Why does social dominance orientation decrease with university exposure to the social sciences? The impact of institutional socialization and the mediating role of “geneticism”

Why does university exposure to a hierarchy‐attenuating (HA) academic major (e.g., social science) lead to a decrease in anti‐egalitarianism and group domination (social dominance orientation, SDO)? The reason for this well‐documented phenomenon remains unclear. In the social sciences, the origins of differences in both behavior and personality are attributed more to social and environmental factors than to genetic ones. We hypothesized that the normative and informational influences of this academic major would lead to perceptions that genes have a less important role than nurture in the shaping of human behavior and personality. Our main hypothesis was confirmed. Decreased SDO among psychology students was mediated significantly by a decrease in belief in genetic determinism, the factor we called “geneticism.” Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personal Relative Deprivation: A Look at the Grievous Consequences of Grievance

Stouffer et al. (1949) have first coined the term ‘relative deprivation’ to account for unexpected grievance expressed by members of a fortunate group. Many researchers have built on this work and have concluded that a person's feeling of deprivation is relative rather than absolute. In other words, deprivation stems from a social comparison with better‐off persons. In this chapter, a brief summary of the ground‐breaking research on relative deprivation is presented followed by an overview of research on overt and covert responses to personal relative deprivation. In accounting for the silent reactions of the underprivileged, we mainly focus on recent research linking personal relative deprivation to psychological disengagement. Turning to the responses of members of privileged groups, we take into account personal relative deprivation and gratification. Our concluding remarks suggest that responses of both the underprivileged and the privileged concur to the maintenance of the status quo.     

Self-reported adjustment of teenagers at soccer training centers: the Soccer Trainee Adjustment Scale

The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire to measure adjustment of teenagers at soccer training centers, particularly newcomers. The Soccer Trainee Adjustment Scale was adapted from the Institutional Integration Scale and assesses the trainee's adjustment to operating and social activities. The scale was tested on a sample of 136 trainees from four soccer centers. Exploratory analysis indicated that the 13 items formed five factors: peer adjustment, boarding supervisor adjustment, soccer adjustment, scholastic adjustment, and boarding adjustment. These factors had internal consistency reliability ranging from .76 to .94.     

Automaticity for numerical magnitude of two-digit Arabic numbers in children

This paper examines the automatic processing of the numerical magnitude of two-digit Arabic numbers using a Stroop-like task in school-aged children. Second, third, and fourth graders performed physical size judgments on pairs of two-digit numbers varying on both physical and numerical dimensions. To investigate the importance of synchrony between the speed of processing of the numerical magnitude and the physical dimensions on the size congruity effect (SCE), we used masked priming: numerical magnitude was subliminally primed in half of the trials, while neutral priming was used in the other half. The results indicate a SCE in physical judgments, providing the evidence of automatic access to the magnitude of two-digit numbers in children. This effect was modulated by the priming type, as a SCE only appeared when the numerical magnitude was primed. This suggests that young children needed a relative synchronization of numerical and physical dimensions to access the magnitude of two-digit numbers automatically.     

The development of automatic numerosity processing in preschoolers: evidence for numerosity-perceptual interference

Three experiments examined developmental changes in the automatic processing of numerosity and perceptual information using a nonsymbolic numerical Stroop paradigm. In Experiments 1 and 2 (E1 and E2), 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds had to compare the numerosities or the total filled areas of collections of dots (E1) or bars (E2) varying along both dimensions. Experiment 3 replicated E2's results in 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds. Results demonstrated the existence of reciprocal influences between numerical and perceptual information beginning at age 3. Moreover, the irrelevant perceptual influences remained stable throughout development, whereas the sensitivity to irrelevant numerical cues tended to increase with age despite children's growing inhibition capacities. No significant correlation could be found between these developmental changes and the acquisition of counting knowledge.     

Influence of suggestion in the DRM paradigm: what state of consciousness is associated with false memory?

We assessed the effect of suggestion on the Deese–Roediger–McDermott paradigm and associated it with the Remember–Know–Guess paradigm. Undergraduate students were given either lists of semantically related words or texts containing these words. After the recall task, if participants did not produce the critical lure, the experimenter suggested that the word had been present, using either a question (moderate suggestion) or an assertion (strong suggestion); these conditions were compared to a condition without suggestion. Afterwards, participants took a recognition test. The results showed that strong suggestions lead to more false recognitions than other conditions and the state of consciousness associated with false recognitions tends to be a feeling of knowing rather than remembering, regardless of the verbal version (list or text). Therefore moderate suggestions did not lead to more false recognitions compare to no suggestion. We discuss the impact of suggestion on consciousness associated with false memories.     

On the neurobiological redefinition of psychiatric symptoms: elimination,reduction, or what?

Synthese - Because biologization of psychiatric constructs does not involve derivation of laws, or reduce the number of entities involved, the traditional term of ‘reduction’ should be...     

Does impulsivity relate to perceived dependence on and actual use of the mobile phone?

Several authors have studied the risks arising from the growth in mobile phone use (e.g. large debts incurred by young people, banned or dangerous use of cellular phones). The aim of this study is to analyse whether impulsivity, which has often been related to various forms of addictive behaviours, is associated with massive use of and dependence on the mobile phone. In this study, 108 female undergraduate psychology students were screened using a questionnaire evaluating actual use of and perceived dependence on the mobile phone, and with the French adaptation of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale. This scale identifies four distinct components associated with impulsive behaviour: Urgency, lack of Premeditation, lack of Perseverance, and Sensation Seeking. The results showed that a relationship can be established between the use of and perceived dependence on the cellular phone and two facets of impulsivity: Urgency and lack of Perseverance. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.