Self-knowledge and social inference: I. The impact of cognitive/affective and behavioral data.

Two studies investigated the sources of information that people would perceive as diagnostic of self. In Study 1, 40 undergraduates completed a questionnaire in which they rated private thoughts and feelings, other peoples' as well as their own, as far more informative and prototypic of self than overt actions. In Study 2, 48 undergraduate speakers participated in a structured interview during which they revealed either a sample of their past thoughts and feelings, a sample of their past behavior, or a mixture of these 2 types of information to 71 undergraduate observers who watched and listened from behind a 1-way mirror. The interviews offering cognitive/affective revelations were perceived, both by the speakers themselves and by observers, to be more informative than interviews offering behavioral revelations. Analyses from both studies, however, suggest that the tendency to weight cognitive/affective information more heavily than behavioral information may be stronger and more consistent for self-perception than social perception. Study 2, in particular, indicates that speakers made more extreme dispositional inferences based on cognitive/affective interviews, whereas observers did not. Ratings of interpersonal liking closely paralleled ratings of perceived informativeness for the questionnaire responses in Study 1 but not for the responses to explicit revelations of thoughts and feeling vs behavior in Study 2. Sex differences were also observed on several measures. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributions as moderators of affective and behavioral responses to social failure.

Undergraduate women with a helpless or nonhelpless attributional style as measured by the Attributional Style Questionnaire were subjected to social failure or success (interaction with unresponsive or responsive confederates). Subsequently, each interacted with a second naive subject. As predicted, individuals with a helpless attributional style became depressed and hostile (as measured by the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List) after interacting with an unresponsive confederate. Furthermore, in comparison with nonhelpless subjects, helpless subjects who interacted with the unresponsive confederate evidenced more tension in their voices during both interactions and less pleasantness in their nonverbal behavior during the second interaction. Overall, the second group of subjects did not respond differently to the first group of subjects as an interactive function of attributions and experimental condition of the initial subjects. However, helpless subjects in the second group spoke less, were less nonverbally pleasant, and became more hostile than did nonhelpless subjects after interacting with individuals who had previously interacted with an unresponsive confederate. A consistent but unexpected pattern was found for nonhelpless subjects: They responded more adaptively to stressful than to nonstressful interactions. Results are interpreted as providing support for a vulnerability model of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temporal stability and cross-situational consistency of affective, behavioral, and cognitive responses.

Examined consistency and stability of feelings in reports that were completed on 3,512 occasions randomly sampled from the lives of 42 undergraduates. Over a 6-wk period, Ss completed a mood inventory at times indicated by an alarm watch. The stability and consistency of responses depended on the situations, individuals, and responses involved. High degrees of consistency were unusual for single responses, although mean levels of responding tended to be both highly stable and consistent. The consistency and stability of variables covaried, suggesting a connection between the two. Ss who were more consistent across one pair of situations tended to be more consistent across other situational pairs. Results indicate that the question of whether personality consistency exists does not have a simple answer and requires knowledge of the persons, situations, responses, and level of analysis involved. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The affective regulation of cognitive priming.

Semantic and affective priming are classic effects observed in cognitive and social psychology, respectively. The authors discovered that affect regulates such priming effects. In Experiment 1, positive and negative moods were induced before one of three priming tasks; evaluation, categorization, or lexical decision. As predicted, positive affect led to both affective priming (evaluation task) and semantic priming (category and lexical decision tasks). However, negative affect inhibited such effects. In Experiment 2, participants in their natural affective state completed the same priming tasks as in Experiment 1. As expected, affective priming (evaluation task) and category priming (categorization and lexical decision tasks) were observed in such resting affective states. Hence, the authors conclude that negative affect inhibits semantic and affective priming. These results support recent theoretical models, which suggest that positive affect promotes associations among strong and weak concepts, and that negative affect impairs such associations (Clore & Storbeck, 2006; Kuhl, 2000). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-knowledge of an amnesic patient: Toward a neuropsychology of personality and social psychology.

Presents the case of W. J., an 18-yr old female who, as a result of a head injury, temporarily lost access to her episodic memory. W. J. was asked both during her amnesia and following its resolution to make trait judgments about herself. Because her responses when she could access episodic memories were consistent with her responses when she could not, the authors conclude that the loss of episodic memory did not greatly affect the availability of her trait self-knowledge. The authors discuss how neuropsychological evidence can contribute to theorizing about personality and social processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The social–cognitive construction of psychotherapeutic change: Bridging social constructionism and cognitive constructivism.

Self-with-other processing and construction play an important role in human adjustment, development, and change. This idea is critical for an adequate understanding of psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic change. A theory of psychotherapeutic change that combines elements of both social constructionist and cognitive constructivist thought is presented briefly. After reviewing salient examples of both forms of thought as these have manifested in theorizing about psychotherapeutic change, a sampling of original empirical demonstrations is offered in support of the theory. Psychotherapeutic change is described as a process of appropriation and practical application through which clients internalize therapeutic conversations and activities, which they then use as psychological tools to restructure personal theories, experiences, and actions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of social modeling, cognitive structuring, and self-management strategies on affective self-disclosure.

Assessed immediate and delayed effects of social modeling, cognitive structuring, and 2 self-management strategies for increasing affective self-disclosure in 48 undergraduate males. Ss were randomly assigned to (a) social modeling, (b) cognitive structuring, (c) attention placebo, or (d) no-training control groups. Following training, Ss took a performance test and 2 pencil-and-paper measures. With this treatment used as a blocking variable, Ss were then randomly assigned to (a) goal-directed behavior, (b) self-reinforcement, or (c) no-training control groups. A delayed posttest was administered 3 wks later. Results indicate that social modeling and cognitive structuring had immediate effects on affective self-disclosure. Also, a combination of social learning and self-management strategies was more effective over time than any single treatment or no treatment at all. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The social context of reasoning: Conversational inference and rational judgment.

Social rules governing communication require the listener to go beyond the information given in a message, contrary to the assumption that rational people should operate only on the information explicitly given in judgment tasks. An attributional model of conversational inference is presented that shows how hearers' message interpretations are guided by their perceptions of the speaker. The model is then applied to the analysis of experiments on reasoning processes in cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, and decision research. It is shown that the model can predict how experimental manipulations of relevant source and message attributes affect respondents' judgments. Failure to recognize the role of conversational assumptions in governing inference processes can lead rational responses to be misclassified as errors and their source misattributed to cognitive shortcomings in the decision maker. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The specialty practice of cognitive and behavioral psychology.

What makes cognitive and behavioral psychology a specialty practice when many psychologists of differing orientations may inquire about a client’s cognitions and behaviors? Distinctive and unifying aspects of the specialty practice of cognitive and behavioral psychology are discussed as they relate to psychotherapeutic practice. A brief history of the field is given, and procedures in assessment, case conceptualization, and treatment planning are reviewed. Information regarding education and training is provided. Resources are suggested for individuals who wish to develop competency in cognitive and behavioral psychology. Psychologists who use cognitive and behavioral principles in assessments, treatment planning, case conceptualizations, interventions, or all of these are encouraged to pursue specialty certification in cognitive and behavioral psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social judgment and social memory: The role of cue diagnosticity in negativity, positivity, and extremity biases.

In this article, we report two experiments that examine a cue-diagnosticity explanation (Skowronski & Carlston, 1986) for the extremity and negativity biases that are commonly found in impression-formation research. The first experiment demonstrates that negative behaviors are generally perceived as more diagnostic than positive behaviors when the former are morality related (honesty-dishonesty) but that these perceptions are reversed when negative behaviors are ability related (intelligence-stupidity). Furthermore, as predicted, extreme behaviors relating to either morality or ability were perceived as more diagnostic than were moderate behaviors. As a consequence of these perceptions, it was predicted that the impression-formation task used in Experiment 2 would detect negativity and extremity biases for the morality judgment, but positivity and extremity biases for the ability judgment. The data confirmed these predictions, providing support for the cue-diagnosticity approach and posing problems for alternative approaches to judgment biases. Experiment 2 also found recall to be characterized by negativity biases for stimulus behaviors relating to both morality and ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Model of social inference processes.

Presents a new model of inference processes in the social perceiver, along with the basis of the model in prior experimental results and in the ACT* cognitive theory developed by J. R. Anderson (1976, 1983). The 2 stages of the model involve different types of processing: interpretive and procedural. In the 1st stage, an inference is performed by general, domain-independent processes guided by a learned inference rule that is selected from long-term memory. In the 2nd stage, procedural stage, after much experience with a particular inferential domain, an inference process is selected without explicit search, based on a pattern match to the current goal and knowledge state. The inference becomes automatic. Existing experimental evidence supports predictions of the model in both the attribution and attitude domains. Insights and findings of current approaches to inference, including information integration and judgmental heuristics, can be encompassed within the new model in a natural way. (93 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The emergence of social cognitive neuroscience.

Social cognitive neuroscience is an emerging interdisciplinary field of research that seeks to understand phenomena in terms of interactions between 3 levels of analysis: the social level, which is concerned with the motivational and social factors that influence behavior and experience; the cognitive level, which is concerned with the information-processing mechanisms that give rise to social-level phenomena; and the neural level, which is concerned with the brain mechanisms that instantiate cognitive-level processes. The social cognitive neuroscience approach entails conducting studies and constructing theories that make reference to all 3 levels and contrasts with traditional social psychological and cognitive neuroscientific research that primarily makes reference to 2 levels. The authors present an introduction to and analysis of the field by reviewing current research and providing guidelines and suggested directions for future work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing cognitive behavioral therapy and integrated cognitive behavioral therapy/psychodynamic therapy in group treatment for partner violent men.

This was a pilot study comparing the effectiveness of cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT; n = 18) with integrated CBT and psychodynamic therapy (CBT/PT; n = 27) in reducing partner violence. The study examined differences between the two treatment groups at posttreatment with regard to attachment dimensions, interpersonal problems, psychological/behavioral functioning, and general symptom and relationship distress. Results indicated that the CBT/PT groups showed significantly more improvement than the CBT groups on measures of partner violence, attachment, and interpersonal problems at posttreatment. Conversely, the CBT groups showed significantly more improvement than the CBT/PT groups on measures of psychological/behavioral functioning and general symptom and relationship distress. Finally, there was a significant difference between the treatment groups on recidivism rate, with the CBT/PT groups having the lowest rate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive controls and aggression in children: The concept of cognitive–affective balance.

160 6–15 yr old psychiatric patients (97 males, 63 females) were assigned to high- or low-aggression groups on the basis of their performance on the Miniature Situations Test. The majority of Ss were diagnosed as having attention deficit, conduct, and anxiety disorders; the remaining Ss were diagnosed as having borderline or psychotic disorders. The groups (along with age and sex variables) were compared with 2 tests of the leveling/sharpening cognitive control—one presenting nonaggressive stimuli and the other stimuli that aroused aggressive fantasies/affects. High-aggression Ss showed more cognitive sharpening when managing aggressive stimuli and more leveling with nonaggressive stimuli. A significant interaction with sex was also observed. Findings support the concept of cognitive–affective balance (i.e., the unique manner in which personalities coordinate and meet both the requirements of external stimuli/tasks and those of fantasies/affects). Results are discussed in terms of aggression as a personality characteristic and whether psychosexual identity and sex are syntonic. The concept of cognitive–affective balance is related to other models addressing the relationship between cognition and personality/emotions. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Case study: The cognitive behavioral treatment of a multiple-drug abuser.

Describes the cognitive behavioral treatment of a 53-yr-old White male physician suffering from multiple drug use. Treatment focused on (a) management of the psychological aspects of the acute stages of withdrawal; (b) the elicitation, examination, and refutation of cognitions supporting drug use; and (c) the provision of relapse prevention strategies via in vivo behavioral rehearsal. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-knowledge: Inference, perception and articulation.

Since the demise of "introspective psychology" in the early part of this century, psychologists have been highly skeptical of agent accounts of their psychological states. The conventional wisdom is that empirical studies such as those documented by Nisbett and Wilson and Nisbett and Ross have demonstrated that self-knowledge of beliefs, emotions, motives etc. is indirect and regularly inaccurate. Although for many years philosophers supported an essentially Cartesian conception of self-knowledge as direct and certain, in recent times many have joined the psychologists in arguing that self-knowledge is regularly inaccurate and unreliable. In fact some philosophers, perhaps in atonement for past epistemological sins, go one step further, arguing that self-knowledge may be and probably is universally false. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: The BIS/BAS Scales.

J. A. Gray (1981, 1982) holds that 2 general motivational systems underlie behavior and affect: a behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and a behavioral activation system (BAS). Self-report scales to assess dispositional BIS and BAS sensitivities were created. Scale development (Study 1) and convergent and discriminant validity in the form of correlations with alternative measures are reported (Study 2). In Study 3, a situation in which Ss anticipated a punishment was created. Controlling for initial nervousness, Ss high in BIS sensitivity (assessed earlier) were more nervous than those low in BIS sensitivity. In Study 4, a situation in which Ss anticipated a reward was created. Controlling for initial happiness, Ss high in BAS sensitivity (Reward Responsiveness and Drive scales) were happier than those low in BAS sensitivity. In each case the new scales predicted better than an alternative measure. Discussion is focused on conceptual implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The affective consequences of social comparison: Either direction has its ups and downs.

Research on social comparison processes has assumed that a comparison in a given direction (upward or downward) will lead to a particular affective reaction. In contrast, the present 2 studies proposed and found that a comparison can produce either positive or negative feelings about oneself, independent of its direction. Several factors moderated the tendency to derive positive or negative affect from upward and downward comparisons. In Study 1, cancer patients low in self-esteem and with low perceived control over their symptoms and illness were more likely to see downward comparisons as having negative implications for themselves. Those low in self-esteem were also more likely to perceive upward comparisons as negative. In Study 2, individuals with high marital dissatisfaction and those who felt uncertain about their marital relationship were more likely to experience negative affect from upward and downward comparisons. The implications of these findings for social comparison theory and for the coping and adaptation literature are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)