Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin recent issues

Express Your Social Self: Cultural Differences in Choice of Brand-Name Versus Generic Products

Kim, H. S., Drolet, A. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:41 PST

This research examined cultural differences in the patterns of choices that reflect more social characteristics of a chooser (e.g., social status). Four studies examined the cultural difference in individuals’ tendency to choose brand-name products (i.e., high-status options) over generic products (i.e., low-status options) and the underlying reasons for these differences. Compared to European Americans, Asian Americans consistently chose brand-name products. This difference was driven by Asian Americans’ greater social status concerns. Self-consciousness was more strongly associated with the brand-name choices of Asian Americans (vs. European Americans), and experimentally induced social status led Asian Americans (vs. European Americans) to make more choices concordant with self-perception. These findings highlight the importance of considering external and social motivations underlying the choice-making process.

On the Psychology of the Belief in a Just World: Exploring Experiential and Rationalistic Paths to Victim Blaming

van den Bos, K., Maas, M. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:41 PST

This article examines why people may blame innocent victims of robbery or sexual assault. We propose that in experiential mind-sets associative links are formed between the victim and the negative event. As the creation of such links is independent of explicit beliefs, people in experiential mind-sets produce negative reactions to the victim independent of their just-world beliefs. Rationalistic mind-sets, however, instigate propositional and consistency-based reasoning. For people who strongly endorse just-world beliefs (such as people who have strong predispositions to believe that the world is just or whose just-world beliefs have been threatened strongly), learning about an innocent victim creates a logically inconsistent system of beliefs. This inconsistency can be resolved by blaming the victim. For people who only weakly endorse just-world beliefs, there is no inconsistency in the first place and therefore no need to blame the victim. Two experiments support this line of reasoning.

Is There a Budget Fallacy? The Role of Savings Goals in the Prediction of Personal Spending

Peetz, J., Buehler, R. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:41 PST

The authors extend research and theory on self prediction into the realm of personal financial behavior. Four studies examined people’s ability to predict their future personal spending and the findings supported the two main hypotheses. First, participants tended to underestimate their future spending. They predicted spending substantially less money in the coming week than they actually spent or than they remembered spending in the previous week. Second, the prediction bias stemmed from people’s savings goals—defined as the general desire to save money or minimize future spending—at the time of prediction. Participants who reported (Studies 2 and 3) or were induced to experience (Study 4) a stronger savings goal predicted they would spend less money. However, savings goals were not related to actual spending and thus contributed to the bias in prediction.

Do Women Feel Worse to Look Their Best? Testing the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Fertility Status Across the Menstrual Cycle

Hill, S. E., Durante, K. M. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:41 PST

Two studies measured self-esteem across the menstrual cycle to test the prediction that self-esteem will vary interindividually as a positive function of mate value and intraindividually as a negative function of fertility status. Study 1 (n = 52) found that self-esteem was positively related to mate value between women but that women experienced a self-esteem decrease nearest to ovulation, when women tend to be more attractive to men. Study 2 (n = 59) replicated these results and demonstrated that the self-esteem decrease at high fertility was positively related to women’s reported long-term mating motivation. Additionally, the magnitude of the self-esteem decrease at high fertility was found to be related to increased willingness to spend money on items to enhance attractiveness at high fertility. A self-esteem decrease at high fertility may motivate mate value enhancement efforts when such efforts are most critical.

When Is Happiness About How Much You Earn? The Effect of Hourly Payment on the Money--Happiness Connection

DeVoe, S. E., Pfeffer, J. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:41 PST

The authors argue that the strength of the relationship between income and happiness can be influenced by exposure to organizational practices, such as being paid by the hour, that promote an economic evaluation of time use. Using cross-sectional data from the United States, two studies found that income was more strongly associated with happiness for individuals paid by the hour compared to their non-hourly counterparts. Using panel data from the United Kingdom, Study 3 replicated these results for a multi-item General Health Questionnaire measure of subjective well-being. Study 4 showed that experimentally manipulating the salience of someone’s hourly wage rate caused non-hourly paid participants to evince a stronger connection between income and happiness, similar to those participants paid by the hour. Although there were highly consistent results across multiple studies employing multiple methods, overall the effect size was not large.

The Effects of Exclusion and Reintegration on the Evaluation of Deviant Opinion Holders

Chan, M. K. H., Louis, W. R., Hornsey, M. J. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:41 PST

It seems likely that treatment of deviants within a group will be determined not just by the nature of their deviance but also by the history of their treatment. In two experiments, participants read cases in which group members advocated for change in a way that was non-normative for the group and were marginalized as a result. Participants were further informed that either the deviant was psychologically reintegrated or remained marginalized. Results showed that when deviants were reintegrated group members were more negative toward the deviant the more they identified with the group. Where the deviant remained excluded, this effect either disappeared or reversed. These effects were mediated by participants’ perceptions of the destructiveness of the deviant’s message, suggesting that ongoing exclusion can defuse threat. Reintegration into the group can have ironic costs in a person’s ability to communicate a deviant opinion successfully.

Ingroup Identity Moderates the Impact of Social Explanations on Intergroup Attitudes: External Explanations Are Not Inherently Prosocial

Andreychik, M. R., Gill, M. J. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:41 PST

Social explanations —causal frameworks used to understand group status and action—shape intergroup attitudes and emotions. Yet, different theoretical perspectives offer divergent predictions regarding associations between external explanations —which construe group actions or outcomes as being caused by forces outside of the group—and consequent attitudes toward outgroups. Specifically, whereas the authors’ social explanations framework suggests that external explanations regarding a low-status group will foster prosocial responses, other perspectives suggest that external explanations will foster defensive responses. Four studies using both implicit and explicit measures suggest that predictions from the social explanations framework capture the psychology of dominant group members weakly identified with the dominant ingroup, whereas predictions of defensiveness characterize the psychology of high-identifiers. A major implication is that social explanations do not have fixed meanings and that external explanations—despite being typically seen as prosocial—do not necessarily elicit positive responses to outgroups.

Social Power and Attitude Strength Over the Life Course

Eaton, A. A., Visser, P. S., Krosnick, J. A., Anand, S. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:41 PST

Past findings indicate that middle-aged adults in the United States tend to be more resistant to attitude change than younger and older adults, but little is known about why this is so. The authors propose that midlife adults’ disproportionate occupation of high-power social roles (which call for resoluteness) may partly explain their heightened resistance to persuasion. Using nationally representative data sets, the article first documents that in various domains the possession of social power peaks in midlife. It next documents that middle-aged adults place a high value on resoluteness, which suggests that they have internalized powerful role norms. Next, it shows that directly activating the concept of social power increases the perceived value of resoluteness. Finally, it demonstrates that the possession of powerful social roles partially mediates the relationship between age and resistance to persuasion. This work is the first to uncover a mechanism responsible for changes in attitude strength over the adult life course.

Personality Judgments Based on Physical Appearance

Naumann, L. P., Vazire, S., Rentfrow, P. J., Gosling, S. D. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:41 PST

Despite the crucial role of physical appearance in forming first impressions, little research has examined the accuracy of personality impressions based on appearance alone. This study examined the accuracy of observers’ impressions on 10 personality traits based on full-body photographs using criterion measures based on self and peer reports. When targets’ posture and expression were constrained (standardized condition), observers’ judgments were accurate for extraversion, self-esteem, and religiosity. When targets were photographed with a spontaneous pose and facial expression (spontaneous condition), observers’ judgments were accurate for almost all of the traits examined. Lens model analyses demonstrated that both static cues (e.g., clothing style) and dynamic cues (e.g., facial expression, posture) offered valuable personality-relevant information. These results suggest that personality is manifested through both static and expressive channels of appearance, and observers use this information to form accurate judgments for a variety of traits.

Implications of Reflected Appraisals of Interpersonal Insecurity for Suspicion and Power

Lemay, E. P., Dudley, K. L. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:41 PST

In three studies, the authors tested a model positing that chronically insecure individuals often believe that their relationship partners view them as highly insecure. In turn, because of expectations regarding the social consequences of expressing insecurities, these reflected appraisals of insecurity are thought to predict suspicion of partners’ authenticity and feelings of powerlessness within relationships. Results supported these predictions. Self-esteem, attachment anxiety, neuroticism, proclivity for anger, and proclivity for hurt feelings predicted reflected appraisals of insecurity independently of whether partners detected insecurity. In turn, chronically insecure participants were suspicious of their partners’ authenticity and felt powerless in their relationships partly because they believed they were viewed as insecure. This research suggests that beliefs that one is perceived as insecure, even when they are misguided, can partially explain interpersonal cognitions associated with actually being insecure.

Thoughts Versus Deeds: Distal and Proximal Intent in Lay Judgments of Moral Responsibility

Plaks, J. E., McNichols, N. K., Fortune, J. L. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:41 PST

The authors propose that two central ingredients in lay models of intentionality are (a) "distal intent" (the actor’s mind is focused on a broader goal) and (b) "proximal intent" (the actor’s mind is focused narrowly on the act itself). Study 1 established that participants rate an actor with both forms of intent more responsible than an actor with only one form of intent or neither form of intent. In Study 2, when the actor had only distal intent, participants with a high-level construal rated the actor more responsible than did those with a low-level construal. In Study 3, when the actor had only distal intent, participants primed with psychodynamic concepts rated the actor more responsible than did those primed with cognitive-control concepts. However, when the actor had only proximal intent, the effect reversed. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for the literatures on moral reasoning and law.

Reviewers for 2008-2009: Acknowledgments

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:01:41 PST

Emotions as Within or Between People? Cultural Variation in Lay Theories of Emotion Expression and Inference

Uchida, Y., Townsend, S. S. M., Rose Markus, H., Bergsieker, H. B. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:48:19 PDT

Four studies using open-ended and experimental methods test the hypothesis that in Japanese contexts, emotions are understood as between people, whereas in American contexts, emotions are understood as primarily within people. Study 1 analyzed television interviews of Olympic athletes. When asked about their relationships, Japanese athletes used significantly more emotion words than American athletes. This difference was not significant when questions asked directly about athletes' feelings. In Study 2, when describing an athlete's emotional reaction to winning, Japanese participants implicated others more often than American participants. After reading an athlete's self-description, Japanese participants inferred more emotions when the athlete mentioned relationships, whereas American participants inferred more emotions when the athlete focused only on herself (Study 3). Finally, when viewing images of athletes, Japanese participants inferred more emotions for athletes pictured with teammates, whereas American participants inferred more emotions for athletes pictured alone (Studies 4a and 4b).

Self-Criticism, Dependency, and Stress Reactivity: An Experience Sampling Approach to Testing Blatt and Zuroff's (1992) Theory of Personality Predispositions to Depression in High-Risk Youth

Adams, P., Abela, J. R. Z., Auerbach, R., Skitch, S. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:48:19 PDT

S. J. Blatt and D. C. Zuroff’s 1992 theory of personality predispositions to depression posits that individuals who possess high levels of self-criticism and/or dependency are vulnerable to developing depression following negative events. The current study used experience sampling methodology to test this theory in a sample of 49 children ages 7 to 14. Children completed measures of dependency, self-criticism, and depressive symptoms. Subsequently, children were given a handheld computer that signaled them to complete measures of depressive symptoms and negative events at randomly selected times over 2 months. Results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that higher levels of both self-criticism and dependency were associated with greater elevations in depressive symptoms following negative events. Furthermore, each personality predisposition remained a significant predictor of such elevations after controlling for the interaction between the other personality predisposition and negative events. The results suggest that dependency and self-criticism represent distinct vulnerability factors to depression in youth.

Secret Romantic Relationships: Consequences for Personal and Relational Well-Being

Lehmiller, J. J. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:48:19 PDT

Previous research on romantic secrecy found that hiding one’s relationship from others predicted lower levels of relationship quality. The present research built on this work by exploring the potential consequences of relationship concealment on partners’ commitment level and personal health. Study 1 found that greater secrecy was associated with reduced commitment to one’s relationship, lower self-esteem, and more reported health symptoms. Study 2 tested a theoretical model of the effects of secrecy using structural equation modeling. This model was well supported and suggests that romantic secrecy (a) undermines relational commitment by means of constraining cognitive interdependence (i.e., by limiting psychological closeness to one’s partner) and (b) poses a threat to partners’ personal health as a result of generating negative affect (e.g., nervousness and fear). These findings indicate that romantic secrecy may have harmful consequences for both the relationship itself and the health of the partners involved.

Rejection Sensitivity Moderates the Impact of Rejection on Self-Concept Clarity

Ayduk, O., Gyurak, A., Luerssen, A. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:48:19 PDT

Self-concept clarity (SCC) refers to the extent to which self-knowledge is clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent, and temporally stable. Research shows that SCC can be undermined by failures in valued goal domains. Because preventing rejection is an important self-relevant goal for people high in rejection sensitivity (RS), it is hypothesized here that failures to attain this goal would cause them to experience diminished SCC. Study 1, an experimental study, showed that high-RS people’s SCC was undermined following rejection but not following an aversive experience unrelated to rejection. Study 2, a daily diary study of couples in relationships, used occurrence of partner conflicts to operationalize rejection. Replicating the findings in Study 1, having a conflict on any given diary day predicted a greater reduction in the SCC of high- compared to low-RS people on the following day. The implications for understanding the conditions under which rejection negatively affects the self-concept are discussed.

Why Love Has Wings and Sex Has Not: How Reminders of Love and Sex Influence Creative and Analytic Thinking

Forster, J., Epstude, K., Ozelsel, A. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:48:19 PDT

This article examines cognitive links between romantic love and creativity and between sexual desire and analytic thought based on construal level theory. It suggests that when in love, people typically focus on a long-term perspective, which should enhance holistic thinking and thereby creative thought, whereas when experiencing sexual encounters, they focus on the present and on concrete details enhancing analytic thinking. Because people automatically activate these processing styles when in love or when they experience sex, subtle or even unconscious reminders of love versus sex should suffice to change processing modes. Two studies explicitly or subtly reminded participants of situations of love or sex and found support for this hypothesis.

Culture and First-Person Pronouns

Na, J., Choi, I. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:48:20 PDT

Priming research has shown that repeated exposures to first-person singular pronouns (I, my, me, mine) activate an individualistic orientation, whereas first-person plural pronouns (we, our, us, ours) activate a collectivistic orientation. However, little research has been done to explore the opposite direction of influence such that one’s cultural orientation determines one’s choice between first-person singular versus plural pronouns. The authors conducted three studies to examine the effects of one’s cultural orientation on one’s use of first-person possessive pronouns. Results show that, compared to their individualistic counterparts, participants who have a collectivistic orientation, chronically or temporarily by priming, preferred to use first-person plural possessive pronouns.

Effects of Songs With Prosocial Lyrics on Prosocial Behavior: Further Evidence and a Mediating Mechanism

Greitemeyer, T. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:48:20 PDT

Previous research has shown that exposure to prosocial songs increased the accessibility of prosocial thoughts, led to more interpersonal empathy, and fostered helping behavior. However, inasmuch as cognition, affect, and behavior were measured in different studies, it remained unclear what variable constituted the mediating path from media exposure to action. This was tested in the present research. In four studies, listening to songs with prosocial, relative to neutral, lyrics increased helping behavior. This effect was mediated by interpersonal empathy. The results are consistent with the general learning model and point to the importance of the affective route in explaining how media exposure influences social behavior.

Investigating the Role of Two Types of Understanding in Relationship Well-Being: Understanding Is More Important Than Knowledge

Pollmann, M. M. H., Finkenauer, C. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:48:20 PDT

Understanding is at the heart of intimate relationships. It is unclear, however, whether understanding—partners’ subjective feeling that they understand each other—or knowledge—partners’ accurate knowledge of each other—is more important for relationship well-being. The present article pits these two types of understanding against each other and investigates their effects on relationship well-being. In a prospective study among 199 newlywed couples, partners’ self-reported and perceived understanding and their knowledge in different domains were assessed. Understanding was independent of knowledge. Self-reported and perceived understanding predicted relationship well-being but neither type of knowledge did. Thus, subjectively feeling that one understands and is understood by one’s partner appears to be more important to relationship well-being than actually knowing and being known by one’s partner.

We Blame Innocent Victims More Than I Do: Self-Construal Level Moderates Responses to Just-World Threats

van Prooijen, J.-W., van den Bos, K. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:48:20 PDT

This study investigated the impact of self-construal levels on people’s tendency to blame innocent victims for the victims’ fates. The authors hypothesized that when the belief in a just world is threatened, social self-construal is associated with more victim blaming than individual self-construal is. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants were primed with either the individual self (with the word I) or the social self (with the word we). Results indeed showed that when threats to just-world beliefs were high, social self-activation produced more victim blaming than individual self-activation did. This effect was not found when just-world threats were low. Extending on these findings, Experiment 3 revealed that, following a just-world threat, an independent self-construal measure was negatively related to victim blaming, and an interdependent self-construal measure was positively related to victim blaming. It is concluded that self-construal levels are important to understanding the justice motive.

The Dark Side of Optimism: Unrealistic Optimism About Problems With Alcohol Predicts Subsequent Negative Event Experiences

Dillard, A. J., Midboe, A. M., Klein, W. M. P. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:48:20 PDT

College students were identified who were unrealistically optimistic about the likelihood they would experience severe problems due to alcohol consumption. These individuals were then followed over a 2-year period to determine whether they were more likely to report experiencing a range of alcohol-related negative events. Unlike the majority of studies on unrealistic optimism, this study (a) assessed bias at the individual rather than group level and (b) used a prospective rather than cross-sectional design. Participants completed measures at four times, each separated by 4-6 months. Findings showed that unrealistic optimism at Time 1 was associated with a greater number of negative events at Times 2, 3, and 4. Similarly, unrealistic optimism at Time 2 was associated with more negative events at Times 3 and 4. In all cases, the relationships were significant when controlling for previous negative events, suggesting the effects of unrealistic optimism can mount over time.

The Metamorphosis of Narcissus: Communal Activation Promotes Relationship Commitment Among Narcissists

Finkel, E. J., Campbell, W. K., Buffardi, L. E., Kumashiro, M., Rusbult, C. E. — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:16:15 PDT

Three studies tested the hypotheses that the activation of communal mental representations promotes relationship commitment (communal activation hypothesis) and that this effect is stronger among narcissists than among nonnarcissists (Communal Activation x Narcissism hypothesis). Across experimental, longitudinal, and interaction-based research methods, and in participant samples ranging from college students to married couples, results supported the communal activation hypothesis in two of three studies and the Communal Activation x Narcissism hypothesis in all three studies. Moreover, a meta-analytic summary of the results across the three studies revealed that the association of communal activation with commitment was significant overall and that it was stronger among narcissists than among nonnarcissists. Narcissists tended to be less committed than nonnarcissists at low levels of communal activation, but this effect diminished and sometimes even reversed at high levels. This work is the first to identify a mechanism by which narcissists can become more committed relationship partners.

Cooperative Courtship: Helping Friends Raise and Raze Relationship Barriers

Ackerman, J. M., Kenrick, D. T. — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:16:15 PDT

Do people help each other form romantic relationships? Research on the role of the social environment in relationship formation has traditionally focused on competition, but this article investigates novel patterns of cooperation within courtship interactions. Drawing on a functional/evolutionary perspective, women are predicted to cooperate primarily in building romantic thresholds and barriers; men are predicted to cooperate primarily in achieving romantic access. In support of these predictions, four studies reveal that people consistently perceive cooperation, report cooperative behavior, and make cooperative decisions in romantic situations. People also provide the opposite pattern of help to opposite-sex friends from that provided to same-sex friends, suggesting that assistance is flexibly tuned to differences in the romantic selectivity of recipients. Cooperative courtship is revealed to be a commonly used set of mating strategies by which people functionally tailor aid to promote both their own and their friends’ romantic relationship interests.

The Effect of Stereotype Threat on the Solving of Quantitative GRE Problems: A Mere Effort Interpretation

Jamieson, J. P., Harkins, S. G. — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:16:15 PDT

The mere effort account argues that stereotype threat motivates participants to want to perform well, which potentiates prepotent responses. If the prepotent response is correct, performance is facilitated. If incorrect and participants do not know, or lack the knowledge or time required for correction, performance is debilitated. The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) quantitative test is made up of two problem types: (a) solve problems, which require the solution of an equation, and (b) comparison problems, which require the use of logic and estimation. Previous research shows that the prepotent tendency is to attempt to solve the equations. Consistent with mere effort predictions, Experiment 1 demonstrates that threatened participants perform better than controls on solve problems (prepotent response correct) but worse than controls on comparison problems (prepotent response incorrect). Experiment 2 shows that a simple instruction as to the correct solution approach eliminates the performance deficit on comparison problems.

Can Nature Make Us More Caring? Effects of Immersion in Nature on Intrinsic Aspirations and Generosity

Weinstein, N., Przybylski, A. K., Ryan, R. M. — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:16:15 PDT

Four studies examined the effects of nature on valuing intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations. Intrinsic aspirations reflected prosocial and other-focused value orientations, and extrinsic aspirations predicted self-focused value orientations. Participants immersed in natural environments reported higher valuing of intrinsic aspirations and lower valuing of extrinsic aspirations, whereas those immersed in non-natural environments reported increased valuing of extrinsic aspirations and no change of intrinsic aspirations. Three studies explored experiences of nature relatedness and autonomy as underlying mechanisms of these effects, showing that nature immersion elicited these processes whereas non-nature immersion thwarted them and that they in turn predicted higher intrinsic and lower extrinsic aspirations. Studies 3 and 4 also extended the paradigm by testing these effects on generous decision making indicative of valuing intrinsic versus extrinsic aspirations.

Psychological Distance and Group Judgments: The Effect of Physical Distance on Beliefs about Common Goals

Henderson, M. D. — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:16:15 PDT

The present research examined the consequences of physical distance on beliefs about common goals, which have been implicated in judgments of entitativeness ("groupness") of social entities. A central feature of task groups is the degree to which its members are driven by common goals. According to construal level theory, as stimuli are removed psychologically (e.g., physically), people construe stimuli in more abstract terms, focusing more on central features of stimuli. Adopting this framework, four studies demonstrated that people are more likely to assume the behavior of task group members is driven by common goals for physically distant rather than near groups. This effect occurred when perceived identification and similarity to others were held constant. Implications for intergroup relations are discussed.

Incidental Experiences of Regulatory Fit and the Processing of Persuasive Appeals

Koenig, A. M., Cesario, J., Molden, D. C., Kosloff, S., Higgins, E. T. — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:16:15 PDT

This article examines how the subjective experiences of "feeling right" from regulatory fit and of "feeling wrong" from regulatory non-fit influence the way people process persuasive messages. Across three studies, incidental experiences of regulatory fit increased reliance on source expertise and decreased resistance to counterpersuasion, whereas incidental experiences of regulatory non-fit increased reliance on argument strength and increased resistance to counterpersuasion. These results suggest that incidental fit and non-fit experiences can produce, respectively, more superficial or more thorough processing of persuasive messages. The mechanisms underlying these effects, and the conditions under which they should and should not be expected, are discussed.

Following in the Wake of Anger: When Not Discriminating Is Discriminating

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:16:15 PDT

Does seeing a scowling face change your impression of the next person you see? Does this depend on the race of the two people? Across four studies, White participants evaluated neutrally expressive White males as less threatening when they followed angry (relative to neutral) White faces; Black males were not judged as less threatening following angry Black faces. This lack of threat-anchored contrast for Black male faces is not attributable to a general tendency for White targets to homogenize Black males—neutral Black targets following smiling Black faces were contrasted away from them and seen as less friendly—and emerged only for perceivers low in motivation to respond without prejudice (i.e., for those relatively comfortable responding prejudicially). This research provides novel evidence for the overperception of threat in Black males.

And Yet They Move: The Impact of Direction of Deviance on Stereotype Change

Dolderer, M., Mummendey, A., Rothermund, K. — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:16:15 PDT

In 4 studies the authors compared the effect of exemplars that deviate from the prototype in one or the other direction while controlling for the absolute amount of deviance. Incongruent exemplars typically do not change a stereotype. Yet, it is unclear whether this is also the case with exemplars that are more extreme than the stereotype, named supercongruent hereafter. Within Study 1 the authors showed that supercongruent exemplars can be differentiated from congruent exemplars and that they are perceived as more typical than incongruent exemplars. Study 2 demonstrated that supercongruent exemplars increase the perceived differences between groups, while incongruent exemplars do not lead to a decrease. In Study 3, a supercongruent exemplar was generalized to the stereotype, while an incongruent exemplar did not affect the stereotype. Study 4 replicated this finding and excluded the alternative hypothesis that this effect is due to the greater extremity and thus diagnosticity of supercongruent information.

On the Rebound: Focusing on Someone New Helps Anxiously Attached Individuals Let Go of Ex-Partners

Spielmann, S. S., MacDonald, G., Wilson, A. E. — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:16:15 PDT

The present research demonstrates that focusing on someone new may help anxiously attached individuals overcome attachment to an ex-romantic partner, suggesting one possible motive behind so-called rebound relationships. A correlational study revealed that the previously demonstrated link between anxious attachment and longing for an ex-partner was disrupted when anxiously attached individuals had new romantic partners. Two experiments demonstrated that this detachment from an ex can be induced by randomly assigning anxiously attached individuals to believe they will easily find a new partner (through bogus feedback in Study 2 and an ease of retrieval task in Study 3). This research suggests that for anxiously attached individuals, focusing on someone new can be an adaptive part of the breakup recovery process.

The Racing-Game Effect: Why Do Video Racing Games Increase Risk-Taking Inclinations?

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:16:15 PDT

The present studies investigated why video racing games increase players’ risk-taking inclinations. Four studies reveal that playing video racing games increases risk taking in a subsequent simulated road traffic situation, as well as risk-promoting cognitions and emotions, blood pressure, sensation seeking, and attitudes toward reckless driving. Study 1 ruled out the role of experimental demand in creating such effects. Studies 2 and 3 showed that the effect of playing video racing games on risk taking was partially mediated by changes in self-perceptions as a reckless driver. These effects were evident only when the individual played racing games that reward traffic violations rather than racing games that do not reward traffic violations (Study 3) and when the individual was an active player of such games rather than a passive observer (Study 4). In sum, the results underline the potential negative impact of racing games on traffic safety.

Living Together Apart: Perceived Concealment as a Signal of Exclusion in Marital Relationships

Finkenauer, C., Kerkhof, P., Righetti, F., Branje, S. — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:16:16 PDT

This article examines how perceiving concealment in close relationships influences marital well-being. It suggests that the perception of concealment from a partner signals separateness from one’s partner and contributes to feelings of perceived partner exclusion. These feelings of exclusion, in turn, should negatively affect relational quality. These predictions are tested in a prospective study among 199 newlywed couples. Results suggest that perceiving concealment reduced marital adjustment and trust and increased conflict over time. Importantly, change in perceived partner exclusion mediated these effects. This article demonstrates that the perception of concealment (a) has deleterious effects on relational well-being in the long run and (b) is harmful in part because it elicits feelings of exclusion.

The Society for Personality and Social Psychology's Student Publication Award

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:16:16 PDT

Reporting and Interpreting Research in PSPB: Practices, Principles, and Pragmatics

Kashy, D. A., Donnellan, M. B., Ackerman, R. A., Russell, D. W. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:07:33 PDT

This article is designed to provide psychologists who publish articles in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (PSPB) with a set of basic issues to consider when reporting their analyses and results. We first assessed the current reporting practices of social and personality psychologists by conducting an analysis of PSPB articles published in the first half of 2007. We evaluated the completeness of these reports with respect to the level of detail in both the Method and Results sections. We then used this information to develop recommendations that we hope will enhance the reporting of quantitative research in social and personality psychology. These suggestions emphasize ways to increase transparency in research reports. Transparency facilitates replication and a critical evaluation of research, thereby promoting scientific progress.

The Dark Side of Self-Affirmation: Confirmation Bias and Illusory Correlation in Response to Threatening Information

Munro, G. D., Stansbury, J. A. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:07:34 PDT

The effect of self-affirmation on reasoning biases was explored. After participants wrote about a value that was important to them (self-affirmation) or a value that was not important to them (no affirmation), they tested a hypothesis using a task commonly used to study the confirmation bias (Study 1) and assessed correlation from data presented in a 2 x 2 frequency table (Study 2). In both tasks, participants assessed the validity of a hypothesis that had either threatening or nonthreatening implications for their self-concepts. Nonaffirmed participants who tested threatening hypotheses exhibited the confirmation bias less frequently (Study 1) and assessed correlation more accurately (Study 2) than self-affirmed participants or participants who tested nonthreatening hypotheses. Results support models of motivated reasoning that propose that information processing is altered in response to threatening information. By ameliorating the threat, self-affirmations can elicit less effective reasoning strategies.

When Race Matters: Racially Stigmatized Others and Perceiving Race as a Biological Construction Affect Biracial People's Daily Well-Being

Sanchez, D. T., Garcia, J. A. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:07:34 PDT

Stigmatized group members experience greater well-being in the presence of similar others, which may be driven by the perception that similar others value their shared stigmatized identities (i.e., high public regard). Using experience sampling methodology, this hypothesis is tested with biracial people (29 Asian/White, 23 Black/ White, and 26 Latino/White biracial participants). This study proposes that the greater percentage of stigmatized similar others in one's daily context would predict greater daily well-being for biracial people through higher public regard, but only if biracial people believe that race has biological meaning. These findings add to a growing, but limited, literature on biracial individuals. These findings are situated within the broader literature on stigma and similar others, as well as new theories regarding the consequences of believing race has biological meaning.

Deconstructing the "Reign of Error": Interpersonal Warmth Explains the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Anticipated Acceptance

Stinson, D. A., Cameron, J. J., Wood, J. V., Gaucher, D., Holmes, J. G. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:07:34 PDT

People's expectations of acceptance often come to create the acceptance or rejection they anticipate. The authors tested the hypothesis that interpersonal warmth is the behavioral key to this acceptance prophecy: If people expect acceptance, they will behave warmly, which in turn will lead other people to accept them; if they expect rejection, they will behave coldly, which will lead to less acceptance. A correlational study and an experiment supported this model. Study 1 confirmed that participants' warm and friendly behavior was a robust mediator of the acceptance prophecy compared to four plausible alternative explanations. Study 2 demonstrated that situational cues that reduced the risk of rejection also increased socially pessimistic participants' warmth and thus improved their social outcomes.

Ease of Counterfactual Thought Generation Moderates the Relationship Between Need for Cognition and Punitive Responses to Crime

Petrocelli, J. V., Dowd, K. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:07:34 PDT

Punitive responses to crime have been linked to a relatively low need for cognition (NFC). Sargent's (2004) findings suggest that this relationship is due to a relatively complex attributional system, employed by high-NFC individuals, which permits them to recognize potential external or situational causes of crime. However, high-NFC individuals may also be more likely to engage in counterfactual thinking, which has been linked to greater judgments of blame and responsibility. Three studies examine the relationship between trait and state NFC and punitiveness in light of counterfactual thinking. Results suggest that the ease of generating upward counterfactuals in response to an unfortunate crime moderates the NFC-punitiveness relationship, such that high-NFC individuals are less punitive than low-NFC individuals only when counterfactual thoughts are relatively difficult to generate. These findings are discussed in light of punishment theory and their possible implications with regard to the legal system.

A Prototype Analysis of Gratitude: Varieties of Gratitude Experiences

Lambert, N. M., Graham, S. M., Fincham, F. D. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:07:34 PDT

The present research tested the hypothesis that concepts of gratitude are prototypically organized and explored whether lay concepts of gratitude are broader than researchers' concepts of gratitude. In five studies, evidence was found that concepts of gratitude are indeed prototypically organized. In Study 1, participants listed features of gratitude. In Study 2, participants reliably rated the centrality of these features. In Studies 3a and 3b, participants perceived that a hypothetical other was experiencing more gratitude when they read a narrative containing central as opposed to peripheral features. In Study 4, participants remembered more central than peripheral features in gratitude narratives. In Study 5a, participants generated more central than peripheral features when they wrote narratives about a gratitude incident, and in Studies 5a and 5b, participants generated both more specific and more generalized types of gratitude in similar narratives. Throughout, evidence showed that lay conceptions of gratitude are broader than current research definitions.

The Appraisal Rebound Effect: Cognitive Appraisals on the Rebound

Yap, A. J., Tong, E. M. W. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:07:34 PDT

Although there have been many demonstrations of ironic thought processes, no demonstration to date has examined the effect of suppressing appraisals. Ironic phenomena in this domain have tremendous theoretical and practical importance to person perception, trait attribution, and social cognition in general. The authors propose the appraisal rebound hypothesis, which states that the suppression of an appraisal paradoxically activates it. Appraisal rebound was demonstrated across three studies with three different appraisals: unfairness, agency-others, and perceived control. The appraisal rebound effect was also found to be specific only to the suppressed appraisal. These results add to the growing literature on the many ways in which ironic mental processes affect daily thinking and feeling. Specifically, the findings are discussed with regard to emotion regulation, normal chronic emotionality, and psychopathology.

Nonmarital Romantic Relationship Commitment and Leave Behavior: The Mediating Role of Dissolution Consideration

VanderDrift, L. E., Agnew, C. R., Wilson, J. E. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:07:34 PDT

Two studies investigated the process by which individuals in nonmarital romantic relationships characterized by low commitment move toward enacting leave behaviors. Predictions based on the behavioral, goal, and implementation intention literatures were tested using a measure of dissolution consideration developed for this research. Dissolution consideration assesses how salient relationship termination is for an individual while one's relationship is intact. Study 1 developed and validated a measure of dissolution consideration and Study 2 was a longitudinal test of the utility of dissolution consideration in predicting the enactment of leave behaviors. Results indicated that dissolution consideration mediates the association between commitment and enacting leave behaviors, is associated with taking more immediate action, and provides unique explanatory power in leave behavior beyond the effect of commitment alone. Collectively, the findings suggest that dissolution consideration is an intermediate step between commitment and stay/leave behavior in close relationships.

"I'm not gay. . . . I'm a real man!": Heterosexual Men's Gender Self-Esteem and Sexual Prejudice

Falomir-Pichastor, J. M., Mugny, G. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:07:34 PDT

Five studies examined the hypothesis that heterosexual men, but not heterosexual women, endorse negative attitudes toward homosexuality (i.e., sexual prejudice) in order to maintain a positive gender-related identity that is unambiguously different from a homosexual identity. Studies 1 and 2 showed that men's (but not women's) gender self-esteem (but not personal self-esteem) was positively related to sexual prejudice: The more positive heterosexual men's gender self-esteem, the more negative their attitude toward homosexuality. Studies 3 and 4 showed that this link appears specifically among men motivated to maintain psychological distance from gay men. Study 5 experimentally manipulated the perceived biological differences between homosexual and heterosexual men. The previously observed link between men's gender self-esteem and sexual prejudice appeared in the control and no-differences conditions but disappeared in the differences condition. These findings are discussed in terms of men's attitudes as a defensive function against threat to masculinity.

Playing Favorites: The Influence of Leaders' Inner Circle on Group Processes and Performance

Burris, E. R., Rodgers, M. S., Mannix, E. A., Hendron, M. G., Oldroyd, J. B. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:07:34 PDT

Leaders frequently form stronger relationships with certain subordinates moreso than others, creating an inner circle of close friendships and an outer circle of more distant relationships. Three studies examine the effects of inner-circle membership on group dynamics and interpersonal influence in hierarchical teams. Study 1 finds that, compared to outer-circle members, inner-circle members feel safer and participate in the group discussion more, and leaders recognize them as making a greater contribution and allocate a larger bonus to them. Consequently, inner-circle members influence the groups' decisions more, and team decision quality improves when inner-circle members possess expert knowledge. Study 2 finds that leaders attended to and recalled suggestions from their inner circle more regardless of argument strength, suggesting heuristic information processing. Study 3 replicates these findings using intact teams in a large governmental agency. Implications for leadership and group decision making are discussed.

Is Love Colorblind? Political Orientation and Interracial Romantic Desire

Eastwick, P. W., Richeson, J. A., Son, D., Finkel, E. J. — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:07:34 PDT

The present research examined the association of political orientation with ingroup favoritism in two live romantic contexts. In Study 1, White participants had sequential interactions with both a White and Black confederate and reported their romantic desire for each. In Study 2, both White and Black participants speed-dated multiple potential romantic partners and reported whether they would be interested in meeting each speed-dating partner again. In both studies, White participants' political conservatism positively predicted the strength of the ingroup-favoring bias: White conservatives were less likely than White liberals to desire Black (interracial) relative to White potential romantic partners. In contrast, Black participants' political conservatism negatively predicted the strength of the ingroup-favoring bias: Consistent with system-justification theory, Black conservatives were more likely than Black liberals to desire White (interracial) relative to Black potential romantic partners. Political orientation may be a key factor that influences the initiation of interracial romantic relationships.