[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 106(3) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2014-07574-006). In the article, the name of author Edward Deci was missing his middle name initial and should have read as Edward L. Deci. In addition, an incorrect version of figure 1 was published.] Recent studies have examined whether electronic games foster aggression. At present, the extent to which games contribute to aggression and the mechanisms through which such links may exist are hotly debated points. In current research we tested a motivational hypothesis derived from self-determination theory-that gaming would be associated with indicators of human aggression to the degree that the interactive elements of games serve to impede players' fundamental psychological need for competence. Seven studies, using multiple methods to manipulate player competence and a range of approaches for evaluating aggression, indicated that competence-impeding play led to higher levels of aggressive feelings, easier access to aggressive thoughts, and a greater likelihood of enacting aggressive behavior. Results indicated that player perceived competence was positively related to gaming motivation, a factor that was, in turn, negatively associated with player aggression. Overall, this pattern of effects was found to be independent of the presence or absence of violent game contents. We discuss the results in respect to research focused on psychological need frustration and satisfaction and as they regard gaming-related aggression literature.
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Two studies examine the relations of self-complexity (Linville, 1987) and the authenticity of to well being. Study 1 results show that self-complexity is largely unrelated to well being, whereas the authenticity of the that constitute it is associated with greater well being. Study 2 uses a two-week, prospective design to replicate Linville's finding of a buffering effect of complexity on the negative outcomes associated with stressful events. In addition, study 2 results revealed either null or negative relations of complexity to well being, whereas the authenticity of was again positively related to well being. The findings are discussed with respect to the meaning of self-complexity for personality functioning, and the importance of having one's be authentic. According to many theorists, the diversity of roles, demands and models of identity to which people are exposed within modern cultures has fostered a greater complexity to human personalities (Baumeister & Muraven, 1996; Ryan & Deci, 2003). People adapt to such diverse demands and roles by adopting different styles, modes of behavior and faces that they can employ within different life contexts (Gergen, 1991). How this increased differentiation or complexity impacts upon health and well being remains, however, a matter of debate. A popular paradigm for investigating personality complexity and its relations with well being was developed by Linville (1985, 1987). Her procedure assesses the extent to which people report multiple aspects to their personality, and it is the number and independence of these self-aspects that comprise what she calls self-complexity. Linville specifically highlights a potential adaptive advantage of greater self-complexity--namely that it can serve as a buffer to stress. With greater self-complexity (i.e., more, and less interrelated, self-aspects) a person's eggs are not all in one basket, and thus a blow to any one self-aspect should have less negative impact on well being. At the same time, the idea that less inter-related elements would conduce to greater well being seems to contradict traditional clinical wisdom (Ryan, 1993) as well as some recent empirical evidence. Donohue, Robins, Roberts and John (1993), for example, argued that insofar as differentiation or complexity refers to the existence of dissimilar and/or functionally independent parts to one's personality, it may represent a fragmented self. They showed that the tendency to see one's self as different in different roles predicted poorer general adjustment. Linville (1987) too, despite the salience of her buffering hypothesis, suggested that complexity may be associated with chronic, low-level stress, perhaps because of role conflicts or multiple demands on time and attention (p. 672). A meta-analysis by Rafaeli-Mor and Steinberg (2002) also suggests that the benefits of self-complexity remain unclear. Their analysis of 70 studies relating Linville's self-complexity measure to well being suggested that: a) when considered as an individual difference, self-complexity is modestly and negatively related to well being; and b) the hypothesis that complexity buffers one against stress has received, at best, mixed support. The present research revisits the relations of self-complexity to well being by investigating a hypothesis derived from Self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2004). We argue that it is not complexity per se that hinders well being, but rather the presence within one's self-concept of aspects that are poorly integrated, and thus represent inauthentic ways of being. Accordingly, we examine the effects of both self-complexity and the authenticity of the that constitute it on stress and well being over time. Before turning to specific predictions we first review work on self-complexity and SDT, respectively. …
Motivation is, by its very nature, a dynamic process. Human motives and desires fluctuate in direction and strength according to inner promptings and environmental contingencies that can facilitate or inhibit the satisfaction of needs, and desires also vary as individuals negotiate their day-to-day lives. This dynamic character of motivation has implications for research designs and analytic approaches used to investigate it. Because traditional one-occasion, experimental, and longitudinal approaches typically provide very limited opportunities to model the dynamic variability of motivation, researchers have begun to pair nontraditional methods such as experience sampling with analytic tools such as multilevel modeling to extend our understanding of motivation as it operates in day-to-day contexts. In this chapter, we discuss recent research using multilevel approaches to modeling the variable nature of motivation and its consequences. Specifically, we focus on recent efforts to understand the expression of three basic psychological needs specified by self-determination theory (SOT; Oeci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan, 1995).
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A never-ending major goal for the Space Shuttle program is to continually improve flight safety, as long as this launch system remains in operational service. One of the options to improve system safety and to enhance vehicle performance as well, that has been seriously studied over the past several decades, is to replace the existing strap-on four segment solid rocket boosters (SRB's) with more capable units. A number of booster upgrade options have been studied in some detail, ranging from five segment solids through hybrids and a wide variety of liquid strap-ons (both pressure and pump fed with various propellants); all the way to a completely reusable liquid fly back booster (complete with air breathing engines for controlled landing and return). All of these possibilities appear to offer improvements in varying degrees; and each has their strengths and weaknesses from both programmatic and technical points of view. The most beneficial booster upgrade/design, if the shuttle program were to continue long enough to justify the required investment, would be an approach that greatly increased both vehicle and crew safety. This would be accomplished by increasing the minimum range/minimum altitude envelope that would readily allow abort to orbit (ATO), possibly even to zero/zero, and possibly reduce or eliminate the Return to Launch Site (RTLS) and even the Trans Atlantic Landing (TAL) abort mode requirements. This paper will briefly survey and discuss all of the various booster'upgrade options studied previously, and compare their relative attributes. The survey will explicitly discuss, in summary comparative form, options that include: five segment solids; several hybrid possibilities; pressure and/or pump-fed liquids using either LO2/kerosene, H2O/kerosene and LO2/J2, any of which could be either fully expendable, partly or fully reusable; and finally a fully reusable liquid fly back booster system, with a number of propellant and propulsion system options. Performance and configuration comparison illustrations and tables will be included to provide a comprehensive survey for the paper.
