ABSTRACT: The present article examines the nature and function of human agency within the conceptual model of triadic reciprocal causation. In analyzing the operation of human agency in this interactional causal structure, social cognitive theory accords a central role to cognitive, vicarious, self-reflective, and self-regulatory processes. The issues addressed concern the psychological mechanisms through which personal agency is exercised, the hierarchical structure of self-regulatory systems, eschewal of the dichotomous construal of self as agent and self as object, and the properties of a nondualistic but nonreductional conception of human agency. The relation of agent causality to the fundamental issues of freedom and determinism is also analyzed. The recent years have witnessed a resurgence of interest

this paper to provide any concrete empirical demonstrations of the role these factors may play in depression. Rather, the following simulations serve as hopeful "might be's" and avenues for empirical confirmation. By simulating personality variables on a computer, theories about them can be rigorously specified. Hidden ambiguities may correspondingly become apparent, and thus theories of both normal and pathological behavior will stand a better chance of validation. Moreover, computational models which are biologiclaly motivated often serve to suggest physiological correlates of simulated phenomena, in this case, personality variables. Another reason to consider simulating personality factors on a computer involves the determination of vulnerability markers for depression. If some simulated personality factors are associated with greater expression of characteristics associated with depression after the model is subjected to a computational analog of a depression induction, we can examine the effects these factors have on a model before it assumes a state analogous to depression. By examining the pre-pathologized model, we may determine markers for people at risk for depression. Two final reasons for simulating the role of personality and individual difference variables in depression will become more apparent later in the chapter. First, neural networks are particularly suited for investigating the role of personality variables because parameters inherent to network simulations correspond neatly to aspects of personality. Without adding variables to an existing simulation, aspects of personality implicit in the models can be investigated. Second, by simulating characteristic individual differences in depressive information processing biases, variation in the behavior of...

Abstract We propose that researchers should utilize ratio scores when examining the response styles theory rather than examine each of the response styles separately. Higher ratio scores indicate a higher probability of engaging in ruminative, as opposed to distracting and problem solving, behaviors. In Phase One, we examined the factor structure and reliability of the Children’s Response Styles Questionnaire (CRSQ) in a sample of 287 third through sixth grade schoolchildren. A two factor solution was obtained: (1) Rumination and (2) Distraction and Problem Solving. Both factors exhibited strong psychometric properties. In Phase Two, 140 children completed the CRSQ and the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). Six weeks later, children completed the CDI. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the two-factor solution fit the data well. In line with hypotheses, CRSQ ratio scores were more strongly associated with CDI residual change scores than were either CRSQ rumination or distraction and problem solving scores.

Prior to the 1970s and the advent and use of multi-modal chemotherapy, children diagnosed with leukemia and other forms of cancer had little hope of long-term survival. Today, advances in treatment and the coordination of pediatric treatment through clinical trials have greatly increased the long-term life chances of these young people. Indeed, recent reports indicate that 75 % of children diagnosed with various forms of cancer in the United States are expected to survive their disease and treatment (Greenlee, Murray, Bolden, & Wingo, 2000). Furthermore, young people under the age of 40 with a cancer history comprise 7 % of the 7.1 million cancer survivors diagnosed with cancer in the last 20 years, with a large proportion having been diagnosed with cancer as children or adolescents. i These statistics indicate increasing lengths of survival for individuals diagnosed with cancer as children and a growing number of childhood cancer survivors. However, these numbers give no indication of the quality of life expected, enjoyed, or endured by these people. In 1998, the American Cancer Society Task Force on Children and Cancer reported that “(T)he progress achieved in attaining 80 % survival among children and adolescents and young adults with cancer can be justified only if their physical, emotional, and social quality of life also are

# The Author(s) 2011. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract The current study compares the effects of experimentally induced rumination, positive reappraisal, distancing, and acceptance on affect states in adolescents aged 13–18. Participants (N=160) were instructed to think about a recent stressful event. Next, they received specific instructions on how to think about that event in each condition. Manipulation checks revealed that the manipulations were successful, except for acceptance. The two most reported events were “a fight ” and “death of loved one”. Results showed that positive reappraisal (i.e., thinking about the benefits and personal growth) caused a significantly larger increase in positive affect and decrease in negative affect compared to rumination, distancing, and acceptance. Current findings implicate that positive reappraisal seems an adequate coping strategy in the short-term, and therefore could be applied in interventions for youth experiencing difficulties managing negative affect. Future research should focus on long-term effects of these cognitive strategies and on more intensive training of acceptance.

Copyright © 2012 Stefan Sütterlin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Rumination has been defined as a mode of responding to distress that involves passively focusing one’s attention on symptoms of distress without taking action. This dysfunctional response style intensifies depressed mood, impairs interpersonal problem solving, and leads to more pessimistic future perspectives and less social support. As most of these results were obtained from younger people, it remains unclear how age affects ruminative thinking. Three hundred members of the general public ranging in age from 15 to 87 years were asked about their ruminative styles using the Response Styles Questionnaire (RSQ), depression and satisfaction with life. A Mokken Scale analysis confirmed the two-factor structure of the RSQ with brooding and reflective pondering as subcomponents of rumination. Older participants (63 years and older) reported less ruminative thinking than other age groups. Life satisfaction was associated with brooding and highest for the earlier and latest life stages investigated in this study. 1.