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Research has reliably shown a negative association between materialism and relationship well-being. This study examined a possible link between materialism and self-disclosure exchange, a process that is central to relationship adjustment. To address this question, we recruited dating couples for a videotaped self-disclosure task. In each session, partners took turns to be a discloser or a listener. Participants' disclosure level (when they were disclosers) and responsiveness level (when they were listeners) were assessed by ratings from the participants, their partner, and trained coders. The results showed that actor's disclosure level was negatively associated with partner's materialism, whereas actor's responsiveness was negatively associated with actor's and partner's materialism. Materialism appears to be related to poor self-disclosure processes within close relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Two studies examined how members of Chinese subgroups, namely Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese, perceived attributes reflected by acts in positive and negative news about the Sichuan earthquake in China as prototypical of the superordinate category of Chinese as a whole. Mainland Chinese, but not Hong Kong Chinese, perceived positive acts as more prototypical of Chinese than negative acts, and identification with the superordinate category mediated this effect of subgroup membership on perceived prototypicality. In addition, cynical beliefs moderated the interaction between group identification and event valence on perceived prototypicality. When social cynicism was high, positive versus negative acts were considered as more prototypical of Chinese among high identifiers whereas the reverse pattern was found among low identifiers. However, when social cynicism was low, positive and negative acts were considered as equally prototypical regardless of Chinese identification. These results revealed the motivational and cognitive forces underlying the construction of group prototypes, and underscored the added value of social axioms in understanding perceptions of culturally salient events. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Who are more vulnerable to experiencing mixed emotions? Previous studies have attempted to provide answers by exploring the role of dispositional motivations and cognitive representations. Little is known about how the perceiver’s cognitive style affects mixed emotions. To partially fill this research gap, the present, 15-wave research tested the role of one’s dialectical thinking, which is defined as the tolerance of apparently contradictory or ambivalent beliefs, on mixed emotions in 15 positive and 15 negative life events. The study demonstrated an interaction effect between dialectical thinking and event valence on mixed emotions. Specifically, non-dialectical thinkers tended to experience more mixed emotions in positive than in negative events. This pattern is consistent with the notion that individuals use positive emotions to oppose or repair the pain of aversive events. However, dialectical thinkers experienced comparable levels of mixed emotions in both positive and negative events. This pattern is consistent with the notion that individuals’ balanced appraisal of events can create ambivalence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Large-pore FDU-12 (LP-FDU-12) silicas with face-centered cubic structures of spherical mesopores of diameter 16–26nm were synthesized using Pluronic F127 triblock copolymer template. The materials were characterized using small-angle X-ray scattering and nitrogen adsorption. The initial temperature range suitable for LP-FDU-12 synthesis was shown to be much wider than that reported earlier (7–15°C vs. 14–15°C). However, the degree of structural ordering was lower and the pore size distribution was broader in case of temperatures of 7–9°C. The removal of the template by calcination resulted in a significant shrinkage (unit-cell parameter decrease by 10–16%) and afforded samples with low adsorption capacity, unless the synthesis involved a hydrothermal treatment in an HCl solution, which reduced the shrinkage and significantly increased the pore volume. The selection of time and temperature of the acid treatment allowed us to adjust the pore diameter of LP-FDU-12. However, the broadening of pore size distribution was observed for excessively long treatments at 130°C. The treatment at 130°C allowed us to tailor the pore entrance size in LP-FDU-12. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Past research has shown that domain-specific situational information may shape one’s global affective judgment. Which specific dimensions of a domain, however, are used for making these judgments? To address this question in the interpersonal domain, the present research employed a seven-wave, longitudinal design, measuring the average and total amount of an individual’s positive and negative experiences arising from their most frequent social contacts across the prior week. Multilevel analyses showed that neither the average nor the total amount of interpersonal experiences influenced their global affective judgments. However, extraversion and neuroticism did increase the influence of the average amount (not the total amount) of interpersonal experiences on affective judgments. The implications of these moderating effects of personality on valenced interpersonal experiences were discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A series of porous polymers with different pore volumes, pore sizes, and crosslinking densities were synthesized by high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) polymerization. The crosslinked polymerized HIPEs (polyHIPEs) were formed by the copolymerization of 4-vinylbenzyl chloride and divinylbenzene using water droplets in conventional or Pickering HIPEs as the templates. These porous materials were further modified by quaternization and ion exchange to introduce quaternary ammonium hydroxide groups. The resulting polyHIPEs were utilized as sorbents for reversible CO2 capture from air using the humidity swing. The effect of pore structure on the CO2 adsorption and desorption processes was studied. The polyHIPEs containing large pores and interconnected porous structures showed improved swing sizes and faster adsorption/desorption kinetics of CO2 compared to a commercial Excellion membrane with similar functional groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Polymer-grafted inorganic nanoparticles are being developed for a diverse array of applications, ranging from drug delivery to multifunctional composites. In many instances, performance of these core-shell hybrids is limited by relatively broad distributions of size and composition, as well as the presence of impurities, such as unattached polymer chains. Herein, further synthetic improvements, and associated characterization techniques, to enhance the fraction of the grafted polystyrene shell on silica hybrid nanoparticles are discussed. We found that during surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) from the silica nanoparticles, thermal self-initiation of styrene produces unattached polymer chains. Size exclusion chromatography afforded a facile approach to quantify the mass of the unattached polymer, and provide a substantial refinement to estimates of chain graft density beyond traditionally-used approaches, such as thermogravimetry. This fraction of unattached polymer is still present even after post-polymerization work-up via precipitation and re-dissolution. Removal necessitates additional procedures, such as high speed centrifugation. Selection of a lower polymerization temperature, in concert with a more reactive Cu complex, significantly reduces the amount of unattached polystyrene impurity. The improved polymerization conditions and post-polymerization purification provide more refined polystyrene-grafted silica nanoparticles to clarify structure-property relationships of these core-shell hybrids. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]