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Introduction: Stimulant medication is effective in treating Attention Deficit Hyper-activity Disorder, and by removing barriers to success, may enhance perceptions of authenticity (i.e., feeling like one's true, core, autonomous self) among those receiving medication. In contrast, it is also possible that stimulant medications undermine perceptions of authenticity.Methods: To examine these two possibilities, 64 undergraduate students with a history of ADHD and medication usage wrote a narrative about a time when they felt either: least authentic while taking medication, most authentic while taking medication, least authentic while unmedicated, or most authentic while unmedicated. Participants then completed retrospective assessments concerning that experience.Results: Supporting the medication enhancement possibility, participants reported greater need satisfaction and more positive mood states when recalling states in which they were most like their true selves on medication than when off—especially when reporting on their academic selves. No differences were found on a state measure of prescriptive authenticity.Discussion: Results are discussed with respect to linkages to the literature on attributions and stimulant medications. Limitations and future research design possibilities are discussed as more research is needed regarding managing stimulant medication and authentic identities.

The self-monitoring literature often describes those high in the construct as social chameleons, thereby implying they lack authenticity. However, direct examination of this assumption within the literature remains scant. The current study examines this relation and further explores how these constructs relate to well-being. In a cross-sectional study ( N = 629), participants completed measures of self-monitoring, authenticity, and well-being. Total self-monitoring scores were inversely related to authenticity, however the relationship was small because the public performance and other-directedness dimensions of self-monitoring related to authenticity in different directions. Public performance related moderately and positively to authenticity, whereas other-directness related strongly and negatively to authenticity. Authenticity mediated the effects of these self-monitoring dimensions on well-being. Moreover, authenticity and public performance interacted such that public performance related positively to well-being when authenticity was high, but not when authenticity was low. Similarly, total self-monitoring scores related positively to positive relationships with others when authenticity was high, and related positively to well-being when authenticity was held constant. The results have implications for self-monitoring theory, challenging the general notion that those on the high end of self-monitoring are not authentic, and highlighting the conditions under which self-monitoring relates to well-being.

Authenticity has emerged over recent decades as a prominent theme in both the press and in political research—and peaked in the 2016 presidential contest that pitted Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz. In this context, we attempted to answer the question: How do voters judge a presidential candidate's authenticity? Here we use motivated reasoning and correspondent inference theory as theoretical frameworks to examine how partisan preference combines with perceptions of unfettered speech and strategic impression management to influence voter judgments of a candidate's authenticity. An online survey of 525 respondents demonstrated that individuals' partisan preferences influenced both judgments of a candidate's authenticity and their perceptions of behaviors signifying authenticity (use of unfettered speech versus strategic impression management). These behavioral signals partially mediated the relation between candidate preferences and authenticity judgments. Moreover, voters, given their partisan preferences, differentially weighted candidates' use of unfettered speech and strategic impression management tactics in their judgments of authenticity. Finally, unfiltered/politically incorrect speech was found to have both positive and negative effects on authenticity judgments. Findings further elucidate the nature of authenticity as perceived in others and identify intermediary variables and boundary conditions that influence those perceptions.

This article examines how people recall and describe instances of hypocrisy in their own and others' behaviour. N = 302 participants provided two written examples. The first example recalled a time when someone called the participant a hypocrite, while the other recalled an instance when the participant perceived someone else's behaviour as hypocritical. One goal of the study was to discover if real-world examples of hypocrisy reflect only mere inconsistency, consistent with the construct's narrow use in psychology, or if they contain other distinctive defining features. A typology was used to code the examples, based loosely on Crisp and Cowton's philosophical distinction between four forms of hypocrisy: direct inconsistency, pretence, blame, and complacency. A second goal was to uncover reliable actor-observer differences in perceptions of hypocrisy. Results indicated that the four forms occur in real-world examples of both self and others' hypocrisy. Interestingly, a new fifth form, indirect inconsistency, emerged from the data, adding nuance to the initial hypothesis. Finally, several actor-observer differences in perceptions of hypocrisy arose and are discussed. The results indicate that hypocrisy is a much more complicated phenomenon than previously considered and provide the impetus for new areas of research.

This article examines how people recall and describe instances of hypocrisy in their own and others’ behaviour. N = 302 participants provided two written examples. The first example recalled a time when someone called the participant a hypocrite, while the other recalled an instance when the participant perceived someone else’s behaviour as hypocritical. One goal of the study was to discover if real-world examples of hypocrisy reflect only mere inconsistency, consistent with the construct’s narrow use in psychology, or if they contain other distinctive defining features. A typology was used to code the examples, based loosely on Crisp and Cowton’s philosophical distinction between four forms of hypocrisy: direct inconsistency, pretence, blame, and complacency. A second goal was to uncover reliable actor-observer differences in perceptions of hypocrisy. Results indicated that the four forms occur in real-world examples of both self and others’ hypocrisy. Interestingly, a new fifth form, indirect inconsistency, emerged from the data, adding nuance to the initial hypothesis. Finally, several actor-observer differences in perceptions of hypocrisy arose and are discussed. The results indicate that hypocrisy is a much more complicated phenomenon than previously considered and provide the impetus for new areas of research.

Objective: To examine the beliefs of ADHD college students concerning stimulant medications and to apply the theory of planned behavior toward better understanding the factors instrumental in decisions regarding stimulant use. Method: A cross-sectional, correlational design was used, and students completed a survey under controlled laboratory conditions. Participants were 193 students taking introductory psychology who self-reported receiving a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder or ADHD and a treatment history of using stimulant medications. Results: Beliefs regarding the effects of medication use are represented by four factors ((i.e., improved attention/academics, loss of authentic self, social self-enhancement, and common side effects), where the first three significantly and systematically differentiate between those currently using stimulants and those who are not. Conclusion: To understand decisions regarding stimulant use, it is important to consider how college students perceive the positive and negative effects of the medication with respect to sense of self and social relationships.

Belongingness has emerged as a central construct of theoretical importance in the last two decades; however, little attention has been given to develop a brief, psychometrically sound measure of general belongingness. Three studies were conducted to develop a 12-item measure to assess a sense of general belongingness. Students were recruited to participate in online computer-administered surveys (N = 81, 875, and 213, respectively). High reliability and strong patterns of validity estimates are established. EFA and CFA results indicate a 2-factor structure (Acceptance/Inclusion and lack of Rejection/Exclusion), with a high inter-factor correlation. The current investigation is the first to document that achieved belongingness is distinct from the need to belong, and to show strong associations between belongingness and the Big Five personality traits of Neuroticism (r = −.51) and Extraversion (r = .46).

This research examined whether the SAT and ACT would predict college grade point average (GPA) after removing g from the tests. SAT and ACT scores and freshman GPAs were obtained from a university sample (N = 161) and the 1997 National Longitudinal Study of Youth (N = 8984). Structural equation modeling was used to examine relationships among g, GPA, and the SAT and ACT. The g factor was estimated from commercial cognitive tests (e.g., Wonderlic and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) and the computer-adaptive Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. The unique variances of the SAT and ACT, obtained after removing g, were used to predict GPA. Results from both samples converged: While the SAT and ACT were highly g loaded, both tests generally predicted GPA after removing g. These results suggest that the SAT and ACT are strongly related to g, which is related to IQ and intelligence tests. They also suggest that the SAT and ACT predict GPA from non-g factors. Further research is needed to identify the non-g factors that contribute to the predictive validity of the SAT and ACT.

Efficacious treatments for childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been clearly documented in the extant literature. However, significant challenges remain in delivering these treatments to the children and families they were developed to benefit. With the aim of better understanding the obstacles that impede delivery of treatments for ADHD, this paper reviews what is known regarding predictors of treatment acceptance, adherence, and success among families of children with ADHD. We identify several gaps in this literature, including the need for a strong, theoretically-driven model that encompasses parental cognitive variables in understanding the treatment experiences of these families.

We investigated the perceptions about the behaviors that are characteristic of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the stimulant medication used to manage the symptoms of ADHD, in 40 Mexican American and non-Hispanic White mothers and their children (mean age 9.63 years). Mothers also reported the disorder-related information they had received from the professionals who worked with their children and the disorder-related information they had communicated to their children. Results revealed that mothers and children viewed oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and ADHD symptoms as equally salient, and they viewed stimulant medication as similarly important in treating both clusters of behavior. However, mothers reported receiving and communicating less information about ODD than about ADHD. There were differences related to ethnicity in the responses. The results suggest that professionals who work with children with ADHD and their families should consider providing information...

One hundred ninety-five boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were compared with 73 comparison boys (M = 9.83 years, SD = 1.30) on self-perceptions relative to a teacher-rated criterion. Emphasis was placed on ADHD subgroup comparisons according to level of aggression, academic achievement, and depression compared with control boys. Consistent with the authors' prediction, ADHD boys overestimated relative to teacher report, more than did controls, in the scholastic competence, social acceptance, and behavioral conduct domains. Examination of discrepancy scores (child rating - teacher rating) by comorbidity subgroups suggested that aggressive and low-achieving ADHD boys tended to overestimate their competence the most in the domains in which they were the most impaired. Results are discussed in terms of prior literature on "positive illusions" in ADHD children.

Pharmacological and expectancy effects of 0.3 mg/kg methylphenidate on the behavior and attributions of boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were evaluated. In a within-subject, balanced-placebo design, 136 boys received 4 medication-expectancy conditions. Attributions for success and failure on a daily report card were gathered. Assessments took place within the setting of a summer treatment program and were repeated in boys' regular classrooms. Expectancy did not affect the boys' behavior; only active medication improved their behavior. Boys attributed their success to their effort and ability and attributed failure to task difficulty and the pill, regardless of medication and expectancy. Results were generally equivalent across the two settings; where there were differences, beneficial effects of medication were more apparent in the school setting. The findings were unaffected by individual-difference factors.

Judgments of perceived similarity to Princess Diana and counterfactual thinking, in conjunction with media exposure, were examined as competing explanations that might account for the public's affective responses to the fatal accident of Princess Diana. Shortly after the accident, 222 introductory psychology students were surveyed. Results indicate that each of these constructs contributed uniquely to predict negative affective responding. An interaction was found such that persons high in perceived similarity had high levels of counterfactual ruminations and negative responding, regardless of their media exposure, whereas media exposure largely predicted the responses of those low in perceived similarity. Possible causal sequences involving these constructs, social comparison theory, and work on media-related stress are discussed.

This study examined the effects of 0.3 mg/kg methylphenidate (MPH) and expectancy regarding medication on the performance and persistence of 137 boys with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a get-acquainted dyadic interaction with a peer, using a balanced-placebo design. Boys in 4 groups—administered placebo or MPH crossed with being told they received placebo or MPH—interacted with child confederates in experimental situations in which social success and failure were manipulated. In contrast with studies of academic persistence, MPH did not affect boys' task persistence or performance. Boys gave more positive self-evaluations and talked more in the success condition as compared with the failure condition. Boys attributed success to effort and ability and failure to task difficulty, and neither MPH nor expectancy affected this pattern. These findings are consistent with other studies in failing to find debilitating effects of MPH or medication expectancies on ADHD boys' attributions or self-evaluations. The primary features of attention-deficityhyperactivity disorder (ADHD) include inattention, impulsivity, and excessive motor activity. ADHD also has a number of secondary features, one of the most important being peer rela

Cluster analysis was used to categorize stressful life events into groups based on the effect (or mediational) pattern linking each event to external criteria defined within an overarching conceptual model. To illustrate the utility of “effect size clustering,” we examined the structure of stressful life events that may function to mediate, in part, the relation between parental alcoholism, parental psychopathology, and adolescent substance use. The analyses were conducted by forming clusters based on how each of 29 individual stressors related with 13 other variables considered relevant to the mediational process under investigation, rather than using the inter-item correlation matrix to determine event similarity. Using data on 326 families, four clusters were obtained that were labeled (a) family-related conflict, (b) general child relationship problems, (c) parent problems, and (d) major illness/bereavement. These exploratory analyses revealed that the family-related conflict cluster of events were of key importance in accounting for the link between paternal alcoholism and child substance use. Advantages and limitations of using effect size clustering for examining life event data, as well as data used in other community-oriented and program evaluation applications, are discussed. ©1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Over the past 15 years, three distinct models have been used to characterize the factor structure of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These models correspond to descriptions of the disorder as outlined in DSM-III, DSM-III-R, and now, DSM-IV. Specifically, in DSM-III, inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity were treated as three separate constructs. In DSM-III-R, ADHD was treated as a unitary construct. In DSM-IV, impulsivity and hyperactivity remain combined, but inattention is considered a separate construct. The present study examined and compared each of these models using confirmatory factor analyses. A final set of comparisons was conducted examining ADHD symptoms together with oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder (ODD/CD) symptoms. Although support for the three-factor ADHD model (DSM-III version) was obtained when the ADHD symptoms were examined in isolation, the two-factor model of ADHD (DSM-IV version) was supported when ADHD and ODD/CD symptoms were examined together as part of a comprehensive model of disruptive behavior disorders.

In the research reported here, we examined whether processing speed mediates the development of general intelligence ( g) in adolescence. Using the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, a battery of 12 diverse cognitive tests, we assessed processing speed and g in a large sample of 13- to 17-year-olds obtained from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth ( N = 6,969). The direct effect of age on g was small compared with the total effect of age on g, which was almost fully mediated through speed. The results suggest that increases in g in adolescence can be attributed to increases in mental speed.

This research examined the predictive validity of the SAT (formerly, the Scholastic Aptitude Test) for high and low ability groups. SAT scores and college GPAs were obtained from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Subjects were classified as high or low ability by g factor scores from the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. SAT correlations with GPA were higher for high than low ability subjects. SAT g loadings (i.e., SAT correlations with g) were equivalent for both groups. This is the first study to show that the predictive validity of the SAT varies for ability groups that differ in g. The results contradict a presumption, based on Spearman’s Law of Diminishing Returns, that a test’s predictive validity should be lower for high ability subjects. Further research is needed to identify factors that contribute to the predictive validity of the SAT for groups that differ in g.

The current study assessed 3 hypothesized mediating mechanisms underlying the relation between parental alcoholism and adolescent substance use. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed data obtained from a large community sample of adolescent children of alcoholics and a demographically matched comparison group. Results suggested that parental alcoholism influenced adolescent substance use through stress and negative affect pathways, through decreased parental monitoring, and through increased temperamental emotionality (which was associated with heightened negative affect). Both negative affect and impaired parental monitoring were associated with adolescents' membership in a peer network that supported drug use behavior. The data did not support a link between parental alcoholism and temperamental sociability.

Describes a generative study of processes which may lead to symptomatology in children who have experienced the death of a parent. Based on existing literature, four putative mediating variables were identified: parental demoralization, family warmth, negative family events, and positive stable family events. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to compare several potential causal models involving these variables. The results were most consistent with a model in which bereavement was not directly related to the child symptomatology, but rather its effects were transmitted through these four mediational mechanisms. The implications of the results of the structural modeling for the design and evaluation of preventive interventions are discussed briefly.

In their original statement of the reformulated model of learned helplessness, Abramson, Seligman, and Teasdale (1978) argued that internality is related to depression through self-esteem, whereas stability and globality only have direct relationships with depression. A test of this model using path analysis ( N = 289) provided support for the predicted indirect relationship between internality and depression. However, contrary to the model, globality was significantly related to self-esteem, and the relation between stability and depression was not significant. Several models proposing interactions between the attributional style dimensions were also tested; none of the interactions tested attained statistical significance. The methodological and conceptual implications of these findings for the reformulated model of learned helplessness are discussed.

Tested a stress process model for predicting mental health symptoms in children of alcoholics (COAs). Stress and mental health measures were completed twice over a 3-month period by 145 high school students, 43 of whom self-identified as COAs. Using structural equation modeling, a stress process model for predicting mental health symptoms in children provided a good fit to the data. COA status was related to higher levels of negative and lower levels of positive events. In turn, positive and negative life events were found to have an immediate, but not a longitudinal, direct effect on adolescent symptomatology.

Pharmacological and expectancy effects of 0.3 mg/kg methylphenidate on the behavior and attributions of boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were evaluated. In a within-subject, balanced-placebo design, 136 boys received 4 medication-expectancy conditions. Attributions for success and failure on a daily report card were gathered. Assessments took place within the setting of a summer treatment program and were repeated in boys' regular classrooms. Expectancy did not affect the boys' behavior; only active medication improved their behavior. Boys attributed their success to their effort and ability and attributed failure to task difficulty and the pill, regardless of medication and expectancy. Results were generally equivalent across the two settings; where there were differences, beneficial effects of medication were more apparent in the school setting. The findings were unaffected by individual-difference factors.

The present study examined the proposition that dysphoric individuals make internal attributions because they do not use available discounting cues. To test this hypothesis, 23 dysphoric and 32 nondysphoric college students were either provided a discounting cue or were led to believe that an internal attribution for failure was appropriate (no discounting cue). On the primary measure of internality, nondysphoric individuals made greater external attributions when a discounting cue was available than they did when no such cue was present, but attributions made by dysphoric individuals were unaffected by the presence of a discounting cue. On the other hand, using a secondary dependent measure inserted to replicate a prior study in this area, key comparison differences were not obtained.

Evaluated the effects of a theoretically derived program to prevent mental health problems in children who had experienced the death of a parent. The program was designed to improve variables in the family environment which were specified as mediators of the effects of parental death on child mental health. The evaluation design involved the random assignment of families to either an intervention or control group. The program led to parental ratings of increased warmth in their relationships with their children, increased satisfaction with their social support, and the maintenance of family discussion of grief-related issues. The program also led to parent ratings of decreased conduct disorder and depression problems and overall problems in older children. Significant correlations between the family environment variables and child mental health problems provided further empirical support for the theory underlying the program. Implications for program redesign were derived by reconsidering the adequacy of the program components to change theoretically mediating variables.

Prevention programs in mental health theoretically can benefit from selecting participants who have a greater likelihood of developing psychological problems because of their exposure to the putative mediators targeted for change in an intervention. Screening on mediators may increase statistical power to detect program effects, enhance the cost-effectiveness of intervention trials, and decrease the possibility of iatrogenic effects. The circumstances that optimize the strategy of screening on the basis of mediating variables are discussed, and data are presented to illustrate the development of a mediational selection strategy to identify families who might best benefit from a preventive intervention for children of divorce. In addition, we present evidence that adjustment problems for children experiencing a divorce, as with most mental health problems, are not the result of one specific factor, but are jointly determined by several mediating processes that occur subsequent to the divorce. The mediational selection strategy developed illustrates the utility of measuring a set of mediational processes central to conferring risk for mental health problems to children of divorce.

Our comments on the discussion of mediational screening for prevention research highlight two issues: (a) There are advantages to giving a high priority to theory in a strategic sequence of prevention research studies. (b) Screening to identify a subgroup that is experiencing problems on processes the program is designed to change may be useful in accomplishing specific goals within an overall strategy of prevention research studies.

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that athletes who consult a sport psychologist to improve performance are derogated by the public compared to athletes who attempt to resolve the same issues by working with their coaches. In the first experiment a college quarterback was reported to have worked with either his coaches or a sport psychologist on improving his consistency. The primary dependent variable was how strongly subjects would recommend drafting the player in question. There was a significant main effect for the coach versus sport psychologist variable, no main effect for the type of problem, and no interaction effect. A set of 10 bipolar scales were analyzed to explore the attributions associated with the draft rating. The second experiment investigated whether the negative halo effect would occur in other sports and apply to players in peripheral as well as central positions. The results indicated that the negative halo effect occurred for a basketball guard on the draft rating but not for a center, a pitcher, or an outfielder. However, a MANOVA of the 10 scales revealed a main effect for the consultant variable. The results of the two experiments were discussed in relation to theories of deviance and stigmatization.

The width of cortical sulci in bipolar patients (n = 19) and healthy controls (n = 35) was examined using a novel automated technique involving magnetic resonance imaging. All sulci were wider for bipolar patients than for healthy controls. Bipolar-control differences were largest for the superior and intermediate frontal sulci, smallest for the occipital and cingulate sulci, and intermediate in magnitude for the other sulci (intraparietal, inferior frontal, and central sulci). The results were interpreted in terms of neurodegenerative-illness-related processes, which could produce cortical atrophy and result in wider sulci.