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)     

Forgiveness as an intrapsychic process.

Reviews the literature on forgiveness, considers it as a health-inducing process, and offers an intrapsychic conceptualization of forgiveness. An object relations model based on the schema proposed by J. Gartner (1988) explains forgiveness as a lengthy process of self and object representations and complementary defenses undergoing a series of remodifications to develop optimal resolution. Simultaneously, other psychic agencies are disrupted by altering internal images and defenses, broadening the scope of resulting disequilibrium. Gradual, congruent, parallel revision of major psychic systems is necessary for real absolution and exoneration. An illustrative case example of a 36-yr-old married female with depression is provided. The application of this object relations model of forgiveness in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life.

Six studies examined the role of positive affect (PA) in the experience of meaning in life (MIL). Study 1 showed strong relations between measures of mood, goal appraisals, and MIL. In multivariate analyses, PA was a stronger predictor of MIL than goal appraisals. In Study 2, the most consistent predictor of the experience of meaning in a day was the PA experienced that day. Later, global MIL was predicted by average daily PA, rather than average daily MIL. Study 3 demonstrated no prospective relations between measures of MIL and PA over 2 years. In Study 4, priming positive mood concepts enhanced MIL. In Study 5, manipulated positive mood enhanced ratings of MIL for those who were not given an attributional cue for their moods. In Study 6, PA was associated with a high level of distinction between meaningful and meaningless activities. Results indicate that positive moods may predispose individuals to feel that life is meaningful. In addition, positive moods may increase sensitivity to the meaning-relevance of a situation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal study of social support and meaning in life.

The purpose of this study was to see whether 3 types of social support (enacted support, negative interaction, and anticipated support) are associated with change in meaning in life. Data from a nationwide longitudinal survey of older people suggested that greater anticipated support (i.e., the belief that others will provide assistance in the future if needed) is associated with a deeper sense of meaning over time. The same was true with respect to emotional support received from family members and close friends. In contrast, the findings revealed that, at least initially, negative interaction lowers an older person's sense of meaning in life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self as an organized system of valuations: Toward a dialogue with the person.

Suggests that in describing the self as an organized system of valuations, the concept valuation refers to anything a person finds important in his/her everyday situation. A self-confrontation method is described in detail as a means of making a person's system of valuations explicit, with due regard to its affective properties. The method shows how the system is organized and reorganized over the course of time. This procedure is illustrated in a longitudinal case study of a 31-yr-old woman with an identity problem who spontaneously changed her name in the process of solving this problem. Essential for the proposed method of investigation is that the person has the position of self-investigator and reflects on his/her experiences in dialogical relationship with the psychologist. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The quest for meaning: Religious affiliation differences in the correlates of religious quest and search for meaning in life.

Religious traditions are considered to provide their members with a way to integrate their experiences into a coherent, comprehensible whole; functioning as a meaning system. Given that religious traditions vary in certain ways, the meaning systems they provide to their members might also differ from one another. The present study was concerned with whether seeking existential meaning in religion and life is compatible with other expressions of religiousness across denominations. Using a multigroups application of path analysis, we investigated whether the relations of two forms of existential seeking, secular (search for meaning in life) and sacred (religious quest), with several religious and psychological well-being measures differed as a function of denomination in a sample of Catholic and Protestant young adults (Study 1; N = 284) and a sample of Catholic, Evangelical, and Non-Evangelical Protestant young adults (Study 2; N = 454). Although comparisons across studies are difficult because the “Protestant” category in Study 1 could have included both Evangelical and non-Evangelical Protestants, one consistent pattern did emerge: there were no denomination-based differences in any of the relations of search for meaning with any of the religiousness variables in either study. Also, in both studies, Catholics demonstrated a positive relation of search for meaning with religious quest and negative relations of search for meaning with presence of meaning in life and overall religiousness. Results for religious quest appeared unstable across studies, raising possible questions about its measurement qualities. Implications for the study of cultural and existential factors and religion are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dynamics of death and meaning: The effects of death-relevant cognitions and personal need for structure on perceptions of meaning in life.

Do reminders of mortality increase or decrease perceptions of life’s meaning? The authors propose that death-relevant thought has divergent effects on meaning perceptions depending on individuals’ personal need for structure (PNS) or dispositional desire for structured knowledge. In prior research, high-PNS individuals primed with mortality-related stimuli were found to employ clearly structured conceptions of reality. Consequently, these individuals were expected to show stable or even bolstered perceptions of meaning when death thought was heightened. Low-PNS individuals did not show this tendency and were therefore expected to show decreased meaning under heightened death-thought activation. The results of Studies 1a–1d supported these hypotheses. Studies 2 and 3 sought to identify how low-PNS individuals might reaffirm meaning and found that death thought increased their willingness to explore novelty. Studies 4 and 5 directly tested the meaning-conferring function of novelty seeking among low-PNS individuals, showing that the consideration of novel interpretations of the world and their experiences affirmed a sense of meaning in life following reminders of death. Discussion focuses on the relationship between meaning and death and the unique ways low-PNS individuals respond to mortality concerns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process.

This article explores the possibility that romantic love is an attachment process—a biosocial process by which affectional bonds are formed between adult lovers, just as affectional bonds are formed earlier in life between human infants and their parents. Key components of attachment theory, developed by Bowlby, Ainsworth, and others to explain the develoment of affectional bonds in infancy, were translated into terms appropriate to adult romantic love. The translation centered on the three major styles of attachment in infancy—secure, avoidant, and anxious/ambivalent—and on the notion that continuity of relationship style is due in part to mental models (Bowlby's "inner working models") of self and social life. These models, and hence a person's attachment style, are seen as determined in part by childhood relationships with parents. Two questionnaire studies indicated that (a) relative prevalence of the three attachment styles is roughly the same in adulthood as in infancy, (b) the three kinds of adults differ predictably in the way they experience romantic love, and (c) attachment style is related in theoretically meaningful ways to mental models of self and social relationships and to relationship experiences with parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The meaning of money.

Conducted an exploratory study to determine whether groups of persons who are clearly distinguishable on the basis of biography show measurable differences in what money means to them. Values about money were measured via a modified semantic differential in 11 different groups (N = 533) including hard-core trainees, employed persons, and college students. Results indicate that there are a variety of such differences and that these differences may be modified by work experience, sex, and socioeconomic level. Results are related to theories about money and motivation. The possibility of developing a variety of modifications in personnel practices in business is noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Elaborative inferencing as an active or passive process.

E. J. O'Brien et al (see record 1988-31689-001) reported that readers generated elaborative inferences only when a text contained characteristics that virtually eliminated the possibility of an inference being disconfirmed. We reanalyzed O'Brien's data and also conducted an experiment in which we varied (a) whether or not there was an anaphoric relation between a target word and its prior mention in the text and (b) the explicitness of the prior mention. Two refinements to O'Brien et al's conclusions are offered. First, the two text characteristics they manipulated (a strong biasing context or a demand sentence) may have produced different types of elaborative inferencing. We argue that a biasing context results in a passive form of elaborative inferencing, involving setting up a context of interpretation, whereas the presence of a demand sentence invites the reader to actively predict a subsequent expression. Second, clear evidence for either type of inference will be apparent only with truly anaphoric materials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

College student drinking and meaning in the pursuit of life goals.

The current study was designed to examine the association between risky alcohol use and life goals among college students. Introductory psychology students completed a questionnaire that included measures of typical life goals and alcohol use behavior. Students listed their 5 most typical life goals and rated them each on a series of dimensions from which 2 factors were derived (i.e., Goal Meaning, Goal Efficacy). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that the lower levels of goal meaning were associated with more heavy episodic use of alcohol and alcohol-related negative consequences. Results are consistent with motivational models of drinking that depict alcohol use as a function of satisfaction from other life goals. Findings support the importance of understanding college student drinking within the broader context of life goal appraisal. (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 relation between meaning in life and the occurrence of drug abuse: A retrospective study.

Conducted an epidemiological, retrospective study to compare personal meaning in life (e.g., V. Frankl, 1959) between a group of 49 individuals (mean age 29.4 yrs) receiving inpatient treatment for drug abuse and a group of 49 matched, non-drug-abusing controls (mean age 29.1 yrs). All Ss completed the Purpose in Life Test and Life Attitude Profile—Revised. With both instruments, the inpatient drug-abusing Ss were found to have significantly lower levels of meaning in life. Results suggest that drug treatment and primary prevention programs should consider giving some attention toward life meaning issues in their intervention strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The meaning of personality test scores.

The process of reexamining the methodological and metatheoretical assumptions of personality psychology over the past two decades has been useful for both critics and practitioners of personality research. Although the field has progressed substantially, some critics continue to raise 1960s-vintage complaints, and some researchers perpetuate earlier abuses. We believe that a single issue—construct validity—underlies the perceived and actual shortcomings of current assessment-based personality research. Unfortunately, many psychologists seem unaware of the extensive literature on construct validity. This article reviews five major contributions to our understanding of construct validity and discusses their importance for evaluating new personality measures. This review is intended as a guide for practitioners as well as an answer to questions raised by critics. Because the problem of construct validity is generic to our discipline, these issues are significant not only for personality researchers but also for psychologists in other domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The meaning of the ABEPP diploma.

Sample remarks of American Board of Examiners in Professional Psychology (ABEPP) examiners regarding ABEPP applicants are presented under the following headings: Field Situation and Examination on Diagnosis, Therapy Examination, Research Examination, and Ethics and Professional Relations. "ABEPP status is, at best, only slowly coming to have direct and immediate effects on salaries and professional rank." As of May 31, 1960, of 812 applicants, 348 were awarded the diploma, 359 are in process, and 105 have been terminated. Historical development of the ABEPP and its operation are described. Various comments, recommendations, criticisms, and commendations directed to the ABEPP Board of Trustees are considered. From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2AL32K. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Epidermal aminopeptidase activity and metabolism as observed in an organized HaCaT cell sheet model

Metabolism studies on organized HaCaT keratinocyte cell sheets are reported. Cells were grown on porous membranes to form organized cell sheets of several cell layers, which were considered as a model of viable epidermis. Metabolism was studied by reflection kinetics, with the top side of the cell sheets in contact with a donor solution and the basal side closed by an impermeable backing layer. Metabolite formation was followed by HPLC of substrate and metabolite in the donor. For comparison, studies with homogenized HaCaT cells were also performed. Model substrates were amino acid amides of 4-methoxy-2-naphthylamine (MNA) (i.e., Ala-MNA, Arg-MNA, Glu-MNA, and Leu-MNA). Also Leu-enkephalin was studied as a model peptide. Except for Glu-MNA, all substrates were metabolized in both the organized cell sheet and in the homogenates. In homogenate studies, saturation of the metabolic reaction was reached at <100 nmol mL(-1) substrate, whereas metabolism in organized cell sheets was below saturation (up to 500 nmol mL(-1)) except for Leu-enkephalin that showed saturation at >100 nmol mL(-1). In homogenates, substrate inhibition was found with Leu-MNA (> approximately 20 nmol mL(-1)) but not with Ala-MNA and Arg-MNA, both of which showed saturation. Differences of homogenates versus organized cell sheets are due to the intact organization and enzyme compartmentation of the cell sheets as opposed to the loss of organization and compartmentation in homogenates. Also, diffusion of substrate into cell sheets may be rate limiting.