‘It’s bit of an eye opener’ – A qualitative study of women’s attitudes towards tanning,sun protection and a facial morphing intervention

Objective: Skin cancer is to a large degree behaviourally preventable, meaning that evidence-based interventions have scope to make a difference. Previous research indicates that appearance-based interventions such as facial morphing may be more effective than health-based interventions, and that it can personalise the issue of skin cancer.

Method: This study examined attitudes to UV exposure, as well as reactions to a facial morphing intervention, through interviews with 25 women aged 35 years and older.

Results: Thematic analysis revealed four themes; two regarding attitudes to UV exposure (confusion and contradiction, and change and continuity), and two relating to the facial morphing intervention (negative reactions to UV-exposed photo and positive outcomes of the intervention). Women experienced a number of barriers to adopting safer behaviour in the sun; their current attitudes to UV exposure had been shaped by available information sources throughout their ageing. They expressed negative evaluations of the UV photo, which fed directly into motivation to reduce UV exposure.

Conclusions: These results can be interpreted along the lines of goal-directed behaviour. This type of intervention has the potential to reduce UV exposure among this participant group, something that needs to be further investigated with randomised control trials.     

Promoting Mental Health in Disadvantaged Preschoolers: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of Teacher Training Effects

The literature provides solid documentation of the negative consequences of poor psychosocial functioning and behavioral problems in early childhood. Children facing economic disadvantage are at higher risk for poor socio-emotional development and problem behaviors, which draws attention to the need for prevention targeted at this risk group. The aim of our study was to analyze the impact of an evidence-based teacher-training program, the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IY-TCM), on the behavior of economically disadvantaged Portuguese children. Participants were 1030 children aged 3–6 years, from 65 preschool classrooms selected for their high percentage of children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The study followed an experimental randomized controlled between-group design, with pre- and post-intervention assessments. Teachers in the experimental group attended the IY-TCM program, implemented in six monthly workshops, and four sessions of individual in-class support. Children outcomes were evaluated with the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales—2nd Edition (Social Skills and Problem Behavior scales). After the intervention, preschoolers in the IY-TCM classrooms showed more improvements in their social skills and more decreases in problem behavior. Children with lower levels of social skills (high risk) at pre-intervention and those coming from families in economic need showed greater improvements in social skills, but these effects were not observed for problem behavior. Results support the growing evidence of the effectiveness of the IY-TCM as a stand-alone, non-adapted program in a Portuguese cultural context, which can play a protective role in children’s lives and thus bridge the gap between children coming from different economic backgrounds.     

Are practitioners incorporating a strengths‐focused approach when working with multi‐problem poor families?

Multi‐problem poor families have been characterized as dysfunctional and chaotic, and problem‐centred interventions have been developed. However, the activation of families' strengths has shown itself to be an important tool for intervention, hence the relevance of promoting the incorporation of a strengths‐focused approach. So, it becomes important to determine to what extent practitioners are thinking of incorporating a strengths‐focused approach when working with these families. To achieve this goal, a semi‐structured interview was administered to 23 practitioners. The findings suggest that practitioners are able to identify strengths but do not think in a strengths‐focused way. The main obstacles are: ambiguity in the definition of strengths, a focus on problems, lack of confidence in the possibility of improvement in the lives of families. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Imagined Intergroup Contact: Theory, Paradigm and Practice

In this article, we outline a new implementation of intergroup contact theory: imagined intergroup contact. The approach combines 50 years of research into the effects of contact with recent advances in social cognition. It represents both a versatile experimental paradigm for investigating the extended and indirect impacts of social contact, as well as a flexible and effective tool for practitioners and policy makers in their efforts to promote tolerance for multicultural diversity. We describe the theoretical basis for imagined contact effects, document emerging empirical support, and provide a practical guide for researchers wishing to adopt the paradigm. Finally, we discuss the potential application of imagined contact in educational contexts, and how it could be integrated with existing approaches to provide maximally effective strategies for improving intergroup relations.     

Spontaneous imagined contact and intergroup relations: Quality matters

While research on experimental interventions that aim to improve outgroup attitudes via contact imagery grows, it is important to examine if contact imagery that occurs in spontaneous, non-experimentally controlled conditions drives attitudes, and in what direction. To answer this, we constructed and validated a spontaneous imagined intergroup contact scale (SIICS) that differentiates between frequency, quality and elaboration of the spontaneous imagery of outgroups. In three correlational studies (N_Portugal = 305, N_{United Kingdom} = 185, N_Italy = 276), we tested the role of spontaneous imagined contact frequency, quality and elaboration in predicting attitudes and social distance (Studies 1–3) and intended behaviour (Study 3) toward immigrant groups. Results demonstrated that spontaneous imagined contact quality consistently predicted key outcome variables above and beyond the other two dimensions. Importantly, the effects were significant while controlling for other potent forms of direct and indirect contact. Implications of the findings for theory and practice are discussed.     

Do they want contact with us? The role of intergroup contact meta‐perceptions on positive contact and attitudes

This research examined the role of contact meta‐perceptions on positive intergroup contact and outgroup attitudes. Specifically, perceptions of the ingroup's and outgroup's desire for intergroup contact were simultaneously tested as predictors of intergroup contact and outgroup attitudes. Three correlational studies were conducted in three distinct contexts, international students' view of British students, general public views of people with schizophrenia, and both Muslims' and non‐Muslims' views of one another. Among these three intergroup relationships, the role of outgroup contact meta‐perceptions was consistently highlighted as predictor of intergroup contact. In stark contrast, ingroup contact meta‐perceptions did not emerge as a significant predictor of contact. Intergroup contact then predicted outgroup attitudes (Studies 1, 2, and 3) and stereotyping (Studies 2 and 3) via reduced anxiety (Studies 2 and 3). The results demonstrate the importance of explicitly highlighting outgroups' openness for intergroup interactions and are discussed in the context of intergroup relations literature.     

Effects of Metacontingencies on Cooperative Behavior: A Systematic Replication Using Innovative Procedures during Isolation

The Psychological Record - The study replicated research on metacontingencies that used a chessboard simulating a simplified chess game, in a completely online environment, with participants in...     

Doddering but dear … even in the eyes of young children? Age stereotyping and prejudice in childhood and adolescence

This study aims to explore age prejudice, and to examine age stereotyping in children and adolescents by adopting the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) as a theoretical framework. It was hypothesised that children are socialised into adopting an ambivalent representation of old age (socialisation hypothesis) and that this cognitive bias becomes weaker in adolescence due to greater cognitive maturity (developmental hypothesis). By analysing representative data from Portugal (European Social Survey; N = 2367), it was ascertained that the ambivalent age stereotype (higher evaluations of warmth than competence for older people) is indeed a shared social representation of older people in Portuguese society. A total of 103 Portuguese children (6–10 year olds) and adolescents (11–15 year olds) were then sampled from a local school and responded to age‐appropriate measures assessing age prejudice as well as age stereotypes. Contrary to previous studies, the findings do not provide evidence for the existence of age prejudice because both children and adolescents reported positive feelings towards older people. However, the socialisation hypothesis was corroborated by showing that the ambivalent old age stereotype was already present in childhood. Contrary to the stipulated developmental hypothesis, the magnitude of this cognitive bias was very similar in adolescence.