How does higher in‐group social value lead to positive mental health? An integrated model of in‐group identification and support

Previous research has indicated that the effects of in‐group social value on mental health are mediated by the extent to which individuals identify with their in‐group. Other research has shown that in‐group identification leads to positive mental health because it provides in‐group members with a psychological basis for social support. We examine how the individual's perception of the social value of the in‐group leads to positive mental health, integrating the effects of identification with and support from the in‐group. As predicted, the relationship between higher social value and decreased mental health (e.g. depression, perceived stressful events) is mediated by higher in‐group identification, which in turn leads the members to expect support from the in‐group but not the out‐group. An integrated model of the effects of perceived in‐group social value, identification, and support on mental health is proposed, and the implications are discussed.     

Forgive and Forget? Forgiveness,Personality, and Wellness Among Counselors‐in‐Training

Forgiveness as a method of addressing “wounds” has been linked to enduring aspects of personality and improved physical and mental health outcomes. The aim of this study was to understand the effects of forgiveness on counseling students’ overall wellness. Counseling students (N= 115) from 5 universities completed self‐report measures of forgiveness, wellness, and personality. Results indicate that, when personality factors are controlled, forgiveness contributes a significant proportion (10%) of the variance in wellness for counseling students. Implications for counselor training and counseling are discussed.     

Do terrorist threat alerts increase perception of threat and legitimization of in‐group's wars? The moderating role of perceived in‐group homogeneity

This study examined the impact of external cues of (experimentally induced) terrorist threat or security on perceived threat and legitimization of the U.S.'s war in Iraq as a function of perceived in‐group homogeneity and in‐group identification. In‐group identification did not moderate the effects of external cues of threat or security. External cues of threat resulted in higher legitimization of war via heightened perceived threat, but only among participants who rated low or moderate in perceived in‐group homogeneity. By contrast, cues affirming the security of the in‐group resulted in lower legitimization of war among group members who viewed their in‐group to be homogeneous. These results draw attention to in‐group homogeneity's role in increasing perceived group's agency to cope with threats.     

Cultural Shaping of Self,Emotion, and Well‐Being: How Does It Work?

In this paper, we review the existent literature to propose that (i) different cultures have distinct views of self, which are instrumental in organizing daily routines, practices, and public meanings, (ii) the resulting behavioral environment shapes personal motivational propensities, (iii) the behavioral environment also carries information about normative expectations about what it is to be a 'good' person, and, as a consequence, (iv) culture has substantive influences on emotion, well-being, and health. In making this proposal, we highlight the distinction between personal motivational propensities and the society's normative expectations. The consequences of the cultural views of self on personal motivational propensities and those on the society's normative expectations may typically be concordant and, yet, the concordance can be disrupted especially at times of rapid social change. Directions for future research on culture, emotion, and well-being are discussed.     

Outrage towards whom? Threats to moral group status impede striving to improve via out‐group‐directed outrage

Threats to group status can elicit different responses, ranging from those that motivate striving for improvement to those that motivate defending the threatened social identity. We examine why moral threats to group status may inhibit individuals' striving to improve. Specifically, we predicted that a threat to the group's moral status evokes a defensive emotional focus on the out‐group that impedes individuals' striving to improve. Two studies (N = 76 and N = 90) showed that moral (as opposed to nonmoral) threats elicited more outrage directed at the out‐group and, by trend, less outrage directed at the in‐group. The follow‐up study further demonstrated that moral threat impeded striving for improvement because of the relative focus of outrage on in‐group versus out‐group. Moreover, and consistent with our group‐based analysis, this pattern was most pronounced among strongly identified group members. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of framing groups' shortcomings in moral versus nonmoral terms. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Drama Education and Development of Self: Myth or Reality?

This study is an investigation into personal development and drama education where the constructs of self-concept, self-discrepancy and role-taking ability were considered in the light of an in-school role play-based drama program. The 123 subjects from 5 different classes drawn from provincial city and rural village schools with a mean age of 11.5 years were the participants in this investigation. The subjects were pre-tested using the Chandler Story Task on role-taking ability; the Self-Discrepancy Questionnaire for self-discrepancy; the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Revised) for vocabulary, and the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scales for self-concept. The subjects were then tested following the completion of a 10-week drama program. Results indicated a significant growth in role-taking ability, vocabulary and an improvement in self-concept. Further analysis revealed significant correlations between self-discrepancy, self-concept and vocabulary. Role-taking did not appear to be correlated with self-concept, self-discrepancy and vocabulary. Attention is drawn to the rural-provincial city differences with an “enriched” environment being suggested as an important determinant. The study supports the use of drama in schools as a means of personal and social development.     

Self‐esteem and culture: Differences in cognitive self‐evaluations or affective self‐regard?

Although people from East Asian countries consistently report lower self-esteem than do those from Western countries, the origins of this difference are unclear. We conducted two studies to illuminate this issue. Study 1 found that Chinese participants appraised themselves less positively than American participants on a cognitive measure of self-evaluations, but cultural differences were absent on a measure of affective self-regard. Moreover, cultural differences in global self-esteem were eliminated once cognitive self-evaluations were statistically controlled. Study 2 found that cultural differences in modesty underlie cultural differences in cognitive self-evaluations. These findings suggest that Chinese feel as positively toward themselves as Americans do, but are less inclined to evaluate themselves in an excessively positive manner.     

(How) does positive and negative extended cross‐group contact predict direct cross‐group contact and intergroup attitudes?

Knowing that fellow ingroup members have cross‐group contact can affect how people think, feel, and behave towards an out‐group. Previous research on extended contact focused almost exclusively on positive cross‐group interactions, neglecting the fact that extended contact can also be negative. In this contribution, we introduce negative extended contact and investigate how both forms of extended contact predict direct cross‐group contact and intergroup attitudes. In two cross‐sectional studies (N₁ = 286, N₂ = 237), we found evidence that positive and negative extended contact uniquely predict intergroup attitudes, and that direct cross‐group contact mediates this effect. In Study 2 , we also provide initial evidence that extended contact might either prepare for or impair direct contact by changing ingroup norms and intergroup self‐efficacy, which in turn influence feelings of intergroup anxiety.     

Avoiding Anxiety,Being in Denial,or Simply Stroking Self‐Esteem: Why Self‐Positivity?

This article studies the presence, resilience, and direction of the self‐positivity bias under various conditions to examine the role of self‐esteem maintenance as an important antecedent for the bias. Experiment 1 manipulates the perceptions of the uncontrollability of cancer and presence of base‐rate information as independent variables that together eliminate the self‐positivity bias in perceptions of the risk of cancer. Experiment 2 shows the same effects using 4 life events that differ in terms of valence and perceived controllability; that is, base‐rate information affects self‐estimates for uncontrollable life events, reducing the self‐positivity bias, but does not affect self‐estimates for controllable events. Experiment 3 shows that these effects only apply to optimistic individuals who fail to incorporate base‐rate information into their self‐perceptions for controllable events. In contrast, pessimists use base rates to update their self‐estimates irrespective of the controllability of the event. Overall, the pattern suggests that self‐positivity is attenuated in conditions that implicate self‐esteem. Implications for health care marketing are discussed.     

Wall‐to‐Wall or Patchwork? Linkages: Vehicles of Partnership

Career development services are often poorly interlinked. They overlap, yet they are can also be too far apart. They reach out, yet they do not always reach out to those who need the services the most. With examples from Denmark, this article indicates how and why career development services are linked in partnerships at different levels. Is a wall‐to‐wall carpet of career development services to be preferred over a patchwork quilt?     

Suppression,Repressive‐Defensiveness,Restraint, and Distress in Metastatic Breast Cancer: Separable or Inseparable Constructs?

A longstanding hypothesis links affective and behavioral inhibition with cancer incidence and progression though it does not clarify psychometric distinctions among related constructs. We hypothesized that repressive-defensiveness, suppression, restraint, and distress would be separable factors in our sample of metastatic breast cancer patients. Our results support the discriminant validity of these constructs in our total sample, and the stability over 1 year in our control group. Using factor analysis, we found 4 separate factors at our prerandomization baseline corresponding closely to hypothesized constructs. Additionally, associations in a multi-trait, multi-occasion (baseline and 1 year) matrix met each of the 3 Campbell and Fiske (1959) criteria of convergent and discriminant validity. Future research testing the links between psychological, physiological, and survival outcomes with affective inhibition in cancer patients will be clearer when informed by these distinctions.     

Predicting Marital Satisfaction From Self,Partner, and Couple Characteristics: Is It Me,You, or Us?

Past research on the link between personal characteristics and marital satisfaction has taken either an individual or a dyadic approach. The individual approach examines how self and/or partner characteristics are associated with satisfaction, whereas the dyadic approach focuses on couple characteristics such as couple similarity. The current research was designed to integrate both approaches. A modified Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (Kashy & Kenny, 2000) was proposed to test simultaneously the contributions of self characteristics, partner characteristics, and two types of couple similarity (level similarity measured by the absolute difference score and shape similarity measured by the profile correlation) in predicting husbands' and wives' marital satisfaction. This model was tested by structural equation modeling in two large, nationally representative, urban samples (N=536 and 537 couples) from China. The results were largely replicated across four personality domains and two value domains, suggesting that all predictors tended to make independent contributions to satisfaction except the absolute difference score.     

“The unbearable embeddedness of being”: Self psychology,intersubjectivity and large group experiences

Studying the large group from a self psychological perspective is a new area of exploration. The purpose of this work is to consider an expansion of the selfobject concept to include experiences in group. The groupobject is conceived as a function which addresses the inherent group needs of the individual. Just as the selfobject serves to fill in missing aspects of the self, the groupobject fills in missing aspects of the group self. The development of this concept emerged from an ongoing large group experience. It has its roots in the idea that effective group treatment can result from the recognition and support of groupobject as well as selfobject needs.This phrase, first coined by Stolorow and Atwood (1993) represents their attempt to clarify the fallacy of the isolated mind.Contexts of Being. Hillsdale, NJ: Analytic Press, 1993.     

Peer group processes and adolescent health-related behaviour: More than ‘peer group pressure’?

This paper argues that ‘peer group pressure’ conveys an individualistic and hence inadequate account of the group processes involved in adolescents' adoption of health-related behaviours such as smoking and drinking. We describe traditional analyses of adolescent peer processes, illustrate how these contain a series of individualistic assumptions about peer interactions/social influence processes, and describe how these structure the analysis of adolescent health-related behaviour and health education interventions. We highlight the inadequacies of these analyses, outline an alternative and draw out its implications for health education.     

Shared dialect group identity,leader–member exchange and self‐disclosure in vertical dyads: Do members react similarly?

Drawing upon social identity and status characteristic theories, we examine the reactions of vertical dyad members to shared dialect group identity in Taiwan. Supervisors and subordinates in 179 vertical dyads independently reported their dialect group identity and their perceptions of leader–member exchange (LMX) and self‐disclosure. Results indicate that subordinates reported a more positive LMX with, and greater self‐disclosure to, supervisors who shared their dialect group identity. Supervisors reported greater self‐disclosure to subordinates with the same dialect group identity, but not a more positive LMX. We also discuss implications for organizational demography theory and research.     

Do personality characteristics and beliefs predict intra‐group bullying between prisoners?

This study assesses how beliefs about aggression and personality can predict engagement in intra‐group bullying among prisoners. A sample of 213 adult male prisoners completed the DIPC‐SCALED (bullying behavior), the EXPAGG (beliefs toward aggression), and the IPIP (a five‐factor measure of personality). It was predicted that bullies would hold greater instrumental beliefs supporting the use of aggression than the other categories, with perpetrators reporting lower scores on agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience, and higher scores on neuroticism (i.e. low scores on emotional stability) than the remaining sample. Bullies and bully‐victims endorsed greater instrumental aggressive beliefs than the victim category. Only one perpetrator group, bullies were predicted by reduced levels of agreeableness and increased levels of neuroticism, whereas bully/victims were predicted by decreased levels of neuroticism. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 36:261–270, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Cybervision: Virtual peer group counselling supervision — Hindrance or help?

This study explored the use of text‐based computer‐mediated communication in counsellor supervision. ‘Cybervision’ is an innovative collaboration between counsellors and computer technology. The study reports on the use of clinical case presentation by e‐mail and the discussion of cases in text‐based chat rooms. The inquiry, conducted from a qualitative research perspective, seeks to explore the potential effectiveness of Cybervision along with its advantages and disadvantages. Prior to each supervision session, the supervisee presented case concerns by e‐mail and later received 60 minutes supervision from the remaining three group members adopting the role of supervisor. As a form of co‐operative inquiry, the personal experience of research participants was investigated and reported, highlighting key themes and issues relating to the absence of face‐to‐face contact. In all cases, participants reported that Cybervision effectively influenced and informed the clinical practice of the counsellor. Participants quickly and successfully formed a meaningful group where support, challenge and feedback were expressed and valued. The ‘disinhibition’ effect of on‐line contact was found to support open and honest communication. Feelings were communicated in this environment with surprising ease. The consistent emergence of useful parallel processes was another significant finding.     

The Intelligent‐Design Movement: Science or Ideology?

The past decade has seen the rise of a new wave of criticism of evolutionary biology, led by claims that it should be replaced by a new science of intelligent design. While the general question of inferring design may fairly be considered worthy of attention, claims that intelligent-design theory (IDT) constitutes a biological science are highly problematic. This article briefly summarizes the assertions made about IDT as a biological science and indicates why they do not stand up to analysis. While claiming that IDT is a biological science, its advocates have failed to actually produce a research program that merits serious attention. As such, it is clear that IDT is more driven by ideological considerations than by attention to actual scientific research.     

Are your cross‐ethnic friends ethnic and/or national group identifiers? The role of own and perceived cross‐ethnic friend's identities on outgroup attitudes and multiculturalism

We investigated how own ethnic and national identities and perceived ethnic and national identities of close cross‐ethnic friends may predict outgroup attitudes and multiculturalism among Turkish (majority status, N = 197) and Kurdish (minority status, N = 80) ethnic group members in Turkey (M_age = 21.12, SD = 2.59, 69.7% females, 30.3% males). Compared with Turkish participants, Kurdish participants were more asymmetrical in rating their cross‐ethnic friend's identities relative to their own, reporting higher ethnic identity, but lower national identity for themselves. Own ethnic identity was negatively associated with attitudes and multiculturalism, whereas own national identity was positively associated with only attitudes. Perceived cross‐ethnic friend's national identity was positively related to both outgroup attitudes and multiculturalism. Shared national identification (high levels of own and friend's national identity) led to most positive outgroup attitudes and highest support for multiculturalism. Findings were discussed in the light of social identity and common ingroup identity models.