Annual Review of Psychology - Volume 57, 2006

This chapter begins with a summary of a model, developed half a century ago, that distinguishes three qualitatively different processes of social influence: compliance, identification, and internalization. The model, originally geared to and experimentally tested in the context of persuasive communication, was subsequently applied to influence in the context of long-term relationships, including psychotherapy, international exchanges, and the socialization of national/ethnic identity. It has been extended to analysis of the relationship of individuals to social systems. Individuals' rule, role, and value orientations to a system—conceptually linked to compliance, identification, and internalization—predict different reactions to their own violations of societal standards, different patterns of personal involvement in the political system, and differences in attitude toward authorities and readiness to obey. In a further extension of the model, three approaches to peacemaking in international or intergroup conflicts are identified—conflict settlement, conflict resolution, and reconciliation—which, respectively, focus on the accommodation of interests, relationships, and identities, and are conducive to changes at the level of compliance, identification, and internalization.

Traditional approaches to the study of cognition emphasize an information-processing view that has generally excluded emotion. In contrast, the recent emergence of cognitive neuroscience as an inspiration for understanding human cognition has highlighted its interaction with emotion. This review explores insights into the relations between emotion and cognition that have resulted from studies of the human amygdala. Five topics are explored: emotional learning, emotion and memory, emotion's influence on attention and perception, processing emotion in social stimuli, and changing emotional responses. Investigations into the neural systems underlying human behavior demonstrate that the mechanisms of emotion and cognition are intertwined from early perception to reasoning. These findings suggest that the classic division between the study of emotion and cognition may be unrealistic and that an understanding of human cognition requires the consideration of emotion.

It is usually assumed that stressful life events interfere with our ability to acquire new information. However, many studies suggest that stressful experience can enhance processes involved in learning. The types of learning that are enhanced after stressful experiences include classical fear and eyeblink conditioning, as well as processes related to learning about threatening stimuli. Stressful life experiences do seem to interfere with processes involved in memory, often expressed as deficits in the retention or retrieval of information that was acquired prior to and was unrelated to the stressful experience. The trends are limited, as are their implications, because most studies examine adult males, yet the effects of stress on learning processes are influenced by age and sex differences. With respect to mechanisms and anatomical substrates, the effects of stress on learning are usually dependent on the action of stress hormones in combination with neuronal activities within the hippocampus, amygdala, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and the prefrontal cortex.

The functions of rewards are based primarily on their effects on behavior and are less directly governed by the physics and chemistry of input events as in sensory systems. Therefore, the investigation of neural mechanisms underlying reward functions requires behavioral theories that can conceptualize the different effects of rewards on behavior. The scientific investigation of behavioral processes by animal learning theory and economic utility theory has produced a theoretical framework that can help to elucidate the neural correlates for reward functions in learning, goal-directed approach behavior, and decision making under uncertainty. Individual neurons can be studied in the reward systems of the brain, including dopamine neurons, orbitofrontal cortex, and striatum. The neural activity can be related to basic theoretical terms of reward and uncertainty, such as contiguity, contingency, prediction error, magnitude, probability, expected value, and variance.

The study of the genetics of complex behaviors has evolved dramatically from the days of the nature versus nurture debates that dominated much of the past century. Here we discuss advances in our understanding of the genetics of affective and anxiety disorders. In particular, we highlight our growing understanding of specific gene-environment interactions that occur during critical periods in development, setting the stage for later behavioral phenotypes. We review the recent literature in the field, focusing on recent advances in our understanding of the role of the serotonin system in establishing normal anxiety levels during development. We emphasize the importance of understanding the effect of genetic variation at the level of functional circuits and provide examples from the literature of how such an approach has been exploited to study novel genetic endpoints, including genetically based variation in response to medication, a potentially valuable phenotype that has not received much attention to date.

Although the functions of sleep remain largely unknown, one of the most exciting hypotheses is that sleep contributes importantly to processes of memory and brain plasticity. Over the past decade, a large body of work, spanning most of the neurosciences, has provided a substantive body of evidence supporting this role of sleep in what is becoming known as sleep-dependent memory processing. We review these findings, focusing specifically on the role of sleep in (a) memory encoding, (b) memory consolidation, (c) brain plasticity, and (d) memory reconsolidation; we finish with a summary of the field and its potential future directions.

Neuroecology is the study of adaptive variation in cognition and the brain. The origin of neuroecology dates from the 1980s, when researchers in behavioral ecology began to apply the methods of comparative evolutionary biology to cognitive processes and the underlying neural mechanisms of cognition. The comparative approach, however, is much older. It was a mainstay of ethology, it has been part of the study of neuroanatomy since the seventeenth century, and it was used by Darwin to marshal evidence for the theory of natural selection. Neuroecology examines the relations between ecological selection pressures and species or sex differences in cognition and the brain. The goal of neuroecology is to understand how natural selection acts on cognition and its neural mechanisms. This chapter describes the general approach of neuroecology, phylogenetic comparative methods used in the field, and new findings on the cognitive mechanisms and brain structures involved in mating systems, social organization, communication, and foraging. The contribution of neuroecology to psychology and the neurosciences is the information it provides on the selective pressures that have influenced the evolution of cognition and brain structure.

What makes a face attractive and why do we have the preferences we do? Emergence of preferences early in development and cross-cultural agreement on attractiveness challenge a long-held view that our preferences reflect arbitrary standards of beauty set by cultures. Averageness, symmetry, and sexual dimorphism are good candidates for biologically based standards of beauty. A critical review and meta-analyses indicate that all three are attractive in both male and female faces and across cultures. Theorists have proposed that face preferences may be adaptations for mate choice because attractive traits signal important aspects of mate quality, such as health. Others have argued that they may simply be by-products of the way brains process information. Although often presented as alternatives, I argue that both kinds of selection pressures may have shaped our perceptions of facial beauty.

The study of explanation, while related to intuitive theories, concepts, and mental models, offers important new perspectives on high-level thought. Explanations sort themselves into several distinct types corresponding to patterns of causation, content domains, and explanatory stances, all of which have cognitive consequences. Although explanations are necessarily incomplete—often dramatically so in laypeople—those gaps are difficult to discern. Despite such gaps and the failure to recognize them fully, people do have skeletal explanatory senses, often implicit, of the causal structure of the world. They further leverage those skeletal understandings by knowing how to access additional explanatory knowledge in other minds and by being particularly adept at using situational support to build explanations on the fly in real time. Across development and cultures, there are differences in preferred explanatory schemes, but rarely are any kinds of schemes completely unavailable to a group.

In this chapter we review theoretical and empirical advances in research on adolescent development in interpersonal and societal contexts. First, we identify several trends in current research, including the current emphasis on ecological models and the focus on diversity in and relational models of adolescent development. Next, we discuss recent research on interpersonal relationships, with an eye toward identifying major research themes and findings. Research on adolescents' relationships with parents, siblings, other relatives, peers, and romantic partners, and adolescents' involvement in community and society is reviewed. Future directions in research on adolescent development are discussed.

Recent studies suggest that cognitive and behavioral interventions have enduring effects that reduce risk for subsequent symptom return following treatment termination. These enduring effects have been most clearly demonstrated with respect to depression and the anxiety disorders. It remains unclear whether these effects are a consequence of the amelioration of the causal processes that generate risk or the introduction of compensatory strategies that offset them and whether these effects reflect the mobilization of cognitive or other mechanisms. No such enduring effects have been observed for the psychoactive medications, which appear to be largely palliative in nature. Other psychosocial interventions remain largely untested, although claims that they produce lasting change have long been made. Whether such enduring effects extend to other disorders remains to be seen, but the capacity to reduce risk following treatment termination is one of the major benefits provided by the cognitive and behavioral interventions with respect to the treatment of depression and the anxiety disorders.

Couple therapy research affirms that various approaches to couple treatment produce statistically and clinically significant improvement for a substantial proportion of couples in reducing overall relationship distress. Recent studies have extended these findings in indicating the effectiveness of couple-based interventions for a broad range of coexisting emotional, behavioral, or physical health problems in one or both partners. In contrast to these encouraging results, research also indicates that a sizeable percentage of couples fail to achieve significant gains from couple therapy or show significant deterioration afterward. Research on processes of change and predictors of treatment outcome in couple therapy provides preliminary evidence regarding factors potentially contributing to variable treatment response. The chapter concludes with 12 recommendations regarding future directions in couple therapy research and clinical training.

Study of attitudes and persuasion remains a defining characteristic of contemporary social psychology. This review outlines recent advances, with emphasis on the relevance of today's work for perennial issues. We reiterate the distinction between attitude formation and change, and show its relevance for persuasion. Single- and dual-process models are discussed, as are current views on dissonance theory. Majority and minority influence are scrutinized, with special emphasis on integrative theoretical innovations. Attitude strength is considered, and its relevance to ambivalence and resistance documented. Affect, mood, and emotion effects are reviewed, especially as they pertain to fear arousal and (un)certainty. Finally, we discuss attitude-behavior consistency, perhaps the reason for our interest in attitudes in the first place, with emphasis on self-interest and the theory of planned behavior. Our review reflects the dynamism and the reach of the area, and suggests a sure and sometimes rapid accumulation of knowledge and understanding.

Legitimacy is a psychological property of an authority, institution, or social arrangement that leads those connected to it to believe that it is appropriate, proper, and just. Because of legitimacy, people feel that they ought to defer to decisions and rules, following them voluntarily out of obligation rather than out of fear of punishment or anticipation of reward. Being legitimate is important to the success of authorities, institutions, and institutional arrangements since it is difficult to exert influence over others based solely upon the possession and use of power. Being able to gain voluntary acquiescence from most people, most of the time, due to their sense of obligation increases effectiveness during periods of scarcity, crisis, and conflict. The concept of legitimacy has a long history within social thought and social psychology, and it has emerged as increasingly important within recent research on the dynamics of political, legal, and social systems.

Personality has consequences. Measures of personality have contemporaneous and predictive relations to a variety of important outcomes. Using the Big Five factors as heuristics for organizing the research literature, numerous consequential relations are identified. Personality dispositions are associated with happiness, physical and psychological health, spirituality, and identity at an individual level; associated with the quality of relationships with peers, family, and romantic others at an interpersonal level; and associated with occupational choice, satisfaction, and performance, as well as community involvement, criminal activity, and political ideology at a social institutional level.

Characteristics of the physical environment that influence child development are discussed. Topics include behavioral toxicology, noise, crowding, housing and neighborhood quality, natural settings, schools, and day care settings. Socioemotional, cognitive, motivation, and psychophysiological outcomes in children and youths are reviewed. Necessary methodological and conceptual advances are introduced as well.

This chapter reviews research on consumer psychology with emphasis on the topics of categorization, inferences, affect, and persuasion. The chapter reviews theory-based empirical research during the period 1994–2004. Research on categorization includes empirical research on brand categories, goals as organizing frameworks and motivational bases for judgments, and self-based processing. Research on inferences includes numerous types of inferences that are cognitively and/or experienced based. Research on affect includes the effects of mood on processing and cognitive and noncognitive bases for attitudes and intentions. Research on persuasion focuses heavily on the moderating role of elaboration and dual-process models, and includes research on attitude strength responses, advertising responses, and negative versus positive evaluative dimensions.

Over the past 25 years, achievement goal theory has emerged as one of the most prominent theories of achievement motivation. This chapter uses an achievement goal framework to examine the influence of classroom and school environments on students' academic motivation and achievement. Considerable evidence suggests that elementary and secondary students show the most positive motivation and learning patterns when their school settings emphasize mastery, understanding, and improving skills and knowledge. Whereas school environments that are focused on demonstrating high ability and competing for grades can increase the academic performance of some students, research suggests that many young people experience diminished motivation under these conditions. The implications of achievement goal theory for examining the impact of school reform are discussed.

This article argues that ideal longitudinal research is characterized by the seamless integration of three elements: (a) a well-articulated theoretical model of change observed using (b) a temporal design that affords a clear and detailed view of the process, with the resulting data analyzed by means of (c) a statistical model that is an operationalization of the theoretical model. Two general varieties of theoretical models are considered: models in which the time-related change of primary interest is continuous, and those in which it is characterized by movement between discrete states. In addition, two general types of temporal designs are considered: the longitudinal panel design and the intensive longitudinal design. For each general category of theoretical models, some of the analytic possibilities available for longitudinal panel designs and for intensive longitudinal designs are discussed. The article concludes with brief discussions of two issues particularly relevant to longitudinal research—missing data and measurement—and a few words about exploratory research.