Two studies investigated reciprocal effects of values and voting. Study 1 measured adults' basic values and core political values both before (n=1379) and following (n=1030) the 2006 Italian national election. Both types of values predicted voting. Voting choice influenced subsequent core political values but not basic values. The political values of free enterprise, civil liberties, equality, law and order, military intervention, and accepting immigrants changed to become more compatible with the ideology of the chosen coalition. Study 2 measured core political values before (n=697) and following (n=506) the 2008 Italian national election. It largely replicated the reciprocal effects of voting and political values of Study 1. In addition, it demonstrated that left-right ideology mediated the reciprocal effects of voting and political values. Moreover, voter certainty moderated these effects. Political values predicted vote choice more weakly among undecided than decided voters, but voting choice led to more value change among undecided voters. © 2013 International Society of Political Psychology

This study investigates the extent to which response distortion occur when implicit measures of personality traits are used in applied settings. Two groups composed of 58 security guards and 45 semiskilled workers, respectively, completed five Implicit Association Tests (IATs) for assessing the Big Five personality traits as a part of a personnel assessment program. They additionally completed a self-report measure of the same personality dimensions. Scores on the Big Five IATs and self-ratings of personality were obtained also by 52 volunteers who responded anonymously for research purposes. Results showed that participants under evaluative testing conditions scored significantly higher than volunteers on explicit measures of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. On the contrary, no significant differences were found in the Big Five IATs. Practical implications of findings and future research directions are discussed

Self-reassurance and self-criticism are distinct processes and they should not be considered positive and negative variations of a single dimension Different types of positive self-relating do not show the same correlation with depressive symptoms. The ability to be self-reassuring protects against the psychopathological correlates of self-criticism while having high self-esteem does not. Compassion-focused interventions are promising avenues to help clients counteract the negative impact of self-criticism on mood.

Although considered a predominantly automatic social behaviour, gaze following (GF) is sensitive to complex social factors like political affiliation and ideology. The present study aimed to determine whether the differential proneness to in-group leaders' gaze is related to attitudes towards politicians as measured by other implicit procedures. A GF paradigm was used to test the extent to which electors were prone to gaze following when attending to two female candidates who competed for the position of governor in an Italian election campaign. Results showed that GF significantly predicts voting intentions. Also, it was found that GF is significantly and positively correlated with the Implicit Association Test (IAT). Hierarchical multiple regression models illustrated that GF and IAT uniquely predict voting intentions, accounting for a substantial proportion of variance. Thus GF and IAT, even though significantly related, seem to account for different aspects of the attitudes towards candidates. A multivariate regression model showed that, while IAT scores are predicted by explicit emotions toward the candidate, GF is predicted by the candidates' perceived influence within their political coalition.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify and empirically examine the dynamic capabilities (DC) that drive the development of digital manufacturing capabilities (DMC) and the role of DMC in mediating their influence on firm performance.Design/methodology/approachBased on the dynamic capabilities view (DCV) of the firm, the authors develop a set of hypotheses that are tested through a survey of 110 managers in the manufacturing sector. The hypothesized model is tested through structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results indicate that although higher-order DC (HODC) have a strong influence on firm performance, their effects are partially mediated by the DMC that they generate, by positively affecting the extended production process.Practical implicationsThe analysis contributes to a better understanding of the interplay between levels of the DC hierarchy by finding that DMC play an important role in translating HODC into enhanced firm performance.Originality/valueBy complementing the DCV with the disruptive innovation theory in a specific fast changing context, this study introduces a new construct (DMC) providing an original and considerable contribution to the literature. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first empirical study that includes and assesses all these elements together in the context of the manufacturing industry.

Parental pre-natal representations predict the interactive patterns that parents will put in place after childbirth. Early interactions defined by high parental emotional availability (EA) influence the development of security in children. To date, research on the predictive role of parental pre-natal representations on child attachment is still poor. Moreover, investigations on pre-natal representations have mainly focused on mothers. This study aimed at: investigating the criterion validity of the Interview of Maternal Representations During Pregnancy-Revised (IRMAG-R) and of the Interview of Paternal Representations During Pregnancy (IRPAG), using EA, parental attachment, and child attachment toward both parents, as criteria; testing the incremental validity of the IRMAG-R and IRPAG in the prediction of child attachment, controlling for other covariates, such as depressive and anxious levels during pregnancy, EA, and parental attachment; evaluating the possible mediation role of EA on the relationship between parental representations during pregnancy and child attachment. Fifty couples of primiparous parents were recruited during pregnancy, when the IRMAG-R and IRPAG were administered to mothers and fathers. At 6–9 months after childbirth, the mother–child and father–child interactions were coded by means of the EA Scales (EAS). At 14–18 after childbirth, the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was administered to parents, and the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) was carried out to assess children's attachment toward mothers and fathers, respectively. The results showed significant correlations between parental pre-natal representations and EA, parental attachment and child attachment. As regards the prediction of child attachment, the IRMAG-R/IRPAG categories showed: a significant and large unique contribution for maternal representations; a close to be significant contribution for paternal representations (with a higher effect size for mothers than fathers). Moreover, while the indirect effect of pre-natal representations in the prediction of child attachment was not significant for mothers, it was instead significant for fathers. The results of this study confirmed the criterion validity of the IRMAG-R and IRPAG, and supported the incremental validity of the IRMAG-R and IRPAG in the prediction of children's attachment categories. Finally, the mediation models revealed that EA did not mediate the relationship between maternal pre-natal representations and child attachment, while it totally mediated the relationship between paternal pre-natal representations and child attachment.

Abstract. Positive orientation (PO) is a basic predisposition that consists in a positive outlook toward oneself, one’s life, and one’s future, which is associated to many desirable outcomes connected to health and to the general quality of life. We performed a lexical study for identifying a set of markers of PO, developed an Implicit Association Test (the PO-IAT), and investigated its psychometric properties. The PO-IAT proved to be a reliable measure with a clear pattern of convergent validity, both with respect to self-report scales connected to PO and with respect to an indirect measure of self-esteem. A secondary aim of our studies was to validate a new brief adjective scale to assess PO, the POAS. Our results show that both the PO-IAT and the self-reported PO predict the frequency of depressive symptoms and of self-perceived intelligence.

Fears of Compassion Scales have been increasingly used in clinical and research settings. The reduced Italian version of the FCS developed in this study is a valid and parsimonious instrument. Fears of receiving compassion from others and from ourselves are more powerful predictors of psychopathological symptoms than fear of giving compassion to others. Fears of Compassion Scales were correlated with both a self-report and a behavioural measure of altruism.