The Role of Strategy in Mixed-Gender Group Interactions: A Study of the Television Show “The Weakest Link”

This paper studies mixed-gender group interactions in a strategic game where group members are sequentially eliminated till a single winner takes all. Study 1 tests the hypothesis that female contestants are retained till final rounds where they are eliminated. Using observational data from the US television show The Weakest Link (20 shows), results show that females are finalists but not winners. In a laboratory study (Study 2, 67 Berkeley undergraduates), we show that this effect is attenuated when winnings are shared among finalists (versus one winner takes all) due to the reduction in competitive pressures in the context. This research was supported in part by the Junior Faculty Research Grant awarded by the University of California at Berkeley to the second author.     

Collective estimation: Accuracy,expertise, and extroversion as sources of intra-group influence

Although estimations typically possess correct answers, these answers may be difficult to demonstrate to others. However, providing external information may increase their demonstrability. In this experiment, individuals (N = 60) and 6-person groups (N = 360) generated estimations with or without frames of reference. We hypothesized that estimations involving frames of reference would be best fit by models predicting intra-group influence based on the accuracy of alternatives or of members in general. Conversely, we hypothesized that estimations not involving frames of reference would be best fit by models predicting influence based on member extroversion or proposal centrality. Results indicate that groups outperformed individuals and that estimations generated in the presence of frames of reference were superior to those generated in their absence. Accuracy and expertise schemes provided the best fit when frames of reference were provided, whereas an extroversion scheme provided the best fit when they were not.     

Group cohesion in cognitive-behavioral group therapy for social phobia

Cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for Social Phobia is effective in both group and individual formats. However, the impact of group processes on treatment efficacy remains relatively unexplored. In this study we examined group cohesion ratings made by individuals at the midpoint and endpoint of CBT groups for social phobia. Symptom measures were also completed at the beginning and end of treatment. We found that cohesion ratings significantly increased over the course of the group and were associated with improvement over time in social anxiety symptoms, as well as improvement on measures of general anxiety, depression, and functional impairment. In conclusion, findings are consistent with the idea that changes in group cohesion are related to social anxiety symptom reduction and, therefore, speak to the importance of nonspecific therapeutic factors in treatment outcome.     

An analogue study of the effects of Psychological Debriefing on eyewitness memory

Sixty-one participants from the community participated in a randomised controlled trial of group debriefing to assess the effect of this intervention upon memory for a stressful event. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three groups: debriefing; debriefing with an experimenter confederate present (who supplied three pieces of misinformation to the group regarding the stressful event); and a no-treatment control. All groups were shown a very stressful video and were again reviewed after 1 month. Members of the debriefing group where a confederate provided misinformation were more likely to recall this misinformation as fact than members of the other two groups. The debriefing group was also more accurate in their recall of peripheral content than the confederate group. Across all groups, participants were found to be more accurate at central rather than peripheral recall yet more confident for incorrect memories of the video than correct memories.     

Contagion or restitution? When bad apples can motivate ethical behavior

When there is a “bad apple” in the group, are we more likely to follow the example or compensate for their sins? Three experiments showed that whether a group member’s unethical actions lead to contagion or restitution depends on the presence of out-group observers. In Experiment 1, participants were more likely to compensate for the transgression of an in-group member than an out-group member when there were out-group observers. Experiment 2 varied the presence of out-group observers and showed that such compensatory behaviors occur only in the presence of out-group members. We suggest that the presence of out-group observers trigger a self-categorization process that induces guilt in individuals for their group members’ transgressions. Indeed, associated guilt mediated the relationship between in-group member’s unethical behavior and participants’ compensatory behavior (Experiment 3). These results suggest that norms implied by others’ behavior and group categorization are important determinants of ethical behavior.     

Residential mobility and conditionality of group identification

In three studies, we found that residential mobility accounts for cross-national, regional, and individual differences in the conditionality of identification with a group. In Study 1, participants from a mobile nation (US) showed more conditional identification with other group members than did participants from a stable nation (Japan). In Study 2, we found within-nation, regional variation in this tendency. Specifically, in residentially stable Japanese cities, the attendance to home baseball games was higher when the team was performing well than when it was performing poorly. In contrast, the attendance to the home games was not associated with the team’s performance. Finally, in Study 3 we found individual differences in the conditionality of group identification, such that frequent movers identified with the school more than non-movers did when the school was described favorably, whereas they distanced themselves from the school more than non-movers when their school was described unfavorably. These findings illustrate the role of residential mobility in individual, regional, and cross-national differences in the conditionality of group identification.     

Synchronicity and moments of meeting

Abstract :  The paper ¹ considers the role of synchronicity in the establishment of meaning in analysis, and links it to the notion of moments of meeting proposed by the Boston Process of Change Study Group. In so doing, the paper proposed to view synchronicity as an element in developmental processes, wherein attributions of meaningfulness are made in relation to patterns of action that do not have intrinsic meaning, but which have evolved in an environment of meaning, thereby bootstrapping the infant into the world of meaning. Jung's paradigmatic example of synchronicity—the scarab beetle event—is examined in this context and the argument is made that the event was primarily meaningful for Jung and carried with it important countertransference implications that Jung did not consider. The paper concludes with some suggestions for further investigation into the relationship between synchronicity and clinical practice.     

受歧视知觉对流动儿童社会融入的影响：中介机制及自尊的调节作用

研究以上海市437名流动儿童为被试,通过量表法分析了流动儿童从受歧视知觉到社会融入过程的影响因素及其作用机制。结果显示：（1）受歧视知觉作为危险性因素对流动儿童的社会融入产生了显著负面影响;（2）群体可渗透性在流动儿童的受歧视知觉和社会融入过程中起着部分中介作用,受歧视知觉既对社会融入产生直接负面影响,也通过群体可渗透性对社会融入产生间接影响;（3）个体自尊水平对群体可渗透性中介作用的发挥起到调节作用,群体可渗透性对流动儿童生活满意度的影响,随个体自尊水平的提升而增加。群体可渗透性对流动儿童的社会融入起着有调节的中介作用。     

The confluence model: Parameter estimation for six divergent data sets on family factors and intelligence

Theoretical predictions, based on the confluence model, were made for data from six national surveys of intellectual performance. All six surveys relate intellectual performance scores to family configuration variables. Widely divergent patterns of relationships between the major family factors, such as birth order and family size, and intellectual performance scores characterize the six data sets. Nevertheless, the confluence model was capable of accurate prediction in all cases when all three parameters were estimated. Little accuracy was lost using only two parameters. Variations in the estimated parameter values that reflected the variations in patterns of effects could be meaningfully interpreted for their psychological significance.     

The Influence of Episodic and Thematic Frames on Policy and Group Attitudes: Mediational Analysis

An experiment examined how episodic and thematic political message frames affect attitudes toward older adults and Social Security. When exposed to messages about abolishing Social Security, participants exposed to episodic frames were significantly more likely to endorse message‐consistent attitudes than participants exposed to a thematic frame. In mediation analyses, an episodic frame featuring a counterstereotypical exemplar increased endorsement of individual responsibility for retirement planning, which then led to more negative attitudes toward Social Security. These effects did not occur with a stereotypical exemplar in an episodic frame. The same mediated pathway influenced attitudes toward older adults in a more complex manner. Results provide support for individual responsibility attributions as a mediating mechanism underlying the effects of certain episodic frames.