews the strengths and limitations of 20th-century social-cognitive formulations that provide key foundations for the KAPA model.

Measurement of Motivation States for Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior: Development and Validation of the CRAVE Scale

Physical activity, and likely the motivation for it, varies throughout the day. The aim of this investigation was to create a short assessment (CRAVE: Cravings for Rest and Volitional Energy Expenditure) to measure motivation states (wants, desires, urges) for physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Five studies were conducted to develop and evaluate the construct validity and reliability of the scale, with 1,035 participants completing the scale a total of 1,697 times. In Study 1, 402 university students completed a questionnaire inquiring about the want or desire to perform behaviors "at the present moment (right now)." Items related to physical activity (e.g., "move my body") and sedentary behaviors (e.g., "do nothing active"). An exploratory structural equation model (ESEM) revealed that 10 items should be retained, loading onto two factors (5 each for Move and Rest). In Study 2, an independent sample (n = 444) confirmed these results and found that Move and Rest desires were associated with stage-of-change for exercise behavior. In Study 3, 127 community-residing participants completed the CRAVE at 6-month intervals over two years- two times each session. Across-session interclass correlations (ICC) for Move (ICC = 0.72-0.95) and Rest (ICC = 0.69-0.88) were higher than when they were measured across 24-months (Move: ICC = 0.53; Rest: ICC = 0.49), indicating wants/desires have state-like qualities. In Study 4, a maximal treadmill test was completed by 21 university students. The CRAVE was completed immediately pre and post. Move desires decreased 26% and Rest increased 74%. Changes in Move and Rest desires were moderately associated with changes in perceived physical fatigue and energy. In Study 5, 41 university students sat quietly during a 50-min lecture. They completed the CRAVE at 3 time points. Move increased 19.6% and Rest decreased 16.7%. Small correlations were detected between move and both perceived energy and tiredness, but not calmness or tension. In conclusion, the CRAVE scale has good psychometric properties. These data also support tenets of the WANT model of motivation states for movement and rest (Stults-Kolehmainen et al., 2020a). Future studies need to explore how desires to move/rest relate to dynamic changes in physical activity and sedentarism.

Anxiety, not regulation tendency, predicts how individuals regulate in the laboratory: An exploratory comparison of self-report and psychophysiology

Anxiety influences how individuals experience and regulate emotions in a variety of ways. For example, individuals with lower anxiety tend to cognitively reframe (reappraise) negative emotion and those with higher anxiety tend to suppress negative emotion. Research has also investigated these individual differences with psychophysiology. These lines of research assume coherence between how individuals regulate outside the laboratory, typically measured with self-report, and how they regulate during an experiment. Indeed, performance during experiments is interpreted as an indication of future behavior outside the laboratory, yet this relationship is seldom directly explored. To address this gap, we computed psychophysiological profiles of uninstructed (natural) regulation in the laboratory and explored the coherence between these profiles and a) self-reported anxiety and b) self-reported regulation tendency. Participants viewed negative images and were instructed to reappraise, suppress or naturally engage. Electrodermal and facial electromyography signals were recorded to compute a multivariate psychophysiological profile of regulation. Participants with lower anxiety exhibited similar profiles when naturally regulating and following instructions to reappraise, suggesting they naturally reappraised more. Participants with higher anxiety exhibited similar profiles when naturally regulating and following instructions to suppress, suggesting they naturally suppressed more. However, there was no association between self-reported reappraisal or suppression tendency and psychophysiology. These exploratory results indicate that anxiety, but not regulation tendency, predicts how individuals regulate emotion in the laboratory. These findings suggest that how individuals report regulating in the real world does not map on to how they regulate in the laboratory. Taken together, this underscores the importance of developing emotion-regulation interventions and paradigms that more closely align to and predict real-world outcomes.

Towards a taxonomy of personality descriptors in German: A psycho‐lexical study

We present two studies aimed at developing a comprehensive taxonomy of German personality‐descriptive terms. In the first study, all personality‐descriptive adjectives (e.g. cynical), type nouns (e.g. cynic), and attribute nouns (e.g. cynicism) were extracted from a German dictionary. We found that almost half of all German adjectives were potentially personality‐relevant, as contrasted with only 8% of the nouns. Moreover, there were more attribute nouns than type nouns, the latter appearing more slangy, metaphorical, concrete, and rich in imagery (e.g. Big‐mouth, Wooden‐head). In the second study, we discuss basic conceptual distinctions among units ofpersonality description, develop a category system basedon a prototype conception, and present a classification of 5092 adjectives into 13 categories. The classifications were generalizable across both judges and a two‐year time interval, and agreed with a priori expert classifications. An analysis of the prototypical category cores suggested that Evaluations, Temperament and character traits, and Experiential states were represented most extensively in German, whereas Social effects, Roles and relationships, and Appearance were rather infrequent. These findings, though generally similar, differ from Norman's (1967) American taxonomy in the number of Evaluative terms and of Activity descriptors. Our studies provide comprehensive and representative lists of German words for personality traits, moods and emotions, social roles, effects, evaluations, and physical appearance, and may serve as the basis for taxonomies, dimensional analyses, and assessment instruments. We emphasize the need to standardize procedures in taxonomic research and outline suggestions for future studies of other languages.

Taxonomy and structure of Hungarian personality traits

This study reports on the application of the principles of the lexical approach to a non‐Indo‐European language, namely Hungarian. This language is a Uralic island surrounded on all sides by Indo‐European languages. In addition, the Hungarians are, in terms of cultural features, Europeans. These conditions provide a great opportunity for a crucial test case of the lexical approach to personality. Study 1 reports on the different phases of the selection of the trait terms from the Hungarian lexicon, a categorization into kinds of personality‐relevant terms, a comparison of the category findings with those of other languages, and on indices of relevance of the personality terms. Of the total number of 8738 personality‐relevant terms, 3914 adjectives were used for Study 2. In that study, personality descriptiveness ratings were obtained from a group of judges (N = 5). On the basis of these ratings, a manageable set of 624 adjectives was selected for a rating task. Four hundred subjects provided self‐ratings on the 624 adjectives. On the basis of the means and standard deviations of the ratings, the set of 624 was further reduced to 561 adjectives. On ipsatized data, principal components analyses were performed. Both a four‐factor solution and a five‐factor solution, which were Varimax‐rotated, are presented. The correspondence of these factors to the traditional Big Five factors is discussed.

Examination of the paths between personality, current mood, its evaluation, and emotion regulation

In an ongoing longitudinal study, a Big Five Personality Inventory was completed by 122 men and 126 women at age 33. At age 36, the Brief Mood Introspection Scale, the Meta‐Evaluation Scale, and the Meta‐Regulation Scale were administered to 140 men and 127 women. The results, based on path analyses, lent support to a hypothesized model, according to which current mood (Negative, Positive, Active, Calm) and mood evaluation (Mood Influence, Typicality and Acceptance, Clarity) mediate the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and emotion regulation strategies (Repair, Dampening, Maintenance). For both sexes, Neuroticism was the most significant trait in terms of emotion regulation. A sex difference emerged: in general, personality traits and mood variables explained emotion regulation more significantly in men. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The implicit theories approach to the self‐monitoring controversy

In the face of uncertainty and disagreement about the meaning and measurement of the self‐monitoring construct, the author proposes an implicit theories approach to shed light on what self‐monitoring scales may be tapping. The first study explored people's notions of what high and low self‐monitors are like, based on the statements in the 18‐item Self‐Monitoring Scale (Gangestad and Snyder, 1985). The second study compared that measure with Lennox and Wolfe's (1984) Revised Self‐Monitoring Scale and examined defensive motivation within the scales. The third study consisted of two experiments to determine whether subjects perceived the items of Gangestad and Snyder's Self‐Monitoring Scale as reflecting a unitary latent entity or separate, contradictory variables. It was concluded that the implicit theories approach appears to be a useful complement to traditional factor analytic studies, providing new ways of looking at a personality construct, clarifying some theoretical issues, and generating hypotheses for future research.

An alternative multi‐language structure for personality attributes

A scientific taxonomy of human personality attributes should optimally be based on studies from multiple languages and cultures. Study 1 demonstrates convergence between seven‐factor structures found in previous studies of Filipino and Hebrew languages. Study 2 shows that this ‘Multi‐Language Seven’ (ML7) factor model overlaps partially with the Big Five model, but includes four rather than three affective–interpersonal factors, replicates in American English lexical data nearly as well as the Big Five, and has close correspondences to the structure upon which two Italian lexical studies have converged. Correlates were used to clarify interpretation of ML7 factors labelled Gregariousness, Self‐Assurance, Even Temper ‘versus Temperamentalness’, Concern for Others, Conscientiousness, Originality/Virtuosity, and Negative Valence ‘or Social Unacceptability’. These studies indicate the viability of a lexically derived ‘etic’ alternative to the Big Five. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Emotional Stability and Affective Self–regulatory Efficacy Beliefs: Proofs of Integration between Trait Theory and Social Cognitive Theory

The present study aimed to investigate the development and interplay of emotional stability and affective self–regulatory efficacy beliefs through adolescence to young adulthood. A latent growth curve approach was used to investigate level and stability of emotional stability and self–efficacy in managing negative emotions and in expressing positive emotions. We found that initial levels of emotional stability and self–efficacy beliefs are highly correlated. In accordance with the posited hypothesis, the growth rate of perceived self–efficacy in managing negative emotions predicted the growth rate of emotional stability, whereas the opposite path was not significant. The growth rates of perceived self–efficacy in expressing positive emotions and emotional stability were not related to each other. Taken together, these findings point to self–efficacy beliefs as instrumental to the change of traits. Practical implications of results are discussed, highlighting the role of social cognitive theory in supplying the proper strategies to design effective interventions to enable people to make the best use of their potentials. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In search of explanations: A rejoinder to Borkenau

The main points raised by Borkenau against our challenge of the 'intuitive psychometrics' view of personality judgements are discussed, in particular his example of the link between school grades and intelligence. It is argued that the semantic similarity interpretation advanced in our paper is more adequate and more parsimonious than explanations in terms of psychometric reasoning.

An expedition in search of a fifth universal factor: Key issues in the lexical approach

It is argued that the fifth factor of the Big Five Model of personality traits cannot yet claim universal status. In order to identify a fifth factor within the lexical approach it is necessary to make full use of the potentialities of the psycholexical principles. Several flaws in the lexical enterprise are discussed, both regarding the theoretical delineation of traits and the operational—dictionary‐related—identification of trait descriptors. Hitherto largely implicit definitions of traits should be made explicit, and agreement should be reached about the theoretical width of the trait domain. Also, in order to obtain cross‐culturally comparable results, the procedural steps in the lexical search for trait terms should follow an agreed‐upon standard. None of the nominated fifth factors, for instance, Culture, Intellect, or Openness to Experience, has both proceeded from the lexical method and received unquestionable cross‐cultural affirmation.

The use of everyday personality language for scientific purposes

The major question of the article is whether the natural language of personality provides an adequate point of departure for the construction of a scientific system of personological categories. Five obstacles to this endeavour are: (1) the domain is dificult to delineate, both with respect to its categories and in the choosing of items within categories; (2) the extent to which terms can be translated from one language to another appears to be limited; (3) the overwhelming role of evaluative aspects is embarrassing from a scientific point of view; (4) instead of obeying simple and clear taxonomic principles, the domain appears to be unruly in this respect; and (5) many terms and expressions are paradoxical when used in the first person. Tentative and partial solutions to these problems are proposed.

Proximity to central tendency and usefulness in attaining goals as predictors of prototypicality for behaviour‐descriptive categories

This study investigated determinants of the internal structure of categories of directed behaviours. For the categories Sport, Gardening, Craft, Making music, and Housekeeping, proximity to the category's central tendency and usefulness in accomplishing category‐specific goals were compared as predictors of prototypicality ratings. In a preliminary study, subjects suggested activities and goals for the five categories. In the main study, subjects estimated the prototypicality of these activities for the categories, their usefulness in attaining the category‐specific goals, and the similarity of the activities among each other. Family resemblance scores were derived from the latter ratings. It was found that family resemblance and usefulness in attaining category‐specific goals were about equally useful in predicting the actual prototypicality ratings.

Zero‐variable theories in the analysis of social phenomena

Are the background and context of complex social behaviour neglected in theory‐building? This sweeping question is handled here in a highly specific way. First, the character of the everyday ‘explainer's’ theories is examined, and it is found that the explainer's accounts of social behaviour can go in different directions. These directions, which are regarded here as opposite ends of a continuum, are: (1) the explainer takes into account the manifold personal and contextual factors that bear on psychological accompaniments of behaviour; (2) the person whose behaviour is to be explained is first categorized (e.g. ‘aggressive type’), whereby reference to the category then serves as the explanation. While an optimistic view of progress in psychological theorizing (cf. Lewin, 1931; Wegner and Vallacher, 1977) would lead one to think that the scientific psychologist would steer away from such simplified, ‘aggressive type’ explanations, a glance at widespread, current accounts of complex social behaviour reveals that these modes of explaining are indeed a dominant mode. The primary aspects of this paper are then devoted to several observations on this direction of theorizing, and it is proposed that such theorizing (a) reduces one's theory to a list of behaviours; (b) results in no antecedent, psychological variables; (c) depends on a trivial, circular form of research for support; (d) develops in the direction of trying to claim all of the variation within the behaviour realm being studied; and (e) precludes theoretical integration, in that the criterion of success within such endeavours is the uniqueness of the theorist's own classification system.

Explaining very early acute mild traumatic brain injury after motor vehicle collision pain variability: additive value of pain sensitivity questionnaire

Introduction and Objectives:

Chronic pain is a common postcollision consequence. Wherein, a clearer understanding of acute pain can help stem the acute-to-chronic pain transition. However, the variability of acute pain is only partially explained by psychophysical pain characteristics as measured by quantitative sensory testing. The Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire (PSQ) may reflect inherent psychocognitive representations of patient's sensitivity and thus may reveal less-explored pain dimensions. In the vein of the biopsychosocial approach, this study aimed to explore whether PSQ holds additive value in explaining head and neck pain reports in very early acute-stage mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) after collision, above the use of psychophysical assessment.

Methods:

Study cohort (n = 130) consisted of mTBI patients (age range 19–66, 57 F) after accident with area-of-injury pain of at least 20 on the day of testing (mean pain 58.4 ± 21.6, range 20–100 Numerical Pain Scale) who underwent clinical, psychophysical, and pain-related psychological assessment within 72-hour after injury.

Results:

Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire scores were significantly correlated with acute clinical, psychophysical, and pain-related psychological measures. Regression model (R² = 0.241, P < 0.001) showed that, together, age, sex, high PSQ, enhanced temporal summation, and less-efficient conditioned pain modulation explained head and neck pain variance. This model demonstrated that the strongest contribution to degree of postinjury pain was independently explained by PSQ (ß = 0.32) and then pressure pain threshold-conditioned pain modulation (ß = −0.25).

Conclusion:

Appraisal of cognitive daily-pain representations, by way of memory and imagination, provides an additional important dispositional facet to explain the variability in the acute mTBI postcollision clinical pain experience, above assessing nociceptive responsiveness to experimentally induced pain.

Multi-sensory Responsiveness and Personality Traits Predict Daily Pain Sensitivity

Background: A continuous effort has been devoted to identifying factors that contribute to individual differences in pain perception. Amongst the personality traits, Neuroticism is assumed to be the most significant moderator of experimental and clinical pain. Multi-sensory responsiveness to daily sensations has been shown to be associated with pain perception. Yet, neither the relationship between personality traits and multi-sensory responsiveness nor the impact of both these factors to pain perception have been examined. Thus, this study aims to explore the contribution of both multi-sensory responsiveness and personality traits to pain perception in a daily context.

Methods: A community-based sample of 204 adults completed the Sensory Responsiveness Questionnaire-Intensity Scale (SRQ-IS); the Big Five Inventory (BFI); and the Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire (PSQ).

Results: The partial eta-square demonstrated that the SRQ-IS Aversive sub-scale score had the strongest relationship with the PSQ-Total score, accounting for 9% of the variation. The regression coefficient relating PSQ-Total score with SRQ-IS Aversive, and BFI sub-scales of Extraversion, Neuroticism and Openness-to-Experience scores was found to be r = 0.39 (p < 0.0001), accounting for 16% of the variance, and yielding a large effect size.

Discussion: To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to report on the interplay between aversive responsiveness to daily sensations and personality traits of Neuroticism, Openness-to-Experience, and Extraversion as contributing factors to daily pain sensitivity, amongst which aversive responsiveness was found as the major contributing factor. This study may broaden the understanding of the pain experience variability, both in practice and in experimental research.

Do State and Trait Measures Measure States and Traits? The Case of Community-Dwelling Caregivers of Older Adults

Spielberger’s state and trait anxiety and anger scales are widely used and documented, but there is little or no direct evidence that they actually measure their respective state and trait aspects as was intended. We conducted latent state-trait analyses on data collected from 310 community-dwelling caregivers of older adult care recipients and found that (a) both state and trait scales reflected a mixture of state and trait aspects of their latent constructs, (b) state scales reflected more state-like variance than did corresponding trait scales, but (c) both state and trait scales were dominated by stable trait-like variance. Follow-up bivariate latent state-trait analyses indicated that correlations between trait components of anger and anxiety correlated more strongly with trait components of caregiver–care recipient mutually communal behavior and care recipient problem behavior than did state–state component correlations. Implications for the measurement of state and trait components of psychological constructs are discussed.

Short Version Dental Anxiety Inventory Score May Predict the Response in the Insular Cortex to Stimuli Mimicking Dental Treatment

Background: Dental anxiety is a common reason for avoiding dental visits and is associated with poor dental status. The short version of Dental Anxiety Inventory (SDAxI) is an easy-to-use, multi-faceted questionnaire for assessing the level of trait dental anxiety. However, there was no neurophysiological data indicating if its score associates with the state anxiety when an individual is under real/mock dental environment. We hypothesized that there exists such an association. Materials and Methods: Twenty systemic healthy adults with dental attendance experience and self-claimed free of dental phobia were recruited in this cross-sectional study, with their dental anxiety level assessed by SDAxI. Functional magnetic resonance imaging recorded their brain signals in response to audiovisual footages resembling dental scaler or turbine in action. After the brain imaging, they gave fear ratings to the footages in visual analog scale (VAS). Results: Participants' SDAxI scores positively correlated with their responses in the insular cortex (r² = 0.388-0.445, P < 0.005). Their SDAxI scores also positively correlated with their fear ratings of the footages (r ² = 0.415-0.555, P < 0.005). Discussion: Our findings indicated a possible neurobiological relevance of SDAxI, and reinforced its neurobiological validity in assessing dental anxiety level of dental attenders.

Parental Reactivity to Disruptive Behavior in Toddlerhood: An Experimental Study

Disruptive child behavior is often exacerbated and maintained by negative and inconsistent parenting behavior that unwittingly reinforces disruptive behavior. One explanation for why parents render it difficult to remain positive and consistent might be the impact of disruptive child behavior on parent self-efficacy and stress. This study investigates how disruptive child behavior in a challenging parenting situation shapes parental momentary thoughts of self-efficacy and feelings of stress (i.e., perceived distress and physiological arousal), and how these in turn predict parenting behavior. We experimentally manipulated a challenging parenting situation that was designed to elicit disruptive child behavior. Specifically, we examined: (1) the effects of the challenging condition compared to a control situation on parental state self-efficacy and stress, (2) whether parents with lower trait self-efficacy and higher trait stress in daily life are most affected, and (3) how state self-efficacy and stress predict parental subsequent use of direct commands and positive affect. Parent-toddler dyads were randomly assigned to a challenging or control situation (N = 110, Mage = 30.9 months). As predicted, parents in the challenging situation, relative to control, reported less self-efficacy and more perceived distress, and showed increased physiological arousal. Self-efficacy was compromised particularly in parents with low trait self-efficacy. Our findings suggest that child disruptive behavior drives parental state self-efficacy and stress, especially momentary self-efficacy in parents who generally feel less self-efficacious.

Is the most representative skunk the average or the stinkiest? Developmental changes in representations of biological categories

People often think of categories in terms of their most representative examples (e.g., robin for BIRD). Thus, determining which exemplars are most representative is a fundamental cognitive process that shapes how people use concepts to navigate the world. The present studies (N = 669; ages 5 years - adulthood) revealed developmental change in this important component of cognition. Studies 1-2 found that young children view exemplars with extreme values of characteristic features (e.g., the very fastest cheetah) as most representative of familiar biological categories; the tendency to view average exemplars in this manner (e.g., the average-speeded cheetah) emerged slowly across age. Study 3 examined the mechanisms underlying these judgments, and found that participants of all ages viewed extreme exemplars as representative of novel animal categories when they learned that the variable features fulfilled category-specific adaptive needs, but not otherwise. Implications for developmental changes in conceptual structure and biological reasoning are discussed.

Making Ours Mine: Increasing Consumer Acceptance of Access-Based PSS through Temporary Product Customisation

Access-based product-service systems (AB-PSS) have the potential to lower environmental impacts. Currently, a lack of consumer acceptance and, consequently, low adoption levels of AB-PSS are challenges preventing the realisation of their sustainability potential. This study proposes temporary product customisation to lower barriers for the acceptance of AB-PSS. We investigated whether customisation through modifying the appearance of an easily changeable attribute of a typical product, and thereby changing the product personality, could improve consumer acceptance while limiting the impact on sustainability. To explore this, a 3 × 1 between-group design experiment was conducted with consumers who are familiar with offerings similar to the AB-PSS we tested. The results indicate that respondents have a strong preference, as is widely recognised, for typical products in an AB-PSS. Infusing meaning and intangible value into accessed products through customisation can simultaneously lead to wider acceptance in the market and individual consumers’ satisfaction. Our findings confirm that consumer acceptance increases if a product fulfils intangible needs along with functionality needs. The results can be used to think about new ways in which product design can enhance the diffusion of AB-PSS in the consumer market.

Experimental Studies on State Self-Objectification: A Review and an Integrative Process Model

This paper provides an organizing framework for the experimental research on the effects of state self-objectification on women. We explain why this body of work, which had grown rapidly in the last 20 years, departs from the original formulation of objectification theory (Fredrickson and Roberts, 1997). We compare the different operationalizations of state self-objectification and examine how they map onto its theoretical definition, concluding that the operationalizations have focused mostly on one component of this construct (concerns about one's physical appearance) while neglecting others (adopting a third-person perspective and treating oneself as a dehumanized object). We review the main findings of studies that experimentally induced state self-objectification and examined its affective, motivational, behavioral, cognitive, and physiological outcomes. We note that three core outcomes of this state as specified by objectification theory (safety anxiety, reduced flow experiences, and awareness of internal body states) have hardly been examined so far. Most importantly, we introduce an integrative process model, suggesting that the reported effects are triggered by four different mechanisms: appearance monitoring, experience of discrepancy from appearance standards, stereotype threat, and activation of the "sex object" schema. We propose strategies for distinguishing between these mechanisms and explain the theoretical and practical importance of doing so.

Social interactions impact on the dopaminergic system and drive individuality

Individuality is a striking feature of animal behavior. Individual animals differ in traits and preferences which shape their interactions and their prospects for survival. However, the mechanisms underlying behavioral individuation are poorly understood and are generally considered to be genetic-based. Here, we devised a large environment, Souris City, in which mice live continuously in large groups. We observed the emergence of individual differences in social behavior, activity levels, and cognitive traits, even though the animals had low genetic diversity (inbred C57BL/6J strain). We further show that the phenotypic divergence in individual behaviors was mirrored by developing differences in midbrain dopamine neuron firing properties. Strikingly, modifying the social environment resulted in a fast re-adaptation of both the animal's traits and its dopamine firing pattern. Individuality can rapidly change upon social challenges, and does not just depend on the genetic status or the accumulation of small differences throughout development.

Ability Tests Measure Personality, Personality Tests Measure Ability: Disentangling Construct and Method in Evaluating the Relationship between Personality and Ability

Although personality and cognitive ability are separate (sets of) constructs, we argue and demonstrate in this article that their effects are difficult to tease apart, because personality affects the performance on cognitive tests and cognitive ability affects the item responses on personality assessments. Cognitive ability is typically measured with tests of items with correct answers; personality is typically measured with rating-scale self-reports. Oftentimes conclusions regarding the personality-ability relationship have as much to do with measurement methods as with the construct similarities and differences. In this article, we review key issues that touch on the relationship between cognitive ability and personality. These include the construct-method distinction, sources of test score variance, the maximal vs. typical performance distinction, and the special role for motivation in low-stakes testing. We review a general response model for cognitive and personality tests that recognizes those sources of test score variance. We then review the approaches for measuring personality through performance (objective personality tests, grit game, coding speed, economic preferences, and confidence), test and survey behavior (survey effort, response time, and item position effects), and real-world behavior (study time, registration latency, behavior residue, and social media). We also discuss ability effects on personality tests, indicated by age and cognitive ability effects, anchoring vignette rating errors, and instructions to 'fake good'. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for our understanding of personality and ability differences, and suggestions for integrating the fields.

Development and Preliminary Testing of the Food Choice Priorities Survey (FCPS): Assessing the Importance of Multiple Factors on College Students' Food Choices

Understanding factors that influence food choice may help improve diet quality. Factors that commonly affect adults' food choices have been described, but measures that identify and assess food choice factors specific to college students are lacking. This study developed and tested the Food Choice Priorities Survey (FCPS) among college students. Thirty-seven undergraduates participated in two focus groups ( n = 19; 11 in the male-only group, 8 in the female-only group) and interviews ( n = 18) regarding typical influences on food choice. Qualitative data informed the development of survey items with a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important). An expert panel rated FCPS items for clarity, relevance, representativeness, and coverage using a content validity form. To establish test-retest reliability, 109 first-year college students completed the 14-item FCPS at two time points, 0-48 days apart ( M = 13.99, SD = 7.44). Using Cohen's weighted κ for responses within 20 days, 11 items demonstrated moderate agreement and 3 items had substantial agreement. Factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure (9 items). The FCPS is designed for college students and provides a way to determine the factors of greatest importance regarding food choices among this population. From a public health perspective, practical applications include using the FCPS to tailor health communications and behavior change interventions to factors most salient for food choices of college students.

Trajectories of Children's Attitudes and Beliefs About Violence in Families Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) poses serious risks to the health of women. Numerous studies link children's IPV exposure to various forms of developmental psychopathology. One possible explanatory factor appears to be children's beliefs and attitudes about the violence they have witnessed. Little research has investigated how these beliefs may change over time. The sample consisted of 109 mother-child pairs where the mother experienced IPV in the past 2 years. Multilevel modeling was used to examine change in children's attitudes and beliefs over time. Maternal depression and corporal punishment were associated with higher initial levels of maladaptive beliefs about family violence. Children's beliefs about violence improved over time. Findings indicate that while cognitive treatments may offer some utility for intervening with children, providing intervention support for the broader family system (i.e., around maternal depression and use of corporal punishment) may also be important pathways to supporting families exposed to IPV.

Perceptual control models of pursuit manual tracking demonstrate individual specificity and parameter consistency

Computational models that simulate individuals’ movements in pursuit-tracking tasks have been used to elucidate mechanisms of human motor control. Whilst there is evidence that individuals demonstrate idiosyncratic control-tracking strategies, it remains unclear whether models can be sensitive to these idiosyncrasies. Perceptual control theory (PCT) provides a unique model architecture with an internally set reference value parameter, and can be optimized to fit an individual’s tracking behavior. The current study investigated whether PCT models could show temporal stability and individual specificity over time. Twenty adults completed three blocks of 15 1-min, pursuit-tracking trials. Two blocks (training and post-training) were completed in one session and the third was completed after 1 week (follow-up). The target moved in a one-dimensional, pseudorandom pattern. PCT models were optimized to the training data using a least-mean-squares algorithm, and validated with data from post-training and follow-up. We found significant inter-individual variability (partial η²: .464–.697) and intra-individual consistency (Cronbach’s α: .880–.976) in parameter estimates. Polynomial regression revealed that all model parameters, including the reference value parameter, contribute to simulation accuracy. Participants’ tracking performances were significantly more accurately simulated by models developed from their own tracking data than by models developed from other participants’ data. We conclude that PCT models can be optimized to simulate the performance of an individual and that the test-retest reliability of individual models is a necessary criterion for evaluating computational models of human performance.