It’s not just “us” versus “them”: Moving beyond binary perspectives on intergroup processes

ABSTRACT

The social psychology of intergroup relations has emerged largely from studies of how one group of people (e.g., whites) think and feel about another (e.g., blacks). By reducing the social world to binary categories, this approach has provided an effective and efficient methodological framework. However, it has also obscured important features of social relations in historically divided societies. This paper highlights the importance of investigating intergroup relationships involving more than two groups and of exploring not only their psychological but also their political significance. Exemplifying this argument, we discuss the conditions under which members of disadvantaged groups either dissolve into internecine competition or unite to challenge the status quo, highlighting the role of complex forms of social comparison, identification, contact, and third-party support for collective action. Binary conceptualizations of intergroup relations, we conclude, are the product of specific sociohistorical practices rather than a natural starting point for psychological research.     

Is It Harmful? A Thomistic Perspective on Risk Science in Social Welfare

Journal of Religion and Health - Probabilistic information is used increasingly, from medical research to weather forecasting. The relationship between probability and causality requires an...     

从古代小说看道教世俗化过程中神仙形象的演变

神仙形象源自于早期神话和信仰中的"神"的形象.因此,早期的道教神仙被描绘为生活在远方异域,与凡人完全不同的特殊群体.随着道教神仙观念的发展,道教的神仙形象也在逐渐"人性化":神仙逐渐摆脱了过去的神秘色彩和"非人"特征,较多地吸收了"人"的形象特征.宋元以后,这一趋势变得更为显著.神仙形象中"神"的特征进一步减弱,而"人"的因素、特别是普通人的特征日益明显.我们通过对不同时期中国古代小说中神仙形象的比较,可以清晰地发现这一变化.在这篇论文中,我们也试图探讨道教的世俗化趋势对神仙形象的影响以及不同的神仙观念在中国古代小说的神仙形象中留下的痕迹.     

Perceptual fluency effects in judgments of creativity and beauty: creative objects are perceived fluently yet they are visually complex

ABSTRACT

Perceptual fluency typically has a positive influence on aesthetic evaluations of beauty, but few studies have examined its influence on creativity evaluations. Creativity has two facets, originality and quality. If creativity judgments involve estimating product originality, such judgments may be associated with perceptual disfluency, while product quality may be associated with perceptual fluency. We examined the relationship between perceptual fluency and judgments of creativity and beauty across seven experiments. Creativity judgments were affected by most perceptual fluencysources. We observed a highly-fluent-is-beautiful-and-creative relation when testing repeated exposure and figure-ground contrast. Prototypicality displayed a high-fluency–is-beautiful relation, with creativity judgments unaffected. Visual complexity displayed a consistent disfluent-is-creative effect, with mixed results for beauty. For creativity (but not beauty) evaluations, increased saliency of visual complexity led to discounting fluent-is-creative effects, supporting the hypothesis that there are at least two fluency pathways to creativity judgments that take both originality and quality into account.     

读徐梵澄译《薄伽梵歌论》中的案语提示

《薄伽梵歌》着意所在综合,即"究天人","通古今",所得必是一大和谐,这也是"精神"的主旨。而人类之精神事业,落实必在行业瑜伽,即有为于世间,盖由于"人能弘道,非道弘人"。这事业犹如远征,需要引路之人,也即天神降世应身者,吾华称之为圣人。在圣人眼中,人皆得平等,因为每一个人都潜在是"天神之子",他们有能力为精神的进步、也即"变化气质"作出努力。