Post-Involvement Difficulties Experienced by Former Members of Charismatic Groups

Limited qualitative studies have been conducted with former members of charismatic groups, especially in Australia. The majority of studies with former members have been conducted by psychologists through quantitative methodologies and clinical case studies. Qualitative studies that explore the phenomenon of charismatic group involvement have predominantly been carried out by sociologists, and these focus on current members of such groups. Sociologists and psychologists have drawn seemingly contradictory conclusions from their study. This study aims to narrow the gap by investigating adjustment to life after involvement with a charismatic group as experienced by former members of such groups through the use of qualitative methods. Seven participants from four different groups were recruited via purposive sampling and modified snowball sampling. A qualitative methodology informed by phenomenology was chosen. In-depth interviews were used to explore the participants’ accounts of adjusting to life after involvement. The findings of this study suggest that the experiences of former members of charismatic groups may be comparable to others who have experienced extreme transitions and adjustments or relationships where significant power differentials exist.     

“In‐Group Love” and “Out‐Group Hate” in Repeated Interaction Between Groups

Costly individual participation in intergroup conflict can be motivated by “in‐group love”—a cooperative motivation to help the in‐group, by “out‐group hate”—an aggressive or competitive motivation to hurt the out‐group, or both. This study employed a recently developed game paradigm (Halevy, Bornstein, & Sagiv, 2008) designed specifically to distinguish between these two motives. The game was played repeatedly between two groups with three players in each group. In addition, we manipulated the payoff structure of the interaction that preceded the game such that half of the groups experienced peaceful coexistence and the other half experienced heightened conflict prior to the game. Enabling group members to express in‐group love independently of out‐group hate significantly reduced intergroup conflict. Group members strongly preferred to cooperate within their group, rather than to compete against the out‐group for relative standing, even in the condition in which the repeated game was preceded by conflict. Although both “in‐group love” and “out‐group hate” somewhat diminished as the game continued (as players became more selfish), choices indicative of the former motivation were significantly more frequent than choices indicative of the latter throughout the interaction. We discuss the implications of these findings for conflict resolution. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cognitive and affective experiences of minority and majority members: The role of group size, status, and power

Four studies examined cognitive and affective experiences of minority and majority members. We predicted and found that minority members were more cognitively preoccupied with their group membership and experienced less positive affect as a consequence of their group membership than majority members. The first experiment established these effects with numerical minority and majority groups. The second experiment ruled out status as an explanatory variable, and the third experiment uncovered the role of power in the differential cognitive and affective experiences of minority and majority members. The final field study substantiated the ecological robustness of the experimental findings and provided further evidence for the role of power. The interrelation of status and power is discussed as well as the phenomenology of being a minority member.     

Is Corporal Punishment Torturous?

The aim of this article is to determine whether fixed courses of judicial corporal punishment (JCP) and non‐abusive corporal punishment of children (CPC) amount to torture. I assess the reasons that have been offered for distinguishing fixed courses of JCP from torture and argue that none is successful. I argue that non‐consensual JCP that inflicts severe pain is appropriately classifiable as torture, but that JCP that inflicts mild pain and entirely consensual JCP are not torturous. I consider whether any of the reasons offered for distinguishing JCP from torture can distinguish non‐abusive CPC from torture given certain important differences between CPC and JCP. I submit that none of these reasons is successful. I consider other possible reasons for distinguishing non‐abusive CPC that inflicts severe pain from torture and argue that none is successful. I conclude that fixed courses of non‐consensual JCP which inflict severe pain and non‐abusive CPC that inflicts severe pain are correctly classifiable as torture.     

Minimal‐group membership influences children's responses to novel experience with group members

Children, like adults, tend to prefer ingroup over outgroup individuals, but how this group bias affects children's processing of information about social groups is not well understood. In this study, 5‐ and 6‐year‐old children were assigned to artificial groups. They observed instances of ingroup and outgroup members behaving in either a positive (egalitarian) or a negative (stingy) manner. Observations of positive ingroup and negative outgroup behaviors reliably reduced children's liking of novel outgroup members, while observations of negative ingroup and positive outgroup behaviors had little effect on liking ratings. In addition, children successfully identified the more generous group only when the ingroup was egalitarian and the outgroup stingy. These data provide compelling evidence that children treat knowledge of and experiences with ingroups and outgroups differently, and thereby differently interpret identical observations of ingroup versus outgroup members.     

“I changed and hid my old ways”: How social rejection and social identities shape well‐being among ex‐prisoners

Being a member of a rejected group negatively affects well‐being but can also increase group identification, which can have positive effects on well‐being. However, this rejection‐identification model has never been investigated among the highly stigmatized group of ex‐prisoners. Furthermore, the potential buffering role of multiple group memberships has never been investigated within the rejection‐identification model. We conduct a novel investigation of a combined rejection‐identification and social cure model of group‐based rejection among ex‐prisoners. A survey of 199 ex‐prisoners found that experiencing group‐based rejection was associated with poorer well‐being and increased ex‐prisoner identification. However, identification as an ex‐prisoner magnified, rather than buffered, the relationship between rejection and reduced well‐being. Furthermore, the negative relationship between rejection and well‐being was particularly pronounced among ex‐prisoners with a higher number of group memberships. Ex‐prisoners with a greater number of group memberships experienced greater levels of rejection, suggesting group memberships increase their exposure to rejection. We therefore provide evidence of a boundary condition for the social cure properties of groups. Among members of strongly rejected social groups, multiple group memberships can be a social curse rather than social cure.     

Gambling and Delay Discounting in Japanese Students

The present study examined the relationship between gambling behavior and delay discounting with Japanese residents. Japanese university students were selected into pathological gambler and non‐gambling control groups using a Japanese version of the South Oaks Gambling Screen. In a discounting task, participants chose individually between a large delayed reward and a smaller immediate reward with varied delays. The discounting rate (k‐value) and the area under the curve were significantly higher and smaller, respectively, for the gambler group than for the control group. These findings show that Japanese gamblers discount delayed rewards more steeply than non‐gambling controls, as has been found in U.S. residents.     

Expanding the traditional user versus non‐user dichotomy amongst ecstasy users

Differences in the drug use characteristics and psychosocial variables in the use and non‐use of ecstasy within 845 16–25 year‐olds in the UK was examined. Based on levels of ecstasy use and intentions, two groups of non‐users (resistant and vulnerable), three groups of users (light, moderate and heavy) and an ex‐user group were identified. It was found that there is predictive utility in this way of expanding the widely employed ‘user versus non‐user’ dichotomy. Resistant non‐users were more likely to be younger, female, and were characterized by lower levels of use of four other drugs (amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine and LSD). Those ‘at risk’ of using ecstasy reported more frequent use of amphetamine, LSD, and cannabis than resistant non‐users. Heavy user groups reported using amphetamine, cocaine and LSD more frequently than all the other groups. Having ecstasy using friends increased the odds of being an ‘at risk’ non‐user or an ecstasy user. Normative influence also differentiated between the three user groups (light, moderate, and heavy). Beliefs about ecstasy use being immoral, ecstasy offers being difficult to resist, ecstasy use making one feel guilty and ecstasy being readily available differentiated between user and non‐user groups. These factors could usefully inform the content of health education materials designed to change ecstasy use. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“Everybody feels a broken bone,but only we can feel a broken heart”: Group membership influences the perception of targets' suffering

There is surmounting evidence in the literature demonstrating that social pain (e.g. rejection, humiliation, and isolation) and physical pain (e.g. injury or assault) overlap in personal experiences. The present investigation focuses on second‐hand perceptions of social and physical pain. We argue that judgments of others' pain may vary as a function of group membership. By integrating research on intergroup bias in pain judgment with intergroup attributions of humanity, we predicted that observers tend to underestimate social pain more than physical pain in out‐groups compared with in‐groups. Across two studies that considered different scenarios, we found that Italian participants attributed less severe social pain when considering an out‐group (Chinese and Ecuadorian) than an in‐group member. No such effect was found for physical pain. Overall, the current work suggests an additional way through which people preserve a privileged human status to in‐group members while denying out‐group members' humanness. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of anxious mood induction on suggestibility to misleading post‐event information

Little research has been carried out into the effects of anxious mood at the time of either the encoding of misleading post‐event information or the time of its possible retrieval, on subsequent suggestibility. Participants comprised 160 first‐year undergraduates. Using a standard suggestibility paradigm, half of all participants were exposed to misleading information while half were non‐misinformed controls. In addition there were four state anxiety conditions, dependent on the timing of the anxious mood induction: at the time of encoding misleading information; at retrieval only; at both encoding and retrieval; or at neither encoding nor retrieval (controls). Results showed memory accuracy for non‐suggestible items was unaffected by the anxious mood induction. With respect to suggestibility, there was a strong effect of misleading information. In addition, within the misinformed group, all three groups who experienced the anxious mood induction were significantly less suggestible than controls. These findings are discussed both in terms of theories of anxiety and cognition and the applied implications for the increasing use by the police of video‐recorded witness interviews. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional suppression and well‐being in immigrants and majority group members in the Netherlands

We were interested in interethnic differences in emotional suppression. We propose a model in which suppression of specific emotional experiences (suppressive behaviours during interactions with others) mediates the relationship between emotional suppression tendency (intention to suppress emotions) and well‐being, operationalised as mood disturbance, life dissatisfaction and depressive and physical symptoms. The sample consisted of 427 majority group members and 344 non‐Western and 465 Western immigrants in the Netherlands. Non‐Western immigrants scored higher on emotional suppression tendency and lower on well‐being than the other groups. We did not find interethnic differences in suppression of specific emotional experiences. The full mediation model was supported in all groups. Interethnic differences in well‐being could not be accounted for by differences in emotional suppression.     

What role does substance use play in the social world of Australian people who have experienced homelessness? A critical realist mixed‐methods exploration

Substance use is prevalent amongst Australians who have experienced homelessness, but the social impacts of using substances amongst this group are poorly understood. This study uses a relational and critical realist approach to understand the role of substance use on the social lives of people with lived experience of homelessness. A mixed‐methods design was used to explore this question and assess the experiences of people who have exited homelessness. Recruiting across services catering to marginalised populations, 110 participants completed a cross‐sectional survey. Findings showed substance use both socially connected and disconnected participants, and that attempting abstinence required participants to negotiate and alter their social networks. To participants, being a substance “user,” or “non‐user,” was a social identity that they actively negotiated to facilitate competing social, psychological and material/embodied needs. Participants chose to engage and not engage with others to craft a social identity they valued, which had the sometimes‐negative side‐effect of limiting potential relationships, leaving users feeling isolated from their non‐users and a continued imperative to keep using. The impacts of substance use on social networks were similar for currently and formerly homeless participants, suggesting transitioning into housing may not immediately prompt a reduction in substance use or influence from substance‐using peers. Interventions with substance users with lived experience of homelessness would benefit from taking a social identity approach that incorporates an understanding of the material/embodied aspects of addiction to provide a holistic model of care that best supports the relational needs of the client.     

Fitting in with the flock: Social attractiveness as a mechanism for well‐being in religious groups

For most people, religion is practiced and experienced within a social group of believers who interact regularly. Yet the role of social psychological intergroup processes has largely been ignored with respect to religious phenomena. The present study explores social attraction as a mechanism by which religious groups affect the psychological well‐being of their members. Data were taken from a large survey of the members of 411 religious congregations in the United States. Linear mixed modeling analyses were conducted predicting two aspects of well‐being in the religious context from a range of variables at the levels of the individual, of the group, and of individual–group fit. Fit measures between individual characteristics and norms within congregations were found to be significant predictors of well‐being for a variety of measures across domains of demographics, religious beliefs, religious behavior, and group integration. These results support the view that the intragroup process of social attraction is a mechanism by which people obtain some benefits from belonging to religious groups. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effort in the face of difference: Feeling like a non‐prototypical group member motivates effort

Three studies examined the relationship between individuals' perceived “prototypicality” in a group, their subsequent self‐presentation goals, and individual effort in that group. Consistent with the finding that feelings of marginal ingroup membership status elicit a desire to seek stronger social connections within ingroups, we predicted that non‐prototypical group members will have more salient self‐presentation goals than prototypical members, and as such will exert more individual effort to exhibit the value of their membership to the group. Correlational Study 1 confirmed that non‐prototypical group members may be more likely than prototypical members to volunteer for activities that would benefit their group. Two experimental studies were then conducted to test the causal influence of feelings of prototypicality while also identifying theoretically relevant moderating conditions of perceived task efficacy (Study 2) and public versus private task performance (Study 3). These findings suggest that effortful performance in groups is partly motivated by the desire to foster social ties. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Robust Improvements on Reasoning Performance Following Discussion in Japan

Group discussion significantly improves performance on intellective problems. However, most experiments have been conducted in Western cultures. Cross‐cultural psychology suggests that members of Eastern cultures might be less likely to benefit from group discussion. One experiment in Japan suggested that this was not the case, but this experiment suffered from some limitations. To address these limitations, Japanese participants were asked to solve an intellective task four times: individually (pre‐test), in small discussion groups (test), individually again (transfer task, post‐test), and individually after a delay (delayed post‐test). The results revealed a robust improvement during group discussion. Groups in which at least one member had found the correct answer individually agreed on it during the discussion. Moreover, and in contrast with results obtained in Western cultures, most groups with no such member also found the correct answer. The gains obtained during discussion were maintained in the transfer tasks. This result provides further evidence that the improvement of reasoning performance in group discussion is a universal phenomenon, and provides support for the practice of collaborative learning in Japan.     

Memory for emotional stories in high and low depressed children

Cognitive theories of depression emphasise a vicious circle linking depressed mood and biased recall towards negative information. In line with this, depressed adults show selectively enhanced recall for negative information. This recall bias is held to be mediated by increased accessibility of negative self‐referent schemas formed as a result of adverse early experiences. Given this, surprisingly few studies have examined depression‐related recall biases from a developmental perspective. Clinically depressed children have been found to show enhanced recall of negative adjectives, particularly when self‐referent, but to date there is no evidence for similar recall biases in non‐clinically depressed groups. The current study addressed this by investigating high and low non‐clinically depressed children's (aged 5–11 years) recall of emotional stories. High depressed children showed enhanced recall of negative stories, relative to positive stories, compared to the low depressed group. This did not vary with age group. We conclude that, when child‐oriented materials are used, depression‐related biases in recall towards negative information are observable even in a non‐clinical sample of children from 5 years of age.     

Group Composition,Creative Synergy,and Group Performance

Organizations use groups to improve performance on tasks that require problem solving. Is this belief in the problem solving benefits of groups misplaced given the process-losses often experienced by brainstorming groups? This study of 94 intact autonomous work groups performing multi-part tasks revealed that group creative performance increased multiplicatively (exponentially) with the number of highly creative group members composing the group. However, this occurred only when Team Creativity-Relevant Processes (TCRP) within the group were relatively high. When TCRP were relatively low, group creative performance decreased multiplicatively with the number of highly creative group members within it. When TCRP were about average for the sample, group performance increased only linearly with the number of highly creative members within a group.     

Political ideology,helping mechanisms and empowerment of mental health self‐help/mutual aid groups

Self‐help/mutual aid groups share common attributes such as they are peer‐led, address a common problem or condition, have a voluntary character and little or no connection with professionals. However, these groups may vary according to their political ideology and focus on personal or/and societal change. This study examines the role of political ideology of self‐help/mutual aid groups and differences in psychosocial characteristics of group members. Fourteen mental health self‐help/mutual aid groups in England were studied. On the basis of stated aims and principles and following semi‐structured interviews with group leaders (facilitators/chairpersons), these were classified according to Emerick's typology as conservative (eight groups), combined (three groups), and radical (three groups). Group members (n = 67) completed questionnaires to assess personal empowerment, mental wellbeing, social networks and support, group identification and helping processes in the groups. Findings suggested that all self‐help group members experienced a large number of naturally occurring helping process and felt empowered whilst they shared limited social networks and support and marginal mental wellbeing. Different ideological types of self‐help groups may be related to specific helping processes and particular aspects of personal empowerment. Specifically, members of conservative and combined groups reported more expressive group processes like sharing of feelings and self‐disclosure, while radical group members reported more optimism/control over their lives. Furthermore, group identification was associated with specific helping processes and aspects of personal empowerment in the three group categories. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Universal Principles of Human Communication: Preliminary Evidence From a Cross‐cultural Communication Game

The present study points to several potentially universal principles of human communication. Pairs of participants, sampled from culturally and linguistically distinct societies (Western and Japanese, N = 108: 16 Western–Western, 15 Japanese–Japanese and 23 Western–Japanese dyads), played a dyadic communication game in which they tried to communicate a range of experimenter‐specified items to a partner by drawing, but without speaking or using letters or numbers. This paradigm forced participants to create a novel communication system. A range of similar communication behaviors were observed among the within‐culture groups (Western–Western and Japanese–Japanese) and the across‐culture group (Western–Japanese): They (a) used iconic signs to bootstrap successful communication, (b) addressed breakdowns in communication using other‐initiated repairs, (c) simplified their communication behavior over repeated social interactions, and (d) aligned their communication behavior over repeated social interactions. While the across‐culture Western–Japanese dyads found the task more challenging, and cultural differences in communication behavior were observed, the same basic findings applied across all groups. Our findings, which rely on two distinct cultural and linguistic groups, offer preliminary evidence for several universal principles of human communication.     

Taxonomy of Psychological and Social Disturbances in Survivors of Group Psychological Abuse

The purpose of this study was to delimit the psychological and social disturbances that individuals who have suffered psychological abuse within a social group on an ongoing basis can experience. A comprehensive classification of these disturbances was developed based on a review of the scientific literature. Its content was revised by an international panel of 38 experts on the topic. Experts also judged the frequency and intensity with which each disturbance is commonly experienced by survivors of abusive groups. The taxonomy, which includes 20 components classified into four main categories, showed adequate content validity. The components considered the most frequent and intense were related to emotional difficulties, followed by those associated with relational and social integration difficulties, cognitive difficulties, and, finally, other specific problematic behaviors. Operationalizing and classifying the specific psychological and social disturbances commonly experienced by survivors of abusive groups contributes to a better delimitation of the phenomenon. Likewise, it contributes to the understanding of the long-term effects of psychological abuse, which is useful in both the academic and clinical settings.