Stressing the person: legal and everyday person attributions under stress

Blunted Cortisol Awakening Response Is Associated with External Attribution Bias Among Individuals with Personality Disorders

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

The dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has been associated with various mental disorders. One of the most commonly described parameters of HPA axis functioning is the cortisol awakening response (CAR). To date, few studies have been conducted on the relationship between personality disorders and CAR. The present study aimed to compare the CAR between individuals with personality disorders and healthy controls. Moreover, the study aimed to assess the association of CAR with cognitive biases and psychopathological symptoms in people with personality disorders.

METHODS

A total of 43 individuals with personality disorders and 45 healthy controls were enrolled. Participants completed questionnaires measuring the severity of depressive symptoms, anxiety, cognitive biases, and psychotic-like experiences. Cortisol levels were measured in four morning saliva samples: immediately after awakening, and after 15, 30, and 45 min.

RESULTS

A significantly lower CAR was found among individuals with personality disorders, even after adjustment for age, sex, and the level of education. However, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed a relatively low area under the curve (AUC = 0.362). Furthermore, a significant negative correlation was observed between the CAR and the level of external attribution bias among individuals with personality disorders. No significant associations of the CAR with psychopathological symptoms and other cognitive biases were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study indicate that the HPA axis activity might be altered in personality disorders. However, the clinical utility of this observation needs further studies in larger samples. External attribution might be related to the HPA axis alterations in this population.

Bias and Conflict of Interest in the Underreporting of Sexual Abuse in Competitive Sports: A Literature Review

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of sexual abuse in competitive sports is increasing worldwide and requires a united call to action. The underreporting of such abuses gained media attention resulting from recent high-profile cases. In this article, we report the results of a systematic literature review, identifying root causes of underreporting sexual abuse in competitive sports. We identify that biases and conflicts of interest work against effective reporting of abuse by athletes at the individual, organizational, and cultural levels. We offer conflict of interest and bias mitigation approaches from the social science, law, business, research, and diagnostic error literature that may apply. Competitive sports organizations may use this analysis to identify barriers and improve the effective reporting of sexual abuse.

Conversations with God: How Are Religion and Spirituality Used to Make Sense of Forgiveness?

Forgiveness has a connection to religion and spirituality. Yet, little is known about how religious and spiritual people actually forgive. The present study investigated how religion and spirituality are used to make sense of forgiveness. The narratives of seven interviewees were chosen for close analysis of their experiences of forgiveness. McAdams's life story interview method and narrative analysis were applied. Five themes were formulated: (1) forgiveness as Christian duty, (2) forgiveness as God's miracle, (3) forgiveness through praying, (4) forgiveness through God's sacrifice, and (5) forgiveness as God's mercy. The findings indicate that God was important to the interviewees and supported their forgiveness process. Subthemes of revenge and justice suggest that sometimes forgiveness and revenge motives may be intertwined. Forgiveness was a divine process for the participants, and some felt that they would not have been able to forgive without God. Attributing forgiveness to God may serve the forgiveness process.

Couples' Diminished Social and Financial Capital Exacerbate the Association Between Maladaptive Attributions and Relationship Satisfaction

BACKGROUND

Theoretical and clinical perspectives argue that couples' maladaptive attributions for marital problems lead to marital distress, and that these attributions will detract from couples' relationships regardless of their external circumstances. However, emerging work in cognitive psychology indicates that stress simplifies individuals' information processing, suggesting that the demands faced by couples may strengthen the link between maladaptive attributions and relationship satisfaction.

METHODS

With a sample of 462 ethnically diverse newlywed spouses living with low incomes (231 couples, with >30% Black and >50% Latinx), we assessed attributions and relationship satisfaction, along with three hypothesized moderators: couples' financial strain, perceived financial capital within couples' social networks, and the proportion of married couples within couples' social networks.

RESULTS

After replicating the robust association between maladaptive attributions and relationship satisfaction, we demonstrate that the association between maladaptive attributions and satisfaction is stronger to the extent that spouses' social networks are characterized by fewer financial resources and lower proportions of married couples.

CONCLUSION

Contextual factors may alter the effects that partners' cognitions have on relationship satisfaction, suggesting that influences far removed from the dyad itself can affect basic processes arising between partners.

Social Perception of Forecasters: People See Forecasts of Future Outcomes as Cues to Forecasters’ Desires, Attitudes, and Identity

While people’s forecasts of future outcomes are often guided by their preferences (“desirability bias”), it has not been explored yet whether people infer others’ preferences from their forecasts. Across 3 experiments and overall 30 judgments, forecasters who thought that a particular future outcome was likely (vs. unlikely) were perceived as having a stronger preference for this outcome. Individuals were more likely to infer preferences from forecasts in the presence of cues facilitating internal attributions and in case of outcomes characterized by an actual positive empirical association between desirability and likelihood judgments. Finally, making future forecasts inconsistent (vs. consistent) with one’s stated preferences made observers doubt forecasters’ expressed preferences and identity. Overall, these findings suggest that social observers tend to interpret future forecasts as cues to others’ identity, values, and attitudes.