Social comparison orientation and perspective taking as related to responses to a victim

The present study examined the effect of social comparison orientation (SCO) on the responses to a victim. Participants (n = 87) were exposed to an interview with the alleged victim of a traffic ac-cident, that was either an unfamiliar or a close other. A close other induced more feelings of one-ness and more personal distress, but not more empathy, than an unfamiliar other. Higher levels of SCO resulted in more feelings of oneness and more helping behavior only in response to an unfa-miliar other. The results suggest that those high in SCO tend to perceive more identification with others they do not know than those low in SCO

Do People Know What They Want:A Similar or Complementary Partner?

The present study examined the extent to which individuals seek partners with similar, as opposed to complementary, personality characteristics. Results showed that whereas individuals desired a partner who resembles them in terms of personality, when asked about their preferences in general, most individuals indicated that they desired a complementary partner instead of a similar one. In addition to a similar partner with regard to personality, women also desired a more conscientious, less neurotic and more extraverted partner than men. These results are discussed with reference to the importance of matched personalities in marital success

Weight-Related Selves and Their Relationship With Body Mass Index Among Young Individuals in Curaçao

Based on the assumptions of self-discrepancy theory, the present study examined the degree of overweight, weight-related body images, and the relation between these images and body mass index (BMI) among two samples of young people from Curaçao (secondary school students, n = 176; undergraduate students, n = 205). In addition to BMI, participants reported their current, ideal, and most feared body sizes, the thinnest and largest body sizes still acceptable to them, and the body size they considered the healthiest by means of the Contour Drawing Rating Scale. We expected females to show a larger discrepancy between current and ideal body size than males (Hypothesis 1) and that this discrepancy (as an indicator of body dissatisfaction) would be related more strongly to BMI among females than among males (Hypothesis 2). Results yielded support for Hypothesis 1 among secondary school students only. Only in the undergraduate sample, BMI and body dissatisfaction were related, but equally so for males and females. Possible explanations are discussed as well as implications for weight management interventions

Changes in Social Comparison Orientation over the Life-span

Background: Social comparison is a basic human process, which may change dependent of one’s age. The purpose of this study was to examine how Social Comparison Orientation (SCO), i.e., the tendency to engage in social comparisons, varied across the lifespan. Method: A representative sample of 1613 adults from the Netherlands filled out the widely used 11-item scale for Social Comparison Orientation (SCO). Age was categorized in terms of decades, including both 19 years or younger and 80 years or older as categories. Results: The results showed a strong curvilinear effect of age: SCO was highest among people 19 years or younger, decreased substantially with increasing age until the age of 60, after which it increased moderately. Women were somewhat higher in SCO than men. Conclusion: The tendency to engage in social comparisons changes considerably over the life span, which may be due to the different challenges and insecurities that people may face in different stages of the life span

Mobbing in schools and hospitals in Uruguay:Prevalence and relation to loss of status

In the present study in secondary schools and hospitals in Uruguay (N = 187), we examined the relationship between feeling the victim of mobbing and a perceived loss of status. Nearly all forms of mobbing were more prevalent among hospital employees than among school employees. Among hospital employees, 40.4%, and among school employees, 23.9% reported being the victim of mobbing at least once a week. Being the victim of mobbing was, in both hospitals and schools, more prevalent among older employees, and in hospitals, among employees who were more highly educated and who had been employed for a longer time. Men and women did not differ in reporting that one was a victim of mobbing, but men reported more perceived loss of status than women. However, among women, being the victim of mobbing was much more strongly related to experiencing a loss of status than among men. Several explanations for this gender difference and the practical and theoretical implications of the results are discusse

Demographic Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence in the Rio San Juan Department in Nicaragua

Given the strong involvement of policy makers in Nicaragua with the prevention of intimate partner violence, we examined the demographic correlates of intimate partner violence in the Department of the Rio San Juan in Nicaragua, using an adapted version of the Conflict Tactics Scale. The sample consisted of 199 men and 201 women. Results showed that 35% of men and 33% of women had committed at least one act of violence. More men than women had committed serious forms violence on their partner. Overall, intimate partner violence occurred more often in urban areas than in rural areas, and most among single people, followed by cohabiting people, and next by married people. Men with a low or medium income showed of all groups the highest levels of intimate partner violence. Participants with the lowest educational level reported the highest occurrence of intimate partner violence. Results are line with those found in previous studies. Implications for policies are discussed within the article

Perceptions of ideal and former partner's personality and similarity

The present study aimed to test predictions based on both the ‗similarity-attraction‘ hypothesis and the ‗attraction-similarity‘ hypothesis, by studying perceptions of ideal and former partners. Based on the ‗similarity-attraction‘ hypothesis, we expected individuals to desire ideal partners who are similar to the self in personality. In addition, based on the ‗attraction-similarity hypothesis‘, we expected individuals to perceive former partners as dissimilar to them in terms of personality. Findings showed that, whereas the ideal partner was seen as similar to and more positive than the self, the former partner was seen as dissimilar to and more negative than the self. In addition, our study showed that individuals did not rate similarity in personality as very important when seeking a mate. Our findings may help understand why so many relationships end in divorce due to mismatches in personality

A Cock in the Henhouse:Relations Between Dark Triad, Jealousy, and Sex Ratio

The present study's primary aim was to examine the effect of an imbalanced sex ratio on the Dark Triad traits, three types of jealousy, and their relations. For this purpose, data were collected in the Netherlands (n = 297) and Cura'ao (n = 199). Cura'ao is a constituent part of the Netherlands, but has, contrary to the Netherlands, a highly imbalanced sex ratio. We expected the Dark Triad traits to be positively related to anxious and preventive jealousy, but not to reactive jealousy (Hypothesis 1), and, in addition, these relations to be more pronounced in Cura'ao than in the Netherlands (Hypothesis 2). Furthermore, it was expected that Cura'aoan men would score higher on the Dark Triad traits than Dutch men (Hypothesis 3), and that Cura'aoan men and women would, overall, report higher levels of jealousy than Dutch men and women (Hypothesis 4). Results largely supported Hypotheses 1, 2, and 4, but not Hypothesis 3. Results are discussed in relation to the role of sex ratio and the cultural beliefs that may accompany it. The current study's findings may provide new insights into the role of the Dark Triad traits in mating psychology

Mindfulness, werkstress en irrationele gedachten

The aim of this study was to examine the relations between mindfulness on the one hand and two types of job stress general job stress and telepressure and five types of irrational beliefs on the other hand. It was expected that mindfulness would negatively relate to both types of job stress (Hypothesis 1) and irrational beliefs (Hypothesis 3), that both types of job stress would be positively related to irrational beliefs (Hypothese 2), and that the relationship between mindfulness and the two types of job stress would be mediated by irrational beliefs (Hypothesis 4). To test these hypotheses, 195 employees at a large insurance company filled out an online questionnaire. Results largely confirmed Hypotheses 1, 2 and 3. Mediation analyses conducted to test Hypotheses 4 found that the effect of mindfulness on general job stress was mediated by the irrational 'rumination' belief, and that the effect of mindfulness on telepressure was mediated by the irrational 'need for approval' belief. The study's results suggest that mindfulness interventions may contribute to improving the management of work-related stress and, thereby, to the sustainable employability of employees.</p