Going to extremes for one's group: the role of prototypicality and group acceptance

To explore who goes to aggressive and antisocial extremes on behalf of their group we primed perceptions of (a) group prototypicality (peripheral vs. central) and (b) ease of acceptance by the group. Participants were members of self‐significant groups—fraternities and sororities (N = 218). Drawing on social identity theory, uncertainty‐identity theory and the social identity theory of influence through leadership, we found, as predicted, that peripheral members who believed it was easy to be accepted were most likely to intend to engage in and support antisocial and aggressive intergroup behaviors. This effect was somewhat stronger among males than females, and strengthened among the most highly identified participants. The research's potential for understanding socially harmful intergroup violence is noted.     

A Note on Recurring Misconceptions When Fitting Nonlinear Mixed Models

Nonlinear mixed-effects (NLME) models are used when analyzing continuous repeated measures data taken on each of a number of individuals where the focus is on characteristics of complex, nonlinear individual change. Challenges with fitting NLME models and interpreting analytic results have been well documented in the statistical literature. However, parameter estimates as well as fitted functions from NLME analyses in recent articles have been misinterpreted, suggesting the need for clarification of these issues before these misconceptions become fact. These misconceptions arise from the choice of popular estimation algorithms, namely, the first-order linearization method (FO) and Gaussian-Hermite quadrature (GHQ) methods, and how these choices necessarily lead to population-average (PA) or subject-specific (SS) interpretations of model parameters, respectively. These estimation approaches also affect the fitted function for the typical individual, the lack-of-fit of individuals’ predicted trajectories, and vice versa.     

A Population-Based Study of Children’s Well-Being and Health: The Relative Importance of Social Relationships,Health-Related Activities,and Income

This study investigated how various risk and protective factors interface with child health and well-being at the population level. Specifically, we examined the association of income, social-contextual variables, and indicators of health-related habits and activities to children’s life satisfaction and perceived overall health. Child data were collected via a self-report survey, the Middle Years Development Instrument, which was administered in three demographically diverse Canadian school districts to 5026 grade 4 students (83 % of the students had complete data and were included in the analyses). Multiple regression and mediation analyses were conducted to examine the joint associations of social relationships with adults and peers, nutrition and sleep habits, and after school sports activities with children’s satisfaction with life and perceived health. Results indicate that peer belonging and relationships with adults at home and school were the strongest predictors of life satisfaction. Furthermore, the (small) association between income and life satisfaction was mediated by social relationship variables. Child reports of perceived health were predicted by peer belonging, adult relationships (home, school, neighborhood), after-school team sports, and nutrition habits. The (small) association between income and health was mediated by social relationships and team sports participation. Findings are discussed in light of previous research on social determinants and socio-economic gradients of children’s health and life satisfaction.     

Feminist Philosophy of Disability: A Genealogical Intervention

This article is a feminist intervention into the ways that disability is researched and represented in philosophy at present. Nevertheless, some of the claims that I make over the course of the article are also pertinent to the marginalization in philosophy of other areas of inquiry, including philosophy of race, feminist philosophy more broadly, indigenous philosophies, and LGBTQI philosophy. Although the discipline of philosophy largely continues to operate under the guise of neutrality, rationality, and objectivity, the institutionalized structure of the discipline implicitly and explicitly promotes certain ontologies, epistemologies, and methodologies as bona fide philosophy, while casting the ontologies, epistemologies, and methodologies of marginalized philosophies as mere simulacra of allegedly fundamental ways of knowing and doing philosophy and thus rendering these marginalized philosophies more or less expendable. This article is designed to show that legitimized philosophical discourses are vital mechanisms in the problematization of disability.     

An Assessment of Sustainability Integration and Communication in Canadian MBA Programs

This paper explores how sustainability has been integrated into and communicated in Canadian Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) programs. We content analyzed university, business school, and MBA program mission and values statements; communicated strategic priorities; and relevant academic calendar content, as well as sustainability rankings and select media depictions of sustainable MBA programs and practices. We explore the potential for greenwashing practices in relation to the integration of sustainability in business education. We found some evidence of a decoupling between university and/or business school mission and claims, and MBA policies and practices. We conclude with a discussion of our findings, study limitations and some relevant implications for academia.     

Effect of treatments for depression on quality of life: a meta-analysis*

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the two first-line treatments for depression, but little is known about their effects on quality of life (QOL). A meta-analysis was conducted to examine changes in QOL in adults with major depressive disorder who received CBT (24 studies examining 1969 patients) or SSRI treatment (13 studies examining 4286 patients) for their depression. Moderate improvements in QOL from pre to post-treatment were observed in both CBT (Hedges’ g = .63) and SSRI (Hedges’ g = .79) treatments. The effect size remained stable over the course of the follow-up period for CBT. No data were available to examine follow-ups in the SSRI group. QOL effect sizes decreased linearly with publication year, and greater improvements in depression were significantly associated with greater improvements in QOL for CBT, but not for SSRIs. CBT and SSRIs for depression were both associated with moderate improvements in QOL, but are possibly caused by different mechanisms.     

Explaining White Opposition to Black Political Leadership: The Role of Fear of Racial Favoritism

Despite the election of America's first Black president, most non‐Hispanic Whites continue to oppose Black political leadership. The conventional explanation for White opposition is sheer racial prejudice, yet the available empirical evidence for this theory is inconsistent. I test an alternative theory that Whites perceive Black political leaders as a threat to their group's interests. Using a new survey measure and nationally representative panel data covering the 2008, 2010, and 2012 U.S. elections, I find that a majority of Whites perceive Black elected officials as likely to favor Blacks over Whites. Moreover, fear of racial favoritism predicts support for Barack Obama in both cross‐sectional models and fixed‐effects models of within‐person change, controlling for negative racial stereotypes. I replicate these findings using a separate cross‐sectional survey fielded after the 2014 election that controls for racial resentment. Collectively, these results suggest that perceptions of conflicting group interests—and not just prejudice—drive White opposition to Black political leadership.