Investing the Wealth: Intentional Strategies for Psychology Training in Developing Countries.

The knowledge and skills of psychology can be useful in developing countries where indigenous mental health resources are sometimes scarce. Although it may be useful for psychologists to provide short-term training in developing countries, the potential for long-term change is best accomplished by investing in training students from developing countries, especially those committed to returning to their homeland after completing their training. Three "investment strategies" are suggested for training students from developing countries: faculty awareness, intentional mentoring, and facilitated launching. Challenges and implications for professional psychologists are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Representations of self across the life span.

This research extends a cognitive-developmental approach to examining age differences in self-representation from adolescence to mature adulthood and later life. The authors suggest that mature adults move from representations of self that are relatively poorly differentiated from others or social conventions to ones that involve emphasis on process, context, and individuality. Participants (n men?=?73, n women?=?76), ranging in age from 11 to 85 years, provided spontaneous accounts of their self-representations and responded to measures assessing cognitive and emotional functioning and broad dimensions of personality. On average, self-representation scores peaked in middle-aged adults and were lowest in the preadolescent and older adult age groups. Level of self-representation was related to cognitive and personality variables, but there was some evidence that the pattern of correlates shifted from younger (ages 15–45) to older (ages 46–85) age segments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investing or discounting self: are moral decisions shaped by conditions in the workplace?

In addition to routine physical examinations, the polyparametrical method was used to examine 250 students to assess their health. For this, the methods of pattern discrimination and classification were employed to analyze multiparameter data. Clinical and polymetric findings correlated well. The polymetric method revealed 4 main classes of the students' functional and autonomic status. Autonomic changes can be systemic and local. The visualized data of objective functional parameters controlled by the autonomic system made it possible to give a syndromal assessment of functional states and to reveal the intermediate stage between health and disease.     

Activating inhibitors and inhibiting activators: a day in the life of a fly

ATM and DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) have been shown to have sequences homologous to the catalytic domains of mammalian phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase). In order to determine the contribution of ATM and DNA-PKcs to the increased sensitivity of cells to DNA-damaging agents observed in the presence of PI3-kinase inhibitors, we examined the effects of a PI3-kinase inhibitor, wortmannin, on cellular sensitivity to bleomycin (BLM), mitomycin C (MMC), X-irradiation and ultraviolet (UV)-irradiation using 2 human tumor cell lines (T98G and A172), a human fibroblast cell line (LM217), an ataxia telangiectasia (AT) cell line (AT3BISV), a scid murine cell line (SCF) and a control murine cell line (CBF). Wortmannin sensitized all of the cells, including AT3BISV and SCF, to BLM and X-irradiation, but not to MMC or UV-irradiation. Hypersensitivity to BLM and X-irradiation and normal sensitivity to MMC and UV-irradiation are characteristic phenotypes of both AT and scid mice. DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) activity was suppressed by wortmannin to 45-65% of the control values in all of the cells except SCF, in which DNA-PK activity was not detected. Wortmannin also induced radioresistant DNA synthesis, which is a cellular phenotype of AT, in T98G and SCF cells, but did not change the DNA synthesis rates after X-irradiation in AT3BISV. Our data suggest that wortmannin decreases the activities of both the ATM protein and DNA-PK, indicating that it might be of use as a sensitizing agent for radiotherapy and chemotherapy.     

Distinguishing stereotype threat from priming effects: On the role of the social self and threat-based concerns.

It has been argued that priming negative stereotypic traits is sufficient to cause stereotype threat. The present research challenges this assumption by highlighting the role of the social self and targets' concerns about confirming a negative group-based stereotype. Specifically, in 3 experiments the authors demonstrate that stereotype threat adversely affects the test performance and threat-based concerns of targets (but not nontargets) because only targets' social self is linked to the negative group stereotype. Trait priming, however, harms the test performance of both targets and nontargets but has no effect on their threat-based concerns because trait priming does not require such a link between the social self and the group stereotype. Moreover, the authors show that merely increasing the accessibility of the social self in nonthreatening situations leads to the underperformance of targets but has no meaningful effect on nontargets' test performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal construal of life tasks: Those who struggle for independence.

Life tasks serve as an avenue for individuals to give personal meaning to their lives and to organize personal effort and activities. The present data, from a longitudinal study of the transition to college life, demonstrate how construals of life tasks can help to illuminate individuals' activity choices and affective experience of daily life activities. Ss who were absorbed in the task of "being on my own, away from family," also invested their academic activities with special significance. They experienced more stress and less satisfaction from their (considerable) academic accomplishments than did those who framed their tasks in more concrete terms. Experience-sampling data showed that activity choices followed from life task concerns, even when such activities were particularly anxiety-provoking. Discussion considers how similar life task themes may be enacted differently in other contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thine own self: True self-concept accessibility and meaning in life.

A number of philosophical and psychological theories suggest the true self is an important contributor to well-being. The present research examined whether the cognitive accessibility of the true self-concept would predict the experience of meaning in life. To ensure that any observed effects were due to the true self-concept rather than to the self-concept more generally, the authors used actual self-concept accessibility as a control variable in all studies. True and actual self-concepts were defined as including those traits that are enacted around close others vs. most others (Studies 1 through 3) or as traits that refer to "who you really are" vs. "who you are during most of your activities" (Studies 4 and 5), respectively. Studies 1, 2, and 4 showed that individual differences in true self-concept accessibility, but not differences in actual self-concept accessibility, predicted meaning in life. Studies 3 and 5 showed that priming traits related to the true self-concept enhanced perceptions of meaning in life. Implications for the study of the true self-concept and authenticity are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of self-enhancing evaluations in a successful life transition.

The objective of the study was to investigate how self-enhancing evaluations, obtained via positive social comparisons and reflected appraisals, were related to mental health in a later life transition. The sample consisted of 266 women who were interviewed once before and 3 times after the experience of community relocation. Results extended prior findings suggesting the dynamic impact of self-enhancing evaluative processes on psychological well-being and depressive symptoms. Additional analyses showed evidence for reverse causality, that is, that mental health also influenced self-evaluative processes. This study underscores the significance of holding a positive view of self vis-à-vis others in negotiating life challenges as well as the reciprocal influence of well-being on social self-evaluative processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preparing for life: The critical transition of adolescence.

Discusses recent events that have drastically changed the experience of adolescence (e.g., confusion about adult roles and difficulty in foreseeing the future, erosion of family and social support networks) and describes the activities of the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development to help redress these problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social network development and functioning during a life transition.

Conducted a 12-wk longitudinal study of the development of social support networks among college freshmen. 42 male and 47 female students who lived either in university residence halls or at home with their parents completed a series of questionnaires in which they described their social networks while attending college and their adaptation to university life. Ss also completed the Hopkins Symptom Checklist as a measure of psychological well-being. In accord with an ecological view of social support, the structural and functional characteristics of Ss' networks varied with gender, living situation, and temporal stage of the network. Network characteristics were significantly associated with successful adaptation to college, although the relative adaptiveness of particular network characteristics varied over time. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes of life satisfaction in the transition to retirement: A latent-class approach.

Contradictory positions have been advanced as to whether retirement has negative, positive, or no effects on subjective well-being. The authors investigated changes in life satisfaction in 1,456 German retirees. Using latent growth mixture modeling, the authors found 3 groups of people who experienced retirement differently. In Group 1, satisfaction declined at retirement but continued on a stable or increasing trajectory thereafter. Group 2 demonstrated a large increase in satisfaction at retirement but overall declining satisfaction. In Group 3, satisfaction showed a temporary very small increase at retirement. Groups differed by retirement age, gender, socioeconomic status, marital status, health, unemployment before retiring, and region. Thus, retirement is not a uniform transition, and resource-rich individuals are less likely to experience retirement-related change in satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relational self revealed: Integrative conceptualization and implications for interpersonal life.

The authors offer a new, integrative conceptualization of the relational self based on a synthesis of recent approaches to the self and significant others. This conceptualization provides a sharper and fuller definition of the relational self than does any existing approach alone and a common framework to interpret findings from separate literatures. The authors then present 5 propositions and evidence to support the thesis that relational selves exert a pervasive influence on interpersonal life. Specifically, relational selves (a) shape a wide range of psychological processes and outcomes, (b) exert their influence automatically, (c) serve basic orientation and meaning functions, (d) provide continuity and context-specific variability in personality, and (e) carry implications for psychological well-being. Discussion focuses on remaining issues and implications for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stage independence in a memory-search task.

Performed a memory-search task in which the presented items were consonants belonging to the memory set, other consonants, and a blank stimulus (i.e., an empty stimulus field). 12 undergraduates served as Ss. Compatible with a hypothesis based on S. Sternberg's 1969 model predicting independence of search and nonsearch stages, it was found that as the size of the memory set increased, reaction time to members of the memory set and nonmember consonants increased at equal rates, while reaction time to the blank stimulus was independent of size of the memory set. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit theories of emotion: Affective and social outcomes across a major life transition.

The authors demonstrate that people differ systematically in their implicit theories of emotion: Some view emotions as fixed (entity theorists), whereas others view emotions as more malleable (incremental theorists). Using a longitudinal and multimethod design, the authors show that implicit theories of emotion, as distinct from intelligence, are linked to both emotional and social adjustment during the transition to college. Before entering college, individuals who held entity (vs. incremental) theories of emotion had lower emotion regulation self-efficacy and made less use of cognitive reappraisal (Part 1). Throughout their first academic term, entity theorists of emotion had less favorable emotion experiences and received decreasing social support from their new friends, as evidenced by weekly diaries (Part 2). By the end of freshman year, entity theorists of emotion had lower well-being, greater depressive symptoms, and lower social adjustment as indicated in both self- and peer-reports (Part 3). The emotional, but not the social, outcomes were partially mediated by individual differences in emotion regulation self-efficacy (Part 4). Together, these studies demonstrate that implicit theories of emotion can have important long-term implications for socioemotional functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in adults' control beliefs related to life goals and concerns.

Control beliefs play an important role in how people direct their own development during their life span. However, research into age differences in control beliefs has produced inconsistent results. In this study, 381 Ss (aged 19–71 yrs) completed a questionnaire in which they were asked to write down their goals and concerns. They were then asked to rate each on a 4-point bipolar rating scale measuring internality–externality. The results showed that Ss' control beliefs became more external with age. However, part of the increase in externality was found to be caused by increasing interest in domains that are generally considered uncontrollable. Ss' beliefs about health-, self-, offspring-, and property-related goals became more external with age, unlike goals concerning future education, occupation, family, and travel. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What's in a name: Implicit self-esteem and the automatic self.

This article explores the links between implicit self-esteem and the automatic self (D. L. Paulhus, 1993). Across 4 studies, name letter evaluations were positively biased, confirming that implicit self-esteem is generally positive (A. G. Greenwald & M. R. Banaji, 1995). Study 1 found that this name letter bias was stable over a 4-week period. Study 2 found that positive bias for name letters and positive bias for birth date numbers were correlated and that both biases became inhibited when participants were induced to respond in a deliberative manner. Studies 3–4 found that implicit self-evaluations corresponded with self-reported self-evaluations, but only when participants were evaluating themselves very quickly (Study 3) or under cognitive load (Study 4). Together, these findings support the notion that implicit self-esteem phenomena are driven by self-evaluations that are activated automatically and without conscious self-reflection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developing an integrated self: Academic and ethnic identities among ethnically diverse college students.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the development of college students' major selection and whether and how this choice is associated with their developing ethnic identities. Ninety ethnically diverse college students were interviewed in their first, sophomore, and senior years. Mixed-method analyses revealed 5 theoretically consistent pathways of how students configured their ethnic identities and majors over time: low awareness, consciousness-raised, high awareness, integrating, and compartmentalized. These pathways were differentially related to students' ethnicities and majors, suggesting that students' identity experiences are moderated by their chosen majors. The results of this study underscore the contribution of a longitudinal, life-span, approach to identity development for understanding the diversity in identity pathways during college. The findings also have implications for practical purposes, particularly for advising, counseling, and curriculum development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Getting a life: The emergence of the life story in adolescence.

In the life story, autobiographical remembering and self-understanding are combined to create a coherent account of one's past. A gap is demonstrated between developmental research on the story-organization of autobiographical remembering of events in childhood and of life narratives in adulthood. This gap is bridged by substantiating D. P. McAdams's (1985) claim that the life story develops in adolescence. Two manifestations of the life story, life narratives and autobiographical reasoning, are delineated in terms of 4 types of global coherence (temporal, biographical, causal, and thematic). A review of research shows that the cognitive tools necessary for constructing global coherence in a life story and the social-motivational demands to construct a life story develop during adolescence. The authors delineate the implications of the life story framework for other research areas such as coping, attachment, psychotherapeutic process, and the organization of autobiographical memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)