 Subjects -> PSYCHOLOGY (Total: 983 journals)
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- Threat impairs flexible use of a cognitive map
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Abstract: Abstract Goal-directed behavior requires adaptive systems that respond to environmental demands. In the absence of threat (or presence of reward), individuals can explore many behavioral trajectories, effectively interrogating the environment across multiple dimensions. This leads to flexible, relational memory encoding and retrieval. In the presence of danger, motivation shifts to an imperative state characterized by a narrow focus of attention on threatening information. This impairs flexible, relational memory. We test how these motivational shifts affect behavioral flexibility in an ecologically valid setting. Participants learned the structure of maze-like environments and navigated to the location of objects in both safe and threatening contexts. The latter contained a predator that could ‘capture’ participants, leading to electric shock. After learning, the path to some objects was unpredictably blocked, forcing a detour for which one route was significantly shorter. We predicted that threat would push participants toward an imperative state, leading to less efficient and less flexible navigation. Threat caused participants to take longer paths to goal objects and less efficient detours when obstacles were encountered. Threat-related impairments in detour navigation persisted after controlling for non-detour navigation performance, and non-detour navigation was not a reliable predictor of detour navigation. This suggests a specific impairment in flexible navigation during detours, an impairment unlikely to be explained by more general processes like predator avoidance or divided attention that may be present during non-detour navigation. These results provide ecologically valid evidence that dynamic, observable threats reduce flexible use of cognitive maps to guide behavior.
PubDate: 2023-12-01
- Focus on the need or feeling good' Coping through instrumental action
versus prohedonic distraction depends on the temporal efficacy of means-
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Abstract: Abstract Stressors (e.g., a dangerous environment) that create a need (e.g., a need for safety) can also elicit negative emotions (e.g., fear, distress, and sadness) and different strategies for coping with them. Subsequently, the types of coping strategies a person can employ either address (1) the source of the negative emotions (i.e., the need) or (2) the consequences of the negative emotions (i.e., the negative affective state). We hypothesized that the temporal efficacy of need-based actions determines when each type of coping strategy is pursued. Negative emotions encourage a person to address the need when the available need-based actions are efficacious (i.e., they meet the need) in the present (i.e., they meet the need soon after acquisition or usage). Negative emotions encourage a person to prioritize the negative affective state when the available need-based actions are efficacious in the future or have delayed availability.
PubDate: 2023-12-01
- Striving for identity goals by self-symbolizing on Instagram
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Abstract: Abstract The present research applies symbolic self completion theory (SCT) to explain online behaviors and predict what users will post on Instagram. Across three experiments, we tested whether medical and law students who sense incompleteness with respect to their professional identity goals engage in compensatory self-symbolizing by increasing their online posting of respective indicators of goal attainment (e.g., medical coats, court clothes). Study 1 found that incomplete medical students post more medicine-related symbols. Study 2 replicated this effect in a sample of law students and clarified that students’ self-symbolizing posts specifically relate to their incomplete goal (law career) and not to other non-pertinent domains (university life). Finally, Study 3 demonstrated that incomplete medical students only engage in self-symbolizing when their incompleteness refers to their career goal and not to other careers they do not aspire to (a law career). Implications for understanding online behavior, preventing negative consequences of self-symbolizing on social media, and deepening the study of self-completion processes are discussed.
PubDate: 2023-12-01
- Disentangling the relation among emotional cost, psychological cost, and
anxiety with College Students-
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Abstract: Abstract Across three studies (Ns = 263, 143, and 170) conducted in STEM and non-STEM classes, we sought to disentangle the relations between emotional cost, psychological cost, and anxiety. We examined evidence for the structural, discriminant, and predictive validity of the three constructs. Results from factor analyses supported the empirical distinction between emotional cost and psychological cost in two of three studies, but did not clearly support the distinction between emotional cost and anxiety in any studies. Results from regression analyses indicated that emotional cost and psychological cost predicted academic performance with different strength, whereas emotional cost and anxiety showed similar predictive power. Together, findings suggest that emotional cost and anxiety, despite often being conceptualized as distinct constructs, have significant empirical overlap based on measures commonly used in the field, whereas there was a somewhat clearer distinction between psychological and emotional cost.
PubDate: 2023-12-01
- Motivational pathways involved in women’s intentions to engage in
healthy and disordered eating behavior following a body-related
discrepancy-
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Abstract: Abstract The current mixed method study aimed to examine (1) the types of body-related discrepancies that college-aged women face, (2) the association between women’s motivation for eating regulation and intent to engage in healthy and disordered eating following such experiences, and (3) the mediating role of affect and compensation strategies in these relationships. Thematic analysis of narratives from a body-related self-discrepancy recall task revealed that Canadian college-aged women (N = 398) experience discrepancies related to the appearance and care of their bodies. These experiences were more likely to occur in a non-social-evaluative setting. A path analysis revealed that autonomous eating regulation was associated with healthy eating intentions, whereas controlled eating regulation was associated with disordered eating intentions following a recalled body-related discrepancy. These distinct pathways were partly explained by levels of self-compassion and selection of distinct behavioral and cognitive compensation strategies. Findings suggest that those with autonomous eating regulation possess a resource, self-compassion, which aids self-regulation following body-related threats.
PubDate: 2023-12-01
- The role of mindfulness and autonomous motivation for goal progress and
goal adjustment: an intervention study-
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Abstract: Abstract Previous correlational studies showed the importance of mindfulness and autonomous goal motivation for goal pursuit, goal setting, and goal disengagement processes. The present study examined the role of mindfulness in goal regulation processes for self-selected personal goals in a randomized waitlist control group design. Participants (N = 228, M = 30.7 years, 18–78 years; 84% female) either received daily 9-12-minute audio mindfulness exercises online for four weeks or were placed on a waitlist. Participants in the intervention group (N = 113) reported more goal progress compared with the control group (N = 116) at the end of the intervention. Autonomous goal motivation for already set goals did not influence change in goal progress. However, autonomous goal motivation for newly set goals was higher in the intervention group than in the control group. Additionally, we tested the role of mindfulness in interaction with goal attainability and autonomous motivation for goal adjustment processes (in this case, reduction of goal importance). In the control group, lower goal attainability at baseline was associated with a greater reduction in goal importance for less autonomous goals. For more autonomous goals, change in goal importance was independent from baseline attainability. In contrast, in the intervention group, all goals were slightly devalued over time independently from autonomous motivation and goal attainability at T1. Moreover, changes in goal attainability were positively linked to changes in goal importance over time. This effect was moderated by mindfulness and autonomous motivation. Overall, the findings point to the relevance of mindfulness and autonomous motivation for goal regulation processes.
PubDate: 2023-12-01
- Eco-Anxiety motivates pro-environmental behaviors: a Two-Wave Longitudinal
Study-
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Abstract: Abstract Recent studies suggest that eco-anxiety motivates pro-environmental behaviors. However, these studies are all cross-sectional in nature, and they frequently neglect possible important confounding variables (e.g., ecological identity). The present study was designed to deepen our understanding of the effect of eco-anxiety on pro-environmental behaviors by addressing the abovementioned limitations of recent research. The present study consisted of a 2-wave longitudinal study in which eco-anxiety and pro-environmental behaviors as well as possible confounding variables (i.e., ecological identity and personality) were assessed among French adults. As hypothesized, individuals’ experience of eco-anxiety at t1 was positively and significantly related to individuals’ engagement in pro-environmental behaviors at t2. This significant positive relationship was observed even when ecological identity, the Big Five domains of personality, and pro-environmental behaviors at t1 were controlled for. It thus appeared that compared with individuals with low levels of eco-anxiety at a given time, individuals with higher levels of eco-anxiety at a given time displayed a greater likelihood of experiencing increases in their subsequent engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. The results are discussed in light of current knowledge about the function of anxiety.
PubDate: 2023-12-01
- Identifying profiles of parental (de)motivating behaviors in youth
sports: A multi-informant approach-
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Abstract: Abstract Based on the perceptions of 331 youth athletes (Mage=14.33) and their most involved parent in sports (Mage = 45.96), this study examined whether different profiles of parental behavior (i.e., autonomy-, competence-, and relatedness-supportive and thwarting in the context of sports) could be identified, the extent to which these profiles align between the perceptions of athletes and parents, and how these profiles relate to youth athletes’ need-based experiences, (a)motivation, (dis)engagement, and anxiety regarding their sports participation. Independent cluster analyses on parent and athlete reports provided evidence for a similar cluster solution for both informants. Specifically, in the case of both informants, the cluster analyses identified four similar parental profiles: parents who are relatively (1) need-supportive, (2) need-thwarting, (3) predominantly controlling, and (4) distant when it comes to their child’s sports participation. In general, parents rated themselves as more motivating and less demotivating compared to athletes’ perceptions. Furthermore, parent reports had little to no predictive power with regard to the athletes’ sports experiences. However, athletes who perceived their parents as need-supportive showed the most adaptive outcomes, while the opposite was true for the need-thwarting profile. The other two profiles fell in between, with athletes in the predominantly controlling profile scoring high on both the adaptive and maladaptive outcomes, and athletes in the distant profile scoring low on the maladaptive outcomes but not necessarily high on the adaptive outcomes.
PubDate: 2023-12-01
- Does mortality salience make youths more materialistic' The role of
future orientation and awe-
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Abstract: Abstract Drawing upon terror management theory, the present study aimed to examine how mortality salience influences youth materialism as well as to explore the mediating role of future orientation and the moderating role of awe in the focal relationship. Three sub-studies (N = 2568) were conducted to test our theoretically driven hypotheses. In a large representative Chinese sample (Study 1), a set of questionnaires were used to provide preliminary evidence for our moderated mediation model. A positive association was found between mortality salience and youth materialism via future orientation; this association was much weaker for youths higher in trait awe. In follow-up studies, two priming experiments were performed to further improve the robustness of our hypothesized model. Youths in the mortality salience condition reported lower future orientation and higher materialism than those in the control condition. Inductions of mortality salience increased materialism by decreasing future orientation and that this mediation was conditioned on the level of trait awe (Study 2) and priming awe (Study 3). The findings not only illuminate the role of future orientation in explaining why mortality salience makes youths more materialistic but also highlight the role of awe in buffering the link between mortality salience and youth materialism. Thus, this work offers a significant contribution to prevention and intervention programs that aim to protect youths from the negative impact of death-related information and to promote their positive development.
PubDate: 2023-10-16
- Aligning with the agent of justice: Schadenfreude following punishment of
trust violators-
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Abstract: Abstract Four experiments used trust games to investigate schadenfreude’s effects on attitudes and behavior towards third parties who punish prior violations of participants’ trust. Across all studies, schadenfreude was stronger when trust violators received negative rather than positive outcomes, and participants’ perceptions that the violator deserved punishment positively predicted levels of schadenfreude. Further, participants had less favorable attitudes towards third parties who delivered more negative outcomes (Experiment 1), but attitudes and behavior were relatively more favorable when these negative outcomes were inflicted on trust violators (Experiment 2). Participants also had more favorable attitudes and behavior towards third parties who delivered punitive outcomes which did not themselves involve trust violations. Further, results were consistent with a statistical model where just world beliefs, deservingness, and schadenfreude serially mediated the effect of punishment on attitudes towards third-party punishers (Experiment 3). These results were replicated in the pre-registered Experiment 4 using a larger sample and more focused measures. Taken together, our findings are consistent with the view that schadenfreude following trust violations serves the social function of aligning relations with agents who administer retributive justice.
PubDate: 2023-10-15
- Ambitious people are more prone to support resource-intensive aid programs
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Abstract: Abstract In line with Significance Quest Theory (SQT, Kruglanski et al., 2022) and Costly Signaling Theory (CST, Zahavi, 1995), the present research aims to investigate the relationship between individual differences in ambition and support for costly (in terms of investment of personal resources) aid programs. Consistent with SQT, which holds that the quest for significance is a universal need that may lead to any type (e.g., violent or prosocial) of extreme behavior in order to satisfy it, we hypothesized that ambitious (vs. less ambitious) people are more motivated to engage in resource-intensive aid programs. In four studies (Total N = 744), both correlational (Studies 1 and 4) and experimental (Studies 2 and 3), we found a significant positive relationship between levels of ambition and support for resource-intensive aid programs; this relationship was mediated by difficulty perceived as important, i.e., the attribution of high value to difficult tasks and goals (Study 4).
PubDate: 2023-10-11
- Goal paralysis: How bad luck affects goal commitment
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Abstract: Abstract Prior research on luck has mostly focused on people’s attributions as to what causes it and how it affects behavior where luck is presumed to be central to the outcome (e.g., a gamble or lottery). The present research investigates the effect of luck on behavior where it is not presumed to be central to shaping the outcome—specifically, goal commitment. Four experiments show that bad luck induces goal paralysis by decreasing people’s commitment to their goals. This goal paralysis occurs because bad luck reduces people’s belief that they are capable of successfully executing behaviors (i.e., reduced self-efficacy) which undermines their subsequent willingness to exert effort at their goals. In addition, we identify goal expectancies as a moderating factor that can eliminate the demotivating effect of bad luck on goal commitment. Implications and potential extensions in the areas of luck, self-efficacy, and motivation are discussed.
PubDate: 2023-10-11
- Implicit and explicit learning of socio-emotional information are not
related to the level of depressive symptomatology-
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Abstract: Abstract Past research has found that depression is associated with a multitude of deficits in processing social stimuli. These deficits might impair the implicit (unconscious) learning of socio-emotional regularities, an essential process for adaptive social functioning. In contrast, previous research on adaptive functions of depression suggests that dysphoric states can be associated, in some circumstances, with increased accuracy in detecting regularities. However, a direct assessment of implicit learning of socio-emotional regularities in depression has not yet been conducted. In the present studies, we adapted the Artificial Grammar Learning task to induce implicit and explicit learning of regularities that govern social emotional stimuli (facial emotional expressions in Experiment 1) and social stimuli without explicit emotional content (body movements in Experiment 2). We assessed participants’ learning and awareness of these regularities, as well as their levels of depression. In both experiments, Bayesian analyses showed that the depressive symptomatology was neither associated with a learning deficit, nor with a learning advantage. This was the case for participants’ overall performance, as well as for their implicit and their explicit learning performance. Our results contradict most previous findings and show that, even though depressive symptoms are associated with a variety of socio-cognitive deficits, they do not hinder the ability to implicitly or explicitly learn regularities within social contexts. Our results also show some constraints on the types of abilities that can be enhanced by depressive states.
PubDate: 2023-10-01
- ‘Help, my teacher is pressuring me!’ The role of students’ coping
with controlling teaching in motivation and engagement-
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Abstract: Abstract Ample research has shown that a controlling teaching style is detrimental for students’ motivation and engagement in school. However, little is known about how students cope with such a teaching style. Therefore, grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the present study examines the role of four coping strategies (i.e. oppositional defiance, compulsive compliance, negotiation and accommodation) in students’ motivation and engagement. A repeated measures design with four weekly assessments was used to examine associations both at the between- and within-student level. The sample consisted of students from 4 to 6th grade (N = 433; 51% boys, Mage = 10.6 years). The findings showed that oppositional defiance exacerbated associations between controlling teaching and amotivation. The moderating role of both compulsive compliance and negotiation was limited. Accommodation buffered associations between controlling teaching and amotivation and low engagement at the within-person level of analysis. In addition to a moderating role, we also found evidence for a mediating role of coping. Specifically, controlling teaching related positively to oppositional defiance and compulsive compliance, which, in turn, were related to maladaptive student outcomes. Moreover, controlling teaching related positively to negotiation, which, in turn, related positively to adaptive student outcomes. Overall, the results underscore students’ active role in teacher–student dynamics. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
PubDate: 2023-10-01
- Back to the future: self-defining memory recall amplifies effects of
episodic future thinking on delay discounting-
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Abstract: Abstract Episodic future thinking (EFT), which involves constructing imagined future events utilizing content from memory, decreases delay discounting (DD). DD is related to numerous health and behavior problems. In two studies we examined the use of salient episodic memories to enhance EFT effects. In Study 1, 106 participants were randomized to groups that generated self-defining memories (SDM) or played a memory game to activate memory before EFT, and a control group that generated SDM followed by episodic recent thinking (ERT). Study 2 systematically replicated methods of Study 1 in a sample of 133 high discounters and added a group that generated memories in response to neutral words before EFT. Participants rated phenomenological qualities of episodic cues, as well as whether they activated identity. In both studies, the SDM-EFT group outperformed other groups. This research extends findings on the use of EFT, demonstrating how memories may enhance prospection and decision-making.
PubDate: 2023-10-01
- Effects of gratitude on intrinsic and extrinsic motivators in career
decision-making-
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Abstract: Abstract The role of emotions in career decision-making is receiving increasing attention, but few studies have assessed the role of gratitude, especially in the context of the trade-off between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators (i.e., interest vs. salary) influencing career decisions. Therefore, in the present research we conducted four studies to test the primary hypothesis that gratitude increases the preference for vocational interest relative to salary in career decision-making, as well as the underlying mechanism. The results from Studies 1 (N = 206) and 2 (N = 202), which used a measure of dispositional gratitude, and those of Study 3 (N = 176), which manipulated gratitude, showed that gratitude led to a stronger preference for interest relative to salary in terms of influencing career decisions. Study 4 (N = 489) provided an explanation for these results, revealing that self-esteem mediated the effect of gratitude on career choices. Overall, the results demonstrated the cognitive effect of gratitude in career decision-making, and suggested a need to study how discrete positive emotions influence career decisions.
PubDate: 2023-10-01
- Smiling at moral misbehaviors: the effect of violation benignness and
psychological distance-
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Abstract: Abstract Why do certain moral violations elicit amusement while others do not' According to McGraw and Warren’s (2010) benign-violation theory of humor, for a situation to elicit amusement it should involve a benign violation. Furthermore, the greater the psychological distance from the situation, the greater the amusement it will elicit. We tested this theory by recording spontaneous facial expressions and collecting self-ratings of amusement in response to classic scenarios of purity and harm violations, which we stated either from a psychologically close second-person perspective or a psychologically distant third-person perspective. A feature of these classic scenarios is that purity violations are relatively more benign (less malignant) than harm violations, which we independently found. The theory thus predicts more amusement elicitation for purity violations, which would be more pronounced when the hypothetical transgressor is a third party rather than the participant. We found that amusement was exclusively elicited by the more benign purity violations but no effect of psychological distance. Furthermore, the judged malignance of a violation was a strong predictor of amusement. Overall, the results partially support the benign violation theory of humor.
PubDate: 2023-10-01
- For the love of my child: How parents’ relative extrinsic aspirations
for children and interdependent self-construal predict their relational
well-being-
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Abstract: Abstract Self-determination theory suggests that holding extrinsic aspirations (e.g., getting rich) over and above other aspirations bears negative implications for one’s relational well-being. The present research examined whether this pattern generalizes to the aspirations people hold for significant others and more specifically whether parents’ extrinsic aspirations for children (AFC), relative to other AFC, predict their well-being in their relationships with children. We also examined whether this relationship varies depending on parents’ interdependent self-construal. Results of four correlational studies (N = 998 parents) revealed that, overall, relative extrinsic AFC predicted lower relational well-being. However, this relationship was attenuated among parents high (vs. low) in interdependent self-construal. This pattern of moderation was observed among U.S. parents at different stages of parenthood and partially replicated among a sample of Chinese parents. The findings suggest that interdependent self-construal could buffer against the negative implications of prioritizing extrinsic AFC for parental well-being.
PubDate: 2023-09-29
- Lay beliefs about boredom: A mixed-methods investigation
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Abstract: Abstract Boredom is a ubiquitous emotion that has strong behavioral and mental health impacts. Research suggests that how people experience and regulate emotions is influenced by their beliefs about them. What lay beliefs about boredom do people have' The present research sought to answer this question using a mixed-methods approach. In Study 1, we conducted a series of individual and focus-group interviews (N = 29) to explore how people evaluate boredom. In Study 2, we developed and validated a 15-item self-report measure, the Boredom Beliefs Scale (BBS), in Hong Kong Chinese (N = 231) and American (N = 498) samples. In Study 3, we examined the scale’s convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity in a British sample (N = 296). We identified three lay boredom beliefs—the extent to which people recognize the functions of boredom (boredom functionality), affectively dislike this emotion (boredom dislike), and believe its experience to be normal (boredom normalcy). The three-factor BBS was demonstrated to be a reliable and valid scale that showed meaningful relationships with measures of emotion beliefs, boredom, and well-being. Our findings enrich the current literature by introducing a new construct, boredom belief, which has both theoretical and applied significance.
PubDate: 2023-09-28
- Emotion crafting: Individuals as agents of their positive emotional
experiences-
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Abstract: Abstract The literature on emotion regulation (ER) is vast and insightful, but little is known about the proactive regulation of positive emotions. Herein we coin the term emotion crafting (EC), which is defined as proactively aiming to strengthen one’s positive emotions through two sequential components: being aware of what can make one feel good (i.e., awareness component) and proactively engaging in behaviors to initiate, maintain, or increase positive emotions (i.e., action component). We present a self-report measure of EC [i.e., the Emotion Crafting Scale (ECS)] and provide details on its discriminant and concurrent validity. Data were collected among a sample of 326 Norwegian adults (49.7% female; Mage = 42.90 years, SD = 14.76) who were representative in terms of age (between 18 and 70), gender, and geographical location within Norway. Results yielded evidence for a 2-factor structure consisting of the components Awareness and Action, which related in an expected way to other measures of ER. Subsequent structural equation modeling showed that the awareness component related positively to indicators of well-being and negatively to internalizing symptoms via higher levels of EC action and positive affect, even after controlling for other measures of ER. These promising findings not only support favorable reliability and validity of the ECS, but also underscore the importance of examining proactive regulation of positive emotions as a potential predictor of mental health. Future research is needed to examine the etiological role of EC in individuals’ psychological functioning.
PubDate: 2023-08-03
DOI: 10.1007/s11031-023-10035-0
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