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Full-Text Articles in Clinical Psychology
Elaboration Versus Fragmentation: Distinguishing Between Self-Complexity And Self-Concept Differentiation, Catherine Lutz, Scott R. Ross
Elaboration Versus Fragmentation: Distinguishing Between Self-Complexity And Self-Concept Differentiation, Catherine Lutz, Scott R. Ross
Psychology Faculty Publications
While theorists have argued that self-concept differentiation (SCD) (i.e., the lack of interrelatedness of roles) is an important precursor to mental health problems (Donahue et al., 1993), self-complexity (i.e., having more self-aspects and maintaining greater distinction among self-aspects) is seen as a cognitive buffer against the deleterious effects of stress (Linville, 1985, 1987). Using a sample of 260 college students, the current study was designed to empirically validate the distinction between these seemingly similar constructs. As predicted, SCD and self-complexity demonstrated opposite relationships with indices of psychological distress. Whereas SCD was positively related to depression, loneliness, and dissociation, and negatively …
Context-Induced Contrast And Assimilation In Judging Supportiveness, Catherine Lutz, Jay L. Cohen, Lynn C. Neely, Sarah Baltman, Susan Schreiber, Brian Lakey
Context-Induced Contrast And Assimilation In Judging Supportiveness, Catherine Lutz, Jay L. Cohen, Lynn C. Neely, Sarah Baltman, Susan Schreiber, Brian Lakey
Psychology Faculty Publications
Social support research increasingly draws from research on social cognition. Most of this research has studied assimilation and chronically accessible (i.e., frequently activated) social support constructs. This article presents three studies, in both laboratory and treatment settings, on context-induced contrast and assimilation in support judgments. In each study, participants exposed to positive social contexts subsequently rated supportive stimuli more negatively than participants exposed to negative social contexts. These effects were observed in ratings of participants’ own social networks, the social climate of a residential treatment environment, and a videotaped supportive interaction. In two studies, negative contexts also were associated with …