Impact of personal goals on self-regulation processes elicited by daily negative events.

A diary study examined the impact of personal goals on appraisals, self-regulatory processes, and affect in response to daily negative events. Participants, who were pretested on a goal inventory, completed a diary in which they described and rated the most bothersome event twice each day for 2 weeks. Events were later coded for goal relevance and self-focused attention. Goal-related events were appraised as more serious and personally important, were associated with more negative moods during the rating period, and elicited stronger self-regulatory responses (higher levels of self-focused attention, self-concept confusion, and rumination). The relation between goal relevance and mood was mediated by the self-regulatory variables. Nomothetic and idiographic relations among the diary variables (ignoring goal relevance) also implicated self-regulatory processes in responding to negative events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social and interpersonal reactions to depression and disability.

Studied the reactions of 167 undergraduates to a 21-yr-old male actor with a physical disability who behaved in either a depressed or socially appropriate manner in an interview and appeared to be either physically disabled or nondisabled. Consistent with predictions, the actor was rated more favorably when he appeared disabled, and Ss had strong negative reactions to depressive behavior regardless of physical appearance. S attitudes toward persons with disability were affected by the interpersonal behavior of the target: Ss evidenced more open, accepting attitudes toward persons with disability after viewing appropriate behavior by the actor, and Ss in the depressed disabled condition endorsed more stereotypic, negative attitudes. Results are discussed in terms of "kindness norm" behavior and social models of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Focus of attention mediates the impact of negative affect on altruism.

An experiment with 36 undergraduates tested whether the relationship between negative affect and altruism is mediated by focus of attention. Ss were asked to imagine that a close friend was terminally ill. They were told to attend either to their own reactions or to the reactions of the dying friend. Ss in these conditions did not differ in self-reported negative mood. Moreover, they were "sadder" than Ss in a control condition, who imagined a nontragic event. When subsequently given the opportunity to be anonymous altruists, the other-focused Ss were significantly more helpful than either the self-focused or control Ss. It is suggested that negative moods facilitate altruism among people who are attending to the problems of others, but not among people who attend to their own needs, concerns, and losses. The ethical implications of experiments inducing powerful negative affects are discussed. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The contagion of self-focus within a dyad.

Tested the hypothesis, suggested by C. H. Cooley (1902) and others, that the self-focused state of one person in a dyad triggers self-focus in the other dyad member. A corollary hypothesis concerned perspective-taking performance as a function of self-focused attention within the dyad. 62 female undergraduates interacted with a confederate whose ostensible tendency toward self-focus was manipulated by means of a bogus questionnaire shown to each S. As shown by the Private Self-Consciousness scale, Ss interacting with a presumed high-self-focus partner tended to become self-focused themselves. The perspective-taking measure, which required Ss to take the other's perspective into account in solving a maze, revealed that perceiving the other as highly self-focused facilitated perspective-taking performance among Ss who were low in measured self-focused attention. Results support the hypothesis and are congruent with the symbolic interactionist position. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual attitudes and self-reported behavior of congenitally disabled adults.

A 1–3 hr personal interview was conducted and a questionnaire was administered to 45 18–35 yr old physically disabled Ss. The questionnaire dealt with (a) attitudes towards pornography, masturbation, and other aspects of sexuality; (b) degree of personal interest in sex; and (c) the extent and form of Ss' intimate sexual behavior. Results indicate that while Ss tended to express liberal attitudes toward sexuality, they did not indicate a high degree of personal interest in sex. Nearly all of the Ss were unmarried, and over half had never had a serious relationship with the opposite sex or any intimate sexual experience. There were indications that many Ss were uninformed about sexual matters. Ss' negative attitudes toward sex could be attributed to restrictive living conditions and insufficient sex education and guidance. As a group, females expressed more conservative attitudes toward sexuality than did males. Findings suggest the need for reorientation on the part of parents, educators, and society toward recognizing and accepting the emotional and sexual needs of disabled persons. (French summary) (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sex role attitudes and similarity on men's rejection of male homosexuals.

Investigated 120 male undergraduates' reactions to homosexuals. Ss preselected on the basis of their profeminist, moderate, or antifeminist scores on the Attitude Toward Feminism Scale were assigned at random to 1 of 4 experimental conditions. Using a standard attraction paradigm design, Ss rated a bogus "partner," who was represented as either homosexual or heterosexual and as having attitudes either similar or dissimilar to theirs. Consistent with prediction, similar partners were liked more than dissimilar partners, and heterosexual partners were liked more than homosexuals. Homosexuals were seen as more dissimilar to the Ss in all conditions. Liberals were more accepting of homosexuals and dissimilar partners than were traditionals. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship between sex role attitudes and tolerance of dissimilarity. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perspective taking and self-awareness: Drawing an E on your forehead.

Self-awareness theory assumes that individuals direct their attention outward or back on themselves as a function of characteristics of the situation. Taking this theory literally, it was hypothesized that Ss taking a self-focused perspective would draw a capital letter E on their forehead such that the E would be oriented for the external perspective of an observer. Ss' whose attention was directed outward would draw an E that would appear backward to another person. As hypothesized, in 3 experiments with 175 female undergraduates, Ss in high self-focus conditions significantly more often than low self-focus Ss drew an E on their forehead oriented toward the perspective of an outside observer, even though they believed they could not be observed by anyone else. Self-focus was induced using a video camera placed either to the side of the S (Exp I) or behind the S (Exp II), where it could not record how the E was drawn. In Exp III, an audiotape recorder was used to induce self-focused attention. The results demonstrate that an external, reflexive visual perspective could be induced by an auditory self-focusing manipulation. Furthermore, in Exp III, when situationally induced self-focus was low, Ss who were high in public self-consciousness (as measured by the Self-Consciousness Scale) were more likely to draw the E from an external perspective than were Ss low in public self-consciousness. Degree of private self-consciousness was unrelated to perspective taking. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Private and public self-attention, resistance to change, and dissonance reduction.

Three experiments with 257 undergraduates investigated the effects of self-directed attention on dissonance reduction. Ss were induced to write counterattitudinal essays. In Exp I, mirror presence during either an attitude premeasure or the counterattitudinal behavior led to reduced attitude change. Exp II explored whether the discrepancy between present and prior research was due to the manner in which self-attention was manipulated. Ss were exposed either to a mirror or to a TV camera and were asked to report both their post-behavioral attitudes and their perceptions of their counterattitudinal behavior. Consistent with the results of the 1st study, Ss in the mirror condition again showed the least amount of attitude change. They did, however, reduce dissonance by altering their perceptions of their behavior. Consistent with prior findings, Ss in the camera condition tended to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, but did not distort their behavior. Exp III conceptually replicated these results by selecting Ss on the basis of their chronic levels of private and public self-consciousness. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attentional focus and locus of performance causality as determinants of equity behavior.

168 undergraduates divided reward between themselves and a competitor following performance on a task in which they were either responsible or not responsible for the results. While receiving performance feedback and allocating reward, Ss either faced a mirror (self-focused condition) or a nonreflecting surface (not-self-focused condition). The equity norm was followed when Ss were responsible for their performance, although the degree of differentiation between recipients was much more extreme among self-focused allocators than among not-self-focused allocators. The equality norm was followed when Ss were not responsible for their performance, regardless of their attentional focus. Results show that equity behavior is exacerbated by self-awareness when the Ss sees himself or herself as responsible for relative performance differences. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes towards homosexuality and male and female reactions to homosexual and heterosexual slides.

Investigated the relationship between attitudes toward male and female homosexuality and Ss' reactions to slides of various explicit sexual activities (including homosexuality, lesbianism, heterosexual activity, and group sex). Attitudes toward homosexuality and lesbianism were highly correlated. Saskatchewan males were more antihomosexual than an Ontario sample, supporting the suggestion that there is greater concern with "machismo" among males on the Prairies. 34 male and 31 female undergraduates were divided into those opposed to homosexuality (anti-H) and those not opposed (H-neutral) on the basis of attitude scale scores. While the 4 groups substantially agreed in the relative rating of the slides, anti-H Ss of both sexes rated the slides as more pornographic and evaluated them more negatively than H-neutral Ss. Females rated them more negatively than males, while males rated all but the male themes (male nude, masturbation, homosexual) more sexually arousing than did females. Males reacted more negatively to the male themes than to the comparable female themes. Female Ss showed no such difference. (French summary) (1 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of performance expectancy and self-focused attention on social interaction.

Investigated the impact of performance expectancies and self-focused attention on social performance in mixed-sex dyads of 48 undergraduate men with self-reported moderate social anxiety on a modified Social Avoidance and Distress Scale. Ss were divided into 2 groups on the basis of their high or low performance expectancies. Ss were asked to respond to several self-report questionnaires before and after making a telephone call lasting 4–5 min to a female confederate for the purpose of getting acquainted. Results show that half of the Ss in each expectancy group performed in the presence of a self-focusing stimulus (video-camera). When anxiety level was controlled for, focus of attention alone had a very limited effect on performance. Expectancy had a significant influence on social performance, but only if Ss were self-focused. Thus confident Ss were rated by judges as more socially skilled than were doubtful Ss, but only when the camera was present. The interaction between these variables parallels previous research by C. S. Carver et al (see record 1980-32489-001) and Carver and M. F. Scheier (see record 1980-25774-001) and supports the self-regulation model of Carver and Scheier (1983). (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of value-communication style and similarity of values on counselor evaluation.

Compared the nature of client reactions to an explicit as opposed to an implicit counselor communication of values and examined the effects of S–counselor value similarity on S's perceptions of and confidence in the counselor. 120 female undergraduates listened to a 15-min, audiotaped counseling interview in which the counselor was either explicit or implicit about her values and expressed either a pro or con attitude toward premarital sex. Ss were also divided into 2 groups (pro and con) on the basis of their attitudes toward premarital sex. Two control groups listened to a tape in which both the explicit and implicit value references were deleted. Results indicate no significant differences in the way explicit and implicit counselors were perceived. However, Ss were more willing to see a counselor with whom they agreed on the values issue than one with whom they disagreed. Ss hearing the explicit counselor value statement rated the counselor as more attractive and trustworthy when they agreed with her stated values than when they disagreed with them. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Arousal-induced attention to self.

Tested the prediction that increments in general arousal would induce self-focused attention. 10 undergraduates in each of 3 groups were exposed to manipulations designed to vary their levels of general arousal (running in place, waiting in a chair, reclining in a lounge chair) and were then given a measure of self-focused attention. It consisted of the number of 1st-person singular pronouns Ss used to complete a set of sentences. Although a simple heart rate check on the manipulations revealed that running in place produced greater arousal than waiting in a chair, it did not indicate that reclining in a lounge chair reduced arousal below the level experienced while waiting. Results show that significant differences in self-focus were observed among all 3 conditions, however, such that Ss who had run were more self-focused than those who had waited, and reclining Ss were less self-focused than waiting Ss. Implications for the experience of emotion and for the relationship between arousal and self-awareness theories are considered. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inoculation by emotion: Effects of positive emotional states on children's reactions to social comparison.

90 five- and 6-yr-old children, equally divided by sex, were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 emotion-inducing conditions: self-focused happy, other-focused happy, or neutral. After the emotion induction, the Ss experienced social comparisons in which the peer received more, fewer, or an equal number of rewards. It is suggested that ratings of facial expressions after the emotion inductions confirmed that Ss in the self- or other-focused conditions were equally happy and significantly happier than Ss in the neutral condition. Furthermore, all Ss accurately recalled the reward outcome of the social comparison experience. As predicted, when Ss received relatively fewer rewards, they displayed reduced generosity toward others except when this negative inequality had followed the induction of a self-focused happy mood. Results are discussed in terms of the cognitive processes initiated by emotional states that may influence tolerance for aversive experiences. Particular attention is given to the role of cognitive loops, selective attention, and tacit comparison processes initiated by emotional states and social comparisons. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Component analysis of cognitive skill training for the enhancement of hypnotic susceptibility.

Compared 4 treatments to enhance the hypnotic responsiveness of 60 undergraduates (aged 18–34 yrs) who pretested as low in hypnotic suceptibility on the Carleton University Responsiveness to Suggestion Scale. Complete skill training included information aimed at encouraging (1) positive attitudes, (2) the use of imagery strategies, and (3) an interpretation of hypnotic behavior as active responding. Partial training included only Components 1 and 2. Both training packages enhanced attitudes toward hypnosis to an equivalent degree. However, complete training was much more effective than either partial training or no treatment at enhancing behavioral and subjective responding on 2 different posttest scales of hypnotic susceptibility. More than half of the Ss who received complete training, but none of the partial training or control Ss, scored in the high-susceptibility range on both posttests. Ss explicitly instructed to fake hypnosis and those in the complete skill-training treatment exhibited significantly different patterns of posttest responding. Findings support social-psychological perspectives that emphasize the importance of contextual factors in hypnotic responding. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral judgment, personality, and attitudes toward authority.

Two studies investigating attitudes toward authority using the Survey of Ethical Attitudes (SEA) clarify the dynamics of conformity. The SEA and a semantic differential were administered to 369 college students, who rated the concepts mother, father, police, and government on 10 evaluative adjective pairs. Ss endorsing the "ethics of social responsibility" held more favorable attitudes toward authority than did those endorsing the "ethics of personal conscience." This result was replicated in the 2nd study. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-directed versus other-directed affect as a consequence of prejudice-related discrepancies.

Personal standards for responding toward gay males and affective reactions to discrepancies were examined for low prejudiced (LP) and high prejudiced (HP) Ss in 2 studies. These standards and discrepancies involved responses varying in controllability and acceptability. Results indicated that LP Ss experienced negative self-directed affect in connection with transgressions from their nonprejudiced and well-internalized standards, regardless of the type of response. HP Ss' personal standards were quite nonprejudiced and well internalized for relatively controllable and unacceptable prejudiced responses. Nevertheless, HP Ss' transgressions from their standards produced negative affect directed toward others but not toward the self, regardless of the type of response. The findings supported E. T. Higgins's (1987) argument that the standpoint of standards determines affective reactions to discrepancies. Apparently, LP Ss' standards are based on the own standpoint, but HP Ss' standards are based on the other standpoint. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression, interpersonal standard setting, and judgments of self-efficacy.

Investigated the relationship between standard setting and judgments of self-efficacy in the domain of interpersonal functioning for depressed and nondepressed Ss. Consistent with a self-control model of depression, a large discrepancy between personal standards and judgments of personal efficacy for performance was postulated to be related to depression. Undergraduate students who scored above 13 on 2 administrations of the Beck Depression Inventory composed the depressed group. 39 depressed and 39 nondepressed students rated their minimal standards for adequate interpersonal performance, its importance to them, and their judgments of self-efficacy for the same tasks, using the Interpersonal Concerns Questionnaire. Depressed Ss showed a larger discrepancy between strength of interpersonal standards and strength of self-efficacy than did normal Ss. Depressed Ss expressed a lower strength of self-efficacy than did nondepressed Ss, but they did not differ on their interpersonal standards. Importance and the strength for standards are consistent with recent extensions of P. M. Lewinsohn's (1974) model of depression, which suggests that disruptions in self-evaluation are related to lowered judgments of self-efficacy for depressed Ss. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Previous personal experience and reactions to depression and physical disability.

Conducted 2 experiments with 121 undergraduates to examine the effects of prior experience with people with disability on interpersonal reactions to depression expressed by a person with a disability. In the 1st study, Ss rejected further involvement with the depressed person and perceived this person to be socially impaired. In the 2nd study, Ss ascribed significantly more negative personal characteristics to the depressed person and evidenced more stereotypic attitudes toward persons with disability than Ss who viewed the nondepressed person. Results provide evidence that prior personal experience with people with disability does not moderate negative reactions to social displays of depressive behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude prototypes as determinants of attitude–behavior consistency.

Hypothesized that individuals determine their attitudes toward a social group by assessing their reactions to an imagined group representative who embodies the defining or central group characteristics—the prototypical group member. When they encounter a specific group member whose characteristics match well those of the "attitude prototype," individuals display attitude–behavior consistency; when the match is poor, they display attitude–behavior inconsistency. This proposition was tested in 2 experiments with 56 undergraduates: Ss completed questionnaires assessing their attitudes toward various groups, and later their behavior toward prototypical and unprototypical individuals of those groups was evaluated. In each experiment, the attitude–behavior relationship was greater in relation to prototypical than to unprototypical group members. Knowledge of an unprototypical group member had little or no effect on attitude prototypes. Rather, the unprototypical group member was dismissed as atypical, leaving the prototype intact to influence future social behavior. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)