Significance loss brings to extreme self-care related behaviors: the role of interpersonal influence and obsessive (vs. harmonious) passion

Building on Significance Quest Theory we hypothesized that significance loss feelings can bring people to extreme self-care related behaviors via (a) the susceptibility to interpersonal influence, and (b) the development of a predominance of obsessive (vs. harmonious) passion toward the self-care. To test these hypotheses, we ran one cross-sectional study among voluntary participants (N = 401). Results confirmed our hypotheses, suggesting that physical appearance is perceived as a fruitful and useful route to maintain or even restoring ones' personal sense of significance. Notably, these results shed light on another scope that can be exploited to achieve social significance (i.e., physical appearance) through extremism, and could represent a starting point to design practical intervention to reduce the examined extreme behaviors.

How far can the self be extended? Automatic attention capture is triggered not only by the self-face

The preferential processing of self-related information is thought to be driven by its high level of familiarity. However, some behavioral studies have shown that people may exhibit a preference for initially unfamiliar stimuli that have been associated with themselves arbitrarily. One of the key questions that needs to be addressed concerns the role of early attention in the prioritization of newly acquired information associated with the self. Another question is whether both highly familiar as well as new information referring to a subjectively significant person (i.e. close-other) benefits from preferential attentional processing. We aimed to tackle both questions by investigating the neural mechanisms involved in processing extremely familiar stimuli, like one's own face or the face of a close-other, as well as stimuli (abstract shapes) that were newly linked to each person. We used a dot-probe paradigm that allowed us to investigate the early stages of attentional prioritization. Our analysis of the N2pc component unveiled that attention was automatically captured by the self-face, a shape associated with oneself, and the face of the close person. However, a shape associated with the close-other did not elicit the same attentional response, as the N2pc was absent. Thus, both the self-face and information referring to the extended self (self-assigned shape, close-other's face) benefit from preferential early and automatic attentional processing.

Unleashing the link between the relaxation of the COVID-19 control policy and residents' mental health in China: the mediating role of family tourism consumption

Objective

COVID-19 has negatively influenced industrial development, family consumption, and residents' mental health. Unfortunately, it has not yet been studied whether this adverse situation can be alleviated after the relaxation of the COVID-19 control policy (RCC). Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the effect of the RCC on the resident's mental health and the mediating effect of family tourism consumption.

Methods

By using the PSM and mediating effetc model to research the panel data of two periods (April 2021 and April 2023) for Shaanxi province, China.

Results

The RCC negatively inhibited the mental health severity of residents, and the mental health severity decreased by 0.602. In particular, the RCC showed the most substantial negative effect on residents' stress, followed by anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, it is found that the impact of the RCC on the mental health of residents is highly heterogeneous. The RCC indicates a linear significant effect on the mental health of residents under 60 years of age, while the results were found insignificant for residents above 60 years of age. Meanwhile, the RCC's improvement effect on urban residents' mental health is greater than that of rural residents. In addition, mechanism analysis showed that tourism consumption plays a mediating role in the influence of the RCC on the mental health of residents, and the mediating effect accounted for 24.58% of the total effect.

Conclusion

Based on the findings, the study proposes that government and policymakers should strengthen mental health intervention, improve access to mental health counseling, stimulate economic development, expand the employment of residents, and track the mutation of the novel coronavirus.

Means substitutability in personal significance restoration

Drawing on Significance Quest Theory, we hypothesized that when people experience a loss of significance related to a specific life domain, they will aim to restore their significance by acting in an extreme manner in a different life domain. To test this hypothesis, we ran two cross-sectional studies using samples of employed people in romantic relationships. Study 1 tested if people experiencing a loss of significance in the romantic relationship domain were more prone to extremism at work. Study 2 tested whether people experiencing work-related significance loss were more prone to engage in obsessive relational intrusion (ORI) toward their romantic partner. Results from both studies confirmed our hypothesis, suggesting that both amorous relationships and careers are perceived as fruitful in maintaining or restoring ones' sense of personal significance, even if the original loss of significance is derived from an unrelated domain. Notably, this research represents one of the first tests of the key assumption of Significance Quest Theory entailing the substitutability of means through which one can attain or renew their sense of significance.

How high-intensity sensory consumption fills up resource scarcity: The boundary condition of self-acceptance

OBJECTIVE

Everyone in life will experience resource scarcity, which causes self-discrepancy. It is widely known that individuals participate in reactive consumption to solve the problems of self-discrepancy and resources scarcity. This kind of consumption may be symbolically related to the essence of the resource scarcity or may occur in an unrelated domain. This study proposes a theory for "filling up" one's resource scarcity through high-intensity sensory consumption (HISC).

METHODS

We used different methods, including one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), linear regression, mediating effect, and moderating effect, to test the four hypotheses. Four experiments in the study were conducted from May 2022 and August 2022 and involved undergraduates from a university and volunteers recruited online. All participants are adults and verbally agree to participate voluntarily. Study 1a (N = 96 (male 47, female 49), participants from a business school in China) measured resource scarcity in the laboratory experiments and verified the effect of resource scarcity on consumer HISC preference by using linear regression (H1). Study 1b (N = 191 (male 98, female 93), students and teachers from a university in China) measured resource scarcity in the laboratory experiments and manipulated positively and negatively valenced experiences. Using the PROCESS SPSS Mode l, we verified that negatively valenced stimuli also lead to higher levels of arousal, which in turn restores the self-discrepancy caused by resource scarcity (H2). Study 2 (an online experiment, N = 182 (male 91, female 91), participants from China) manipulated the resource scarcity in a color sensory stimulant context, replicating the preliminary effect and examined the mediating effect of the self-worth by using the PROCESS SPSS Mode 4 (H3). Study 3 (an online experiment, N = 251 (male 125, female 126), participants from China) manipulated resource scarcity and self-acceptance in the tactile sensory experience, and tested the moderating effect of self-acceptance by using the PROCESS SPSS Mode 8 (H4).

RESULTS

Four studies suggest that not only do individuals facing resources scarcity prefer HISC but also that this consumption is mediated and moderated by self-worth and self-acceptance, respectively. This preference for HISC is negated when individuals have high self-acceptance traits. The findings are tested in the auditory domain (as evidenced by a propensity for louder volume), the visual domain (as evidenced by a propensity for more intense colors), and the tactile domain (as evidenced by a propensity for more intense need for touch). The findings also demonstrate that individual preferences for HISC is shown to operate regardless of the valence (positive valence vs. negative valence) of the sensory consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

Across four experiments, we find that individuals who are subjected to resource scarcity show a preference for high-intensity sensory consumption in the auditory, visual, and tactile domains. We also find that both negatively and positively valenced sensory stimuli have the same impact on resource-scarce individuals' preference for HISC. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the sense of self-worth significantly mediates the effect of resource scarcity on HISC. Finally, we reveal that self-acceptance moderates the effect of resource scarcity on HISC preference.

Is It Personal? The Impact of Personally Relevant Robotic Failures (PeRFs) on Humans' Trust, Likeability, and Willingness to Use the Robot

In three laboratory experiments, we examine the impact of personally relevant failures (PeRFs) on users' perceptions of a collaborative robot. PeR is determined by how much a specific issue applies to a particular person, i.e., it affects one's own goals and values. We hypothesized that PeRFs would reduce trust in the robot and the robot's Likeability and Willingness to Use (LWtU) more than failures that are not personal to participants. To achieve PeR in human-robot interaction, we utilized three different manipulation mechanisms: (A) damage to property, (B) financial loss, and (C) first-person versus third-person failure scenarios. In total, 132 participants engaged with a robot in person during a collaborative task of laundry sorting. All three experiments took place in the same experimental environment, carefully designed to simulate a realistic laundry sorting scenario. Results indicate that the impact of PeRFs on perceptions of the robot varied across the studies. In experiments A and B, the encounters with PeRFs reduced trust significantly relative to a no failure session. But not entirely for LWtU. In experiment C, the PeR manipulation had no impact. The work highlights challenges and adjustments needed for studying robotic failures in laboratory settings. We show that PeR manipulations affect how users perceive a failing robot. The results bring about new questions regarding failure types and their perceived severity on users' perception of the robot. Putting PeR aside, we observed differences in the way users perceive interaction failures compared (experiment C) to how they perceive technical ones (A and B).

Does a Low-Cost Act of Support Produce Slacktivism or Commitment? Prosocial and Impression-Management Motives as Moderators

Increase or decrease in subsequent action following a low-cost act of support for a cause can be predicted from both commitment theory and the slacktivism effect. In this paper, we report on three studies that tested type of motivation (prosocial vs. impression management) as a moderator of the effect of an initial act of support [wearing a badge (S1) and writing a slogan (S2 and 3)] has on support for blood donation. Small-scale meta-analysis performed on data from the three studies shows that activating prosocial motivation generally leads to greater support for the cause after an initial act of support compared to the control condition, while the effect from impression-management motivation can either be negative or null.

Materialism, conspicuous consumption, and brand engagement in self-concept: a study of teenagers

BACKGROUND

Contemporary adolescents, also known as Generation Z, are an important group of consumers due to the role they play in today's economy. The present study investigates the relationship between materialism and brand engagement in self-concept (BESC) and whether conspicuous consumption is a mediator of this relationship in early, middle, and late adolescence.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

The participants were 581 students from Poland, aged 13 to 17 (M = 15 years, SD = 1.42); 51.6% of them were girls. Data were gathered using a demographic information form, the Youth Materialism Scale, the Conspicuous Consumption Scale, and a BESC Scale, completed during personal interviews.

RESULTS

The study indicated an association of higher materialism and higher conspicuous consumption with a higher level of BESC, where conspicuous consumption acts as a mediator of the correlation between materialism and BESC. Age also moderates this mediation, i.e., the older the teenagers are, the weaker is the analyzed mediation effect.

CONCLUSIONS

The research is part of an essential step in understanding the mechanism of BESC by testing a moderated mediation model in teenagers.

Significance-Quest Theory

Even though the motivation to feel worthy, to be respected, and to matter to others has been identified for centuries by scholars, the antecedents, consequences, and conditions of its activation have not been systematically analyzed or integrated. The purpose of this article is to offer such an integration. We feature a motivational construct, the quest for significance, defined as the need to have social worth. This need is typically fulfilled by a sense of measuring up to the values one shares with significant others. Our significance-quest theory (SQT) assumes that the need for significance is universal, whereas the means of satisfying it depend on the sociocultural context in which one's values are embedded. Those means are identified in a narrative supported and validated by one's network, or reference group. The quest for significance is activated by significance loss and/or the opportunity for significance gain. It motivates behavior that aims to affirm, realize, and/or show commitment to an important value. The SQT is consistent with large bodies of prior research and supported by novel studies in multiple laboratory and field settings. It transcends prior understandings and offers guidance for further study of this essential human motivation.

Body Image Dissatisfaction and Impulse Buying: A Moderated Mediation Model

This study investigated the mediating roles of self-acceptance and self-esteem in the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and impulse buying, and tested the moderating effect of gender on the relationships. A sample of 374 college students and graduate students (33.4% male, 66.6% female) participated in the study. Results revealed that (a) body image dissatisfaction positively associated with impulse buying; (b) self-esteem plays a mediating role between body image dissatisfaction and impulsive buying; (c) a serial indirect pathway (i.e., Body image dissatisfaction → self-acceptance → self-esteem → impulse buying) emerged; (d) the mediation path from self-acceptance to self-esteem was stronger for female than that from male. The results underscore the importance of identifying the mechanisms that moderate the mediated path between body image dissatisfaction and impulse buying among students. These findings point to the potential implications about how to reduce impulse buying through improving body image satisfaction.

Acting inconsistently with an important goal predicts compensatory health behaviors through regret

OBJECTIVE

This study explored affective mechanisms of compensatory health behaviors after acting inconsistently with an important goal. Specifically, we propose and test a model in which regret over being in a situation that inhibits goal pursuit lays at the root of an individual's engagement in compensatory behaviors such as avoiding fatty foods and sweets.

METHODS

A total of 185 participants committed to being healthy took part in a longitudinal experiment (t₀-t₃). At t₀ we measured the extent to which the goal of being healthy was important to participants. At t₁ in the laboratory setting we manipulated inconsistency with the goal by asking participants to taste foods either more or less calorie-dense. After the manipulation (t₂) we measured experienced regret. Twenty-four hours later (t₃), participants declared whether they engaged in compensatory health behaviors such as avoiding fat-dense food and sweets.

RESULTS

As predicted, acting inconsistently with a goal was associated with higher levels of experienced regret. Higher regret, in turn, predicted engagement in compensatory health behaviors. Moreover, subjective importance of the goal moderated the effect of inconsistency on experienced regret in such a way that more committed individuals experienced more regret when they acted inconsistently with a goal.

CONCLUSIONS

We discuss the results and propose new avenues for research on compensation in broader contexts of situational and individual differences.

Symbolic Moral Self-Completion - Social Recognition of Prosocial Behavior Reduces Subsequent Moral Striving

According to theories on moral balancing, a prosocial act can decrease people’s motivation to engage in subsequent prosocial behavior, because people feel that they have already achieved a positive moral self-perception. However, there is also empirical evidence showing that people actually need to be recognized by others in order to establish and affirm their self-perception through their prosocial actions. Without social recognition, moral balancing could possibly fail. In this paper, we investigate in two laboratory experiments how social recognition of prosocial behavior influences subsequent moral striving. Building on self-completion theory, we hypothesize that social recognition of prosocial behavior (self-serving behavior) weakens (strengthens) subsequent moral striving. In Study 1, we show that a prosocial act leads to less subsequent helpfulness when it was socially recognized as compared to a situation without social recognition. Conversely, when a self-serving act is socially recognized, it encourages subsequent helpfulness. In Study 2, we replicate the effect of social recognition on moral striving in a more elaborated experimental setting and with a larger participant sample. We again find that a socially recognized prosocial act leads to less subsequent helpfulness compared to an unrecognized prosocial act. Our results shed new light on the boundary conditions of moral balancing effects and underscore the view that these effects can be conceptualized as a dynamic of self-completion.

Symbolic Product Superiority in the Neural Salience of Compensatory Consumption Behavior

To cope with self-threat being induced by personal setbacks in daily life, compensatory consumption, especially on symbolic product, has been found to do valuable help to resolve discrepancies between ideal and actual self-concept. Conforming to symbolic self-completion theory, the current study adopted event-related potentials to explore the objective information processing stages in self-concept-impaired status (the defeat group) on a neural level. The behavioral results replicated previous findings that the defeat group gained stronger purchase intention for symbolic products than utilitarian products. The electrophysiological data demonstrated that perceptual difficulties for products in preliminary stage (N1) were steady among conditions, and after that, information processing separation emerged. In contrast to the individuals with a draw experience, those with a defeat experience raised highly focused attention (P2) and eager expectation (N2) for products, especially for symbolic ones. Meanwhile, symbolic (vs. utilitarian) products also evoked a higher emotional arousal level and slowed the diminishment of involved attentional resource (late positive potential) at late cognitive processing stage. Taken together, the sequential integration of multiple neural indicators contributes to elucidating the processing stages of compensatory consumption behavior.

Protective Gun Ownership as a Coping Mechanism

Firearms are one of the central flashpoints in American life, and yet the motivations underlying their ownership have been generally understudied by psychologists. In this article, I review work from across the social sciences to model the psychological utility that people get from gun ownership. I propose the coping model of protective gun ownership and argue that those who own their weapon for protection are using their gun symbolically as an aid to manage psychological threats-to their safety, control, and sense of belongingness-that come from their belief that the world is a dangerous place and that society will not keep them safe. I discuss the ramifications of this coping strategy and present a research agenda for exploring this framework.

Considering the Self in the Link Between Self-Esteem and Materialistic Values: The Moderating Role of Self-Construal

Studies consistently show that materialism might be a strategy people use to cope with low self-esteem. This link might differ among people holding different definitions of the "self" in terms of their relationships with others, however. This research examined the link between self-esteem and materialistic values from the perspective of how people define the self, or their self-construal. In three studies, we explored the moderating role of self-construal in the link between Chinese participants' self-esteem and materialistic values. Through a self-report survey (Study 1, N = 422), experimental manipulation of self-construal (Study 2, N = 151), and experimental manipulation of both self-esteem and self-construal (Study 3, N = 123), results indicated that self-esteem and self-construal interacted in predicting materialistic values. Specifically, self-esteem negatively predicted materialistic values when interdependent self-construal was low, but not when it was high. We suggest that individuals' pursuit of materialism under conditions of low self-esteem might depend on how they define the "self."

Eating healthy to impress: How conspicuous consumption, perceived self-control motivation, and descriptive normative influence determine functional food choices

Functional foods are promoted as products that provide specific health benefits beyond basic nutrition. While a number of studies show that the motivation behind the purchase of such products is oriented towards health concerns, we argue that consumers' choice of functional food can also be driven by less health-related hedonic or social motives, such as a tendency for indulgence vs. self-control or the motivation to impress and show off. This proposition has not been systematically and empirically tested before. Hence, the aim of the present study is to reveal the relationship between conspicuous consumption, perceived self-control motivation, susceptibility to descriptive normative influence and the consumption of functional foods. Our results (N = 900) suggest that conspicuous consumption and susceptibility to descriptive normative influence are positively associated with functional food distinctiveness evaluation while perceived self-control motivation is negatively associated with such evaluation. Moreover, results further revealed the indirect effects of susceptibility to descriptive normative influence, conspicuous consumption and perceived self-control motivation on self-reported purchase rates of functional foods via the functional food distinctiveness evaluation. The findings support the relevance of social and hedonic motives for policy makers and marketers in the functional foods industry for marketing and health promotion.

When does self-improvement undermine materialistic tendencies, and when does it strengthen them?

<b>Background</b><br /> In view of the fact that materialism may be caused by feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem, this paper attempts to answer the question of what the role of self-improvement is in the development of materialistic tendencies.<br /> <br /> <b>Participants and procedure</b><br /> Two experiments were carried out (n = 144, n = 126). Half of the participants were exposed to self-threat (failure), which boosts materialistic tendencies, and the others were exposed to self-enhancement (success), which allows maintenance of good self-esteem. In both cases participants were given an opportunity to undertake self-improvement (i.e. redo a task that previously had turned out to be a failure/success). Analyses of materialistic tendencies were based on financial aspirations (study 1) and intentions to purchase luxurious good (study 2).<br /> <br /> <b>Results</b><br /> The results show that people have lower fiscal aspirations (study 1) and want to buy luxury products less (study 2) when they undertake self-improvement in a self-threat (failure) situation. However, when people undertake self-improvement in a self-enhancement situation (success) they have higher fiscal aspirations (study 1) and want to buy luxury products more (study 2).<br /> <br /> <b>Conclusions</b><br /> Self-improvement may be an antidote to materialistic aspirations if undertaken in a self-threat situation, but it may also be a source of materialistic aspirations if undertaken in a self-enhancement situation.

Collective Psychological Ownership and Intergroup Relations

Whereas much social psychological research has studied the in-group and out-group implications of social categorization and collective identity ("we"), little research has examined the nature and relevance of collective psychological ownership ("ours") for intergroup relations. We make a case for considering collective psychological ownership as an important source of intergroup tensions. We do so by integrating theory and research from various social sciences, and we draw out implications for future social psychological research on intergroup relations. We discuss collective psychological ownership in relation to the psychology of possessions, marking behavior, intergroup threats, outgroup exclusion, and in-group responsibility. We suggest that the social psychological processes discussed apply to a range of ownership objects (territory, buildings, cultural artifacts) and various intergroup settings, including international, national, and local contexts, and in organizations and communities. We conclude by providing directions for future research in different intergroup contexts.

Structural Dynamics of Cognition: From Consistency Theories to Constraint Satisfaction

We first offer a brief review of the history of cognitive consistency theories in social psychology. After promising beginnings as an outgrowth of Gestalt theory, early consistency theories failed to yield a general account of the mechanisms by which attitudes are formed and decisions are made. However over the past decade the principles underlying consistency theories have been revived in the form of connectionist models of constraint satisfaction. We then review experimental work on complex legal decision making that illustrates how constraint satisfaction mechanisms can cause coherence shifts, thereby transforming ambiguous inputs into coherent decisions.

Social Identity Notions and Theories

According to Farsides (1993), Schiffmann and Wicklund's (1992) criticism of social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979, 1986) is untenable. In particular, their claim that social identity theory should be abandoned in favour of Tesser's (1980, 1986) self-evaluation maintenance model or Wicklund and Gollwitzer's (1981, 1982) symbolic self-completion theory is rejected by Farsides. In the reply to Farsides, it is shown that his argumentation is not conclusive. In the same vein, Schiffmann and Wicklund's (1992) claim to abandon social identity notions is pursued. Extra-theoretical reasons underlying adherence to these notions are discussed, and a direction for investigating social identity processes more productively is proposed.

Internalization of Multiple Perspectives or Dissonance Reduction?

In numerous research programs based on the concept of cognitive dissonance, participants play a role that is ostensibly in conflict with their pre-existing values. A strict reading of dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957) leads us to suppose that these role-playing, or ‘forced compliance’, procedures generally create results that are not implied by the theory. We spell out a theoretical position that comes to terms with these effects of role-playing, one that approaches role-playing procedures from the standpoint of the development of multiple value repertoires. From this viewpoint the outcomes of role-playing do not stem from contradictions— or cognitive dissonance—within the person’s sets of values.

The Minimal Group Paradigm and its Minimal Psychology

Tajfel and Turner's (1979, 1986) social identity theory, the minimal group paradigm with which the theory is associated and two core findings stemming from that paradigm are the focus of this paper. The development of the social identity concept is reviewed, and particular detail is devoted to the empirical basis of the theory, given that the theory was constructed to account for these data. It is found that the data are replete with weaknesses-confounds and susceptibility to alternative explanations-and that these weaknesses have gone largely unheeded. A careful inspection of the theory reveals that it is a reductionistic approach to individual identity or self: the theory specifies in no manner the psychological state of the individual prior to entry into the `ingroup', and in turn the individual's social identity is then equated with physical presence in a group, whereby membership is brought about not by psychological forces, but by arbitrary assignment. Two alternative, social-psychological theories are reviewed that serve as riper candidates for the generating of psychological hypotheses regarding the individual's approach towards and avoidance of, identification with and distancing from, other individuals and groups. It is concluded that social identity theory is little more than its own minimal paradigm, and is superfluous as an account of systematic social-psychological phenomena.

Hedonic products for you, utilitarian products for me

Consumers make trade-offs when they choose between utilitarian and hedonic products. The former is practical, instrumental, and functional, whereas the latter is sensational and experiential. Prior research shows that people feel more guilt when they contemplate on engaging in hedonic consumption than engaging in utilitarian consumption. The current research investigates the effect of decision targets (i.e., making decisions for oneself or another person) on preferences for utilitarian and hedonic products. Consumers deciding for others were more likely to choose hedonic over utilitarian options than were consumers deciding for themselves. Utilitarian/hedonic was manipulated either through attributes of similar products (Study 1) or through different products (Study 2). Anticipatory guilt accounted for such self–other difference (Study 2). In particular, anticipatory guilt triggered by contemplating hedonic consumption is less for consumers who made choices for others than for those who made choices for themselves. In sum, preferences for utilitarian and hedonic products depend on decision targets.

Group-Identity Completion and the Symbolic Value of Property

Building on symbolic self-completion theory, we conceptualize group identity as a goal toward which group members strive, using material symbols of that identity. We report four studies showing that the value placed on such material symbols (e.g., a building) depends on commitment to group identity, the extent to which a symbol can be used to represent in-group identity, and situational variability in goal strength induced through group-identity affirmation or threat. Our results suggest that property derives value from its capacity to serve as an effective means in the pursuit of group-identity goals. Implications for inter-group conflict are discussed.

The Moral Self-Image Scale: Measuring and Understanding the Malleability of the Moral Self

Recent ethical decision-making models suggest that individuals' own view of their morality is malleable rather than static, responding to their (im)moral actions and reflections about the world around them. Yet no construct currently exists to represent the malleable state of a person's moral self-image (MSI). In this investigation, we define this construct, as well as develop a scale to measure it. Across five studies, we show that feedback about the moral self alters an individual's MSI as measured by our scale. We also find that the MSI is related to, but distinct from, related constructs, including moral identity, self-esteem, and moral disengagement. In Study 1, we administered the MSI scale and several other relevant scales to demonstrate convergent and discriminant validity. In Study 2, we examine the relationship between the MSI and one's ought versus ideal self. In Studies 3 and 4, we find that one's MSI is affected in the predicted directions by manipulated feedback about the moral self, including feedback related to social comparisons of moral behavior (Study 3) and feedback relative to one's own moral ideal (Study 4). Lastly, Study 5 provides evidence that the recall of one's moral or immoral behavior alters people's MSI in the predicted directions. Taken together, these studies suggest that the MSI is malleable and responds to individuals' moral and immoral actions in the outside world. As such, the MSI is an important variable to consider in the study of moral and immoral behavior.

The power of putting a label on it: green labels weigh heavier than contradicting product information for consumers' purchase decisions and post-purchase behavior

Green products are appealing. Thus, labeling products as environmentally friendly is an effective strategy to increase sales. However, the labels often promise more than the products can actually deliver. In the present research, we examined the expectation that consumers with high ecological motivation have strong preferences for green-labeled products – even when presented product information contradicts the label’s image. This unsettling hypothesis is grounded in the labels’ potential to create a cognitive match between the labeled product and consumers’ motives. For labels indicating environmental friendliness (green product labels), this link should be strongest when consumers’ ecological motivation is high. Findings in a series of three experiments support our assumption, showing that consumers with high ecological motivation had strong preferences (i.e., product evaluations, purchase intentions, and simulated purchase decisions) for green-labeled products as compared to consumers with low ecological motivation (Studies 1–3). Crucially, these preferences were robust, despite contradicting environmental product information (Studies 1 and 2). We extended our findings by additionally examining the impact of product labels and motivation on moral self-regulation processes. This was established by assessing participants’ pro-social behavior after the purchase task: participants with high ecological motivation acted, consistent with their motives, more pro-socially in post-decision occasions. In accordance with moral cleansing effects, pro-social behavior was intensified after purchasing conventional products (Studies 2 and 3). Green labels protected participants with high ecological motivation from moral threats due to the purchase, thus making pro-social behavior less likely. Findings suggest that highly ecologically motivated consumers are most susceptible to green labels, which may override detailed product information.

The neural basis of monitoring goal progress

The neural basis of progress monitoring has received relatively little attention compared to other sub-processes that are involved in goal directed behavior such as motor control and response inhibition. Studies of error-monitoring have identified the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) as a structure that is sensitive to conflict detection, and triggers corrective action. However, monitoring goal progress involves monitoring correct as well as erroneous events over a period of time. In the present research, 20 healthy participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI) while playing a game that involved monitoring progress toward either a numerical or a visuo-spatial target. The findings confirmed the role of the dACC in detecting situations in which the current state may conflict with the desired state, but also revealed activations in the frontal and parietal regions, pointing to the involvement of processes such as attention and working memory (WM) in monitoring progress over time. In addition, activation of the cuneus was associated with monitoring progress toward a specific target presented in the visual modality. This is the first time that activation in this region has been linked to higher-order processing of goal-relevant information, rather than low-level anticipation of visual stimuli. Taken together, these findings identify the neural substrates involved in monitoring progress over time, and how these extend beyond activations observed in conflict and error monitoring.

Psychological vulnerabilities and propensities for involvement in violent extremism

Research on the psychology of terrorism has argued against the idea that most terrorist behavior is caused by mental illness or by a terrorist personality. This article suggests an alternative line of inquiry - an individual psychology of terrorism that explores how otherwise normal mental states and processes, built on characteristic attitudes, dispositions, inclinations, and intentions, might affect a person's propensity for involvement with violent extremist groups and actions. It uses the concepts of "mindset" - a relatively enduring set of attitudes, dispositions, and inclinations - and worldview as the basis of a psychological "climate," within which various vulnerabilities and propensities shape ideas and behaviors in ways that can increase the person's risk or likelihood of involvement in violent extremism.

Self-affirmation underlies Facebook use

Social network sites, such as Facebook, have acquired an unprecedented following, yet it is unknown what makes them so attractive to users. Here we propose that these sites' popularity can be understood through the fulfillment of ego needs. We use self-affirmation theory to hypothesize why and when people spend time on their online profiles. Study 1 shows that Facebook profiles are self-affirming in the sense of satisfying users' need for self-worth and self-integrity. Study 2 shows that Facebook users gravitate toward their online profiles after receiving a blow to the ego, in an unconscious effort to repair their perceptions of self-worth. In addition to illuminating some of the psychological factors that underlie Facebook use, the results provide an important extension to self-affirmation theory by clarifying how self-affirmation operates in people's everyday environments.

Identity-Goal Threats

We hypothesized that threatening self-aspects that pertain to an identity specified in a binding identity goal leads to distinct compensation (i.e., self-symbolizing), whereas threatening self-aspects not specified in a binding identity goal leads to general self-worth restoration. To test this hypothesis, participants with either weak or strong commitments to becoming lawyers were subjected to either a related or unrelated self-threat, and then given the opportunity to restore both the lawyer identity and general self-worth. Only participants strongly committed to become lawyers responded to a related self-threat by distinct compensation rather than general self-worth restoration. Apparently, strong commitments to an identity goal isolate this particular part of the self from the overall self.