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Author(s): Holly N. Fitzgerald [sup.1] [sup.3] , Christopher K. Owen [sup.2] , Natalie J. Shook [sup.1] [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) https://ror.org/02der9h97, grid.63054.34, 0000 0001 0860 4915, University of Connecticut, , [...], Intergroup contact is often an effective means of prejudice reduction. However, transgender individuals, a highly stigmatized group, make up a small proportion (0.58%; Flores et al., 2016 (See CR13)) of the U.S. population, which significantly limits the feasibility of direct contact for most people. Thus, secondary transfer effects, wherein the benefits of contact with one group generalizes to other related groups, may be an important means of transgender prejudice reduction. Across two studies (Ns = 242 and 172), we assessed the extent to which contact with sexual minority (i.e., lesbian, gay, or bisexual) individuals was associated with secondary transfer effects on transgender prejudice. We also examined the extent to which secondary transfer effects varied by relationship type (i.e., friend, family, acquaintance). Participants completed online surveys that assessed prejudice and contact experience with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. Overall, contact with lesbians and gay men was associated with less prejudice toward transgender individuals indirectly through lower prejudice toward each respective group, and friendships were the most consistent relationship type associated with secondary transfer effects. Contact with bisexuals, as well as family members, was inconsistently associated with transgender prejudice. The findings suggest secondary transfer effects as a potential means of transgender prejudice reduction and emphasize the need to assess relationship type and contact group, as patterns of prejudice reduction were not uniform across groups often perceived to be similar.

High-quality mentoring relationships help college students to achieve their academic potential and career goals. However, less is known about factors that shape the antecedents of mentoring relationships (e.g. mentor-protégé psychological similarity), or the impact of similarities on the development of high-quality mentoring relationships. The current study advances mentoring theory by testing effects of research apprenticeship program involvement on perceptions of psychological similarity and the development of high-quality mentoring relationships over time. Undergraduate students (N = 170) in a research apprenticeship program and matched control students completed survey measures of mentoring experiences at the end of fall (Time 1) and spring (Time 2) semesters. Longitudinal structural equation model results show that involvement in the program promoted similarity, which in turn promoted support and relationship quality over time. Furthermore, early development of relationship quality strengthened the future experiences of psychosocial support from and role modeling identification with the faculty mentor.

Author(s): Jerin Lee [sup.1] , Audrey Weiss [sup.2] , Cameron G. Ford [sup.3] , Dandre Conyers [sup.4] , Natalie J. Shook [sup.1] [sup.5] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.63054.34, 0000 0001 0860 [...], Mindfulness has been consistently linked with greater life satisfaction, but it is unclear what accounts for this association. Potentially, mindfulness may promote greater self-esteem and reduce stress, which may cultivate positive attitudes toward one's life. Across a series of three studies, we investigated the extent to which self-esteem and perceived stress uniquely accounted for the relation between mindfulness and life satisfaction. In Studies 1 and 2 (Ns = 278 and 260, respectively), both self-esteem and perceived stress statistically accounted for the positive relation between mindfulness and life satisfaction in U.S. college student samples. In Study 3 (N = 419), the model was replicated in a more diverse, non-college student sample. These findings provide support for the generalizability of the robust associations among mindfulness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and perceived stress. Furthermore, self-esteem and perceived stress may represent two potential pathways through which mindfulness enhances evaluations of one's life.

Author(s): Lauren M. Alvis [sup.1] , Robyn D. Douglas [sup.1] , Natalie J. Shook [sup.2] , Benjamin Oosterhoff [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) The Hackett Center for Mental Health, , P.O. [...], Natural disasters and times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, are extremely stressful events, with severe mental health consequences. However, such events also provide opportunities for prosocial support between citizens, which may be related to mental health symptoms and interpersonal needs. We examined adolescents' prosocial experiences as both actors and recipients during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and assessed whether these experiences were associated with indicators of mental health. Adolescents (N = 426; 78% female) aged 13 to 20 years (M.sub.age = 16.43, SD = 1.10; 63.6% White, 12.9% Hispanic/Latinx, 8.5% Asian, 4.2% Black, 2.8% Native American) were recruited across the US in early April of 2020. Participants reported on their COVID-19 prosocial experiences (helping others, receiving help) and mental health (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, burdensomeness, belongingness). Multiple regression models indicated greater engagement in COVID-19 prosocial behavior was associated with greater anxiety symptoms and greater burdensomeness. Receiving more COVID-19 help was associated with lower depressive symptoms and higher belongingness. Findings highlight the importance of furthering our understanding of the nuanced connections between prosocial experiences and adolescents' mental health to help inform post-pandemic recovery and relief efforts.

Author(s): Natalie J. Shook [sup.1] [sup.2] , Holly N. Fitzgerald [sup.1] , Benjamin Oosterhoff [sup.3] , Eva MacFarland [sup.2] , Baris Sevi [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.63054.34, 0000 0001 0860 [...], Although various demographic and psychosocial factors have been identified as correlates of influenza vaccine hesitancy, factors that promote infectious disease avoidance, such as disgust proneness, have been rarely examined. In two large national U.S. samples (Ns = 475 and 1007), we investigated whether disgust proneness was associated with retrospective accounts of influenza vaccine uptake, influenza vaccine hesitancy, and eventual influenza vaccine uptake, while accounting for demographics and personality. Across both studies, greater age, higher education, working in healthcare, and greater disgust proneness were significantly related to greater likelihood of previously receiving an influenza vaccine. In Study 2, which was a year-long longitudinal project, disgust proneness prospectively predicted influenza vaccine hesitancy and eventual vaccine uptake during the 2020-2021 influenza season. Findings from this project expand our understanding of individual-level factors associated with influenza vaccine hesitancy and uptake, highlighting a psychological factor to be targeted in vaccine hesitancy interventions.

Author(s): Cameron G. Ford [sup.1] [sup.2] , Laura G. Kiken [sup.3] , Ilana Haliwa [sup.2] , Natalie J. Shook [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) Nova Behavioral Healthcare Corporation, , 2307 Norwood [...], Mindfulness-based interventions are efficacious in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms, but mechanisms underlying these benefits have not been fully elucidated. Based on cognitive theories of depression and anxiety, a reduction in negatively biased cognition may be one mechanism. We reviewed the empirical literature on mindfulness and negatively biased cognition. Thirty-seven studies met inclusion/exclusion criteria. The evidence generally indicated that mindfulness was inversely associated with negatively biased cognition, across various measures (i.e., self-reported negatively biased cognitive styles and cognitive responses to tasks involving valenced stimuli), study designs (i.e., correlational, quasi-experimental, and experimental), and samples (i.e., unselected and clinical). However, the relation was mixed for cognitive reactivity to negative emotions in recurrent depression and null for indices of quick behavioral control. Correlational evidence in unselected samples also supported an indirect relation between mindfulness and fewer depression and anxiety symptoms through less negatively biased cognition. Mindfulness may be useful for addressing this intended mechanism of traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy. Future research should more directly test the role of negatively biased cognition in protective and therapeutic effects of mindfulness.

Author(s): Holly N. Fitzgerald [sup.1] , Rachel McDonald [sup.2] , Ronald Thomas [sup.3] , Natalie J. Shook [sup.1] [sup.3] [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.63054.34, 0000 0001 0860 4915, Department of [...], Infectious disease poses a threat to reproductive fitness. However, the costs associated with infectious disease are often greater for females than males. Sexist attitudes toward females may have in part emerged from disease-avoidance concerns, in order to decrease infectious disease threat and promote reproductive success for females (and males indirectly). Across three studies, disease-avoidance tendencies were positively correlated with benevolent sexism (perceiving females as pure and in need of protection). Hostile sexism, or more traditional negative attitudes toward females, was inconsistently related to disease avoidance. Furthermore, right-wing authoritarianism partially accounted for the relation between disease avoidance and benevolent sexism, whereas right-wing authoritarianism fully accounted for the relation between disease avoidance and hostile sexism. By encouraging traditional sex roles and restricting female sexual behavior, benevolent sexism may reduce infectious disease threat in females, while maintaining positive relations between the sexes (unlike hostile sexism), which is important for reproduction.

Author(s): D. Lee McCluskey [sup.1] , Ilana Haliwa [sup.2] , Jenna M. Wilson [sup.2] , Jared W. Keeley [sup.3] , Natalie J. Shook [sup.2] [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.414059.d, 0000 [...], A substantial body of evidence indicates that mindfulness is associated with less anxiety. However, less is known about the mechanisms by which mindfulness decreases anxiety. One possibility is that mindfulness encourages individuals to be less experientially avoidant (e.g., less likely to attempt to suppress or avoid unwanted private experiences), a hallmark of anxiety. The purpose of the present research was to assess whether less experiential avoidance accounted for the inverse relation between mindfulness and anxiety. Two studies were conducted with college students (Ns = 493 and 320, respectively). Participants completed self-report measures of trait mindfulness, anxiety, and experiential avoidance online (Study 1) and in person (Study 2) for course credit. Across both studies, greater mindfulness was associated with lower experiential avoidance and anxiety, and experiential avoidance was positively associated with anxiety. Furthermore, experiential avoidance significantly accounted for the relation between mindfulness and anxiety in both studies. Alternative mediation models were also tested. These findings suggest that mindfulness may improve anxiety through its effects on experiential avoidance. Given that experiential avoidance is thought to be involved in the development and maintenance of several psychological disorders, interventions involving mindfulness training may have promising broad mental health benefits. However, further research is needed to replicate these findings across clinical populations and therapeutic settings.

Author(s): Baris Sevi [sup.1] , Nathan Altman [sup.1] , Cameron G. Ford [sup.1] , Natalie J. Shook [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.268154.c, 0000 0001 2156 6140, Department of Psychology, West [...], During the 2016-2017 season, several NFL players started kneeling during the national anthem as a protest against institutional racism. These actions sparked considerable public controversy and polarized attitudes toward the protests. Two explanations were raised in the media for differences in attitudes: sensitivity to racial inequality and respect for tradition. We examined the extent to which these explanations, as assessed by ethnocentrism and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), respectively, accounted for attitudes toward the protests in a sample of white, U.S. college students (N = 294). When examined as simultaneous predictors, RWA, but not ethnocentrism, predicted more negative attitudes toward the protests. These findings suggest that attitudes toward the protests may have been based more on how the protest was enacted (respect for tradition), rather than the topic of the protest (racial inequality).

Author(s): Natalie J. Shook [sup.1] , Rebecca K. Delaney [sup.2] , JoNell Strough [sup.1] , Jenna M. Wilson [sup.1] , Baris Sevi [sup.1] , Nathan Altman [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) [...], Older adults consistently report a lower likelihood of engaging in health and safety risks (e.g., substance use, not wearing seatbelts) than younger adults. However, the mechanisms that explain this age difference are not clear. Greater dispositional mindfulness is associated with lower engagement in health risk behaviors, and older adults tend to score higher in dispositional mindfulness than younger adults. Thus, we tested whether older adults' greater dispositional mindfulness helped to explain their lesser health and safety risk-taking propensity. Two community-dwelling samples of younger (25-36 years) and older (60+ years) adults completed self-report measures of dispositional mindfulness and health and safety risk-taking propensity. In Study 1, older adults reported greater dispositional mindfulness and a lower likelihood to engage in health and safety risk behaviors than younger adults. Greater dispositional mindfulness was associated with lesser health and safety risk-taking propensity. Importantly, older adults' greater dispositional mindfulness partially accounted for their lesser health and safety risk-taking propensity. These findings were replicated in Study 2, and an alternative mechanism (i.e., perceived health) was ruled out. The results suggest that age-related decreases in health and safety risk behaviors may be statistically explained, in part, by dispositional mindfulness. The current research has implications for behavioral interventions intended to increase preventative health behaviors and decrease health risk behaviors.

It is widely recognized that the United States needs to attract and retain more people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Intensive undergraduate research experiences (UREs) are one of the few strategies shown to improve longitudinal student interest and persistence in STEM-related career pathways; however, less is known about the underlying process linking activities to positive outcomes. The tripartite integration model of social influences (TIMSI) provides a framework for understanding the social influence processes by which students integrate into STEM careers and culture. The current study used a longitudinal design and latent growth curve modeling to examine and predict the development of scientific research career persistence intentions over the course of an intensive summer URE. The latent growth curve analysis showed that student persistence intentions declined and rebounded over the course of the summer. Furthermore, the positive impact of faculty mentor role modeling on growth trajectories was mediated through internalization of science community values. In addition, project ownership was found to buffer students from the typical trend of declining and rebounding persistence intentions. The TIMSI framework illuminates the contextual features and underlying psychological processes that link UREs to student integration into STEM careers and culture.

Social isolation and disconnectedness increase the risk of worse mental health, which might suggest that preventive health measures (i.e., self-quarantining, social distancing) negatively affect mental health. This longitudinal study examined relations of self-quarantining and social distancing with mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. A U.S. national sample (N = 1,011) completed eight weekly online surveys from March 20, 2020 to May 17, 2020. Surveys assessed self-quarantining, social distancing, anxiety, and depression. Fixed-effect autoregressive cross-lagged models provided a good fit to the data, allowing for disaggregation of between-person and within-person effects. Significant between-person effects suggested those who engaged in more self-quarantining and social distancing had higher anxiety and depression compared to those who engaged in less social distancing and quarantining. Significant within-person effects indicated those who engaged in greater social distancing for a given week experienced higher anxiety and depression that week. However, there was no support for self-quarantining or social distancing as prospective predictors of mental health, or vice versa. Findings suggest a relationship between mental health and both self-quarantining and social distancing, but further longitudinal research is required to understand the prospective nature of this relationship and identify third variables that may explain these associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence suggests that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is not static. In order to develop effective vaccine uptake interventions, we need to understand the extent to which vaccine hesitancy fluctuates and identify factors associated with both between- and within-person differences in vaccine hesitancy. The goals of the current study were to assess the extent to which COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy varied at an individual level across time and to determine whether disgust sensitivity and germ aversion were associated with between- and within-person differences in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. A national sample of U.S. adults (N = 1025; 516 woman; M age = 46.34 years, SD age = 16.56, range: 18 to 85 years; 72.6 % White) completed six weekly online surveys (March 20 – May 3, 2020). Between-person mean COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy rates were relatively stable across the six-week period (range: 38–42 %). However, there was considerable within-person variability in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Approximately, 40 % of the sample changed their vaccine hesitancy at least once during the six weeks. There was a significant between-person effect for disgust sensitivity, such that greater disgust sensitivity was associated with a lower likelihood of COVID-19 vaccine hesitance. There was also a significant within-person effect for germ aversion. Participants who experienced greater germ aversion for a given week relative to their own six week average were less likely to be COVID-19 vaccine hesitant that week relative to their own six-week average. This study provides important information on rapidly changing individual variability in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy on a weekly basis, which should be taken into consideration with any efforts to decrease vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccine uptake. Further, these findings identify-two psychological factors (disgust sensitivity and germ aversion) with malleable components that could be leveraged in developing vaccine uptake interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The fear-avoidance model of pain posits that a painful stimulus is interpreted through pain catastrophizing, which leads to negative downstream cognitions, emotions, and behaviors that shape the experience of pain. As dispositional mindfulness is associated with less catastrophizing and pain, some researchers have suggested incorporating mindfulness into the fear-avoidance model. Across two studies, we empirically tested dispositional mindfulness as a stand-alone component within the fear-avoidance model of pain. Methods: Two independent, online cross-sectional surveys (Ns = 362 and 580 U.S. adults) were conducted. Participants completed validated assessments of mindfulness, pain catastrophizing, fear of pain, pain vigilance, depression, pain intensity, and pain sensitivity. Using structural equation modeling, we tested the inclusion of dispositional mindfulness in the fear-avoidance model of pain. We proposed that greater mindfulness would be associated with less pain catastrophizing, which in turn would be associated with less fear of pain, leading to less depression, and then ultimately less pain intensity and pain sensitivity. Results: Across both studies, the fear-avoidance model of pain did not fit the data well, with or without mindfulness included. We found that a simplified model fit the data best (Study 1: χ2/df = 1.83; CFI =.981; RMSEA =.049, 90% CI [0.019, 0.076]; SRMR = 0.031; Study 2: χ2/df = 2.23; CFI =.976; RMSEA =.046, 90% CI [0.026, 0.067]; SRMR =.031), such that greater mindfulness was significantly associated with less pain catastrophizing and, in turn, lower levels of pain intensity and pain sensitivity. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that a simplified model, compared to the traditional fear-avoidance model, may partly explain the experience of pain among individuals without chronic pain. Future work should examine the temporal associations among these variables to inform the employment of future empirically supported interventions for pain management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of attitudes toward novel objects was examined as a function of exploratory behavior. An initial experiment, in which participants played a computer game that required them to learn which stimuli, when sampled, produced favorable or unfavorable outcomes, demonstrated learning, attitude formation, and generalization to novel objects. The findings also revealed 2 interesting valence asymmetries: a learning asymmetry involving better learning for negatively valenced than positively valenced objects and a generalization asymmetry involving stronger generalization as a function of negative than of positive attitudes. Findings from 4 experiments led to an explanation of the learning asymmetry in terms of information gain being contingent on approach behavior and related the generalization asymmetry to a negativity bias that weighs resemblance to a known negative more heavily than resemblance to a positive.

Older age has often, but not always, been associated with less risk taking. Inconsistencies may be due to diversity in the risk-taking measures used and/or individual differences in cognitive abilities. We investigated the robustness of age differences in risk taking across three measures, and tested whether age differences in risk taking remained after accounting for cognitive abilities. Younger (aged 25–36) and older (aged 60+) adults completed behavioral (i.e., Balloon Analogue Risk Task, BART) and self-report (i.e., framing tasks and Choice Dilemmas Questionnaire) measures of risk, as well as several measures of cognitive ability (i.e., analytic thinking, numeracy, processing speed, memory, and attention). Older adults showed significantly less risk taking than younger adults on the behavioral measure of risk, but not on the two self-report measures. Older adults also had significantly lower analytic thinking, slower processing speed, and worse executive control compared to younger adults. Less risk taking on the BART was associated with lower analytic thinking and numeracy, slower processing speed, and worse shifting of attention. Age differences in risk taking on the BART remained after accounting for older adults' lower scores on tests of cognitive abilities. Implications for measuring age differences in risk taking are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]