A motivational hierarchy within: Primacy of the individual self,relational self,or collective self?

The individual self, relational self, and collective self are important and meaningful aspects of identity. However, they plausibly differ in their relative importance such that one self lies closer to the motivational core of the self-concept, better represent the “home base” of selfhood, or, simply stated, is motivationally primary. Four multi-method studies tested the relative motivational-primacy of the selves. Despite their disparate methods, the studies yielded consistent evidence of a three-tiered hierarchy with the individual self at the top, followed by the relational self, and trailed at the bottom by the collective self. The same hierarchy emerged in the Eastern culture of China and the Western cultures of the US and UK. Such pancultural consistency suggests that the motivational hierarchy is a fundamental pattern of the human self.     

Determination of emotional endophenotypes: a validation of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales and further perspectives

The study of endophenotypes, notably with configured self-reports, represents a promising research pathway to overcome the limits of a syndromal approach of psychiatric diseases. The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) is a self-report questionnaire, based on neuroethological considerations, that could help to assess emotional endophenotypes related to the activity in 6 core cerebral emotional systems (FEAR, ANGER, SADNESS, CARING, PLAYFULNESS, SEEKING). We further investigated its psychometric properties among 830 young adults and showed that they were satisfactory. As participants also completed several other self-reports that shared potential traits with the ANPS, we offer new validity evidence based on relations to other variables. We also provide additional evidence to consider that the ANPS scores can be validly interpreted for the characterization of emotional endophenotypes involved in a variety of psychiatric disorders. On the grounds of present results, of previous clinical studies, as well as some preliminary neuroimaging findings, we discuss new steps in the ANPS validation.     

A three city comparison of the public's knowledge and attitudes about AIDS

A survey of knowledge, beliefs and attitudes about AIDS was administered simultaneously in San Francisco, New York and London to a total of 399 persons. The aim was to investigate how such knowledge and attitudes may he influenced by social and cultural contexts, as well as by disease epidemiology. Across all samples of the general public (excluding risk group members) in the three cities, general fear of AIDS and anti-gay attitudes were significantly negatively correlated with knowledge about AIDS. In the London sample, general fear of AIDS and anti-gay attitudes were significantly and positively associated with both sexual and general health behavior change. Only sexual behavior change, however, was significantly correlated with general fear of AIDS and anti-gay variables for the New York sample. Neither of these variables was significantly associated with behavior change of any kind in the San Francisco sample. We accounted for these inter-city differences by proposing a four-stage model of public response to an epidemic over time. Our data support the need for specific programs aimed at the general public that take into account sociocultural and AIDS epidemiologic differences across different sociocultural contexts.     

Using stressful films to analyze risk factors for PTSD in analogue experimental studies – which film works best?

Abstract

To understand mental disorders, analogue paradigms provide an indispensable contribution. In posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the stressful film paradigm is a frequently used analogue approach: Films depicting traumatic events are shown to non-clinical participants in order to elicit stress responses analogue to responses to traumatic events in real life. Previous studies used a large variety of films, which is problematic with regard to the comparability of results. The main goal of this study was to identify a film clip that (a) consistently provokes stress reactions and (b) provokes reactions that are as similar as possible to traumatic stress.

We randomly exposed 105 male and female participants to one of four stressful films, differing, e.g., in content and origin. Intrusive memories of the film, reported immediately after the film and during a diary phase of three days, as well as distress, heart rate, and several mood states were measured. A film clip depicting rape elicited the most consistent reactions that were characterized by a higher heart rate, more distress and more intrusive memories, compared to the other three clips. Intrusive memories across all films were especially related to an increase in heart rate and disgust in response to the film.     

Color Preference and Food Choice Among Children

The effects of color on children's food choices were investigated. Subjects were 120 children who were equally distributed among each of the combinations of age (5 vs. 9 years old), sex (male vs. female), food type (3 types of candies), and color (red, green, yellow, and orange) in a counterbalanced, factorial, analysis-of-variance design with repeated measures on subjects. A significant main effect for color indicated that children preferred foods that were red, green, orange, and yellow, in that order. Interpretation of this main effect was not interfered with by main effects or interaction terms involving age, sex, or food type, which served as alternative rival hypotheses.     

Will moral outrage stand up?: Distinguishing among emotional reactions to a moral violation

Moral outrage—anger at violation of a moral standard—is claimed to be a prevalent and powerful moral emotion. However, evidence for moral outrage has been compromised by failure to distinguish it from personal anger—anger at harm to self—felt by victims of a moral violation. Although it does not seem possible to distinguish these two forms of anger by measurement, it is possible to do so by experimental manipulation of their distinct eliciting conditions. Extending previous research, the current study manipulated how a victim (self vs. stranger) was excluded (fairly vs. unfairly) from a favorable experience. Reported anger and behavioral retribution provided evidence of personal anger and revenge, not of moral outrage. These findings suggest that the prevalence and power of moral outrage has been exaggerated. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanisms of moral disengagement and their differential use by right‐wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation in support of war

Right‐wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) are associated with the approval of war as a political intervention [McFarland, 2005]. We examined whether the effects of RWA and SDO on war support are mediated by moral‐disengagement mechanisms [i.e., responsibility reduction, moral justification, minimizing consequences, and dehumanizing–blaming victims; Bandura, 1999] and whether the ideologies use the mechanisms differently. Our data were consistent with the possibility that minimizing consequences (Study 1) and moral justification (Study 2) mediate the effects of RWA and SDO on approval of war. Both ideologies were positively associated with all moral‐disengagement mechanism though more strongly so for RWA. Comparisons within ideologies suggest that RWA was most strongly associated with moral justification and SDO was most strongly associated with dehumanizing–blaming victims. We discuss implications and limitations. Aggr. Behav. 36:238–250, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Der Einsatz von Hausaufgaben in der Psychotherapie

Homework is not only an essential part of cognitive-behavioral treatment but is also used in a variety of other therapy approaches. Its positive relation to therapy outcome has been proved. In consequence, patients’ compliance with homework assignments is an important therapeutic goal. In the last years, numerous papers focused on recommendations for enhancing acceptance and completion of homework assignments. The present article provides an overview about existing recommendations. Proposals are summarized and opposed to empirical studies on single homework procedures and their influence on homework compliance. Due to a lack of empirical data, the effectiveness of most recommendations could not yet be proved. General problems in homework study design and possible directions of further research addressing homework use are discussed.     

Spiritual resilience: Understanding the protection and promotion of well-being in the later life

Spirituality is important to a large percentage of the older adult population and serves as a key factor of resilience. Using qualitative research, we conducted and analyzed interviews with 64 participants willing to discuss their experiences with adversity. Participants ranged in age from 52 to 93 with a mean age of 74. For the purposes of this study, we analyzed 46 of the 64 interviews, selecting participants who indicated that spirituality was an important resource for managing hardship. The researchers examined the connections between spirituality and resilience. Using in-depth interviews, we explored the interplay between spirituality and resilience and the importance spirituality plays in dealing with adversity and hardship. A grounded theory analysis of the 46 interviews was performed. Major findings include participants’ use of spirituality as a tool to promote and maintain resilience in late life in five key domains: reliance on relationships, spiritual transformation, spiritual coping, power of belief, and commitment to spiritual values and practices. Results are presented as an interpretation of the participants’ perceptions of their spirituality, and indicate their reliance on spirituality to overcome hardship. In addition, we discuss the connections between spirituality and resilience and how these connections play out in the lives of older adults when considering their generational and cohort status. The roles these two constructs play in the lives of older adults are considered.     

Neighborhood Identity Helps Residents Cope with Residential Diversification: Contact in Increasingly Mixed Neighborhoods of Northern Ireland

Research on residential diversification has mainly focused on its negative impacts upon community cohesion and positive effects on intergroup relations. However, these analyses ignore how neighborhood identity can shape the consequences of diversification among residents. Elsewhere, research using the Applied Social Identity Approach (ASIA) has demonstrated the potential for neighborhood identity to provide social and psychological resources to cope with challenges. The current article proposes a novel model whereby these “Social Cure” processes can enable residents to cope with the specific challenges of diversification. We present two studies in support of this model, each from the increasingly religiously desegregated society of postconflict Northern Ireland. Analysis of the 2012 “Northern Ireland Life and Times” survey shows that across Northern Ireland, neighborhood identity impacts positively upon both well‐being and intergroup attitudes via a reduction in intergroup anxiety. A second custom‐designed survey of residents in a newly mixed area of Belfast shows that neighborhood identification predicts increased well‐being, reduced intergroup anxiety, and reduced prejudice independently of group norms and experiences of contact. For political psychologists, our evidence suggests a reformulation of the fundamental question of “what effects do residential mixing have on neighborhoods?” to “how can neighborhood communities support residents to collectively cope with contact?”