The link between social comparison orientation and domain-specific risk-taking: exploring the mediating role of two dimensions of trait competitiveness.

Introduction: Our recent research has demonstrated that social comparison orientation of ability (SCO-ability) is an antecedent of trait competitiveness (TC), and TC mediates the relation between SCO-ability and domain-specific risk-taking. TC is a multi-dimensional trait, therefore we sought to expand on prior research by examining whether SCO-ability predicted two distinct dimensions of TC: hypercompetitive orientation (HCO) and self-development competitive orientation (SDCO). Methods: We investigated how these different dimensions of TC mediated the relation between SCO-ability and both overall and domain-specific risk-taking in two correlational studies of 622 college students (313 males, mean age = 22.10, SD = 2.35) and 717 adult workers (368 males, mean age = 27.92, SD = 5.11). Results: We found that SCO-ability positively predicted HCO. Together, SCO-ability and HCO predicted overall risk-taking and risk-taking in the recreational and ethical domains in both samples. HCO mediated the relation between SCO-ability and both overall risk-taking and risk-taking in the recreational and ethical domains. Additionally, SCO-ability positively predicted SDCO. SCO-ability and SDCO mainly predicted risk-taking in the recreational domain in both studies. SDCO mediated the relation between SCO-ability and risk-taking only in the recreational domain. Discussion: Collectively, the findings above advance our understanding of the relation between competition and risk-taking by using differentiated measures of TC (HCO and SDCO). Our findings suggest that HCO is more strongly related to risk-taking than SDCO, thereby refining the possible role of SCO-ability and TC in predicting overall risk-taking and domain-specific risk-taking.

Socio-economic status, mastery-approach goals and learning-related outcomes: Mediation and moderation.

BACKGROUND: Socio-economic status is one of the most important factors shaping students' motivation and achievement but has seldom been explored in relation to achievement goals. AIMS: This study aimed to investigate whether mastery-approach goals explain the link between SES and key learning-related outcomes (mediation) and whether SES modifies the relationship between mastery-approach goals and these outcomes (moderation). SAMPLE: Data came from 595,444 students nested in 21,322 schools across 77 countries. METHODS: Data were analysed using multilevel-moderated mediation analyses. RESULTS: We found significant mediation and moderation. In terms of mediation, mastery-approach goals mediated the association between family SES and learning-related outcomes. However, a different pattern emerged for school SES, as students in higher SES schools had lower mastery-approach goals. In terms of moderation, we found that family SES strengthened the association between mastery-approach goals and learning-related outcomes. However, the association between mastery-approach goals and learning-related outcomes was weaker in higher SES schools. CONCLUSION: Theoretical and practical implications for the achievement goal approach to achievement motivation are discussed.

Case report: The activity of multi-kinase VEGF inhibitor, Pazopanib, in metastatic undifferentiated round cell sarcomas harboring EWSR1::CREM fusion: clinicopathological series of two cases and literature review.

Soft tissue sarcomas harboring EWSR1::CREM fusion are rare and challenging to treat. Pazopanib, a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is FDA-approved for advanced soft tissue sarcomas, but predictive biomarkers for its efficacy remain unidentified. We conducted a study on > 240,000 neoplasms submitted to Caris Life Sciences (Phoenix, AZ) to detect rearrangements using whole transcriptome sequencing. Two sarcoma-experienced, board-certified pathologists performed histological reviews, and treatment/outcome information was collected. Among the identified cases (n = 18), we observed a diverse range of sarcoma and other cancers, including an intracranial myxoid mesenchymal tumor, mesothelioma, hyalinizing clear cell carcinomas of the head and neck, clear cell sarcomas, and undifferentiated round cell sarcomas, as well as histologically malignant tumors with epithelioid morphology. Notably, two undifferentiated, metastatic, abdominal round cell sarcoma cases treated with pazopanib demonstrated significant sustained partial response and clinical benefit. To explore the genetic factors associated with the efficacy of pazopanib in these cases, next-generation sequencing and fluorescence in situ hybridization were analyzed for alterations in the tumors. The genomic analysis provided compelling evidence confirming the presence of EWSR1::CREM fusion in both cases, with no other pathogenic gene variants or copy number alterations detected. These cases demonstrate the potential of Pazopanib as a promising therapeutic option for patients with EWSR1::CREM fusion-positive soft tissue sarcomas, including metastatic undifferentiated round cell sarcomas. The sustained clinical benefit and partial responses observed in these cases warrant further research to validate these findings and explore the wider utility of Pazopanib in this rare and challenging subset of soft tissue sarcomas. Case studies: Case 1: A 49-year-old man presented with abdominal pain, weight loss, and chronic cough. A computed tomography (CT) of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis showed multiple lung nodules and masses and a right rectus mass that was biopsied and revealed an undifferentiated round cell sarcoma with a rare fusion EWSR1-CREM. No additional pathogenic gene variants or copy number alterations were detected. He received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with three cycles of Vincristine, Adriamycin, and Ifosfamide (VAI) and seven cycles of Vincristine/Irinotecan and Temodar (VIT). After cycle 7 of VIT, he had surgical resection of the abdominal mass and received radiation for lung metastasis. He completed 13 cycles of VIT after which he presented with progression of disease and switched to monotherapy with Pazopanib. At the time of this analysis he had stable disease for 28 months. Case 2: A 75-year-old woman presented with pelvic pain and new onset constipation. CT abdomen showed a large pelvic mass and intraperitoneal tumor spread. Exploratory laparotomy revealed a ruptured pelvic mass and a small bowel tumor. Both tumors were proved to be high-grade, poorly differentiated sarcoma. Genomic analysis demonstrated an EWSR1::CREM fusion but no other pathogenic gene variants or copy number alterations. She was treated initially for a primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) with four cycles of Vincristine/Adriamycin/Cytoxan/Olaratumab but declined additional chemotherapy after progression. Two years later, she presented with recurrent abdominal mass and received one cycle of Temodar/Irinotecan, then she began Pozapanib and underwent palliative radiation to the entire pelvis. She has been on Pazopanib for 23 months with stable disease.

A Competitiveness-Based Theoretical Framework on the Psychology of Income Inequality.

Social scientists have begun to extensively study how living in contexts with high income inequality affects psychological outcomes. Herein we overview a conceptual framework that integrates, organizes, and extends these complex (and sometimes contradictory) findings. First, we describe studies showing that income inequality breeds an ethos of competitiveness. Second, we argue that the inequality-competitiveness relation explains why income inequality (a) promotes status-focused behaviors aimed at lifting oneself up and/or bringing others down, (b) harms social relations when they pose an obstacle to one's economic advancement, (c) exerts opposing effects on well-being via avoidance motivation (focusing on the risk of economic failure) and approach motivation (focusing on the prospect of economic success), and (d) represents a threat to those who perceive they do not have sufficient individual/contextual resources to cope with the demands of competition but a challenge to those with sufficient resources. We also discuss limitations and future directions for research.

The effect of Black-White income inequality on perceived interracial psychological outcomes via perceived interracial competition.

This research examined the influence of Black-White income inequality on negative interracial psychological outcomes and the role of perceived interracial competition as a mediational mechanism. The research utilized three different designs across three preregistered experiments to assess the proposed processes. Study 1 (N = 846) used a measurement-of-mediation design and found that participants assigned to the high racial income gap condition reported more perceived interracial competition, discrimination, avoidance, and anxiety relative to those in the low racial income gap condition. Effects were mediated by increased perceptions of interracial competition. Studies 2a (n = 827) and 2b (n = 841) used an experimental-causal-chain design and replicated the effect of the racial income gap condition on increased perceptions of interracial competition (Study 2a) and showed that participants in the high perceived interracial competition condition-the manipulated mechanism-exhibited greater perceived discrimination, anxiety, and mistrust relative to those in the low perceived interracial competition condition (Study 2b). Study 3 (N = 1,583) diversified the sample by recruiting similar numbers of Black (n = 796) and White (n = 787) participants and used a moderation-of-process design by simultaneously manipulating the racial income gap and perceived interracial competition. Competition moderated effects: Inequality effects were stronger for those in the high competition condition. Implications for theory development are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Achievement goal perception: An interpersonal approach to achievement goals.

Research on achievement goals is voluminous but focused primarily on intrapersonal regulation. In the present article, we emphasize the integral role that achievement goals also play in the broader process of interpersonal judgment. We establish a new interpersonal approach to achievement goals that integrates the extensive achievement goal literature with the well-established social relations model (SRM). We introduce and formally define the interpersonal concept of achievement goal perception, present a formal methodological approach to studying this novel concept using a Bayesian implementation of the multivariate SRM (MSRM), and put the proposed integrative approach to the test with an in-depth empirical study that directly addresses fundamental questions of achievement goal perception. In this empirical study, we measured four types of achievement goal perceptions-mastery-approach (MAP), mastery-avoidance (MAV), performance-approach (PAP), performance-avoidance (PAV)-across 1,809 student-classmate dyads from 42 small discussion-based undergraduate classes. Results indicated a predominantly perceiver-driven process consisting of self-other agreement for MAP, MAV, and PAV goals but not PAP goals, assumed similarity for each achievement goal, and greater assumed similarity among closer classmates. Achievement goal perception provided incremental predictive utility for two gold-standard educational outcomes-academic performance and intrinsic motivation-among both perceivers and targets, and four additional educationally relevant constructs-perceived class value, perceived effort investment, perceived competence, and peer help-seeking-among perceivers. Having laid the theoretical, methodological, and empirical foundations, we discuss this new interpersonal approach to achievement goals alongside contemporary research on achievement motivation and interpersonal judgment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Awe arises in reaction to exceeded rather than disconfirmed expectancies.

Awe is a fascinating emotion, associated with positive consequences such as greater prosociality, generosity, and epistemic openness. Unfortunately, in spite of the weighty consequences of awe, the exact way in which it arises, and what it entails, is still a puzzle. Particularly puzzling is the question of whether awe is the result of expectancy violation. While awe is thought to arise in reaction to expectancy-violating objects or events, classical expectancy violations (e.g., a red queen of spades playing card) do not tend to cause awe. To shed light on this problem, we distinguished two types of expectancy violations-those that disconfirm and those that exceed one's expectancies-and we investigated whether awe is more likely to arise in reaction to one versus the other. We also looked at what appraisals constitute and are most important to the awe experience and how they structurally interact. To do this, we utilized network analysis and mapped out the network structure of appraisals linked to awe and to expectancy violations. Across two experimental studies (N = 823), we demonstrated that awe arises in reaction to exceeded (rather than disconfirmed) expectancies and that appraisals linked to exceeded expectancies (vastness and uniqueness) are central to awe, while appraisals linked to disconfirmed expectancies (uncertainty and inconsistency) are peripheral to the awe experience. Taken together, our investigation sheds new light on psychologists' understanding of expectancy violations and reveals when and how awe arises and what it entails. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A three-dimensional taxonomy of achievement emotions.

We present a three-dimensional taxonomy of achievement emotions that considers valence, arousal, and object focus as core features of these emotions. By distinguishing between positive and negative emotions (valence), activating and deactivating emotions (arousal), and activity emotions, prospective outcome emotions, and retrospective outcome emotions (object focus), the taxonomy has a 2 × 2 × 3 structure representing 12 groups of achievement emotions. In four studies across different countries (N = 330, 235, 323, and 269 participants in Canada, the United States, Germany, and the U.K., respectively), we investigated the empirical robustness of the taxonomy in educational (Studies 1-3) and work settings (Study 4). An expanded version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire was used to assess 12 key emotions representing the taxonomy. Consistently across the four studies, findings from multilevel facet analysis and structural equation modeling documented the importance of the three dimensions for explaining achievement emotions. In addition, based on hypotheses about relations with external variables, the findings show clear links of the emotions with important antecedents and outcomes. The Big Five personality traits, appraisals of control and value, and context perceptions were predictors of the emotions. The 12 emotions, in turn, were related to participants' use of strategies, cognitive performance, and self-reported health problems. Taken together, the findings provide robust evidence for the unique positions of different achievement emotions in the proposed taxonomy, as well as unique patterns of relations with external variables. Directions for future research and implications for policy and practice are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Mastery-approach goals: A large-scale cross-cultural analysis of antecedents and consequences.

Mastery-approach (MAP) goals, focusing on developing competence and acquiring task mastery, are posited to be the most optimal, beneficial type of achievement goal for academic and life outcomes. Although there is meta-analytic evidence supporting this finding, such evidence does not allow us to conclude that the extant MAP goal findings generalize across cultures. Meta-analyses have often suffered from overrepresentation of Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) samples; reliance on bivariate correlations; and lack the ability to directly control individual-level background variables. To address these limitations, this study used nationally representative data from 77 countries/regions (N = 595,444 adolescents) to examine the relations of MAP goals to four antecedents (workmastery, competitiveness, fear of failure, fixed mindset) and 16 consequences (task-specific motivational, achievement-related, and well-being outcomes), and tested the cross-cultural generalizability of these relations. Results showed that MAP goals were: (a) grounded primarily in positive but not negative achievement motives/beliefs; (b) most strongly predictive of well-being outcomes, followed by adaptive motivation; (c) positively but consistently weakly associated with achievement-related outcomes, particularly for academic performance (ß = .069); (d) negatively and weakly associated with maladaptive outcomes; and (e) uniquely predictive of various consequences, controlling for the antecedents and covariates. Further, the MAP goal predictions were generalizable across countries/regions for 13 of 16 consequences. While directions of effect sizes were slightly mixed for academic performance, perceived reading, and PISA test difficulty, the effect sizes were consistently small for most countries/regions. This generalizability points to quite strong cross-cultural support for the observed patterns. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The effects of U.S. county and state income inequality on self-reported happiness and health are equivalent to zero.

PURPOSE: A popular idea in the social sciences is that contexts with high income inequality undermine people's well-being and health. However, existing studies documenting this phenomenon typically compare a small number of higher-level units (countries/regions). Here, we use local income inequality indicators and temporal designs to provide the most highly powered test to date of the associations between income inequality and self-reported happiness and health in the USA METHOD: We combined county-level income inequality data (county-level Gini coefficients) with the responses from the General Social Survey (GSS) Cross-sectional dataset (13,000 + participants from ≈1000 county-waves) and Panels (3 × 3000 + participants from 3 × ≈500 county-waves); we used the GSS happiness ("not too happy," "pretty happy," or "very happy") and health ("poor," "fair," "good," or "excellent") variables. RESULTS: Multilevel-ordered logistic models and equivalence tests revealed that the within-county effects of income inequality on self-reported happiness and health were systematically equivalent to zero. Additional analyses revealed that the within-state effects were identical, that using alternative measures of state income inequality led to the same conclusions, and that lagged effects (between + 1 and + 12 years) were never significant and always equivalent to zero. CONCLUSION: The present work suggests that-at least in the USA-income inequality is likely neither associated with self-reported happiness nor with self-reported health.

Knowledge of wealth shapes social impressions.

Seven experiments conducted in India and the United States (N ∼7,000; 5 preregistered) examined the effects of wealth on warmth and competence, 2 fundamental dimensions of social impressions. Wealth causally influenced perceptions of a target's competence: high wealth increased perceived competence and low wealth decreased perceived competence (Experiments 1-3). Furthermore, both high and low wealth reduced perceived warmth compared with control conditions that provided no wealth-related information (Experiments 2 and 3). Attributing prosocial tendencies to the target in the form of charitable donations reversed wealth-induced reductions in warmth, while low levels of charitable donations lowered both perceived warmth and competence (Experiment 3). Reciprocally, information about the target's competence or warmth influenced how wealthy they were perceived to be (Experiment 4). Knowing the source of wealth (e.g., entrepreneurship, corporate fraud, inheritance) also affected perceptions of competence and warmth (Experiments 5 and 6). Moreover, participants expressed greater willingness to hire wealthier targets compared with poorer targets in hypothetical employment scenarios, a relationship mediated by perceived competence, suggesting that an individual's wealth may influence consequential assessments and decisions (Experiment 7). With rising economic inequality, it is crucial to understand how wealthy and poor individuals are perceived and the implications of these perceptions. The present experiments offer insight in this direction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The effects of COVID-19 on perceived intergroup competition and negative intergroup outcomes.

This research examined the effects of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived Black-White intergroup competition and negative intergroup psychological outcomes. Two datasets (collected before [2018] and after the onset of [April, 2020] COVID-19) were combined (N = 2,131) for this research. The data provided support for the hypothesis that perceptions of Black-White intergroup competition, and subsequently perceptions of discrimination, behavioral avoidance, intergroup anxiety, and interracial mistrust would be higher after the onset of COVID-19. Three additional predictors, a perceived interracial competition manipulation, political orientation, and population density at the ZIP-code level were examined to test for main effects and moderation of COVID-19 effects. All three predictors exhibited main effects on focal outcomes, and political orientation moderated COVID-19 onset effects: effects were stronger for conservatives. Lastly, perceived intergroup competition mediated the effect of COVID-19 onset on the four focal outcomes.

The effect of perceived interracial competition on psychological outcomes.

There remains a dearth of research on causal roles of perceived interracial competition on psychological outcomes. Towards this end, this research experimentally manipulated perceptions of group-level competition between Black and White individuals in the U.S. and tested for effects on negative psychological outcomes. In Study 1 (N = 899), participants assigned to the high interracial competition condition (HRC) reported perceiving more discrimination, behavioral avoidance, intergroup anxiety, and interracial mistrust relative to low interracial competition (LRC) participants. Study 2 -a preregistered replication and extension-specifically recruited similar numbers of only Black and White participants (N = 1,823). Consistent with Study 1, Black and White participants in the HRC condition reported more discrimination, avoidance, anxiety, and mistrust. Main effects for race also emerged: Black participants perceived more interracial competition and negative outcomes. Racial income inequality moderated effects; competition effects were stronger in areas with higher levels of inequality. Implications for theory development are discussed.

Development of achievement goals and their relation to academic interest and achievement in adolescence: A review of the literature and two longitudinal studies.

Adolescence is important for the development of achievement motivation, including achievement goal pursuit. Longitudinal research is scarce on adolescents' goal development and its implications for academic outcomes. In our research, we first present a systematic review of findings on achievement goals in adolescence. Then we report 2 longitudinal studies with German adolescents in which we investigated the separate as well as joint development of achievement goals, interest, and achievement in the domain of mathematics. Study 1 comprised 745 students assessed in 4 waves in grades 5-7 (43% female; age MT1 = 10.66). Study 2 comprised 1,420 students assessed in 4 waves in grades 5-8 (47% female; age MT1 = 10.58). Students reported their mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals and their interest in mathematics. Mathematics achievement was assessed by school grades (Studies 1 and 2) and standardized test scores (Study 1). Data were analyzed using latent growth curve, multiple process, and cross-lagged models. Findings for the 2 studies evidenced a substantial degree of consistency. All goals decreased and the decrease became smaller over time in most instances. Controlling for nonfocal goals and demographic variables (socioeconomic status, gender), multiple process models revealed that change in mastery and performance-approach goals was positively related or unrelated to change in interest and achievement, whereas change in performance-avoidance goals was negatively related or unrelated to change in interest and achievement. Cross-lagged models revealed that relations between the achievement goals on the one hand and interest and achievement on the other hand were reciprocal rather than unidirectional. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Social Perception of Facial Color Appearance for Human Trichromatic Versus Dichromatic Color Vision.

Typical human color vision is trichromatic, on the basis that we have three distinct classes of photoreceptors. A recent evolutionary account posits that trichromacy facilitates detecting subtle skin color changes to better distinguish important social states related to proceptivity, health, and emotion in others. Across two experiments, we manipulated the facial color appearance of images consistent with a skin blood perfusion response and asked participants to evaluate the perceived attractiveness, health, and anger of the face (trichromatic condition). We additionally simulated what these faces would look like for three dichromatic conditions (protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia). The results demonstrated that flushed (relative to baseline) faces were perceived as more attractive, healthy, and angry in the trichromatic and tritanopia conditions, but not in the protanopia and deuteranopia conditions. The results provide empirical support for the social perception account of trichromatic color vision evolution and lead to systematic predictions of social perception based on ecological social perception theory.

The relation between symmetry in food packaging and approach and avoidance words.

Research on aesthetic science has demonstrated that people generally prefer symmetrical over asymmetrical compositions. However, it remains unclear whether and how such compositions relate to the concepts of approach and avoidance motivation, especially in consumer contexts. In addition, it is not known how symmetry may influence such concepts in contexts where objects can differ in terms of their hedonic values (symmetry/product taste congruency). In the present research, we evaluated the relation between visual symmetry of the packaging of products with different hedonic value (sweet, non-sweet, non-food) and approach and avoidance words. In two experiments, we found evidence that people associate symmetrical designs with approach words more often than asymmetrical designs. Importantly, however, we did not find evidence that such an effect is influenced by the hedonic value of the products. Our results have value for scholars and practitioners interested in the effect of aesthetic features of brand elements (such as a product's packaging) on consumer motivation.

Return to Sports and Physical Activities After First Metatarsophalangeal Joint Arthrodesis in Young Patients.

BACKGROUND: Arthrodesis of the first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint has been shown to be effective in alleviating pain and correcting deformity in hallux rigidus. However, outcomes in specific sports and physical activities remain unclear. The aim of this study was to assess sports and physical activities in young patients following first MTP joint arthrodesis and to compare these results with clinical outcomes. METHODS: Patients between ages 18 and 55 years who underwent MTP arthrodesis were identified by review of a prospective registry. Fifty of 73 eligible patients (68%) were reached for follow-up at a mean of 5.1 (range, 2.2-10.2) years with a mean age at surgery of 49.7 (range, 23-55) years. Physical activity was evaluated with a previously developed sports-specific, patient-administered questionnaire. Clinical outcomes were evaluated with the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS). RESULTS: Patients participated in 22 different sports and physical activities. The most common were walking, biking, weightlifting, swimming, running, and golf. Compared to preoperatively, patients rated 27.4% of activities as less difficult, 51.2% as the same, and 21.4% as more difficult. Patients returned to 44.6% of preoperative physical activities in less than 6 months and reached their maximal level of participation in 88.6% of physical activities. Ninety-six percent of patients (48/50) were satisfied with the procedure regarding return to sports and physical activities. Improvements in the FAOS Symptoms subscore were associated with increased postoperative running and walking duration, and improvements in FAOS Pain subscores were associated with greater patient satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Patients were able to participate in a wide variety of sports and physical activities postoperatively. Some patients reported increased difficulty, but were nonetheless satisfied with the procedure regarding physical activity participation. These findings suggest that first MTP joint arthrodesis is a reasonable option in young, active patients, and may be used to guide postoperative expectations. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, retrospective case series.

Novelty seeking is linked to openness and extraversion, and can lead to greater creative performance.

OBJECTIVE: Novelty seeking (the tendency to explore things novel and unfamiliar) has been extensively researched in the clinical and health domains, but its effects on creative performance are largely unknown. We examined whether creativity-related personality traits (openness to experience and extraversion) are associated with novelty seeking, and whether novelty seeking is linked to, and facilitates, creativity. METHOD: In Study 1a (N = 230; Mage = 20; 64% females) and Study 1b (N = 421; Mage = 19; 65% females), we measured extraversion, openness to experience, novelty seeking, and divergent thinking. To provide causal evidence for the relation between novelty seeking and creativity, in Study 2 (N = 147; Mage = 27; 75% females), we manipulated people's motivation to seek novelty and then measured subsequent divergent thinking. RESULTS: In Studies 1a and 1b, we demonstrated that trait novelty seeking is associated with openness and extraversion, on the one hand, and divergent thinking on the other. In Study 2, the novelty seeking manipulation led to greater divergent thinking. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that novelty seeking is linked to openness to experience and extraversion, and that it can lead to greater divergent thinking.