Some empirical evidence for ecological dissonance theory

Using Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory as a model, the extension to Barker's ecological theory, referred to as ecological dissonance theory, was developed. Designed to examine the motivational dynamics involved when environmental systems are in conflict with each other or with cognitive systems, ecological dissonance theory yielded five propositions which were tested in 10 studies. This summary of the studies suggests operationally defined measures of ecological dissonance may correlate with workers' satisfaction with their jobs, involvement with their jobs, alienation from their work, and to a lesser extent, workers' conflict resolution behavior and communication style.

Narratives of smoking relapse: the stories of postpartum women

Many women who stop smoking during pregnancy relapse soon after the birth of their infants. Using narrative research, experiences of smoking relapse were explored using interviews with 27 postpartum women. The stories of relapse were analyzed to identify important components, paying attention to commonalities, differences, and areas of emphasis. Five general story lines were identified: (1) controlling one's smoking (starting with a "puff" and consciously restricting the amount smoked); (2) being vulnerable to smoking(relapsing because of an inability to resist cigarettes); (3) nostalgia for one's former self(relapsing to recapture feelings of freedom and happier times); (4) smoking for relief(relapsing to manage emotions and stress); and (5) never really having quit (relapsing because they did not quit for themselves). The findings of this study provide support for the claim that the experiences of smoking cessation and relapse among postpartum women may be unique and, consequently, may require specialized intervention.

The effect of self-discrepancy and discrepancy salience on alcohol consumption

The effect of self-discrepancy magnitude and salience on alcohol consumption was examined in an ad lib drinking study in order to evaluate the utility of the self-inflation component of the myopia model for better understanding drinking practices. Participants were 33 males and 27 females recruited on a university campus. It was predicted that participants with relatively large real self/ideal self discrepancies on dimensions important to their self-concept would consume the greatest amount of alcohol in a wine tasting test. Moreover, this effect was expected to be enhanced when self-discrepancies were made salient. The results of hierarchical regression analyses showed a main effect of gender and a significant interaction between self-discrepancy magnitude and salience condition. However, the interaction was such that wine consumption tended to decrease as discrepancy magnitude increased in the condition in which self-discrepancies were made salient, with the opposite relationship in the control condition. Three possible reasons for the unexpected findings are discussed: (a) The salience manipulation did not perform as expected: (b) the sample had little to gain from self-inflation: and (c) typically, self-inflation does not significantly motivate alcohol consumption.

Effects of gender marking in pronominal coindexation

The naming latency of a pronoun was measured when a single previously presented name in a discourse either agreed or did not agree with the pronoun in gender and person. An effect of agreement was found both under conditions in which subjects were likely to have engaged in strategic processing of the pronoun (Experiment 1) and under conditions in which this was unlikely (Experiment 3). The effect of gender agreement was also investigated when two noun phrases were present in the discourse. The results continued to show an immediate effect of gender agreement (naming latencies increased when a pronoun did not agree with one of two previously presented nouns) under experimental conditions likely to engender strategic processing (Experiment 2). This last effect was not significant under experimental conditions that were not likely to engender strategic processing (Experiment 3). The results are discussed in terms of models of the process of identifying the referent of a pronoun in a discourse.

Part 2: Fear of contagion, fear of intimacy

In this second part of the trilogy, I review the concepts of panic, the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, and how internally inconsistent opinions and attitudes can be made consistent (or consonant). The theory explains, in some measure, how AIDS has been socialized into our thinking about identity, and goes beyond a medical condition. The pervasive identification of gay men with HIV and AIDS has resulted for many in an over-identification with fears of contagion and on a societal level in a fear of all gays as pools of contagion. The conversion of dissonance to consonance has taken many forms; within the gay community it has resulted in the rejection of the "100% safe-100% of the time" safe-sex message, and the adoption (for many) of a new form of deviant label-someone who is not in conformity with the social norm of gay community sexual behavior. However, we shall see that this so-called norm is a sham-that many gay men do not, as a rule, practice safe(r) sex on a consistent basis. This information indicates that the educational efforts of the last decade have at best lost their potency, and at worst were less than efficacious to begin with. The dissonant messages have also informed both the construction of the gay community and its interpretation of what it means to be gay. The result has been a tri-lateral perception of HIV and AIDS as either a medical, political or a social phenomenon. This fragmented understanding has exacerbated the already polarized ASOs and GSOs in that each has determined its ideology based on a particular interpretation of HIV and AIDS. This polarization has been operationalized by the GSOs and ASOs primarily in the manner by which they define their target markets, and more importantly, in the manner by which they exclude certain gays from participation. At the extreme, some gay men feel entirely left out of the community, and are consequently unable to convert their dissonance regarding being gay into consonance, if only by developing some associational ties with the community. The central question of the sustainability of the gay movement is thus partly answered by restating the nature of the fractures in the community. Kiesler's determinants regarding change relate directly to the sustainability question-can GSOs and ASOs, given their pluralistic ideologies and constituencies, break free of the constraints that are posed by these determinants? Would the adherents and conscious constituents defect from their organizations, and form new ones (thus reifying the fractures that already exist)? On the other hand, is there a sense of community and identity that will function as a bonding agent to encourage coalition building and social reorganization? The matter may turn on the issue of selective rewards: can a coalition of ASOs and GSOs provide staff, volunteers and clients sufficient motivation for making the inevitable compromises? Given the selective nature of the rewards, as they now stand, the probability of being able to so do is remote. The influence of the non-gay community, as well as the attitudes and beliefs of the majority of gays who do not belong to any gay organizations, hampers success.

The relation between self-discrepancies and emotion: the moderating roles of self-guide importance, location relevance, and social self-domain centrality

In 5 studies, the authors investigated the effects of self-guide importance, domain centrality to self-definition, and self-domain relevance of testing location on relationships between actual-ideal (AI) and actual-ought (AO) discrepancies and emotions. Although no unique relationships occurred for self discrepancies, moderating effects were found for social self-domains. Location relevance overshadowed other moderator effects. In less relevant locations, AI discrepancies were smaller and AO discrepancy-emotion relationships were moderated by self-guide importance. For more important self-domains, AI discrepancies were smaller and AO discrepancies were unrelated to agitation. For less important self-domains, agitation was related to the AO discrepancy and self-guide importance interaction. By suggesting that different self-regulatory strategies minimize the consequences of AI and AO discrepancies, evidence for distinct ideal and ought self-regulation is provided.

An event-related potential study in schizophrenia using Japanese sentences

To examine the neurophysiological and cognitive characteristics of language disorder in schizophrenia, the N400 component and late positive component (LPC) of event-related potentials (ERPs) were investigated in medicated schizophrenic patients and health comparison subjects. The subjects were required to indicate whether Japanese sentence completions were semantically congruous or incongruous. The ERPs for the range of 300-500 ms to the incongruous completions contained a more negative component (N400), followed by LPC, which was inversely more positive for the incongruous than congruous condition. The N400 effect and the mean amplitude of the LPC were reduced in the patients. The attenuated N400 effect in schizophrenics mainly originated from an enhanced negativity for the congruous completions, suggesting that the use of context is poor in schizophrenia.

The impact of stereotype-incongruent information on perceived group variability and stereotype change

Three experiments showed increases in the perceived variability of social groups after perceivers received stereotype-incongruent information about group members. In Experiment 1, participants generated flatter distributions after exposure to incongruent information, compared with equally deviant congruent information, in the form of typical verbal materials. Experiment 2 indicated similar changes in dispersion after the presentation of numeric information about a single group member. In Experiment 3, the authors manipulated cognitive load at encoding or at the time group judgments were requested. Under conditions of cognitive constraint, stereotype-incongruent information ceased to promote more dispersed group representations. These results are consistent with the idea that incongruent information triggers more deliberative and comprehensive retrieval and generation of exemplars. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for stereotype change.

Interactive effects of personality and mood on emotion-congruent memory and judgment

Prior research on emotion congruency has tended to focus on either the effects of mood states or of personality traits on cognition. The aim of the present research was to explore when and how personality traits and mood states interact to influence emotion-congruent memory and judgment. In Study 1, participants filled out measures of personality and natural mood and then completed a series of memory and judgment tasks. The same procedure was used in Study 2, except a positive or negative mood state was induced prior to completion of the cognitive tasks. Extraversion and positive affectivity were related to retrieval of positive memories and the tendency to make positive judgments. Neuroticism and negative affectivity were related to retrieval of negative memories and the tendency to make negative judgments. In addition, several significant personality by mood interaction effects on memory and judgment were obtained in Study 2, which suggests that personality and mood effects on cognition are not independent of one another. Discussion focuses on integrating mood-congruency theories with personality theories and specifying the conditions under which mood by trait interaction effects effects emerge.

When and why do people avoid unknown probabilities in decisions under uncertainty? Testing some predictions from optimal foraging theory

When given a choice between two otherwise equivalent options - one in which the probability information is stated and another in which it is missing - most people avoid the option with missing probability information (Camerer & Weber, 1992). This robust, frequently replicated tendency is known as the ambiguity effect. It is unclear, however, why the ambiguity effect occurs. Experiments 1 and 2, which separated effects of the comparison process from those related to missing probability information, demonstrate that the ambiguity effect is elicited by missing probabilities rather than by comparison of options. Experiments 3 and 4 test predictions drawn from the literature on behavioral ecology. It is suggested that choices between two options should reflect three parameters: (1) the need of the organism, (2) the mean expected outcome of each option; and (3) the variance associated with each option's outcome. It is hypothesized that unknown probabilities are avoided because they co-occur with high outcome variability. In Experiment 3 it was found that subjects systematically avoid options with high outcome variability regardless of whether probabilities are explicitly stated or not. In Experiment 4, we reversed the ambiguity effect: when participants' need was greater than the known option's expected mean outcome, subjects preferred the ambiguous (high variance) option. From these experiments we conclude that people do not generally avoid ambiguous options. Instead, they take into account expected outcome, outcome variability, and their need in order to arrive at a decision that is most likely to satisfy this need.

Cognitive restructuring and the 12-step program of alcoholics anonymous

Alcohol addiction affects many clients that enter the offices of traditional mental health professionals. Their recovery is impacted by what goes on inside the office, in treatment, as well as by involvement outside the office, in 12-step programs as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). This article examines alcoholism as a thought disorder and cognitive restructuring as an effective model of treatment. Cognitive restructuring occurs in therapy and in AA. It can, therefore, be the bridge that encourages understanding and cooperation between the two factors influencing recovery.

Cognitive approaches to delusions: a critical review of theories and evidence

PURPOSE

To review critically the evidence for three contemporary theories of delusions.

METHODS

The theoretical approaches to delusions proposed by Frith and colleagues ('theory of mind' deficits), Garety and colleagues (multi-factorial, but involving probabilistic reasoning biases) and Bentall and colleagues (attributional style and self-discrepancies) are summarised. The findings of empirical papers directly relevant to these proposals are critically reviewed. These papers were identified by computerised literature searches (for the years 1987-1997) and a hand search.

RESULTS

The evidence does not unequivocally support any of the approaches as proposed. However, strong evidence is found to support modifications of Garety and colleagues' and Bentall and colleagues' theories. Studies have replicated a 'jumping to conclusions' data-gathering bias and an externalising attributional bias in people with delusions. There is preliminary evidence for a 'theory of mind' deficit, as proposed by Frith, although possibly related to a more general reasoning bias. Evidence for an underlying discrepancy between ideal and actual self-representations is weaker.

CONCLUSIONS

A multi-factorial model of delusion formation and maintenance incorporating a data-gathering bias and attributional style, together with other factors (e.g. perceptual processing, meta-representation) is consistent with the current evidence. It is recommended that these findings be incorporated into cognitive therapy approaches. However, there are limitations to existing research. Future studies should incorporate longitudinal designs and first episode studies, and should not neglect the co-morbidity of delusions, including affective processes, or the multi-dimensional nature of delusions.

Personal review: Helicobacter pylori, NSAIDs and cognitive dissonance

Helicobacter pylori and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) each cause peptic ulcers but by different mechanisms. As a result, the effect of both of these risk factors together is not a synergistic enhancement of injury, ulceration or rates of complications. Indeed, there are circumstances under which patients infected with H. pylori are less prone to NSAID-induced ulcers than those who are not infected or who have undergone eradication treatment. This may be because of opposite effects on gastric mucosal prostaglandin synthesis or for other reasons. Reluctance to accept that there may be specific circumstances where H. pylori is beneficial may arise because of the psychological process of cognitive dissonance.

A cognitive distortion associated with eating disorders: thought-shape fusion

OBJECTIVES

The primary objective of this study was to describe and investigate a cognitive distortion associated with eating psychopathology. This distortion, termed 'thought-shape fusion', is said to occur when merely thinking about eating a forbidden food increases the person's estimate of their shape or weight, elicits a perception of moral wrongdoing and makes the person feel fat.

DESIGN

Two studies were conducted. The first was a psychometric study and the second utilized a within-participants experimental design.

METHODS

In Study 1, thought-shape fusion was assessed in a sample of 119 undergraduate students using a questionnaire. In Study 2, 30 students with high thought-shape fusion scores participated in an experiment designed to elicit the distortion.

RESULTS

Thought-shape fusion was found to be significantly associated with measures of eating disorder psychopathology. The questionnaire used to measure thought-shape fusion had high internal consistency, a good factor structure accounting for 46.2% of the variance and predictive validity. The results from Study 2 indicated that the distortion can be elicited under experimental conditions, produces negative emotional reactions and prompts the urge to engage in corrective behaviour (e.g. neutralizing/checking). This corrective behaviour promptly reduces the negative reactions.

CONCLUSION

The results of the two studies indicate that the concept of thought-shape fusion is coherent, unifactorial and measurable. It is associated with eating disturbance and elicits negative emotional and behavioural responses.

Infants' responsiveness to line junctions in curved objects

Several empirical studies demonstrate that infants under 6-7 months of age are unable to extract static-monocular depth information from their environment. The aim of this study was to extend these findings by using a three-dimensional structure indicated by curved Y junctions. Infants 5 and 8 months of age were habituated to the line drawing of a cylinder. During test trials, the infants viewed two displays, one in which a surface marking had been deleted from the habituation figure and one in which an edge had been erased. An ANOVA revealed that the 8-month-old subjects looked significantly longer at the dishabituation display lacking the edge, whereas the 5-month-olds did not. The results provide evidence that 8-month-old infants distinguish between lines indicating edges and lines indicating markings and that they are able to use line junctions to perceive line drawings as depictions of three-dimensional objects in the picture plane.

'I feel a fraud': men and their experiences of acute admission following chest pain

The meaning of acute chest pain to men and how their masculinity affects the way that men respond to the care provided have received little attention in nursing research or nursing literature. The data for this paper were collected through participant observation whilst clinically working with men who had been admitted with acute chest pain. This paper will present a key theme that emerged from this study, relating to the dissonance that the men experienced when the initial pain that brought them to the hospital was quickly removed leaving them no longer feeling 'ill'. This paper will also argue that there is a need to consider the theories on masculinity to help in interpreting the reactions of the male patient to their condition and also to help direct the care that is being provided.

Critical thinking and belief in the paranormal: a re-evaluation

This paper evaluates the claim that believers in the paranormal exhibit poor critical thinking ability relative to disbelievers, as manifested in their inability to evaluate the competence of experimental abstracts. It is argued that such differences reported elsewhere (Alcock & Otis, 1980; Gray & Mill, 1990) may be accountable for in terms of the action of cognitive dissonance, or as due to experimental artifacts. A study was conducted which attempted to overcome earlier methodological shortcomings, and which assessed the cognitive dissonance account of differential performance. Altogether, 117 participants were characterized as believers, neutrals or disbelievers according to a pre-measure. Subsequently, each participant was asked to evaluate an abbreviated experimental report which was either sympathetic or unsympathetic to parapsychology. No differences in assessment ratings were found, failing to replicate the claimed effect and supporting an account in terms of artifact. There was a significant tendency for those participants who received a paper which was incongruent with their a priori beliefs to rate it as less competently conducted and analysed than those who rated the congruent paper, in keeping with the cognitive dissonance account.

Negative affectivity: moderator or confound in emotional dissonance-outcome relationships?

This study was an examination of the impact of negative affectivity on relationships between emotional dissonance, job satisfaction, and emotional exhaustion. Negative affectivity is the predisposition to view life in negative terms. Emotional dissonance originates from the conflict between expressed and experienced emotions. In organizations that require the expression of positive emotions, high negative affectivity individuals may experience conflict between expressed, positive emotions and felt, negative emotions. A moderator effect exists when high negative affectivity individuals experience greater job dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Alternatively, negative affectivity may exert a confounding effect through its relationship to both emotional dissonance and its outcomes. Empirical tests showed that negative affectivity moderated the emotional dissonance-job satisfaction relationship and confounded the emotional dissonance-emotional exhaustion relationship.

Improving adjustment to chronic illness through strategic self-presentation: an experimental study on a renal dialysis unit

Laboratory studies show that strategic self-presentations strongly influence private self-evaluations. The present study experimentally manipulated self-presentations of dialysis patients' coping skills in order to influence their adjustment. In all, 42 renal dialysis patients matched for diabetes, gender, and dialysis years were randomly assigned to 3 conditions; adjustment was assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 1 month follow-up. Patients in a self-presentation condition selectively presented themselves as successful copers in a videotaped interview, ostensibly as part of a training program for new patients. Patients in a problem disclosure condition discussed problems with managing their illness. Control group patients viewed a medical videotape about adjusting to dialysis. Patients in the self-presentation condition reported better adjustment, fewer physical symptoms, and more coping skills 1 month later, compared with patients in the other 2 conditions. In addition, coping skills were shown to mediate the relationship between strategic self-presentation and adjustment.

Suicide acceptability in African- and white Americans: the role of religion

Rates of suicidal behavior are lower among African- than white Americans. We analyzed the association of suicide acceptability with religious, sociodemographic, and emotional variables in representative samples of African- and white Americans (1990). Adjusted for ethnic response bias, the former were less accepting of suicide than the latter (odds ratio .60; 95% confidence interval .41, .88). Orthodox religious beliefs and personal devotion predicted rejection of suicide best; this effect was equally strong in both groups. The comparatively low level of suicide acceptability among African-Americans was mostly attributable to their relatively high levels of orthodox religious beliefs and devotion, as opposed to practice and affiliation, although sociodemographic and emotional differences contributed as well. These results are interpreted using the cognitive dissonance model. Given rapid secularization among the young in the United States, these findings may help explain the rising suicide rates among white and, especially, African-American young people.

[Clinical and cognitive study of apraxia in cortico-basal atrophy. A selective disorder of the production system]

The aim of this study was to characterize the different processes underlying apraxic disorders in cortico-basal degeneration. Three patients were submitted to a prospective paradigm elaborated in the theoretical framework proposed by Roy and Square (1985). This cognitive model postulates a two-steps system in the control mechanisms in limb praxis: the conceptual system and the production system. Our results, strictly similar for the three patients, showed a sparing of the conceptual system and an impairment of the production system with a dramatic lack in the control of the temporal and spatial aspects of the gestures. These results suggest a dysfunction of the premotor cortex including the supplementary motor area.

The conflict between 'new nursing' and 'scientific management' as perceived by surgical nurses

Nursing on surgical wards is a major area of employment for nurses, but the literature is sparse in relation to this group. Dramatic alterations in surgical care have occurred over the past few years, including the introduction of day surgery on a major scale, increased technical equipment and faster 'throughput' of patients. This has led to Nicholas Fox describing 'a conveyor belt of surgery'. These changes are occurring alongside major evolution within the nursing profession. Nurses are encouraged to give holistic, individualized care in what has been termed the 'new nursing' movement. This study addresses the problem of how nurses resolve these two conflicting discourses. Following an initial phase of participant observation, 10 registered surgical nurses were interviewed using the techniques of career biography, critical incident analysis and informal interviews. Different interpretations by the key members of the 'new nursing' discourse have been identified. These have been termed the professional project discourse, the modernist discourse, and the traditionalist discourse. Various strategies are adopted by nurses to reduce cognitive dissonance caused by the two conflicting discourses. The most commonly used being rationalization about the need for emotional labour.

Understanding decision-making processes for sugar consumption in adolescence

The mechanisms by which adolescents make food choices are not clear. The interaction and combination of the many social and psychological factors must be considered when examining adolescents' decision-making processes for sound food choices. The aim of this investigation is to examine one specific food choice, namely, the use of sucrose in hot drinks. One hundred and eighty-seven adolescents in their 16th year completed a questionnaire on the consumption of sugar using the method developed by AJZEN & FISHBEIN in their 'Theory of Reasoned Action'. The group was randomly divided into two groups so that decision-making processes with respect to two behavioural intentions-adding sugar to tea and coffee and excluding it-could be examined. The findings suggest that the immediate pleasurable taste of sugar outweighed and deferred the recognition of dangers associated with its consumption. Past dental health experiences, behaviours and education together with the role of parental figures acted as important influences. An awareness of these factors should assist dental health professionals to highlight the importance of sound food choices when negotiating dental health goals with adolescents.