Towards a Critical Social Psychological Account of National Sentiments: Patriotism and Nationalism Revisited

In the social sciences and in social psychology as well, a distinction is often drawn between two different types of national sentiments. The first one is frequently represented as defensive and positive and it is termed patriotism, while the second one is considered a negative one that potentially has destructive consequences and it is termed nationalism. Within social psychology there have been attempts to map the differences between these different types of national sentiments and to discover the various factors that seem to be associated with them. Some critical social psychologists have adopted a different perspective, arguing that we should regard patriotism and nationalism as an ideological dilemma people face when they talk about nations. This approach allows researchers to examine the way the ideology of nationhood is represented in common sense as well as the specific aspects of national ideology in each country.     

Suicide in Maine: A Social Psychological Approach

ABSTRACT: This paper reports the results of a field study on five proximal social psychological variables derived from Farber's theory of suicide: Hope in the Future Time Perspective; Demands for Interpersonal Giving; the Availability of Succorance; Demands for the Exercising of Competence; and the degree of Toleration of Suicide. The subjects were mature, long-term residents of counties of Maine that proved stable in their relative rate of suicide. The value for each variable was assessed by a questionnaire devised for this purpose by the author. The differences between the mean scale scores for the high and low suicide areas were analyzed by t-tests. The between group differences for all variables were significant at or beyond the .01 level of significance. A correlational study indicated that the relationship among the five variables was compatible with Farber's theory of suicide. The research generally offers strong support for Farber's theory of suicide at the social psychological level of analysis.     

A Social Psychological Perspective

Ethics is normative; ethics indicates, in broad terms, what researchers should do. For example, researchers should respect human participants. Empirical study tells us what actually happens. Empirical research is often needed to fine-tune the best ways to achieve normative objectives, for example, to discover how best to achieve the dual aims of gaining important knowledge and respecting participants. Ethical decision making by scientists and institutional review boards should not be based on hunches and anecdotes (e.g., about such matters as what information potential research participants would want to know and what they understand, or what they consider to be acceptable risks). These questions should be answered through empirical research. Some of the preceding articles in this special issue illustrate uses of empirical research on research ethics. This article places empirical research on research ethics into broader perspective and challenges investigators to use the tools of their disciplines to proactively solve ethical problems for which there currently exist no empirically proven solutions.     

Psychological Groups and Political Psychology: A Response to Huddy's "Critical Examination of Social Identity Theory"

In a recent article in this journal, Leonie Huddy (2001) asks whether the social identity approach developed by Tajfel, Turner, and their collaborators can "advance the study of identity within political science" (p. 128). She concludes that "various shortcomings and omissions in its research program" (p. 128) hinder the application of the approach to political phenomena. This paper presents a response to Huddy's evaluation of the social identity approach. Several aspects of her account of social identity work are challenged, especially her suggestion that it ignores subjective aspects of group membership. The interpretation of the minimal group paradigm is discussed in detail, as are issues of identity choice, salience, and variations in identity strength. The treatment of groups as process in social identity theory and self–categorization theory is given particular emphasis.     

Explorations In The Structure Of Psychological Identifications With Social Groups And Roles

The structure of reference group identifications is explored in three samples of respondents: university faculty, socially active women, and practicing attorneys by means of factor analysis. Despite the wide range of respondents, the results are quite similar across the three samples, with occupation, family, religious, and racial identity components predominating. The most salient identities in all three samples consist of occupational and family reference groups. The results presented auger well for the development of a systematic theory of the relationship between identifications with social groups and roles and individual behavior.     

The Social Influence Model: A Social Psychological Approach to Counseling

Social influence theory suggests that counseling is an interpersonal influence process. This article reviews the literature on the model and suggests future directions for research.     

一项社会支持的心理学研究

本研究以我国东、西部439户被征地农民家庭的主要劳力为对象,通过问卷调查,考察了被征地农民的社会支持。结果发现：被征地农民所获得的总的社会支持水平与城市居民投有显著差异,但在社会支持的某些维度上具有明显差异;我国东部地区被征地农民所获得的社会支持水平显著高于西部地区;人口统计因素(如年龄、受教育水平等)和社会心理因素(如征地前的职业、征地后的经济来源等)对被征地农民社会支持的不同方面具有不同影响。研究认为,征地部门需要重视被征地农民的就业安置或职业培训、以提高被征地农民的社会支持水平。尤其是我国西部地区被征地农民的社会支持水平。     

Social Psychological Benefits of Gay Games Participation: A Social Identity Theory Explanation

Abstract

Research examining sexual orientation in sport settings has been limited in scope and lacked theoretical frameworks. To extend this body of research, the current study was framed within social identity theory and examined the impact of Gay Games participation on: (a) social identity, self-esteem, and collective esteem; and (b) expected subsequent social change activities following the Games. One hundred and twenty-five lesbian and bisexual athletes competing in Gay Games V participated in this investigation. The athletes completed a demographic profile and an open-ended questionnaire that asked about their Gay Games experience as well as expected social change activities after the Games. A content analysis of the responses revealed themes consistent with social identity theory. Specifically, these individuals identified the role of the Gay Games on social categorization, personal and social identity, and self and collective esteem. Additionally, these women revealed that following the Gay Games they felt more likely to work towards social change by becoming more out, educating others, and working through political channels.     

A Social Psychological Approach to Enduring Rivalries

The recent scholarly work on the concept of enduring rivalries offers a promising way to examine strategic interaction among dyads of states over extended periods of time. A focus on rivalry, and on the mechanisms that provide for such interaction, may offer a way to bridge existing theories of international relations that rely exclusively on structure or process. Unfortunately, the potential for theory-building has not been fully realized because research into rivalry has tended to be inductive. This paper seeks to rectify that problem by situating the rivalry concept within a social psychological approach to international relations. The rivalry concept is appropriately located in a theoretical approach that views the international system as a social system where actors are conditioned by mechanisms of competition and socialization.     

A Moral‐Existential Account of the Psychological Factors Fostering Intergroup Conflict

We combine ideas from terror management and moral foundations theories to analyze the role of existential and moral concerns in the creation and escalation of intergroup conflict. We argue that moral values, as important components of cultural worldviews, serve to buffer existential anxiety. Perceived threats to one’s moral values thus are capable of inducing existential anxiety and unleashing strong moral emotions, creating the psychological impetus for intergroup conflict and violence. We review evidence that threats to the five core moral intuitions posited by moral foundations theory (harm/care, fairness/reciprocity, ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/ sanctity) are associated with existential anxiety and that this contributes to intergroup strife and violence. Moral and existential concerns combine to create a vicious feedback loop that leads to self‐perpetuating spirals of violence, which helps explain the intractability of many real‐life conflicts.     

Why the Psychological Experience of Respect Matters in Group Life: An Integrative Account

The psychological experience of respect has implications for the nature and quality of group life and for the individual's psychological and physical well‐being. However, the manner in which respect has been studied and defined has frequently differed among researchers, making it difficult to connect the various findings. Whereas some researchers have focused on the implications of respectful treatment from group members (e.g., authorities, peers), others have focused on individuals’ perceptions of how they are generally evaluated by the group. We present the dual pathway model of respect in which these various lines of research are integrated within a single framework. Organized around two basic social motives – the need for status and the need to belong – the model describes two pathways (status evaluation and liking) through which respect from the group shapes social engagement, self‐esteem, and health. These evaluative dimensions are informed by interactions with group authorities and peers and differentially predict social psychological outcomes.     

A Structural Social Psychological View of Gender Differences in Cooperation

We analyze differences in cooperation between men and women in social dilemma settings. Using a structural social psychological framework, we examine how the actor, the encounter, the microstructure, and the macrostructure might influence when gender differences emerge in cooperation. Many of the interaction differences, often linked to innate differences between men and women, are modified when the context is modified. We pay particular attention to how status and identity are connected to such modifications.     

Recall in Infancy: A Neurodevelopmental Account

ABSTRACT— Relations between developments in neural structures and changes in memory in infancy are a relatively recent focus of research. Greater knowledge about brain development, as well as methodological advances such as combined use of behavioral and electrophysiological techniques, have led to the generation and testing of specific hypotheses regarding sources of age-related change. Theory and data converge to suggest that the early-stage processes of encoding and consolidation are a significant source of age-related variability in memory early in life. Additional research is needed to determine how these processes change and interact with myriad other determinants of recall.     

Social Structures and the Ontology of Social Groups

Social groups—like teams, committees, gender groups, and racial groups—play a central role in our lives and in philosophical inquiry. Here I develop and motivate a structuralist ontology of social groups centered on social structures (i.e., networks of relations that are constitutively dependent on social factors). The view delivers a picture that encompasses a diverse range of social groups, while maintaining important metaphysical and normative distinctions between groups of different kinds. It also meets the constraint that not every arbitrary collection of people is a social group. In addition, the framework provides resources for developing a broader structuralist view in social ontology.