Recognition trust

Philosophical Studies - Trust is critical for social life, and yet it is alarmingly fragile. It is easily damaged and difficult to repair. Philosophers studying trust have often noted that basic...     

Cultural Intelligence and Language Competence: Synergistic Effects on Avoidance,Task Performance,and Voice Behaviors in Multicultural Teams

Avoidance of culturally diverse peers undermines the benefits of multicultural teams. Using uncertainty reduction theory, we argue that team members’ cultural intelligence (CQ; the capability to work effectively in culturally diverse settings) and language competence (the ability to communicate in a language) exert main and synergistic effects on avoidance behaviors. We further propose that avoidance negatively predicts individuals’ task performance (behaviors that contribute to team outcomes) and voice behaviors (giving suggestions to improve the status quo). Put together, we test a moderated mediation model where the mediating role of avoidance between CQ and outcomes of task performance and voice behaviors is moderated by language competence. Our results, based on data collected from multicultural team members at three time points, showed no main effects of CQ and language competence on avoidance. Instead, we found synergistic effects such that CQ was negatively related to avoidance only when language competence was high. Avoidance was negatively related to peer-rated task performance and voice behaviors. Conditional process analyses supported our moderated mediation hypothesis, suggesting that avoidance explains why people with higher CQ and higher language competence have higher task performance and voice behaviors.     

Spatial numerical associations in preschoolers

ABSTRACT

Three-to-five-year-old French children were asked to add or remove objects to or from linear displays. The hypothesis of a universal tendency to represent increasing number magnitudes from left to right led to predict a majority of manipulations at the right end of the rows, whatever children's hand laterality. Conversely, if numbers are not inherently associated with space, children were expected to favour laterality-consistent manipulations. The results showed a strong tendency to operate on the right end of the rows in right-handers, but no preference in left-handers. These findings suggest that the task elicited a left-to-right oriented representation of magnitudes that counteracted laterality-related responses in left-handed children. The young age of children and the lack of a developmental trend towards right preference weaken the hypothesis of a cultural origin of this oriented representation. The possibility that our results are due to weaker brain lateralisation in left-handers compared to right-handers is addressed in Discussion section.     

Experiences of patients undergoing repeated intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections for neovascular age-related macular degeneration

Current therapy to slow disease progression in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) entails regular intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections, often indefinitely. Little is known about the burden imposed on patients by this repetitive treatment schedule and how this can be best managed. The aim of this study was to explore the psychosocial impact of repeated intravitreal injections on patients with neovascular AMD. Forty patients (16 males, 24 females) with neovascular AMD undergoing anti-VEGF treatment were recruited using purposive sampling from a private ophthalmology practice and public hospital in Melbourne. Patients were surveyed using the Macular Disease Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (MacTSQ; Bradley, Health Psychology Research Unit, Surrey, England) and underwent semi-structured, one-on-one interviews. Interview topics were: treatment burden and satisfaction; tolerability; barriers to adherence; treatment motivation; and patient education. Interviews were audio recorded and thematic analysis performed using NVivo 10 (QSR International, Doncaster, Australia). Patients recognised the importance of treatment to preserve eyesight, yet experienced significant psychosocial and practical burden from the treatment schedule. Important issues included treatment-related anxiety, financial considerations and transport burden placed on relatives or carers. Many patients were restricted to sedentary activities post-injection owing to treatment side effects. Patients prioritised treatment, often sacrificing family, travel and social commitments owing to a fear of losing eyesight if treatment was not received. Whilst anti-VEGF injections represent the current mainstay of treatment for neovascular AMD, the ongoing treatment protocol imposes significant burden on patients. An understanding of the factors that contribute to the burden of treatment may help inform strategies to lessen its impact and assist patients to better manage the challenges of treatment.     

“How can you make friends if you don't know who you are?” A qualitative examination of international students' experience informed by the Social Identity Model of Identity Change

This paper explores the contribution of social identity change to international students' health and well‐being. International students typically face a range of challenges from the time they leave their home country, including the need to adapt both to a new culture and norms and to a new educational landscape. Previous research informed by the Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC) suggests that during such life transitions, an individual's group memberships and associated social identities can provide a buffer against the threats to well‐being that such transitions present. To examine the relevance of SIMIC for the transitions that international students' experience, semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 international students attending an Australian university. Thematic analysis provided support for the relevance of SIMIC's social identity gain and social identity maintenance pathways in the transition and revealed a number of associated factors that acted as either facilitators (e.g., a host family that supported community integration) or barriers (e.g., experiencing culture shock) to social identity change. These findings present the first qualitative support for SIMIC within an international student population and help to flesh out the specific ways in which social identity processes contribute to both positive and negative health and well‐being outcomes.