When Authoritarians Confront Prejudice. Differential Effects of SDO and RWA on Support for Hate‐Speech Prohibition

Two nationwide representative studies (N = 653 adolescents; N = 1007 adults) investigated the psychological correlates of the intention to penalize public expressions of prejudice in the form of support for hate‐speech prohibition. We presented participants with preselected examples of hate speech from the Internet and other mass media and assessed their willingness to support the prohibition of public expressions of such remarks. Both studies found that social dominance orientation and right‐wing authoritarianism are positively correlated with outgroup prejudice, but they have differential effects on hate‐speech prohibition. Social dominance orientation was positively related to the acceptance of hate speech, whereas right‐wing authoritarianism was positively related to hate‐speech prohibition. In discussing this counterintuitive finding, we suggest that right‐wing authoritarians are particularly vigilant toward norm violations—and this makes them more punitive toward counternormative expressions of prejudice, such as hate speech.     

Emotional Distress Associated with Surgical Treatment and its Relationship with Coping Profiles Among Chronically ill Older Patients

The study determines the patterns of coping styles among older patients with hip osteoarthritis and assesses the derived profiles in terms of perceived stress and anxiety before and after arthroplasty. Sixty-one hospital patients (mean age 70.3 years) were analysed one day before arthroplasty and three months after. The participants were assessed with the Brief-COPE (coping style), PSS-10 (perceived stress) and STAI (anxiety) psychometric tests. Four coping patterns were yielded using data clustering: rational, enterprising (resourceful), potentially maladaptive and flexible. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated a main effect within subjects but did not indicate that decreases of stress and anxiety varied differently between groups. Cluster 1 (a coping profile characterised by high helplessness, low active coping, high avoidance) reported significantly greater stress and anxiety than all other groups before and after hip replacement, while clusters 2 (flexible), 3 (resourceful) and 4 (rational) were characterised by similar levels of anxiety and stress. Older patients with osteoarthritis might differ in terms of emotional response to surgical treatment. Screening for coping styles at admission to hospital may indicate more vulnerable individuals.     

Measuring Cultural and Creative Activities in European Cities: Challenges and Practical Problems with Existing Indices

For decades, the focus of cultural, social, and economic policies has been shifting to cities. Cities with the highest concentration of creative employment have demonstrated the greatest resilience in the post-2008 economic recovery. Although, over the last few years, there has been an explosion of cultural or creative related indices for cities, no single reference index is commonly accepted. The main thrust of this article is the provision of a systematic and practical framework for a common point of departure for future index developers. To this end, 38 of the most influential culture and creativity indices were reviewed. By adoption of the indicator-driven approach, 16 dimensions corresponding to aspects of culture and creativity were identified in the city context. These dimensions are presented in a novel taxonomy of 3 clusters that aims to distinguish indicators capturing core cultural and creative activities from those oriented on measuring cities’ organic background or socio-economic outcomes of the aforementioned activities. In addition, the main obstacles most commonly faced by index developers are described and grouped into 4 distinct conceptual challenges, namely (a) precision, (b) diversity, (c) comparability, and (d) spillover. Each challenge is discussed in detail, accompanied by a systematic approach to its solution.     

Is Symptomatic Long QT Syndrome Associated with Depression in Women and Men?

We examined whether long QT syndrome (LQTS) mutation carrier status or symptomatic LQTS are associated with depression, and whether there are sex differences in these potential relationships. The sample comprised 782 participants (252 men). Of the 369 genetically defined LQTS mutation carriers, 169 were symptomatic and 200 were asymptomatic. The control group consisted of 413 unaffected relatives. Depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). No association was found for LQTS mutation carrier status with depression. The multinomial logistic regression showed that LQTS mutation carrier men with arrhythmic events scored higher on depression compared with the control group, even when adjusting for age, β-blockers, antidepressants, and social support (OR = 1.09, 95 % CI [1.02, 1.15], p = .007). The binary logistic regression comparing symptomatic and asymptomatic LQTS mutation carriers showed that symptomatic LQTS was associated with depression in men (OR = 1.10, 95 % CI [1.03, 1.19], p = .009). The results were unchanged when additionally adjusted for education. These findings suggest that symptomatic LQTS is associated with depression in men but not in women. Overall, however, depression is more frequent in women than men. Thus, regular screening for depression in LQTS mutation carriers and their unaffected family members can be important.     

Stanisław Brzozowski’s performative criticism

Stanis?aw Brzozowski was active as philosopher and literary critic for only a few years at the turn of the twentieth century, yet his writings are still inspire contemporary thinkers and critics. In every important phase of the development of Polish literary criticism, Polish intellectuals have acknowledged Brzozowski as a writer who had the courage and critical acumen to confront modernity and examine closely contemporary trends of thought from the perspective of social and individual life. This continued presence of the celebrated critic cannot but be interesting for the researcher who is led to ask, what is so intriguing in Brzozowski’s work, why do successive generations of critics and intellectuals return to Brzozowski? Drawing on many important interpretations of Brzozowski’s work (Burek, G?owiński, Nycz), I want to show that in Brzozowski’s work it is possible to find everything contemporary criticism and thought needs, because his books contain, in nuce, projects and strategies which can be (and are) used in different ways by critics representing different ideologies and worldviews. Brzozowski worked out, or rather attempted to work out, ideas which are a source of modern critical projects but in addition his work comprises a repertoire of possibilities which contemporary critical thought can turn to its advantage. Brzozowski’s work can be also treated as a performative act, calling forth the reader’s response, in this way shedding new light on it. I also show that “performative consciousness” is both close to Brzozowski’s practice of writing and deeply rooted in his philosophical conviction. Brzozowski can be considered a representative of modernist, critical literature, in which reading and writing become a mode of experience, a privileged social discourse, and a “leaven,” an act and an activity.     

The role of rehearsals in self-generated prospective memory tasks

In order to inquire into the nature of retrieval in prospective memory in a naturalistic context, we investigated the number and circumstances of rehearsals of different kinds of intentions to be pursued during a single time period. Thirty-six students were given four minutes to generate a list of tasks they were planning to perform over the course of 10 days. During this retention interval, they were provided with pocket-size diaries in which they recorded the details of each occasion they thought about the tasks previously listed. As to the nature of any triggers or cues that prompted rehearsal, the participants were asked to choose one of three alternatives: (1) association with an internal or an external cue that accidently appeared in the surroundings (accidental rehearsals), (2) deliberate thinking, e.g. while planning (self-initiated rehearsals), (3) recollection that spontaneously popped into one's mind for no apparent reason (no-trigger rehearsals). The results showed that thoughts about intended actions appeared more often after accidental cues than for no apparent reason. However, the relative contribution of self-initiated triggers to the rehearsal process was substantial: Most importantly, it was the self-initiated rehearsal that differentiated between executed and unexecuted actions. In addition, the most activated intention resulted in a higher frequency of no-trigger and self-initiated rehearsals than the remaining intentions. Finally, perceived intention importance was positively related to both the number of rehearsals and the likelihood of successful task completion. The results are discussed with regard to which factors may be crucial for the successful performance of participants' own self-generated intentions in a natural setting. The role of deliberate rehearsal in specifying the details of the intended action and its designated retrieval context is highlighted.     

Does identification predict community involvement? Exploring consequences of social identification among the Jewish minority in Poland

Previous research indicated that people who strongly identify with their own group are more involved in the group's actions. The current study examines the relation between three dimensions of group identification (affect, ties, centrality) and forms of community involvement among members of the Jewish minority in Poland. The strength of ingroup ties predicted involvement in the ethnic minority community. The link between identification and involvement was mediated by the cultural dominance. The reported study was the first quantitative survey of the Jewish community in post‐War Poland. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Men's attraction to women's bodies changes seasonally

Humans exhibit seasonal variation in hormone levels, behaviour, and perception. Here we show that men's assessments of women's attractiveness change also seasonally. In five seasons (from winter 2004 to winter 2005) 114 heterosexual men were asked to assess the attractiveness of the same stimuli: photos of a female with three different waist-to-hip ratios; photos of female breasts, and photos of average-looking faces of young women. For each season, the scores given to the stimuli of the same category (body shape, breast, and face) were combined. Friedman's test revealed significant changes for body shape and breast attractiveness assessments across the seasons, but no changes for face ratings. The highest scores for attractiveness were given in winter and the lowest in summer. We suggest that the observed seasonality is related to the well-known 'contrast effect'. More frequent exposure to women's bodies in warmer seasons might increase men's attractiveness criteria for women's body shape and breasts.