INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES AND SOCIAL DESIRABILITY.

SEVERAL INVESTIGATIONS INDICATE THAT, FOR THE AVERAGE S, ENDORSEMENT OF PERSONALITY INVENTORY ITEMS HAS ONLY A LOW TO MODERATE CORRELATION WITH SOCIAL DESIRABILITY (SD), UNLIKE THE CASE WHEN PROBABILITY OF ENDORSEMENT BY A GROUP IS RELATED TO DESIRABILITY. THESE STUDIES HAVE USED POINT-BISERIAL CORRELATION FOR THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE PRODUCT-MOMENT COEFFICIENT FOR THE GROUP. WHEN A SINGLE S'S RESPONSES ARE ANALYZED IN A WAY THAT PERMITS ESTIMATION OF PROBABILITY OF ENDORSEMENT, THE PRODUCT-MOMENT CORRELATION BETWEEN THIS PROBABILITY AND SD TYPICALLY IS HIGH, APPROACHING MUCH CLOSER TO THE GROUP VALUE. HIGH AVERAGE INDIVIDUAL CORRELATION BETWEEN ENDORSEMENT AND DESIRABILITY DOES NOT PREVENT A DIAGNOSTIC SCALE FROM DISCRIMINATING BETWEEN DISPARATE GROUPS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reformulating and testing the perfectionism model of binge eating among undergraduate women: A short-term, three-wave longitudinal study.

The perfectionism model of binge eating (PMOBE) is an integrative model explaining why perfectionism is related to binge eating. This study reformulates and tests the PMOBE, with a focus on addressing limitations observed in the perfectionism and binge-eating literature. In the reformulated PMOBE, concern over mistakes is seen as a destructive aspect of perfectionism contributing to a cycle of binge eating via 4 binge-eating maintenance variables: interpersonal discrepancies, low interpersonal esteem, depressive affect, and dietary restraint. This test of the reformulated PMOBE involved 200 undergraduate women studied using a 3-wave longitudinal design. As hypothesized, concern over mistakes appears to represent a vulnerability factor for binge eating. Bootstrapped tests of mediation suggested concern over mistakes contributes to binge eating through binge-eating maintenance variables, and results supported the incremental validity of the reformulated PMOBE beyond perfectionistic strivings and neuroticism. The reformulated PMOBE also predicted binge eating, but not binge drinking, supporting the specificity of this model. The reformulated PMOBE offers a framework for understanding how key contributors to binge eating work together to generate and to maintain binge eating. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The perfectionism model of binge eating: Tests of an integrative model.

This study proposes, tests, and supports the perfectionism model of binge eating (PMOBE), a model aimed at explaining why perfectionism is related to binge eating. According to this model, socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) confers risk for binge eating by generating exposure to 4 triggers of binge episodes: interpersonal discrepancies, low interpersonal esteem, depressive affect, and dietary restraint. In testing the PMOBE, a daily diary was completed by 566 women for 7 days. Predictions derived from the PMOBE were supported, with tests of mediation suggesting that the indirect effect of SPP on binge eating through triggers of binge episodes was significant. Reciprocal relations were also observed, with certain triggers of binge episodes predicting binge eating (and vice versa). Results supported the incremental validity of the PMOBE over and above self-oriented perfectionism and neuroticism and the generalizability of this model across Asian and European Canadian participants. The PMOBE offers a novel view of individuals with high levels of SPP as active agents who raise their risk of binge eating by generating conditions in their daily lives that are conducive to binge episodes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SOCIAL ENGINEERING AND THE FUTURE ENVIRONMENT.

PRESENTED AT HEARINGS ON S. 68 BEFORE THE SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS, COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS. THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY OR SOCIAL ENGINEERING AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO STUDIES TO BE UNDERTAKEN BY THE SELECT CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE IN THE NEXT 3 YR. ARE EXAMINED. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SELF-ESTEEM AND CONSISTENCY OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR.

WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF A THEORY OF SELF-OTHER ORIENTATIONS, IT WAS PROPOSED THAT THE SELF-CONCEPT IS A MEDIATING AGENT BETWEEN THE ORGANISM AND THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT, AND THAT SELF-ESTEEM IS THAT COMPONENT OF THE SELF-SYSTEM WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ORGANISM'S CONSISTENCY OF SOCIAL RESPONSE. THE CONSISTENCY OF THE LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION OF SS IN GROUP THERAPY SESSIONS WAS ASSOCIATED WITH SELF-ESTEEM AS MEASURED THROUGH TASKS REQUIRING JUXTAPOSITION OF SELF AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS. SELF-ESTEEM WAS ALSO POSITIVELY RELATED TO FREQUENCY OF VERBAL PARTICIPATION. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SOCIAL: An integrative framework for the development of social skills.

Despite significant advances in the field of social neuroscience, much remains to be understood regarding the development and maintenance of social skills across the life span. Few comprehensive models exist that integrate multidisciplinary perspectives and explain the multitude of factors that influence the emergence and expression of social skills. Here, a developmental biopsychosocial model (SOCIAL) is offered that incorporates the biological underpinnings and socio-cognitive skills that underlie social function (attention/executive function, communication, socio-emotional skills), as well as the internal and external (environmental) factors that mediate these skills. The components of the model are discussed in the context of the social brain network and are supported by evidence from 3 conditions known to affect social functioning (autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, and traumatic brain injury). This integrative model is intended to provide a theoretical structure for understanding the origins of social dysfunction and the factors that influence the emergence of social skills through childhood and adolescence in both healthy and clinical populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

THE EFFECTS OF VERBAL REINFORCEMENT AND INSTRUCTIONS ON THE ATTAINMENT OF SIZE CONSTANCY.

THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF VERBAL REINFORCEMENT AND INSTRUCTIONS IN CHANGING BEHAVIOR WAS INVESTIGATED IN THE CONTEXT OF A SIZE JUDGMENT TASK IN WHICH REDUCED CUES NORMALLY LED TO RETINAL RATHER THAN OBJECTIVE SIZE JUDGMENTS. SS RATED THE DEGREE OF MATCH IN PHYSICAL SIZE BETWEEN A STANDARD AND SET OF COMPARISON STIMULI IN 60 TRAINING TRIALS. EACH GROUP RECEIVED EITHER (1) POSITIVE VERBAL REINFORCEMENT FOR CORRECT RATINGS, (2) INSTRUCTIONS EMPHASIZING THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE ACTUAL AND APPARENT PHYSICAL SIZES OF OBJECTS, (3) BOTH REINFORCEMENT AND INSTRUCTIONS, OR (4) NEITHER REINFORCEMENT NOR INSTRUCTIONS. SS WERE THEN TESTED FOR ATTAINMENT OF SIZE CONSTANCY IN THE SAME VIEWING SITUATION FOR BOTH SIZE AND DISTANCE JUDGMENTS USING A METHOD OF ADJUSTMENT. IN BOTH TRAINING AND THE TESTS FOR SIZE CONSTANCY, THE GROUP RECEIVING BOTH INSTRUCTION AND REINFORCEMENT WAS SUPERIOR; REINFORCEMENT ALONE APPEARED TO HAVE NO EFFECT UPON JUDGMENTS WHILE INSTRUCTION ALONE DID. THE RESULTS SUPPORT A COGNITIVE VIEW OF THE FUNCTION OF REINFORCEMENT IN COMPLEX HUMAN LEARNING AND DEMONSTRATE THE NEED FOR FURTHER CONCEPTUALIZATION AND INVESTIGATION OF THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTION IN THE MODIFICATION OF BEHAVIOR. (FRENCH SUMMARY) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychotherapeutic Terms.

In this brief article the author notes that certain psychotherapeutic terms sustain the fiction that maladjustment is a medical problem. He questions it would not help to break down this fictitious medical atmosphere if psychologists and writers of psychology texts began to substitute terms like adjustment, mental disorder, maladjustment, etc. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

REPORTED MATERNAL AND PATERNAL BEHAVIORS OF SOLITARY AND SOCIAL DELINQUENTS.

PREVIOUS RESEARCH SUGGESTS A DIFFERENT ETIOLOGY FOR SOLITARY AS OPPOSED TO SOCIAL DELINQUENTS, WITH SOLITARY DELINQUENTS COMING FROM SOCIOLOGICALLY NORMAL AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY DISTURBED HOMES, WITH THE REVERSE GENERALLY BEING THE CASE FOR SOCIAL DELINQUENTS. OTHER RESEARCH DEMONSTRATES THAT DELINQUENTS, AS A WHOLE, VIEW THEIR FATHERS' MORE THAN THEIR MOTHERS' BEHAVIORS AS BEING OF A TYPE THAT MIGHT BE CALLED PATHOGENIC. WHEN DESCRIPTIONS OF PARENT BEHAVIOR BY SOLITARY AND SOCIAL DELINQUENTS ARE COMPARED, SOLITARY DELINQUENTS REPORT MORE DEVIANT MATERNAL BEHAVIOR. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT SOLITARY AND SOCIAL DELINQUENTS DIFFER IN THE ETIOLOGY OF THEIR BEHAVIOR DIFFICULTIES, WITH BOTH VARIETIES HAVING DISTURBED RELATIONS WITH MALE AUTHORITY FIGURES, BUT ONLY THE SOLITARY DELINQUENTS HAVING DISTURBED RELATIONS WITH FEMALE AUTHORITY FIGURES. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-ACCEPTANCE AND ADJUSTMENT, REPRESSION-SENSITIZATION AND SOCIAL COMPETENCE.

SS WERE 40 MALADJUSTED MALE PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED ON A PSYCHIATRIC WARD AND 40 ADJUSTED MALE PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED ON A MEDICAL SURGICAL WARD. THE MEDICAL AND PSYCHIATRIC GROUPS WERE EACH COMPOSED OF EQUAL SUBGROUPS OF LOW- AND HIGH-COMPETENCE REPRESSORS AND SENSITIZERS. ALL SS COMPLETED A SOCIAL DESIRABILITY MINIMIZED Q-SORT FOR "REAL SELF" AND FOR "IDEAL SELF." RESULTS SHOWED THAT SELF-ACCEPTANCE AS EXPRESSED IN A SELF-IDEAL DISCREPANCY SCORE IS SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO THE DEFENSIVE-STYLE CONTINUUM OF REPRESSION-SENSITIZATION, WITH REPRESSORS EXPRESSING SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER SELF-IDEAL DISCREPANCIES THAN SENSITIZERS. NO RELATIONSHIP WAS FOUND BETWEEN SELF-ACCEPTANCE AND THE DIMENSIONS OF ADJUSTMENT OR SOCIAL COMPETENCE. (33 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Imbalance in need structure and maladjustment.

4 studies are reported which replicate the test of the hypothesis that extreme imbalance within a need structure is associated with poorer adjustment. The Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank (ISB) was the adjustment-maladjustment measure. Imbalance in need structure was measured by Liverant's Goal Preference Inventory which assesses the relative strength of Affection and Recognition needs. Extremely imbalanced and extremely balanced need groups were compared on ISB scores in each of the 4 independent studies. All results were in the predicted direction, with 11 out of 16 comparisons statistically significant. Within the limitations of the measures, the studies provide support for the hypothesis that a structural characteristic of a personality need system—extreme imbalance—is associated with poorer adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE STUDY OF POLICY FORMATION.

DISCUSSES "THE TREND OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE STUDY OF POLICY FORMATION AND THE ROLE THAT SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE PLAYED AND CAN PLAY IN THESE DEVELOPMENTS." ESSENTIAL TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONTEMPORARY VIEW OF THE POLICY PROCESS ARE 3 POINTS. "THE 1ST IS THAT MORALIZING AND GENERALIZING ARE NOT THE SAME THING AS POLICY MAKING." THE 2ND AND 3RD "ARE THAT POLICY FORMATION IS A SOCIAL PROCESS WITH INTELLECTUAL ELEMENTS CONTAINED WITHIN IT RATHER THAN AN INTELLECTUAL PROCESS, AND FURTHER, THAT THE MODEL OF THE INTELLECTUAL PROCESSES INVOLVED IS NOT THAT OF DECISION MAKING." PROPOSES THAT "THE PROCESS OF POLICY FORMATION BE VIEWED AS ONE OF EXPLICIT OR IMPLICIT NEGOTIATION IN WHICH A COURSE OF ACTION EVOLVED THAT WAS A REASONABLE RESOLUTION OF THE DIVERSITY OF VALUES AND INTERESTS. IN THIS PROCESS, A KEY SKILL IS THAT OF FORMULATING AND COMMUNICATING POLICY IN SUCH A WAY AS TO ELICIT THE NECESSARY SUPPORT." A STRATEGY OF RESEARCH IS OUTLINED, AND IT IS CONCLUDED THAT "IF WE ARE TO IMPROVE THE POLICY PROCESS WE WILL HAVE TO EFFECT THESE IMPROVEMENTS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF ESSENTIALLY THE SAME SYSTEM OF NEGOTIATION THAT PRESENTLY EXISTS." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SOCIAL INTERVENTION AND THE PROBLEM OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS.

DEFINING THE PRIMARY TASK OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGISTS AS THAT OF INTERVENING AT THE SOCIAL SYSTEM LEVEL TO MODIFY HUMAN BEHAVIOR, SEVERAL CONCEPTUAL PROBLEMS THAT NEED CLARIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT ARE POSED. THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE MEDICAL MODEL AND THE NEED FOR A THEORY OF MASS MOVEMENTS ARE DISCUSSED. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CONCEPTS IN THESE AREAS MAY LEAD TO A NEW SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Choice as an act of meaning: The case of social class.

Social class is one important source of models of agency--normative guidelines for how to be a "good" person. Using choice as a prototypically agentic action, 5 studies test the hypotheses that models of agency prevalent in working-class (WK) contexts reflect a normative preference for similarity to others, whereas models prevalent in middle-class (MD) contexts reflect a preference for difference from others. Focusing on participants' choices, Studies 1 and 2 showed that participants from WK relative to MD contexts more often chose pens that appeared similar to, rather than different from, other pens in the choice set, and more often chose the same images as another participant. Examining participants' responses to others' choices, Studies 3 and 4 demonstrated that participants from WK relative to MD contexts liked their chosen pens more when a confederate chose similarly and responded more positively when a friend chose the same car in a hypothetical scenario. Finally, Study 5 found that car advertisements targeting WK rather than MD consumers more often emphasized connection to, rather than differentiation from, others, suggesting that models of agency are reflected in pervasive cultural products. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Les qualités psychométriques du PSA-A.

Validated the abridged version of the Socio-Affective Profile or PSA-A (P. J. LaFrenière et al, 1992) questionnaire designed to evaluate competency and social maladjustment of preschool children. The 1,145 children that composed the sample (569 girls and 576 boys) were evaluated with the PSA-A test and of these, 412 (218 girls and 194 boys) were also evaluated with cognitive measurement tools (Lollipop and WPSSI-R). Moreover, performance in school of 181 of these Ss were evaluated at the end of the first year. Results show that the PSA-A profile is consistent and stable in time and that the construct has good validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SOCIAL HISTORY FACTORS AND PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS.

CONSECUTIVELY ADMITTED, NONGERIATRIC PATIENTS WITH FUNCTIONAL PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS WERE SELECTED FOR STUDY IF THEY HAD A VALID MMPI TAKEN WITHIN 14 DAYS OF ADMISSION TO A NEUROPSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL, AND AN M-B HISTORY RECORD COMPLETED BY THEIR NEAREST RELATIVE. DATA ON 120 PATIENTS WERE ANALYZED BY COMPUTING PRODUCT-MOMENT CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THE 7 HISTORY THEMES AND 13 MMPI SCALES AND BY CANONICAL CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THE 2 SETS OF DATA. THE RESULTS OF BOTH ANALYSES ARE SEEN AS SUPPORTING THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THERE ARE RELATIONS BETWEEN CERTAIN ASPECTS OF A PATIENT'S SOCIAL HISTORY AND THE SYMPTOMS REPORTED ON ADMISSION TO A PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF SOCIAL CLASS AND DEFENSE PREFERENCES.

LONGITUDINAL DATA WERE USED TO ASSESS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHILDHOOD SOCIAL CLASS AND THE DEVELOMENT OF PARTICULAR DEFENSE MECHANISMS IN ADULTHOOD. CHILDHOOD SOCIAL CLASS WAS CORRELATED WITH RATINGS OF DEFENSE MECHANISMS MADE WHEN SS WERE 30 YR. OLD. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT DENIAL IS NEGATIVELY AND PROJECTION AND INTELLECTUALIZATION ARE POSITIVELY CORRELATED WITH CHILDHOOD SOCIAL CLASS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

FUTURE TIME PERSPECTIVES IN ALCOHOLICS AND SOCIAL DRINKERS.

33 ALCOHOLICS AND 33 SOCIAL DRINKERS MATCHED FOR AGE, SEX, OCCUPATION, AND MARITAL STATUS WERE COMPARED USING WALLACE'S METHOD OF MEASURING FUTURE TIME PERSPECTIVE. IT WAS FOUND THAT THE ALCOHOLICS HAD SUBSTANTIALLY LESS EXTENSIVE AND LESS COHERENT PERSPECTIVES. A CORRELATION BETWEEN AGE AND EXTENSION FOR THE ALCOHOLICS INDICATES THAT THE DEFICIENCY MAY DEVELOP AS A RESPONSE TO PROBLEM DRINKING RATHER THAN BEING A SELECTIVE FACTOR IN ITS DEVELOPMENT. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality differences between adjusted and maladjusted college students.

A "maladjusted" group (100 college Ss) were compared to a sample of the university student body (206 Ss) and to the adjusted counseling group (100 Ss) using an adjective check list (Gough) on which each S described himself. The ACL results were compared with psychologists' judgments and showed considerable agreement. Sex differences were noted and related to a possible social desirability factor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

ON ESTIMATING PSYCHOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS: SOCIAL DESIRABILITY AND SELF-REPORT.

DISCUSSES THE ISSUE OF ESTIMATING THE MAGNITUDES OF RELATIONSHIPS AMONG PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES. THE THESIS ADVANCED IS THAT THE PROCEDURES TYPICALLY USED TO ESTIMATE SUCH RELATIONSHIPS PROVIDE ANSWERS TO ONLY 1 OF SEVERAL VARIANTS OF THE GENERAL RELATIONAL QUESTION, THAT OTHER VARIANTS ARE OFTEN OF EQUAL OR GREATER PSYCHOLOGICAL INTEREST, AND THAT THE DATA AVAILABLE FROM THE USUAL KINDS OF RELATIONAL ESTIMATION STUDIES CAN BE ANALYZED TO PROVIDE SEPARATE ANSWERS TO EACH POSSIBLE VARIANT OF THE GENERAL QUESTION. DATA FROM 5 STUDIES OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL DESIRABILITY JUDGMENTS AND PERSONALITY SELF-REPORTS ARE PRESENTED TO ILLUSTRATE AND SUPPORT THE ARGUMENT. EXTENSIONS OF THE ARGUMENT TO OTHER AREAS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH ARE SUGGESTED. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)