The systematic literature review is based on a critical need in the area of values, where there are many uncertainties around universal definitions and drivers of values and traits. The study evaluated definitions, categories, drivers and the interdependence between values and personality traits and behaviours. Over 5,873 studies over a 70-year…

We are facing rapid changes in the global climate, and these changes are attributable to human behavior. Humans produce this global impact through our use of natural resources, multiplied by the vast increase in population seen in the past 50 to 100 years. Our goal in this article is to examine the underlying psychosocial causes of human impact,…

The theoretical and practical implications of viewing difficult temperament as a characteristic of the individual rather than as a social perception are discussed, with an emphasis on an interactionist view of developmental process. (Author/MP)

This article reviews self-fulfilling prophecies in three sequential stages: (1) teachers develop expectations, (2) teachers treat students differently depending on expectations, and (3) students react to treatment in expectancy-confirming ways. The focus is on social and psychological events at each stage, causal processes linking stages, and…

Since the identification of self-handicapping strategies in 1978, considerable attention has been paid to this phenomenon. Self-handicapping is a strategy for discounting ability attributions for probable failure while augmenting ability attributions for possible success. Behavioral self-handicaps are conceptually distinct from self-reported…

Health educators may be expecting the public to accept too much personal responsibility for disease. Genetic, environmental, and other factors may be as important as health-promoting behavior in avoiding disease. If health educators overstate the role of personal responsibility for health, they may lose credibility with the public. (PP)

Discusses the role of extrinsic reinforcement in intrinsic motivation in cognitive attribution theory. Concludes that cognitive attribution theory lacks parsimony, in that extant reinforcement analysis can account for undermining with equal facility. Suggests undermining is of little significance due to its elusive and transient impact on operant…

Examines Jones's and Nisbett's (1971, 1972) hypothesis that people generally attribute the actions of others to stable trait dispositions but see their own behavior as relatively more influenced by specific environmental circumstances. Discusses methodological problems in studies examining this hypothesis, suggesting ways they might be overcome.…

Reviews literature on effects of being imitated and the social influence function of imitation, plus related literature on conformity from social psychology. Considers this research within a number of theoretical contexts, especially within the conceptual framework of effectance motivation. Suggests imitation may facilitate mastery and control of…

The cognitive model of depression postulates that the depressed individual's cognitions are not only negative, but erroneous and impervious to information from the environment. However, the valence of that information ultimately determines whether those cognitions are impervious or merely receptive. The actual life circumstances of the depressed…

Information processing, beliefs, and motivations can be coupled with the principle of causal attributions to provide a framework for assessing the causes to which individuals attribute their own behavior. For example, an elderly man who forgets to buy something at the store presents himself with an identity based on cultural stereotypes--in this…