Search

Previous work suggests that, in some circumstances, cognitive processes can be facilitated by engaging related processes. In this study, we investigated whether engaging in mentalizing during reappraisal, an emotion regulation strategy, would lead to greater changes in affect and reduce the perceived difficulty of reappraisal. We trained participants to reappraise negative pictures through reinterpretation. For some trials, participants generated reappraisals as they would for themselves, while for others, they mentalized, generating reappraisals while taking the perspective of a specific, close friend viewing the pictures. Participants rated their own negative affect and the perceived difficulty of reappraisal both online (i.e., during the task) and immediately posttask. We observed different results for the impact of mentalizing through online and retrospective (posttask) reports. As predicted, participants retrospectively reported that reappraisal while mentalizing was less difficult and decreased their negative affect. Online, however, some evidence suggested that reappraisal while mentalizing was perceived as more difficult and resulted in greater negative affect. Overall, we did not observe a facilitative effect of mentalizing on reappraisal, but in retrospect, individuals may have believed that mentalizing was helpful for reappraisal. More broadly, these findings emphasize the importance of the cognitive context of reappraisal and different types of self-report. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Causal inference in psychological research is typically hampered by unobserved confounding. A copula-based method can be used to statistically control for this problem without the need for instruments or covariates, given relatively lenient distributional assumptions on independent variables and error terms. The current study aims to: (a) provide a user-friendly introduction to the copula method for psychology researchers, and (b) examine the degree of non-normality in the independent variables required for satisfactory performance. A Monte Carlo simulation study was used to assess the behavior of the copula method under various combinations of conditions (sample size, skewness of independent variables, effect size, and magnitude of confounding). In addition, an applied example from research on the effects of parental rearing on adult personality and life satisfaction was used to illustrate the method. Simulations revealed that the copula method performed better at higher levels of skewness in the independent variables, and that the impacts of lower skewness can be offset to some extent by larger sample size. When skewness and/or sample size is too small, the copula method is biased toward the uncorrected model. In the applied example, parental rejection/punishment predicted less adaptive personality and life satisfaction, with no evidence of confounding. For parental control/overprotection, there was evidence that confounding attenuated the estimated relationship with personality/life satisfaction. Copula adjustment is a promising method for handling unobserved confounding. The discussion focuses on how to proceed when assumptions are not quite met, and outlines potential avenues for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The pathophysiological link between adiposity and blood pressure is not completely understood, and evidence suggests an influence of sex and genetic determinants. We aimed to identify the relationship between adiposity and blood pressure, independent of a robust set of lifestyle and metabolic factors, and to examine the modulating role of sex and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphisms. In the Relationship Between Insulin Sensitivity and Cardiovascular Disease (RISC) study cohort, 1211 normotensive individuals, aged 30 to 60 years and followed-up after 3.3 years, were characterized for lifestyle and metabolic factors, body composition, and ACE genotype. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were independently associated with mean arterial pressure, with a stronger relationship in women than men (BMI: r =0.40 versus 0.30; WC: r =0.40 versus 0.30, both P ID and II ACE genotypes in both sexes ( P ACE genotype only in women ( P =0.03). A 5 cm larger WC at baseline increased the risk of developing hypertension at follow-up only in women (odds ratio, 1.56 [95% CI, 1.15–2.10], P =0.004) and in II genotype carriers (odds ratio, 1.87 [95% CI, 1.09–3.20], P =0.023). The hypertensive effect of adiposity is more pronounced in women and in people carrying the II variant of the ACE genotype, a marker of salt sensitivity.

Human actions induce attentional orienting toward the target of the action. We examined the influence of action cueing in social (man throwing toward a human) and non-social (man throwing toward a tree) contexts in observers with and without autism spectrum condition (ASC). Results suggested that a social interaction enhanced the cueing effect for neurotypical participants. Participants with ASC did not benefit from non-predictive cues and were slower in social contexts, although they benefitted from reliably predictive cues. Social orienting appears to be automatic in the context of an implied social interaction for neurotypical observers, but not those with ASC. Neurotypical participants' behavior may be driven by automatic processing, while participants with ASC use an alternative, effortful strategy.

Emotional mimicry—quick and spontaneous matching of another’s expressions—is a well-documented phenomenon that is associated with numerous social outcomes. Although the mechanisms underlying mimicry are not fully understood, there is growing awareness that it is more than a one-to-one motor matching of others’ expressions and may be the result of neural simulation. If true, it is possible that mimicry could extend to other parts of the body, even in the absence of visual information from that body part. Indeed, we found that passively viewing anger and fear expressions, without accompanying information from the body, voice or other channels, produced both facial mimicry and corresponding responses in arm muscles that make a fist or a defensive posture. This suggests that observers simulated observed expressions and that activity may have spilled over to other areas to create a body response.

People tend to match the behaviors and expressions of ingroup members or cooperative others more than outgroup members and competitors. We call this the group effect on interpersonal matching. Our review examines different types of groups to identify when different psychological factors may influence this group effect on matching. Specifically, research demonstrates that affiliation goals increase interpersonal matching; however, other factors such as attention and emotional reaction also appear important. We argue that which of these factors enhance the group effect varies depending on whether group categories are based on minimal, incidental, interdependent, or socially consequential differences. In addition, which expressions (e.g., smiles vs. frowns) are matched varies across group types. To facilitate more directed research, this review describes three key factors and provides a framework to consider which may be involved at different levels of groups. By examining different types of groups, a more complete understanding of how group differences increase or decrease interpersonal matching can be uncovered, providing additional insight into the factors influencing interpersonal matching.

Terror management theory suggests that humans invest in cultural worldviews that allay mortality-related anxiety by promising death transcendence. Many religious individuals adhere to belief in literal immortality – believing that one will live on after death. Across two studies (n = 1137), we explored the terror management function of such beliefs by exploring whether these beliefs are associated with lower death anxiety and greater meaning among individuals of varying religiousness. In both Study 1 (n = 236) and Study 2 (n = 901), belief in literal immortality was related to lower death anxiety only among intrinsically religious participants. Moreover, meaning in life mediated the relationship between belief in literal immortality and death anxiety. Study 2 clarified that this mediational relationship was only present for intrinsically religious individuals. We discuss the importance of particular religious beliefs in the provision of meaning in order to manage existential concerns.

In this paper, we examine the problem of endogeneity in the context of operations management research. Whereas the extant literature has focused primarily on the statistical aspect of the problem, a comprehensive treatment requires an examination of theoretical and pragmatic considerations as complements. The prevailing problem with the focus on statistical techniques is that the standards tend to be derived from idealizations: the correlation between a regressor and a disturbance term must be exactly zero, or the analysis will be invalid. In actual empirical research settings, such a knife-edge assumption can never be satisfied, indeed it cannot even be directly tested. Idealizations are useful in helping us understand what it would take to eliminate endogeneity, but when applied directly and unconditionally, they lead to unreasonable standards that may unnecessarily stifle substantive inquiry. We believe that it is far more productive and meaningful to ask: “What can we realistically expect empirical scientists to be able to achieve?” To this end, we cover and revisit some of the general technical material on endogeneity, paying special attention to the idiosyncrasies of operations management research and what could constitute reasonable criteria for addressing endogeneity in empirical operations management studies.

People often mimic others more if the other is liked, a member of an ingroup, or in a cooperative relationship with the observer; we call this the interpersonal attitude effect. This study examines the degree to which this attitude effect on mimicry is an automatic or an effortful process. While under cognitive load or no load, participants observed positive, negative, and neutral others making emotional expressions. Electromyography measured corrugator supercilii (knits brow) and zygomaticus major (raises corners of mouth) activity. Under load, participants mimicked smiles of positive individuals but not neutral or negative individuals. During no-load trials, participants did not mimic negative individuals, but did mimic smiles of neutral and positive individuals. Participants enhanced their smiles in response to the smiles of liked others without effort, but smiling at neutral others’ smiles required greater cognitive resources.

This chapter provides a cost-benefit analysis of developmental crime prevention. From a life-course perspective, developmental prevention offers an intriguing solution to address growing concerns regarding current criminal justice practices, given the growing body of research that suggests that this type of intervention is both results-oriented and fiscally responsible. To this end, this chapter lays out the case for the economics of developmental crime prevention. It next provides an overview of the methodological basis, and related considerations, of a cost-benefit analysis, which assigns monetary values to program outcomes relative to program costs so as to provide an estimate of the financial return on investment. The chapter then reviews the leading cost-benefit analysis studies in developmental crime prevention today and offers a glimpse at the future of such research.

Several calls have been made for replacing coefficient α with more contemporary model-based reliability coefficients in psychological research. Under the assumption of unidimensional measurement scales and independent measurement errors, two leading alternatives are composite reliability and maximal reliability. Of these two, the maximal reliability statistic, or equivalently Hancock's H, has received a significant amount of attention in recent years. The difference between composite reliability and maximal reliability is that the former is a reliability index for a scale mean (or unweighted sum), whereas the latter estimates the reliability of a scale score where indicators are weighted differently based on their estimated reliabilities. The formula for the maximal reliability weights has been derived using population quantities; however, their finite-sample behavior has not been extensively examined. Particularly, there are two types of bias when the maximal reliability statistic is calculated from sample data: (a) the sample maximal reliability estimator is a positively biased estimator of population maximal reliability, and (b) the true reliability of composites formed with maximal reliability weights calculated from sample data is on average less than the population reliability. Both effects are more pronounced in small-sample scenarios (e.g.

Theories of speech perception agree that visual input enhances the understanding of speech but disagree on whether physically mimicking the speaker improves understanding. This study investigated whether facial motor mimicry facilitates visual speech perception by testing whether blocking facial motor action impairs speechreading performance. Thirty-five typically developing children (19 boys; 16 girls; M age = 7 years) completed the Revised Craig Lipreading Inventory under two conditions. While observing silent videos of 15 words being spoken, participants either held a tongue depressor horizontally with their teeth (blocking facial motor action) or squeezed a ball with one hand (allowing facial motor action). As hypothesized, blocking motor action resulted in fewer correctly understood words than that of the control task. The results suggest that facial mimicry or other methods of facial action support visual speech perception in children. Future studies on the impact of motor action on the typical and atypical development of speech perception are warranted.

Minitheories aim to understand relatively specific phenomena, in contrast to larger scale or grand theories that aim to be comprehensive, inclusive theories of the psychology of religion. By focusing on more narrow phenomena or questions, minitheories allow clearer delineation of concepts, facilitate attention to questions that drive interest in the psychology of religion and enhance the applicability of the findings, support investigation of diverse topics, accelerate scientific progress, and help the psychology of religion connect with other areas of psychology. Risks of a minitheory approach include dispersion of effort, hobbling development of promising grand theories, generating a disconnected hodgepodge of findings, and deemphasizing the importance of theory. The advantages of minitheories can be strengthened and the risks decreased by explicitly tying each study to the larger intellectual and theoretical context, intentionally connecting minitheory-driven studies to each other, and valuing theoreti...

Managing existential concerns is theorized to be a key function of religion. We posit that priming religion should be related to greater existential security for those high in intrinsic religiosity. In Experiment 1, priming religion increased intercultural tolerance among individuals who were highly intrinsically religious but decreased it for those low in intrinsic religiousness. In Experiment 2, intrinsic religiousness again moderated the effects of the prime, suggesting that priming religion resulted in attenuated afterlife anxiety for intrinsically religious individuals but greater anxiety for individuals low in intrinsic religiousness. Religious reminders appeared to provide existential security—evidenced by tolerance and reduced death anxiety—only to those high in intrinsic religiousness and can be threatening to those low in intrinsic religiousness. Existential outcomes are a specific case in which intrinsic religiousness can moderate the effects of religious primes, suggesting that religion plays a different existential role for different people.

Declining oil production and increasing water cut in mature fields highlight the need for improved conformance control. Here we report on a successful in-depth water diversion treatment using sodium silicate to increase oil recovery at the Snorre field, offshore Norway, utilizing a new operational concept of using a stimulation vessel as a platform for the large-scale injection into a subsea well. A custom modified 35,000 DWT shuttle tanker was employed for the field pilot. This paper describes the vessel preparations and the large-scale interwell silicate injection operation. The operational aspects of the large-scale interwell silicate injection include; identification of injection vessel requirements, major vessel modifications, chemical logistic, general logistics to site, major equipment set-up on vessel, subsea connection, mixing and pumping schedules, onsite QC, and real time monitoring. Experience from these operations and lessons learned are included in this paper. After the injection of approximately 400,000 Sm3 (113,000 Sm3 preflush, followed by 240,000 Sm3 of sodium silicate gelant and 49,000 Sm3 of postflush fluid) at injection rates up to 4,000 Sm3/d, the injection from the vessel was stopped and the well was put on regular seawater injection. Following more than two years of regular production, transient pressure measurements, tracer testing and water cut data are presented from the ongoing comprehensive data acquisition program. These results demonstrate clearly the achieved in-depth flow diversion through a delayed breakthrough of injected tracers and lower water cut in the relevant production well.

A recent article by Krause (Qual Quant, doi: 10.1007/s11135-012-9712-5 , Krause (2012)) maintains that: (1) it is untenable to characterize the error term in multiple regression as simply an extraneous random influence on the outcome variable, because any amount of error implies the possibility of one or more omitted, relevant explanatory variables; and (2) the only way to guarantee the prevention of omitted variable bias and thereby justify causal interpretations of estimated coefficients is to construct fully specified models that completely eliminate the error term. The present commentary argues that such an extreme position is impractical and unnecessary, given the availability of specialized techniques for dealing with the primary statistical consequence of omitted variables, namely endogeneity, or the existence of correlations between included explanatory variables and the error term. In particular, the current article discusses the method of instrumental variable estimation, which can resolve the endogeneity problem in causal models where one or more relevant explanatory variables are excluded, thus allowing for accurate estimation of effects. An overview of recent methodological resources and software for conducting instrumental variables estimation is provided, with the aim of helping to place this crucial technique squarely in the statistical toolkit of applied researchers.

This study addressed the relative reliance on face and body configurations for different types of emotion-related judgements: emotional state and motion intention. Participants viewed images of people with either emotionally congruent (both angry or fearful) or incongruent (angry/fearful; fearful/angry) faces and bodies. Congruent conditions provided baseline responses. Incongruent conditions revealed relative reliance on face and body information for different judgements. Body configurations influenced motion-intention judgements more than facial configurations: incongruent pairs with angry bodies were more frequently perceived as moving forward than those with fearful bodies; pairs with fearful bodies were more frequently perceived as moving away. In contrast, faces influenced emotional-state judgements more, but bodies moderated ratings of face emotion. Thus, both face and body configurations influence emotion perception, but the type of evaluation required influences their relative contributions. These findings highlight the importance of considering both the face and body as important sources of emotion information.

This special issue focuses on a phenomenon studied by only a handful of organised crime scholars to date – criminal group mobility. The contributions in this issue evolved out of discussion papers commissioned by the Department of Public Safety Canada in 2010 for the 12th National and 15th International Metropolis conferences, and cover a wide variety of economic, social, and law enforcement issues related to the mobility of criminal groups. In this introductory article, we provide the general background and context for the collection, as well as a brief overview of each of the four papers. It is our hope that this special issue will inspire further rigorous research on this important topic, as well as help contribute toward the development of effective strategies for preventing the spread of organised crime.

Simple reciprocal matching behaviors, such as facial mimicry, appear fundamental to social development and interpersonal processes. Identifying mechanisms and moderators of these reactions to others' behaviors is thus important to understanding basic social–emotional functioning and specific clinical syndromes. This experiment extends early electromyographic (EMG) research (Berger & Hadley, 1975) to explore whether rapid, subtle mimicry involves a general motor-matching mechanism (e.g., the mirror neuron system) or if it is related solely to emotional processes. The EMG measured responses to short, dynamic videos of smiling, scowling, stuttering, and arm wrestling. Although mimicry of emotional stimuli was greater than to nonemotional stimuli, participants matched both nonemotional mouth movements and facial expressions of emotions. Mimicry of arm motions was not significant. Individuals' levels of mimicry of emotional and nonemotional were positively correlated. Findings suggest that both motor and affective processes are involved in producing rapid mimetic reactions to dynamic stimuli.

Objective Tibetans and Sherpas have long been revered for their physical aptitude at high altitude, and are thought to have lived at high altitude longer than any other culture. We performed physiologic testing on 2 Sherpas who currently hold world records for: (1) most number of ascents of Mt Everest and (2) speed ascent of Mt Everest from base camp to the summit. In doing so, we describe certain physiological aspects of these individuals that may contribute to their abilities at altitude. Methods Anthropometric measurements, blood testing, and electro- and echocardiographic examination as well as pulmonary function tests were performed. Exercise testing consisted of treadmill climbing at increasing incline and speed while wearing a 22 kg backpack in Salt Lake City (1325 m) and Park City (2063 m). Results Anthropometry, electrocardiography, pulmonary function, strength, and echocardiography were consistent with predicted parameters for the general population. The Sherpas demonstrated appropriate cardiopulmonary response to dynamic exercise similar to moderately fit individuals while performing treadmill testing, both at moderate and high altitude. As expected, the energetic cost increased at higher altitude, likely due to increased respiratory work. Conclusion The 2 world-record Sherpa climbers were within normal ranges for the specific measurements that were tested. They displayed appropriate cardiopulmonary and physiological responses and exercise performance profiles at moderate and high altitude.

This study examined how one’s own posture influences the perception of another’s posture in a task withimplicit affective information. In 2 experiments, participants assumed or viewed a body posture and thencomparedthatposturewithaviewedposture.Theywerenottoldthatposturesvariedinaffectivevalence:positive, negative, neutral-abstract, or neutral-meaningful. Posture affect influenced both accuracy andresponse time measures of posture discrimination. Participants were slower and less accurate for targetsthat matched an assumed posture, but only for affective postures. This pattern did not hold for matchingaffectively neutral postures (meaningful or not), nonmatching postures, or for purely visual comparisons.These results are consistent with both cognitive embodiment theories postulating that personal bodyposture influences the perception of other’s postures and emotional embodiment theories postulatingsensorimotor and emotional simulation processes that create correspondences between one’s own andanother’s emotional postures. Nonetheless, these findings differ from studies finding facilitation forexplicitemotionaljudgmentsofaffectivecongruence.Peopleusedifferentinformationdependingontaskrequirements. The assumption of an affective posture may activate simulations of personal emotionalexperiences that may, in turn, serve to differentiate personal posture perception from ostensibly the sameposture in another person.Keywords: emotion, affect, body perception, embodiment

This study investigated the hypothesis that different emotions are most effectively conveyed through specific, nonverbal channels of communication: body, face, and touch. Experiment 1 assessed the production of emotion displays. Participants generated nonverbal displays of 11 emotions, with and without channel restrictions. For both actual production and stated preferences, participants favored the body for embarrassment, guilt, pride, and shame; the face for anger, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness; and touch for love and sympathy. When restricted to a single channel, participants were most confident about their communication when production was limited to the emotion's preferred channel. Experiment 2 examined the reception or identification of emotion displays. Participants viewed videos of emotions communicated in unrestricted and restricted conditions and identified the communicated emotions. Emotion identification in restricted conditions was most accurate when participants viewed emotions displayed via the emotion's preferred channel. This study provides converging evidence that some emotions are communicated predominantly through different nonverbal channels. Further analysis of these channel-emotion correspondences suggests that the social function of an emotion predicts its primary channel: The body channel promotes social-status emotions, the face channel supports survival emotions, and touch supports intimate emotions.

Although religiousness is tied to coping, little work examines the role of specific religious beliefs in the coping process. Applying the transactional model of coping, positivity of God image and vertical religious focus were assessed in a national sample of 103 parents of children with disabilities. Controlling for general religiousness, these specific beliefs were correlated with parents' appraisals. Positive God image was associated positively with appraisals that the disability is a challenge, a benefit, and God is in control; it was associated negatively with loss appraisal. Vertical religious focus was associated positively with the appraisal that God is in control. Consistent with the model, appraisals mediated the relation between specific beliefs and coping strategies. Loss appraisal mediated the relation of vertical focus and God image with engagement coping and the appraisal that God is in control further explained the relation between vertical focus and engagement coping.

Several trauma-specific and emotion theories suggest that alterations in children's typical affective responses may serve an attachment function in the context of abuse by a caregiver or close other. For example, inhibiting negative emotional responses or expressions might help the child preserve a relationship with an abusive caregiver. Past research in this area has relied on self-report methods to discover links between affective responsiveness and caregiver abuse. Extending this literature, the current study used facial electromyography to assess affective responsiveness with 2 measures: mimicry of emotional facial expressions and affective modulation of startle. We predicted that women who reported childhood abuse by close others would show alterations in affective responsiveness relative to their peers. We tested 100 undergraduate women who reported histories of (a) childhood sexual or physical abuse by someone close, such as a parent (high-betrayal); (b) childhood abuse by someone not close (low-betrayal); or (c) no abuse in childhood (no-abuse). Especially when viewing women's emotional expressions, the high-betrayal group showed more mimicry of happy and less mimicry of angry faces relative to women who reported no- or low-betrayal abuse, who showed the opposite pattern. Furthermore, women who reported high-betrayal abuse showed less affective modulation of startle during pictures depicting men threatening women than did the other two groups. Findings suggest that, as predicted by betrayal trauma theory, women who have experienced high-betrayal abuse show alterations in automatic emotional processes consistent with caregiving-maintenance goals in an abusive environment.

Behavioral evidence suggests that emotion processing deficits in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may occur at the level of basic (early, rapid, automatic) affective processes. Consistently, neurological evidence indicates that key brain areas associated with basic affective processing are atypical in ASD. The current study sought to better specify these deficits by comparing different components of basic affective processing in 14 adolescents and adults with ASD and 14 typical controls matched for age and verbal ability. Participants viewed affective pictures, and their responses were assessed with (i) affective eyeblink startle modulation, an indicator of the brain's aversive motivational system; (ii) facial electromyography, an online indicator of implicit valence appraisal; and (iii) self-report, an indicator of overt valence appraisal. The results show that in contrast to the typical pattern, in which exposure to negative stimuli increases startle whereas exposure to positive stimuli decreases startle, individuals with ASD showed startle potentiation to both positive and negative stimuli. Atypical potentiation during positive stimuli occurred despite individuals with ASD demonstrating appropriate implicit valence appraisals, reflected in their facial EMG responses, and appropriate overt appraisals, reflected in their self-reported ratings of the stimuli. Potentiation of startle to both positive and negative stimuli suggests a disruption in basic affective processes in ASD at the level of the early motivational response. This atypical pattern of responses has implications for understanding social and emotion deficits in ASD and calls for further investigation of basic affective processes.

Successful social functioning requires quick and accurate processing of emotion and generation of appropriate reactions. In typical individuals, these skills are supported by embodied processing, recruiting central and peripheral mechanisms. However, emotional processing is atypical in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals with ASD show deficits in recognition of briefly presented emotional expressions. They tend to recognize expressions using rule-based, rather than template, strategies. Individuals with ASD also do not spontaneously and quickly mimic emotional expressions, unless the task encourages engagement. When processing emotional scenes, ASD individuals show atypical basic motivational responses, despite intact ability to verbally determine stimulus valence. We discuss how these findings highlight the contribution of both embodied and disembodied mechanisms to typical and atypical emotional functioning.

Individuals frequently perceive positive changes in themselves following adversity; after a collective trauma, they may perceive such benefits in others or in their society as well. We examined perceived benefits of the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks in a 3-year study of a national sample of adults (N = 1382). Many individuals (57.8%) perceived social benefits of 9/11, including increased prosocial behavior, religiousness, or political engagement. Individuals who found increased national religiosity as a benefit 2 months post-9/11 reported greater positive affect and life satisfaction and lower distress and posttraumatic stress up to 3 years post-9/11. Pre-9/11 religiousness and Republican political affiliation predicted perceiving religion-related social benefits post-9/11. Perceptions of social change are important but understudied responses to stressful events.

Are specific religious beliefs related to interpretations of stressful events and available coping resources? The present study addressed this by assessing appraisals, general religiousness, and two specific beliefs—verticality (deity-centered vs. person-focused approach to religion) and God image—in 63 Christian and Jewish undergraduates coping with the 2005 hurricane season. Primary appraisals (interpretation of the stressor as a challenge, threat, loss, and benefit) and secondary appraisals (perception of whether self, others, and God have control over the stressor) were related to religion. By controlling for general religiousness, unique associations of specific beliefs with appraisals were identified. General religiousness was positively associated with interpreting hurricane-related events as a loss for the Christian participants and as a benefit for the Jewish participants. For both groups, general religiousness and God image were related positively to perception that God was in control, and verti...

Developments in genetics, cyber-technology, nanotechnology, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and other areas hold the promise-and the peril-of redefining what it means to be human. At the same time, competitive pressures among states, firms, and emerging 'superempowered individuals' encourages the development and dissemination of these technologies. An emerging 'transhuman' movement, complete with a political program, has so far tended to systematically underestimate the security implications of directed evolution, even as the possibilities of these tools to produce a competitive advantage are being explored by actors in conflict. This paper explores the consequences of what Francis Fukuyama has called 'the most dangerous idea'-the potential modification of human nature-for global and human security. It finds that directed evolution and transhuman technologies will affect lives, liberty, and justice on a fundamental level. They will not solve the problems of human security. Politics and security will continue to challenge our descendents, whatever forms or enhancements they possess.

Typical adults mimic facial expressions within 1000 ms, but adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) do not. These rapid facial reactions (RFRs) are associated with the development of social-emotional abilities. Such interpersonal matching may be caused by motor mirroring or emotional responses. Using facial electromyography (EMG), this study evaluated mechanisms underlying RFRs during childhood and examined possible impairment in children with ASD. Experiment 1 found RFRs to happy and angry faces (not fear faces) in 15 typically developing children from 7 to 12 years of age. RFRs of fear (not anger) in response to angry faces indicated an emotional mechanism. In 11 children (8-13 years of age) with ASD, Experiment 2 found undifferentiated RFRs to fear expressions and no consistent RFRs to happy or angry faces. However, as children with ASD aged, matching RFRs to happy faces increased significantly, suggesting the development of processes underlying matching RFRs during this period in ASD.

The present study used Canadian National Longitudinal data to examine a model of the mechanisms through which the effects of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions impact young children's verbal and behavioral outcomes (N= 3,528; M age = 5.05 years, SD= 0.86). Integrating elements of social disorganization theory and family stress models, and results from structural equation models suggest that both neighborhood and family mechanisms played an important role in the transmission of neighborhood socioeconomic effects. Neighborhood disadvantage manifested its effect via lower neighborhood cohesion, which was associated with maternal depression and family dysfunction. These processes were, in turn, related to less consistent, less stimulating, and more punitive parenting behaviors, and ultimately, poorer child outcomes.

This paper highlights unique aspects of social support in a religious context, with an emphasis on the practice of prayer. We first discus presuppositions that drive work in the area including (1) adoption of a “medical model” of evaluation and (2) the corollary influence of existential chauvinism. We next outline how religious groups differ from others with respect to the provision of meaning, the position of a deity, and the practice of prayer. Examining the latter facet in detail, we explore possible ways in which prayer is related to physical behaviors (e.g., folding hands, bowing head, closing eyes) that may promote and intensify internal experiences of social support independent of the actual content of the prayer itself.

On April 20, 1999, two angry students attacked Columbine High School. The unprecedented murder/suicide resulted in 15 deaths, more than 20 injuries, and thousands of psychologically traumatized individuals. We present a qualitative analysis of interviews conducted two weeks after the incident with 4 Columbine High School students and 7 parents who were directly and indirectly affected. Findings highlight both similarities and variability in immediate emotional, cognitive, and social responses to the mass violence. Helpful and unhelpful support attempts are noted. Implications of the media's heavy involvement in sensational traumas are discussed, emphasizing important considerations for future research on the psychological effects of school violence.

Two studies examined how non-interpersonal forgiveness (when there is no social relationship between the transgressor and forgiver) related to coping and involuntary responses to stress, psychological distress, and religiosity. Three to six weeks after September 11th, 2001, forgiveness had non-linear associations with other responses to the terrorist attacks. Among college students (N=488), those who were trying or had forgiven (pro-forgiveness) the terrorists reported less involuntary engagement, more primary and secondary control coping, and more meaning finding than those who were unsure about forgiveness (ambivalent) and those who did not believe the perpetrators should be forgiven (anti-forgiveness). Ambivalent students reported the most distress, even after controlling for religion. Anti-forgiveness students reported less religiosity than ambivalent and pro-forgiveness students. Most findings were consistent among middle schoolers (N=154), particularly regarding psychological distress and responses to stress. Also, forgiveness of strangers for acts against one's community functioned separately from religion.

With seemingly few exceptions, current practice in structural equation modelling (SEM) aims at establishing close rather than exact fit between hypothetical models and observed data. This orientation has gone without serious challenge until the appearance of a sharp critique by Barrett (2007) , who suggests discontinuing the use of approximate fit indices (AFIs) in SEM. The present article provides a commentary and elaboration on the key aspects of Barrett’s position, and also supplies further practical guidance and methodological references to applied researchers, who may be motivated to significantly alter their modelling practices in order to address the issues he raises. I strongly support his calls for performing more detailed diagnostic examinations of model misfit when confronted with a significant chi-square ( χ 2 ) test statistic, rather than simply deferring to AFIs. However, I do not second the recommendation that assessments of a model’s predictive accuracy (e.g., R 2 values) can supplant a focused search for the reasons underlying significant global misfit. Accordingly, some misconceptions about the relationship between global model fit and predictive accuracy are pointed out, and modified advice is given to practitioners. Issues surrounding how to properly appraise a model yielding a non-significant χ 2 are also discussed, as are concerns raised by Barrett about small sample size and power in SEM. It is concluded that AFIs offer little value-added in SEM practice, given the wide variety of available methods for performing detailed model assessments. However, I leave the issue of whether AFIs should be completely abandoned to future research.

Within a second of seeing an emotional facial expression, people typically match that expression. These rapid facial reactions (RFRs), often termed mimicry, are implicated in emotional contagion, social perception, and embodied affect, yet ambiguity remains regarding the mechanism(s) involved. Two studies evaluated whether RFRs to faces are solely nonaffective motor responses or whether emotional processes are involved. Brow (corrugator, related to anger) and forehead (frontalis, related to fear) activity were recorded using facial electromyography (EMG) while undergraduates in two conditions (fear induction vs. neutral) viewed fear, anger, and neutral facial expressions. As predicted, fear induction increased fear expressions to angry faces within 1000 ms of exposure, demonstrating an emotional component of RFRs. This did not merely reflect increased fear from the induction, because responses to neutral faces were unaffected. Considering RFRs to be merely nonaffective automatic reactions is inaccurate. RFRs are not purely motor mimicry; emotion influences early facial responses to faces. The relevance of these data to emotional contagion, autism, and the mirror system-based perspectives on imitation is discussed.

The partial least squares technique (PLS) has been touted as a viable alternative to latent variable structural equation modeling (SEM) for evaluating theoretical models in the differential psychology domain. We bring some balance to the discussion by reviewing the broader methodological literature to highlight: (1) the misleading characterization of PLS as an SEM method; (2) limitations of PLS for global model testing; (3) problems in testing the significance of path coefficients; (4) extremely high false positive rates when using empirical confidence intervals in conjunction with a new “sign-change correction” for path coefficients; (5) misconceptions surrounding the supposedly superior ability of PLS to handle small sample sizes and non-normality; and (6) conceptual and statistical problems with formative measurement and the application of PLS to such models. Additionally, we also reanalyze the dataset provided by Willaby et al. (2015; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.09.008 ) to highlight the limitations of PLS. Our broader review and analysis of the available evidence makes it clear that PLS is not useful for statistical estimation and testing.

The current study examines the longitudinal relationship between dementia-related challenging behaviors (e.g., vocal disruption, physical aggression, repetitive behaviors, and restlessness) and cognitive functioning in the long-term care (LTC) context. A multivariate latent growth curve model within the structural equation modeling (SEM) framework was applied to data collected from 16,804 older adults upon admission to LTC and every 3 months for a period of 2.5 years. Increases in challenging behaviors were characterized by a significant positive linear and negative quadratic trend (i.e., a subtle leveling off at later assessment times), whereas increases in cognitive impairment were characterized by a positive linear trend. On average, individuals who were more cognitively impaired upon entry into LTC and who exhibited a steeper increase in cognitive impairment also exhibited more challenging behaviors at entry into LTC and a steeper increase in challenging behaviors, respectively. At the within-person level, individuals demonstrating an increase in cognitive impairment at a specific occasion were also more likely to demonstrate an increase in challenging behaviors at that same occasion; however, the magnitude of these effects was very small, suggesting limited practical implications. This study provides novel empirical evidence about the coevolution of cognitive impairment and challenging behaviors, going beyond prior research that has been either cross-sectional in nature, examined longitudinal change in only 1 variable, or simply looked at linear trends without attempting to explore the possibility of nonlinear change. Most importantly, this longitudinal examination of persons with dementia living in LTC has implications for how challenging behaviors can be better managed and for how new strategies can be implemented to prevent challenging behaviors.