The inspired time traveler: examining the implications of nostalgic entertainment experiences for two-factor models of entertainment

ABSTRACT

Two studies investigated the characteristics of nostalgic entertainment experiences. A survey (Study 1) asked American undergraduates to report their cognitive and affective reactions during a recent entertainment experience that they deemed nostalgic, meaningful, or pleasurable. Results indicated that nostalgic experiences often occurred after exposure to familiar media content (e.g., beloved children’s shows). Although these experiences were affectively similar to both pleasurable entertainment experiences (in terms of enjoyment) and meaningful entertainment experiences (in terms of mixed affect), they differed in the focus of their associated cognitions (i.e., reflection on the self in the past and over time). A follow-up experiment (Study 2) demonstrated that exposure to familiar children’s shows (rather than unfamiliar children’s shows or meaningful film trailers) induced nostalgic reactions in adults ranging in age from 19 to 47. The implications of these findings for current two-factor models of entertainment are discussed.     

Commentary on Entangled Empathy by Lori Gruen

This essay explores four aspects of Gruen's theory. The first section considers her analysis of the concepts of sympathy, pity, and emotional contagion. The second section outlines the main features of her conception of empathy and highlights some worries about empathy that her theory addresses. The third section examines empathy's contributions to moral epistemology. The fourth section queries Gruen's contention that empathy is morally motivating.     

Rascals,triflers, and pragmatists: developing a Peircean account of assertion*

While the topic of assertion has recently received a fresh wave of interest from Peirce scholars, to this point no systematic account of Peirce’s view of assertion has been attempted. We think that this is a lacuna that ought to be filled. Doing so will help make better sense of Peirce’s pragmatism; further, what is hidden amongst various fragments is a robust pragmatist theory of assertion with unique characteristics that may have significant contemporary value. Here we aim to uncover this theory, and to show that assertion for Peirce is not a mere corollary of pragmatic conceptions of truth, judgement, and belief, but is rather a central aspect of his philosophy.     

Early cessation success or failure among women attempting to quit smoking: trajectories and volatility of urge and negative mood during the first postcessation week

Aversive symptoms of abstinence from nicotine have been posited to lead to smoking relapse and research on temporal patterns of abstinence symptoms confirms this assumption. However, little is known about the association of symptom trajectories early after quitting with postcessation smoking or about the differential effects of tonic (background) versus phasic (temptation-related) symptom trajectories on smoking status. The current study examined trajectories of urge and negative mood among 300 women using the nicotine patch during the first postcessation week. Ecological momentary assessments collected randomly and during temptation episodes were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling yielding four individual trajectory parameters: intercept (initial symptom level), linear slope (direction and rate of change), quadratic coefficient (curvature), and volatility (scatter). Early lapsers, who lapsed during the first postcessation week, exhibited more severe tonic urge and phasic negative mood immediately after quitting, and more volatile tonic and phasic urge compared to abstainers. Late lapsers, who were abstinent during the first week but lapsed by 1 month, exhibited more severe tonic urge immediately after quitting compared to abstainers. These results demonstrate the importance of early postcessation urge and negative affect and highlight the value of examining both tonic and phasic effects of abstinence from nicotine.     

Emotional responses to intergroup apology mediate intergroup forgiveness and retribution

According to intergroup emotion theory, the impact of many intergroup events on intergroup outcomes is mediated by group-directed emotions. We demonstrate that the ability of apology to reduce retribution against and increase forgiveness of a transgressing outgroup is contributed to by discrete intergroup emotions. We examined both negative (anger and fear) and positive (respect and satisfaction) emotions directed toward the transgressing outgroup. Apology reduced the desire for retribution whereas lack of apology increased it, and outgroup-directed anger uniquely mediated this effect. In contrast, apology increased and lack of apology decreased forgiveness, particularly when the ingroup responded to the transgression, and only outgroup-directed respect mediated this effect. These results provide the first evidence that intergroup emotions can mediate the impact of apology on intergroup relations outcomes.     

How shared preferences in music create bonds between people: values as the missing link

How can shared music preferences create social bonds between people? A process model is developed in which music preferences as value-expressive attitudes create social bonds via conveyed value similarity. The musical bonding model links two research streams: (a) music preferences as indicators of similarity in value orientations and (b) similarity in value orientations leading to social attraction. Two laboratory experiments and one dyadic field study demonstrated that music can create interpersonal bonds between young people because music preferences can be cues for similar or dissimilar value orientations, with similarity in values then contributing to social attraction. One study tested and ruled out an alternative explanation (via personality similarity), illuminating the differential impact of perceived value similarity versus personality similarity on social attraction. Value similarity is the missing link in explaining the musical bonding phenomenon, which seems to hold for Western and non-Western samples and in experimental and natural settings.     

Assessment Center Practices in South Africa

Despite the popularity of assessment centers (AC) in South Africa, no recent study exists that describes AC practices in that region. Given this research gap, we conducted a survey study that analyzes the development, execution, and evaluation of ACs in N=43 South African organizations. We report findings regarding AC design, job analysis and job requirements assessed, target groups and positions of the participants after the AC, number and kind of exercises used, additional diagnostic methods used, assessors and characteristics considered in constitution of the assessor pool, observational systems and rotation plan, characteristics, contents, and methods of assessor training, types of information provided to participants, data integration process, use of self‐ and peer‐rating, characteristics of the feedback process, and features after the AC. Finally, we compare the results with professional suggestions to identify pros and cons in current South African AC practices and offer suggestions for improvement.     

Unhealthy fear: Influence of general health on fear of crime

The current study proposed general health as a predictor of fear of crime with risk perception and general fear as mediating factors. Data were collected from a randomly selected household sample using face to face interviews (n = 300) and utilizing the following scales: general health, general fear, fear of crime, and perceived risk of victimization. Findings confirm hypothesis that persons with low general health will experience higher fear of crime, a relationship mediated by both general fear and perceived risk of victimization. A significant gender difference was observed with general fear significantly mediating relationship for females, and risk of perceived victimization mediating for males. Implications of findings are discussed in the context of previous and future research.     

Possession consciousness,religious individualism,and subjectivity in Brazilian Umbanda

This article explores perceived changes in patterns of consciousness in relation to possession phenomena among a sector of urban practitioners of the Brazilian religion of Umbanda, and argues that these perceptions have been accompanied by the emergence of a more individualist approach to religious selfhood which aims to lay claim to a particular vision of Umbanda. These Umbandists understand their spirit universe in ontologically plastic terms, relativizing spirit identities much like Umbanda’s founders. The increasing emphasis given to conscious forms of possession tallies with a relatively new attention to the self and its awareness of tradition, thought to be lacking in previous generations. This article also defends that we can produce an anthropological understanding of possession as having cosmogonic rather than just expressive effects.     

Photography and Social Media Use in Community‐Based Participatory Research with Youth: Ethical Considerations

Community‐based participatory researchers increasingly incorporate photography and social media into their work. Despite its relative infancy, social media has created a powerful network that allows individuals to convey messages quickly to a widespread audience. In addition to its potential benefits, the use of social media in research also carries risk, given the fast pace of exchanges, sharing of personal images and ideas in high accessibility, low privacy contexts and continually shifting options and upgrades. This article contributes to the literature examining ethical considerations for photography and social media use in community‐based participatory research. We describe three key ethical dilemmas that we encountered during our participatory photography project with Latina/o youth: (a) use and content of images and risk; (b) incentives and coercion; and (c) social media activity and confidentiality. We provide our responses to these challenges, contextualized in theory and practice, and share lessons learned. We raise the question of how to contend with cultural shifts in boundaries and privacy. We propose that evaluating participant vulnerability versus potential empowerment may be more fitting than the standard approach of assessing risks and benefits. Finally, we recommend upholding the principles of participatory research by co‐producing ethical practices with one's participants.