Attributional style of lonely and depressed people.

Compared the attributional styles of lonely and nonlonely people and of depressed and nondepressed people in 2 studies. A questionnaire was formed, consisting of 20 hypothetical situations. Half of the situations were interpersonal, and half were not; half described successful outcomes, and half described failures. S selected an attributional alternative that best explained the outcome. The questionnaire was administered to 304 college students, along with the Beck Depression Inventory and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Results show that lonely and depressed people ascribe interpersonal failures to unchangeable characterological defects in themselves (e.g., a lack of ability). Because the prototype of a lonely person is more singularly interpersonal than is the prototype of a depressed person, it was hypothesized that loneliness would show higher correlations with the attributional style. This hypothesis was confirmed in Study 2 with approximately 200 college students. Findings were replicated using a modified version of the questionnaire. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The things people say to themselves.

"The one thing psychologists can count on is that their subjects or clients will talk, if only to themselves. And, not infrequently, whether relevant or irrelevant, the things people say to themselves determine the rest of the things they do." Major sections are: Thorndike on learning without awareness, Evidence and interpretations of the role of awareness, Verbal conditioning, An experiment, and Cognitive-noncognitive issue revaluated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do perceived popular adolescents who aggress against others experience emotional adjustment problems themselves?

Aggression is associated with a host of behavioral, social, and emotional adjustment difficulties. However, some aggressive youth are perceived as “popular” by peers. Although these perceived popular aggressive youth appear relatively well adjusted, especially in the social domain, the emotional well-being of these youth is understudied. The current findings indicate that perceived popularity buffers adolescents who hurt others through relational aggression from internalizing symptoms. In contrast, perceived popularity did not buffer adolescents who engaged in overt verbal and physical aggression from internalizing symptoms. The results suggest that relationally aggressive perceived popular adolescents may be especially resistant to intervention if their aggression helps them manipulate their social worlds but does not contribute to internalizing symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal problems and negative mood as predictors of within-day time to drinking.

Using data collected via handheld electronic diaries (EDs), we examined within-day associations between early-day negative moods and stress and subsequent time to drinking. A sample of 97 (n = 48 women) adults recruited to participate in a drinking-reduction intervention study used EDs to record mood and interpersonal problems at randomly selected times during each of 3 reporting intervals and drinking as it occurred each day for 21 days. Using multilevel hazard models, we tested associations between early-day stress/negative mood ratings and time to drinking as well as potential moderating effects of drinking to cope (DTC) motives on these associations. Whereas previous analyses of these data showed no associations between early-day negative moods and number of drinks consumed later in the day, here we found significant associations between negative moods and time to drinking. Associations involving negative moods, DTC, and hazard for drinking varied depending on time of day, and some mood effects were moderated by DTC. These findings suggest that time to drinking may be more sensitive to the effects of acute negative mood states than is drinking quantity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal psychotherapy with men who experience gender role conflict.

Although research on men's gender role conflict reveals that it adversely affects men's psychological health and interpersonal relationships, psychotherapists typically underuse knowledge of masculine gender roles in psychological assessment and treatment. Interpersonal psychotherapy is proposed as a useful framework for working with men whose rigid enactment of traditional male gender roles leads to intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict (i.e., gender role conflict). Thus, this article integrates knowledge of male gender role conflict and interpersonal psychotherapy to examine issues that men who experience gender role conflict bring to their important interpersonal relationships and the therapeutic relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Productivity loss in performance groups: People who see themselves as average do not engage in social loafing.

The authors predicted that individuals who see themselves as average (e.g., who have a generalized belief in being no better or worse than others) do not engage in social loafing, unlike those who see themselves as generally superior to others. As expected, study participants who felt uniquely superior expended less effort when working collectively than when working coactively on an easy task, but they actually worked harder collectively than coactively on a more challenging task. Such effects did not occur in participants who perceived themselves as average. Taken together, these findings provide further support for S. J. Karau and K. D. Williams's (see record 1994-33384-001) collective effort model. They also suggest that what people come to believe about the relation between the self and others is a crucial factor in collective work contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-efficacy training to speed reemployment: Helping people to help themselves.

Assessed the impact of training designed to boost general self-efficacy (GSE) on job-search activity and on reemployment among 66 persons unemployed for up to 18 wks. Randomly assigned experimental participants attended 8 behavioral-modeling workshop sessions over 2.5 wks. The manipulation check showed that training boosted GSE as intended. The workshop also increased job-search activity, confirming the hypothesis that raising GSE motivates intensification of effort. The treatment increased reemployment among participants low in initial GSE but not among those with high GSE. The greater plasticity of individuals low in GSE suggests that the practical utility of training is moderated by initial GSE. It is concluded that individuals of low GSE should be given priority access to scarce behavioral-modeling training resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How people see others is different from how people see themselves: A replicable pattern across cultures.

Consensus studies from 4 cultures—in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Germany—as well as secondary analyses of self- and observer-reported Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) data from 29 cultures suggest that there is a cross-culturally replicable pattern of difference between internal and external perspectives for the Big Five personality traits. People see themselves as more neurotic and open to experience compared to how they are seen by other people. External observers generally hold a higher opinion of an individual's conscientiousness than he or she does about him- or herself. As a rule, people think that they have more positive emotions and excitement seeking but much less assertiveness than it seems from the vantage point of an external observer. This cross-culturally replicable disparity between internal and external perspectives was not consistent with predictions based on the actor–observer hypothesis because the size of the disparity was unrelated to the visibility of personality traits. A relatively strong negative correlation (r = ?.53) between the average self-minus-observer profile and social desirability ratings suggests that people in most studied cultures view themselves less favorably than they are perceived by others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal problems and the psychotherapy context: The construct validity of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems.

This research investigated the construct validity of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; L. M. Horowitz, S. E. Rosenberg, B. A. Baer, G. Ure?o, & V. S. Villase?or, 1988) in the context of psychodynamic psychotherapy. The interpersonal circumplex was used to categorize patients reporting interpersonal distress into 1 of 4 problem quadrants: Friendly Dominant, Hostile Dominant, Hostile Submissive, and Friendly Submissive. At several points in treatment, therapists assessed their patients' personality disturbances, global functioning, and assets and liabilities for therapy. Patients described their in-session experiences using the Therapy Session Report (D. E. Orlinsky & K. I. Howard, 1975). The 4 problem types each had a coherent and distinctive set of correlates. Patients' interpersonal problems were articulated in therapists' perceptions and evaluations, and in the kinds of interpersonal and intrapsychic themes (wants, hopes, feelings, behaviors, etc.) that characterized patients' retrospective accounts of the therapy sessions. The results add to knowledge about the IIP, interpersonal problems, and the psychotherapy context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is who you are who you're talking to? Interpersonal style and complementarily in mixed-sex interactions.

To investigate interpersonal theory, the authors examined the social behavior of 112 previously unacquainted male-female pairs collaborating on a joint task. Structural equation modeling analyses provided clear evidence of complementarity: In addition to trait affiliation and dominance both predicting situational behavior, each interaction partner's behavior influenced the other's in accordance with the theory, eliciting similar levels of affiliation and opposite levels of dominance. There were also clear biases related to participants' interpersonal traits: When behavior, as indexed by observers, was held constant, more trait affiliative participants tended to view themselves and their partner as warmer during the interaction; likewise, more trait dominant participants perceived themselves to act more dominantly than they actually did. Throughout, there were no sex differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal problems: Variables influencing participants' perception of group climate.

The relationship between group members' interpersonal problems and their perception of group climate was explored. 61 group participants, fulfilling a class requirement for group participation, completed the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems and repeated administrations of the Group Climate Questionnaire—Short Form. Hypotheses linking these 2 sets of variables were formulated from interpersonal theory. A canonical analysis showed that as hypothesized, group members who perceived themselves as too dominant experienced the group climate as more avoiding and tense. Moreover, those who perceived themselves as too cold, also as hypothesized, and as not having problems with assertiveness, contrary to the hypothesis, perceived the group climate as less engaged, conflictual, and anxious. Implications of the results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can people really “laugh at themselves?”—Experimental and correlational evidence.

Laughing at oneself is considered a core component of the sense of humor in the theories of several authors. In McGhee's (1996) eight-step-training program of the sense of humor, laughing at oneself constitutes one of the most difficult levels. However, until now, only little empirical evidence on laughing at oneself exists. Using a multimethod approach, in the current study, 70 psychology students and a total of 126 peers filled in the Sense of Humor Scale (SHS, McGhee, 1996), containing as a subscale “Laughing at oneself”. In addition, the participants answered the Trait and State forms of the State-Trait-Cheerfulness-Inventory (STCI, Ruch, K?hler, & van Thriel, 1996; Ruch, K?hler, & van Thriel, 1997). They then were confronted with six distorted images of themselves. Facial responses of the participants were videotaped and analyzed using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS, Ekman, Friesen, & Hager, 2002). Four indicators of exhilaration were examined: (a) experienced funniness, (b) AU12 smiles, (c) Duchenne displays, and (d) laughter. Furthermore, fake and masking smiles were studied. Results demonstrated that self- and peer reports of “laughing at oneself” converged moderately. All four indicators of exhilaration were shown, but funniness and laughter seemed to be the most strongly related indicators. Trait cheerfulness and (low) seriousness, and a cheerful mood state formed further characteristics of persons who laugh at themselves. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal trust as a factor in communication.

A written questionnaire given to individuals in a large government research laboratory, inquired about attitudes about changes in a research program, attitudes of trust toward each other, reports as to whether they had discussed the new program, and estimates of each other's attitudes about the program. The data support the hypothesis that "a communicator, B, who lacks trust in the recipient of his communication, A, tends to be motivated to conceal his own attitudes about an issue, X, in communicating with A. The accuracy of A's perceptions is impaired accordingly." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perspectives on ethical practice with people who have disabilities.

An estimated 49.7 million people in the United States live with one or more disabilities, representing nearly 20% of the 257.2 million individuals ages 5 and older in the civilian population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003). Most psychologists are likely to have the opportunity to work with clients who have disabilities (R. Olkin, 2002) and need the competencies to provide ethical services to this growing proportion of the population. What constitutes ethical practice with people with disabilities? First, the ethical issues involved in providing services for people with disabilities are outlined, and 2 vignettes and a number of questions for practitioners and educators are presented. Then, 3 invited experts provide commentaries that address these issues, raise additional questions, and provide important resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Poor social performance of lonely people: Lacking a skill or adopting a role?

The authors hypothesize that the adoption of passive interpersonal roles predisposes lonely people to exhibit inadequate social performance. In order to test this hypothesis, lonely and nonlonely subjects were assigned to one of two roles: They either listened (Condition Li) to an interaction partner describe a personal problem or they themselves described a personal problem (Condition Pr) to their partner. The subjects' interpersonal role produced a substantial effect on their social behavior. Subjects who listened to their partner describe a problem generated more solutions to a set of hypothetical situations, attended to their partners more adequately, and conversed longer than did subjects who described a personal problem. In contrast, lonely subjects did not differ from nonlonely subjects in their social performance within each particular role. Lonely and nonlonely subjects did differ, however, in their subjective evaluations of themselves and of their performance. These results illustrate the need for research to address both the interpersonal and the intrapersonal bases of social performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The politics of clinical judgment: What nonliberal examiners infer about women who do not stifle themselves.

Gave 71 professional counselors bogus clinical protocols varying only in the student testee's sex and political inclination. The Ss, led to believe that they were participating in a survey aimed at generating normative data, were asked to infer the psychological status of the testee. The less liberal (but not the more liberal) Ss attributed significantly greater psychological maladjustment to the left politically active female client than to her male counterpart. The finding supports the position of T. Szasz and others that conventional ideologies are strengthened by certain moral-political consequences of mental health practice, and underscores the potential contribution of an empirical social psychology of clinical practice. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal problems of Vietnam combat veterans with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.

274 male veterans seeking treatment for substance abuse were divided on the basis of combat experience and DSM-III criteria of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ss with evidence of PTSD were compared with a non-PTSD group of Vietnam combat veterans and a noncombat group of Vietnam-era veterans on measures of specific interpersonal problems using the Horowitz Interpersonal Problem Inventory, traditional measures of family and social adjustment, and the MMPI. The PTSD group scored significantly higher on clusters of problems dealing with intimacy and sociability than did either of the comparison groups. PTSD Ss also scored higher on the MMPI scales of Paranoia, Psychopathic Deviate, Social Introversion, Social Maladjustment, Family Problems, and Manifest Hostility, but did not differ from other groups on Family Environment Scale variables. Results, which were not attributable to premilitary adjustment differences or to confounding demographic variables, are compared to previous studies, and research questions that remain outstanding are discussed. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obese people who seek treatment have different characteristics than those who do not seek treatment.

A group of obese people who had not sought treatment; an obese group who had sought treatment in a professional, hospital-based program; and normal-weight controls (N?=?547) were compared in regard to level of psychopathology, binge eating, and negative emotional eating. Because the groups differed significantly on several demographic variables, 3 demographically matched groups were created and compared (n?=?177, 59 per group). In the matched subgroups, obese people who had sought treatment reported greater psychopathology and more binge eating than did normal-weight controls or those who had not sought treatment. Both obese groups (including those who had not sought treatment) endorsed more symptoms of distress, negative emotional eating, overeating, difficulty resisting temptation, and less exercise than did normal-weight controls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Running from the shadow: Psychological distancing from others to deny characteristics people fear in themselves.

Four experiments tested the hypothesis that people distance themselves from others who display characteristics they fear in themselves. In Study 1, participants were given false feedback that they were high or low in repressed anger and were given information about a person who became angry and responded in a violent or nonviolent manner. High anger feedback participants distanced themselves only from the violent person. In Study 2, high anger feedback led to distancing from a violent other but not a dishonest other, whereas dishonesty feedback led to distancing from a dishonest other but not a violent other. The results of Studies 3 and 4 replicated and extended the distancing effect with an anger induction: Participants who were insulted distanced themselves from an angry/violent person, and verbalizing their emotions about being insulted eliminated this effect. Implications for understanding defenses against undesirable self-attributions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)