Questions about the relationship between social cognition and social behaviour: The search for the missing link.

Describes the research context in which the question of the relationship between cognition and behavior has arisen within the field of social-cognitive development. A selective review of some of the studies emanating from this author's research program concerning the specific issue of the relations between the level of social cognition in the child and the adequacy of the child's social interactions in a naturalistic setting are presented. Studies included (1) the identification of the influence of children's level of social cognitive skills on the frequency and adequacy of their dyadic verbal communications during free play, (2) the examination of the relationships between preschooler's performance on laboratory measures of role playing and communication skills, and (3) measures of their request performance incorporating criteria similar to those in social-cognitive tasks. The potential flaws and limits of the original ways of measuring and conceptualizing these relations are examined. Finally, a sketch of the conditions that need to be considered for specific types of social behavior to be regulated by particular aspects of cognition is presented. (French abstract) (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy across the adult lifespan: Longitudinal and experience-sampling findings.

This study examined change in self-reported empathy in a four-wave longitudinal study spanning 12 years (1992-2004) and the association between empathy and other measures, including daily reports of relationship experiences. Participants initially ranged in age from 10 years to 87 years. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of age with empathy revealed divergent patterns. Whereas cross-sectional analyses suggested that older adults scored lower in empathy than younger adults, longitudinal analyses showed no age-related decline in empathy. This combined pattern suggests that the cross-sectional age-differences reflect a cohort rather than an age effect, with older cohorts reporting lower levels of empathy than younger ones. Independent of age, empathy was associated with a positive well-being (e.g., life satisfaction) and interaction profile (e.g., positive relations with others). In addition, a subsample of participants (n = 114) conducted experience-sampling about social interactions for a week. People with high self-reported empathy perceived their interactions as more meaningful, felt more positive in these interactions, and thought that their interaction partner felt also more positive. Thus, self-reported empathy was meaningfully associated with adults' actual social interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Central relationship themes in group psychotherapy: A social relations model analysis of transference.

Group members (N = 55) in 11 therapy groups reported central relationship themes (CRTs) (wishes, responses of others, and responses of self) with other group members and with a romantic partner. Social relations model analyses were used to partition the variance in group member CRT ratings with other members into perceiver, target, and relationship plus error variance components. Significant perceiver variance in member CRT ratings was proposed to serve as a proxy for transference. Overall, significant perceiver variance and mostly insignificant target variance was found, and the perceiver effect accounted for substantially more variance than the target effect. As an exploratory question, the authors wondered to what extent relationship variance accounted for the total variance in member ratings of their CRT. Unfortunately, relationship variance could not be separated from error in this study. Relationship plus error variance accounted for, on average, 42% of the variance in scores. In addition, as a test of the social microcosm of the group theory, it was hypothesized that group member CRTs within the group would relate to member CRTs with a romantic partner outside of the group. Contrary to expectation, this hypothesis was not supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A social relations model test of the interpersonal circle.

Argues that D. J. Kiesler's (see record 1983-30243-001) interpersonal circle theory of structure of relationships does not provide a method to distinguish between the influence of individual differences and relationship specific effects. It is suggested that D. A. Kenny and L. LaVoie's (1984) social relations model separates these effects but lacks a comprehensive guide for which domains of interpersonal behavior to study. The present authors use the social relations model to test Kiesler's proposition that complimentarity on the affiliation dimension results in correspondence, whereas complimentarity on the control dimension results in reciprocity. Round-robin analyses of variance (ANOVAs) of 16 graduate students' ratings of each other in experiential groups revealed clear support for correspondence on the affiliation dimension but inconclusive results for reciprocity on the control dimension. Making a bridge between the interpersonal circle and the social relations model highlights the potential importance of 3 perspectives toward relationships: 2 kinds of individual differences across relationships, 1-sided relationship specific effects, and mutual relationship specific effects. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is it better to receive than to give? Empathy in the conflict–distress relationship.

The moderating effect of partner empathy on the relationship between both directions of work–family conflict (work-to-family and family-to-work) and psychological distress of both the job incumbent and partner are examined in this study. Considering empathy as a specific dimension of emotional social support, we hypothesized that receiving empathy would buffer negative spillover to the job incumbent while giving empathy would exacerbate negative crossover to the partner. A study of 270 job incumbents and their partners revealed that receiving partner empathy fully moderated spillover effects due to family-to-work conflict but had no effects with work-to-family conflict. We also found it interesting that giving partner empathy moderated the crossover effects on family-to-work conflict but had no effects with work-to-family conflict. Implications of these findings and avenues for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Naturalistic social cognition: Methodology, assessment, and validation.

Developed the expanded dyadic interaction paradigm, a research paradigm for the study of naturalistic social cognition, and examined whether the paradigm can be used to obtain reliable and valid measures of the actual thoughts and feelings that individuals experience in unstructured dyadic interactions. The paradigm's utility in empirically revealing the ways in which social behavior and social cognition are related in unstructured, dyadic interactions was also assessed. Data from 31 female and 29 male undergraduates provide evidence for the interrater reliability and the construct validity (i.e., face and content validity, concurrent validity, divergent and convergent validity) of the thought and feeling measures obtained by this procedure. The degree of Ss' behavioral involvement in their interactions was related to a number of thought–feeling indices (e.g., total number of entries, percentage of positive partner entries), and its relations with the percentages of positive, neutral, and negative entries were further moderated by internal correspondence and private self-consciousness. Some parallels in the behavioral and thought–feeling correlates of gender were noted (e.g., females' affective tone of their thoughts and feelings was more positive and less negative than that of males). (72 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A study of the interpersonal influence process in supervision.

Examined the interpersonal influence process between 20 counselor supervisors (SPs) and 33 trainees (TRs) in an applied setting over 15 wks. Specifically investigated was the relationship between TRs' perceptions of SPs' expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness and (a) SPs' and TRs' reported changes in TRs' professional and personal behaviors and attitudes and (b) both groups' perceptions of the supervisory relationship. There was not a significant relationship between the respective ratings of perceived expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness and either group's rating of the SPs' impact on TRs' personal and professional development. There was a positive correlation between TRs' perceptions of SP characteristics and both TRs' perceptions of the therapeutic relationship and their satisfaction with supervision. Findings are discussed in terms of S. R. Strong's (1968) 2-stage model of the influence process. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The social relations model: A tool for group psychotherapy research.

The social relations model presented in this article provides a solution to some of the problems that plague group psychotherapy research. The model was designed to analyze nonindependent data and can be used to study the ways in which group members interrelate and influence one another. The components of the social relations model are the constant (i.e., group effect), the perceiver effect, the target effect, the relationship effect, and error. By providing estimates of the magnitude of these 5 factors and by examining the relationships among these factors, the social relations model allows investigators to examine a host of research questions that have been inaccessible. Examples of applications of the social relations model to issues of group leadership, interpersonal feedback, and process and outcome research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Simultaneous study of individual differences and relationship effects in attraction.

35 psychology graduate students in 4 experiential groups rated their attraction to each other after the 6th and 12th weekly meeting. Variance due to relationship effects in attraction was substantially larger than either actor or partner individual difference effects. There were significant individual differences in eliciting but not in giving attraction. Findings extend earlier research and demonstrate the incremental validity of studying relationship effects separately from individual difference effects in interpersonal attraction. The simultaneous study of individual differences and relationship effects offer the possibility of determining the relative contribution of these 2 types of effects. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of two methods to teach smoking-cessation techniques to medical students

PURPOSE: To evaluate two smoking-cessation practice exercises, one using standardized patients (SPs), the other using role playing by medical students. METHOD: In the spring of 1994 all 120 first-year University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine Students were given lectures on the health effects of smoking and how physicians can help patients quit. Afterward some of the students were randomly assigned to two groups in which to practice counseling patients: Group 1 (n = 35) used SPs, Group 2 (n = 37) used role playing. Each of the Group 1 students practiced smoking-cessation techniques with an SP; the SP evaluated the student on cognitive and communication skills, assigned an overall rating, and provide feedback using a standardized form. The Group 2 students (as well as the 48 students not assigned to a group) role-played in pairs and used the same form to provide feedback. All the students evaluated their respective practice practices. Two weeks later 24 Group 1 and 31 Group 2 students participated in a clinic-skills-assessment exercise using SPs. As in the Group 1 practice exercise, each student was evaluated by an SP on cognitive and communication skills and assigned an overall rating. Data were analyzed through a number of statistical methods. The cost of the SP program was determined. RESULTS: The Group 1 students rated their practice exercise much more favorably than did the Group 2 students. However, there was no significant difference between the groups in their ratings by the SPs on the clinical-skills-assessment exercise. The use of SPs cost a great deal more than did the use of role playing. CONCLUSION: Although the students rated the SPs higher than they did the role playing, the two tools produced similar levels of skills attainment. The data suggest that having students practice smoking-cessation techniques through role playing may be as effective as using the more extensive SPs.     

Loneliness, attachment, and the perception and use of social support in university students.

This study examined factors related to family, social, and romantic loneliness in 173 undergraduate students (66 males, 107 females). Participants completed measures of attachment style, perceived availability of social support, use of social support coping, and loneliness. Results indicated that participants with greater attachment security reported lower levels of all types of loneliness compared to those with less attachment security, and this was partially mediated by perceived social support but not the use of social support coping. When examining underlying attachment constructs, a more positive model of others was related to less family and social loneliness, and these associations were mediated by greater perceived social support. Model of others also was associated with less romantic loneliness and model of self was associated with less loneliness in all domains, and these relations were partially mediated by perceived social support. Findings are discussed with respect to possible interventions to increase students' perceptions of available social support and to decrease overall loneliness levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Responses to interpersonal transgressions in families: Forgivingness, forgivability, and relationship-specific effects.

Social relations analyses examined the relative importance of forgivingness (disposition to forgive others), forgivability (tendency to obtain forgiveness from others), and relationship effects in determining family members' transgression-related interpersonal motivations (TRIMs) and their perceptions of others' TRIMs toward them (PTRIMs). In 2 studies, the individual and dyadic predictors of these components and their relative importance differed by family role (father, mother, or early adolescent child). Dispositional tendencies accounted for the most variance in father and child forgiveness, whereas mothers' TRIMs and PTRIMs were more strongly determined by relationship and partner effects. Personality correlates of forgivingness and forgivability were moderated by family role. The findings point to the need to embed the study of forgiveness in more complex psychosocial contexts. The theoretical, methodological, and applied implications of this conclusion are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Political Skill: An Antidote in the Role Overload–Strain Relationship.

Political skill is characterized by social perceptiveness and the ability to adjust one's behavior to different and changing situational needs to influence others. The authors argue that politically skilled individuals enjoy a sense of personal security that allows them to perceive interpersonal control over the process and outcomes of interpersonal interactions within organizations. The authors examine the buffering effects of political skill on the perceived role overload-strain relationship, with strain operationalized as job tension, job (dis)satisfaction, and general anxiety. Results support the hypothesized moderating effects of political skill such that greater political skill reduces the negative effects of role overload on all types of strain. The contributions and limitations of the study are discussed, as are directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Allocentrism and Friendship Satisfaction: The Mediating Roles of Disclosure and Closeness.

Based on interdependence theory and the interpersonal process model of intimacy, individuals' personal attributes, perceptions, cognitions, and affect should influence relationship expectations. Self-disclosure is one form of behavioural interdependence and includes perceptions of the partner's disclosure. These behaviours (own disclosure) and perceptions (perceived partner's disclosure) should impact cognitions about the self and partner (cognitive closeness) and affect about the relationship (satisfaction). Personal attributes also determine how people react. Allocentrism, one personal attribute, refers to an individual's orientation involving emotional ties and dependence on others. A study involving cross-sex friendships tested whether allocentrism predicted own disclosure, own disclosure predicted perceived friend's disclosure, which predicted closeness, and finally closeness predicted satisfaction. A series of hierarchical regressions supported these relations and accounted for 23% of the variance in satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting unpredictability: Do measures of interpersonal rigidity/flexibility and distress predict intraindividual variability in social perceptions and behavior?

Maladjusted individuals have been theorized to exhibit problematic intraindividual variability of social behavior across situations. This variability is either excessively high (i.e., unpredictable) or low (i.e., rigid), or the behavior is inappropriately matched to the interpersonal context (noncomplementary). However, research has not tested systematically whether interpersonal distress and purported measures of rigidity actually predict these different types of variability across a broad range of social situations. Participants completed measures of interpersonal functioning and then responded to a range of hypothetical interpersonal scenarios, rating perceptions of others and their own expected behavioral responses (Study 1). A subset of participants also rated others’ and their own social behaviors across a week of naturalistic social interactions (Study 2). Results most consistently suggested that interpersonal distress predicts high intraindividual variability, with little support for the measurement or theory of rigidity. Moreover, variability of social perceptions partially mediated the link between distress and behavioral variability. Results largely persisted even after accounting for gender and variables’ mean levels, and cannot be fully explained by interpersonal complementarity. The implications of these dynamic processes for understanding personality and interpersonal adjustment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A social relations model of observed family negativity and positivity using a genetically informative sample.

The goal of this study was to investigate individual and relationship influences on expressions of negativity and positivity in families. Parents and adolescents were observed in a round-robin design in a sample of 687 families. Data were analyzed using a multilevel social relations model. In addition, genetic contributions were estimated for actor effects. Children showed higher mean levels of negativity and lower mean levels of positivity as actors than did parents. Mothers were found to express and elicit higher mean levels of positivity and negativity than fathers. Actor effects were much stronger than partner effects, accounting for between 18%–39% of the variance depending on the actor and the outcome. Genetic (35%) and shared environmental (19%) influences explained a substantial proportion of the actor effect variance for negativity. Dyadic reciprocities were lowest in dyads with a high power differential (i.e., parent–child dyads) and highest for dyads with equal power (sibling and marital dyads). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relational support in families with adolescents.

To better understand what determines the support that family members perceive in dyadic family relationships, this study tested to what extent the perceiver, the partner, their specific relationship, and the family determine perceived support, and whether these effects differ for horizontal (i.e., marital and sibling) versus vertical (i.e., parent-child) relationships, or for different types of perceivers (i.e., parents versus adolescents). Two parents and two adolescents in 288 Dutch families judged the support perceived from each other. Social relations model analysis showed support perceptions to be more determined by the perceiver than by the partner, partly relationship specific, partly generation specific, and partly family specific. Relationship-specific support and reciprocity are more important in horizontal relationships than in vertical ones. Adolescents' support perceptions were more perceiver determined than were parents' perceptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The National Conference on Scientist-Practitioner Education and Training for the Professional Practice of Psychology.

Reports on the National Conference on Scientist–Practitioner (SP) Education and Training for the Professional Practice of Psychology held January 16–20, 1990. The conference was held to define the essential characteristics of the SP model, which has served as the framework for many training programs in clinical psychology. Themes of the conference included necessity of the model, integration, and identification of SPs. A 9-point professional practice experiential core was proposed, and the integration of the basic scientific core with all coursework and other didactic and experiential components of the program was proved essential. The conference policy standard is appended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task-dependent modulation of inhibitory actions within the primary motor cortex

In 11 healthy subjects motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) and silent periods (SPs) were measured in the right first dorsal interosseus (FDI) and abductor pollicis brevis muscles (APB): (1) when transcranial magnetic cortex stimulation (TMS) was applied at tonic isometric contraction of 20% of maximum force, (2) when TMS was applied during tactile exploration of a small object in the hand, (3) when TMS was applied during visually guided goal-directed isometric ramp and hold finger flexion movements, and (4) when at tonic isometric contraction peripheral electrical stimulation (PES) of the median nerve was delivered at various intervals between PES and TMS. Of the natural motor tasks, duration of SPs of small hand muscles was longest during tactile exploration (APB 205+/-42 ms; FDI 213+/-47 ms). SP duration at tonic isometric contraction amounted to 172+/-35 ms in APB and 178+/-31 ms in FDI, respectively. SP duration in FDI was shortest when elicited during visually guided isometric finger movements (159+/-15 ms). At tonic isometric contraction, SP was shortened when PES was applied at latencies -30 to +70 ms in conjunction with TMS. The latter effect was most pronounced when PES was applied 20 ms before TMS. PES-induced effects increased with increasing stimulation strength up to a saturation level which appeared at the transition to painful stimulation strengths. Both isolated stimulation of muscle afferents and of low-threshold cutaneous afferents shortened SP duration. However, PES of the contralateral median nerve had no effect on SPs. Amplitudes of MEPs did not change significantly in any condition. Inhibitory control of motor output circuitries seems to be distinctly modulated by peripheral somatosensory and visual afferent information. We conclude that somatosensory information has privileged access to inhibitory interneuronal circuits within the primary motor cortex.     

Studying group dynamics with the social relations model.

Although the interdependence of group members is one of the defining characteristics of group dynamics, most traditional statistical methods require each observation to be independent. D. Kenny's (1994) social relations model (SRM) provides a statistical technique for studying interdependence in groups. The components of the SRM (e.g., actor, partner, relationship) and the ways in which this model can be used to study interpersonal behavior and perception in groups are reviewed. Findings from social relations analyses of leadership and group therapy are discussed to demonstrate the ways in which the SRM can contribute to the study of group dynamics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)