Identity Status,Gender, and Social Comparison Among Young Adults

The aim of this study was to investigate identity status globally and across identity domains among young Swedish adult women and men. Also, potential differences in social comparison among identity statuses were evaluated. The results showed that most of the 124 participants (50% women, M_age 33.29 years) were assigned to an achieved global identity and had made identity-defining commitments across domains. Gender differences in identity status were found in the occupational and parenthood domains. In addition, differences in social comparison orientation were found only in the parenthood domain, whereas those assigned to moratorium scored higher in social comparison than did those assigned to foreclosure and diffusion. These results bring important knowledge to our understanding of identity during young adulthood.     

Toward a new approach to the study of personality in culture

We review recent developments in the study of culture and personality measurement. Three approaches are described: an etic approach that focuses on establishing measurement equivalence in imported measures of personality, an emic (indigenous) approach that studies personality in specific cultures, and a combined emic-etic approach to personality. We propose the latter approach as a way of combining the methodological rigor of the etic approach and the cultural sensitivity of the emic approach. The combined approach is illustrated by two examples: the first with origins in Chinese culture and the second in South Africa. The article ends with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the combined emic-etic approach for the study of culture and personality and for psychology as a science.     

Variations of the cognitive interview: Which one is the most effective in enhancing children's testimonies?

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effectiveness of the combination of instructions used in the Cognitive Interview (CI) and the effectiveness of a new mnemonic, the ‘cued recall’ (CR), on children's recall and suggestibility levels. In the first experiment, 229 children, ages 4–5 and 8–9, participated in a painting session. They were then interviewed with one of six interview protocols: A full CI, four of its variations, or a Structured Interview (SI). The children were then asked some misleading questions. All of the variations of the CI elicited more correct details than the SI, without a concomitant in errors or confabulations. Moreover, the CI with the change order instruction (CO) omitted reduced the children's suggestibility level. In the second experiment, this variation of the CI was tested on 57 children. Results confirmed the effectiveness of this protocol. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrating cross-cultural psychology research methods into ethnic minority psychology

Multicultural psychology has 2 related but often disconnected streams, namely cross-cultural psychology and racial and ethnic minority psychology (Hall & Maramba, 2001). We propose that advances in both fields will be facilitated if there is greater cross-fertilization, especially in methodological approaches given that proponents in both fields are interested in studying and understanding the role and impact of culture on human behavior. To facilitate this cross-fertilization, we present 3 methodological approaches that would be of value in racial and ethnic minority psychology. First, we present an overview of the importance of and the approaches to evaluating and establishing measurement equivalence. Second, we discuss recent advances in the understanding of conceptual equivalence in light of indigenous approaches, cultural manipulation, and multilevel analysis. Third, we present a combined etic-emic approach to cross-cultural personality research as illustrated by the Cross-Cultural Personality Assessment Inventory developed by Fanny Cheung and her colleagues.     

认同整合——自我和谐之路

认同整合(Identity integration)是认同研究领域的一个新的研究思路。认同整合是一个特质性的概念, 用于测量同时具有两(多)重不同身份认同者如何看待他们的两(多)重身份之间的关系的个体差异。个体可能认为他们所拥有的两(多)重身份是和谐统一的, 也可能认为这两(多)种身份之间是相互对立, 相互分离, 或者彼此冲突的。认同整合的概念已经被用于文化、种族和性别等领域的研究, 并被证明对文化适应、心理健康和创造性等有积极作用。但作为新概念, 需要深入探讨其作用机制及对其他相关领域的贡献, 尤其是探讨如何在中国背景下应用该概念来解决实际问题。     

Alteration of cingulate long-term plasticity and behavioral sensitization to inflammation by environmental enrichment

Exposure to an enriched environment (EE) has been shown to induce cortical plasticity. Considerable amount of research is focused on the effects of EE in the hippocampus; however, effects of EE on other brain regions and the mechanisms involved are not well known. To investigate this, we induced cortical plasticity by placing mice in an EE for one month and measured the effects of EE in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Here, we show that EE enhanced the expression of the plasticity gene, egr-1, in the ACC of EE animals accompanied by enhanced cingulate long-term potentiation (LTP) and decreased cingulate long-term depression (LTD). The increased NMDA receptor NR2B/NR2A subunits current ratio is associated with the plasticity seen in the ACC while total protein levels remain unchanged. Furthermore, behavioral experiments show that these mice exposed to EE demonstrate enhanced responses to acute and long-term inflammation. Our findings suggest that exposure to EE alters physiological properties within the ACC which results in enhanced responses to inflammation.