Structural model of acculturation attitudes and related psychosocial variables: Empirical evidence in native Spaniards

This work falls within the framework of the study of acculturation processes of natives and immigrants. Its goal is to test an explanatory multi‐group model of natives' acculturation attitudes as a function of diverse psychosocial variables: Prejudice and natives' appraisal of their own culture (in a direct way) and inter‐group contact and perceived inter‐group similarity (in an indirect way). Participants were 499 Spaniards surveyed for their attitude towards Romanian immigrants and 493 towards Ecuadorian immigrants. The indicators used took into account three socio‐cultural spheres: peripheral, intermediate and central areas. This multi‐group model shows an adequate fit to the data.     

Authenticity as a eudaimonic construct: The relationships among authenticity,values, and valence

The construct of authenticity is thought of as an expression of individuality and eudaimonic well-being. Yet, previous research has related state authenticity more to positive affect and pleasant behavior. We examine the extent to which feeling authentic is a reflection of personally held standards of worth (values) and authenticity’s relationship with affective states. We also examine whether feelings of authenticity are facilitated by dispositional authenticity. Study 1 had participants debate benevolent behavior (N = 199). In study two (N = 124) and three (N = 146), participants described memories where they acted in concordance or against their values, in both pleasant and unpleasant contexts. We found a relationship between acting in accordance with one’s values and experiencing authenticity, thus demonstrating that authenticity is a form of eudaimonic well-being, which is closely related to, but distinct from, affective states. We found less consistent associations between dispositional authenticity and momentary authentic feelings.     

Neurocognition in schizophrenia: a study of the productivity and visibility of Spanish authors

This paper provides a map of the scientific productivity of authors affiliated to a Spanish institution and who have addressed one of the most important current topics in schizophrenia: The study of cognitive performance. A search of the Web of Science yielded 125 articles that met the inclusion criteria. In order to provide a comprehensive overview of scientific productivity, we examine several bibliometric indicators, concerning both productivity and impact or visibility. The analysis also focuses on qualitative aspects of key theoretical importance, such as the kinds of cognitive functions that are most often assessed and the tests most widely used to evaluate them in clinical practice. The study shows that interest in the subject of cognitive function in schizophrenia has increased considerably in Spain since the beginning of this century. The results also highlight the need to standardize the type of tests to be used in the cognitive assessment of patients with schizophrenia.     

An Assessment of the Dynamic of Religious Ritualism in Sporting Environments

The main focus of this study is the analysis of the link between sport, leisure and the behavior, and phenomenon of religion. From the qualitative point of view of social anthropology, fieldwork has been carried out with different informers from different sporting environments. Rather than directly show the fieldwork itself, we have decided to present an interpretation of it through an analysis of the environments, behaviors, attitudes, the discourse of leisure and sport and its relationship with market forces, advertising and the media. In this regard, we point out a reality which for some people is their conscience or reason for being, opening new directions of study and viewpoints in this area of sporting and health studies.     

Cultural Training Based on a Theory of Relational Ideology

This article describes the development of a theory-based cross-cultural training intervention, named relational ideology training, and reports a field experiment testing its effectiveness in facilitating intercultural collaborations. The intervention was based on our Protestant relational ideology (PRI) theory and cross-cultural research derived from this theory. An experiment compared the effectiveness of this novel intervention with the well established cultural assimilator training. Results show that compared to cultural assimilator training, relational ideology training is more effective in improving managers' task performance and affective adjustment in cross-cultural ventures. Important practical and theoretical benefits can be gained from integrating theoretical advances in cultural psychology into cross-cultural training. We discuss the implications of RI training as an empirically validated intervention for Americans living locally yet working globally.     

Exoneration reduces adult conflict's effects on preschoolers' cognitions, behavioral distress, and physiology

In this experiment, the authors investigated the influence of exoneration from blame on children's overt behavioral distress and physiological reactivity following the presentation of overheard adult conflict. The participants were 48 children (48-71 months of age) and their mothers. Through random assignment, the authors presented 16 children with statements that exonerated them from an overheard disagreement between two adults, did not address 16 during a similar disagreement, and presented 16 with a neutral discussion of difficulties. Exonerated children responded with less distress than did nonaddressed children, but did not differ from children presented the neutral discussion, except for overt behavioral distress. Nonaddressed children most often blamed themselves for the argument. Exonerating statements may protect children from attributional error and resultant physiological arousal during adult conflict.     

A brief scale to assess cognitive impairment in psychiatric patients

The Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry(SCIP) is a brief instrument designed to assess cognitive deterioration in patients with psychiatric disorders, for example, schizophrenia. This study presents the first results obtained with the Spanish version of the SCIP in its three parallel forms with a sample of university students, these results being compared with those obtained with the English version. It is concluded that although there are no form effects, and that therefore the different forms can be used without distinction, there are certain practice effects on some of the instrument's sub-scales. There is also a language effect that may be due to sample and/or cultural characteristics. Finally, in both versions intra-class correlation coefficients and factorial structure are very similar.     

Naive causal understanding of valenced behaviors and its implications for social information processing

People bring to bear on their understanding of others' behaviors naive theories of the causes of valenced behaviors. Generally, positive behaviors are understood to be caused by social demands, whereas negative behaviors are understood to be caused by people's dispositions. Various research findings are reviewed in support of the idea that people possess such naive theories. The analysis is extended to establish how these sense-making tendencies affect the manner in which people approach and process information about others. A second set of studies is reviewed in support of these implications for person perception. Comparisons to other models of social inference are considered, implications of the frame-work are examined, and the framework is situated within a general model of the attribution process.     

Cholesterol and Aggression: An Ethnocultural Perspective

Although serum cholesterol has for several decades been linked to atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, cardiovascular primary prevention studies that have resulted in low or lowered cholesterol have not reduced total mortality. This finding may be due in part to an increase in mortality from suicides, homicides, and accidents among people with low or lowered serum cholesterol. This article attempts to review the literature on cholesterol and aggressive behavior, examines possible links connecting the two, and suggests an ethnocultural perspective to these connections.