Astrid Schütz

Emotional Intelligence and Social Interaction

Two studies found positive relationships between the ability to manage emotions and the quality of social interactions, supporting the predictive and incremental validity of an ability measure of emotional intelligence, the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). In a sample of 118 American college students (Study 1), higher scores on the managing emotions subscale of the MSCEIT were positively related to the quality of interactions with friends, evaluated separately by participants and two friends. In a diary study of social interaction with 103 German college students (Study 2), managing emotions scores were positively related to the perceived quality of interactions with opposite sex individuals. Scores on this subscale were also positively related to perceived success in impression management in social interactions with individuals of the opposite sex. In both studies, the main findings remained statistically significant after controlling for Big Five personality traits.

The Attractive Female Body Weight and Female Body Dissatisfaction in 26 Countries Across 10 World Regions: Results of the International Body Project I

This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.

High implicit self-esteem is not necessarily advantageous: discrepancies between explicit and implicit self-esteem and their relationship with anger expression and psychological health

Two studies investigated how discrepancies between implicit and explicit self‐esteem are related to mental and physical health. We found that, compared to congruent self‐esteem, discrepant self‐esteem was related to more anger suppression, a more depressive attributional style, more nervousness, and more days of impaired health. The result applies not only to fragile (high explicit, low implicit) self‐esteem, but also to damaged (low explicit, high implicit) self‐esteem. These findings show that high implicit self‐esteem is not necessarily advantageous. In individuals with low explicit self‐esteem having high implicit self‐esteem was related to more health problems than having low implicit self‐esteem. Taken together the results suggest that discrepancies between implicit and explicit SE are detrimental to mental and physical health. Copyright

Die Messung von Narzissmus als Persönlichkeitskonstrukt

Zusammenfassung. An vier Stichproben wurden die psychometrischen Eigenschaften der deutschen Version des NPI (Narcissistic Personality Inventory, Raskin & Hall, 1979, 1981) untersucht. Die Skala erfasst subklinischen Narzissmus als Personlichkeitsmerkmal. Das NPI erwies sich sowohl in seiner Lang- als auch in seiner Kurzform als hinreichend konsistent und zeitlich stabil. Hinweise auf konvergente und diskriminante Validitat fanden sich u.a. in Bezug auf Selbstwertschatzung und die Dimensionen des Funf-Faktoren-Modells. Mit Hilfe von Faktorenanalysen wurde die interne Struktur der Langversion untersucht. Die empirisch ermittelte Faktorenlosung unterscheidet sich von den bei Emmons (1987) oder Raskin und Terry (1988) berichteten, ahnelt letzterer aber mehr als ersterer.

Through a Glass, Less Darkly?

Self-esteem has been traditionally assessed via self-report (explicit self-esteem: ESE). However, the limitations of self-report have prompted efforts to assess self-esteem indirectly (implicit self-esteem: ISE). It has been theorized that ISE and ESE reflect the operation of largely distinct mental systems. However, although low correlations between measures of ISE and ESE empirically support their discriminant validity, similarly low correlations between different measures of ISE do not support their convergent validity. We explored whether such patterns would reemerge if more recently developed, specific, and reliable ISE measures were used. They did, although some convergent validity among ISE measures emerged once confounds resulting from conceptual mismatch, individual differences, and random variability were minimized. Nonetheless, low correlations among ISE measures are not primarily caused by the usual psychometric suspects, and may be the result of other factors including subtle differences betw...

Emotional intelligence and mental disorder

Emotional abilities were measured with a performance test of emotional intelligence (The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test; Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2002) in patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder, substance abuse disorder, or borderline personality disorder (BPD), and a nonclinical control group. Findings showed that all clinical groups differed from controls with respect to their overall emotional intelligence score, which dovetails with previous findings from self-report measures. Specifically, we found that the ability to understand emotional information and the ability to regulate emotions best distinguished the groups. Findings showed that patients with substance abuse disorder and BPD patients were most impaired.

Assertive, offensive, protective, and defensive styles of self-presentation: a taxonomy

Classifications of self-presentational behavior are reviewed for differences and similarities. Earlier classifications and recent empirical research are used as a basis for a taxonomy of four styles of self-presentation--assertive, offensive, protective, and defensive--according to the relevant self-presentational intentions and the level of activity involved. Each style is illustrated with typical behavioral examples, together with individual differences and possible consequences.

Walking in each other's shoes: Perspective taking mediates effects of emotional intelligence on relationship quality

Although theorists have repeatedly emphasized that emotional intelligence should be linked to relationship quality, little empirical research has systematically examined emotional intelligence in romantic relationships using appropriate dyadic designs and analyses. The present research investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and aspects of relationship quality (satisfaction, closeness and commitment). Study 1 was conducted online with 191 heterosexual couples. We found that a persons perceptions of relationship quality were predicted not only by that persons emotional intelligence, but also by the relationship partners emotional intelligence. In Study 2, these positive actor and partner effects of emotional intelligence on relationship satisfaction and closeness were replicated in a sample of 80 couples in the laboratory. In this context, couples engaged in a conflict discussion, and perspective taking of the partners was rated by the experimenter. Actor–Partner Interdependence Mediation Model showed that perspective taking mediated the effects of emotional intelligence on relationship quality. The present research confirmed the link between emotional intelligence and relationship quality and sheds light on the processes through which emotional intelligence affects the quality of romantic relationships. Copyright

Mehrebenenanalysen in der psychologischen Forschung

Zusammenfassung. Daten mit Mehrebenenstruktur liegen vor, wenn fur jede Versuchsperson eine Vielzahl von Messungen erhoben wird (z.B. in Tagebuchstudien) oder wenn Individuen in Gruppen analysiert werden. Derartige Daten konnen mit Hilfe von Mehrebenenanalysen ausgewertet werden. Der vorliegende Artikel erlautert das Prinzip der Mehrebenenmodellierung mit Zufallskoeffizienten, nennt Vorteile gegenuber herkommlichen Analysestrategien und liefert Beispiele aus empirischen Studien. Auserdem wird diskutiert, welche Aspekte bei Mehrebenenanalysen zu beachten sind. Hierzu gehoren die Zentrierung von Pradiktoren, die Fixierung von Koeffizienten und die Zahl der Analyseebenen.

Discrepancies between explicit and implicit self-esteem are linked to symptom severity in borderline personality disorder

The present study examined whether discrepancies between explicit and implicit self-esteem are associated with symptom severity in a sample of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). We hypothesized that implicit-explicit self-esteem discrepancies foster autoaggressive behavior and dysphoria, and impair self-perception. We found that the two forms of self-esteem discrepancies, damaged and fragile self-esteem were related to the severity of overall borderline symptoms, autoaggression, dysphoria, and deficits in self-perception. In contrast, more general psychopathological impairment, such as depression, was not related to self-esteem discrepancies. Taken together our results indicate that discrepancies between explicit and implicit self-esteem are associated with certain borderline symptoms that may be based on internal tension. The findings can be interpreted within the framework of self-discrepancies and dichotomous attitudes in patients with BPD.