Personality, intelligence and proof-reading

Two studies sought to determine personality and cognitive ability correlates of proof-reading. In both studies candidates were given 5 min to identify up to 55 errors in a 920 word, two page document. In Study 1, which tested 240 school children, fluid intelligence (as measured by the Baddeley Reasoning Test) was the highest correlate of proof-reading (r = .30). Eleven percent of the variance in total attempted scores was accounted for by intelligence, Introversion and low Conscientiousness. In the second study 70 undergraduates completed the same proof-reading test along with two intelligence tests (Baddeley Reasoning Test; Wonderlic Personnel Test) and a more robust personality measure (NEO-FFI). Proof-reading was correlated with both intelligence tests (Baddeley r = .45; Wonderlic r = .40). More of the variance was accounted for in the total attempted-score of errors than for a correct errors-detected score. When the two intelligence and five personality trait scores were regressed on to the proof-reading test score over a quarter of the variance (Adj R² = .28) was accounted for, but only the Baddeley test was a significant predictor (Beta = .39).     

The impact of acknowledgement and denial of responsibility for harm on victim groups' perceptions of justice,power, and intergroup attitudes

Acknowledgement of responsibility for in‐group harmdoing is considered a precondition for reconciliation. However, we know little about its impact on victim groups. Using a mixed methods approach, in two studies in Bangladesh we examined the role of acknowledgement and denial of responsibility on intergroup outcomes. Study 1 used an open‐ended survey to assess Bangladeshis' perceptions about acknowledgement and denial of responsibility for the mass violence committed by the Pakistani army on Bangladeshis during the 1971 war. Study 2 experimentally examined the effects and the potential mechanisms (emotional reactions, perceived injustice, and relative power) through which acknowledgement and denial of responsibility impact two intergroup outcomes: out‐group animosity and willingness for contact. Both studies demonstrated the importance of anger and perceived injustice as mediators of the effects of acknowledgement and denial of responsibility on intergroup outcomes. We draw implications for theory and for strategies to address past victimization across different contexts of conflict.     

Speaking up versus standing one's ground: The role of women's social networks in confronting street harassment

Street harassment against women is an understudied form of gender-based violence that severely limits women's safety and freedoms. One potential way of addressing street harassment is directly intervening against it, that is, the woman experiencing harassment confronts the perpetrator. However, this may be difficult to do in contexts where harassment is pervasive. In the context of a grassroots women's empowerment organisation in Dhaka, Bangladesh, I examined the relationship between women's positions in the social network structure of a group that espouses a norm of speaking up against street harassment, and their levels of displaying this behaviour. I hypothesised that an individual's network centrality would be associated with their engagement in behaviours that are prescribed by the group social norm; specifically, speaking up against street harassment. This hypothesis was not supported. However, exploratory analyses indicated that network centrality was a significant (negative) predictor of the participant's tendency to remove herself from the situation when harassed and a significant positive predictor of self-efficacy for intervening against street harassment. This indicates that position in the network may play a role in confronting street harassment, though not through originally hypothesised mechanisms. Theoretical and pragmatic implications of these findings for engaging in intervention against street harassment are discussed.     

Women’s Income-generating Activity and Experiences of Economic Intimate Partner Violence in Rural Bangladesh

Sex Roles - Economic coercion is a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) that is distinct from but often co-occurs with physical, psychological, and sexual IPV. Women’s experiences of...     

The role of lay beliefs about group transgressions in acceptance of responsibility for ingroup harm-doing

Denial of responsibility by perpetrator groups is the most common response to group-based transgressions. Refusal to acknowledge responsibility has dire consequences for intergroup relations. In this research we assessed whether shifting lay beliefs about group-based transgressions in general influences acceptance of responsibility for a specific ingroup transgression. In two experimental studies we manipulated lay beliefs about group transgressions as reflecting either a group's stable character (i.e., a global defect construal) or a specific characteristic (i.e., a specific defect construal). Specific defect construals (compared to global defect construals) increased acceptance of ingroup responsibility by increasing group malleability beliefs, but reduced acceptance of ingroup responsibility by reducing the ingroup's perceived moral failure. These effects were moderated by ingroup superiority in Study 1, but not Study 2. We draw implications for our understanding of mechanisms of denial of responsibility, identity threat, and coping with this threat.     

The moderator role of intuitive versus deliberative decision making for the predictive validity of implicit and explicit measures

The Preference for Intuition and Deliberation (PID) scale aims at capturing stable general individual differences in terms of intuitive versus deliberative preferences in decision making. A study examined the psychometric properties of the English version of the PID, investigated whether the two subscales moderate the validity of implicit and explicit measures for incidental and deliberative evaluations and behaviours concerning fizzy soft drinks, and compared the predictive validity of two new implicit measures (ST‐IAT and ID‐EAST) and an explicit measure. Results showed an asymmetric weak double dissociation pattern only for behaviours. Additionally, a moderation effect suggested that the ST‐IAT better predicted sensory evaluation for people high in intuition and explicit attitudes better predicted benefit evaluation for people high in deliberation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Patients’ Perceptions on Their Involvement in Medical Education: A Qualitative Pilot Study

Patients’ perception with regards to their use in medical teaching is an under-researched area in Pakistan. The objective of this qualitative, pilot study was to determine the perspectives of hospital admitted patients on their being used in the medical education of students in a private medical institution. An attempt to understand the dynamics of interactions between patients, students and doctors was also made and to see how this affected the doctor-patient relationship. A qualitative study with in-depth interviews was conducted in a private medical college of Islamabad, Pakistan with a total of 20 adult patients. The focus was on their experiences with bedside teaching. This pilot study reveals interesting findings about patient-physician interactions in Pakistan. Patients had a traditionally passive role in medical education putting more onuses on the doctor to impart knowledge to the medical students. Patients comforted themselves in the knowledge that they were following Allah’s command when they were involved in the teaching of medical students. The apparent altruism of Pakistani patients in this study was influenced mainly by religious reasons, following the commandments of Allah to help develop future healers for humanity. The culture evident in the medical college where this study was conducted is reflective of the social power ladders that pervade Pakistani society. The positions of doctors and medical teachers in Pakistani society are hardly challenged to debate. Little attention has been paid to the values that influence the cultural and social frameworks within which Pakistani medical teachers, medical students and the patients function.     

Engaging with Faith Councils to Develop Stoma-specific Fatawās: A Novel Approach to the Healthcare Needs of Muslim Colorectal Patients

Intestinal stomas are common. Muslims report significantly lower quality of life following stoma surgery compared to non-Muslims. A fatwā is a ruling on a point of Islamic law according to a recognised religious authority. The use of fatawās to guide health-related decision-making has becoming an increasingly popular practice amongst Muslims, regardless of geographic location. This project aimed to improve the quality of life of Muslim ostomates by addressing faith-specific stoma concerns. Through close collaboration with Muslim ostomates, a series of 10 faith-related questions were generated, which were posed to invited local faith leaders during a stoma educational event. Faith leaders received education concerning the realities of stoma care before generating their fatawās. The event lead to the formulation of a series of stoma-specific fatawās representing Hanafi and Salafi scholarship, providing faith-based guidance for Muslim ostomates and their carers. Enhanced communication between healthcare providers and Islamic faith leaders allows for the delivery of informed fatawās that directly benefit Muslim patients and may represent an efficient method of improving health outcomes in this faith group.     

Cross-Cultural Measurement of Positive and Negative Emotions in Adolescence: Evidence from Three Countries

Journal of Happiness Studies - Cross-cultural assessment of affective well-being among adolescents has received scarce attention in positive psychological research. The present study investigated...