Major world events and discrimination

It is known that a major world event caused by one group can influence perceptions of other social groups. The impact of the events of September 11, 2001 on religious and ethnic discrimination in the UK was assessed. Of seven ethnic groups, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, who were primarily Muslim, reported the greatest increase between pre- and postevent discrimination. So, the attacks on the USA by al-Qaeda, a radical Islamic organization, activated discrimination against people of Islamic faith in the UK. These results highlight links between world events and intergroup relations, and may serve to remind norm violators that the harm they do to people of other groups can impact people of groups perceived to share their values, even in geographically distant places.     

Fair process revisited: Differential effects of interactional and procedural justice in the presence of social comparison information

The competing views of fairness theory ( [Folger and Cropanzano, 1998] and [Folger and Cropanzano, 2001]) and fairness heuristic theory (Van den Bos, Lind, Vermunt, & Wilke, 1997) were tested by studying the effects of interactional (IJ), procedural (PJ), and distributive justice (knowledge of others’ outcomes [OO]) upon evaluations of outcome fairness and customer satisfaction. The participants, 369 undergraduates, were randomly allocated to scenario-based experimental conditions. A 2 (IJ) × 2 (PJ) × 4 (OO) MANOVA and stepdown analyses provided evidence of “fair process” across all levels of distributive justice for outcome fairness (p<.001) and satisfaction (p<.001), but only in relation to the effects of interactional justice. No such effects were found for procedural justice. Implications for the development of justice theory are discussed.     

On how we perceive the social world. Criticizing Gallagher's view on direct perception and outlining an alternative

Criticizing Gallagher’s view on direct perception, I develop a basic model of social perception. According to the Cartesians another person’s intentions (and similar properties) are not directly accessible to an observer. According to the cognitivist Cartesians (quasi-)conscious processes are necessary for social understanding. According to the Anti-Cartesians (Gallagher’s view) social perception is direct. Since both of these latter approaches face serious problems, I will argue in favor of an alternative: anti-cognitivist Cartesianism. Distinguishing between an active- and a passive part of the perceptual system we can describe the situation as follows: Some functionally individuated parts of our nervous system generate percepts that correspond to the properties that causally trigger the system, whilst others form percepts of properties that do not causally trigger the system. The model is basic in that it merely helps clarifying some of the fundamental concepts we need in order to describe empirical findings.     

Analogous activities: Tools for thinking comparatively in religious studies courses

This article discusses an experiential teaching method that uses secular activities that are simple, accessible, and analogous to religious practice in order to facilitate comparative religious study. These “analogous activities” – for example, social rituals, stillness, yoga, a social media fast, singing, nonviolent communication, and mindfulness meditation – provide a third point of reference that allows students to pivot between their understanding of religion and those of practitioners and scholars of religion. Experiential learning can be quite successful if deliberately sequenced to allow students to encounter a series of interpretive frameworks and structured with prompts and parameters that encourage reflection and critical analysis of their experience. In my course engaging in analogous activities not only impacted students' understanding of Asian religions, but also led them to question two previous assumptions: first, that religious beliefs were more important than religious practices, which is particularly problematic in regards to Asian religious traditions that place more emphasis on orthopraxy than orthodoxy, and second, that religion was something separate from one's everyday or lived reality.     

Cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder and comorbidity: more of the same or less of more?

This study compared the effects of a higher dose of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for panic disorder versus CBT for panic disorder combined with "straying" to CBT for comorbid disorders in individuals with a principal diagnosis of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. Sixty-five participants were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions, either CBT focused solely upon panic disorder and agoraphobia or CBT that simultaneously addressed panic disorder and agoraphobia and, to a lesser degree, the most severe comorbid condition. Results indicated a significant reduction in panic disorder severity and a decline in severity of comorbid diagnoses across both treatment conditions. However, individuals receiving CBT focused only on panic disorder were more likely to meet high end-state functioning at post-treatment, even in intent-to-treat analyses, and report zero panic attacks at the 1-year follow-up, although this effect was not retained in intent-to-treat analyses. At follow-up, CBT focused only on panic disorder yielded more substantial improvement in the most severe baseline comorbid condition, although not in intent-to-treat analyses, and a greater proportion of individuals in this treatment condition were rated as having no comorbid diagnoses, even in intent-to-treat analyses. These findings raise the possibility that remaining focused on CBT for panic disorder may be more beneficial for both principal and comorbid diagnoses than combining CBT for panic disorder with 'straying' to CBT for comorbid disorders.     

Imagination as laboratory

The theme, 'Science and the Symbolic', may be approached via either concept. From one side, we may track how imagination, fantasy, and even dreams have initiated scientific theory and lines of research. From the other, we may look to the mythopoeic musings of the human mind for themes of proto-science and/or proto-psychology, and attempt to discern if they follow a method which may be called scientific. Neuroscientists such as Edelman and Llinas honour imagination as the carrier of emergent properties, and depth psychoanalysts see it as a vector toward actualization. What mind imagines through what the alchemists termed 'true imagination' may eventually be realized through what brain and body may conceive and execute.     

What makes a girl (or a boy) popular (or unpopular)? African American children's perceptions and developmental differences

Open-ended questions were used to obtain narrative accounts of what makes a girl (or a boy) popular (or unpopular) at school. The participants were 489 African American students in Grades 1, 4, and 7 recruited from high-risk inner-city neighborhoods. Appearance and self-presentation were mentioned the most in Grades 4 and 7. Prosocial characteristics were especially relevant for popularity in Grade 1, as were studentship in Grade 4 and peer affiliations in Grade 7. Deviant behaviors were nominated for popularity more frequently in Grade 7 than in the younger grades and more for boys' popularity than for girls'. The mean deviance scores were negative in all grade levels, suggesting a normative peer culture. Male groups in Grade 7 showed significant homophily in reports of deviant behaviors.     

Factor analytic properties of the Quality of Life Profile: examination of the nine subdomain Quality of Life Model

The Quality of Life Profile is a 54-item multidimensional measure of quality of life. The measure is based upon a theoretical approach that considers quality of life to include satisfaction with nine subdomains of functioning. To date, the factor structure of this 54-item collection has not been examined. To do so, an examination was made of the factor structure that emerged from an administration to 219 gay men, half of whom were HIV+. Analysis indicated that seven subdomains were clearly represented in seven of the 11 factors that emerged. One subdomain was fractured into two factors and one subdomain did not appear in the factor structure. Two minor factors appeared to represent issues that may be especially important to gay men living in the HIV era. The study provides insights into the structure of quality of life among gay men living in Ontario.     

Unusual but sound minds: Mental health indicators in spiritual individuals

Previous research has linked certain types of modern spirituality, including New Age and Pagan, with either benign schizotypy or insecure attachment. While the first view emphasizes a positive aspect of spiritual believers’ mental health (benign schizotypy), the second view emphasizes a negative aspect, namely the unhealthy emotional compensation associated with an insecure attachment style. This study addresses these two conflicting views by comparing a sample of modern spiritual individuals (N = 114) with a contrast group of traditional religious believers (N = 86). Measures of schizotypy and attachment style were combined with mental health scales of anxiety and depression. We further assessed death anxiety to determine whether modern spiritual beliefs fulfilled a similar function as traditional religious beliefs in the reduction of existential threat. Our results support a psychological contiguity between traditional and modern spiritual believers and reinforce the need to de‐stigmatize spiritual ideas and experiences. Using hierarchical regression, we showed that unusual experiences and ideas are the major predictor of engagement in modern spiritual practices. Anxiety, depression variables, and insecure attachment were not significant predictors of spirituality or correlated with them; on the other hand, the results show that spiritual believers report high social support satisfaction and this variable predicts involvement in modern spirituality. Further, spiritual practices were negatively correlated with and negatively predicted by death anxiety scores. Overall, the results strengthen the association between modern spirituality, good mental health, and general well‐being.