Social Pressures in Informal Groups by L. S. Festinger,S. Schacter and K. Back

The rising cost of health care within the private and public sectors has created an increased demand for the management of benefit dollars. This trend has significant implications for group psychotherapists, as group modalities offer cost-effective ways of delivering services to traditional outpatient and inpatient populations. Continued cosl-containment pressures and increasing attention to outcome studies will fitel trends toward briefer, manualized group treatments and intensive group outpatient programs as alternatives to hospitalization. Quality-based demands will challenge payors to (a) address biases against group psychotherapy among providers and patients and (b) integrate recent process-and-outcome research in determining the appropriateness of group versus individual modalities for particular patients and presenting problems.     

Toddlers' Social Behaviors in Dyads and Groups

Although toddlers are clearly capable of interacting with peers, the amount and type of interactions among toddlers is controversial. Objectives of the present study were (a) to determine the effect of dyad versus group settings on the amount and type of social behaviors with peers, (b) to determine preference for interacting with peers versus adults, and (c) to determine differences in the types of behaviors directed to peers and adults. Sixteen children (with a mean age of 27 months) were observed in both a group setting and a dyad setting; their mothers were present in both settings. The children were from three different toddler classes, each meeting once a week. Specific social behaviors were coded, as well as the person to whom the behavior was directed (i.e., peer or adult). Setting affected toddlers' behaviors with adults but not behaviors with peers. Regardless of setting, toddlers preferred interacting with adults. The types of behaviors directed to peers and adults differed. Direct interactions with peers were rare, but interest and awareness of peers was shown by moderately high levels of proximity and parallel play. The use of different criteria to define social play appears to account for differences across studies in the amount of peer interaction.     

In-Group and Out-Group Networks,Informal Social Activities,and Electoral Participation Among Immigrants in South Korea

With increasing global migration, immigrant incorporation and assimilation have become a growing concern. Prior research has mostly focused on economic adaptation of immigrants in North American and European context. This study shifts the focus to political incorporation of foreign-born spouses and other naturalized citizens living in South Korea, a topic that has received very little attention. Its primary goal is to examine the relationship between bridging and bonding social capital, measured in terms of interpersonal networks and informal social activities, and formal political participation, i.e., voting. Data come from the National Survey of Multicultural Families (2012), the largest and most up-to-date government-funded research project on Korea’s burgeoning immigrant population. Using multilevel analysis, this study shows that ties to inter-ethnic contacts (native Koreans) and greater involvement in informal social life are associated with higher odds of voting among immigrants. Greater embeddedness in in-group or co-ethnic networks, on the other hand, is associated with lower odds of voting participation. Moreover, net of individual-level network and background factors, living in a community with a higher level of social activities, is related to greater electoral participation.     

Social Status,the Status Distribution,and Performance in Small Groups1

This article reports two experiments on the effects of status and the status distribution on performance. Grade-school children were randomly assigned a label denoting high status or one denoting low status and then randomly assigned to small groups where they were the only ones of their status or where only one child had a status different from theirs. After completing a group task, the children individually took an anagram test, which served as the performance measure. Consistent with research on the effects of social status, in both experiments children with high status performed significantly better on the anagram test than did children with low status. More important, there were significant status by status distribution interactions. Performance among low-status children was even lower if their status was relatively uncommon than if it was relatively common, whereas performance by high-status children was either unaffected (Experiment 1) or enhanced (Experiment 2) if their status was relatively uncommon. The discussion centers on implications of the results for research and theory on tokenism and perceptions of the prevalence of status characteristics.     

Social Identity,Groups, and Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder

As with the identification and labelling of many mental health problems, the adoption of PTSD within DSM can be said to arise from contemporaneous social and political contexts: specifically the return to the United States of many war‐affected veterans from Vietnam ( Scott, 1993 ). The specific circumstances of the recognition of PTSD within DSM‐III have led several commentators to discuss it in terms of social construction (e.g., Summerfield, 2001 ). The current review argues that the orientation of theory and research aimed at understanding PTSD has been particularly informed by Western individualistic constructions of social phenomena. Our review calls for a blending of approaches to understanding post‐traumatic stress by considering the social structures and contexts in which it is expressed and in particular by considering how a group‐level analysis can inform incidence, diagnosis, and expression of post‐traumatic symptoms.     

Social Exchange and Emotional Investment in Work Groups

This study applied a social exchange perspective to examine three related aspects of work group behavior: individuals' assessment of the personal costs and rewards of group membership, the overall level of emotional investment in a group, and the external evaluation of group performance. Regression analyses of survey data from 28 ongoing student work groups (134 individuals) indicated that perceptions of personal rewards resulting from interaction over a ten-week period are an important precursor of emotional investment, defined as a relational orientation that encourages mutual caring, group loyalty, and commitment to the group as a whole. Consistent with our expectations, personal costs influenced neither emotional investment nor group performance after considering the effects of personal rewards. Emotional investment mediated the effects of personal rewards on externally rated group performance. Thus, emotional investment was a pivotal dimension of group effectiveness. Results extend our understanding of group behavior by acknowledging the relationship between personal and group development while confirming the compelling role of emotions in social exchange.     

Social Capital Groups and Crime in Urban Counties

Social capital has produced a large amount of research in many different academic disciplines. Several studies demonstrate a relationship between social capital and reductions in crime. Recent research has begun to demonstrate that social capital may affect violent and property crime differently and that specific aspects of social capital affect crime differently. This study examines social capital’s effect on crime for urban counties in the United States using Olsen-Type groups, Putnam-Type groups, and Recreation-Type groups. Findings indicate that the only the Putnam-Type groups were a significant indicator of reduced crime.     

Social Bonds and White-Collar Crime: A Two-Study Assessment of Informal Social Controls in White-Collar Offenders

ABSTRACT

In two studies, this paper examines age-graded informal social controls (bonds) in white-collar offenders. Using register data, Study 1 compares bonds in a sample of white-collar offenders to a matched control sample, while Study 2 uses probation data to examine bonds within a subsample of white-collar offenders of Study 1. The results show that white-collar offenders, including those who occupy executive positions and those with an adult-crime onset, were characterized by weakened bonds and that early-onset offenders had weaker bonds than adult-onset offenders. Along with the implications of these findings for theory, limitations and directions for future research are presented.     

Comparison of Cognitive Empathy,Emotional Empathy,and Social Functioning in Different Age Groups

Empathic responses and optimum social functioning are associated with psychological and physical health benefits. The aim of this study was to compare emotional empathy, cognitive empathy, and social functioning among different age groups, including adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. One hundred and ninety‐six people (92 males, 104 females) with the age range of 14 to 85 assigned to four age groups (adolescents, young adults, middle adults, and older adults) participated in this study. Participants were asked to complete the Empathy Quotient, the Revised Eyes Test, and Social Functioning Scale. The results showed that there were significant differences between older adults and other groups. Emotional empathy increased in older people, but there were deficits in some aspects of cognitive empathy. Also, the findings showed an age‐related decline in social functioning. Due to deficits in cognitive empathy affected by ageing, older adults showed some impairment in their ability to interpret emotional cues. This age‐related decline in cognitive empathy might be a reason for weak social functioning in older adults. Therefore, considering these elements would be helpful to provide healthcare strategies for elderly people.     

Social Comparison and Goal Setting in Brainstorming Groups1

Two studies were conducted to examine the influence of individual and group goal setting on brainstorming performance. Results from the studies indicated that the individual goals of nominal participants were higher than the individual goals of interactive participants. Group goal setting by consensus led to the lowest goals. There was no influence of goal setting on group brainstorming performance. However, participants who set goals rated their individual performance more favorably than did participants who did not set goals. The low group goals set by interactive groups are discussed in terms of assumptions made regarding the ability of other group members and the detrimental effects of group interaction.     

The Politics of Protection: Body Image, Social Pressures, and the Misrepresentation of Young Black Women

As part of a larger multi-method study, 15 Black women college students participated in focus group discussions on the body. Contrary to popular theories that propose that Black women are protected by a “Black Culture” that buffers them from negative effects of body representations—thereby leaving them with higher body esteem—the themes that emerged in the focus group discussions indicate that young Black women are indeed feeling (1) pressures to be thin, (2) pressures from the preferences of men of diverse ethnicities, (3) competition with other Black women in the realms of beauty, and (4) a strong sense of being misrepresented by media images of thin Black women. These results not only indicate that body image issues are of real pressing concern to young Black women, but that psychological research methodologies may be adding to the misrepresentation of young Black women and their struggles. Qualitative methods must be utilized in order to hear more clearly the voices of Women of Color.     

基于社会网络理论的医疗非正式支付现象分析与启示

医疗非正式支付现象是医疗机构与社会深层次的原因共同造成的,并在医患双方互动过程中产生,受各种因素影响,是医疗卫生行业重点治理内容,同时也是医院行风建设重点防治对象。引入社会网络理论,从患者视角分析了网络规模、网络异质性、社会规范、社会信任对医疗非正式支付的影响,从医生视角分析了网络异质性和社会规范对医疗非正式支付的影响。基于医患双方社会网络各要件的角色与运行逻辑,提出对医疗非正式支付问题治理的建议：营造杜绝医疗非正式支付行为的就医氛围,构建和谐医患关系的网络生态环境,引导非正式支付转为医院公益基金,加强对医生的社会规范机制建设。