Enduring education and employment: Examining motivation and mechanisms of psychological resilience

Resilience, the ability to bounce back from difficult events, is critical for an individual to negotiate stressors and adversity. Despite being widely studied, little is known about the processes involved in the development of resilience. The goal of the studies are to investigate the relationship between motivation orientation, emotional intelligence, cognitive appraisals, and psychological resilience. Two studies, using self-report questionnaires were conducted with employed young adults also enrolled in post-secondary studies (pre- and during the pandemic) to test the tenability of our proposed models. Study 1 and Study 2 showed that emotional intelligence and challenge appraisals were mediators of autonomous motivation and resilience. Study 2 revealed statistically significant differences in mean scores of autonomous motivation and emotional intelligence between non-pandemic students and pandemic students. Based on the findings, it is suggested that autonomous motivation, emotional intelligence, and challenge appraisals are important aptitudes for the development of resilience. Furthermore, findings suggest that social isolation caused by the pandemic may have affected levels of emotional intelligence. Ultimately, the research expands the literature on both self-determination theory and resilience by offering a unique multiple mediation model for predicting the development of resilience within the employed undergraduate population.

Measuring the rate of psychological growth and examining its antecedents: A growth curve modeling approach

INTRODUCTION

Humanistic psychologists have conceptualized a tendency among humans to experience continual open-ended psychological growth. This study aims to measure the rate at which one grows psychologically using a novel growth curve modeling approach that addresses previous limitations. We also examine the effects of nine potential contributors to growth identified from the literature.

METHOD

Throughout the freshman year, 556 college students responded six times. Increments of growth were added up to create cumulative growth, which was then fit to a growth curve model to produce an estimate of the growth rate. The growth rate was then regressed on the Time 1 predictors to examine their unique effects.

RESULTS

Models fit well. Five predictors significantly predicted the growth rate after controlling for the average of other predictors. When all predictors were entered simultaneously, three predictors (hope, meaning, and personal growth initiative) showed significant unique effects. The growth rate predicted well-being and satisfaction at Time 6.

CONCLUSION

We successfully measured the rate of psychological growth and examined its antecedents. Follow-up analyses suggested that the predictors not showing unique effects may indirectly predict growth rates via the proximal role of the three significant predictors, an idea that awaits future corroboration using within-individual designs.

Between-Level Incongruences in Human Positivity

Humans now understand the world as multilevel in nature. For example, societies emerge from individuals, and general experiences of life consist of specific aspects and momentary episodes. A critical feature of multilevel phenomena is between-level incongruences. Applied to human positivity, this means that positive higher-level units are not simply composed of positive lower-level units and that what is good for lower-level units may not be good for higher-level units (and vice versa). For example, killjoys may improve societal well-being, personal achievement may require giving up on certain goals, and a happy life may not arise from simply happy moments. In this article, I provide examples (organized by the positive outcome of well-being and performance and by the social, structural, and temporal forms of multilevel phenomena) to show that such between-level incongruences are ubiquitous. Next, I analyze a few mechanisms that may govern the diverse instantiations of between-level incongruences in positivity. Finally, I discuss implications of this perspective, such as why positivity claims should always qualify their level of analysis; how psychological science may benefit from a multilevel, dynamical, and computational perspective; and how to improve human positivity in light of between-level incongruences.

Autonomy Support for Gender Expression and Managing Existential Concerns: An Initial Study Among Transgender Individuals

This pre-registered study was conducted online in March 2022 and was designed to (1) test whether individuals who identify as transgender report greater death-thought accessibility (DTA), greater symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS), lower meaning in life (MIL), and greater existential isolation (EI) compared to those who do not identify as transgender (i.e., cisgender); (2) examine whether autonomy support and autonomy frustration for gender expression differentially predict these outcomes among transgender individuals; and (3) examine whether perceptions of symbolic immortality mediate these relationships. Results found that transgender (vs. cisgender) participants reported higher DTA, greater PTS, lower MIL, and greater EI. Moreover, among transgender participants, autonomy frustration for gender expression predicted greater PTS, and autonomy support for gender expression predicted both greater MIL and lower EI. Finally, although the indirect effects through symbolic immortality were nonsignificant, autonomy support for gender expression appeared to predict perceptions of symbolic immortality. Implications for transgender people’s mental health and future research directions are discussed.

The Relationship Between Postgraduates' Emotional Intelligence and Well-Being: The Chain Mediating Effect of Social Support and Psychological Resilience

Background

Postgraduates usually face more life challenges than undergraduate students, including social, emotional and financial issues, and the prevalence of mental health problems in postgraduates is higher than undergraduates. Therefore, the attention on postgraduates' mental health status is needed.

Objectives

The current study explored the relationship between postgraduates' emotional intelligence and well-being by investigating the mediating effects of social support and psychological resilience and the relationship between them through the construction of a chain mediation model.

Method

1,228 postgraduates completed the Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Social Support Rate Scale, the Psychological Resilience Scale, and the Subject Well-being Scale.

Results

There is a chain effect between postgraduates' social support and psychological resilience mediated by their emotional intelligence and well-being, with a total effect value of 0.049.

Conclusion

Emotional intelligence has a predictive effect on postgraduates' well-being. The mechanism of this effect includes the indirect effects of social support and psychological resilience. Study results revealed the relationship mechanism between emotional intelligence and postgraduates' well-being, and provide reference for explorations of how to development postgraduates' emotional intelligence and further improving their abilities to strengthen their emotional resilience.

The effect of perceived discrimination on cross-cultural adaptation of international students: moderating roles of autonomous orientation and integration strategy

This study explores the associations between perceived discrimination and cross-cultural adaptation among 335 international students in China. Drawing on self-determination theory, we propose that autonomous orientation can weaken the relationship between perceived discrimination and cross-cultural adaptation. Integration strategy can be seen as a mechanism that encourages international students to embrace both their original and host culture when they feel be discriminated. Results indicate that perceived discrimination is negatively associated with sociocultural adaptation and psychological adaptation among international students in China. Our research identifies autonomous orientation as an important contingency that weakens the effects of perceived discrimination on cross-cultural adaptation, confirming the moderating role of integration strategy in the relationship between perceived discrimination and sociocultural adaptation. Integration strategy mediates the moderating effects of autonomous orientation on the relationship between perceived discrimination and sociocultural adaption. The findings provide valuable insight into the positive impact of autonomous orientation and integration strategy on the cross-cultural adaptation of international students when they feel be discriminated, which is beneficial to the education and management of international students at the theoretical and practical levels.

Perfectionistic Concerns and Mobile Phone Addiction of Chinese College Students: The Moderated Mediation of Academic Procrastination and Causality Orientations

This study aimed to investigate the effect of perfectionistic concerns (PC) on mobile phone addiction (MPA) and the mediating role of academic procrastination (AP), as well as the moderating role of causality orientations (autonomous/controlled/impersonal orientation). A cross-sectional sample of 625 Chinese college students (20.8% male, mean age = 20.47 years old) completed measures of PC, AP, causality orientations, and MPA. We analyzed the survey data using structural equation modeling (SEM) in Mplus 8.0. PC was positively related to MPA. In addition, AP partially mediated this association. The hypothesized moderating effect of autonomous orientation and controlled orientation was not supported. Impersonal orientation moderated the second stage of the mediating effect of AP on the PC-MPA link in that the mediating effect was positive when impersonal orientation was high, while the mediating effect was not significant when impersonal orientation was low. The findings confirm the importance of investigating how individual difference (i.e., PC) contributes to MPA. The implications of the findings for relieving MPA or preventing college students from developing MPA are also discussed deeply and thoroughly.

P-Curve analysis of autonomous and controlling motivation priming effects supports their evidential value

Extant literature consistently demonstrates the level of self-determination individuals experience or demonstrate during an activity can be primed. However, considering most of this literature comes from a period wherein p-hacking was prevalent (pre-2015), it may be that these effects reflect false positives. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether published literature showing autonomous and controlling motivation priming effects contain evidential value or not. A systematic literature search was conducted to identify relevant priming research, while set rules determined which effects from each study would be used in p-curve analysis. Two p-curves including 33 effects each were constructed. P-curve analyses, even after excluding surprising effects (e.g., effects large in magnitude), demonstrated that literature showing autonomous and controlling motivation priming effects contained evidential value. The present findings support prior literature suggesting the effects of autonomous and controlling motivation primes exist at the population level. They also reduce (but do not eliminate) concerns from broader psychology that p-hacking may underlie reported effects.

What Time Alone Offers: Narratives of Solitude From Adolescence to Older Adulthood

Solitude – the state of being alone and not physically with another – can be rewarding. The present research explored the potential benefits of solitude from a pragmatist approach: a ground-up, top-down perspective that is receptive to new knowledge but informed by theory. Participant recruitment was stratified by age and gender, and the sample involved 2,035 individuals including adolescents (13–16 years), adults (35–55 years), or older adults (65+ years). Data were analyzed with a mixed-methods approach. Coded themes from brief narratives about solitude were extracted, and their frequencies (i.e., their salience to participants) were compared across the lifespan. Themes were then correlated with two indicators of well-being in solitude: self-determined motivation for solitude and peaceful mood. Several prominent themes emerged when talking about time spent in solitude. With the exception of feeling competent in solitude, which was described frequently but consistently unrelated to self-reported well-being regardless of age, benefits of solitude tended to shift over the lifespan. Some qualities, such as a sense of autonomy (self-connection and reliance; absence of pressure), were salient and consequential for everyone, but increasingly so from adolescence to older adulthood. Older adults also reported feeling most peaceful in solitude and described their social connection and alienation less frequently, suggesting they see solitude and social time as more distinct states. Findings are discussed in light of existing work on solitude across the lifespan, and theoretical frameworks that spoke well to the data (e.g., self-determination theory).

Personal Metaphors as Motivational Resources: Boosting Anticipated Incentives and Feelings of Vitality Through a Personal Motto-Goal

Motto-goals describe a desired mind-set and provide a person with a guiding principle of how to approach a personal goal or obligation (e.g., with the inner strength of a bear I am forging ahead). We propose that motto-goals can be conceptionalized as individually created metaphors and that the figurative, metaphorical language and the characteristics of the formation process make them effective in changing the perception of unpleasant personal obligations as more inherently enjoyable and raise vitality levels. To test whether a newly devised minimalistic motto-goal intervention can make goal striving more attractive (stronger anticipation of activity related incentives) and energize goal-oriented action (increase vitality) in relation to an unpleasant obligation, two experimental studies were conducted. In Study 1 the motto-goal condition led to stronger anticipation of activity related incentives and vitality compared to a distraction task. The effect on vitality was partially mediated by a change in feelings of autonomy. Study 2 replicated the effects compared to a placebo intervention and further found motto-goals to be specifically effective in increasing the anticipation of activity related incentives as opposed to outcome related incentives. The results support that applying motto-goals built with a newly developed minimalist motto-goal intervention can influence the subjective experience of individuals faced with a previously unpleasant obligation.

Can high quality listening predict lower speakers' prejudiced attitudes?

Theorizing from humanistic and motivational literatures suggests attitude change may occur because high quality listening facilitates the insight needed to explore and integrate potentially threatening information relevant to the self. By extension, self-insight may enable attitude change as a result of conversations about prejudice. We tested whether high quality listening would predict attitudes related to speakers' prejudices and whether self-insight would mediate this effect. Study 1 (preregistered) examined scripted conversations characterized by high, regular, and poor listening quality. In Study 2, we manipulated high versus regular listening quality in the laboratory as speakers talked about their prejudiced attitudes. Finally, Study 3 (preregistered) used a more robust measure of prejudiced attitudes to test whether perceived social acceptance could be an alternative explanation to Study 2 findings. Across these studies, the exploratory (pilot study and Study 2) and confirmatory (Studies 1 & 3) findings were in line with expectations that high, versus regular and poor, quality listening facilitated lower prejudiced attitudes because it increased self-insight. A meta-analysis of the studies (N = 952) showed that the average effect sizes for high quality listening (vs. comparison conditions) on self-insight, openness to change and prejudiced attitudes were, ds = 1.19, 0.46, 0.32 95%CIs [0.73, 1.51], [0.29, 0.63] [0.12, 0.53], respectively. These results suggest that when having conversations about prejudice, high-quality listening modestly shapes prejudice following conversations about it, and underscore the importance of self-insight and openness to change in this process.

Priming autonomous and controlling motivation and effects on persistence

The present studies examined whether priming distinct motivational states influenced persistence at a task designed to promote repeated failure, and post-task plans for engaging in self-regulatory activity. Two double-blind, between-subject experiments (Study 1: N = 58; Study 2: N = 92) involved participants being randomized to Autonomous Motivation, Controlling Motivation, or Neutral prime conditions using a scrambled-sentence test. Participants then attempted an impossible persistence task that promoted repeated failure. Following, participants reported their plans to engage in exercise. Using frequentist and Bayesian analyses, Study 1, Study 2, and an internal meta-analysis showed no differences in persistence or planned exercise across priming conditions, thus contrasting with previous research. Unanticipated moderation effects or motivational priming effects being smaller than those inputted into a priori power analyses may be the most likely reasons for these findings.

Integrative emotion regulation: Process and development from a self-determination theory perspective

Grounded in self-determination theory's (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2017) organismic perspective, we present a process view of integrative emotion regulation. SDT describes three general types of emotion regulation: integrative emotion regulation, which focuses on emotions as carrying information that is brought to awareness; controlled emotion regulation, which is focused on diminishing emotions through avoidance, suppression, or enforced expression or reappraisal; and amotivated emotion regulation, in which emotions are uncontrolled or dysregulated. We review survey and experimental research contrasting these emotion regulation styles, providing evidence for the benefits of integrative emotion regulation for volitional functioning, personal well-being, and high-quality relationships, and for the costs of controlled emotion regulation and dysregulation. The development of emotion regulation styles is discussed, especially the role of autonomy-supportive parenting in fostering more integrative emotion regulation, and the role of controlling parenting in contributing to controlled or dysregulated emotion processing. Overall, integrative emotion regulation represents a beneficial style of processing emotions, which develops most effectively in a nonjudgmental and autonomy-supportive environment, an issue relevant to both development and psychotherapy.

Choosing to Regulate Emotions: Pursuing Emotion Goals in Autonomy-Supportive and Controlling Contexts

We applied self-determination theory to emotion regulation and tested the potential effects of autonomy-supportive and controlling contexts on the pursuit of emotion goals. In four experimental studies ( N = 242), participants viewed a fear-eliciting film clip or emotion-eliciting pictures and were prompted to pursue emotion goals with either autonomy-supportive or controlling instructions. Participants in both conditions were equally likely to engage in emotion regulation when directly instructed to do so. However, when they were allowed to spontaneously choose whether to regulate emotions or not, participants in the autonomy-supportive contexts were more likely than those in the controlling ones to independently pursue emotion goals. The latter also engaged in more defensive processing of emotion-eliciting stimuli than the former. These results indicate that people are more likely to pursue emotion goals of their own accord when the context in which they pursue them is autonomy supportive, rather than controlling.

Autonomous orientation predicts longevity: New findings from the Nun Study

OBJECTIVE

Work on longevity has found protective social, cognitive, and emotional factors, but to date we have little understanding of the impact of motivational dynamics. Autonomy orientation, or stable patterns of self-regulation, is theorized to be a protective factor for long-term mental and physical health (Ryan & Deci, 2017), and it is therefore a prime candidate for examining how stable psychosocial factors are linked to longevity, or life expectancy.

METHOD

Essays written in the 1930s by participants in the Nun Study were coded for indicators of an autonomy orientation. These were selected in line with an extensive theoretical literature based in self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Essays were coded for the propensity for choice in action, susceptibility to pressure, self-reflection, integration of experiences, and parental support for autonomy. These coded variables were used to predict age of death.

RESULTS

Using 176 codable essays provided by now-deceased participants, linear regression analyses revealed that choiceful behavior, self-reflection, and parent autonomy support predicted age of death. Participants who demonstrated these stable and beneficial motivational characteristics lived longer.

CONCLUSIONS

Personality constructs reflecting a healthy form of self-regulation are associated with long-term health. Implications for health interventions are discussed.

Autonomy can support affect regulation during illness and in health

The benefits of autonomy to self-regulation, health, and well-being are well established. However, relatively few studies have investigated how autonomy might influence affect regulation. In this commentary, we argue that autonomy is an important motivational factor that interacts with affect regulation and may be particularly relevant in health contexts, such as cancer, that can limit individual autonomy. We describe the relationship between autonomy and affect regulation and illustrate ways in which autonomy can be supported broadly as well as during various phases in the cancer trajectory.

ERP correlates of motivating voices: quality of motivation and time-course matters

Here, we conducted the first study to explore how motivations expressed through speech are processed in real-time. Participants listened to sentences spoken in two types of well-studied motivational tones (autonomy-supportive and controlling), or a neutral tone of voice. To examine this, listeners were presented with sentences that either signaled motivations through prosody (tone of voice) and words simultaneously (e.g. ‘You absolutely have to do it my way’ spoken in a controlling tone of voice), or lacked motivationally biasing words (e.g. ‘Why don’t we meet again tomorrow’ spoken in a motivational tone of voice). Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in response to motivations conveyed through words and prosody showed that listeners rapidly distinguished between motivations and neutral forms of communication as shown in enhanced P2 amplitudes in response to motivational when compared with neutral speech. This early detection mechanism is argued to help determine the importance of incoming information. Once assessed, motivational language is continuously monitored and thoroughly evaluated. When compared with neutral speech, listening to controlling (but not autonomy-supportive) speech led to enhanced late potential ERP mean amplitudes, suggesting that listeners are particularly attuned to controlling messages. The importance of controlling motivation for listeners is mirrored in effects observed for motivations expressed through prosody only. Here, an early rapid appraisal, as reflected in enhanced P2 amplitudes, is only found for sentences spoken in controlling (but not autonomy-supportive) prosody. Once identified as sounding pressuring, the message seems to be preferentially processed, as shown by enhanced late potential amplitudes in response to controlling prosody. Taken together, results suggest that motivational and neutral language are differentially processed; further, the data suggest that listening to cues signaling pressure and control cannot be ignored and lead to preferential, and more in-depth processing mechanisms.

Networks of self-defining memories as a contributing factor to emotional openness

Emotional openness is characterised by a capacity to tolerate threatening self-relevant material and an interest towards new emotional situations. We investigated how specific networks of memories could be an important contributing factor to emotional openness. At Phase 1, participants completed measures of personality traits and emotional intelligence, described a self-defining memory, provided other memories associated with it, and rated the valence of each of their memories. A score assessing the complexity of this memory network, comprising the number of memories reported and their valence diversity, was created. Two weeks later, in laboratory, participants watched an anxiety-inducing film and took part in an interview assessing their emotional openness to the film. They completed a cognitive task before and after the film to measure ego depletion. Controlling for traits and emotional intelligence, memory network complexity was positively associated with emotional openness and negatively with ego depletion. The mental organisation of self-defining memories thus appears to be a critical factor contributing to emotional openness.

Owning Up to Negative Ingroup Traits: How Personal Autonomy Promotes the Integration of Group Identity

OBJECTIVE

Our experiences, attributes, and behaviors are diverse, inconsistent, and often negative. Consequently, our capacity to assimilate divergent experiences-particularly negative aspects-is important to the development of a unified self. Whereas this process of integration has received attention at the level of personal identity, it has not been assessed at the level of group identity.

OBJECTIVE

We examined the mechanisms involved in integrating positive and negative ingroup identities, as well as related outcomes.

METHOD

In three experiments, participants (N = 332) high and low in autonomy identified either positive or negative aspects of their ingroup and then indicated the extent to which they integrated the attribute.

RESULTS

Those high in personal autonomy integrated both positive and negative identities, whereas those low in autonomy acknowledged only positive identities. Study 2 showed that, regardless of identity valence, those high in autonomy felt satisfied and close with their group. Conversely, those low in autonomy felt less close and more dissatisfied with their group after reflecting on negative identities. Finally, reflecting on a negative identity reduced prejudice, but only for those high in autonomy.

CONCLUSIONS

Owning up to negative group traits is facilitated by autonomy and demonstrates benefits for ingroup and intergroup processes.

Self-determination and substance use: is effortful control a mediator?

BACKGROUND

Alcohol and other drug use among college students are highly common in the United States. This study examined the relationships between 2 motivational orientations (i.e., autonomy and controlled orientations) and substance use and related problems among college students. It also examined whether effortful control mediated the relationship between these motivational orientations and substance use.

METHODS

Study participants were 644 undergraduate students (67.2% female; 87.2% Caucasian) who completed a series of online questionnaires as a part of a larger longitudinal study on sleep and substance use. The mean age of participants was 23.58 (SD = 6.861).

RESULTS

Students with a higher autonomy orientation were more likely than their counterparts to report that they did not drink in the last 6 months. In contrast, students with a higher controlled orientation were less likely to report that they did not drink. Among those who drank in the last 6 months, effortful control significantly mediated the effects of autonomy orientation and controlled orientation on frequency of alcohol use within that time frame. Autonomy orientation positively predicted effortful control, which was associated with a decrease in the expected frequency of drinking. In contrast, controlled orientation negatively predicted effortful control, which was associated with an increase in the expected frequency of drinking. Controlled orientation also significantly predicted the presence of alcohol-related problems and illicit drug use.

CONCLUSIONS

Intervention and prevention programs on college drinking could incorporate education about strategies for self-control, including strategies for withstanding peer pressure and diverting one's attention to activities unrelated to substance use. Focusing on strategies of self-control may be a useful starting point for a more in-depth discussion about the motivations, values, and psychological needs satisfaction that are associated with drinking and other drug use.

The Integrative Process

Recent research has provided new insights into the integrative process, which allows for unified self-functioning. In this article, we review recent work that has used a variety of behavioral, physiological, dual-process, and survey techniques to examine personality integration. On the basis of theoretical considerations and the growing body of findings, we highlight three subprocesses—namely, awareness, ownership/autonomy, and nondefensiveness—and summarize evidence linking these facets of integration to energy, wellness, and relational benefits. Finally, we review contextual factors, such as autonomy support and unconditional regard, that have been shown to be conducive to integration, and we suggest tools that may be used in future research on integration.

A Self-Determination Model of Childhood Exposure, Perceived Prevalence, Justification, and Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence

The present research was designed to evaluate self-determination theory as a framework for integrating factors associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. The proposed model suggests that childhood exposure to parental violence may influence global motivational orientations which, in turn result in greater cognitive biases (overestimating the prevalence of IPV and justification of IPV) which, in turn, contribute to an individual's decision to use abusive behavior. Participants included 124 men who had engaged in abusive behavior toward an intimate partner. Results provided reasonable support for the proposed model and stronger support for a revised model suggesting that controlled orientation, rather than autonomy orientation, appears to play a stronger role in the association between childhood exposure to parental violence and cognitive biases associated with abusive behavior.

What Should We Do When Participants Report Dangerous Drinking? The Impact of Personalized Letters Versus General Pamphlets as a Function of Sex and Controlled Orientation

Research in which participants report potentially dangerous health-related behaviors raises ethical and professional questions about what to do with that information. Policies and laws regarding reportable behaviors vary across states and Institutional Review Boards (IRB). In alcohol research, IRBs often require researchers to respond to participants who report dangerous drinking practices. Researchers have little guidance regarding how best to respond in such cases. Personalized feedback or general nonpersonalized information may prove differentially effective as a function of gender and/or level of self-determination. This study evaluated response strategies for reducing peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC) among participants reporting dangerous BACs (≥ .35%) in the context of a two-year longitudinal intervention trial with 818 heavy drinking college students. After each assessment, participants who reported drinking to estimated BACs at or greater than .35% were sent either a personalized letter expressing concern and indicating their reported BAC or a nonpersonalized pamphlet that included general information about alcohol and other substances, referral information, and a BAC handout. Hierarchical linear modeling results revealed that both strategies were associated with reduced peak BAC when controlling for previous BAC. The personalized letter was more effective for women and for students who tend to regulate their behavior based on others' expectations and contingencies in the environment. This research provides some guidance for researchers considering appropriate responses to participants who report dangerous health behavior in the context of a research trial.

Do undergraduate student research participants read psychological research consent forms? Examining memory effects, condition effects, and individual differences

While research has examined factors influencing understanding of informed consent in biomedical and forensic research, less is known about participants' attention to details in consent documents in psychological survey research. The present study used a randomized experimental design and found the majority of participants were unable to recall information from the consent form in both in-person and online formats. Participants were also relatively poor at recognizing important aspects of the consent form including risks to participants and confidentiality procedures. Memory effects and individual difference characteristics also appeared to influence recall and recognition of consent form information.

The protective role of general self-determination against ‘thin ideal’ media exposure on women’s body image and eating-related concerns

Women’s responses to ‘thin ideal’ media pending their level of general self-determination (GSD) were examined. High and low GSD women ( N = 99) viewed a ‘thin physique salient’ (TPS) video or a ‘thin physique non-salient’ (TPNS) video. Following exposure to the TPS video, perceptions of pressure from the media to be thin, body dissatisfaction, and concerns over quantity of food were greater for low but not high GSD women. However, high GSD women reported greater concerns over the quality of food they eat following exposure to the TPNS video. Prevention efforts aimed at enhancing GSD are discussed.

Autonomy and Control in Dyads: Effects on Interaction Quality and Joint Creative Performance

Two studies examined interaction quality and joint performance on two creative tasks in unacquainted dyads primed for autonomy or control orientations. It was hypothesized that autonomy-primed dyads would interact more constructively, experience more positive mood, and engage the task more readily, and as a result these dyads would perform better. To test this, Study 1 primed orientation and explored verbal creative performance on the Remote Associates Task (RAT). In Study 2, dyads were primed with autonomy and control orientation and videotaped during two joint creative tasks, one verbal (RAT) and one nonverbal (charades). Videotapes were coded for behavioral indicators of closeness and task engagement. Results showed that autonomy-primed dyads felt closer, were more emotionally and cognitively attuned, provided empathy and encouragement to partners, and performed more effectively. The effects of primed autonomy on creative performance were mediated by interpersonal quality, mood, and joint engagement.