White‐Collar Criminals: The ‘Kinder,Gentler’ Offender?

Even though white‐collar criminals (WCCs) cause financial damage and, at times, emotional and physical harm to individuals, organisations, and consumers, their crimes are viewed as being less harmful than street‐level crimes. Misperceptions that WCCs commit financial crimes because of a temporary moral lapse that represents an ‘out of character’ act for the offender still permeate the criminal justice system and academic venues. Yet, research shows that WCCs may display a pattern of criminal thinking that parallels street‐level offenders coupled with the same behavioural traits that serve as risk factors for offences to occur. Furthermore, the belief that WCCs are non‐violent is misguided, as there is a subgroup of WCCs who are willing to resort to violence, namely homicide, to prevent their fraud schemes from being discovered and revealed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ethnic and gender differences in the labour market perceptions of post‐higher education job seekers: ‘Double jeopardy’ or ‘ethnic prominence’?

Ethnic and gender differences in perceptions of graduate job acquisition difficulty among U.K. post‐higher education job seekers were investigated. Two main hypotheses were compared: the double jeopardy hypothesis (DJH), suggesting an additive or interactive increase in perceived difficulty associated with membership of different disadvantaged demographic categories; and the ethnic prominence hypothesis, arguing for the salience of ethnicity over gender in perceptions. Graduates and final year students (N= 800) from Black, Indian, Pakistani/Bangladeshi, and White ethnic backgrounds rated the level of difficulty that a suitably qualified man and woman from their own ethnic background would encounter in attaining 10 graduate jobs. Interactions between participant ethnic background and gender of job seeker rated were examined in the context of the competing hypotheses. The perceptions of men, and Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi women, were consistent with the additive DJH, whereas Black women's perceptions were not. It is concluded that: (1) the perceptions of the latter group may reflect knowledge of Black male disadvantage, or negative stereotyping with respect to employment in the U.K. graduate labour market; and (2) perceptions of double jeopardy by some female graduates may have negative effects on their job seeking endeavours.     

‘There's no smoke without fire’: Are male ex‐partners perceived as more ‘entitled’ to stalk than acquaintance or stranger stalkers?

In a stalking scenario, the prior relationship between and the gender of stalker and victim were systematically manipulated in order to judge culpability and consequences for the persons involved. Written vignettes were presented to 168 participants who responded via seven Likert scales. Stalker‐victim relationship had three levels: ex‐partner, acquaintance and stranger. In accordance with the ‘Just World’ hypothesis (Lerner, 1980), the victim was judged as having greater responsibility for the stalking when their harasser was an ex‐partner or a prior acquaintance rather than a stranger, and police intervention was felt to be most necessary when the stalker was a stranger. Sex of stalker and victim was manipulated, and the following comparisons proved significant: when the perpetrator was male, bodily injury to the victim was seen as more likely and police intervention as more necessary than when the perpetrator was female; and male victims were viewed as more responsible for the scenario and as possessing greater powers to alleviate it. The Just World hypothesis and gender stereotypes provide a plausible account for these findings. Future research should determine whether criminal convictions show similar biases towards convicting male and stranger stalkers more often than female and ex‐partner stalkers.     

A GIFT TO THEOLOGY? JEAN‐LUC MARION'S ‘SATURATED PHENOMENON’ IN CHRISTOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Jean‐Luc Marion has recently established himself as one of the most important and theologically fertile thinkers within the phenomenological tradition. With his study of ‘the gift’ and ‘the saturated phenomenon’, Marion presents a challenge to theology to rethink revelation in its surprising givenness, as exceeding the boundaries often set up in advance by metaphysics and a priori anthropological foundations. This paper examines Marion's mature thought, particularly within the perspective of Christology. The paper argues that Marion's phenomenological style of reflection, as adapted to theology, is deeply contemplative and markedly Johannine in sensibility. As a strategy for theology, the phenomenological style gives to it important incentives and skills for reading off God's self‐revelation in Christ in its surprising and counter‐intuitive beauty. Marion's challenge/gift to theology is, however, in need of a balancing emphasis, one that appears too infrequently in his work: the ethical‐prophetic dimension of the Christ event. In view of keeping both the mystical and prophetic poles of theology closely linked, the paper argues that just as beauty is a key category for saturated phenomena, so too is the reality of suffering and evil. However, whereas beauty invites a humble receptivity to and contemplative enjoyment of the gift, the inscrutable reality of suffering and evil, which so often exceeds comprehension, touches off a critical and practical response. In broadening the study of saturated phenomena to include the refractory character of experience, especially that which threatens humanity, Marion's valuable contributions to theology require a complementary emphasis from those narrative‐practical Christologies that highlight the prophetic aspects of the tradition.     

Is ‘culture’ a justifiable variable for market segmentation? A cross‐cultural example

This paper investigates whether culture can be used to segment a market. Using Indians, resident in Britain (British Indians) as an example, previous research suggests that culture's manifestation within buyer behaviour provides sufficient evidence to justify its use as a market segment variable. Using brown goods (television sets, video equipment, music systems etc) a comparative quantitative study examined the impact of a range of cultural values upon the buying behaviour of British Indians and British Caucasians, to identify significant differences between the two. Although a significant difference was found, the amount of similarity between the two sample groups suggests culture should not be used as a segmentation variable. This research has implications for organisations seeking to develop ethnic minority orientated marketing strategies. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.     

CAN WORKING WITH AN EXECUTIVE COACH IMPROVE MULTISOURCE FEEDBACK RATINGS OVER TIME? A QUASI‐EXPERIMENTAL FIELD STUDY

This study examined the effects of executive coaching on multisource feedback over time. Participants were 1,361 senior managers who received multisource feedback; 404 of these senior managers worked with an executive coach (EC) to review their feedback and set goals. One year later, 1,202 senior managers (88% of the original sample) received multisource feedback from another survey. Managers who worked with an EC were more likely than other managers to set specific (rather than vague) goals ( d = .16) and to solicit ideas for improvement from their supervisors ( d = .36). Managers who worked with an EC improved more than other managers in terms of direct report and supervisor ratings, however, the effect size ( d = .17) was small.     

‘Core Knowledges’: a dissociation between spatiotemporal knowledge and contact‐mechanics in a non‐human primate?

Human toddlers demonstrate striking failures when searching for hidden objects that interact with other objects, yet successfully locate hidden objects that do not undergo mechanical interactions. This pattern hints at a developmental dissociation between contact-mechanical and spatiotemporal knowledge. Recent studies suggest that adult non-human primates may exhibit a similar dissociation. Here, I provide the first direct test of this dissociation using a search paradigm with adult rhesus monkeys. Subjects watched as a plum rolled behind one of two opaque barriers. In Experiment 1, subjects had to locate the plum based on the position of a wall that blocked the plum's trajectory. Subjects searched incorrectly, apparently neglecting information about the location of the wall. However, subjects searched correctly in Experiments 2-4 when they were given spatiotemporal information about the plum's movement. Results indicate that adult monkeys use spatiotemporal information, but not contact-mechanical information, to locate hidden objects. This dissociation between contact-mechanical and spatiotemporal knowledge is discussed in light of developmental theories of core knowledge and the literature on object-based attention in human adults.     

Can empathic concern be generalized from one person to others? Another positive side of the ‘one‐among‐others’ effect

Previous research on the one‐among‐others effect has shown that inducing empathic concern towards a victim presented among other individuals in need enhances: (1) awareness of these others and (2) the willingness to help them individually. In this work, we test that these outcomes are linked by an additional process: the generalization of empathic concern felt for the victim towards the others in need. Study 1 revealed that inducing empathic concern for a victim presented as one‐among‐others led to see the others as separate and different individuals, not as a unitary group. Study 2 showed that the one‐among‐others presentation (vs. only‐one‐victim) increased empathic concern towards those presented along with the main victim. Study 3 showed that the one‐among‐others presentation (vs. a single‐victim or a statistical presentation) increased the empathic concern felt for other individuals in need. Therefore, the one‐among‐others presentation does not weaken empathic concern but, instead, it leads to its generalization from one to others.     

Do Non‐Verbal Aids Increase the Effectiveness of ‘Best Practice’ Verbal Interview Techniques? An Experimental Study

Two experiments examined the effectiveness of non‐verbal interview aids as means of increasing the amount of information children report about an event under conditions designed to mimic their use in the field. In the first study, 27 5–7‐year‐old children took part in an event, and 7–10 days later were interviewed using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Protocol interview followed by an opportunity to draw the event or complete puzzles and, in turn, a second verbal interview. New information was reported following both drawing and puzzles and accuracy declined in both conditions, but drawing did not differentially influence recall. In the second experiment, dolls or human figure diagrams were introduced to clarify children's (N = 53) reports of touch as recommended in by some professionals, with a verbal interview serving as a control. Props did not increase the amount of information reported compared with best practice verbal techniques, but nor did they elevate errors. The findings support the use of a second recall attempt, but do not support the use of non‐verbal aids, even when these are used following professional recommendations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are ‘Machiavellian’ Chinese children well‐adapted in the peer group? The relationship between resource acquisition strategies and social functioning and status

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between resource acquisition strategies, social functioning and social status in Chinese children. A sample of nearly 500 Chinese children in elementary schools in Shanghai, China, participated in this study. The authors divided the sample into five resource acquisition strategies; based on self‐reported use of coercive and pro‐social strategies of resource control, they were ‘bistrategic controllers’ (Machiavellians), ‘coercive controllers’, ‘pro‐social controllers’, ‘non‐controllers’, or ‘typicals’. The results revealed that bistrategic controllers were the most effective in resource control, followed by pro‐social and coercive controllers: non‐controllers were the least effective. It also indicated that bistrategic and coercive controllers exhibited poor social functioning and low peer status; in contrast, ‘typical’ controllers emerged as possessing positive social functioning and high peer status. In addition, non‐controllers were not at risk with regard to social competence. The results indicate specific cultural ‘meanings’ of different resource acquisition strategies in Chinese children.     

How do children ape? Applying concepts from the study of non‐human primates to the developmental study of ‘imitation’ in children

We highlight two aspects of research into social learning that have been neglected in existing developmental research, namely: (1) The role of social learning in learning to use tools, and (2) Whether children’s social learning involves copying the actions themselves (‘blind’ imitation or mimicry), or alternatively, the effects of those actions (emulation). In Part I of the paper we argue that the failure to distinguish between these different mechanisms is closely related to the lack of research on the social transmission of tool use and that both omissions limit our understanding of early social learning. We conclude Part I by outlining the requirements for an adequate study of these two issues. In Part II, we use this analysis to critically examine data from existing developmental research with children. We also assess the data currently available in the comparative literature which address these issues more directly. We conclude that children learn only what actions to perform via observation (‘blind’ imitation or mimicry), and not why those actions are effective (emulation). We close by identifying important potential pitfalls and unresolved questions for the future study of the social learning of actions on objects.     

‘Women are Bad at Math,but I'm Not,am I?’ Fragile Mathematical Self‐concept Predicts Vulnerability to a Stereotype Threat Effect on Mathematical Performance

The present research reports the results of three studies showing that individuals with a fragile self‐concept in the domain of performance are particularly vulnerable to stereotype threat effects. Specifically, women who explicitly described themselves as rather mathematical but whose implicit self‐concepts contradicted these claims were vulnerable to stereotype threat effects on mathematical performance. This effect was robust across three studies, independent of the subtleness or content of the stereotype threat manipulation. Additionally, it was shown that the effect was mediated by anxious worrying (Study 3). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

‘Coming out’ in therapy? Perceived risks and benefits of self‐disclosure of sexual orientation by gay and lesbian therapists to straight clients

Primary objective: The study's primary objective was to investigate the experiences of gay and lesbian therapists, when considering self‐disclosure of their sexual orientation to straight (i.e. heterosexual) clients. This qualitative study set out to ascertain the key factors gay therapists take into account when considering this decision and to explore the effects this self‐disclosure may have on themselves, their clients and their therapeutic relationships. Research design: The research design was based on the use of semi‐structured interviews, undertaken with a non‐random, purposive sample of counsellors and psychotherapists (n=8) in current practice. The rationale for this method was to aid exploration of therapists' experiences of the process of self‐disclosure. Methods and procedures: Inclusion criteria were for therapists who self‐identified as being gay or lesbian, and who were experienced in clinical work with straight clients. Transcribed data was analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Main outcomes and results: Some therapists reported being confident with self‐disclosure relating to their own sexual orientation. However, a common theme related to the reportedly high levels of anxiety and vulnerability, which therapists identified. Key themes emerged around: respondents' fears of client judgement; a need for therapist self‐protection; self‐awareness of the potential impact of their own fears and prejudices on the therapeutic relationship; and the potential relevance of internalised homophobia, as an overall constraining factor. Conclusions: Self‐disclosure of their sexual orientation to straight clients is constructed, in this initial survey, as being potentially problematic and risky for some gay therapists.