Here we go again: bullying history and cardiovascular responses to social exclusion.

Previous research suggests that social exclusion-both acute and chronic-may be associated with a pattern of blunted cardiovascular responding. But it is unknown to what extent acute and chronic exclusion interact. That is, what happens when victims of long-term social rejection encounter an instance of exclusion later in life? The goal of the present study was to test whether prior experience being bullied would alter cardiovascular responses to an acute experience of social exclusion. Participants took part in a short online chat, during which they were either included or excluded from the conversation. Consistent with hypotheses, all participants showed an increase in sympathetic activity in the exclusion condition, but this response was significantly blunted among those with more chronic history of bullying victimization. No differences were observed for parasympathetic activity. This pattern suggests that a history of chronic victimization magnifies the cardiovascular "blunting" shown previously among victims of ostracism. This line of work suggests that bullying victims may develop regulatory mechanisms in response to social threats, and this may ultimately provide valuable information for helping victims become more resilient.

Group identification and college adjustment: the experience of encountering a novel stereotype.

Previous research has investigated members of stigmatized groups by studying the consequences of encountering stereotypes for performance and self-esteem. The present study extends these findings by examining the experience of entering a new environment and encountering a negative stereotype for the first time (i.e., a novel stereotype). Participants were students admitted "provisionally" to a large state university. Results suggest that, when encountering a novel stereotype, targets of stereotypes differed in their identification with the group, and that this identification moderated the consequences of the stereotype for performance and self-esteem. Implications for future research are discussed. These data also suggest that a college-based intervention program can provide a buffer against negative stereotypes by reducing the perceived applicability of the stereotype.

Physiological stress response of young adults exposed to bullying during adolescence.

Peer victimization in the form of bullying is a chronic social stressor experienced by many humans during development. Exposure to bullying has been associated with a variety of mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression. Participants pre-selected for the presence or absence of a history of being bullied were brought into a laboratory and placed in a stressful situation. Blood pressure, heart rate, and salivary cortisol levels were measured before the introduction of the stressor (Time 1), at the end of the stressor (Time 2), and after its removal (Time 3). Men with a history of exposure to frequent bullying showed blunted blood pressure responses at Time 2 compared to control men. Bullied and Non-bullied women did not show any differences in any of the measures. Men and women in both groups showed an increase in heart rate in response to the stressor. There were no significant differences in salivary cortisol levels between Bullied and Non-bullied participants. However, salivary cortisol levels and systolic blood pressure were lower in Bullied male participants who reported having no feelings of anger about their experience compared to controls and those who did report anger. These data show altered sympathetic responses to stress in men with a history of victimization as well as suggesting long-term effects on the HPA axis in the most affected individuals.

Social appraisal of adult ADHD: stigma and influences of the beholder's Big Five personality traits.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates social stigma associated with a diagnosis of ADHD in adulthood and whether Big Five personality traits predict appraisals of affected individuals. METHOD: A sample of 257 undergraduates rate the desirability of targets with ADHD, minor medical problems, and with no appreciable weakness, across several social engagement contexts. RESULTS: Participants exhibit significantly less desire to engage with those with ADHD (as compared to both controls). Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness are found to predict appraisals of targets with and without ADHD, moderated by sex of the target and the beholder. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that fairly subtle, negative bias toward ADHD contributes to rejection of individuals with the disorder, particularly in academic and work settings. Findings also suggest peers' personalities do have some effect on appraisals of targets with ADHD

A house divided? The psychology of red and blue America.

Recently it has become commonplace in America for commentators and the public to use the terms "red" and "blue" to refer to perceived cultural differences in America and American politics. Although a political divide may exist in America today, these particular terms are inaccurate and reductive. This article presents research from social psychology demonstrating that the increased use of these terms is likely to increase the conflict between political groups in America by making political conflict salient in nonpolitical contexts, reducing the ability of Americans to form multifaceted complex identities, pushing Americans to misperceive political in-groups and out-groups, and contributing to a "spiral of silence." An alternative model for discussing cultural differences is proposed.

The mismatch effect: when testosterone and status are at odds.

Why do some people strive for high status, whereas others actively avoid it? In the present studies, the authors examined the psychological and physiological consequences of a mismatch between baseline testosterone and a person's current level of status. The authors tested this mismatch effect by placing high and low testosterone individuals into high or low status positions using a rigged competition. In Study 1, low testosterone participants reported greater emotional arousal, focused more on their status, and showed worse cognitive functioning in a high status position. High testosterone participants showed this pattern in a low status position. In Study 2, the emotional arousal findings were replicated with heart rate, and the cognitive findings were replicated using a math test. In Study 3, the authors demonstrate that testosterone is a better predictor of behavior than self-report measures of the need for dominance. Discussion focuses on the value of measuring hormones in personality and social psychology.

Isolation and the stress of being bullied.

Approximately one-third of children report being victims of bullying, and this victimization has been linked to a number of negative psychological outcomes. In the present study, we examined the effects of perceived isolation on the link between victimization before and during high school and stress symptoms during college. Consistent with our predictions, victimization appears to do the most damage to those who felt isolated during high school. These results suggest that schools should reframe their approach to the bullying problem, and devote more resources to helping students feel less isolated.

Testosterone, cognition, and social status.

What leads some people to perform better than others on certain cognitive tasks? One explanation involves individual differences in testosterone. Testosterone is associated with higher performance on spatial tests, and lower performance on verbal tests. However, a large literature suggests that testosterone only predicts behavior when status is in jeopardy. In the present study, we manipulated status before administering a spatial and verbal test. In a high-status position, high-testosterone individuals performed well on both tests, and blood pressure dropped. In a low-status position, high-testosterone individuals performed relatively poorly on both tests, and blood pressure did not change. These data suggest that differences in cognitive performance stem from an interaction between testosterone and the social situation.

Lying words: predicting deception from linguistic styles.

Telling lies often requires creating a story about an experience or attitude that does not exist. As a result, false stories may be qualitatively different from true stories. The current project investigated the features of linguistic style that distinguish between true and false stories. In an analysis of five independent samples, a computer-based text analysis program correctly classified liars and truth-tellers at a rate of 67% when the topic was constant and a rate of 61% overall. Compared to truth-tellers, liars showed lower cognitive complexity, used fewer self-references and other-references, and used more negative emotion words.