Camillo Regalia

Sociocognitive Self-Regulatory Mechanisms Governing Transgressive Behavior

This longitudinal research examined a structural model of the self-regulatory mechanisms governing transgressive conduct. Perceived academic and self-regulatory efficacy concurrently and longitudinally deterred transgressiveness both directly and by fostering prosocialness and adherence to moral self-sanctions for harmful conduct. The impact of perceived social self-efficacy was mediated through prosocialness. Moral disengagement and prosocialness affected transgressiveness through the mediating influence of irascible affectivity and hostile rumination. Ruminative affectivity, in turn, both concurrently and longitudinally affected transgressiveness. Moral disengagement also contributed independently to variance in transgressiveness over time. This pattern of relations was obtained after controlling for prior transgressiveness. The structural model was replicated across gender and provided a better fit to the data than did several alternative models.

Beyond Self-Esteem: Influence of Multiple Motives on Identity Construction

Diverse theories suggest that people are motivated to maintain or enhance feelings of self-esteem, continuity, distinctiveness, belonging, efficacy, and meaning in their identities. Four studies tested the influence of these motives on identity construction, by using a multilevel regression design. Participants perceived as more central those identity elements that provided a greater sense of self-esteem, continuity, distinctiveness, and meaning; this was found for individual, relational, and group levels of identity, among various populations, and by using a prospective design. Motives for belonging and efficacy influenced identity definition indirectly through their direct influences on identity enactment and through their contributions to self-esteem. Participants were happiest about those identity elements that best satisfied motives for self-esteem and efficacy. These findings point to the need for an integrated theory of identity motivation.

Forgiveness in marriage: The role of relationship quality, attributions, and empathy

Italian husbands (n = 79) and wives (n = 92) from long-term marriages provided data on the role of marital quality, affective reactions, and attributions for hypothetical partner transgressions in promoting forgiveness. Structural equation modeling revealed that, as hypothesized, positive marital quality was predictive of more benign attributions that, in turn, facilitated forgiveness both directly and indirectly via affective reactions and emotional empathy. Unexpectedly, marital quality did not account for unique variance in forgiveness. Compared to husbands, wives’ responsibility attributions were more predictive of forgiveness, whereas empathy was a better predictor of forgiveness in husbands than in wives. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the burgeoning therapeutic literature on forgiveness. Intimate relationships satisfy our deepest affiliative needs and are also the source of some of our most poignant hurts. When the hurt occurs, negative feelings (e.g., anger, resentment) are common, creating a potential disruption in the relationship. One means of meeting this challenge is through forgiveness, a concept that has received remarkably little attention in science despite its pervasiveness across cultures and major religions (Worthington & Wade, 1999). Although it is a complex construct without a consensual definition, at the center of various approaches to forgiveness is the idea of a transformation in which motivation to seek revenge and to avoid contact with the transgressor is lessened and prosocial motivation toward the transgressor is increased. According to the psychotherapy literature, forgiveness helps to restore relationships, release bitterness and anger, and heal inner emotional wounds (e.g., DiBlasio &

Marital Quality, Forgiveness, Empathy, and Rumination: A Longitudinal Analysis:

McCullough, Rachal, et al.’s (1998) social-psychological framework of forgiveness informed a longitudinal study that examined the extent to which marital forgiveness is determined by social-cognitive (the offended spouse’s rumination and emotional empathy) and relationship variables (the quality of the relationship in which the offense took place). In the study, 119 husbands and 124 wives from long- and medium-term marriages in north Italy provided data at two time points separated by a 6-month interval. Structural equation models showed that rumination and empathy independently predicted concurrent marital forgiveness. Forgiveness in turn predicted concurrent marital quality. Finally, reciprocal directions of effect emerged between forgiveness and marital quality over time. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for promoting forgiveness, and future research directions are outlined.

Assessment of Filial, Parental, Marital, and Collective Family Efficacy Beliefs

Summary: This study examines the psychometric properties of four scales designed to assess efficacy beliefs that family members hold about their role as spouse, parent, and child, as well as about ...

Culture and the distinctiveness motive : constructing identity in individualistic and collectivistic contexts

The motive to attain a distinctive identity is sometimes thought to be stronger in, or even specific to, those socialized into individualistic cultures. Using data from 4,751 participants in 21 cultural groups (18 nations and 3 regions), we tested this prediction against our alternative view that culture would moderate the ways in which people achieve feelings of distinctiveness, rather than influence the strength of their motivation to do so. We measured the distinctiveness motive using an indirect technique to avoid cultural response biases. Analyses showed that the distinctiveness motive was not weaker-and, if anything, was stronger-in more collectivistic nations. However, individualism-collectivism was found to moderate the ways in which feelings of distinctiveness were constructed: Distinctiveness was associated more closely with difference and separateness in more individualistic cultures and was associated more closely with social position in more collectivistic cultures. Multilevel analysis confirmed that it is the prevailing beliefs and values in an individuals context, rather than the individuals own beliefs and values, that account for these differences.

Measuring Offence-Specific Forgiveness in Marriage: The Marital Offence-Specific Forgiveness Scale (MOFS)

Three studies involving 328 married couples were conducted to validate the Marital Offence-Specific Forgiveness Scale, a new measure assessing offence-specific forgiveness for marital transgressions. The studies examined the dimensionality; internal consistency; and discriminant, concurrent, and predictive validity of the new measure. The final scale comprised 2 distinct correlated dimensions, 1 positive (Benevolence) and 1 negative (Resentment-Avoidance), both of which had adequate internal consistency. The 2 dimensions discriminated marital forgiveness from affective empathy, rumination, attributions, and marital quality. Convergent validity of the new scale was indicated by significant relationships between its underlying dimensions and a host of predicted sociocognitive, relationship, trait, and well-being correlates of forgiveness. Providing evidence for predictive validity, forgiveness dimensions accounted for variability in relationship variables over a 6-month period.

Identity motives underlying desired and feared possible future selves

Desired and feared possible future selves are important motivators of behavior and provide a temporal context for self-evaluation. Yet little research has examined why people desire some possible selves and fear others. In two studies, we tested the reflection of identity motives for self-esteem, efficacy, meaning, continuity, belonging, and distinctiveness in peoples desired and feared possible future selves and in their possible future identity structures. As predicted, participants desired especially those possible futures in which motives for self-esteem, efficacy, meaning, and continuity would be satisfied, and they feared especially those in which the same four motives and, marginally, the motive for distinctiveness would be frustrated. Analyses supported an indirect path from belonging via self-esteem to desire and fear. Desired and feared possible future selves reflect potential satisfaction and frustration of these identity motives.

Beyond the ‘East-West’ Dichotomy: Global Variation in Cultural Models of Selfhood

Markus and Kitayamas (1991) theory of independent and interdependent self-construals had a major influence on social, personality, and developmental psychology by highlighting the role of culture in psychological processes. However, research has relied excessively on contrasts between North American and East Asian samples, and commonly used self-report measures of independence and interdependence frequently fail to show predicted cultural differences. We revisited the conceptualization and measurement of independent and interdependent self-construals in 2 large-scale multinational surveys, using improved methods for cross-cultural research. We developed (Study 1: N = 2924 students in 16 nations) and validated across cultures (Study 2: N = 7279 adults from 55 cultural groups in 33 nations) a new 7-dimensional model of self-reported ways of being independent or interdependent. Patterns of global variation support some of Markus and Kitayamas predictions, but a simple contrast between independence and interdependence does not adequately capture the diverse models of selfhood that prevail in different world regions. Cultural groups emphasize different ways of being both independent and interdependent, depending on individualism-collectivism, national socioeconomic development, and religious heritage. Our 7-dimensional model will allow future researchers to test more accurately the implications of cultural models of selfhood for psychological processes in diverse ecocultural contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record

Maintaining Harmony Across the Globe: The Cross-Cultural Association Between Closeness and Interpersonal Forgiveness

Although previous research shows that relationship closeness plays a central role in an individual’s willingness to forgive an offender, it is based exclusively on data from Western, individualistic cultures. In the current study, the authors examined the association between relationship closeness and forgiveness across six countries, including both traditionally individualistic—Italy, the Netherlands, the United States—and collectivistic cultures—Japan, China (and one country, Turkey, with both individualistic and collectivistic features). Results demonstrated that, cross-culturally, there was a robust positive association between closeness toward the offender and level of forgiveness, both for trait-forgiveness and offense-specific forgiveness. However, this association was weaker in the collectivistic countries, which may suggest that strong norms in these countries to maintain social harmony may partly weaken the role of closeness in forgiveness. Overall, the present findings are discussed in terms of the possible evolutionary origins of forgiveness and the role of individualism/collectivism in forgiveness.