Social Categorization and the Perception of Groups and Group Differences

The classification of human beings into distinct groups is a fundamental feature of social perception. Problematic phenomena, such as prejudice, discrimination, and intergroup conflict, are commonly traced back to categorization. We explore the minimal conditions under which categorization occurs and the basic mechanisms by which it affects cognition and behavior. We show that comparisons between groups are not necessary for categorization, reveal the conditions under which people overestimate or underestimate differences between groups, and sketch a model showing how social categorization gives rise to differences in the evaluation of ingroups and outgroups and to differences in the accuracy of judgments of ingroups and outgroups. We conclude with reflections on intergroup conflict and the role of moral judgment in such conflicts.     

Social Identities,Power, and Privilege: The Importance of Difference in Establishing Early Group Cohesion

This article explores the developmental and sociocultural context of difference, as well as the importance of engaging difference in order to establish group cohesion. As groups provide a microcosm of social life, they possess the ability to replicate oppressive systems. If group leaders don’t proactively engage this material, starting with their own awareness, it increases the likelihood that the trauma of marginalized experience will be replicated, thus decreasing possibility for repair and working through. Appreciating the developmental strivings for sameness and the fears of difference is fundamental to understanding the resistance many of us can experience around exploring our identities or helping others engage with this material. Creating a group culture that conceives of difference as the glue for group cohesion and sets a frame for this exploration starts with the leaders’ use and awareness of self. The author also explores patriarchal narratives around power and aggression and how these narratives may have influenced group work theory and technique.     

Olfactory Comfort and Attachment Within Relationships

We replicated a previous study that found that men and women often smell their sexual partners' clothing when they are apart ( McBurney, Shoup, & Streeter, 2006 ). We found that women tend to perform this behavior across a broader range of relationships than do men. We asked 128 participants if they had ever intentionally smelled another person's clothing, slept with another person's clothing because of its smell, or given another person an article of their own clothing. The most common response was a romantic partner's clothing. However, women more often than men reported smelling the clothing of family members.     

The Social Nature of Perception and Action

ABSTRACT— Humans engage in a wide range of social activities. Previous research has focused on the role of higher cognitive functions, such as mentalizing (the ability to infer others' mental states) and language processing, in social exchange. This article reviews recent studies on action perception and joint action suggesting that basic perception–action links are crucial for many social interactions. Mapping perceived actions to one's own action repertoire enables direct understanding of others' actions and supports action identification. Joint action relies on shared action representations and involves modeling of others' performance in relation to one's own. Taking the social nature of perception and action seriously not only contributes to the understanding of dedicated social processes but has the potential to create a new perspective on the individual mind and brain.     

Social Relationships and Health: The Toxic Effects of Perceived Social Isolation

Research in social epidemiology suggests that the absence of positive social relationships is a significant risk factor for broad‐based morbidity and mortality. The nature of these social relationships and the mechanisms underlying this association are of increasing interest as the population gets older and the health care costs associated with chronic disease escalate in industrialized countries. We review selected evidence on the nature of social relationships and focus on one particular facet of the connection continuum – the extent to which an individual feels isolated (i.e., feels lonely) in a social world. Evidence indicates that loneliness heightens sensitivity to social threats and motivates the renewal of social connections, but it can also impair executive functioning, sleep, and mental and physical well‐being. Together, these effects contribute to higher rates of morbidity and mortality in lonely older adults.     

Attitudes Toward Women's Rights: Relationships with Social Dominance Orientation and Political Group Identities

This research assessed the extent to whichattitudes toward women's rights are predicted by socialdominance orientation (SDO) and the political groupidentities socialist and capitalist. Respondents were 181 Australian undergraduates (54 males, 127females), most of whom were of European descent. Theresults of multiple regression analyses suggested thatSDO was the most consistent predictor of negative attitudes, although the extent to which itunderpins attitudes toward women's rights was found tovary for men and women: for men it was the onlysignificant predictor. Support was also found for theideological asymmetry hypothesis. The results are discussedwith reference to social dominance theory.     

A Breath of Fresh Air: Absence and the Structure of Olfactory Perception

The question of whether we can perceive absences, in addition to ‘positives’, has received recent attention in the literature on the nature of vision and audition. The aim is to demonstrate that there can be objectless forms of perceptual consciousness; specifically, to show that such episodes can be distinguished from those in which there is merely no perception at all. The current article explores this question for the domain of olfaction, and argues that there can be experiences of the absence of odours, in addition to positive smell perception. Doing so sheds light upon the structure and spatial content of olfaction.     

嗅知觉及其与情绪系统的交互

在人类的各种感觉通道中, 嗅觉尤其和情绪有着千丝万缕的联系。两者在种系发生进程中存在一定的亲缘关系, 在解剖结构上也高度重叠。气味天然带有情绪效价, 不管是在意识上还是意识下层面, 非社会性和社会性嗅觉信息都能对情绪产生影响, 反之情绪也能对嗅知觉产生作用。已有的神经影像研究显示嗅觉和情绪系统加工均涉及杏仁核、海马、脑岛以及眶额皮层等区域。与此同时, 非社会性和社会性嗅觉信息的编码和它们对情绪系统的作用方式也不尽相同。     

Searching for Happiness: The Importance of Social Capital

After four decades of research, scholars of happiness continue to debate its causes. While it is generally agreed that a combination of internal and external factors play a role, predicting happiness well remains a challenge. Recent research has proposed that social capital may be a vital factor that has been overlooked. This paper attempts to address that omission. According to Coleman’s (1988) seminal work, three dimensions of social capital exist: (1) trust and obligations, (2) information channels, and (3) norms and sanctions. Using bootstrap hierarchical regression on data from the Canadian General Social Survey of Social Engagement Cycle 17 (2003), we identified blocks of social capital variables described by Coleman, as well as an additional factor of belongingness. Even after controlling for major demographic and individual characteristics, the majority of these blocks show significant relationships with happiness. Our findings support social capital as an important piece in predicting happiness.     

群体共情对群际关系的影响：基于社会冲突解决的视角

摘要：群体共情是指群体成员内化和间接体验另一群体成员的认知和情绪情感的过程。群体共情与个体共情不同,表现在身份感、共情偏好和文化影响的差异等方面。群体共情对群际关系具有促进作用,有助于减少群际冲突,促进群际亲社会行为。共情动机和文化框架转换是分析群体共情对群际关系促进机制的两个视角。未来研究可以探索群体共情与个体共情神经机制的差异,建立群体共情对群际关系影响的综合模型,探索群体共情在群际关系改善中的作用机制。     

社会群体的实体性:回顾与展望

社会群体的实体性是指群体被知觉为一个真正独立存在的有意义实体的程度.它受到知觉者、社会情境和文化等因素的影响.实体性在群际关系中具有重要意义,它影响着认同、刻板印象,偏见和群际冲突.实体性从本质上来说并不是绝对积极的或消极的群体特征,它主要取决于知觉者与群体的关系性质和其所处的情境.对中国研究者而言,如何让实体性最大可能地发挥积极作用,以利于群体关系的和谐是未来研究应该努力的方向;加强中国文化背景下实体性与群际关系的研究,为解决中国各社会阶层以及不同群体之间的和谐相处提供理论上的指导也是未来可以关注的方向.     

Tolerance and Perception of Abuse in Youth Dating Relationships

A cross-sectional study of pre-university and university students of both genders was carried out in Spain (N = 4,919) to determine the levels of tolerance of partner violence per gender and the perception of abuse. Of the students, 26.3% were in a situation of unperceived abuse, especially the males (29.6%), but the level of tolerance of abusive behavior was significantly lower in females. The group of youths who did not perceive themselves as abused had higher levels of tolerance. In contrast, non-abused students presented low tolerance of violent behavior. Tolerance of dating violence is more strongly determined by gender than by the perception of abuse in young people.     

Asymmetries in Coupling Dynamics of Perception and Action

The influence of information-based dynamics on coordination dynamics of rhythmic movement was examined with special reference to the expression of asymmetries. In Experiment 1, right-handed subjects performed unimanual, rhythmical movements in coordination with either a discrete or continuous visual display. The right hand-visual display system defined a more stable perception-action collective than the left, particularly when continuous visual information was available. In Experiment 2, the same subjects performed rhythmic bimanual movements in coordination with a continuous visual display. The action collective was inherently more stable than the perception-action collective, although similar patterns were observed at both levels. Importantly, the dynamics of the perception-action collective impinged upon the dynamics of the action collective in terms of stability. Asymmetries remained evident between limbs in the bimanual preparations, with the left hand exhibiting greater limit-cycle variability and also a tendency to more often effect transitions at the action couple. Features of dynamical models that capture characteristics of manual asymmetries are discussed.     

The Paradox of Received Social Support: The Importance of Responsiveness

ABSTRACT— Although the perception of available support is associated with positive outcomes, the receipt of actual support from close others is often associated with negative outcomes. In fact, support that is "invisible" (not perceived by the support recipient) is associated with better outcomes than "visible" support. To investigate this paradox, we proposed that received support (both visible and invisible) would be beneficial when it was responsive to the recipient's needs. Sixty-seven cohabiting couples participated in a daily-experience study in which they reported on the support they provided and received each day. Results indicated that both visible and invisible support were beneficial (i.e., associated with less sadness and anxiety and with greater relationship quality) only when the support was responsive. These findings suggest that the nature of support is an important determinant of when received support will be beneficial.