The purpose of this study was to investigate Turkish and American undergraduate students' academic motivation and academic self-concept scores regarding the years that they spent in university. The analysis was based on 566 (284 Turkish, 282 American) undergraduate students where, Academic Motivation Scale and Academic Self-Concept Scale were used as measuring instruments. The results showed that there was a statistical significant effect of nationality and number of years spent in university on undergraduate students' intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and self-concept scores. Turkish students had higher intrinsic scores whereas American students had higher extrinsic scores and more positive academic-self concept compared to Turkish partners. Regarding grade level, senior students from both cultures had higher intrinsic motivation and academic self-concept scores compared to other grade levels. In terms of extrinsic motivation, there is steady decline in American students' scores as grade level increases. On the other hand, Turkish undergraduates' extrinsic scores decrease in the second year but increase in the third and fourth year of university education. Results were discussed by taking into consideration the social and cultural differences between two nations.

Based on Basic Needs Theory, one of the mini-theories of Self-determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2002), the present study had two objectives: (a) to test a model in the Mexican sport context based on the following sequence: perceived coach autonomy support, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and psychological well-being, and b) to analyze the mediational effect of the satisfaction of perceived coach autonomy support on indicators of psychological well-being (satisfaction with life and subjective vitality). Six hundred and sixty-nine young Mexican athletes (Boys = 339; Girls = 330; Mage = 13.95) filled out a questionnaire assessing the study variables. Structural equations analyses revealed that perceived coach autonomy support predicted satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Furthermore, basic need satisfaction predicted subjective vitality and satisfaction with life. Autonomy, competence and relatedness partially mediated the path from perceived coach autonomy support to psychological well-being in young Mexican athletes.

Different studies regarding the role of norms on the expression of prejudice have shown that the anti-prejudice norm influences people to inhibit prejudice expressions. However, if norm pressure has led to a substantial decrease in the public expression of prejudice against certain targets (e.g., blacks, women, blind people), little theoretical and empirical attention has been paid to the role of this general norm regarding sexual minorities (e.g., prostitutes, lesbians and gays). In this sense, the issue we want to address is whether general anti-prejudice norms can reduce the expression of prejudice against homosexual individuals. In this research we investigate the effect of activating an anti-prejudice norm against homosexuals on blatant and subtle expressions of prejudice. The anti-prejudice norm was experimentally manipulated and its effects were observed on rejection to intimacy (blatant prejudice) and on positive-negative emotions (subtle prejudice) regarding homosexuals. 136 university students were randomly allocated to activated-norm and control conditions and completed a questionnaire that included norm manipulation and the dependent variables. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) as well as subsequent ANOVAS showed that only in the high normative pressure condition participants expressed less rejection to intimacy and less negative emotions against homosexuals, when compared to the simple norm-activation and the control conditions. Positive emotions, however, were similar both in the high normative pressure and the control conditions. We concluded that a high anti-prejudice pressure regarding homosexuals could reduce blatant prejudice but not subtle prejudice, considering that the expression of negative emotions decreased while the expression of positive emotions remained stable.

There is currently a consensus that sexism is one of the most important causes of intimate partner violence, but this has yet to be empirically demonstrated conclusively. The key objective of the study was to adapt Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) and to validate it to the Basque language. It also aims to analyze the prevalence of violence in dating relationships and verify if ambivalent sexism in young men and women is a valid predictor of perpetration and/or victimization in their dating relationships. Ambivalent Sexism Inventory and Dating Relationship Questionnaire were administered to 1378 undergraduate students (66% women and 45% Basque), aged between 17 and 30. The psychometric properties of the Basque and Spanish versions of the ASI are deemed to be acceptable. Sufficient guarantees are provided to be used as an instrument for measuring ambivalent sexism in adult Basque speakers. Ambivalent sexism among young men and women are both positively associated with the perpetration of violence and victimization in their dating relationships. However, ambivalent sexism or two sub-types of sexism (hostile and benevolent) are not relevant risk factors to be perpetrator or victim of violence in dating relationships, due to accounting for 3% or less of variance in dating violence.

A grandmaster and an international chess master were compared with a group of novices in a memory task with chess and non-chess stimuli, varying the structure and familiarity of the stimuli, while functional magnetic resonance images were acquired. The pattern of brain activity in the masters was different from that of the novices. Masters showed no differences in brain activity when different degrees of structure and familiarity where compared; however, novices did show differences in brain activity in such contrasts. The most important differences were found in the contrast of stimulus familiarity with chess positions. In this contrast, there was an extended brain activity in bilateral frontal areas such as the anterior cingulate and the superior, middle, and inferior frontal gyri; furthermore, posterior areas, such as posterior cingulate and cerebellum, showed great bilateral activation. These results strengthen the hypothesis that when performing a domain-specific task, experts activate different brain systems from that of novices. The use of the experts-versus-novices paradigm in brain imaging contributes towards the search for brain systems involved in cognitive processes.

Psychosocial functioning impairment is recognized as a core feature of schizophrenia. Numerous studies have assessed the process that may underlie this impairment. In the last years, one of these processes that has been studied more is social cognition, which has been proposed as a mediator variable between neurocognition and functional outcome. Social cognition includes the subdomains of emotion recognition and social perception, and in recent years several authors have developed diverse training programs in these areas.

The purpose of the present article is to assess the efficacy of the Social Cognition Training Program, a program that includes emotion recognition training and social perception training. The sample was made up of 14 outpatients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia according to CIE-10 criteria, randomly divided into two groups: experimental and control. All patients were assessed before and after the training program. Cognitive and psychopathological variables, social functioning, emotion recognition and social perception performance were assessed. Results suggest improvement in social perception and interpretation in the experimental group, in comparison with the control group, but not in emotion recognition. No significant correlations were obtained between social cognition training and other variables tested.

Participants from Argentina (N = 217) estimated their own, their partner's, their parents' and their grandparents' overall and multiple intelligences. The Argentinean data showed that men gave higher overall estimates than women (M = 110.4 vs. 105.1) as well as higher estimates on mathematical and spatial intelligence. Participants thought themselves slightly less bright than their fathers (2 IQ points) but brighter than their mothers (6 points), their grandfathers (8 points), but especially their grandmothers (11 points). Regressions showed that participants thought verbal and mathematical IQ to be the best predictors of overall IQ. Results were broadly in agreement with other studies in the area. A comparison was also made with British data using the same questionnaire. British participants tended to give significantly higher self-estimates than for relatives, though the pattern was generally similar. Results are discussed in terms of the studies in the field.

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is one of the main theoretical models in the study of the different variables, which influence in the practise of physical activity. The aim in this study was to develop a questionnaire based on TPB in physical activity context providing evidence for the validity of the obtained measures. The instrumental project included three independent studies. The first study entailed the construction and qualitative assessment of the items. In the second study, the analysis of factorial structure was performed by means of exploratory measures, and it showed that the reliability of measures was adequate. The third study provided evidence on the dimensionality of the scale. The confirmatory factorial analysis guaranteed the stability of factorial structure proposed by the TPB and provided evidence for the internal validity of the inventory. Moreover, this study provided evidence of its external validity.

The Subjective Vitality Scale (SVS) assess the subjective experience of being full of energy and alive, a clinically relevant outcome measure of positive psychological well-being. The purpose of this paper was to translate the 7-item SVS into Spanish and examine its psychometric properties. In Study 1 (n = 790 adolescents) and Study 2 (n = 130 athletes) reliability and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were carried out. In Study 1 and Study 3 (n = 197 dancers) evidence of validity of inferences based on SVS scores estimating relationships with other variables (life satisfaction, global self-esteem and emotional and physical exhaustion) was obtained. In Study 2 invariance across time was tested. Finally in Study 3, the factorial structure was cross-validated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results of EFA showed a one-factor solution. CFA also supported a unidimensional factor structure for the Spanish 6-item SVS (RMSEA = .050 (90% CI = .00, .080); NNFI = .993; CFI = .996). Reliability analysis indicated a strong internal consistency in all study samples (α ranged from .82 to .89). Further, results from multi-sample analysis supported the replicability of SVS factor structure across time. Finally, the SVS scores showed the expected correlations patterns (all them significant, p < .01) with the measured outcomes. In conclusion, the Spanish version of the SVS demonstrated adequate psychometric properties, indicating that the scale can be confidently used to measure the experience of possessing energy and aliveness; furthermore, differences across time can be meaningfully carried out.

Human experience of temporal durations exhibits a multi-regional structure, with more or less distinct boundaries, or horizons, on the scale of physical duration. The inner horizons are imposed by perceptual thresholds for simultaneity (≈ 3 ms) and temporal order (≈ 30 ms), and are determined by the dynamical properties of the neural substrate integrating sensory information. Related to the inner horizon of experienced time are perceptual or cognitive “moments.” Comparative data on autokinetic times suggest that these moments may be relatively invariant (≈ 102 ms) across a wide range of species. Extension of the “sensible present” (≈ 3 s) defines an intermediate horizon, beyond which the generic experience of duration develops. The domain of immediate duration experience is delimited by the ultimate outer horizon at about ≈102 s, as evidenced by analysis of duration reproduction experiments (reproducibility horizon), probably determined by relaxation times of “neural accumulators.” Beyond these phenomenal horizons, time is merely cognitively (re)constructed, not actually experienced or “perceived,” a fact that is frequently ignored by contemporary time perception research. The nyocentric organization of time experience shows an interesting analogy with the egocentric organization of space, suggesting that structures of subjective space and time are derived from active motion as a common experiential basis.

The influence of neuroticism on stress perception and its associated negative affect is explored in a quasi-experimental repeated measure study. The study involves manipulating the stress perception and affect of high N group (n = 24) and low N group (n = 28) three times; first, through exposure to neutral stimuli; second, through exposure to a laboratory stressor; third, through exposure to positive stimuli. The results reveal that after exposure to neutral stimuli, there is a significant difference in the baseline Perceived Stress Scores (PSS) (p = .005) and Negative Affect (NA) scores (p = .001) of the two groups. During the stress task, however, both groups show a non-significant difference in the PSS (p = .200) and NA scores (p = .367). After exposure to positive stimuli, there is a significant difference in the PSS scores (p = .001), but a non-significant difference in the NA scores (p = .661) of the two groups. When compared across three conditions, the high N group report significantly higher perceived stress (p = .002), but not significantly higher negative affect (p = .123) than the low N group. Finally for both PSS and NA scores, there is no interaction between neuroticism and any of the three treatment conditions (p = .176; p = .338, respectively). This study shows that the high N group may be at risk for health disparities due to maintaining a chronic higher baseline stress perception and negative affect state under neutral conditions, than the low N group. Implications of the study are discussed.

According to Mohr and Fassinger (2006), identity is seen as both self-identification and collective identification with values, beliefs, traits or behaviours and attachments. Their Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) multidimensional identity model accounts for important variables regarding the constitution of identities. This model not only accesses numerous dimensions of the lives of LGB individuals, but is also based on a body of research that recognizes how LGB difficulties are caused by societal intolerance and marginalization (Mohr & Fassinger, 2000). The Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Scale (LGBIS; Kendra & Mohr, 2008) constitutes an operationalization of this multidimensional model, and the aim of this article is to present its construct validity by analysing its factor structure using a sample of Portuguese lesbian, gay and bisexual participants. Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as from factor invariance analysis across sub-samples are presented. In a general way, the factor structure obtained in this study follows the original proposal of Kendra and Mohr's (2008) LGBIS. Moreover, scale sensitivity analyses are presented in order to check for eventual differences in the factor structure and/or factor intercorrelations regarding participant gender and sexual orientation. These results are then discussed in the light of LGB identity models.

This study had a twofold goal: to define differences in psychological aspects between cancer patients and a control group and to explore the predictive value of such aspects for the evolution of the disease two years later. Firstly, personality, anxiety, anger and depression were assessed in both groups. Results of t-analyses revealed significant group differences. In personality, cancer patients had higher levels of neuroticism and lower levels of extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness than the control group. In emotional variables, cancer patients had higher levels of anxiety and some aspects of anger, but there were no group differences in depression levels. Secondly, applying a quasi-prospective design, the predictive value of personality, emotions and coping styles for the evolution of cancer (favourable or unfavourable) was explored using generalized linear models and logistic regression. A four-predictor logistic model was fitted: Anger Expression-In, Resignation, Self-blame and Conscientiousness, indicating that the higher Anger Expression-in, Resignation, and Self-blame scores together with a lower Conscientiousness score, the more likely it is for patients' cancer to evolve unfavourably. These results indicate the crucial role of psychological aspects for the evolution of the disease and the need to include such aspects in the design of clinical interventions.

The aim of the present research was to evaluate a model of mediated moderation vs. moderated mediation that could explain the relationship between length of unemployment, dispositional resilience, coping styles and depression and social functioning of Venezuelan unemployed individuals. Self-report measures were administered to a sample of 328 unemployed residents in Caracas, Venezuela. Results indicated that emotional coping acted as a mediator in the relationship between resilience and depression. Individuals with greater resilience used more detachment coping when unemployment was longer, while individuals with poorer resilience in the same situation used less avoidance coping. Resilience acted as a protective moderating factor between longer periods of unemployment and social functioning, a process mediated by detachment coping. Overall, results supported a mediated moderation model, with resilience as the moderating factor and coping as the mediator in the relation between stress due to the length of unemployment and well-being.

Recent literature has recognized the advantageous role of low-arousal positive affect such as feelings of peacefulness and internal harmony in collectivist cultures. However, limited research has explored the benefits of low-arousal affective states in the educational setting. The current study examined the link of peace of mind (PoM) to academic motivation (i.e., amotivation, controlled motivation, and autonomous motivation) and academic achievement among 525 Filipino high school students. Findings revealed that PoM was positively associated with academic achievement β = .16, p < .05, autonomous motivation β = .48, p < .001, and controlled motivation β = .25, p < .01. As expected, PoM was negatively related to amotivation β = –.19, p < .05, and autonomous motivation was positively associated with academic achievement β = .52, p < .01. Furthermore, the results of bias-corrected bootstrap analyses at 95% confidence interval based on 5,000 bootstrapped resamples demonstrated that peace of mind had an indirect influence on academic achievement through the mediating effects of autonomous motivation. In terms of the effect sizes, the findings showed that PoM explained about 1% to 18% of the variance in academic achievement and motivation. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are elucidated.

Extensive prior research has indicated that sexual assault is highly prevalent among American college students. The purpose of this study was to assess Spanish students' attitudes about forced sex and actual experiences with male-against-female sexual aggression (SA) at a major university campus. A date-rape story was presented whereupon students (N = 412) indicated the extent to which they thought forced sex was acceptable or unacceptable in ten hypothetical situations (Giarusso, Johnson, Goodchilds, & Zellman, 1979). A second section examined whether a female or male Spanish student had experienced or engaged in a broad range of coercive sexual activities (Koss & Oros, 1982). A third section elicited help-seeking behavior in those cases where a female student had experienced unwanted sexual activity (Ogletree, 1993). It was hypothesized that students would differ in their acceptance of forced sex as a function of sex, branch and year of study, and actual experience with SA. Results showed that acceptance of forced sex was significantly related to sex, year of study and experience with SA. Results also revealed that 17.5% of all male students (n = 189) accepted forced sex and 33.2% of all female students (n = 223) had experienced some form of unwanted sexual activity; 7.7% of the women had experienced attempted or completed rape. Only 39% of those women victimized sought any form of help. The implications of these findings for rape-prevention programs are discussed.

This study aimed to assess the effect of satisfaction with food-related life on life satisfaction among inhabitants of the main municipalities of central Chile. A survey was applied to a sample of 1,277 people, distributed proportionally by municipality. The questionnaire included the following scales: SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale), SWFL (Satisfaction with Food-related Life) and the Health-Related Quality of Life Index (HRQOL). Questions were asked regarding eating habits inside and outside the home, time available for meals at home, the assessment of five sources of happiness and the demographic characteristics of those surveyed. An ordered logit model was proposed, in which the dependent variable was satisfaction with life. Satisfaction with life was significantly related to the respondent’s socioeconomic status, self-perception of health, degree of satisfaction with food-related life, monthly food expenditure, time available for supper with the family (p < .01); gender, self-reported number of days affected by mental health problems, frequency of supper with the family, the degree of agreement with respect to family being an important source of happiness (p < .05); and family size and frequency of food consumption in fast food outlets (p < .10). Satisfaction with life in the study sample is related to aspects associated with health, family and eating, and the family interaction associated with eating may play an important role in overall satisfaction with life.

The major focus of this research is to investigate whether environmental knowledge has any impact on organizational outcomes through an empirical investigation of 127 Spanish hospitality companies, using structural equation models. Our results show that environmental knowledge is an important determiner for developing organizational outcomes. However, this relationship is completed with just two related constructs: Firstly, the company's acquisition process plays a key role in managing the tension between the knowledge necessary to develop the appropriated environmental initiatives and current knowledge. Secondly, the company's distribution process also sheds light on tangible means for managers to enhance their company's outcomes through environmental knowledge.

This study examined whether justification of violence beliefs and social problem solving mediated between maltreatment experiences and aggressive and delinquent behavior in adolescents. Data were collected on 191 maltreated and 546 nonmaltreated adolescents (ages 14 to 17 years), who completed measures of justification of violence beliefs, social problem-solving dimensions (problem orientation, and impulsivity/carelessness style), and psychological problems. Findings indicated that maltreated adolescents' higher levels of delinquent and aggressive behavior were partially accounted for by justification of violence beliefs, and that their higher levels of depressive symptoms were partially mediated by a more negative orientation to social problem-solving. Comparisons between boys and girls indicated that the model linking maltreatment, cognitive variables, and psychological problems was invariant.

The aim of this study is to assess social support dimensions (providers, satisfaction and different support actions) in patients with eating disorders (ED), looking at diagnosis, socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, and self-concept. Method: A total of 98 female ED patients were recruited. The ages of participants ranged from 12 to 34 (Mean=20.8 years old, SD=5.61). Patients have a primary DSM-IV-R diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (61.2%), bulimia nervosa (27.6%) or an unspecified eating disorder (11.2%). Social support was assessed using the Escala de Apoyo Social Percibido (EASP). This scale measures social support providers, satisfaction and specific social support actions, which can be grouped into informational, emotional and practical support. Self-concept was assessed using the Cuestionario de Autoconcepto (AF-5). Results: The two most frequent providers for these patients were mothers (86.7%) and partners (73.1%). Patients' satisfaction with social support was high and they reported that they received informational support more frequently than emotional and practical support. Family self-concept showed positive relationships with social support dimensions. Conclusion: These results show the importance of the family network in connection with these disorders and its relation to self-concept.