Intergroup emotions and gateway groups: Introducing multiple social identities into the study of emotions in conflict

After 2 decades of extensive empirical studies on affective intergroup processes, it is now clear that emotional processes play a critical role in the dynamics of intergroup conflict. However, it seems that much of the research in this domain views intergroup relations in a dichotomous manner of pure in‐groups and out‐groups despite the developments in the realm of social identity that suggest otherwise. We here suggest that the incorporation of more complex social identity models into the study of affective social science can not only help to better understand intergroup conflict dynamics but can also offer new possible venues for conflict resolution. Specifically, we claim that the presence of groups with multiple identities, which include both the in‐group's and the out‐group's identity (e.g., biracial groups that encompass both a White and a Black social identity) can impact intergroup emotional processes between the different groups comprising those multiple identities (e.g., between Whites and Blacks). Accordingly, we review recent developments in the literatures of emotion in intergroup conflict and multiple social identity and offer a conceptual integration of the two. Thus, we attempt to enrich the theory in both fields, better explain intergroup conflict, and possibly pave the way for the development of novel conflict resolution methods.     

Experimental tests of the mean-variance model for portfolio selection

Statistically knowledgeable male and female undergraduate students participated in 40 portfolio selection problems with monetary payoff contingent on performance. The portfolio selection task included two independent risky assets with normally distributed returns. It provided access to information about previous returns, allowed borrowing and lending at a fixed interest rate, and forced on each decision period a choice between the two risky assets. The findings show a high percentage of inefficient mean-variance portfolios which does not decrease with practice, a high rate of requests for useless information, a large frequency of switches between the two risky assets, and sequential dependencies. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are briefly discussed.     

Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing Attachment-based Family Therapy into a Child Welfare Setting: A Qualitative Process Evaluation

Child welfare systems (CWSs) worldwide show increased interest in adopting empirically informed clinical strategies to increase treatment effectiveness. Many empirically supported treatments (ESTs) exist, but little is known about EST implementation barriers and facilitators in CWS. This study explored CWS providers’ experiences of implementing attachment-based family therapy (ABFT) in home-based services of the Flemish CWS (in Belgium). Sixteen CWS providers (twelve counselors and four supervisors) involved in three home-based services were interviewed. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used to guide collection, coding, and analysis of interview data. Findings revealed that implementation success was related to ABFT's fit with the CWS's mission, philosophy, and existing practices. CWS providers’ belief in the compatibility between ABFT and CWS increased investment in implementation efforts and persistence to overcome challenges and setbacks. Some barriers pertained to the learning of ABFT and some barriers pertained to systems level challenges such as lack of leadership and support, poor coordination with referral sources and other youth care partners, and lack of policy support. For successful expansion of ESTs into CWS settings, various barriers at multiple systemic levels need to be addressed.     

Behind the (Virtual) Mirror: Online Live Supervision in Couple and Family Therapy

Online therapy and supervision, a rapidly rising practice in couple and family therapy, has been the subject of a growing body of literature. From its early days, family therapy training has included live supervision, which has typically been conducted by a supervisor and a team of trainees situated on the other side of a one-way mirror. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic, we—the staff of supervisors at the Barcai Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel—were compelled to find solutions to continue meeting with clients and to provide supervision for family therapy trainees. To this end, we have shifted our live supervision courses (“practicums”) to the virtual arena, adapting the popular application “Zoom” into what we call “PractiZoom.” Based on over 100 PractiZoom sessions conducted between March and May 2020, involving 14 supervisors and 28 therapists-in-training and their clients, the article reflects on this pioneering online practicum for the online live supervision of therapists with geographically distributed participants. In this article, we outline our operational methods and adaptations for conducting live behind-the-mirror supervision online. Following a short theoretical background, we outline the process of online live supervision, discuss our reflections and those of our trainees on the challenges and possibilities it poses, and offer a number of preliminary conclusions and recommendations.     

Deterrence and Coercive Diplomacy: The Contributions of Alexander George

Alexander George was a towering figure who made path breaking and enduring contributions to political psychology, international relations, and social science methodology. I focus on George's closely related research programs on deterrence and coercive diplomacy, with special attention to the importance of the asymmetry of motivation, strategies for "designing around" a deterrent threat, the controllability of risks, images of the adversary, signaling, the sequential failure of deterrence, the role of positive inducements along with coercive threats, and the need for actor-specific models of the adversary. In the process, I highlight other elements of George's theoretically and methodologically integrated research program: his conceptions of the proper role of theory; his emphasis on the infeasibility of a universal theory and the need for conditional generalizations that are historically grounded, sensitive to context, bounded by scope conditions, and useful for policy makers; and the indispensability of process tracing in theoretically driven case studies.     

Influences on Counselor Race Preferences: Distinguishing Black Racial Attitudes From Black Racial Identity

The authors examined differential contributions of Black racial identity and racial attitudes toward Whites in determining counselor preferences. Results indicated that racial attitudes accounted for a significant portion of the variance in same‐race counselor preference. In addition, Black racial attitudes were distinguished from racial identity as independent contributors to counselor preferences. Los autores examinaron contribuciones diferenciales de indentidad racial y actitudes raciales de individuos Negros hacia Blancos para determinar las preferencias por un consejero u otro. Los resultados indicaron que las actitudes raciales se hallaban detrás de una porción significativa de la varianza en la preferencia por un consejero de la misma raza. Además, las actitudes raciales de individuos Negros se distinguieron de la identidad racial como factores independientes de influencia en las preferencias por ciertos consejeros.     

Gender differences in the motivational processing of facial beauty

Gender may be involved in the motivational processing of facial beauty. This study applied a behavioral probe, known to activate brain motivational regions, to healthy heterosexual subjects. Matched samples of men and women were administered two tasks: (a) key pressing to change the viewing time of average or beautiful female or male facial images, and (b) rating the attractiveness of these images. Men expended more effort (via the key-press task) to extend the viewing time of the beautiful female faces. Women displayed similarly increased effort for beautiful male and female images, but the magnitude of this effort was substantially lower than that of men for beautiful females. Heterosexual facial attractiveness ratings were comparable in both groups. These findings demonstrate heterosexual specificity of facial motivational targets for men, but not for women. Moreover, heightened drive for the pursuit of heterosexual beauty in the face of regular valuational assessments, displayed by men, suggests a gender-specific incentive sensitization phenomenon.     

Inhibiting your native language: the role of retrieval-induced forgetting during second-language acquisition

After immersion in a foreign language, speakers often have difficulty retrieving native-language words--a phenomenon known as first-language attrition. We propose that first-language attrition arises in part from the suppression of native-language phonology during second-language use, and thus is a case of phonological retrieval-induced forgetting. In two experiments, we investigated this hypothesis by having native English speakers name visual objects in a language they were learning (Spanish). Repeatedly naming the objects in Spanish reduced the accessibility of the corresponding English words, as measured by an independent-probe test of inhibition. The results establish that the phonology of the words was inhibited, as access to the concepts underlying the presented objects was facilitated, not impaired. More asymmetry between English and Spanish fluency was associated with more inhibition for native-language words. This result supports the idea that inhibition plays a functional role in overcoming interference during the early stages of second-language acquisition.