bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ego development in adult women
Authors: White Martha Sturm
Published: April 2006

Ego development in adult women was studied using Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test of Ego Development (SCT) The subjects were 163 women in a university nurse practitioner training program Ego development scores were correlated with scores from personality tests and with interview data Higher ego levels were related to personal adjustment, nurturance, responsibility, tolerance, enjoyment of children, inner control, capacity for status, and age Improvement in ego level scores was found only for those at, or below, the self‐aware level The SCT, as scored for women, seems to be particularly sensitive to differences in responsible caring in relationships, an aspect of personality development often neglected by other tests
Congruence and temporal stability of multimiethod profiles: A new pair of personality variables
Authors: Harris Jesse G
Published: April 2006

Congruence and temporal stability of multimethod profiles within the individual subject were studied as proposed new personality variables in a pool of seven small groups of graduate students in clinical psychology (N= 51) Sex differences were minimal A Stability Index was derived from (a) Q correlation stability coefficients obtained from the single method profiles of an inventory, self‐ratings, and mean ratings by others, or (b) absolute difference scores between the composite profiles on occasion 1 and occasion 2 A Congruence Index was derived from (a) Q correlation coefficients obtained from each pair of profiles measured by the three methods for each subject, or (b) mean absolute difference scores obtained from each pair of method profiles These moderately correlated indices were used as dependent variables in stepwise multiple regression analyses, in which scores on a profile of 21 personality variables served as independent variables Although the difference score method was at least as effective as the correlational method in predicting congruence, the Q correlational method was superior in all other analyses conducted in this study Persons high in temporal stability seem to maintain an intellectually searching and interpersonally affiliative approach to the environment, showing little hostility and little tendency to seek change in current life circumstances The highly congruent individual seeks a positive nurturant interaction with other persons, gains pleasure from both sensory and interpersonal experiences, and shows little discontent with present life circumstances
Concern for appropriateness as a moderator variable in the statistical explanation of self‐reported use of alcohol and marijuana
Authors: Wolfe Raymond N , Welch Leisa K , Lennox Richard D , Cutler Brian L
Published: April 2006

Two studies examine the Concern for Appropriateness Scale (Lennox & Wolfe, 1984) as a likely moderator of dispositional and environmental variables associated with self‐reported use of alcohol and marijuana by college and precollege students In Study 1, data from 408 upper division students show that concern score interacts significantly with religiosity in analyses of use of both drugs, but not with any of 11 other dispositional variables nor with drug‐specific environment predictors in analyses of use of either drug In Study 2, data from 242 recent high school graduates show that concern score interacts significantly with religiosity and drug‐specific environment in the explanation of alcohol use but not in the explanation of marijuana use All of the significant interactions are in the predicted direction Results therefore suggest that the concern scale is valid for some of its intended purposes
Anxiety and dream symbolism
Authors: Robbins Paul R , Tanck Roland H , Houshi Farzaneh
Published: April 2006

The present study replicates and extends previous findings of a relation between anxiety level and the use of dream symbolism Anxiety, assessed by self‐reports over a ten‐day period, was positively related to the use of sexual symbolism identified from dream reports obtained over the same period The appearance of symbolic dreams, however, was not preceded by elevated levels of anxiety A positive relation was uncovered between the measure of anxiety and a measure of manifest sexual content in the dreams
Depression and evaluative schemata
Authors: Ruehlman Linda S , West Stephen G , Pasahow Robert J
Published: April 2006

The evaluative tendencies of nondepressed, mildly depressed, and severely depressed individuals are examined in the areas of judgments of contingency, attributions of causality, expectancy estimates, and self‐schemata/self‐reference The available empirical literature in these four areas indicates that nondepressed people tend to exhibit positivistic evaluative responses, whereas mildly depressed persons tend to display unbiased (neither positivistic nor negativistic) evaluative response patterns The available evidence is suggestive of negativistic evaluative tendencies in severely depressed individuals, with this bias being most clearly manifested in the area of self‐schemata/self‐reference These results are interpreted in terms of contemporary explanations of depression and recent advances in models of cognitive processing
The components of love: Romantic attraction and sex role orientation
Authors: Critelli Joseph W , Myers Emilie J , Loos Victor E
Published: April 2006

Hypotheses derived from both Erich Fromm and the feminist literature linking sex role orientation to type of love experienced were tested in a sample of 123 heterosexual dating couples Five components of love were identified through factor analysis romantic dependency, communicative intimacy, physical arousal, respect, and romantic compatibility Type of love was related to sex role orientation (p 01), with traditionals characterized by romantic dependency and romantic compatibility, while nontraditionals emphasized communicative intimacy Sex differences showed females being more emotionally expressive in then love than males and scoring higher on communicative intimacy (p's < 01)
An interactional approach to the study of personality and emotion
Authors: Emmons Robert A , Diener Ed
Published: April 2006

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relation between personality and emotional feelings within ecologically valid settings Nineteen subjects rated their emotions in a wide variety of work, recreation, social, and alone situations sampled over a 30‐day period They were also administered the Personality Research Form and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Although theoretically predictable relations were found between certain personality traits and specific emotions averaged across situations, it was not until we distinguished chosen from imposed situations that the most meaningful results were obtained Both temperament and nontemperament personality traits were found to be related to specific emotions Implications of the present findings for research on situation selection and the status of personality traits are discussed
Personality, coping, and coping effectiveness in an adult sample
Authors: McCrae Robert R , Costa Paul T
Published: April 2006

Two studies of coping among community‐dwelling adults (N= 255,151) were used to examine the influence of personality on coping responses, the perceived effectiveness of coping mechanisms, and the effects of coping and personality on well‐being In both studies a wide range of potential stressors was examined, categorized as losses, threats, or challenges The personality dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience, as measured by both self‐reports and spouse‐ and peer‐ratings, were systematically related to coping mechanisms in both studies There was general agreement across types of stressors on the use and perceived effectiveness of the 27 coping mechanisms, and individuals who used more effective ways of coping generally reported higher subsequent happiness and life satisfaction However, personality variables are also known to be determinants of well‐being, and the associations between coping and well‐being were reduced when personality measures were partialled out Some implications for the design and interpretation of coping effectiveness studies are discussed
An analysis of fidgeting and associated individual differences
Authors: Mehrabian Albert , Friedman Shan L
Published: April 2006

Fidgeting was defined as engaging in manipulations of one's own body parts or other objects, such actions being peripheral or nonessential to central ongoing events or tasks Two studies employed preliminary fidgeting questionnaires of 70 and 106 items, respectively, tapping a wide range of habitual behaviors Item selection and factor analyses led to the development of a final, 40‐item, individual difference measure of fidgeting tendency which is balanced for response bias and has an alpha reliability coefficient of 89 Convergent and construct validity were supported by positive correlations between the fidgeting tendency measure and measures of tendencies to engage in extraneous activities (consuming alcoholic drinks, cigarette smoking, eating, daydreaming, restlessness, insomnia) while preoccupied with certain situations and tasks These findings implied that fidgeting is an activity overflow and that it is more probable when the organism's physical activity is constrained by the central or focal act Fidgeting tendency also correlated positively with binge eating and with physical activity In two additional studies, questionnaire fidgeting tendency scores correlated positively with direct observations of fidgeting by subjects and with peer predictions Personality correlates of fidgeting tendency were well defined More fidgety persons were more unpleasant and more arousable (i e, more anxious or hostile) Fidgeting tendency did not correlate significantly with subject sex or with arousal‐seeking tendency
Evaluating comprehensiveness in personality systems: The California Q‐Set and the five‐factor model
Authors: McCrae Robert R , Costa Paul T , Busch Catherine M
Published: April 2006

The analysis of natural language trait names and questionnaire scales has suggested that the five factors of Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness, Agreeable‐ness, and Conscientiousness constitute an adequate taxonomy of personality An alternative approach to comprehensive personality assessment based on clinical judgments is given by the California Q‐Set (CQS, Block, 1961) When self‐Q‐sorts from 403 adult men and women were factored, the five factors closely resembled those found in adjectives, and showed convergent and discriminant validity against self‐reports and peer‐ and spouse‐ratings on measures of the five‐factor model Results were replicated when interviewer Q‐sort ratings were examined for a subset of subjects These findings strongly support the claim to comprehensiveness of the five‐factor model
Nomothetic and idiothetic measurement in personality
Authors: Paaunonen Sampo V , Jackson Douglas N
Published: April 2006

Lamiell (1981, 1982a) has recently advanced an idiographic approach to the measurement of personality that he has labeled “idiothetic” In contrast to classical nomothetic strategies, the idiothetic method of scaling personality traits discounts normative transformations of attribute scores and, according to Lamiell, provides the basis for a useful index of cross–situational behavior consistency An analysis of Lamiell's procedures indicates several problems with the idiothetic approach to personality assessment and with the proposed measure of behavior consistency Notable is the fact that the method does not account for base rates of behavior in situations and, therefore, may suggest anomalous interpretations of personality characteristics and of behavior consistencies It is argued that conventional nomothetic methods are sufficient for the goals of explaining and predicting behavior
Interactive measurement, idiothetic inquiry, and the challenge to conventional “nomotheticism”
Authors: Lamiell James T , Trierweiter Steven J
Published: April 2006

Paunonen and Jackson (this issue) have commented critically on certain technical features of the idiothetic framework for personality research proposed by Lamiell (1981, 1982) In the present article, we offer our own views on each of the three major issues raised by Paunonen and Jackson, and in so doing seek to explain why we take their arguments to be adequate neither as a critique of the idiothetic approach nor as a defense of traditional “nomotheticism”
Better than me or better than thee? Reactions to intrapersonal and interpersonal performance feedback
Authors: Campbell Jennifer D , Fairey Patricia J , Fehr Beverley
Published: April 2006

When people compare their own performance across domains, the comparison may be based on differences in their absolute (objective) performance and/or on diffrences in their performance relative to others Differential sensitivity to the interpersonal (relative) and intrapersonal (absolute) comparison information was examined as a function of the closeness of the social comparison target and individual differences in self‐esteem Subjects (162) worked on two tasks with a partner, receiving item‐by‐item feedback, the partner was either a friend or a stranger The feedback was designed such that subjects' objective performance was better on one task (Task A) than on the other task (Task B), but their performance relative to that of the partner was better on Task B than on Task A High self‐esteem subjects and subjects in the friend condition were more satisfied and evaluated the test more positively on the task associated with better relative performance (despite the fact that their objective performance was worse on that task) Low self‐esteem subjects and subjects in the stranger condition expressed more positive reactions on the task associated with better objective performance (despite the fact that their relative performance was worse on that task) Results are discussed in terms of the informational and affective consequences of engaging in social comparison
On the several facets of personality assessment: The case of social acuity
Authors: Funder David C , Harris Monica J
Published: April 2006

The present research employs a variety of methods to examine social acuity, the ability and inclination to perceive the psychological state of others and act accordingly Sources of data include three self‐report inventories (Self‐Monitoring, Attributional Complexity, and Empathy), a direct measure of perceptual performance (the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity), and comprehensive Q‐sort descriptions of personality provided by subjects' peers and by the subjects themselves The four measures of social acuity were found to be coherently interrelated, Self‐Monitoring and Empathy were related to each other particularly closely Examination of the Q‐sort correlates, from both self‐reports and peers' judgments, yielded an improved conceptual understanding of social acuity and demonstrated the close relationship between these measures and interpersonal effectiveness The results are discussed in terms of the construct validity of social acuity and the usefulness of multiple methods and approaches in assessing personality
Social values and cooperative response to a simulated resource conservation crisis
Authors: Kramer Roderick M , McClintock Charles G , Messick David M
Published: April 2006

The present study examined the relationship between individuals social motives or values and their level of cooperation during a simulated resource conservation crisis Prior to the resource task, a decomposed game procedure was used to classify subjects as cooperatively or noncooperatively oriented Subjects, in groups of six, were led to believe that they shared access to a replenishing resource pool via a system of linked computer terminals Across a series of trials, subjects had to choose between maximizing their own short‐term gain and exercising personal restraint to preserve the collective resource False feedback about the group's use of the resource and the rate at which it was replenished was varied to indicate either that the resource was being sustained or that collective overuse was rapidly depleting it As predicted, cooperatively oriented individuals responded to resource depletion with greater self‐restraint than did those classified as noncooperators Analvsis of pretrial and posttrial data indicated that social values were also related to individuals expectations about the task and perceptions of others
Exemplification: The self‐presentation of moral character
Authors: Gilbert Daniel T , Jones Edward E
Published: April 2006

How do people come to terms with moral self‐presentations and disconfirming behaviors? Subjects were exposed to the self‐presentation of either an exemplifier (presenting himself as morally virtuous) or a pragmatist (presenting himself as morally adaptable) and then learned whether the self‐presenter had or had not cheated for self‐serving reasons in an earlier experiment Subjects clearly distinguished between exploitativeness and hypocrisy in their attributions, and considered a cheating exemplifier more hypocritical and self‐deluding, but less exploitative and devious than a cheating pragmatist A second experiment manipulated subjects' involvement with the cheating of an exemplifier and a pragmatist by making half of the subjects its victims As in Experiment 1, uninvolved subjects considered the cheating exemplifier more hypocritical and less exploitative than a cheating pragmatist, however, involved subjects (victims) considered a cheating exemplifier more hypocritical but no less exploitative than a cheating pragmatist The results are discussed in terms of strategic self‐presentation and the attribution of moral character
Information seeking of high‐ and low‐anxiety subjects after receiving positive and negative self‐relevant feedback
Authors: Frey Dieter , Stahlberg Dagmar , Fries Alfred
Published: April 2006

The present paper reports an experiment in which subjects received fictitious intelligence test feedback that was either negatively or positively discrepant with their self‐evaluation They were then given an opportunity to choose among several articles containing information that either derogated intelligence tests (test‐disparaging information) or argued for their validity (test‐supporting information) The main finding of this study consists of an interaction between the personality factor anxiety and the feedback variable High‐anxiety subjects prefer test‐disparaging information significantly more in the negative feedback condition than in the positive feedback condition, whereas low‐anxiety subjects show no difference in preference for test‐related information as a function of the feedback condition These results are in line with past theoretical reasoning and experimental findings showing that high‐anxiety subjects feel more threatened by negative self‐relevant feedback than do low‐anxiety subjects
An examination of the relation of individual difference variables to loneliness
Authors: Levin Ira , Stokes Joseph P
Published: April 2006

This study investigated the relation of five individual difference variables (extroversion, depression, self‐esteem, neuroticism, and attitude toward others) to loneliness The relative contributions of two different models that might explain these relations were examined One model suggests that individual difference variables are related to loneliness through the mediation of social network variables, that IS, individual difference variables may reduce people's motivation and/or ability to build and maintain social relationships, which in turn leads to loneliness The second model, the cognitive bias model, states that both the individual difference variables and loneliness are influenced by the same intrapersonal, cognitive processes Some people are prone to negative affect and tend to evaluate themselves and their relationships negatively The relations of self‐esteem, neuroticism, and depression to loneliness were hypothesized to reflect the cognitive bias model, while extroversion and attitudes toward others were hypothesized to be related to loneliness through the mediation of social network variables Eighty‐two female and 42 male adults completed measures of loneliness and the five individual difference variables, as well as an instrument assessing their social networks The results indicated partial support for both models for each of the individual difference variables Together, the two models did a good job of explaining the correlations of the individual difference variables and loneliness The implications of these findings, as well as their relation to previous research, are discussed
Logical learning theory: A teleological alternative in the field of personality
Authors: Rychlak Joseph F.
Published: April 2006

Logical learning theory (LLT) is presented as a teleological alternative to most current explanations of human behavior An organism construed as intentional is more suitable to many personality/personological accounts than is an organism construed as mechanical It is first established that LLT is a predicational rather than a mechanical explanation of behavior The concept of telosponsivity is then presented as an alternative to the predominant view of behavior as a supposed response to antecedent stimulation Telosponsivity rests on the assumption of dialectical human cognition A review of the early work on affective assessments in human cognition follows Affection is a special case of telosponsivity, and not a physical feeling or emotion per se Evidence drawn from empirical research outside of the strict LLT literature is also adduced in support of its tenets The presentation closes with a survey of current research being conducted on LLT It IS concluded that human agency is a viable theoretical outlook, and that a view resting on such assumptions can be shown to have empirical validity
Distress and Empathy: Two Qualitatively Distinct Vicarious Emotions with Different Motivational Consequences
Authors: Batson C. Daniel , Fultz Jim , Schoenrade Patricia A.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT The construct of empathy may be located conceptually at several different points in the network of interpersonal cognition and emotion We discuss one specific form of emotional empathy—other‐focused feelings evoked by perceiving another person in need First, evidence is reviewed suggesting that there are at least two distinct types of congruent emotional responses to perceiving another in need feelings of personal distress (e g, alarmed, upset, worried, disturbed, distressed, troubled, etc) and feelings of empathy (e g, sympathetic, moved, compassionate, tender, warm, softhearted, etc) Next, evidence is reviewed suggesting that these two emotional responses have different motivational consequences Personal distress seems to evoke egoistic motivation to reduce one's own aversive arousal, as a traditional Hullian tension‐reduction model would propose Empathy does not The motivation evoked by empathy may instead be altruistic, for the ultimate goal seems to be reduction of the other's need, not reduction of one's own aversive arousal Overall, the recent empirical evidence appears to support the more differentiated view of emotion and motivation proposed long ago by McDougall, not the unitary view proposed by Hull and his followers
Effects of Positive and Negative Behavioral Feedback on Subsequent Attitude‐Related Action
Authors: Kendzierski Deborah
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT This study examined the effect of positive and negative behavioral feedback on subsequent behavior The results indicate that positive and negative feedback concerning how well individuals have acted on their attitudinal in the past have different effects on subsequent behavior These effects are moderated by individual differences in self‐monitoring and in the frequency with which an individual has acted on his or her attitude in the past–variables which can be seen as reflecting differences in the extent to which individuals see themselves as persons who act on their attitudes, either in general or in regard to a specific attitudes domain Implications of the findings for understanding the literature on labeling and on feedback about energy use are discussed, as are the practical implications for using behavioral feedback in an effort to increase attitude‐related action
Effects of Self‐Monitoring and Prospect of Future Interaction on Self‐Disclosure Reciprocity During the Acquaintance Process
Authors: Shaffer David R. , Ogden J. Kirby , Wu Chenghuan
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT High and low self‐monitors, who either anticipated or did not anticipate further interaction with a same‐sex confederate, alternated with that person in disclosing personal information on three very private topics The confederate spoke first on each topic, presenting either highly intimate or nonintimate information in response to all three issues Content analyses of subjects' disclosures revealed that both high and low self‐monitors reciprocated the intimacy and (to a lesser extent) the emotionality of a partner with whom future interaction was not anticipated, but that only the high self‐monitors reciprocated the partner's self‐disclosures when future interaction with that person was anticipated Supplementary measures suggested that the anticipation of future interaction increased the agentic concerns of all participants, thereby inducing high self‐monitors to become even more attentive to situational cues when deciding how or what to disclose, while prompting low self‐monitors to rely even less on situational cues and more on personal thoughts and feelings as the basis for their self‐presentations Taken together, the results indicate that the prospect of future interaction is an important situational moderator of the self‐disclosing tendencies of both high and low self‐monitors, and they provide little if any support for recent “instrumental hedonism” interpretations of self‐monitoring activities
Intimacy Motivation and Subjective Mental Health in a Nationwide Sample
Authors: McAdams Dan P. , Bryant Fred B.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Over 1,200 adults in a representative nationwide sample were administered the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and an unstructured interview which produced 25 measures of subjective mental health and ultimately six factor scores unhappiness, lack of gratification, strain, feelings of vulnerability, lack of self‐confidence, and uncertainty The TATs were scored for intimacy motivation (McAdams, 1980)—a recurrent preference or readiness for experiences of warm, close, and communicative interaction with others Controlling for age, education, and their interaction, high intimacy motivation in women was associated with greater happiness and gratification, whereas in men it was associated with lack of strain and lack of uncertainty Women high in intimacy motivation who were living alone reported lower levels of gratification and more uncertainty in their lives than other women Intimacy motivation also declined significantly over the life span for women, but not for men Finally, demographic effects on intimacy motivation were examined Controlling for age, education, and their interaction, professional men (e g, doctors, lawyers, and teachers) scored higher on intimacy motivation than did men in other occupational categories, while among women the occupational groups with highest intimacy motivation were service workers and craftspersons
Fact and Fiction in Implicit Personality Theory
Authors: Borkenau Peter , Ostendorf Fritz
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT This article reports two studies, where the accuracy of implicit personality theory (IPT) was investigated using on‐line behavior counts as well as retrospective frequency estimates as standards of comparison Eight discussion groups, each comprising six members, were videotaped Their act frequencies with respect to 16 types of behavior were judged on‐line using two coding schemes, each one being applied by two independent raters Five other judges estimated the act frequencies retrospectively Furthermore, judges revealed their IPT by estimating the conditional likelihood of these types of behavior It turned out that (a) retrospective judges perceive different base rates accurately, (b) the correlations among retrospectively estimated and among on‐line recorded act frequencies show high correspondences, (c) IPT accurately mirrors the correlations among retrospectively estimated as well as among on‐line recorded act frequencies, and (d) judges do not appropriately consider perceived base rates when estimating conditional probabilities It is concluded that IPT is considerably accurate in those respects that are important for the validity and structural fidelity of personality ratings
Telic and Mechanistic Explanations of Mind and Meaningfulness: An Empirical Illustration
Authors: Slife Brent D.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Two traditions of personality theorizing, teleology and mechanism, are contrasted on their views of mind and the pivotal cognitive phenomenon of meaningfulness A major, albeit less well known, distinction between these traditions involves the assumption of time The fact that contemporary cognitive models rely on time (e g, temporal sequences or past events) places them firmly in the mechanistic tradition of personality theorizing Telic implications for cognition have been relatively overlooked, and are herein explored theoretically and empirically Cognition without temporality is described and distinguished from modern cognitive models that employ telic terminology An original study is provided to illustrate how these distinctions can be operationalized and addressed empirically
Peer Group Antecedents of Severe Love‐shyness in Males
Authors: Gilmartin Brian G.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Love‐shyness is a degree of inhibition and reticence with the opposite sex that is sufficiently severe to preclude participation in courtship, marriage and family roles Love‐shyness is believed to be the result of a genetic‐biologically rooted temperament and learning experiences with peers and family Two love‐shy groups (an older one and a younger one) were compared to a nonshy group on several variables pertaining to past peer group history, recreational proclivities, etc The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire was also administered to all subjects The love‐shys' recalled going through life as social isolates and outcasts and experienced very stressful and nonsupportive relationships with agemate peers In contrast to the non‐shys who recalled suffering very little bullying at the hands of agemate peers, the love‐shys formative years were recalled as having been fraught with victimization by bullies The implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations are offered
The Blind Men and the Elephant: Selective Examination of the Public‐Private Literature Gives Rise to a Faulty Perception
Authors: Carver Charles S. , Scheier Michael F.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Wicklund and Gollwitzer make two claims that the distinction between public and private self‐awareness/self‐consciousness is “Aristotelian,” and that the distinction is fallacious For the distinction to be Aristotelian, as Wicklund and Gollwitzer use that term, requires that the distinction not be embedded in a “process” model of behavior Thus, the first claim is easily shown to be false The second claim rests on a variety of empirical and theoretical issues An examination of these issues reveals (a) that Wicklund and Gollwitzer's alternative interpretations for public self‐attention effects are themselves Aristotelian—involving labels but no processes, (b) that their citation of literature relevant to their case is highly selective and misleading, and (c) that their abolition of the public‐private distinction would leave an embarrassing contradiction among self‐awareness effects, which Wicklund and Gollwitzer apparently are unable to address The vast preponderance of evidence thus supports the utility and the importance of the public‐private self‐focus distinction
On the Nature of Public and Private Self‐Consciousness
Authors: Fenigstein Allan
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Wicklund and Gollwitzer raise a number of questions concerning the explanatory value of self‐consciousness as a trait and the validity of the distinction between public and private self‐consciousness These questions are based on strawperson arguments, the issues they attack are largely of their own creation and bear little relation to the original authors' own positions My response attempts to point out their false assumptions concerning the nature of self‐attentional traits, to examine some of the research, much of which they have ignored or misrepresented, which supports the public‐private self‐consciousness distinction, and to question Wicklund and Gollwitzer's tendency to regard their own theory as some sort of standard against which others must be judged, apparently unaware of the possibility that their own conceptions may be flawed
From Sincerity to Authenticity: Adolescents' Views of the “True Self”
Authors: Ullman Chana
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT This study examined age‐related trends in adolescents' view of sincerity and of honesty towards oneself Subjects were 84 high school students in grades 8 to 12 (age range 12‐18) Semistructured interviews with preplanned probes were used and analyzed using content categories reflecting different emphases on disclosing “facts” versus internal events (for sincerity) and on recognizing conflicts with others versus recognizing internal divisions (for honesty towards oneself) Results indicate clear age trends on these two dimensions and a close association between them The age trends suggest that for the younger adolescent, being “genuine” consists mainly in disclosing facts that are in principle accessible to others For the older adolescent, being genuine more frequently implies recognizing and expressing one's “true” nature The findings are discussed both in light of recent research on the development of self‐understanding and as challenging traditional paradigms of studying the self
The Development of Defense Mechanisms
Authors: Cramer Phebe
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT It is proposed that defense mechanisms may be characterized as forming a hierarchy, from least to most complex, and that the lowest level defenses emerge early in life, while the more complex defenses emerge later in development Three defenses–Denial, Projection and Identification–were chosen to test this assumption A method for assessing the use of these defenses in Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) stories was developed and validated in a study of four age groups preschool, elementary school, early adolescent, and late adolescent The results of the study were consistent with the prediction Denial was used most frequently by preschool children, and decreased in use thereafter Identification was used minimally by preschool children but increased steadily through adolescence The use of Projection was most frequent in the two middle age groups Some evidence for sex differences, based on the internal/external orientation of the defense, also was found
Openness to Experience and Development of Adult Identity
Authors: Tesch Stephanie A. , Cameron Kathleen A.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT The formation of ego identity through exploration of alternatives and formation of commitments is a central issue in the transition from adolescence to adulthood (Erikson, 1959, Waterman, 1982) In 59 adults ranging in age from 18 to 30, independent identity scales were found to be positively correlated with age The construct of openness to experience was hypothesized to account for individual differences in identity development As predicted, openness to experience was positively correlated with ratings of current and past identity exploration, and negatively related to intensity of identity commitment A comparison of two methods of measuring ego identity showed that identity rating scales provide a more differentiated assessment of psychosocial development than does the identity status scoring method
The Personality of Vegetables: Botanical Metaphors for Human Characteristics
Authors: Sommer Robert
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT A dictionary search indicated that fruit and vegetable metaphors for human characteristics were relatively infrequent When used, they were more likely to describe physical than personality attributes, often with euphemistic overtones, and fruit metaphors reflected more favorable characteristics than did vegetable metaphors These findings were confirmed in a semantic analysis of fruit, vegetable, and animal terms
Self‐Discrepancies as Predictors of Vulnerability to Distinct Syndromes of Chronic Emotional Distress
Authors: Strauman Timothy J. , Higgins E. Tory
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT Two types of self‐discrepancy differing in both domain and standpoint of self‐guide were examined as predictors of vulnerability to chronic emotional syndromes Study 1 assessed discrepancy between the actual/own self‐state and the ideal/own self‐guide and between the actual/own self‐state and the ought/other self‐guide in predicting syndromes of dejection and agitation as well as different types of anger Actual/own ideal/own discrepancy (AI) was uniquely related to dejection, frustration, and anger at self as measured 2 months later, actual/own ought/other discrepancy (AOO) was uniquely related to agitation and to anger at others and resentment Study 2 used structural equation modeling of the relations between AI and AOO discrepancy and social anxiety versus depression as measured weeks later A model in which AOO was more strongly associated with social anxiety and AI was more strongly associated with depressive symptoms provided the best fit The results support the convergent and discriminant validity of a self‐discrepancy model of vulnerability to chronic emotional syndromes
Centrality and Individual Differences In the Meaning of Dally Hassles
Authors: Gruen Rand J. , Folkman Susan , Lazarus Richard S.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT In this study we introduce the concept of centrality in an attempt to assess individual differences in the meaning underlying daily hassles Central hassles are defined as those which reflect important ongoing themes or problems in the person's life The characteristics of central hassles, and their role in psychological and somatic health, were assessed in a sample of 150 community‐residing men and women The results indicate that central hassles vary in content from person to person and touch more on problems with personal needs and deficits in coping skills compared to noncentral hassles The dimension of centrality was found to play a significant role in the prediction of psychological symptoms Although the empirical case for the importance of centrality in the stress‐illness relationship is inconclusive due to problems of confounding and a cross‐sectional rather than longitudinal design, the ideas presented appear promising and provide a basis for further research on psychological vulnerability to stress
The Construct Validity of Assertion: Contributions of Four Assessment Procedures and Norman's Personality Factors
Authors: Bouchard Marc‐André , Lalonde Francine , Gagnon Martin
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT The construct validity of assertion was analyzed in three independent correlational studies The convergence of self‐reported, laboratory roleplayed, self‐observed, and peer‐rated measures was examined, as well as their relationship to Norman's peer‐rated five personality factors of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and culture Twenty‐three and 29 undergraduate students participated in Studies 1 and 2, respectively In general, results showed poor convergence among assertiveness measures even when increasing the representativeness and reliability of the role‐played laboratory and self‐observed measures, as in Study 2 In Study 3, the role‐playing test was abandoned and 45 subjects served as peers for one another The results of Study 3 supported the prediction that assertiveness measures showed at least moderate convergence, in addition there were significant relationships between assertiveness and extraversion and between peer‐rated assertiveness and agreeableness, conscientiousness, and culture The relative contribution of each assessment procedure to the construct validity of assertion is discussed
The Public and Private Use of Consensus‐Raising Excuses
Authors: Smith Stephanie H. , Whitehead George I.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
Two experiments tested the proposition that people use consensus‐raising excuses more in private than in public when the audience has information that could refute subjects' claims about others In Experiment 1, subjects received success or failure feedback and made public or private attributions to ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck In Experiment 2, subjects received positive or negative feedback and evaluated themselves and others on the trait Task difficulty attributions and evaluations of others are consensus‐raising measures Consistent with our hypothesis, subjects receiving negative feedback in Experiment 1 claimed that the task was more difficult, and in Experiment 2 evaluated the other more negatively in private than in public.
Sex Differences in Adult Moral Orientations
Authors: Pratt Michael W. , Golding Gail , Hunter William , Sampson Rosemarle
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
Gilligan's (1982) hypotheses regarding sex differences in moral reasoning orientation were investigated in two samples of adults In Study 1, adults ages 18 to 75 were interviewed about both hypothetical and personal moral dilemmas Women were more likely than men overall to show Gilligan's care orientation as expected, particularly in personal reasoning However, these sex differences were not as pervasive as Gilligan argues, and were influenced by subject age, subject stage level on Kohlberg's measure of moral reasoning, and the type of real‐life dilemma content recalled by subjects for discussion

Study 2 focused on the role of adult parental status as mediator of personal moral orientation differences in mid‐life Consistent with the theorizing of Gutmann (1985), adult parents were shown to be sex‐role differentiated in both selfconcept and moral orientation, whereas married nonparents were not Further‐more, sex differences in reasoning orientations were again found to be linked to differences in the dilemma content presented by men and women These studies partly support Gilligan's theorizing, but indicate less pervasive sex differences in some groups of adults than hypothesized
Estimating the Prevalence of Shyness in the “Global Village”: Pluralistic Ignorance or False Consensus?
Authors: Harris Peter R. , Wilshire Philip
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
Only a minority of those who experience shyness consider themselves to be shy people One explanation for this lies in the possibility that those who so label themselves underestimate the extent to which their feelings are shared by others (i.e, perceive the consensus surrounding their experiences as low [Kelley, 1967]), resulting in an internal rather than external attribution This proposition was tested by asking shy and not‐shy followers of two TV soap operas to rate a number of characters from the programs, together with a list of their friends and relatives, for shyness, competitiveness, and optimism Although there were no differences between the groups in their ratings of competitiveness and optimism, the shy subjects reported greater shyness among both the soap‐opera characters and their friends and relatives than the not‐shy group Whatever the basis for the self‐labeling of shyness, therefore, it does not appear to he in the low consensus/pluralistic ignorance notion A number of alternative explanations are discussed, together with the implications of these findings for explanations of the false consensus effect
Do Parental Influences Matter? A Reply to Halverson
Authors: McCrae Robert R , Costa Paul T.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
Halverson (1988) raises many objections to the retrospective method, but only some of them are applicable to our study (McCrae & Costa, 1988), further, Halverson fails to distinguish between random error and bias in retrospective data We argue that retrospective accounts can provide one useful source of evidence when the probable effects of biases are taken into account The small associations between recalled parent‐child relations and adult personality that we reported were probably exaggerated rather than masked by retrospective bias, we took this into account in reaching our conclusions Rather than dismiss the method, psychologists should question the entrenched belief that child‐rearing is a major determinant of adult personality

Tram up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it—Proverbs 22 6
An Application of the Prototype Scale Construction Strategy to the Assessment of Student Motivation
Authors: de Jong Peter F.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
In this study, the prototype strategy was used to develop scales for the assessment of student motivation In a prestudy, teachers generated student behaviors for each pole of the motivation dimension The prototypicality of the motivated and unmotivated behaviors for the respective poles of the dimension was rated by panels of junior high school students On the basis of these ratings, scales were constructed which differed in the mean‐rated prototypicality of their items In the main study the validities of these scales were investigated using peer ratings and a psychometric test as criterion measures Using confirmatory factor analysis, it was demonstrated that, as predicted, the scales with the more prototypical items had higher validity coefficients More generally, these scales possessed satisfactory psychometric properties Finally, the merits of the prototype strategy were discussed with respect to its contributions to the substantive and structural component of construct validity
Metatraits
Authors: Baumeister Roy F , Tice Dianne M.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
A metatrait is the trait of having versus not having a trait It refers to whether a given trait dimension or construct can be used to describe a particular personality Using attitudes as an analog to traits, we argue that the study of personality may benefit from considering metatraits Implications for the nature of traits and for the formation and disappearance of traits within a personality are discussed We review strategies for measuring metatraits and conclude that at present it seems best to use interitem variance in responses to specific, familiar trait scales Metatraits will most commonly moderate trait effects, especially such that hypotheses about traits are appropriately tested only with trailed individuals Untraited individuals may be susceptible to fluctuating states and situational manipulations Sometimes metatraits may predict behavior directly, independently of trait level Two studies are reported to illustrate metatrait moderation of trait effects and direct prediction of behavior by metatrait
Trait Relevance and the Differential Predictability of Behavior
Authors: Paunonen Sampo V.
Published: April 2006

ABSTRACT
A prominent theory in contemporary personality involves the hypothesis that the accuracy of predicting a person's trait behavior is in part a function of the relevance of that trait to that person Empirical tests of this hypothesis have operationalized trait relevance with measures of behavior consistency, trait importance, behavior observability, and behavior frequency These variables were evaluated in this study for their relations with conventional measures of trait constructs Multivariate analyses using a number of behavior domains supported the conclusion that the underlying relations between trait relevance and trait level variables are quadratic (U or inverted‐U) in form, a finding that has notable implications for the use of those variables as moderators of behavior predictability Contrary findings in the literature are acknowledged and are interpreted with reference to statistical artifacts