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Globalization, technological advances, economic and geopolitical shocks, pandemics, and any number of novel or unanticipated events have one thing in common: they represent change and require dynamic responses and adaptation from organizations, teams, and individuals. A critical resource for individuals to be adaptive are broad skills relevant to varied organizational conditions. These adaptive skills have been discussed in diverse venues but rarely in the organizational literature. Also, most, if not all, of extant conceptual frameworks related to adaptive skills remain unvalidated. The purpose of this research was to organize these skills, define and situate them in the relevant organizational and psychological literatures, and empirically test a proposed four-category framework. The experimental results supported the C+MAC framework, as skills were better categorized in terms of their theoretically related category. Additionally, the four-category framework proved a better fit to the skills compared to an influential, alternative model. The findings' implications are discussed, noting how an empirically validated framework can facilitate understanding of how individuals engage with organizational environments and organizations get their work done., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Oscar Ybarra. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objective: Capitalization, or disclosing positive news in close relationships, is interpersonally and intrapersonally beneficial and expected by relational partners. Why do some individuals avoid capitalizing? How do close relational partners react when they later discover that positive news was not directly disclosed to them?, Method: We conducted nine correlational and experimental studies using vignettes and recalled events (N = 2,177)., Results: We find that individuals who are concerned about being seen as braggarts tend to avoid capitalizing with their close relationships even when it is likely their partner would ultimately learn of the news. Yet this concern may be relatively unwarranted and these individuals show a forecasting error: They overestimate how negatively their partner would react to disclosure and predict that their partner would react more positively if they discovered the news through external means. However,they neglect to predict that partners who later learn of the news and realize they were not disclosed toward in fact feel devalued. We discuss how this concern with bragging is linked to decreased extraversion, perspective taking, and empathy., Conclusions: Uniquely in close relationships, being concerned about bragging may elicit negative relational outcomes, by hindering the positive self-disclosures that one's partners expect., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals, LLC.)

Within a relatively short time span, social media have transformed the way humans interact, leading many to wonder what, if any, implications this interactive revolution has had for people's emotional lives. Over the past 15 years, an explosion of research has examined this issue, generating countless studies and heated debate. Although early research generated inconclusive findings, several experiments have revealed small negative effects of social media use on well-being. These results mask, however, a deeper set of complexities. Accumulating evidence indicates that social media can enhance or diminish well-being depending on how people use them. Future research is needed to model these complexities using stronger methods to advance knowledge in this domain., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Does talking to others about negative experiences improve the way people feel? Although some work suggests that the answer to this question is "yes," other work reveals the opposite. Here we attempt to shed light on this puzzle by examining how people can talk to others about their negative experiences constructively via computer-mediated communication, a platform that people increasingly use to provide and receive social support. Drawing from prior research on meaning-making and self-reflection, we predicted that cueing participants to reconstrue their experience in ways that lead them to focus on it from a broader perspective during a conversation would buffer them against negative affect and enhance their sense of closure compared with cueing them to recount the emotionally arousing details concerning what happened. Results supported this prediction. Content analyses additionally revealed that participants in the reconstrue condition used the word "you" generically (e.g., you cannot always get what you want) more than participants in the recount condition, identifying a linguistic mechanism that supports reconstrual. These findings highlight the psychological processes that distinguish adaptive versus maladaptive ways of talking about negative experiences, particularly in the context of computer-mediated support interactions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Social relationships supply purpose to life. How can socially disconnected people, who show lower levels of purpose, compensate for purpose in life? We propose that religious beliefs can compensate for the purpose in life that social relationships would otherwise provide, through providing (a) greater purpose to turn to and (b) divine figures that can substitute for social relationships., Method: In three studies, we analyze three nationally representative and longitudinal data sets (N = 19,775) using moderated regression and cross-lagged panel analyses., Results: Consistent with our hypotheses, religious beliefs were of minimal influence on purpose in life for socially connected individuals, who already held higher levels of purpose than socially disconnected individuals. However, for socially disconnected individuals, being highly religious predicted higher levels of purpose in life., Conclusions: Results suggest that although people primarily derive purpose from social relationships, socially disconnected individuals may leverage their religious beliefs for purpose and social comfort until they can reconnect., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

The present research investigated the effect of self-uncertainty salience on self-esteem striving, as well as the corresponding self-regulatory processes. Inspired by uncertainty management and meaning maintenance models, we conducted an electroencephalogram experiment to examine how self-uncertainty salience affects performance on self-esteem related tasks, and how it affects neurophysiological activity related to performance monitoring (e.g., error-related negativity, error positivity) on those tasks. Results showed that when self-uncertainty was salient, participants performed better on a task that was high (but not low) in self-esteem relevance, and these participants also displayed a larger amplitude of error positivity after error commissions, which is considered a manifestation of heightened performance monitoring. Overall, these results suggest that self-uncertainty salience increases the need and efforts for self-esteem striving. Further implications are discussed in terms of meaning compensation and self-uncertainty management., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Psychologists have long debated whether it is possible to assess how people subjectively feel without asking them. The recent proliferation of online social networks has recently added a fresh chapter to this discussion, with research now suggesting that it is possible to index people's subjective experience of emotion by simply counting the number of emotion words contained in their online social network posts. Whether the conclusions that emerge from this work are valid, however, rests on a critical assumption: that people's usage of emotion words in their posts accurately reflects how they feel. Although this assumption is widespread in psychological research, here we suggest that there are reasons to challenge it. We corroborate these assertions in 2 ways. First, using data from 4 experience-sampling studies of emotion in young adults, we show that people's reports of how they feel throughout the day neither predict, nor are predicted by, their use of emotion words on Facebook. Second, using simulations we show that although significant relationships emerge between the use of emotion words on Facebook and self-reported affect with increasingly large numbers of observations, the relationship between these variables was in the opposite of the theoretically expected direction 50% of the time (i.e., 3 of 6 models that we performed simulations on). In contrast to counting emotion words, we show that judges' ratings of the emotionality of participants' Facebook posts consistently predicts how people feel across all analyses. These findings shed light on how to draw inferences about emotion using online social network data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Personal growth is usually considered an outcome of intrapersonal processes-personal resources residing within the person. Comparatively, little research has examined the interpersonal processes underlying personal growth. We investigated how one interpersonal factor-people's relationships with others-influences personal growth. Study 1 showed that brief reminders of a supportive (vs. nonsupportive) other led people to choose a job that promoted personal growth over one that offered a higher salary. Moreover, feelings of self-confidence from thinking about a supportive (vs. nonsupportive) other mediated personal growth. Extending these results, Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated that people's perceptions of how supportive their close others are predicted personal growth in two distinct cultures with varying emphasis on individual (vs. collective) growth. Consistent with Study 1's findings, the results were also mediated by feelings of self-confidence. These findings suggest that the link between supportive relationships and personal growth may reflect a general process.

Social support, in theory, should promote individual goal-pursuit. However, a growing number of studies shows that receiving support can undermine goal-pursuit. Addressing this paradox, we investigated a novel idea of the effects of how people think about their social support on their goal-pursuit. Four experiments showed that participants who were led to think abstractly (vs. concretely) about their social support showed higher intent to pursue their goal (Studies 1-3) and worked harder toward their goal (Study 4). The benefits of abstracting one's social support occurred over a variety of personal goals, support types, and support-providers, indicating the generalizability and robustness of our findings. These results demonstrate that how people think about their social support influences goal-pursuit and suggest ways in which support-recipients can maximize their social support.

Background: Although the relationship between depression and "offline" social support is well established, numerous questions surround the relationship between "online" social support and depression. We explored this issue by examining the social support dynamics that characterize the way individuals with varying levels of depression (Study 1) and SCID-diagnosed clinically depressed and non-depressed individuals (Study 2) interact with Facebook, the world's largest online social network., Method: Using a novel methodology, we examined how disclosing positive or negative information on Facebook influences the amount of social support depressed individuals (a) actually receive (based on actual social support transactions recorded on Facebook walls) and (b) think they receive (based on subjective assessments) from their Facebook network., Results: Contrary to prior research indicating that depression correlates with less actual social support from "offline" networks, across both studies depression was positively correlated with social support from Facebook networks when participants disclosed negative information (p=.02 in Study 1 and p=.06 in Study 2). Yet, depression was negatively correlated with how much social support participants thought they received from their Facebook networks (p=.005 in Study 1 and p=.001 in Study 2)., Limitations: The sample size was relatively small in Study 2, reflecting difficulties of recruiting individuals with Major Depressive Disorder., Conclusions: These results demonstrate that an asymmetry characterizes the relationship between depression and different types of Facebook social support and further identify perceptions of Facebook social support as a potential intervention target. (243 words; 250 max)., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Recent studies have characterized self-control as a vital psychological variable that helps explain various problems. Tangney's Self-Control Scale (SCS) is a self-report measurement to assess individual differences in traits of self-control. It has gained popularity in social and psychological science research. In China, there are a few Chinese-version scales measuring general self-control, which can be applied to college students. The purposes of the present study were to evaluate: (a) the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Tangney's SCS using confirmatory factor analysis, and (b) whether higher scores on the scale correlated with positive outcomes in China. The final sample in this study consisted of 371 Chinese college students aged 17-23 years. The Full SCS and Brief SCS were both found to have a reasonable fitness, which also had satisfactory internal consistencies and a high correlation. Higher scores on the SCS correlated with higher self-esteem, extraversion, better harmony in interpersonal relationships and an appropriate anger expression, less impulsiveness, and state and trait anger. The test-retest reliability was confirmed in two additional samples. Tangney's SCS could be used in China., (© 2016 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

In the present study, we used a valence classification task to investigate the common and distinct neural basis of the two fundamental dimensions of social cognition (agency and communion) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results showed that several brain areas associated with mentalizing, along with the inferior parietal gyrus in the mirror system, showed overlap in response to both agentic and communal words. These findings suggest that both content categories are related to the neural basis of social cognition; further, several areas in the default mode network (DMN) showed similar deactivations between agency and communion, reflecting task-induced deactivation (TID). In terms of distinct activations, the findings indicated greater deactivations for communal than agentic content in the ventral anterior cingulate (vACC) and medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC). Communion also showed greater activation in some visual areas compared to agentic content, including occipital gyrus, lingual gyrus, and fusiform gyrus. These activations may reflect greater allocation of attentional resources to visual areas when processing communal content, or inhibition of cognitive activity irrelevant to task performance. If so, this suggests greater attention and engagement with communion-related content. The present research thus suggests common and differential activations for agency- versus communion-related content.

Few studies have examined the effect of intergroup threat on cognitive outcomes such as memory. Different theoretical perspectives can inform how intergroup threat should affect memory for threat-relevant and neutral information, such as the mood-congruency approach, Yerkes-Dodson law, Easterbrook's theory, and also evolutionary perspectives. To test among these, we conducted two experiments to examine how exposure to intergroup threats affected memory compared to control conditions. In study 1, we manipulated symbolic threat and examined participants' memory for threat and neutral words. In study 2, memory performance was assessed following the induction of realistic threat. Across the studies, in the control condition participants showed better memory for threat-related than neutral information. However, participants under threat remembered neutral information as well as threat-related information. In addition, participants in the threat condition remembered threat-related information as well as participants in the control condition. The findings are discussed in terms of automatic vigilance processes but also the effects of threat on arousal and its effect on information processing. This latter perspective, suggests paradoxically, that under some circumstances involving an outgroup threat, non-threatening information about outgroups can be extensively processed.

Introduction: Increasing social interaction could be a promising intervention for improving cognitive function. We examined the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial to assess whether conversation-based cognitive stimulation, through personal computers, webcams, and a user-friendly interactive Internet interface had high adherence and a positive effect on cognitive functions among older adults without dementia., Methods: Daily 30 minute face-to-face communications were conducted over a 6-week trial period in the intervention group. The control group had only a weekly telephone interview. Cognitive status of normal and MCI subjects was operationally defined as Global Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) = 0 and 0.5, respectively. Age, sex, education, Mini-Mental State Exam and CDR score were balancing factors in randomization. Subjects were recruited using mass-mailing invitations. Pre-post differences in cognitive test scores and loneliness scores were compared between control and intervention groups using linear regression models., Results: Eighty-three subjects participated (intervention: n=41, control: n=42). Their mean (std) age was 80.5 (6.8) years. Adherence to the protocol was high; there was no dropout and mean % of days completed out of the targeted trial days among the intervention group was 89% (range: 77%-100%). Among the cognitively intact participants, the intervention group improved more than the control group on a semantic fluency test (p=0.003) at the post-trial assessment and a phonemic fluency test (p=0.004) at the 18 th week assessments. Among those with MCI, a trend (p=0.04) of improved psychomotor speed was observed in the intervention group., Discussion: Daily conversations via user-friendly Internet communication programs demonstrated high adherence. Among cognitively intact, the intervention group showed greater improvement in tests of language-based executive functions. Increasing daily social contacts through communication technologies could offer cost-effective home-based preventions. Further studies with a longer duration of follow-up are required to examine whether the intervention slows cognitive declines and delays the onset of dementia.

Prior research indicates that Facebook usage predicts declines in subjective well-being over time. How does this come about? We examined this issue in 2 studies using experimental and field methods. In Study 1, cueing people in the laboratory to use Facebook passively (rather than actively) led to declines in affective well-being over time. Study 2 replicated these findings in the field using experience-sampling techniques. It also demonstrated how passive Facebook usage leads to declines in affective well-being: by increasing envy. Critically, the relationship between passive Facebook usage and changes in affective well-being remained significant when controlling for active Facebook use, non-Facebook online social network usage, and direct social interactions, highlighting the specificity of this result. These findings demonstrate that passive Facebook usage undermines affective well-being., ((c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).)

Background: Detecting early signs of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) during the pre-symptomatic phase is becoming increasingly important for costeffective clinical trials and also for deriving maximum benefit from currently available treatment strategies. However, distinguishing early signs of MCI from normal cognitive aging is difficult. Biomarkers have been extensively examined as early indicators of the pathological process for AD, but assessing these biomarkers is expensive and challenging to apply widely among pre-symptomatic community dwelling older adults. Here we propose assessment of social markers, which could provide an alternative or complementary and ecologically valid strategy for identifying the pre-symptomatic phase leading to MCI and AD., Methods: The data came from a larger randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT), where we examined whether daily conversational interactions using remote video telecommunications software could improve cognitive functions of older adult participants. We assessed the proportion of words generated by participants out of total words produced by both participants and staff interviewers using transcribed conversations during the intervention trial as an indicator of how two people (participants and interviewers) interact with each other in one-on-one conversations. We examined whether the proportion differed between those with intact cognition and MCI, using first, generalized estimating equations with the proportion as outcome, and second, logistic regression models with cognitive status as outcome in order to estimate the area under ROC curve (ROC AUC)., Results: Compared to those with normal cognitive function, MCI participants generated a greater proportion of words out of the total number of words during the timed conversation sessions (p=0.01). This difference remained after controlling for participant age, gender, interviewer and time of assessment (p=0.03). The logistic regression models showed the ROC AUC of identifying MCI (vs. normals) was 0.71 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.54 - 0.89) when average proportion of word counts spoken by subjects was included univariately into the model., Conclusion: An ecologically valid social marker such as the proportion of spoken words produced during spontaneous conversations may be sensitive to transitions from normal cognition to MCI.

Over 500 million people interact daily with Facebook. Yet, whether Facebook use influences subjective well-being over time is unknown. We addressed this issue using experience-sampling, the most reliable method for measuring in-vivo behavior and psychological experience. We text-messaged people five times per day for two-weeks to examine how Facebook use influences the two components of subjective well-being: how people feel moment-to-moment and how satisfied they are with their lives. Our results indicate that Facebook use predicts negative shifts on both of these variables over time. The more people used Facebook at one time point, the worse they felt the next time we text-messaged them; the more they used Facebook over two-weeks, the more their life satisfaction levels declined over time. Interacting with other people "directly" did not predict these negative outcomes. They were also not moderated by the size of people's Facebook networks, their perceived supportiveness, motivation for using Facebook, gender, loneliness, self-esteem, or depression. On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection. Rather than enhancing well-being, however, these findings suggest that Facebook may undermine it.

People like having options when choosing, but having too many options can lead to negative decision-related consequences. The present study focused on how social-relational factors--common aspects of daily life--can maintain or attenuate the appeal of choice. Study 1 examined the effect of a supportive- or nonsupportive-relationship prime on the decision to pay for having more options in choosing a consumer product. People who thought of supportive relationships, compared with those who thought of nonsupportive ones (and control participants), were less willing to pay for a larger choice set. Study 2 showed that the activation of thoughts of security and calmness in participants recalling supportive relationships (compared with participants recalling nonsupportive relationships) mediated the appeal of choice. This finding offers one possible explanation for the reduced desire for options when people are reminded of supportive relationships.

A successful social interaction often requires on-line and active construction of an ever-changing mental-model of another person's beliefs, expectations, emotions, and desires. It also requires the ability to maintain focus, problem-solve, and flexibly pursue goals in a distraction-rich environment, as well as the ability to take-turns and inhibit inappropriate behaviors. Many of these tasks rely on executive functions (EF) - working memory, attention/cognitive control, and inhibition. Executive functioning has long been viewed as relatively static. However, starting with recent reports of successful cognitive interventions, this view is changing and now EFs are seen as much more open to both short- and long-term "training," "warm-up," and "exhaustion" effects. Some of the most intriguing evidence suggests that engaging in social interaction enhances performance on standard EF tests. Interestingly, the latest research indicates these EF benefits are selectively conferred by certain on-line, dynamic social interactions, which require participants to mentally engage with another person and actively construct a model of their mind. We review this literature and highlight its connection with evolutionary and cultural theories emphasizing links between intelligence and sociality.

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded to explore the electrophysiological correlates of breaking mental set when subjects performed the Chinese character-generation task. A new experimental paradigm (learning-testing model) was adopted in order to make subjects find a solution actively by using a fixed way (Rep: repetition) or a new method (BMS: breaking mental set). Results showed that BMS elicited a more positive ERP deflection (P500-700) than did Rep between 500 and 700 ms after onset of the test stimuli. The P500-700 was possibly involved in the successful breaking of mental set and the initial forming of new associations during problem solving. Furthermore, BMS also elicited a more positive ERP deflection (P900-1300) than did Rep between 900 and 1,300 ms. The P900-1300 might reflect searching and generating a new character after breaking mental set.

Multiculturalism, or the belief that racial and ethnic differences should be acknowledged and appreciated, has been met with both positive reactions (e.g., decreased prejudice) and negative reactions (e.g., perceptions of threat) from dominant group members. The present research proposes that multiculturalism can either positively or negatively influence White Americans' intergroup attitudes depending on their degree of ethnic identification. In Studies 1 and 2, White Americans primed with multiculturalism exhibited higher social dominance orientation (Study 1) and greater prejudice (Study 2), especially when they identified strongly with their ethnicity. In Study 3, perceptions of threat to group values were found to mediate the relation between multiculturalism, ethnic identification, and prejudice among White Americans. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for threat perceptions, ethnic identification, and conceptions of diversity.

Social interaction is a central feature of people's life and engages a variety of cognitive resources. Thus, social interaction should facilitate general cognitive functioning. Previous studies suggest such a link, but they used special populations (e.g., elderly with cognitive impairment), measured social interaction indirectly (e.g., via marital status), and only assessed effects of extended interaction in correlational designs. Here the relation between mental functioning and direct indicators of social interaction was examined in a younger and healthier population. Study 1 using survey methodology found a positive relationship between social interaction, assessed via amount of actual social contact, and cognitive functioning in people from three age groups including younger adults. Study 2 using an experimental design found that a small amount of social interaction (10 min) can facilitate cognitive performance. The findings are discussed in the context of the benefits social relationships have for so many aspects of people's lives.

Women are bombarded with images of women's sexual submission and subservience to male partners. The authors argue that women internalize this submissive role, namely, they associate sex implicitly with submission. The authors propose that this association leads to submissive sexual behavior, thereby reducing sexual autonomy and arousal. Study 1 found that women implicitly associated sex with submission. Study 2 showed that women's implicit association of sex with submission predicted greater personal adoption of a submissive sexual role. Study 3 found that men did not implicitly associate sex with submission. Study 4 demonstrated that women's adoption of a submissive sexual role predicted lower reported arousal and greater reported difficulty becoming sexually aroused; sexual autonomy mediated these effects.

This study examined the relationship between White Americans' genetic explanations, conceptualized as genetic lay theories, for perceived racial differences and for sexual orientation, and attitudes toward Blacks, and gay men and lesbians, respectively. Considering contrasting public discourse surrounding race and sexual orientation, we predicted that genetic lay theories would be associated with greater prejudice toward Blacks, but less prejudice toward gay men and lesbians. The findings, based on a representative sample of 600 White Americans, were consistent with expectations. Results are discussed in relation to the literature on essentialism and implicit theories of the malleability of traits. The present research broadens our view of lay theories by showing how they support either prejudice or tolerance, depending on the target group.

Prior studies on the association between weather and psychological changes have produced mixed results. In part, this inconsistency may be because weather's psychological effects are moderated by two important factors: the season and time spent outside. In two correlational studies and an experiment manipulating participants' time outdoors (total N = 605), pleasant weather (higher temperature or barometric pressure) was related to higher mood, better memory, and "broadened" cognitive style during the spring as time spent outside increased. The same relationships between mood and weather were not observed during other times of year, and indeed hotter weather was associated with lower mood in the summer. These results are consistent with findings on seasonal affective disorder, and suggest that pleasant weather improves mood and broadens cognition in the spring because people have been deprived of such weather during the winter.

The research examined whether age-related cognitive declines affect performance when people form impressions of others. The results from Experiment 1 showed that young and old participants who held positive expectancies about an individual spent more time processing and had better memory for information that was inconsistent rather than consistent with their expectancies. But participants who held negative expectancies tended to focus on information that was consistent rather than inconsistent with their expectancies. In Experiment 2 the task was made more demanding by limiting the amount of time participants had to form their impressions. Under these conditions, older participants who had positive expectations showed deficits in memory for negative information compared with young participants. As expected, both groups performed similarly when they held negative expectancies for the target. The results suggest that although both older and younger adults process social information similarly under self-paced conditions, older adults may be at a disadvantage processing negative information about positively characterized individuals when the context in which impression formation occurs is cognitively demanding.

People bring to bear on their understanding of others' behaviors naive theories of the causes of valenced behaviors. Generally, positive behaviors are understood to be caused by social demands, whereas negative behaviors are understood to be caused by people's dispositions. Various research findings are reviewed in support of the idea that people possess such naive theories. The analysis is extended to establish how these sense-making tendencies affect the manner in which people approach and process information about others. A second set of studies is reviewed in support of these implications for person perception. Comparisons to other models of social inference are considered, implications of the frame-work are examined, and the framework is situated within a general model of the attribution process.