Perceived social structural relations and group stereotypes: A test of the Stereotype Content Model in Malaysia

Using data from two studies, the current research tests the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) within a Malaysian context using Chinese and ethnic Malay participants. The aim of the research is to examine the theoretical underpinnings of the SCM in a new context by investigating the role of aspects of the perceived social structure that have not been considered previously. In line with the SCM it is found that the two dimensions of warmth and competence underlie in‐group and out‐group stereotypes in Malaysia. In addition, the in‐group was evaluated more positively than the out‐group on both dimensions. Furthermore, perceived economic social status rather than cultural or power status was related to out‐group competence (Study 1), and to out‐group warmth (Studies 1 and 2). Higher perceived economic competition was weakly and not consistently associated with less out‐group warmth, and political competition was not related to warmth.     

Attentional modulation of electrophysiological activity in auditory cortex for unattended sounds within multistream auditory environments

In three experiments, we addressed the issue of attention effects on unattended sound processing when one auditory stream is selected from three potential streams, creating a simple model of the cocktail party situation. We recorded event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to determine the way in which unattended, task-irrelevant sounds were stored in auditory memory (i.e., as one integrated stream or as two distinct streams). Subjects were instructed to ignore all the sounds and attend to a visual task or to selectively attend to a subset of the sounds and perform a task with the sounds (Experiments 1 and 2). A third (behavioral) experiment was conducted to test whether global pattern violations (used in Experiments 1 and 2) were perceptible when the sounds were segregated. We found that the mismatch negativity ERP component, an index of auditory change detection, was evoked by infrequent pattern violations occurring in the unattended sounds when all the sounds were ignored, but not when attention was focused on a subset of the sounds. The results demonstrate that multiple unattended sound streams can segregate by frequency range but that selectively attending to a subset of the sounds can modify the extent to which the unattended sounds are processed. These results are consistent with models in animal and human studies showing that attentional control can limit the processing of unattended input in favor of attended sensory inputs, thereby facilitating the ability to achieve behavioral goals.     

Between Country Variations in Self-Rated-Health and Associations with the Quality of Life of Older People: Evidence from the Global Ageing Survey

In social science and public health earlier research has persistently reported significant socio-economic inequalities in health, inequalities in the use of health care and self rated-health (SRH) among older adults. However, relatively little attention is paid to the link between SRH and the overall quality of life (QoL) of older adults. Utilising the data collected in the Global Ageing Survey (GLAS) 2006-07, the study explores the linkages between the self-rated-health and quality of life among older adults in 21 countries and territories in five major regions of the world. The QoL was assessed by two survey instruments designed to capture subjective as well as objective appraisals of individual quality of life. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to examine the influence of SRH on the QoL. The analyses reveal that there are health inequalities across different age cohorts and this remains consistent for all selected countries and territories. As expected the proportion reporting poor health increases with age in most countries. The net effect of health status on QoL has also been analysed subsequently in multivariate models using ordered logistic regression analysis and is adjusted for two main demographic variables - age and gender. Findings show that age plays an important role alongside with health on the overall quality of life. The study also reveals that females are found to be more likely to have been depressed compared to their male counterparts.     

Electrical properties of thin films of a-Ga x Te100− x composed of nanoparticles

Thin films of Ga _x Te_{100? x} (x?=?3, 6, 9 and 12) have been synthesized by thermal evaporation. From SEM images, it is observed that all the films contain nanoparticles of sizes varying from 100 to 200?nm. The dc electrical conductivity of the as-deposited films of Ga _x Te_100?x nanoparticles is measured as a function of temperature range from 298 to 383?K, and increases exponentially with temperature. The value of the activation energy, calculated from the slope of ln?σ _dc versus 1000/T plots, is found to decrease with increase in the Ga content. On the basis of the value of the pre-exponential factor σ _o, it is suggested that the conduction is due to thermally assisted tunneling of carriers in localized states near the band edges. The optical measurements suggest an indirect optical band gap in this system. The value of the optical band gap decreases on increasing the Ga concentration.     

The Influence of Instructions to Correct for Bias on Social Judgments

We examined how instructions to correct for bias influenced judgments of a male target person whose behavior towards a female was either negative or ambiguous. Half of the female participants with egalitarian or traditional views about gender were instructed to correct for bias prior to reading the vignette. All participants rated his negative behavior unfavorably. In the non-instructed condition, participants with a traditional bias rated the ambiguous male behavior more favorably than participants with an egalitarian bias. However, in the instructed condition, this pattern was reversed. Results demonstrate that the evaluative implications of behavior can impact correction effects.     

The locus of location repetition latency effects.

We examined the processing locus (location vs. response) of location repetition effects in terms of the event [target (t) or distractor (d)] that initially occupied and then re-occupied the repeated location (i.e., t-to-t, t-to-d, d-to-t, d-to-d). Trials were presented in pairs (prime, then probe) and 2:1 location-to-response mappings were used. Generally, for all repetition conditions, perceptual processing at the repeated location itself was facilitated (location locus), while re-activated responses delayed output production (response locus). More specifically, perceptual facilitation observed for a repeated location was independent of the kind of processing (i.e., t or d) that occurred earlier, suggesting that it is not the labeling of locations as relevant or irrelevant that determines location repetition effects. Response production was significantly slowed only when a just-inhibited response had then to be executed, which supported the view that the spatial negative priming effect has a response locus.     

Is mindfulness associated with stress and burnout among mental health professionals in Singapore?

High levels of stress and burnout have been reported among mental health professionals worldwide, including Singapore, with concerning potential implications for the quality of patient care. Mindfulness has been associated with decreased stress and burnout; however, associations between mindfulness, stress, and burnout have not been examined in Singapore. The aim of this study was to investigate whether mindfulness is associated with stress and burnout among healthcare professionals working in a mental health setting in Singapore. A total of 224 Singaporean mental health professionals completed a cross-sectional survey which included measures of: mindfulness (observe, describe, act with awareness, non-judge, and non-react), stress, and burnout (exhaustion and disengagement). Using multiple regression, significant negative associations were found between each of the mindfulness facets and: stress, exhaustion, and disengagement, while controlling for years of experience. Of the five mindfulness facets, act with awareness demonstrated the strongest negative association with all three variables. This study showed that mental health professionals in Singapore who have higher levels of mindfulness also have lower levels stress and burnout (disengagement and exhaustion). Future longitudinal research is warranted to better understand the directionality of these associations, with implications for the development of interventions aimed to reduce stress and burnout within this population.