The Influence of Perceived Injustice on the Endorsement of Political Leaders1

Recent public opinion polls have suggested that there is a striking lack of public support for national political leaders and institutions. The two studies discussed in this paper explore why public evaluations of political leaders and institutions are low. In particular, they examine the role of perceived injustice in creating dislike for and distrust of leaders and institutions. This focus upon justice is contrasted with the more traditional focus upon the level of outcomes received from the political system and upon congruence in citizen-leader policy preferences. The results strongly support a focus upon justice by showing that judgments of injustice exercise an influence upon leadership evaluations and in stitutional endorsements which is independent of beliefs about the level of outcomes the political system is providing to citizens or of public support for government policies. In fact, both studies suggest that judgments of justice or injustice have more influence upon the endorsement of political leaders and institutions than do outcome-related concerns.     

Event-related potential data acquisition on the Apple II+/IIe

Event-related potential (ERP) research is a valuable technique for understanding neural mechanisms underlying cognition. With few exceptions, this research has used minicomputer-based data-acquisition systems, thus limiting ERP research to labs with large computers. The hardware and software presented here allow the Apple II+ or Apple IIe microcomputers to present stimuli and collect data from as many as three electrode sites. A fourth electrode site may be used to monitor eyeblinks and allows the exclusion of those trials in which an eyeblink occurs. After the data are collected and averaged, they are stored by subject, task, and electrode on disk where they subsequently may be displayed, analyzed, or downloaded to a mainframe computer.     

Reaching Our 75th Anniversary: A History of AGPA 1992–2017—Part 1

This is the first in a series of three articles that chronicle and examine the 25-year history of the American Group Psychotherapy Association from 1992 to 2017. This time period has been divided into three naturally occurring eras: the pre–9/11 era, the 9/11 era, and the post–9/11 era. To permit meaningful comparisons across time, an effort has been made to contextualize events and to examine each era using the same set of seven facets/dimensions: (1) mission(s); (2) structure and administration; (3) jewels in the crown; (4) membership; (5) financial health; (6) organizational tensions and family dynamics; and (7) relationships with the outside world. This account, while based on objective data, like all such histories, is inherently subjective. Choices about which specific events to chronicle, as well as their meaning and significance, are filtered through the authors’ perceptual and conceptual lenses. This first section focuses on the pre–9/11 era.     

The Living Human Web: A Twenty-five Year Retrospective

This article traces developments in the 25-year history of a metaphor that has shaped the late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century discipline of pastoral theology in the United States. It looks back at the ‘living human document’ as a pivotal image and then identifies three trends behind the appearance of the ‘living human web,’ its key attributes, four divergent ways the metaphor has been used, and tasks ahead. The article argues that while the living human document addressed the challenge of irrelevant theology, the living human web responded to the challenge of social injustice. But both metaphors share a common aim endemic to the discipline—to expand empathy, whether for the individual or the wider context, in order to respond to people in need.     

Measuring the Creative Process: A Psychometric Examination of Creative Ideation and Grit

Within the investment theory of creativity (Sternberg & Lubart, 1996), creativity is defined as a 2-part process of buying low by investing in unusual ideas and then selling high by convincing others of the value or usefulness of these new ideas. This process requires both creative ideation and perseverance. The purpose of this research was to examine the psychometric properties of instrumentation proposed to assess the 2 underlying constructs in this definition: the creative ideational behavior required to buy low and the persevering behavior required to sell high. In particular, psychometric properties of a creativity ideation measure, the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS Scale: Runco, Plucker, & Lim, 2001) and a perseverance measure, the Grit Scale (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007) were examined in this study. Two samples of undergraduate students (N = 187; N = 817) completed a survey including these two scales and demographic information. Factor analyses were performed on the RIBS and Grit Scales. The RIBS Scale was found to have a 2-factor structure and 2 proposed new subscales. The Grit Scale’s previously reported 2-factor structure was confirmed.     

Can Prayer Increase Charitable Giving? Examining the Effects of Intercessory Prayer,Moral Intuitions,and Theological Orientation on Generous Behavior

This study was designed to investigate the effects of intercessory prayer, moral intuitions, God concept, and theological orientation on generous behavior in the form of charitable giving. Christian participants (N = 313) were assigned to engage in either intercessory prayer or a secular reflection over a 2-week period on the hardships faced by either Christians (religious ingroup) or Muslims (religious outgroup) in Myanmar/Burma being persecuted by the Buddhist majority. Contrary to hypotheses and previous research, multiple regression analyses revealed that the prayer condition was associated with less monetary generosity than a nonreligious control condition. Ingroup versus outgroup status of the target of prayer/reflections was not a significant predictor of charitable giving. Moral intuitions related to the harm/care and fairness/reciprocity foundations as well as traditional God concept moderated the effects of prayer.     

Attitudes held by members of the clergy about alcohol

Alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse continue to cause major threats to the physiological, psychological, sociological and spiritual health of the nation. According to recent statistics, over 80% of the illegal drugs used by youth, both male and female, is marijuana, with cocaine, opium and their derivatives comprising at least 15% of the drugs used by youth. When considering the ill effects of drug abuse, it is the legal one, alcohol that is responsible for the greatest impact on society. While it remains imperative that allied health professionals understand the many ramifications of substance abuse, it is also critical that leaders of faith communities have the knowledge and skills to meet this challenge competently. Due to the relevance of ministries as a possible resource, the focus of this exploratory study is to assess the knowledge, skills and attitudes of clergy about substance use and abuse and to determine their confidence of clergy in assisting their congregation with need related to this area.     

A preliminary examination of the effect of massage on state body image

Evidence suggests positive effects of massage on psychological health; however, little is known about the effects of massage on body image. This research examined the effect of massage on state body image as well as relations between trait body image and attitudes toward massage. Forty-nine female university students were randomly assigned to either a massage condition or a control condition. It was hypothesized that participants in the massage condition would report improved state body image following the intervention when compared to participants in the control condition. As predicted, participants in the massage condition reported a more favorable state body image than participants in the control condition post-manipulation. Certain body image evaluations were moderately associated with views that massage is pleasurable, with the link between Body Areas Satisfaction and viewing massage as pleasurable reaching significance. Research is needed to determine the mechanism/s through which massage improves body image.