Research consistently demonstrates the active use of cell phones, whether talking or texting, to be distracting and contributes to diminished performance when multitasking (e.g., distracted driving or walking). Recent research also has indicated that simply the presence of a cell phone and what it might represent (i.e., social connections, broader social network, etc.) can be similarly distracting and have negative consequences in a social interaction. Results of two studies reported here provide further evidence that the ''mere presence'' of a cell phone may be sufficiently distracting to produce diminished attention and deficits in task-performance, especially for tasks with greater attentional and cognitive demands. The implications for such an unintended negative consequence may be quite wide-ranging (e.g., productivity in school and the work place).

Three studies examined the impact of a physical attractiveness contrast effect on self-evaluations. Self-ratings of attractiveness by men and women exposed to highly attractive same-sex stimulus persons (negative contrast) were lower than those of peons not so exposed; attractiveness self-ratings were enhanced by exposure to unattractive stimulus persons (positive contrast). Global self-esteem was not influenced by a negative contrast effect; however, an adverse affect was observed on a more specific assessment of social self-esteem based on interpersonal competence. Corresponding increases in public self-consciousness occurred. 77e positive contrast effect was associated with marginally increased social self-esteem but not with heightened public self-consciousness. The potential role of public self-consciousness in mediating the attractiveness contrast effect is considered

This study focused on assessing the concurrent validity of Horney's ideas about the personalities of hypercompetitive individuals based on her theory of neurosis. One hundred and sixty university men and women provided data by responding to a test battery of personality inventories containing measures of hypercompetitive attitudes and several theoretically relevant constructs. The results strongly support Horney's contentions. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that hypercompetitive individuals were high in narcissism, Type E orientation, and several aspects of sensation seeking. The discussion centered on hypercompetitiveness as a mental health problem in American society and on the scale's utility in the diagnosis of the problem and in the assessment of therapeutic change in clients.

Three studies examined the relative influence of two social-cognitive processes, risk perception and prototype perception, on the willingness of young adults to engage in unprotected sex. In the first two studies, despite participants' expressed intentions to engage in protected sex, perceived risk and prototype perception processes were independently predictive of their willingness to engage in unprotected sex. In a third study, prototype perception and risk perception independently predicted willingness to engage in unprotected sex, which, in turn, predicted actual contraceptive behavior 6 months later. Although the two constructs have some commonality reflecting a social comparison basis, results from all three studies suggest that they embody some unique or independent processes that can be differentially elicited. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are considered.

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