Living with an other-race roommate shapes Whites' behavior in subsequent diverse settings

In a multi-phase research design over two academic semesters, White college students assigned to either a same-race or other-race roommate were tracked across two survey phases and a third phase involving an interracial interaction with a Black stranger. After four months, Whites who lived with an other-race roommate came to have more diverse friends and believe that diversity was more important than did Whites with a White roommate. After six months, self-reports, partner ratings, and nonverbal behavior indicated that Whites with an other-race roommate were less anxious, more pleasant, and more physically engaged during a novel interracial interaction. These results demonstrate that residential contact with other-race individuals not only affects race-related attitudes, but can also reduce interracial anxiety and positively influence behavior in subsequent diverse settings.     

Critical issues confronting the advancement of applied sport psychology

Abstract

Despite considerable progress over the last 10 years, applied sport psychology confronts several persistent issues that continue to limit the growth and development of the field. Specifically, issues requiring more comprehensive and proactive attention and initiatives include: the training of graduate students, the accreditation of graduate programs, the job market, and the establishment of systematic educational outreach programs. Suggestions are offered regarding how enhancements in each of the aforementioned issues can be initiated, and potential benefits gained by students, faculty, and the general public are identified and discussed. Given the climate in many academic institutions emphasizing program downsizing, sport psychology may be approaching and confronting one of the most crucial crossroads in its existence. Without direct efforts to assure academic credibility and public confidence in the standards of training and practice, sport psychology may fail to actualize a meaningful future role in the competitive field of allied health service provision.     

Contingencies of self-worth: Progress and prospects

Over a century ago, William James (1890) proposed that the impact of success and failure on self-esteem depends on the domains in which self-esteem is invested. In this chapter, we review a relatively new programme of research that aims to (a) develop and validate a measure of this construct, (b) develop the implications of James's idea for psychological vulnerability and self-regulation, and (c) examine the consequences of investing self-esteem in particular domains for goal pursuit, and the costs and benefits of goal pursuit that is driven by contingencies of self-worth.     

Word‐of‐mouth and the forecasting of consumption enjoyment

The digital era has permitted rapid transfer of peer knowledge regarding products and services. In the present research, we explore the value of specific types of word-of-mouth information (numeric ratings and text commentary) for improving forecasts of consumption enjoyment. We present an anchoring-and-adjustment model in which the relative forecasting error associated with ratings and commentary depends on the extent to which consumer and reviewer have similar product-level preferences. To test our model, we present four experiments using a range of hedonic stimuli. Implications for the provision of consumer WOM are discussed.     

Conceptualizing Psychopathy: A Psychodynamic Approach

Drawing from analytic theory and clinical conceptualization, three major types of psychopathy are detailed: Superego deficit, aggression driven, and sadism. The types of psychopathy are discussed in terms of their overlap with personality disorders. The range of sadism is charted from the enjoyment of inflicting pleasure to the borderline manifestations in compulsive reenactments in psychopathic patients. Two categories of antisocial behavior— low social intelligence and poor impulse control—are elaborated clinically as inconsistent with the psychodynamic formulation of characterological psychopathy. The divergence between psychodynamic and behavioral approaches to antisocial behavior is discussed, and unresolved enigmas in the formulation of psychopathy are outlined.     

Of words and tools 1

Further to Herman Tennessen's recent methodological criticisms of Linguistic philosophy, the present paper seeks to offer some theoretical criticisms. Two main claims of Linguistic philosophy are examined: (1) that the concept of ‘use’ satisfactorily explains how words and expressions are meaningful; and (2), that the correspondence theory of meaning has been successfully repudiated. After a brief exposition, the explanation is further specified as being analogical (words are like tools). Six objections (semantical, logical and psychological) are suggested. It is concluded that not only is the explanation not satisfactory, but that some of the same problems of the older theory may also be implicit in the ‘use’ theory.     

The Treatment of the Young Delinquent by J. Arthur Hoyles

On the rationale that group psychotherapy focuses on interaction processes in close relationships, our study sought to investigate the hypothesis that small group therapy would be effective in enhancing intimate friendship in a dyadic relationship. The study group consisted of 102 elementary school students who had been referred for counseling help. Matched by age, sex, and similarity of problem, each pair of students was divided into an experimental group (N = 55) and a control group (N = 47). The experimental group contained eight small treatment groups and the control group contained seven matching small groups, leaving one special education group with no control. The results support our hypothesis that group psychotherapy positively affects intimate friendship of girls and boys. They further suggest the boys' need for such an experience, since without it they markedly deteriorate in intimate friendship. Implications for the group leader are derived from the correlations between gains in intimate friendship and group intimacy.     

Group Psychotherapy—The Psychoanalytic Approach by S. H. Foulkes and E. J. Anthony

Group therapists often lead consultation groups. For effective leadership it is important to distinguish between consultation groups and psychotherapy groups. A consultation group is one in which a leader serves as consultant to the members. Group process variables of task, contract, role of the leader, and effect of the larger system should be understood by the consultant. The process of defining, testing, and maintaining these variables encourages exploration of resistance and parallel process, and is an important aspect of the ongoing learning. Consultation group leaders should understand the importance of serving as group leader but not group therapist.     

The Integration of Behavior,Vol. III by Thomas M. French

This article presents a model for understanding development within children's psychotherapy groups. It is proposed that two complementary cultures exist within children's groups, one, indigenous peer culture, strictly of the children's making and the other, therapeutic group culture, created by the therapist in collaboration with group members. The therapist is wise to approach indigenous peer culture as an ethnographer might a native culture, with an emphasis on observation and seeking understanding rather than on intervention. The therapist can use the indigenous peer culture to speak to the children in their own language and eventually to engage them in collaboratively building a meaning system that is uniquely designed to address their psychotherapeutic needs. The article defines these concepts, develops them theoretically, and illustrates them clinically.     

Toward a diversity hypothesis: Multidimensional effects of intergroup contact

The long-standing and important contributions of the contact hypothesis in reducing prejudice in intergroup situations is augmented by the introduction of the diversity hypothesis. The diversity hypothesis argues that the positive consequences of diversity will occur when the following four conditions are met: (a) full participation occurs across all levels of society for membres of diverse ethnic, racial, and cultural groups; (b) the degree of participation approximates an appropriate index of representation for racial and ethnic groups; (c) common purpose across these levels of diversity is created; and (d) cultural identity is valued. The empirical evidence for these conditions and implications for the organizational advantages of diversity are discussed.