Brexit or Bremain? A person and social analysis of voting decisions in the EU referendum

The period following UK's European Union referendum in 2016 foreshadows significant social and political change in the UK. The current research draws on social psychological theories to empirically examine the drivers of voting decisions during the referendum. We report the results of a prospective study using structural equation modelling with data (N = 244) collected just before, and self‐reported voting behaviour immediately following (N = 197), the European Union referendum. We employ a person and social approach to examine the additive roles of worldview, conservatism, social identity, and intergroup threat as predictors of voting intentions and behaviour. Results showed that person factors (worldview and conservatism) predicted voting intentions through social factors (European identity and realistic threat) and that intentions predicted behaviour. The results highlight the importance of addressing threat‐based intergroup rhetoric and the potential of common in‐group identity to mitigate psychological threat.     

The relation between rumination and temporal features of emotion intensity

Intensity profiles of emotional experience over time have been found to differ primarily in explosiveness (i.e. whether the profile has a steep vs. a gentle start) and accumulation (i.e. whether intensity increases over time vs. goes back to baseline). However, the determinants of these temporal features remain poorly understood. In two studies, we examined whether emotion regulation strategies are predictive of the degree of explosiveness and accumulation of negative emotional episodes. Participants were asked to draw profiles reflecting changes in the intensity of emotions elicited either by negative social feedback in the lab (Study 1) or by negative events in daily life (Study 2). In addition, trait (Study 1 & 2), and state (Study 2) usage of a set of emotion regulation strategies was assessed. Multilevel analyses revealed that trait rumination (especially the brooding component) was positively associated with emotion accumulation (Study 1 & 2). State rumination was also positively associated with emotion accumulation and, to a lesser extent, with emotion explosiveness (Study 2). These results provide support for emotion regulation theories, which hypothesise that rumination is a central mechanism underlying the maintenance of negative emotions.     

Trait Forgiveness and Dyadic Adjustment Predict Postnatal Depression

The birth of a first child can be stressful on intimate partner relationships and the women having their first child. Conflict can occur, and hurts might be experienced, which could lead to post-partum depression. Thus, capacity for forgiveness with specific hurts might affect post-partum depression. We investigated women having their first child (N?=?52), and examined whether dyadic adjustment, trait forgiveness, and situational forgiving during pregnancy predicted postpartum depression. This study found that marital forgiveness predicted lower levels of depression above and beyond the effects of general dyadic adjustment. Dyadic adjustment and trait forgiveness predicted postpartum depression while situational forgiving was mixed. Postpartum depression researchers are encouraged to consider the inclusion of positive psychology variables, such as forgiveness, in future research studies.     

The Need for and Possibility of a Christian Forgiveness Education in Schools

Individuals and communities occasionally need asking and giving forgiveness. Because the process of forgiving is not always well understood, it has become necessary to consider including forgiveness education in school pedagogy and in formal school programs such as Citizenship Education. This possibility is illustrated with examples from South Africa and The Netherlands. To date, forgiveness education has mostly taken the form of brief research interventions. It is recommended that forgiveness education, also from a Christian viewpoint, be given a more prominent place in school curriculums as well as in teacher education programs.     

Working with Research Integrity—Guidance for Research Performing Organisations: The Bonn PRINTEGER Statement

This document presents the Bonn PRINTEGER Consensus Statement: Working with Research Integrity—Guidance for research performing organisations. The aim of the statement is to complement existing instruments by focusing specifically on institutional responsibilities for strengthening integrity. It takes into account the daily challenges and organisational contexts of most researchers. The statement intends to make research integrity challenges recognisable from the work-floor perspective, providing concrete advice on organisational measures to strengthen integrity. The statement, which was concluded February 7th 2018, provides guidance on the following key issues:

1. § 1.
   Providing information about research integrity
    
2. § 2.
   Providing education, training and mentoring
    
3. § 3.
   Strengthening a research integrity culture
    
4. § 4.
   Facilitating open dialogue
    
5. § 5.
   Wise incentive management
    
6. § 6.
   Implementing quality assurance procedures
    
7. § 7.
   Improving the work environment and work satisfaction
    
8. § 8.
   Increasing transparency of misconduct cases
    
9. § 9.
   Opening up research
    
10. § 10.
    Implementing safe and effective whistle-blowing channels
     
11. § 11.
    Protecting the alleged perpetrators
     
12. § 12.
    Establishing a research integrity committee and appointing an ombudsperson
     
13. § 13.
    Making explicit the applicable standards for research integrity
     

     

Ego depletion improves insight

Initial acts of self-control can reduce effort and performance on subsequent tasks – a phenomenon known as ego depletion. Ego depletion is thought to undermine the capacity or willingness to engage executive control, an important determinant of success for many tasks. We examined whether ego depletion improves performance on a task that favours less executive control: insight problem solving. In two experiments, participants completed an ego-depletion manipulation or a non-depleting control condition followed by an insight problem-solving task (i.e., matchstick arithmetic). Participants in the depleting condition demonstrated greater insight problem-solving accuracy than those in the non-depleting control condition. Priming theories of willpower did not impact these results. Although ego depletion is widely regarded as a “state of impairment”, attendant decreases in executive control may foster insightful thinking.     

The Impact of Home Ownership on Life Satisfaction in Urban China: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

China has implemented a series of socioeconomic reforms since 1978. One of the reforms allows urban residents to purchase their own houses rather than renting houses from state institutions which has resulted in a rapid increase in home ownership. This paper estimates the impact of home ownership on life satisfaction in urban China on the basis of the 2010 wave of the China General Social Survey. Special attention is paid to the methodological problem of confoundedness between the determinants of home ownership and life satisfaction. Propensity score matching (PSM) is applied to control it. The results show that PSM reduces upward estimation bias caused by confoundedness and that it is more appropriate to control confoundedness than ordered probit regression. The estimates furthermore indicate that home ownership has a significant positive impact on life satisfaction of medium- and high income urban residents. For low income urban residents, the impact is also positive, though insignificant. The outcomes connect to the objectives of national development policy and thus have several important policy implications. First, the central and local governments, especially in provinces where it is still low, may want to continue stimulating home ownership as it enhances life satisfaction. Secondly, specific programs may be designed to make home ownership financially affordable for low income groups. Thirdly, local governments may want to initiate or intensify urban (renewal) programs to improve poor public facilities including public transportation, green space and sports accommodations in the immediate vicinity of depressing low income neighborhoods.