Hedonic consequences of social comparison: a contrast of happy and unhappy people

Two studies tested the hypothesis that self-rated unhappy individuals would be more sensitive to social comparison information than would happy ones. Study 1 showed that whereas unhappy students' affect and self-assessments were heavily affected by a peer who solved anagrams either faster or slower, happy students' responses were affected by the presence of a slower peer only. These between-group differences proved to be largely independent of 2 factors associated with happiness, i.e., self-esteem and optimism. Study 2 showed that whereas the unhappy group's responses to feedback about their own teaching performance were heavily influenced by a peer who performed even better or even worse, happy students' responses again were moderated only by information about inferior peer performance. Implications for our appreciation of the link between cognitive processes and "hedonic" consequences are discussed.     

Affect and memory: Effects of pleasant and unpleasant odors on retrieval of happy and unhappy memories.

Interpretation of studies of induced mood and memory is complicated by the fact that mood induction procedures may elicit mood-related cognition in addition to mood per se. We used odors to produce positive and negative experiences with minimal cognitive involvement. College women recalled memories cued by neutral words while exposed to a pleasant odor, unpleasant odor, or no odor. Subjects then rated their memories as to how happy or unhappy the events recalled were at the time they occurred. Subjects in the pleasant odor condition produced a significantly greater percentage of happy memories than did subjects in the unpleasant odor condition. When subjects who did not find the odors at least moderately pleasant or unpleasant were removed from the analysis, more pronounced effects on memory were found. The results suggest that congruence between the general hedonic tone of current experience and that of material in long-term memory is sufficient to bias retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in attractiveness of elected, rejected, and precluded alternatives: A comparison of happy and unhappy individuals.

In 3 studies the authors compared the responses of self-rated happy and unhappy students in situations involving choice. In Study 1, high school seniors evaluated colleges after applying for admission and then later after making their selections. Happy students tended to be more satisfied than unhappy ones with the colleges they ultimately chose and those they ultimately rejected, and they more sharply devalued the colleges that rejected them. Studies 2 and 3 dealt with postdecisional consequences of less consequential decisions about fancy desserts. In Study 2, unhappy participants sharply derogated the desserts they rejected or were denied, relative to those selected by or for them, whereas happy participants showed no such derogation. These group differences, moreover, proved to be largely independent of self-esteem and optimism. The design of Study 3 helped explicate underlying mechanisms by inducing both groups to distract themselves or to self-reflect. Doing so eliminated all group differences. Implications of the results for the link between cognitive processes and hedonic consequences are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory for positive versus negative life events: Theories for the differences between happy and unhappy persons.

Three studies examined the following hypotheses for the relation of subjective well-being (SWB) with memory for positive versus negative life events: (1) differences in retrieval mood, (2) the incidence of positive and negative events, (3) the interpretation of events, and (4) frequency of rehearsal. In Studies 1 (n?=?420) and 2 (n?=?94), the partial correlation of retrieval mood with recall, controlling for SWB, was trivial, suggesting that mood had little or no effect on recall. Endorsement frequencies of positive minus negative concrete events and interpretive events on checklists in Studies 2 and 3 each correlated with SWB (ps?     

Monitoring verbal behaviors in a dyadic interaction.

Studied 3 monitoring techniques and 3 valences (social desirability) of self-selected, verbal target behaviors in 18 heterosexual dyads of college students. Self-monitoring had the same reactive effects in dyadic as has been found in single-person situations. The direction of change of the behavior from baseline to experimental session was influenced by the valence of the target behaviors. There were no differences between self-monitoring and obvious monitoring by an external agent, indicating that behavioral changes that accompany monitoring are due to reactive processes of being observed. Videotape self-monitoring prior to the experimental session reduced negative valence behavior more than self-monitoring and external-agent monitoring during the experimental session, indicating that the timing of monitoring may be important. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict-management styles of spouses in lasting marriages.

This article focuses on conflict-management styles of spouses in marriages that lasted an average of 35 yrs. Data about adaptation in these marriages, which included how spouses dealt with marital conflict, was collected through in-depth interviews with 144 spouses in 72 marriages. The sample was diverse in terms of race, socioeconomic status, and religion. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the most powerful factor in shaping conflict-management styles in the recent years of these relationships was the style of managing conflict in previous years. Based on these findings, treatment implications for marital therapy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Communication and intimacy in the marriages of depressed patients.

Marital discord is common among depressed patients. To explain the concurrence of depression and marital discord, it was hypothesized that depressed patients and their spouses have weak relationship-coping abilities, specifically communication, problem solving, and capacity for intimacy. 17 depressed patients and their spouses were compared with 17 control couples on a communication task, an intimacy interview, and self-reports of marital satisfaction. Results indicated that, compared with control Ss, the depressed patients and their spouses (1) reported greater marital dissatisfaction, (2) demonstrated poorer communication and problem-solving ability, and (3) were more likely to have an impaired capacity for establishing and maintaining intimacy. The implications for understanding the development of depression and marital discord are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential use of premarital education in first and second marriages.

Although second marriages are more likely to end in divorce than first marriages, and thus represent an important target for intervention, there have been no detailed examinations of the use of premarital education in second marriages. Using random-digit dialing methods, 398 individuals currently in a second marriage and 1,342 individuals currently in a first marriage participated. Compared with those in first marriages, individuals in second marriages were significantly less likely to receive premarital education for their current marriage. This difference was fully mediated by differences between individuals in first and second marriages in pre-engagement cohabitation, education level, having children from a previous relationship, and being married by a religious leader. In both first and second marriages, those couples at most risk for subsequent marital distress and divorce were less likely to receive premarital education. Results suggest that more needs to be done to understand the barriers to the use of premarital education for second marriages. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role expectations and ego level in relation to problem marriages.

Compared 52 couples in problem marriages and 55 in nonproblem marriages with respect to degree of agreement between spouses in sex-role expectations, sex-linked self-concepts, and ego development, as measured by, respectively, a new sex-role survey (SRS), the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ), and the Sentence Completion Test (SCT). With regard to differences between spouses, those on the SRS were associated with problem marriage, whereas those on the PAQ and SCT were not. Age differences of spouses were greater in problem marriages. Relations among measured variables were also examined. Among women, an androgynous self-concept was unrelated to androgynous role expectations; among men, there was a small positive correlation. Ego level was positively related to androgynous role expectations but not to androgynous self-concept. Homogamous mating was shown for ego level and sex role expectations but not for personal attributes. An unexpected finding was that mean ego level scores for husbands and wives were identical. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributions and behavior in functional and dysfunctional marriages

The study examined whether spouses' attributions for partner behavior are related to their own behavior by assessing their attributions and observing the problem-solving discussions of couples in which (a) neither spouse was depressed or maritally distressed, (b) the wife was depressed and both spouses were maritally distressed, and (c) the wife was not depressed and both spouses were maritally distressed. To the extent they made maladaptive attributions, wives displayed less positive behavior and more negative behavior. Husbands' attributions and behavior were unrelated, and associations between attributions and behavior were not moderated by marital distress and depression. These results highlight the need to clarify how partner behavior contributes to the attributions spouses make and to reexamine interventions designed to modify attributions in marital therapy.     

Cultural differences in Korean- and Anglo-American preschoolers' social interaction and play behaviors

48 Korean- and 48 Anglo-American children were observed in their preschool settings to examine the role of culture in organizing children's activities and in shaping their pretend play behavior. Observes recorded the presence or absence of preselected social behaviors and levels of play complexity. Parents completed a questionnaire about play in the home, teachers rated children's social competence, and children were given the PPVT-R and a sociometric interview. Korean parents completed an acculturation questionnaire. The findings revealed cultural differences in children's social interaction, play complexity, adult-child interaction and play in the home and in the preschool, adult beliefs about play, scores on the PPVT-R, and children's social functioning with peers. The results suggest that children's social interaction and pretend play behavior are influenced by culture-specific socialization practices that serve adaptive functions.     

Influence of extraversion and neuroticism on subjective well-being: Happy and unhappy people.

The 1st of 3 experiments, based on responses from a total sample of 1,100 males aged 35–85, examined the relation between 4 measures of happiness and 7 personality dispositions hypothesized to be related to positive or negative affect. Exp II tested the original hypothesis using measures of the broader dimensions of Neuroticism (N) and Extraversion (E). In Exp III, happiness was predicted from N and E data obtained 10 yrs previously. Based on the results of these studies, it is argued that (a) one set of traits influences positive affect or satisfaction, whereas a different set of traits influences negative affect or dissatisfaction; (b) the former set of traits can be viewed as components of extraversion, and the latter as components of neuroticism; and (c) personality differences antedate and predict differences in happiness over a period of 10 yrs, thus ruling out the rival hypothesis that temporary moods or states account for the observed relations. A model of individual differences in happiness is presented, and the separate and complementary role of trait and adaptation-level theories in explaining happiness are discussed. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The confounded nature of angry men and happy women.

Findings of 7 studies suggested that decisions about the sex of a face and the emotional expressions of anger or happiness are not independent: Participants were faster and more accurate at detecting angry expressions on male faces and at detecting happy expressions on female faces. These findings were robust across different stimulus sets and judgment tasks and indicated bottom-up perceptual processes rather than just top-down conceptually driven ones. Results from additional studies in which neutrally expressive faces were used suggested that the connections between masculine features and angry expressions and between feminine features and happy expressions might be a property of the sexual dimorphism of the face itself and not merely a result of gender stereotypes biasing the perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment insecurity and the distinction between unhappy spouses who do and do not divorce.

The hypothesis that attachment insecurity would be associated with remaining in an unhappy marriage was tested. One hundred seventy-two newly married couples participated in a 4-year longitudinal study with multiple assessment points. Hierarchical linear models revealed that compared with spouses in happy marriages and divorced spouses, spouses who were in stable but unhappy marriages showed the highest levels of insecurity initially and over time. Spouses in stable, unhappy marriages also had lower levels of marital satisfaction than divorced spouses and showed relatively high levels of depressive symptoms initially and over time. Results suggest that spouses at risk for stable, unhappy marriages can be identified early and may benefit from interventions that increase the security of spouses' attachment to each other. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discriminating age-associated memory impairment from Alzheimer's disease.

The authors attempt to provide a better understanding of the differences between the normal memory decline characteristic of age-associated memory impairment (AAMI) and the pathological decline typical of mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). Batteries of traditional memory tests and computer-simulated everyday-memory tests discriminated between the 2 groups, which were matched on age, gender, and education, with reasonable degrees of accuracy (87.5% and 88.4%, respectively). False positives were the most frequent classification errors when using either battery. These results indicate that it is possible to use ecologically valid memory assessment paradigms without sacrificing discriminant validity. The clinical significance of discriminating mild AD from AAMI is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The funds, friends, and faith of happy people.

New studies are revealing predictors of subjective well-being, often assessed as self-reported happiness and life satisfaction. Worldwide, most people report being at least moderately happy, regardless of age and gender. As part of their scientific pursuit of happiness, researchers have examined possible associations between happiness and (a) economic growth and personal income, (b) close relationships, and (c) religious faith. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancies in therapy research: Discriminating among heterogeneous nonspecifics.

Presents a review of the literature indicating that criticisms about the effects of therapy have changed markedly during the last 25 yrs. The challenge by H. J. Eysenck (1952) required the demonstration of the superiority of therapy procedures over events classed as nonspecifics. This challenge was met during the 1960s with a convergence of developments involving innovative therapy procedures, sensitive experimental designs, and discriminating conceptual systems. More recently, challenges have required the demonstration of the independence of the effects of therapy procedures from events classed as nonspecifics. When discriminations are made among the heterogeneous events classed as nonspecifics, it is apparent that the effects of therapy procedures have already been demonstrated to be independent of some nonspecifics. Logical tautology precludes the demonstration of independence from other nonspecifics. The role of client outcome expectancy as an interpretive artifact is questionable. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discriminating the "good" from the "bad" therapy hour: A study of dyadic interaction.

Investigated whether better interviews could be discriminated from worse interviews, using (1) relative client–therapist activity levels and (2) the degree of structure implicit in the therapist's messages. Eight 22–58 yr old clients and their therapists whose professional experience ranged from 1 to 4 yrs had congruent perceptions of 2 sessions, one good and one bad. Group and case-by-case comparisons were made of the natural language in these interviews. Results show metacomplementary patterns in both good and bad sessions, but client–therapist activity tended to be more asymmetrical in the worse interviews. In the bad sessions, these therapists either participated even more actively than their clients or were passive, while in their good sessions client–therapist participation levels were more balanced. In the good interviews, therapists consistently provided a moderate degree of structure (significantly more reassurance/encouragement, information, and interpretation), as opposed to lower structure (notably reflection/restatement) or higher structure (information seeking and guidance/advice) in their bad interviews. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

检阅·欢聚·期盼

欣逢重庆科技学院建校60周年.激悦之情难以言表.因为我和她风雨相伴走过了60个春秋.建国时期,百废待兴.重庆钢铁工业学校于1951年应运而建.校址选在长江之畔的鱼鳅浩.当时,师生们"住的捆绑房.米煤自己扛,洗澡在河沟,田坝当操场",教学及生活条件十分简陋,但大家的精神却是蓬勃向上.