The current study investigates the quantity and quality of intrusive thoughts (IT) experienced during the evacuation following a technological disaster. This study is aimed at evaluating which aspects of IT are related to increased frequency and disturbance of intrusive thoughts, as well as stress and coping outcomes.

Despite increases in representation, Black students still struggle to feel like they belong on their college campuses, which negatively impacts their retention, mental health, and academic success. Although previous studies have shown how a lowered sense of belonging negatively affects Black students, most of this research has centered on Black students attending predominately white institutions (PWIs), thereby offering little information on the nature and consequences of a lowered sense of belonging for Black students attending different types of institutions, like minority serving institutions (MSIs). Accordingly, the current phenomenological study explored and compared the factors contributing to Black students’ perceptions of belonging at two institutions, one PWI and one MSI. A secondary aim of the study was to explore the relevance of these factors for Black students based on additional demographics, particularly students’ gender and field of study. To achieve these aims, the study drew upon an archival dataset of one-on-one interviews conducted with 48 Black college students (70.8% women) between 18 and 23 years old (Mage = 20.09; SD = 1.25). These data were submitted to thematic analysis and interpreted using a critical race psychology lens. Findings revealed three themes representing: (a) representation matters, (b) safe spaces for Black students, and (c) administrative response to Black people and spaces. Findings derived from the current investigation have the potential to advance our understanding of how to foster belonging for Black students across institution types.

An individual's perceptions of various aspects of one's romantic relationship (irrespective of whether or not the perceptions align with reality) often play a critical role in romantic relationship satisfaction. Research has demonstrated that the accuracy of an individual's perception of his or her partner is generally positively related to the individual's romantic relationship satisfaction. However, when perceiving negative or conflictual messages from a partner, an individual's accuracy of perception is negatively associated with his or her romantic relationship satisfaction. Researchers have suggested that poor accuracy in perceiving negative messages might diffuse the negative intention in a way that is less impactful to the relationship. The present study was designed to investigate accuracy in the perception of sexual topics, specifically masturbatory habits. A sample of 93 married couples (186 individuals) responded to questions about (a) their own masturbatory behaviors and (b) their perception of their partners' masturbatory behaviors to determine the accuracy of each partner's perception of his or her partner. The association between accuracy and romantic and sexual relationship satisfaction was explored, along with one potential moderating variable: attitudes toward masturbation. Perceived reason for masturbating, perceived target of arousal during masturbation, and partner's actual reason for masturbating all positively predicted an individual's relationship satisfaction. Partner's actual openness about masturbatory behaviors moderated the association between accuracy of partner perception of openness about masturbation and both relationship and sexual satisfaction. When partners were more open about masturbation, accuracy was a stronger positive predictor of relationship and sexual satisfaction than when partners were less open about masturbation. Results, limitations, areas for future research, and clinical implications are discussed.

High self-monitors choose as friends skilled activity partners, whereas low self-monitors select friends who are similar in attitude and values. We hypothesized that (a) as self-monitoring increased, individuals would identify the loss of shared interest as the cause for dissolving a former friendship and (b) as self-monitoring decreased, individuals would identify the loss of shared attitudes and values as the cause for dissolving a former friendship. One-hundred sixty one (82 males, 79 females) participants were recruited from MTurk. Participants were prompted with a forced choice measure to identify one of two reasons why a past close friendship dissolved. For one response participants could identify a loss of shared activities, for the other a loss of shared values. Participants then completed the 25-item Self-Monitoring Scale. For exploratory purposes, participants then completed a measure of the strategies they used to terminate that relationship of a best friend. Our results were consistent with our predictions, as self-monitoring appeared to influence the cause of dissolution in former close friendships. Additionally, as self-monitoring tendencies increased, participants were more likely to report using cost escalation, manipulation, distant/mediated communication, and de-escalation as strategies for ending a friendship. Explanations for these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Mock jurors (N = 200) read descriptions of a mock civil case involving an adult survivor of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy who is suing his/her abuser for monetary/psychological damages. Jurors individually decided perceived percent of responsibility of defendant, award to plaintiff pre- and post-group deliberations, and as a mock jury, in groups of 5 to 10. Jurors and juries assigned greater percent of culpability to female defendants than male defendants. Individual jurors awarded more n1oney to plaintiffs abused by female defendants than male defendants. Low Modem Sexism Scale (MSS) scorers attributed greater percentage of responsibility to defendants and awarded plaintiff more money than high scorers. There was no significant difference in award to male or female plaintiffs; however, greater percent of culpability was assigned to defendants who abused plaintiff longer (i.e., 19 years vs. 10 years). Low Belief in Just World (BJW) scorers individually attributed greater percent of responsibility to defendant and awarded more money to plaintiff than high scorers. Gender of defendant, just world, and sexist attitudes appeared to play important roles in jurors' decisions in cases involving adults who were child victims.

Several theories have been posited regarding the role of jealousy on romantic relationships. However, they differ in terms of predictions which when confirmed has resulted in conflicting results. One way to sort out mixed results is to conduct a meta-analysis. Thus, the current investigations conformed to a meta-analysis of studies wherein the association between jealousy and relationship quality had been examined. In the present investigation jealousy had a negative relationship with relationship quality. Type of jealousy experienced moderated the effect on relationships, with anxious jealousy having a stronger negative relationship. Future directions for research in the field of jealousy and relationships are addressed.

Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by multiple symptoms such as psychomotor retardation, sleep disturbances, and cognitive deficits in decision making. The current study explores the relationships between cognitive variables and depressive symptomology and seeks to determine what predictive relationships exist between these constructs and if items from these constructs can accurately classify depressed persons. A normal sample of N = 116 participants were administered the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) as well as the Adult Hope Scale (ADH; Snyder et al., 1991), the Index of Autonomous Functioning(IAF; Weinstein, Przybylski, & Ryan, 2012), the Life Orientation Test-Revised(LOT-R; Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994), the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory(ZTPI; Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999), the Rumination Reflection Questionnaire(RRQ; Trapnell & Campbell, 1999), and the Automated Working Memory Assessment-II (AWMA; Alloway, 2012b). A stepwise linear regression analysis determined that the Pessimism and Optimism subscales of the LOT-R, the Present Fatalism subscale of the ZTPI, and the Hope Agency subscale of the AHS significantly predicted depression in participants. One item each from the Optimism and Pessimism subscales, two items from the Present Fatalism subscale, and one item from the Hope Agency subscale accurately classified between 67-82% of the depressed (n = 42) and non-depressed (n = 64) persons in the sample. The implications of these findings for therapy and cognitive approaches to understanding depression as well as the relationships between the predictor variables themselves are discussed.

Indoor environmental contaminants (ECs) such as lead, mold, mercury, radon, and bisphenol A (BPA) are prevalent in American homes and have dire consequences to children’s development, especially for children under six. To optimize the efficacy of programs aiming to prevent exposure to ECs, it is necessary to investigate parental factors that influence behavioral change. Parental self-efficacy is one such psychological construct which could help explain why and for whom an intervention is effective. The current study presents a measure developed to assess parental self-efficacy for preventing children from being exposed to ECs, the Parental Self-efficacy for Contaminant Exposure Prevention (PS-CEP). The current study aimed to (1) evaluate the factor structure of the developed measure, (2) evaluate the construct validity and (3) examine various characteristics of respondents based on their demonstrated level of self-efficacy. The PS-CEP was administered to 206 parents of children attending a local Head Start and a national sample of 377 parents of children under six drawn from an on-line polling website. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted, convergent and discriminant validity of the PS-CEP was assessed using existing measures, and demographic characteristics as well as parenting styles were examined. Based on model fit indices in the exploratory factor analysis, a four-factor model was the best fit (TLI = .90; RMSEA = .071). Three of the four factors of the PS-CEP demonstrated good validity. Additionally, the PS-CEP differentiated between levels of education, marital status, gender, and ethnicity. Finally, authoritative parenting style was found to correlate with three of the four factors. A measure of this type will allow interventions to be tailored based on parents’ self-efficacy to more appropriately support them in taking steps to create healthier environments for their children.

Illness representations play an important role in the way people with chronic illness manage symptoms and view their overall health. Those suffering from functional somatic syndromes as well as conventional diagnoses seek information and meaning about their health threats in order to make appraisals concerning health outcomes. The primary interest of this study was to determine whether illness representations predict coping strategies which in turn influence general health outcomes. Data was collected from a series of four online surveys that measured an individual’s illness representations (IPQ-R), coping responses (Brief COPE), and health outcomes (RAND-36). The sample included 204 participants (169 females and 30 males) all of whom experienced chronic illness symptoms and were classified as having a functional somatic syndrome (FSS) or conventional diagnosis (CD). As hypothesized, illness perceptions predicted avoidant coping strategies as well as general health. Specifically, illness beliefs of greater consequences and lower coherence were associated with greater reported use of self-blame, behavioral disengagement, and denial. Furthermore, these avoidant coping strategies were associated with poorer health. Self-blame emerged as a coping strategy most associated with illness representations and general health. Although a meditational model was proposed, self-blame did not mediate the relationship between illness consequence and general health.These findings suggest that viewing an illness as having more consequences is associated with more avoidant coping and has a negative impact on the overall general health in those suffering with chronic illness.

Nairne, Thompson, and Pandeirada (2007) have focused on the evolutionary aspect of memory by showing that when participants rate words relative to their relationship to survival, their subsequent retention of those words is superior to other well-known encoding techniques. Survival processing was induced using a written scenario of being stranded in grasslands that participants read. Several other experiments have replicated their findings, and some incorporated the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM) paradigm with survival-processing (Roediger, & McDermott, 1995). The use of DRM word lists has been shown to increase rates of false memories, and the same pattern held true with the original grassland scenario. The current experiment was designed to illustrate the adaptive memory effect in situations that humans presently experience on a common basis. The grasslands scenario was compared with two other modern scenarios. Furthermore, effect of survival processing on false memory was assessed using both DRM narratives and word lists. Most results support previous findings of the processing advantage elicited by the grassland scenario. However, words rated for relevancy to the non-survival related modern scenario were recalled more often than words from the other two scenarios. As expected, participants’ false and veridical memory was greater in the narrative condition compared with the word list condition. The survival-processing advantage does extend beyond word lists to the narrative format, supporting the evolutionary account that humans have selectively tuned cognitive processing. Keywords: memory, adaptive memory, evolution, survival processing, DRM, narrative, false memory, word list