Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health

Psychopathology is relatively independent from positive experiences at subjective, behavioral, and biological levels.

“At subjective, behavioral, and biological levels of analysis, researchers continue to find that psychopathology is relatively independent from positive experiences (Carver, Sutton, & Scheier, 2000; Keyes, 2005).”

• cites Carver, Sutton, & Scheier, 2000 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Keyes, 2005 sourcePartly supported

  The Discussion (p. 8) concludes that mental health and mental illness are distinct but correlated, supporting the claim at the subjective level. The Results (p. 7) report differences in work and psychosocial functioning, but do not establish independence at a behavioral level; the paper provides no biological-level evidence for the claim. (LLM, conf=0.85)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Time-balance scores related more strongly to life satisfaction, positive affect, family/work satisfaction, and lower negative affect than any single time orientation did.

“This index of time balance demonstrated stronger positive relations with life satisfaction, positive affect, and satisfaction with family and work, and inverse relations with negative affect than any of the specific time orientations (Boniwell, 2005).”

• cites Boniwell, 2005 sourcePartly supported

  The Balanced Time Perspective section (p. 6) reports that balanced time perspective correlates more strongly with life satisfaction than any individual orientation. But Table 1 shows a weaker positive-affect correlation for balance (.307) than for present hedonism (.375), and a weaker negative-affect correlation in magnitude (-.436) than for past negative orientation (-.484). The table does not report satisfaction with family or work. (LLM, conf=0.89)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, a meta-analysis of 32 studies found an average correlation of .42 between flexibility and outcomes such as work performance and satisfaction across one year, daily activity in pain patients, and mental health.

“Upon being operationalized with the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (Hayes et al., 2004), a meta-analysis of 32 studies found that psychological flexibility was on average correlated .42 with outcomes ranging from job performance and satisfaction over a 1-year interval, daily activity engagement in pain patients, and mental health (Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda, & Lillis, 2006).”

• cites Hayes et al., 2004Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

• cites Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda, & Lillis, 2006 sourcePartly supported

  Split into 2 atoms — 1 confirmed, 1 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Rumination is a vulnerability factor for depression.

“an important strand of research on cognition in depression has identified rumination as a vulnerability factor for depression (Nolen Hoeksema et al., 2008).”

• cites Nolen Hoeksema et al., 2008 sourceSupported

The degree to which people experience and express situation-relevant emotions, produce coping mechanisms matching the stressor, and experience balance in psychological need satisfaction accounts for incremental variance in social and psychological health beyond standard metrics.

“Because of this, it makes good sense that the degree to which people can experience and express emotions that are most relevant to a situation (Bonanno et al., 2004), produce coping mechanisms that match onto the stressor being confronted (Cheng, 2001), and experience a balance in their satisfaction of psychological needs (Sheldon & Niemiec, 2006) account for incremental variance in social and”

• cites Bonanno et al., 2004 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Cheng, 2001 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Sheldon & Niemiec, 2006 sourceSupported

Humans tend to leap to conclusions about themselves, others, and the world based on limited information and misperceptions about prior knowledge and experiences.

“human beings do show a tendency to leap to conclusions about themselves, other people, and the world based on limited information and misperceptions about the extent and generalizability of prior knowledge and experiences (Dunning, Heath, & Suls, 2004).”

• cites Dunning, Heath, & Suls, 2004 sourceSupported

The default mindset of most adults is a relatively inactive state where the past unduly influences the present.

“the default mindset of most adults is a relatively inactive state where the past unduly influences the present (e.g., Hart et al., 2009; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996).”

• cites Hart et al., 2009 sourcePartly supported

  In “Supplementary Analyses and Analyses of Descriptive Moderators” (page unavailable), the paper reports that people preferentially select information congenial to their pre-existing views, supporting a narrower sense in which the past influences present information selection. It does not establish that most adults have a default, relatively inactive mindset; the same section says that whether selective exposure is automatic has received little research. (LLM, conf=0.86)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
• cites Kruglanski & Webster, 1996 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Most people are poor at noticing large changes in their visual field when the changing object is not the focus of attention.

“Over 10 years of evidence suggests that the majority of people are remarkably inept at recognizing large changes in their immediate visual field when the object being changed is not the absolute focus of attention (known as “change blindness”) (Simons & Rensink, 2005).”

• cites Simons & Rensink, 2005 sourceSupported

Positive emotions widen the array of thoughts, behaviors, and executive functioning capacities available.

“there is evidence that the experience of positive emotions widens the array of thoughts, behaviors, and executive functioning capacities at our disposal (Fredrickson, 1998).”

• cites Fredrickson, 1998 sourcePartly supported

  The paper’s discussion of the broaden-and-build model says positive emotions broaden the momentary thought–action repertoire, and its discussion of cognition reviews evidence of broader thinking. Those passages support the claim about thoughts and behaviors, but our copy does not establish that positive emotions widen executive-functioning capacities specifically. (LLM, conf=0.84)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Those with higher flexibility-index scores showed markedly better adjustment across almost two years after 9/11.

“However, when the ability to execute the strategy required in each condition was combined to create an index of psychological flexibility, people scoring higher on this index reported substantially greater adjustment over nearly two years.”

• cites Bonanno et al., 2004 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

When inflexibility characterizes certain pathologies, it does not follow that flexibility produces good health.

“Thus, if psychological inflexibility marks some forms of pathology (see below), we cannot assume that psychological flexibility confers good health.”

At times, unpleasant emotions serve better than pleasant ones.

“Sometimes negative, unpleasant emotions can be more useful than positive emotions.”

Later experimental and prospective work has reproduced the advantage of flexibility over any single self-regulatory strategy configuration.

“These findings on the benefits of flexibility compared with any particular configuration of self-regulatory strategies have been replicated in subsequent experimental and prospective studies (e.g., Cheng, 2003; Cheng & Cheung, 2005).”

• cites Cheng, 2003 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Cheng & Cheung, 2005 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Asking once about usual behavior cannot capture dynamic constructs across different settings well.

“Posing questions at a single time point about typical behavior does not give us strong purchase on the operation of dynamic concepts in varied contexts (e.g., Gratz & Roemer, 2004; Palmieri, Boden, & Berenbaum, 2009; Salovey, Mayer, Goldman, Turvey, & Palfai, 1995).”

• cites Gratz & Roemer, 2004 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Palmieri, Boden, & Berenbaum, 2009 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Salovey, Mayer, Goldman, Turvey, & Palfai, 1995 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

In a confrontational social interaction, people performed better when feeling angry than when feeling good.

“Importantly, in the confrontational situation, people performed better when feeling angry compared to feeling good.”

Cluster analytic work in British and Russian students found support for elevated well-being among those with a more balanced time perspective compared with students more wed to particular positive time orientations.

“Other work using cluster analytic approaches in British and Russian students found support for the elevated well-being of the subset of people with a more balanced time perspective compared with students more wed to particular positive time orientations (Boniwell, Osin, Linley, & Ivanchenko, in press).”

• cites Boniwell, Osin, Linley, & Ivanchenko, in pressNot matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

General questions about emotional awareness and regulation are probably less valid than repeated measurement of actual skills.

“Moreover, questions in the abstract about difficulties in awareness and clarification of emotions, or use of strategies to manage emotions are unlikely to be as valid as assessing actual skills on multiple occasions.”

Flexibility's value remains untestable without methods that capture emotion and behavior adaptation in real settings.

“The potential value of flexibility cannot be tested unless methodologies allow for an understanding of how people experience and adapt their emotions and behaviors in situ.”

A small literature supports the added value of balanced time perspective beyond sticking to specific time frames for decisions and action.

“Although based on a small literature, evidence exists for the incremental benefit of possessing a balanced time perspective over adherence to particular time frames when making decisions and taking action.”

In many forms of psychopathology, flexibility processes are absent.

“In many forms of psychopathology, these flexibility processes are absent.”

The ability to modify responses to match the situation is more important than any particular regulatory strategy.

“Although there is substantial research on the value of particular strategies (e.g., acceptance and cognitive reappraisal as superior to suppression; Gross & John, 2003; Hayes et al., 1999), the ability to modify responses to best match the situation is intuitively of greater importance (Bonanno et al., 2004; Cheng, 2001).”

• cites Bonanno et al., 2004 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Cheng, 2001 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

In social anxiety treatment, larger early increases in flexibility predicted lower later distress and impairment.

“In a clinical trial of social anxiety disorder, greater changes in flexibility during the early phases of treatment was associated with less distress and impairment during later sessions (Dalrymple & Herbert, 2007).”

• cites Dalrymple & Herbert, 2007 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Negative emotions can be sought because they aid progress toward valued, reachable goals more than positive emotions do.

“People may be motivated to feel negative emotions because they are more useful than positive emotions in making progress toward accessible, valued goals (Tamir, 2009; Tamir, Mitchell, & Gross, 2008).”

• cites Tamir, 2009 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Tamir, Mitchell, & Gross, 2008 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Students who had greater difficulty expressing positive emotions in an expressiveness condition and easier time suppressing positive emotions reported greater distress in the one to three months following 9/11.

“In terms of specific strategies, students that had greater difficulty expressing their positive emotions in the expressiveness condition and an easier time suppressing their positive emotions reported greater distress in their one to three months following 9/11.”

• cites Bonanno et al., 2004 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Spending limited attention and energy on emotion regulation takes time and effort away from other pursuits.

“Devoting finite attentional resources and energy to regulating emotions, whether it is attempting to decrease the negative or increase the positive, “steals” time and effort from other strivings (Kashdan, Breen, & Julian, in press).”

• cites Kashdan, Breen, & Julian, in pressNot matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

At ages 14 and 23, ego-resilience showed a strong link to more advanced identity development.

“For adolescents at age 14 and adults at age 23, ego-resilience was strongly associated with higher stages of identity development.”

• cites Westenberg & Block, 1993 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Greater variation in how stressors were appraised and coped with was linked to more effective stress management.

“Interestingly, variability in appraisals and coping strategies was positively related to the effectiveness of handling stressors.”

• cites Cheng, 2001 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

The benefits of anger are contextually bound.

“The benefits of anger are also contextually bound.”

Being open and accepting of emotional experiences and willing to engage in difficult activities to persist toward important values allows a person to pursue a rich, meaningful life immediately.

“Being more open and accepting of emotional experiences, being willing to engage in difficult activities to persist in the direction of important values, allows a person to pursue a rich, meaningful life right away.”

Modulating behavior to fit the situation predicted real-world adjustment beyond any single regulation strategy.

“That is, the ability to modulate behavior as required by the situation contributed to real-world adjustment over and above any particular regulatory strategy.”

Flexibility goes hand-in-hand with other strengths.

“Taken together, these results provide evidence that flexibility goes hand-in-hand with other strengths.”

Ego-resilience is associated with greater progression through identity development stages.

“Briefly, an important prediction is that ego-resilience would be associated with greater progression through the stage of identity development from being young and impulsive to learning social rules and conforming and for the most mature, advanced stages such as being wise and self-determined (Loevinger, 1987).”

• cites Loevinger, 1987Not checked — no full text of the source

Anger, both felt and shown, can be useful in some contexts.

“Yet, our summary of recent research shows that just like any so-called negative emotion, the experience and outward expression of anger can be productive in certain situations.”

Shifting temporal perspective to fit situational demands can yield greater life satisfaction and meaning.

“If these examples suggest anything, it is that greater satisfaction and meaning in life can be captured by shifting temporal perspectives when the situation requires a particular mode of being (Boniwell & Zimbardo, 2004).”

• cites Boniwell & Zimbardo, 2004 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

In daily diary studies, 30% of participants showed substantial variability in appraisals of stressors and in use of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping.

“Upon examining different profiles, 30% of participants showed substantial variability in their designation of stressors as desirable, controllable, and of high impact and in turn, they also showed variability in their deployment of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping.”

• cites Cheng, 2001 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Avoidance responses maintain anxiety disorders over time when they become the default behavioral response.

“In turn, avoidance responses, as they become the default behavioral response, maintain the disorder over time.”

Patients with less dynamic cardiac vagal control have a worse course of their disorder.

“patients who display less dynamic CVC have a worse course of their disorder (Rottenberg, Salomon, Gross, & Gotlib, 2005).”

• cites Rottenberg, Salomon, Gross, & Gotlib, 2005Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

No behavioral set is better than another apart from the context in which the behavior occurs.

“no behavioral set is better than another apart from the context in which the behavior occurs.”

Allocating time well across key life areas to reduce the gap between actual and ideal activities predicts greater well-being, including life satisfaction, frequent positive and infrequent negative emotions, and need satisfaction for belonging, competence, and autonomy.

“Similarly, recent daily-diary and prospective studies show that when time is allocated effectively in important life domains (e.g., work, school, leisure, relationships) to minimize discrepancy between a person’s actual day-to-day activities and their ideal, greater well-being is experienced. This includes life satisfaction, frequent positive emotions, infrequent negative emotions, and the ability”

• cites Sheldon, Cummins, & Khamble, in pressNot matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Depressed persons exhibit little variation in their reactions to different emotion-generative stimuli in experimental settings.

“In experimental settings, depressed persons exhibit little variation in their reactions to different emotion-generative stimuli.”

Higher resting cardiac vagal control is associated with better performance on executive function tasks, including Stroop and n-back.

“High CVC is associated with good performance on the Stroop task, which requires people to overcome attentional interference, as well as good performance on the n-back task (Johnsen et al., 2003; Hansen, Johnsen, & Thayer, 2003)”

• cites Johnsen et al., 2003 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Hansen, Johnsen, & Thayer, 2003 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Cardiac vagal control is a plausible integrative construct for manifestations of inflexibility.

“One promising lead that illustrates how we might go about integrating these various manifestations of inflexibility comes from research on cardiac vagal control (CVC)”

Recognizing the unique demands of a task or situation requires attentional control.

“Recognizing the unique demands of any particular task or situation requires attentional control.”

Cardiac vagal control is biologically plausible because it is part of a cardiac autonomic network reflecting integration of cognitive and emotional processes in cortical and subcortical brain areas, facilitating adjustment to changing environmental conditions.

“Theorists have argued that CVC is part of a cardiac autonomic network that reflects the integration of cognitive and emotional processes in cortical and sub-cortical brain areas (Thayer & Lane, 2000, 2009), the goal of which is to facilitate adjustment to changing environmental conditions.”

• cites Thayer & Lane, 2000, 2009Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

High resting cardiac vagal control predicts persistence on a difficult anagram task.

“Segerstrom and Solberg Nes (2007) found that high resting CVC predicted persistence on a difficult anagram task.”

• cites Segerstrom and Solberg Nes (2007) sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder tend to worry reflexively across situations.

“individuals with generalized anxiety disorder tend to worry reflexively across situations (Borkovec, 1994).”

• cites Borkovec, 1994Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Without attentional control, people are at the mercy of passive bottom-up strategies that recruit dominant behavioral tendencies.

“Without these skills, we are at the mercy of relatively passive bottom-up strategies, which will often recruit our dominant behavioral tendencies (Côté & Moskowitz, 1998).”

• cites Côté & Moskowitz, 1998 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Depression is associated with inflexibility in several physiological response systems, including reduced BOLD signals to affective stimuli, loss of circadian HPA variability, and attenuated emotion-modulated startle.

“depressive inflexibility has been shown in a number of different physiological response systems, including reduced BOLD signals in brain circuits to affective stimuli (Canli et al., 2005), loss of the normal circadian variability in HPA axis functioning (see Burke, Davis, Otte, & Mohr, 2005), and attenuation of the emotion modulated startle response (e.g., Allen, Brennan, & Trinder, 1999).”

• cites Canli et al., 2005 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Burke, Davis, Otte, & Mohr, 2005 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Allen, Brennan, & Trinder, 1999 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Executive functioning reflects activity of brain circuits, particularly frontal lobes, that prioritize and integrate cognitive capacities.

“executive functioning reflects the activity of brain circuits (particularly in the frontal lobes) that prioritize and integrate cognitive capacities.”

• cites Goldberg, 2001Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

• cites Lyon & Krasnegor, 1995Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

There is strong evidence that inflexible deployment of an avoidant response style has costs.

“There is a strong anxiety research tradition that demonstrates the costs associated with the inflexible deployment of an avoidant response style.”

There are connections between an inflexible explanatory style and inflexible coping behavior.

“the connections between an inflexible explanatory style and inflexible coping behavior (Fresco, William, & Nugent, 2006).”

• cites Fresco, William, & Nugent, 2006 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

A meta-analysis found that depressed individuals show less context-appropriate emotional reactivity to both positive and negative stimuli.

“a recent meta-analysis of the experimental literature found that depressed individuals exhibit less context appropriate emotional reactivity to both positive and to negative stimuli (Bylsma, Morris, & Rottenberg, 2008).”

• cites Bylsma, Morris, & Rottenberg, 2008 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Psychopathological inflexibility appears in varied forms and under varied names.

“As we saw with the basic research literature, the idea of inflexibility in psychopathology can be confusing to follow because inflexibility is manifested in many different ways and travels by many different labels.”

Amount of time per domain, daily stress, and neuroticism did not account for the balanced time-use-well-being association.

“Importantly, the link between a balanced time-use profile and well-being could not be explained by the amount of time allocated to each life domain, daily stress, or neuroticism.”

• cites Sheldon, Cummins, & Khamble, in pressNot matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Cardiac vagal control is tied to flexible deployment of attention.

“CVC is for example, tied to the flexible deployment of attention (e.g., Suess, Porges, & Plude, 1994).”

• cites Suess, Porges, & Plude, 1994 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

The core diagnostic symptoms of depression imply inflexibility because diagnosis requires pervasive low mood and/or anhedonia across situations.

“The depressed person, to be diagnosed, must report across different situations that they experience a pervasive low mood and/or an inability to derive pleasure from the environment.”

A body of work relates robust cardiac vagal control to successful self-regulation.

“a body of work relates robust CVC to successful self-regulation.”

Persons with anxiety often engage the environment with a reduced and stereotyped repertoire of behavioral responses.

“persons with anxiety often engage the environment with a reduced and stereotyped repertory of behavioral responses.”

Balance was most relevant to well-being and work-family balance.

“That is, balance prevailed as being most relevant to well-being and work-family balance.”

Executive functioning provides critical neuropsychological support for self-regulation.

“executive functioning provides critical neuropsychological support for self-regulation (Baumeister, 2002).”

• cites Baumeister, 2002 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

The ability to tolerate distress and develop an open, receptive attitude toward emotions, thoughts, and sensations is an essential cognitive function.

“Another related, essential cognitive function is the ability to tolerate distress and develop an open, receptive attitude toward emotions, thoughts, and sensations.”

In the extreme, absence of flexibility often portends psychopathology.

“It is also the case that in the extreme, the absence of flexibility often portends psychopathology.”

People with excessive social anxiety manage social fears by concealing and hiding ongoing feelings and aspects of the self, interfering with generating positive events and taking advantage of rewards.

“People with excessive social anxiety manage their social fears by concealing and hiding ongoing feelings and aspects of the self, interfering with the generation of positive events and the ability to take advantage of rewarding opportunities when they arise (Kashdan, 2007; Kashdan & Steger, 2007).”

• cites Kashdan, 2007 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Kashdan & Steger, 2007Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Anxiety disorders are associated with inflexibility of physiological responding, notably reduced flexibility in autonomic responding.

“anxiety disorders are associated with inflexibility of physiological responding. Perhaps most notably, researchers have shown repeatedly that individuals with anxiety disorder exhibit reduced flexibility in autonomic responding (e.g., Thayer, Friedman, & Borkovec, 1996).”

• cites Thayer, Friedman, & Borkovec, 1996 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Psychological flexibility is hard to imagine without at least adequate executive functioning.

“it is hard to imagine psychological flexibility without at least adequate performance in this domain.”

Anxiety disorders are often associated with lower resting cardiac vagal control.

“Anxiety disorders are often associated with lower resting CVC (Friedman, 2007).”

• cites Friedman, 2007 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Psychologists relied on expertise and superficial cues instead of engaging in problem-solving steps themselves.

“That is, the psychologists relied on their expertise and superficial cues instead of going through problem solving steps on their own.”

Attempts to avoid, alter, or rid internal experiences bind a person closer to them.

“attempts to avoid, alter, or rid internal experiences only binds a person closer to them (Wegner, 1994).”

• cites Wegner, 1994 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

People with low mindfulness exhibit limbic system activation when rapidly labeling thoughts and feelings as negative or positive.

“People that exhibit less openness and receptivity to ongoing thoughts and feelings (i.e., low mindfulness) exhibit activation in limbic system structures when they rapidly label thoughts and feelings as either negative or positive (Creswell, Way, Eisenberger, & Lieberman, 2007).”

• cites Creswell, Way, Eisenberger, & Lieberman, 2007 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Inability to detach from negative thoughts and feelings, and difficulty tolerating them, prevents people high in neuroticism from connecting with the present moment and altering commitments toward desired interests and values.

“That is, the inability to detach from negative thoughts and feelings, and difficulty tolerating them, prevents people high in neuroticism to connect with the present moment and alter the direction of their commitments to be aligned with desired interests and values.”

Heuristics can operate seconds after meeting someone, influencing thoughts about desirability and relationship formation.

“Heuristics can operate only seconds after meeting someone, influencing our thoughts about how desirable they are as a person and whether we would want to work with them or form a lasting relationship (Carlston & Skowronski, 1994; Carney, Colvin, & Hall, 2007).”

• cites Carlston & Skowronski, 1994 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Carney, Colvin, & Hall, 2007 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Impressions and stereotypes are very resistant to reconsideration and change.

“these impressions and stereotypes are very resistant to reconsideration and change (Kammrath, Ames, & Scholer, 2007).”

• cites Kammrath, Ames, & Scholer, 2007 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Prior knowledge interferes with appreciating the unique and novel distinctions of new situations.

“Other research shows that prior knowledge interferes with the ability to appreciate the unique, novel distinctions of new situations.”

• cites Wood & Lynch, 2002 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Allergy sufferers performed worse than non-sufferers on a test about a new allergy medication.

“Similar to the experimental manipulation of knowledge, allergy sufferers did worse on the test about the new product.”

• cites Wood & Lynch, 2002 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

In the presence of negative thoughts and feelings, people high in neuroticism perseverate on self-focused material at the expense of adaptive behaviors such as problem-solving and pursuing valued goals.

“In fact, in the presence of negative thoughts and feelings, people scoring high in neuroticism tend to perseverate on this self-focused material at the expense of more adaptive behaviors such as problem-solving and devoting effort toward personally valued goals (e.g., O’Brien & DeLongis, 1996; Hertel, 1998).”

• cites O’Brien & DeLongis, 1996; Hertel, 1998Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Automatically labeling thoughts, feelings, and events as negative or harmful reflects a lack of acceptance and openness.

“Automatically labeling particular thoughts, feelings, and events as negative or harmful reflect a lack of acceptance and openness (“bottom-up” processing).”

Habitual thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and goals are easily activated automatically, pulling people toward common well-worn directions rather than being sensitive to the unique value of acting differently.

“habitual thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and goals are easily activated automatically, pulling us toward common well-worn directions as opposed to being sensitive to the unique hedonic or utilitarian value of acting differently (Aarts & Dijksterhuis, 2000; Foa & Kozak, 1986).”

• cites Aarts & Dijksterhuis, 2000 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Foa & Kozak, 1986 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Poor memory recall is problematic because difficulties recalling the past interfere with learning.

“poor memory recall is problematic because difficulties recalling the past interfere with learning.”

Additional cues and incentives are often needed to replace habitual automatic responses with intentional flexible responses.

“Additional cues and incentives are often needed to replace habitual, automatic responses with intentional, flexible responses.”

Consumers with greater pre-existing product knowledge are less likely to pay attention to and learn about a new product.

“For instance, researchers sought to determine whether consumers with greater pre-existing knowledge about products were less apt to pay attention to and learn about a new product (Wood & Lynch, 2002).”

• cites Wood & Lynch, 2002 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Conscious free will and flexible responding are subtly reduced by habits.

“Essentially, conscious free will and flexible responding is subtly reduced by habits.”

Few people can use psychological flexibility to override default mental states in demanding visual tasks.

“Relatively few people can marshal the psychological flexibility to override default mental state in demanding visual tasks.”

Social situations impose greater demands on executive functioning because a person must simultaneously represent desired outcomes of self and others without compromising either.

“Social situations impose even greater demands upon executive functioning because of the need to simultaneously represent the desired outcomes of both the self and the other parties, without compromising either one (e.g., Vohs, Baumeister, & Ciarocco, 2005).”

• cites Vohs, Baumeister, & Ciarocco, 2005 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Social neuroscience studies support that acceptance and openness to experience and related emotion regulation processes are bound to executive functioning.

“Other social neuroscience studies provide additional support for the notion that acceptance of and openness to experience, and related emotion regulation processes are bound to executive functioning (DeYoung, Peterson, & Higgins, 2005; Kalisch et al., 2005; Ochsner & Gross, 2008).”

• cites DeYoung, Peterson, & Higgins, 2005 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Kalisch et al., 2005 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Ochsner & Gross, 2008 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Even with unambiguous evidence of ineffective performance, people high in neuroticism are less amenable to behavior modification.

“even when there is unambiguous evidence that they are performing ineffectively (Ingram, 1990).”

• cites Ingram, 1990 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Greater familiarity with cues and terminology for a problem increases the likelihood that a solution is retrieved from memory rather than attending to situationally specific information.

“Greater familiarity with cues and terminology for a particular problem increases the likelihood that a solution will be retrieved from memory instead of attending to situationally specific information before arising at a solution (e.g., Reder & Ritter, 1992).”

• cites Reder & Ritter, 1992 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Negative emotions and obstacles are an inevitable part of human learning, growth, developmental changes, daily hassles, and striving for meaningful goals.

“negative emotions and obstacles are an inevitable part of being a human that is constantly learning and growing, going through developmental changes in identity and social roles across the lifespan, experiencing daily hassles and stressors, and striving to organize a life built around meaningful goals and values (Hayes, Wilson, Gifford, Follette, & Strosahl, 1996; Labouvie-Vief, 2003; Wilson & Mur”

• cites Hayes, Wilson, Gifford, Follette, & Strosahl, 1996 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Labouvie-Vief, 2003 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Wilson & Murrell, 2004Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Evaluations made by strangers with small amounts of data are relatively accurate or consistent with reports by friends, family, and others with substantial information.

“Evaluations made by strangers privy to small amounts of data about one another are relatively accurate or consistent with reports made by friends, family, and other people with access to substantial information about their personality (e.g., Borkenau, Mauer, Riemann, Spinath, & Angleitner, 2004; Oltmanns, Friedman, Fiedler, & Turkheimer, 2004).”

• cites Borkenau, Mauer, Riemann, Spinath, & Angleitner, 2004 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Oltmanns, Friedman, Fiedler, & Turkheimer, 2004 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

People are relatively insensitive to context and perspective in the present when they can rely on prior knowledge and experience.

“Taken together, this line of research suggests that people are relatively insensitive to context and perspective in the present when there is the potential to rely on prior knowledge and experience.”

Deficits in executive functioning contribute to interpersonal difficulties in several forms of psychopathology.

“deficits in executive functioning contribute to the interpersonal difficulties accompanying several forms of psychopathology (Barkley, 1997; Hayes et al., 1996).”

• cites Barkley, 1997 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Hayes et al., 1996 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Well-practiced behaviors become automated so that conscious intentions are no longer a prerequisite to perform an act.

“Well-practiced behaviors easily become automated wherein conscious intentions are no longer a prerequisite to perform an act (Ouellette & Wood, 1998).”

• cites Ouellette & Wood, 1998 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

People high in neuroticism are impaired in strategic response selection.

“The evidence favors the notion that people who are high in neuroticism are impaired in strategic response selection (O’Brien & DeLongis, 1996; Watson, 1967).”

• cites O’Brien & DeLongis, 1996; Watson, 1967Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

People who observe thoughts and feelings with openness and curiosity show greater prefrontal cortex activity and simultaneous inhibition of limbic responses when labeling.

“Conversely, people who observe their thoughts and feelings with openness and curiosity show a different activation pattern, with labeling linked to greater prefrontal cortex activity and a simultaneous inhibition of limbic responses.”

People high in neuroticism tend to be less amenable to modifying their behavior in response to feedback.

“people scoring high in neuroticism tend to be less amenable to modifying their behavior in response to feedback (Watson, 1967)”

• cites Watson, 1967 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Acceptance and awareness processes, coupled with a curious and receptive attitude toward negative experiences, appear to be a precursor to psychological flexibility.

“Acceptance and awareness processes, coupled by a curious and receptive attitude toward negative or potentially negative experiences appear to be a precursor to psychological flexibility (Shapiro et al., 2004).”

• cites Shapiro et al., 2004Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Participants primed to feel knowledgeable about a product performed substantially worse on a test about a new product.

“People primed to be knowledgeable about the product did substantially worse on the test.”

• cites Wood & Lynch, 2002 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

When a person cannot accept frustration and unwanted negative experiences, attentional capacity and decision-making capabilities are narrowed.

“When a person is unable to accept frustration and unwanted negative experiences, attentional capacity and decision-making capabilities are narrowed.”

Robust executive functioning is critical for modulating responses to suit circumstances and achieve desired outcomes.

“robust executive functioning is critical for modulating responses to suit the circumstances and achieving desired outcomes”

Default mental states have a dark side: information processing and behavior driven by heuristics become overly fluent.

“these default mental states also have a dark side, which is almost the flip side of their advantage. Information processing and behavior patterns that are driven by heuristics become overly fluent.”

Premature commitments about a person's personality and expectations about their behavior fuel the natural tendency to tune out.

“Premature commitments about a person’s personality, including expectations about how they will behave, fuel our natural tendency to “tune out.””

Stereotyping and habits are one fundamental way people achieve this balance.

“One fundamental way we are able to achieve this balance is through stereotyping and habits.”

Heuristic-creating, closure-seeking default mental states are necessary for psychological flexibility because they provide sufficient processing speed in a potentially overwhelming environment.

“these heuristic creating, closure seeking default mental states are necessary for psychological flexibility because they give a person sufficient processing speed in a potentially overwhelming environment.”

When people feel open and curious, they capitalize on opportunities to find meaning in their actions and expand the self.

“When people feel open and curious, they capitalize on opportunities to find meaning in their actions and in turn, expand the self (Higgins, 2006; Kashdan & Steger, 2007; Silvia, 2001).”

• cites Higgins, 2006; Kashdan & Steger, 2007; Silvia, 2001Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Results from two brief interventions suggest that various forms of flexibility can be successfully targeted.

“Taken together, results from these two brief interventions suggest that various forms of flexibility can be successfully targeted.”

During stressful situations, people scoring high in openness show tolerance and compassion.

“During stressful situations, researchers also find that people scoring high in openness also show an attitude of tolerance and compassion (O’Brien & DeLongis, 1996; McCrae, 1996).”

• cites O’Brien & DeLongis, 1996; McCrae, 1996Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Self-control abilities can be likened to muscles that can be built up or weakened.

“There is increasing evidence that these self-control abilities can be likened to muscles (which can be built up or weakened).”

Dozens of studies support that substantial self-control efforts on one task disrupt control of some aspect of the self in a later unrelated activity.

“Indeed, dozens of studies now support the intriguing notion that substantial self-control efforts on one task disrupt our ability to control some aspect of the self, even in a completed unrelated subsequent activity.”

Cognitive processes under self-control or self-regulation undergird flexibility.

“Cognitive processes that fall under the umbrella of self-control (more recently coined, self-regulation) undergird flexibility.”

Longitudinal research shows openness to experience is important for healthy aging, including wisdom and better management of novelty, change, and anxiety during life transitions.

“Longitudinal research continues to show evidence for the importance of openness to experience to healthy aging including wisdom and better management of novelty, change, and anxiety during life transitions (Helson & Srivastava, 2001; Whitbourne, 1986).”

• cites Helson & Srivastava, 2001; Whitbourne, 1986Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Humans can often correct for powerful situational influences.

“What we have shown in this review is that humans can often correct for powerful situational influences.”

Positive emotional states facilitate flexible thinking and behavior.

“One real-world implication of this work is that positive emotional states facilitate flexible thinking and behavior.”

When people are open, receptive, and curious, they recognize and seek out new knowledge and experiences.

“When people are open, receptive, and curious, they recognize and seek out new knowledge and experiences (Izard, 1977; McCrae & Costa, 1997)”

• cites Izard, 1977; McCrae & Costa, 1997Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

College students induced to feel positive emotions are less inclined to perceive racial differences in faces.

“college students induced to feel positive emotions are less inclined to perceive racial differences in faces (Johnson & Fredrickson, 2005)”

• cites Johnson & Fredrickson, 2005 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Children rated by parents and teachers as stronger in self-control experienced better social functioning over the next 5 years, including greater social status and popularity.

“Extending this work, children rated as stronger in self-control by parents and teachers experienced better social functioning over the next 5 years, including greater social status and popularity (Eisenberg et al., 1997; Maszk, Eisenberg, & Guthrie, 1999).”

• cites Eisenberg et al., 1997; Maszk, Eisenberg, & Guthrie, 1999Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Of the Big Five traits, only openness to experience was positively linked to creative, divergent thinking under conditions of threat of negative evaluation or no threat.

“Of the Big Five personality traits, only openness to experience was positively linked to creative, divergent thinking under conditions of threat of negative evaluation or no threat (Chamorro-Premuzic & Reichenbacher, 2008).”

• cites Chamorro-Premuzic & Reichenbacher, 2008 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

When self-control efforts are excessive, performance on a subsequent task requiring self-control is impaired.

“This leads to the prediction that when self-control efforts are excessive, one should observe impaired performance on any subsequent task requiring self-control effort (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000).”

• cites Muraven & Baumeister, 2000 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Ignoring irrelevant word streams while watching an interview led to worse performance on analytical intelligence measures.

“ignoring irrelevant word streams while watching a person being interviewed led people to perform worse on measures of analytical intelligence (Schmeichel, Vohs, & Baumeister, 2003).”

• cites Schmeichel, Vohs, & Baumeister, 2003 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Self-control, the capacity to modify cognitive and behavioral tendencies, is a major enabler of flexibility.

“Self-control or the capacity to modify cognitive and behavioral tendencies is another major enabler of flexibility.”

Suppressing disgust while watching a violent film led to less physical endurance on a subsequent hand grip task.

“For instance, trying to suppress disgust when watching a violent film led to less physical endurance during a hand grip task afterwards (Muraven, Tice, & Baumeister, 1998)”

• cites Muraven, Tice, & Baumeister, 1998 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

In social relationships, normal doubt and insecurity can lead to abrupt endings or extreme reactions such as violent arguments.

“In social relationships, perfectly normal levels of doubt and insecurity can result in abrupt endings or other extreme reactions (e.g., violent arguments).”

Self-control abilities are not entirely fixed.

“For better or worse, however, these self-control abilities are not entirely fixed.”

A need for cognitive closure or certainty about a person or situation increases reliance on stereotypes, conformity, and dogmatism.

“Possessing a need for cognitive closure or a sense of certainty about a person or situation increases the reliance on stereotypes, conformity, and dogmatism.”

• cites Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Sorrentino & Roney, 2000Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Making choices among many competing options or exaggerating emotional responses reduces executive functioning capacities such as directing and sustaining attention, working memory, and putting behavioral intentions into action.

“In other work, being asked to make choices among a large number of competing options or to exaggerate emotional responses directly reduces key executive functioning capacities such as directing and sustaining attention, working memory, and putting behavioral intentions into action (Schmeichel, 2007; Vohs et al., 2008).”

• cites Schmeichel, 2007; Vohs et al., 2008Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Completing a Stroop color-word task led people to share too little or too much personal detail when meeting a stranger.

“completing a Stroop color-word task led people to share far too little or far too much personal details about themselves when meeting a stranger (Vohs et al., 2005)”

• cites Vohs et al., 2005 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

A person's natural self-control abilities may constrain psychological flexibility.

“A person’s natural self-control abilities may constrain psychological flexibility.”

People with low tolerance of uncertainty cannot effectively handle meeting strangers or romantic situations involving a modicum of doubt.

“Similarly, people with a low tolerance of uncertainty cannot effectively handle meeting strangers or being exposed to situations in romantic relationships where there is a modicum of doubt (Duronto, Nishida, & Nakayama, 2005; Sorrentino, Holmes, Hanna, & Sharp, 1995).”

• cites Duronto, Nishida, & Nakayama, 2005; Sorrentino, Holmes, Hanna, & Sharp, 1995Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Physicians experiencing positive emotions consider more alternative hypotheses before committing to their initial diagnostic assumption.

“practicing physicians experiencing positive emotions consider a greater number of alternative hypotheses before committing to their initial diagnostic assumption (Estrada, Isen, & Young, 1997)”

• cites Estrada, Isen, & Young, 1997 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Prior self-control efforts may degrade the neurological capacities necessary for psychological flexibility.

“Prior self-control efforts may serve to degrade the neurological capacities necessary for psychological flexibility.”

There is reason to be optimistic that flexibility can be modified using various orientations and in a continuum of people from severe psychopathology to high-functioning non-disordered college students.

“For now, there is reason to be optimistic that flexibility can be modified using various orientations (e.g., dialectical behavior therapy, ACT, self-determination theory), and in a continuum of people from clients suffering from severe psychopathology or health conditions (e.g., epilepsy) to relatively high functioning, non-disordered college students (e.g., Berking et al., 2009; Dalrymple & Her”

• cites Berking et al., 2009; Dalrymple & Herbert, 2007; Masuda et al., 2007; Rusch et al., 2008; Sheldon et al., in pressNot matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

People with an intolerance of uncertainty prefer very easy or very difficult tasks because they are safe and unlikely to modify self-beliefs.

“People with an intolerance of uncertainty prefer very easy or very difficult tasks, as they are safe and beliefs about the self are unlikely to be modified.”

• cites Sorrentino, Hewitt, & Raso-Knott, 1992; Sorrentino, Short, & Raynor, 1984Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

People with an intolerance of uncertainty view moderately difficult tasks, where competencies and knowledge can be evaluated, as aversive and avoid them.

“Tasks that are moderately difficult, where the horizon of one’s competencies and knowledge can be evaluated, are viewed as aversive and avoided by people with an intolerance of uncertainty (Sorrentino, Hewitt, & Raso-Knott, 1992; Sorrentino, Short, & Raynor, 1984).”

• cites Sorrentino, Hewitt, & Raso-Knott, 1992; Sorrentino, Short, & Raynor, 1984Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Efforts to exert self-control, focus attention, inhibit urges, or regulate thoughts, feelings, and behaviors deplete self-control resources.

“Most of this research has focused on the depletion of these self-control “muscles,” in which efforts to exert self-control, focus attention, inhibit urges, or regulate thoughts, feelings, and behaviors deplete these resources.”

• cites Muraven & Baumeister, 2000 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source