Judged happiness: Effects of mode of recall of positive and negative experiences.

Obtained ratings of happiness with life in general from 159 undergraduate Ss before or after estimates of how often they felt either delight or annoyance. Estimates were made both in terms of absolute frequency categories and in self-ratings, and half of the Ss were instructed to base their frequency ratings on detailed memories for actual events. Comparative ratings of delight were positively related to overall happiness, regardless of experimental condition, although the direction of correlation between comparative ratings of annoyance and overall happiness depended on the condition. For Ss who rated annoyance before happiness, those who reported relatively more annoyance than others gave lower ratings of general happiness when using vivid, detailed, recalled events, but not under nonvivid recall. The pattern was reversed when happiness was rated before annoyance. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

La comparaison de trois méthodes psychométriques utilisées dans les questionnaires d'attitudes.

13 motivations to work were rated by 35 students according to 3 different psychometric methods: paired comparisons, ranking, and a Likert-type scale. For the Likert-type scale, the ratings fell at the upper end of the possible continuum. However, the real range was restricted when the other 2 methods were used because of a "piling-up" effect. There was no difference in terms of the variability in judgments obtained by the 3 methods. The Likert-type scale yielded distributions which were more negatively than positively skewed. Variability and skewness were both affected by the "piling-up" effect. Regardless of the method used, all 35 Ss were in substantial agreement in their evaluations of the 13 motivations, but there were individual differences in the degree of consistency of the answers of each S from one form of the questionnaire to the other. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contrast effects in paired comparisons: Evidence for both stimulus-based and response-based processes.

Participants made paired comparisons of square sizes, with blue squares presented on the left side of a computer screen and red squares on the right. Context was manipulated by varying the distributions of blue and red squares separately. In Exp 1, target squares from low-range distributions were judged larger than the same-size squares from high-range distributions. In Exp 2, ranges were equated but ranks manipulated between distributions, pairing bell with U-shaped and positively skewed with negatively skewed distributions. Results provided little support for a rank-dependent valuation model. Exp 3 used distributions that were designed to test between adaptation-level and response-equalization models. Both models received support, with response latencies constituting an important moderating variable. Response patterns for short latency participants were consistent with a stimulus-based adaptation-level process, and those for longer latency participants were consistent with a response-equalization process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal problem solving: A descriptive study of individual differences.

Examined differences between students who have perceived themselves as successful and unsuccessful problem solvers. Differences were examined across a range of cognitive, affective, and behavioral variables, with 2 types of problems—intrapersonal and interpersonal. 20 undergraduates who scored high and 20 who scored low on an independently developed problem-solving inventory (a) were questioned about how they solved interpersonal and intrapersonal problems within a 1-hr structured interview and (b) completed the Mooney Problem Checklist (MPC). Following the session, interviewers rated each S on several cognitive and behavioral variables, and they recorded behavioral observations and anecdotal events. Results reveal that the self-perceived successful and unsuccessful problem solvers differed (a) in the number of problems they acknowledged on the MPC; (b) on a number of self-report ratings about the personal problem solving process (e.g., attributions, expectations, intervention strategies, attitudes, and behaviors); and (c) on ratings made by the interviewers on several cognitive and behavioral variables. Results also indicate that the type of personal problem being solved affected the problem-solving process. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the cognitive basis of subjective well-being analysis: What do individuals have to say about it?

Examined the perceived importance of comparison and causal attribution for well-being in the process of subjective well-being (SWB) evaluation. After having reporting their SWB level, 240 Ss from 2 age groups (19–27 yr old undergraduates and their 40–78 yr old parents) were asked to indicate the extent to which they based their SWB judgment on different types of comparisons (social, temporal, and telic). Ss also indicated if they perceived various causes (internal and external) to be responsible for their current level of well-being. Results indicate that social comparisons were not perceived as being important in SWB evaluation. Telic comparison was reported to be used more than other comparison types by young adults, but related negatively to their SWB level. Ss attributed their well-being more to internal than external causes. However, the more strongly they could ascertain various causes (internal and external) to explain their SWB, the higher their SWB level was. It is suggested that individuals' accounts of the processes involved in their personal well-being evaluation could be a useful approach to understand and promote the experience of happiness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quantitative connotation of a concept.

Trait referent terms (adjectives) were rated on the "bad-good" scale and the mean rating of each word computed. Based on these ratings, lists of 3 terms were constructed with varying distributions, and Ss formed impressions of a person therefrom. Results showed that (a) a positively skewed list produced a more positive (good) impression than one composed of terms having almost identical values, and (b) of 2 lists having identical means and midranges, the 1 including a more highly positive term produced the more positive impression. It was suggested that the connotation of an impression is influenced more by extreme terms than by relatively neutral ones. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experientialism, Materialism, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Previous research indicates that materialistic aspirations are negatively associated with happiness and psychological health. Recent research extends these findings by demonstrating that allocating discretionary resources toward life experiences makes people happier than allocating discretionary resources toward material possessions. Respondents to various surveys have indicated that purchases made with the intention of acquiring life experiences make them happier than purchases made with the intention of acquiring material possessions. Thinking about experiential purchases has also been shown to produce more positive feelings than thinking about material purchases. Other studies suggest that experiential purchases make people happier because they are more open to positive reinterpretations, are more resistant to disadvantageous comparisons, and foster successful social relationships more than material purchases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy gaps for social pain: Why people underestimate the pain of social suffering.

In 5 studies, the authors examined the hypothesis that people have systematically distorted beliefs about the pain of social suffering. By integrating research on empathy gaps for physical pain (Loewenstein, 1996) with social pain theory (MacDonald & Leary, 2005), the authors generated the hypothesis that people generally underestimate the severity of social pain (ostracism, shame, etc.)—a biased judgment that is only corrected when people actively experience social pain for themselves. Using a social exclusion manipulation, Studies 1–4 found that nonexcluded participants consistently underestimated the severity of social pain compared with excluded participants, who had a heightened appreciation for social pain. This empathy gap for social pain occurred when participants evaluated both the pain of others (interpersonal empathy gap) as well as the pain participants themselves experienced in the past (intrapersonal empathy gap). The authors argue that beliefs about social pain are important because they govern how people react to socially distressing events. In Study 5, middle school teachers were asked to evaluate policies regarding emotional bullying at school. This revealed that actively experiencing social pain heightened the estimated pain of emotional bullying, which in turn led teachers to recommend both more comprehensive treatment for bullied students and greater punishment for students who bully. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation between values and social competence in early adolescence.

Examined relationships between the social competence of early adolescents, as viewed by different reference groups, and the values adolescents place on controversial social behaviors. Assessed social competence for 65 seventh- and eight-graders with self-ratings of perceived competence, peer sociometric status ratings, teacher ratings, and academic achievement tests. Ss also completed an inventory assessing their values toward controversial social behaviors. A factor reflecting adolescents' valuing of direct, constructive communication in social interactions was positively related to competence with all reference groups. However, a factor that reflected valuing conforming to adult norms was negatively related to status with peers but positively related to teacher ratings of competence. The role of social values in the developmental task of achieving autonomy in interactions with adults while maintaining positive social relationships with peers and adults is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's relationships with peers: differential associations with aspects of the teacher-child relationship

Associations between children's social competence with peers and differential aspects of their teacher-child relationships were examined in a longitudinal sample of 48 4-year-old children enrolled in child care as infants. Toddler security with teacher was negatively associated with hostile aggression and positively with complex peer play and gregarious behaviors. Prosocial behaviors and withdrawing behaviors were associated with preschool security with teacher. Dependence on teachers as a preschooler was associated with social withdrawal and hostile aggression. Positive toddler teacher socialization was associated with higher perceived peer acceptance. Preschool teacher negative socialization was negatively associated with complex peer play, teacher ratings of hesitancy, friendly enactment, and accidental attribution and positively related to teacher ratings of difficulty.     

Beyond initial attraction: Physical attractiveness in newlywed marriage.

Physical appearance plays a crucial role in shaping new relationships, but does it continue to affect established relationships, such as marriage? In the current study, the authors examined how observer ratings of each spouse's facial attractiveness and the difference between those ratings were associated with (a) observations of social support behavior and (b) reports of marital satisfaction. In contrast to the robust and almost universally positive effects of levels of attractiveness on new relationships, the only association between levels of attractiveness and the outcomes of these marriages was that attractive husbands were less satisfied. Further, in contrast to the importance of matched attractiveness to new relationships, similarity in attractiveness was unrelated to spouses' satisfaction and behavior. Instead, the relative difference between partners' levels of attractiveness appeared to be most important in predicting marital behavior, such that both spouses behaved more positively in relationships in which wives were more attractive than their husbands, but they behaved more negatively in relationships in which husbands were more attractive than their wives. These results highlight the importance of dyadic examinations of the effects of spouses' qualities on their marriages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identification and Bisection of Temporal Durations and Tone Frequencies: Common Models for Temporal and Nontemporal Stimuli.

Two experiments examined identification and bisection of tones varying in temporal duration (Experiment 1) or frequency (Experiment 2). Absolute identification of both durations and frequencies was influenced by prior stimuli and by stimulus distribution. Stimulus distribution influenced bisection for both stimulus types consistently, with more positively skewed distributions producing lower bisection points. The effect of distribution was greater when the ratio of the largest to smallest stimulus magnitude was greater. A simple mathematical model, temporal range frequency theory, was applied. It is concluded that (a) similar principles describe identification of temporal durations and other stimulus dimensions and (b) temporal bisection point shifts can be understood in terms of psychophysical principles independently developed in nontemporal domains, such as A. Parducci's (1965) range frequency theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of the violation of assumptions upon significance levels of the Pearson r.

Conducted a study to determine empirically the effects of the violation of assumptions of normality and of measurement scales on the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. The effects of such violations were studied separately and in combination for samples varying in size from 5 to 60. Monte Carlo procedures were used to generate populations of scores for 4 basic distributions: normal, positively skewed, negatively skewed, and leptokurtic. Samples of varying sizes were then randomly selected from specific populations. Results were based on distributions of r , which were calculated on 5,000 sets of samples of n = 5 or n = 15 and 3,000 sets of samples of n = 30 or n = 60. Results indicate that the Pearson r is insensitive to extreme violations of the basic assumptions of normality and of the type of measurement scale. Failure to meet the basic assumptions separately or in combination had little effect on the obtained distributions of r s based on rho of zero. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family support, family income, and happiness: A 10-year perspective.

This study examined the role of 2 central aspects of family life--income and social support--in predicting concurrent happiness and change in happiness among 274 married adults across a 10-year period. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling to investigate the relationship between family income and happiness. Income had a small, positive impact on happiness, which diminished as income increased. In contrast, family social support, measured by 3 subscales, Cohesion, Expressiveness, and Conflict, showed a substantial, positive association with concurrent happiness, even after controlling for income. Furthermore, family income moderated the association between family social support and concurrent happiness; family social support was more strongly associated with happiness when family income was low than when family income was high. In addition, change in family social support was positively related to change in happiness, whereas change in family income was unrelated to change in happiness. These findings suggest that happiness can change and underscore the importance of exploring more deeply the role that family relationships play in facilitating such change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexuality and happiness ratings of husbands and wives in relation to first and second pregnancies.

200 spouses (aged 23–43 yrs) rated their sexuality and marital happiness in relation to 2 pregnancies. Wives showed significantly higher scores than husbands in both sexuality and happiness prior to the 1st-time pregnancy only. Intracomparisons were also made on each spousal group, based on sexuality and happiness scores. In relation to the 1st-time pregnancy, husbands and wives showed a similar pattern of high sexuality happiness ratings before pregnancy and low ratings during and after pregnancy. In the realm of happiness, mean scores were highest during pregnancy for both spouses and, for husbands only, during postpartum. For the 2nd-time pregnancy, sexuality scores were high before and after the pregnancy for both spouses. Only wives show high happiness ratings prior to and after the pregnancy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working alliance, attachment memories, and social competencies of women in brief therapy.

Current social competencies and memories of attachment bonds with each parent were examined as they related to influences on formation of the working alliance. Female clients (N?=?76) at 4 university and community agencies completed surveys containing the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Self-Efficacy Scale, the Adult Attachment Scale, and the Working Alliance Inventory. Results indicated that parental bonds, especially with fathers, were significantly associated with social competencies. Multiple regression analyses indicated that social competencies (self-efficacy and adult attachment) accounted for 14% of the variance in client working alliance ratings, whereas recalled parental bonds accounted for 23% of the variance. Working alliance was negatively associated with father bonds, positively associated with mother bonds, and (among social competencies) significantly associated with capacity for adult attachment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parametric likelihoods for multiple non-fatal competing risks and death

Clinical trials of fatal diseases often focus on one or more non-fatal events, in addition to survival, both to characterize morbidity and to improve survival estimates. Three statistical complications are that the time to each non-fatal event and subsequent residual survival may be either positively or negatively associated, the times to death with or without an antecedent event often have very different distributions, and death may censor some of the non-fatal event times. Consequently, the overall survival time distribution is a mixture of the distributions corresponding to the possible antecedent non-fatal events. These conditions violate the usual assumptions underlying many statistical methods for analysing multivariate time-to-event data. In this paper, we consider a general parametric model for multiple non-fatal competing risks and death. The model accounts for positive or negative association between the time of each non-fatal event and subsequent survival while accommodating covariates and the usual administrative censoring. Each event time distribution is specified marginally by a three-parameter generalized odds rate model, and the time of each non-fatal event and subsequent residual survival are combined under a bivariate generalized von Morgenstern distribution. The approach is illustrated by application to two data sets from clinical trials in colon cancer and acute leukaemia.     

The new uniform T scores for the MMPI—2: Rationale, derivation, and appraisal.

Although normative distributions of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2 (MMPI—2) clinical and content scales tend to be positively skewed, individual scales differ in degree of skewness. The linear T scores in use with the original MMPI preserve these skewness differences. For the MMPI—2, a Uniform T (UT score) transformation has been adopted. Its target distribution is the positively skewed composite (or prototypical) linear T score distribution of MMPI—2 clinical scales. UT scores are percentile comparable, yet, unlike normalized T scores, depart minimally from the familiar linear T scores. The authors describe the UT score derivation, report degree of percentile comparability achieved, and argue that the positive skewness of the UT-score distributions, besides minimizing discontinuity, is conceptually meaningful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)