Previous investigations of the relationship between Facebook use and psychological well-being have most commonly considered variables relating to the quantity (e.g., time spent online) and underlying motivations (e.g., making new friends) of Facebook consumption. However, previous research has reached contradictory conclusions in that quantity of Facebook use has been linked to both higher and lower levels of psychological well-being. The current study investigated whether these contradictory findings of quantity of Facebook use could be explained by considering users’ motivations for accessing Facebook. We predicted that quantity of use would be positively associated with psychological well-being when users primarily accessed Facebook to maintain existing relationships but negatively associated with psychological well-being when primarily accessed to create new relationships. In a sample of college undergraduates (N = 119), we found that the relationship of quantity of Facebook use on psychological well-being was moderated by the motivation of the user. Quantity of Facebook use was associated with higher levels of psychological well-being among users that accessed Facebook for friendship purposes but was negatively associated with psychological well-being among users that accessed Facebook for connection purposes (e.g., making new friends). We also replicated our results across dimensions of psychological well-being (e.g., anxiety and life satisfaction). The current findings provide initial evidence that quantity and motivations of Facebook use interact with potentially serious implications for psychological well-being and also provide a possible explanation for why quantity of Facebook use can be linked with both positive and negative psychological well-being.

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Although reports that men and women differ in spatial ability are common, recent research examining stress effects on spatial navigation have not included analyses of gender differences. The current study investigated cue perception and mental rotation after an acute cold-water hand immersion stress in 156 undergraduates from the western United States. Gender differences were observed in spatial performance and spatial anxiety. Discriminant analysis revealed that distal gradient cue identification and mental rotation reaction times as well as spatial anxiety differed among men and women exposed to the acute stress and their warm-water hand immersion controls. These results indicate that stress differentially alters spatial performance in men and women, and underscores the importance of assessing gender differences when examining spatial ability.

This article considers ways in which gender and gender-related concerns may be competently assessed within career counseling. Central to this analysis is the need for a gender-aware perspective on career development and career assessment. Gender issues that arise within broad approaches to career assessment, that is, the interview, standardized tests and inventories, and behavioral, cognitive, and qualitative assessment methods, are reviewed and recommendations for gender-sensitive strategies offered. Selected career assessment measures are then evaluated for their promise in assisting the career counselor in adequately assessing career issues with female clients. The article ends with an overview of gender-role analysis and other assessment methods designed specifically to assess gender-role concerns.

Psychologists increasingly rely upon “telepsychology” (e.g., e-mail and Internet-based client communications) despite the growing presence of threats to online security. However, practitioners may overestimate the benefits of electronic communications and underestimate their risks. Using the example of the availability heuristic as one cognitive bias, which may promote this imbalance, this article reviews a number of resources for practitioners that provide enhanced security and confidentiality in the digital realm. Governmental, regulatory and professional bodies provide pertinent and detailed guidance that can achieve these goals. To illustrate this process, this article reviews and augments a number of safeguards (administrative, physical, and technical) within the HIPAA Security Rule. It also surveys opportunities for continuing education and credentialing that may enhance professional competence in electronic communications. It concludes with a list of recommendations for enhancing security and reducing the influence of the availability heuristic in telepsychology. These recommendations range across several categories of professional practice: hardware and software management, confidentiality, informed consent, competence, consultation, and continuing education. This article can help practitioners reap the benefits of telepsychology while successfully enhancing confidentiality and security.