Conflict Transformation, Stigma, and HIV-Preventive Structural Change

Over the prior decade, structural change efforts have become an important component of community-based HIV prevention initiatives. However, these efforts may not succeed when structural change initiatives encounter political resistance or invoke conflicting values, which may be likely when changes are intended to benefit a stigmatized population. The current study sought to examine the impact of target population stigma on the ability of 13 community coalitions to achieve structural change objectives. Results indicated that coalitions working on behalf of highly stigmatized populations had to abandon objectives more often than did coalitions working for less stigmatized populations because of external opposition to coalition objectives and resultant internal conflict over goals. Those coalitions that were most successful in meeting external challenges used opposition and conflict as transformative occasions by targeting conflicts directly and attempting to neutralize oppositional groups or turn them into strategic allies; less successful coalitions working on behalf of stigmatized groups struggled to determine an appropriate response to opposition. The role of conflict transformation as a success strategy for working on behalf of stigmatized groups is discussed.     

Looking like a criminal: Stereotypical black facial features promote face source memory error

The present studies tested whether African American face type (stereotypical or nonstereotypical) facilitated stereotype-consistent categorization, and whether that categorization influenced memory accuracy and errors. Previous studies have shown that stereotypically Black features are associated with crime and violence (e.g., Blair, Judd, & Chapleau Psychological Science 15:674?C679, 2004; Blair, Judd, & Fallman Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 87:763?C778, 2004; Blair, Judd, Sadler, & Jenkins Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 83:5?C252002); here, we extended this finding to investigate whether there is a bias toward remembering and recategorizing stereotypical faces as criminals. Using category labels, consistent (or inconsistent) with race-based expectations, we tested whether face recognition and recategorization were driven by the similarity between a target??s facial features and a stereotyped category (i.e., stereotypical Black faces associated with crime/violence). The results revealed that stereotypical faces were associated more often with a stereotype-consistent label (Study 1), were remembered and correctly recategorized as criminals (Studies 2?C4), and were miscategorized as criminals when memory failed. These effects occurred regardless of race or gender. Together, these findings suggest that face types have strong category associations that can promote stereotype-motivated recognition errors. Implications for eyewitness accuracy are discussed.     

Forgetting in context: The effects of age, emotion, and social factors on retrieval-induced forgetting

Retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) refers to the finding that selectively retrieving some information impairs subsequent memory for related but nonretrieved information. This occurs both for the individual doing the remembering (i.e., within-individual retrieval-induced forgetting: WI-RIF), as well as for individuals merely listening to those recollections (i.e., socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting: SS-RIF). In the present study, we examined how the contextual factors of age and emotion independently and interactively affect both WI-RIF and SS-RIF. The results indicated that both WI-RIF and SS-RIF occurred at equivalent levels, both for younger and older adults and for neutral and emotional information. However, we identified a boundary condition to this effect: People only exhibited SS-RIF when the speaker that they were listening to was of the same sex as themselves. Given that participants reported feeling closer to same-sex speakers, this suggests that people co-retrieve more, and therefore exhibit increased SS-RIF, with close others. In everyday life, these RIF effects should influence what information is remembered versus forgotten in individual and collective memories.     

When a new group identity does harm on the spot: Stereotype threat in newly created groups

The detrimental consequences of negative stereotypes on performance have been demonstrated in a variety of social groups with various stereotypes. The present studies investigate the minimal conditions for stereotype threat using newly created groups. Results of three experiments (total N = 184) demonstrate that in the negative stereotype condition, the more participants identified with their novel group, the stronger was their decrease in performance. In the control condition, identification was either not related to performance, or it had by trend a positive effect. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed with regard to stereotype threat and social identity theory. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Individual differences in reappraisal ability: Links to reappraisal frequency, well-being, and cognitive control

Reappraisal is generally viewed as an adaptive emotion regulation strategy. Reappraisal frequency has been associated with greater well-being, and reappraisal ability is thought to be composed of several crucial cognitive control processes. However, the relationships among reappraisal ability, reappraisal frequency, well-being, and various cognitive control processes have not yet been determined. In this study, we experimentally examined individual differences in reappraisal ability (RA), and also assessed reappraisal frequency, well-being, and several cognitive control processes. We observed a positive relationship between RA, reappraisal frequency, and well-being. RA was also related positively to working memory capacity and set-shifting costs, and marginally related to abstract reasoning. These findings have important implications for understanding the cognitive components and affective outcomes of RA.     

Social comparisons in novel situations: finding inspiration during life transitions

The authors propose that individuals transitioning to a novel environment will prefer upward comparisons, particularly those made with individuals who have experienced a similar transition. Such comparisons help to reduce uncertainty and demonstrate that future success is possible. Study 1 found that individuals facing transitions to unfamiliar situations seek upward comparisons as a result of their uncertainty. Study 2 demonstrated that individuals who perceive themselves to be making a significant life transition are especially motivated by upward comparisons. Study 3 provided evidence that upward comparisons are especially inspiring to individuals making a transition to a novel cultural environment. Study 4 provided experimental evidence that individuals in a novel cultural environment are particularly inspired by upward comparisons with other newcomers. These studies suggest that upward comparisons with individuals who have experienced a similar transition enhance individuals' sense of control over future outcomes and play a key role during adjustment to novel environments.     

Effect of viewing plane on perceived distances in real and virtual environments

Three experiments examined perceived absolute distance in a head-mounted display virtual environment (HMD-VE) and a matched real-world environment, as a function of the type and orientation of the distance viewed. In Experiment 1, participants turned and walked, without vision, a distance to match the viewed interval for both egocentric (viewer-to-target) and exocentric (target-to-target) extents. Egocentric distances were underestimated in the HMD-VE while exocentric distances were estimated similarly across environments. Since egocentric distances were displayed in the depth plane and exocentric distances in the frontal plane, the pattern of results could have been related to the orientation of the distance or to the type of distance. Experiments 2 and 3 tested these alternatives. Participants estimated exocentric distances presented along the depth or frontal plane either by turning and walking (Experiment 2) or by turning and throwing a beanbag to indicate the perceived extent (Experiment 3). For both Experiments 2 and 3, depth intervals were underestimated in the HMD-VE compared to the real world. However, frontal intervals were estimated similarly across environments. The findings suggest anisotropy in HMD-VE distance perception such that distance underestimation in the HMD-VE generalizes to intervals in the depth plane, but not to intervals in the frontal plane. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

The fast and the dangerous: the speed of events influences risk judgements

A risk-as-feelings approach suggests that factors irrelevant to the potential risk can influence risk perception. This investigation focused on the speed of events as one such factor. Negative events that occur relatively quickly were judged as more likely to occur than events that occur more slowly. Speed influenced risk perception when it was salient and differences in risk perception were reduced when it was not salient. Further, the likelihood of a negative outcome was judged to be more likely when the same event was described as occurring relatively quickly compared to slowly. Even when only the speed at which information was presented changed, faster events were judged to be riskier than slower events. Theoretically, these findings suggest that speed of an event contributes to risk judgements and suggest speed may be the reason people fear fast but low incidence events and fail to fear slower but higher incidence events.     

An Ethical Decision‐Making Model to Determine Authorship Credit in Published Faculty–Student Collaborations

Publishing research is imperative to both counselor educators and students in counseling programs. Furthermore, faculty–student publication collaborations can often be a mutually beneficial professional endeavor. However, determining order of authorship can be a complex ethical issue. The authors review prior research to illustrate the complexities of authorship and suggest a decision‐making model and considerations for preventing and resolving these ethical dilemmas. Implications for counselors include future research studies on complex issues regarding authorship of faculty–student collaborations, future incidence studies investigating occurrence of ethics violations, and incorporation of publication ethics into course work in counselor education programs.     

When does random responding distort self-report personality assessment? An example with the NEO PI-R

Recent meta-analyses suggest that, notwithstanding almost 100 years of study, concerns about the impact of response biases on the validity of self-report personality scales remain to be justified. This study addresses the topic by demonstrating that random responding is indeed an issue for self-report personality scales, and that limitations associated with base rates exist that affect the ability of moderated multiple regression to evaluate fully the effects of a response bias. Overall, it is suggested that dismissing response biases as a concern for self-report personality assessment is premature when based only on a lack of significant regression moderator effects.