The Spanish Journal of Psychology

Lázaro, Miguel; Acha, Joana; Illera, Víctor; Sainz, Javier S.

doi: 10.1017/sjp.2016.75pmid: 27821213

Abstract Several databases of written language exist in Spanish that manage important information on the lexical and sublexical characteristics of words. However, there is no database with information on the productivity and frequency of use of derivational suffixes: sublexical units with an essential role in the formation of orthographic representations and lexical access. This work examines these two measures, known as type and token frequencies, for a series of 50 derivational suffixes and their corresponding orthographic endings. Derivational suffixes are differentiated from orthographic endings by eliminating pseudoaffixed words from the list of orthographic endings (cerveza [beer] is a simple word despite its ending in -eza). We provide separate data for child and adult populations, using two databases commonly accessed by psycholinguists conducting research in Spanish. We describe the filtering process used to obtain descriptive data that will provide information for future research on token and type frequencies of morphemes. This database is an important development for researchers focusing on the role of morphology in lexical acquisition and access.

Birk, Sam J.; Kausel, Edgar E.

doi: 10.1017/sjp.2016.81pmid: 27841105

Abstract We integrate recent findings from the linguistics literature with the organizational justice literature to examine how the language used to encode justice violations influences fairness perceptions. The study focused on the use of non-agentive syntax to encode mistakes in Spanish (“The vase was broken”) versus using agentive syntax in English (“She broke the vase”) influences event fairness perceptions. We hypothesized that when justice violations are encoded using Spanish, because the non-agentive syntax makes the responsible party less salient, the event would be perceived as less unfair. In Study 1 (n = 111), English-speaking participants rated the fairness of an event in which a mistake was made and an employee received a negative outcome. They rated it as more unfair (p < .01, η2 = .06) when the scenario was presented in agentive syntax. Experiment 2 (n = 70) used native English- and Spanish-speakers who watched a video of manager making a mistake. We found that Spanish-speakers used less agentive syntax (p < .01, η2 = .21), perceived the event as less unfair (p < .001, η2 = .23), and were more willing to help the manager who made the mistake. In Experiment 3 (n = 101) we replicated this effect controlling for cross-cultural differences and native language; further, we found an interaction between entity fairness (event vs. entity) and native language (Spanish vs. English) on citizenship intentions (p < .01, η2 = .08). These results extend our understanding of how language may influence relevant workplace attitudes.

da Silva, Rogério Ferreira; Oliveira Lima, Marcus Eugênio

doi: 10.1017/sjp.2016.77pmid: 27841106

Abstract Social judgments are often influenced by racism. Voluntary crimes against life, and in particular the crime of homicide, may be the most critical situations of the impact of racism in social judgments. We analyzed 114 homicide trials conducted by the 1st Jury Court, in a Brazilian judicial capital, concluded between 2003 and 2007, for the purpose of investigating the effects of skin color and the socioeconomic status of the defendant and the victim of homicides in the jury trial court’s decision. The results indicate that the social and economic profile of defendants and victims of homicide is identical. They are almost all poor (more than 70%), with low education (more than 73%) and frequently non-Whites (more than 88%). We found that judges assign longer sentences to black (β = .34, p = .01) and poor defendants (β = .23, p < .05). We even verified that the poorer the defendant, the higher was the corresponding conviction rate (Wald’s Test = 5.90, p < .05). The results are discussed based on theories of social psychology and criminological sociology, which consider the relationship between skin color and socioeconomic status in social judgments and in discrimination.

Ibabe, Izaskun; Arnoso, Ainara; Elgorriaga, Edurne

doi: 10.1017/sjp.2016.80pmid: 27842623

Abstract There is currently a consensus that sexism is one of the most important causes of intimate partner violence, but this has yet to be empirically demonstrated conclusively. The key objective of the study was to adapt Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) and to validate it to the Basque language. It also aims to analyze the prevalence of violence in dating relationships and verify if ambivalent sexism in young men and women is a valid predictor of perpetration and/or victimization in their dating relationships. Ambivalent Sexism Inventory and Dating Relationship Questionnaire were administered to 1378 undergraduate students (66% women and 45% Basque), aged between 17 and 30. The psychometric properties of the Basque and Spanish versions of the ASI are deemed to be acceptable. Sufficient guarantees are provided to be used as an instrument for measuring ambivalent sexism in adult Basque speakers. Ambivalent sexism among young men and women are both positively associated with the perpetration of violence and victimization in their dating relationships. However, ambivalent sexism or two sub-types of sexism (hostile and benevolent) are not relevant risk factors to be perpetrator or victim of violence in dating relationships, due to accounting for 3% or less of variance in dating violence.

Marrero, Rosario J.; Rey, Mar; Hernández-Cabrera, Juan Andrés

doi: 10.1017/sjp.2016.95pmid: 27873568

Abstract In this study, the aim was to analyze the relative importance of Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality facets for eudaimonic or psychological well-being (PWB) and hedonic or subjective well-being (SWB) through dominance analyses. The participants were 1,403 adult residents of Spain (mean age 37.2 years, SD = 13.9). As expected, facets captured a substantial proportion of the variance in PWB and SWB, with PWB being better predicted than SWB (explaining around 36–55% of the variance of PWB vs. 25% of the variance of SWB). Some facets were common to both types of well-being such as depression (explaining between 5–33% of the variance), vulnerability (explaining between 4–21% of the variance), positive emotions (explaining between 2-9% of the variance) and achievement striving (explaining between 2–10% of the variance), whereas others made a unique contribution according to type of well-being. Certain facets had a greater relative importance for women’s well-being -e.g., positive emotions explained 9% of the variance of self-acceptance for women vs. 3% for men- and others for men’s well-being -e.g., achievement striving explained 9% of the variance of personal growth for men vs. 2% for women-. The present results contribute to the literature by identifying which Big Five facets showed greater relative importance in explaining and distinguishing between PWB and SWB for women and men.

Ramos-Díaz, Estibaliz; Rodríguez-Fernández, Arantzazu; Revuelta, Lorena

doi: 10.1017/sjp.2016.94pmid: 27881203

Abstract The scientific study of school engagement has recently been the subject of considerable interest in the field of educational psychology, and significant advances have been made in our knowledge of this construct. For instance, there is currently consensus in the scientific community that it is multifaceted, and has three dimensions: behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement. However, more advanced statistical analyses are needed to validate Spanish-language measures of school engagement, which this study proposes to do. The sample was comprised of 1,250 adolescents from Basque Country (49% boys, 51% girls) aged 12 to 15 years old (M = 13.72, SD = 1.09). The results of confirmatory factor analysis on the School Engagement Measure (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, Friedel, & Paris, 2005) supported a three-dimensional structure of school engagement (χ2 (100) = 676.93, p < .001; GFI = .931; CFI = .906; IFI = .907; SRMR = .058; RMSEA = .068). Reliability indexes were satisfactory, ranging from .83 to .94. Adequate evidence of concurrent validity was found for the variable perceived school performance (p < .01). The results are discussed from an educational perspective, and with an eye to future research.

Simões, Francisco; Calheiros, Maria Manuela

doi: 10.1017/sjp.2016.70pmid: 27806740

Abstract The main goal of this study is to understand the relationship between different types of prosocial behaviors and different forms of self-regulation, as part of the adaptation and validation of the Portuguese version of the Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised (PTM-R). A total of 403 early adolescents (M = 11.81; SD = .92; 52.91% girls) completed self-reported measures. The evaluation of psychometric properties of the PTM-R involved a confirmatory factorial analysis, followed by the examination of factorial internal consistency and factorial invariance analyses across gender groups and school retention groups (retention vs. no-retention). The results support the premise that a 6-factor model similar to the original measure is the most appropriate factorial solution for the PTM-R Portuguese version (χ2(174) = 1.725, p < .001, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .030, SRMR = .08). The levels of internal consistency for the different subscales ranged from .67 to .78. Further convergent and divergent validity tests reveal that different forms of prosocial behavior are more often related to girls’ cognitive, affective and behavioral regulation and that students who failed at least one school year and thus had to repeat it denote poorer relations between prosocial behaviors and self-regulation dimensions, as opposed to more successful students. In conclusion, the Portuguese version of the PTM-R has adequate psychometric properties and its use for research purposes in the field of social development may be appropriate. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for future research on prosociality.

Zhao, Liang

doi: 10.1017/sjp.2016.76pmid: 27806742

Abstract Objects observation automatically elicits the activation of a reach-to-grasp response specifically directed to interact with the object, which is termed affordance. Murphy, van Velzen, and de Fockert (2012) found that only when an irrelevant object receives sufficient attention, it can potentiate an action. However, it remains unclear whether the dangerous object would afford an action when it receives insufficient attention. In this study, we manipulated the perceptual load in a letter identification task. Participants were required to identify a target letter with the right or left hand while ignoring a neutral or dangerous graspable object. The target letter was presented either on its own (low perceptual load), alongside five non-target letters (high load), or alongside eight non-target letters (super high load). Under the low perceptual load, for both neutral and dangerous object, responses were faster when the action afforded by the ignored object was congruent (vs. incongruent) with the current target response (t(27) = 4.44, p < .001; t(27) = 7.99, p < .001, respectively). However, during the high perceptual load, for dangerous object, responses were slower when the action afforded by the ignored object was congruent (vs. incongruent) with the current target response (t(27) = 4.97, p < .001). There was not any effect for both neutral object and dangerous object under super high perceptual load. These results suggest the affordance of dangerous object is also sensitive to the perceptual load. An irrelevant dangerous object can’t potentiate an action if it receives insufficient attention.

Kemer, Gülşah; Çetinkaya Yıldız, Evrim; Bulgan, Gökçe

doi: 10.1017/sjp.2016.78pmid: 27804904

Abstract In this study, we examined married individuals’ relationship satisfaction in relation to their emotional dependency and dysfunctional relationship beliefs. Our participants consisted of 203 female and 181 male, a total of 384 married individuals from urban cities of Turkey. Controlling the effects of gender and length of marriage, we performed a hierarchical regression analysis. Results revealed that married Turkish individuals’ relationship satisfaction was significantly explained by their emotional dependency (sr 2 = .300, p < .001), and perceptions of interpersonal rejection (sr 2 = .075, p < .001) and unrealistic relationship expectations (sr 2 = .028, p < .001). However, interpersonal misperception did not make a significant contribution to the participants’ relationship satisfaction (p > .05). When compared to perceptions of interpersonal rejection and unrealistic relationship expectations, emotional dependency had the largest role in explaining participants’ satisfaction with their marriages. We discuss the results in light of current literature as well as cultural relevance. We also provide implications for future research and mental health practices.

Espinosa, Pablo; Clemente, Miguel; Uña, Octavio

doi: 10.1017/sjp.2016.79pmid: 27821196

Abstract This study examines the role that motivational values play in the experience of discrimination in young immigrants in Spain and how this role is mediated by parental values. Participants in the study were 193 dyads of pre-adolescent to young adult first and second generation immigrants and one of their parents. All participants were either of Moroccan or Romanian ascent, the two largest immigrant groups in Spain. The proposed SEM model had an adequate fit, χ2(2, N = 193) = 2.272, p = .321, RMSEA = .027, CFI = .999, NFI = .994, and yielded a large R 2, both for the Moroccan group (R 2 = .79, p < .01), and the Romanian group (R 2 = .80, p < .01). It showed that the value dimension openness to change vs. conservation is positively related to their experience of discrimination (β = .35, p < .01, for Moroccans group; and β = .29, p < .001, for Romanians). This relationship was mediated by parental values and their parents’ experience of discrimination. A possible explanation is that immigrants high in openness to change are likely to pursue contact with the host culture more intensely, and thus increase the probability of interactions involving discrimination. Additionally, parental values and their own experience of discrimination influences their children, making them more vulnerable to discrimination stress and more likely to perceive discrimination. While most research is focused on external or environmental variables, this study highlights the importance of value orientations and parental influences in immigrants’ experience of discrimination.