The role of cultural worldviews in predicating gambling risk perception and behavior in a Chinese sample.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the relationships between cultural worldviews, gambling risk perception, and gambling behavior with a sample of tourists in Macao. METHODS: Participants were enrolled at famous landmarks and casinos in Macao, China. Data were collected using several instruments to assess an individual's cultural worldviews, gambling risk perceptions, and gambling intentions. RESULTS: We found that the three-dimensional solution was valid for the Chinese version of the gambling expectancy scale. Correlational and mediational analyses revealed that the relationship between an individualistic worldview and gambling intention was fully mediated by gambling risk perception. Respondents with an egalitarian worldview perceived greater risk associated with gambling than those with other worldviews. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrated the important influence of cultural variables on perceived risk and behavior in gambling. Moreover, understanding gamblers' worldviews could be beneficial for problem gambling interventions. Future research directions and the limitations of the findings were discussed.

Feelings About Fracking: Using the Affect Heuristic to Understand Opposition to Coal Seam Gas Production.

The rapid expansion of coal seam gas (CSG) extraction across Australia has polarized public opinion about the risks, benefits, and the future of the industry. We conducted a randomized controlled experiment to assess the impact of CSG messaging on opposition to the CSG industry. Residents of a major Australian city (N = 549), aged between 21 and 87 years, were randomly assigned to view one of three brief video messages (pro-CSG, anti-CSG, or a neutral control) sourced from the Internet. They then completed measures assessing CSG affective associations, perceived risks and benefits of CSG, and degree of opposition to the CSG industry. A subsample of 317 participants also completed the measures of affect, risks, benefits, and opposition two weeks following the initial message presentation. Message type significantly predicted message effects in a pattern consistent with the affect heuristic model, although overall, the message effects were modest in magnitude. Respondents who viewed the anti-CSG video (relative to the control) reported more negative affective responses to CSG, perceived higher risks, fewer benefits, and greater opposition to the CSG industry. Those who viewed the pro-CSG video (relative to the control) reported stronger positive affective responses to CSG, perceived more CSG benefits and fewer risks, and expressed less opposition to the industry. The effects persisted over a two-week interval for the anti-CSG message, but not for the pro-CSG message. Our findings suggest that people's risk perceptions and views about the acceptability of CSG are malleable by messaging that targets affective pathways.

Self-compassion moderates the predictive effects of implicit cognitions on subjective well-being.

This study examined whether self-compassion may regulate the effects of implicit cognitions (automatic and preconscious responses) on the subjective well-being of Australian adults (N = 132). As hypothesized, self-compassion moderated the predictive effects of 2 implicit cognitions (positive attention bias and implicit self-esteem) on 2 indicators of subjective well-being (life satisfaction and depressive symptoms). Low implicit self-esteem and weak positive attention bias predicted more depressive symptoms and lower life satisfaction only for participants who were low in self-compassion. These results extend previous research knowledge by indicating that self-compassion may not only buffer the impact of explicit (deliberate and conscious) cognitive processes on well-being but may also regulate the effects of preconscious cognitive processes on mental health outcomes. Theoretical and treatment implications are discussed.

The Future is Now: Reducing Psychological Distance to Increase Public Engagement with Climate Change.

Many people perceive climate change as psychologically distant-a set of uncertain events that might occur far in the future, impacting distant places and affecting people dissimilar to themselves. In this study, we employed construal level theory to investigate whether a climate change communication intervention could increase public engagement by reducing the psychological distance of climate change. Australian residents (N = 333) were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions: one framed to increase psychological distance to climate change (distal frame), and the other framed to reduce psychological distance (proximal frame). Participants then completed measures of psychological distance of climate change impacts, climate change concern, and intentions to engage in mitigation behavior. Principal components analysis indicated that psychological distance to climate change was best conceptualized as a multidimensional construct consisting of four components: geographic, temporal, social, and uncertainty. Path analysis revealed the effect of the treatment frame on climate change concern and intentions was fully mediated by psychological distance dimensions related to uncertainty and social distance. Our results suggest that climate communications framed to reduce psychological distance represent a promising strategy for increasing public engagement with climate change.

Thinking styles and decision making: A meta-analysis.

This meta-analysis examined whether tendencies to use reflective and intuitive thinking styles predicted decision performance (normatively correct responding) and decision experience (e.g., speed, enjoyment) on a range of decision-making tasks. A pooled sample of 17,704 participants (Mage = 25 years) from 89 samples produced small but significant weighted average effects for reflection on performance (r = .11) and experience (r = .14). Intuition was negatively associated with performance (r = -.09) but positively associated with experience (r = .06). Moderation analyses using 499 effect sizes revealed heterogeneity across task-theory match/mismatch, task type, description-based versus experience-based decisions, time pressure, age, and measure type. Effects of both thinking styles were strongest when the task matched the theoretical strengths of the thinking style (up to r = .29). Specific tasks that produced the largest thinking style effects (up to r = .35) were also consistent with system characteristics. Time pressure weakened the effects of reflection, but not intuition, on performance. Effect sizes for reflection on performance were largest for individuals aged either 12 to 18 years or 25+ (up to r = .18), and the effects of both reflection and intuition on experience were largest for adults aged 25+ (up to r = .27). Overall, our results indicate that associations between thinking styles and decision outcomes are context dependent. To improve decision performance and experience, decision architects and educators should carefully consider both individual differences in the decision maker and the nature of the decision task.

Effect of normative masculinity on males' dysfunctional sexual beliefs, sexual attitudes, and perceptions of sexual functioning.

Male sexual dysfunction is a prevalent and distressing condition, which may be exacerbated by the sufferer's perceptions of masculinity and normative sexual behavior. This study sought to investigate the effect of social context on males' beliefs regarding sexual behavior. The research examined the effect of male role modeling and masculine cues on males' dysfunctional sexual beliefs, sexual attitudes, and self-perceptions of sexual functioning. A sample of 140 male participants, with a mean age of 29 years, was exposed to pictorial and verbal cues that presented different versions of male behavior across three conditions. Results indicated that males exposed to models and cues of traditional masculinity showed significantly increased levels of dysfunctional sexual beliefs and traditional sexual attitudes relative to males exposed to models of modern masculinity. Results also indicated that males exposed to traditional masculine stimuli reported lower levels of sexual inhibition due to fear of performance failure than males exposed to models of modern masculinity. The potential role of social context is discussed in the development and maintenance of male sexual dysfunction and its implications for treatment.

Heritability of preferred thinking styles and a genetic link to working memory capacity.

Genetic and environmental contributions to preferences for rational and experiential thinking were examined in 100 pairs of monozygotic and 73 pairs of same-sex dizygotic Australian twins. Univariate analyses for experiential thinking and working memory capacity (WMC) revealed genetic effects accounted for 44% and 39% of the variability respectively, with non-shared environmental effects accounting for the balance. For rational thinking, the univariate models produced ambiguous results about the relative roles of heritability and shared environment, but a subsequent Cholesky analysis suggested genetic effects accounted for 34%, with the balance, 66%, explained by the non-shared environment. The Cholesky analysis revealed that shared genetic effects accounted for 60%, and non-shared environment accounted for 40% of the relationship between preference for rational thinking and WMC.

Arousal, working memory capacity, and sexual decision-making in men.

This study investigated whether working memory capacity (WMC) moderated the relationship between physiological arousal and sexual decision making. A total of 59 men viewed 20 consensual and 20 non-consensual images of heterosexual interaction while their physiological arousal levels were recorded using skin conductance response. Participants also completed an assessment of WMC and a date-rape analogue task for which they had to identify the point at which an average Australian male would cease all sexual advances in response to verbal and/or physical resistance from a female partner. Participants who were more physiologically aroused by and spent more time viewing the non-consensual sexual imagery nominated significantly later stopping points on the date-rape analogue task. Consistent with our predictions, the relationship between physiological arousal and nominated stopping point was strongest for participants with lower levels of WMC. For participants with high WMC, physiological arousal was unrelated to nominated stopping point. Thus, executive functioning ability (and WMC in particular) appears to play an important role in moderating men's decision making with regard to sexually aggressive behavior.

Smoking status and intention to quit: the role of affective associations and expectancies.

The purpose of this research was to examine how affective associations with smoking and outcome expectancies regarding smoking are related to smoking status and intention to quit among smokers. Researchers and practitioners can draw on findings regarding affective associations and outcome expectancies to provide a further basis for smoking prevention and intervention efforts. Four-hundred and one participants, half of whom were current smokers, from the United States and Australia completed measures of affective associations with smoking and outcome expectancies relating to smoking. Current smokers also indicated their readiness to quit. Participants with more positive affective associations were more likely to be smokers. Current smokers with more positive affective associations expressed less readiness to quit smoking. Outcome expectancies regarding reinforcement stemming from smoking and consequences stemming from smoking were related to smoking status and intention to quit. Outcome expectancies related to smoking significantly mediated the relationship between affective associations and smoking status. Among smokers, outcome expectancies related to smoking significantly mediated the relationship between affective associations and readiness to quit. Implications for prevention and intervention programs are discussed.

Age and synchrony effects in performance on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that individuals perform better on some memory tasks when tested at their preferred time of day, a phenomenon named the synchrony effect. There is also evidence of a predictable change from evening to morning preference during the adult life span. Together, these findings suggest that age effects on memory measures may be overestimated when time of testing is ignored. The aim of this study was to investigate whether synchrony effects could partially explain the well-documented age-related decline in performance on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). METHODS: Groups of 42 younger adults (aged 18-33 years) and 42 older adults (aged 55-71 years) were administered the RAVLT at either their optimal (n = 21) or non-optimal (n = 21) time of day. RESULTS: Although both age groups benefited moderately from being tested at their optimal time, this effect was greater for older participants and extended to all facets of RAVLT performance except proactive interference. However, younger adults outperformed older adults on three of the five RAVLTs. CONCLUSIONS: These findings add to existing evidence of synchrony effects, particularly in memory functioning of older adults, and highlight the need for clinicians to consider optimal time of testing when administering and interpreting the RAVLT.

Do dispositional rumination and/or mindfulness moderate the relationship between life hassles and psychological dysfunction in adolescents?

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the moderating effects of dispositional rumination and mindfulness on the relationship between recent life hassles and adolescent mental health (operationalized as symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress). METHOD: Data collected from a sample of 317 Australian high school students comprised an inventory of recent life hassles, measures of dispositional rumination and dispositional mindfulness and an assessment of current symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. RESULTS: An increased incidence of recent life hassles was reliably associated with increased depressive symptoms, anxiety and stress. However, moderation analyses revealed that dispositional rumination exacerbated the relationship between life hassles and symptoms of depression and anxiety, whereas dispositional mindfulness attenuated the relationship between life hassles and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to increase dispositional mindfulness in childhood are proposed as a method of protecting the psychological well-being of adolescents confronted by inevitable everyday life stress.

Development and validation of the Smoking Expectancy Scale for Adolescents.

This study assessed the factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of the Smoking Expectancies Scale for Adolescents (SESA) using 717 Australian adolescents (87% nonsmokers, 11% current smokers, and 2% ex-smokers). Exploratory factor analysis of SESA yielded 8 factors. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 8-factor model, and also a 2nd-order cost-benefit model, fit the data significantly better than 4 alternatives. Validation analyses revealed the 8-factor model explained 26% to 32% of the variance in adolescent cigarette use, smoking intentions, smoking subjective norms, and peer smoking. The 2nd-order model explained 12% to 17% of the variance in these same variables.