Cross-cultural psychology: A symbiosis of cultural and comparative approaches

Culture–behaviour relationships can be understood in relation to many dimensions. It is argued that the cultural, indigenous and comparative traditions of research are mutually compatible, and indeed permit a symbiotic approach. This symbiosis produces a generic field, that of cross-cultural psychology, into which the three traditions can be incorporated, and permits the pursuit of a universal psychology.     

The Fisher-Pitman permutation test: an attractive alternative to the F test

The Fisher-Pitman permutation test is shown to possess significant advantages over conventional alternatives when analyzing differences among independent samples with unequal variances.     

The Terpstra-Jonckheere test for ordered alternatives: randomized probability values

An algorithm and FORTRAN program are presented for the Terpstra-Jonckheere test statistic and associated probability value based on a randomization routine.     

Gender stereotyping and decision processes: extending and reversing the gender bias in fame judgments

M. R. Banaji and A. G. Greenwald (1995) demonstrated a gender bias in fame judgments--that is, an increase in judged fame due to prior processing that was larger for male than for female names. They suggested that participants shift criteria between judging men and women, using the more liberal criterion for judging men. This "criterion-shift" account appeared problematic for a number of reasons. In this article, 3 experiments are reported that were designed to evaluate the criterion-shift account of the gender bias in the false-fame effect against a distribution-shift account. The results were consistent with the criterion-shift account, and they helped to define more precisely the situations in which people may be ready to shift their response criterion on an item-by-item basis. In addition, the results were incompatible with an interpretation of the criterion shift as an artifact of the experimental situation in the experiments reported by M. R. Banaji and A. G. Greenwald.     

Self-enhancement among high-exposure survivors of the September 11th terrorist attack: resilience or social maladjustment?

The authors examined self-enhancing bias as a predictor of adjustment among individuals in or near the World Trade Center during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Resilience was defined from categorical and continuous analyses of both participant self-report and friend and relative ratings of adjustment. Self-enhancement was associated with a resilient outcome, ratings of better adjustment prior to September 11th, greater positive affect, and reduced perceptions of social constraints. Additional analyses indicated that self-enhancers' reduced symptom levels were fully mediated by their low perceived social constraints. However, consistent with previous evidence suggesting a social cost to self-enhancement, at 18 months post-September 11th, self-enhancers' friends and relatives also rated them as decreasing in social adjustment and as being less honest.     

Reliability and validity of a twelve-minute walking test for coronary heart disease patients

This study examined the reliability and validity of a 12-min. walking test for coronary heart disease patients. CHD patients (28 men, 18 women) were recruited out of 86 CHD patients of the Martini Hospital Groningen, The Netherlands. 46 CHD patients (age M=66.0 yr., SD=6.8) participated in the reliability study and 24 (age M=62.0 yr., SD=9.2) in the validity study. A test-retest analysis showed a satisfactory Bland-Altman plot and an intraclass coefficient of .98. The Pearson correlation between the score on the test and the VO2 peak was .77. This test gives a reliable and valid assessment of cardiorespiratory fitness of CHD patients.     

Effects of the periodic administration of odor or vibration on a 3-hr. vigilance task

The present study examined performance during 3 hr. of simulated sentry duty with and without the intermittent administration of low-level sensory stimuli (odor or vibration). For odor and control conditions, target-detection latency increased steadily over the course of the 3-hr. session. Administration of a tactile stimulus reduced the increase in detection latency compared to that found in odor and control conditions. For all conditions, there were no significant differences in target-detection frequency, shot accuracy, or friend-foe discrimination. Across all conditions, restlessness (motor activity) increased significantly the first hour and remained elevated for the rest of the session. Subjective measures of workload (NASA-TLX) indicated that the 3-hr. task rated high on physical demand, mental demand, frustration, and overall workload. These findings suggest that the intermittent delivery of a clearly detectable tactile stimulus can reduce reaction-time decrements that occur as time on task increases.     

Being in the Moment and Shifting Self-Perspectives

Being in the moment can either heighten self-awareness through observation and interpretation or result in temporary loss of self through experiences of flow. Patients who can flexibly shift between these self-perspectives benefit the most from treatment. When patients risk breaking away from their fixed patterns, they experience a greater sense of aliveness and engagement. Patients who focus too much on the past or too little on the present have problems being centered. Case studies and Antonioni's film Blowup (1966) illustrate how our lives take on renewed meaning through sustaining a present focus.     

Unmitigated communion, social constraints, and psychological distress among women with rheumatoid arthritis

The personality trait of unmitigated communion, an extreme focus on relationships that has been associated with self-neglect, has been linked to poorer outcomes for both men and women, but is more common among women. This longitudinal study is the first to examine the influence of unmitigated communion on adaptation to a chronic illness that affects a much greater proportion of women to men. Women with rheumatoid arthritis completed measures of unmitigated communion, social constraints, and psychological distress at study entry and repeated the distress measure one year later. As expected, unmitigated communion was associated with psychological distress. Cross-sectional moderation analyses indicated that low social constraints buffered the negative effects of unmitigated communion.