Group Communication During Resource Dilemmas: 4: The Effect of Group Size

Previous theory and research implies that increasing the size of groups facing resource dilemmas results in poorer outcomes, but no previous study has allowed for communication among group members. The present study relates group size with communication content, task outcomes, and participant perceptions of their experience. With communication, actual group size was irrelevant; to the extent that groups chose to cooperate, outcomes were more equal within groups and participants had more positive perceptions. Greater information exchange and negative maintenance talk was related with less equal outcomes and more negative perceptions; more discussion relevant to specific strategy was associated with more equal outcomes. Findings are instructive concerning the genesis and role of group cooperation.     

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.     

Witness confidence and accuracy: is a positive relationship maintained for recall under interview conditions?

A large positive correlation between eyewitness recall confidence and accuracy (C-A) is found in research when item difficulty is varied to include easy questions. However, these results are based on questionnaire responses. In real interviews, the social nature of the interview may influence C-A relationships, and it is the interviewer's perception of the accuracy of a witness that counts. This study was conducted to investigate the influence of these factors for recall of a video. Three conditions were used; the same questions were used in each. Participants in condition 1 (self-rate questionnaire condition, n = 20) were given a questionnaire that required them to answer questions and rate confidence on a scale. Pairs of participants in condition 2 (self-rate interview condition, n = 40) were given the role of eyewitness or interviewer. Eyewitnesses were asked questions by an interviewer and responded orally with answers and confidence judgements on a Likert scale. Participants in condition three (interviewer-rate interview condition, n = 40) were tested in the same way as condition two but provided confidence judgements in their own words. Interviewers independently rated each confidence judgement on the Likert scale. The experiment showed high C-A relationships, particularly for ‘absolutely sure’ responses. The main effect of the social interview condition was to increase confidence in correct answers but not in incorrect answers. However, the advantage of this effect was tempered by the fact that, although observers can differentiate between confident and less confident answers, less extreme confidence judgements were ascribed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Training analysis and training models

This article has the intention of giving impulses to a hopefully more creative and open-minded discussion of the function of training analysis and the kind of training model we seem to take for granted in the Scandinavian countries, the Eitingon model. I will consider some historical background data on this model as well as some historical data on the development in France which have created an alternative model of training. Especially in Sweden, there has been a stormy debate during the last years about the training analyst functions and some members have actually decided to leave our association because of this. I would like to try to shift focus from just a ‘yes-or-no-perspective’? to a broader question of our psychoanalytical society’s purpose and structure and how the training-model could sustain it.     

Effects of a Motivational Interviewing–Based Counseling Program on Classroom Behavior of Children in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program

A multiple single‐case research design was used to explore changes in teacher‐reported behaviors of 15 children who completed a motivational interviewing–based counseling program in a disciplinary alternative education school. Findings indicated that 7 children made a moderate to large improvement in their classroom behaviors while participating in the program. Students’ self‐motivational statements and self‐reported readiness to change were related to actual teacher‐rated behavioral changes. Implications for future research and counseling practice were discussed.     

Therapeutic processes in group therapy: Intersections between general change mechanisms and motivational stages of change from patient perspective

Intersections between Grawe’s General Psychotherapy and Prochaska’s Transtheoretical Model were investigated in group therapy in a longitudinal design. It was assumed that general change mechanisms have an impact on patients’ stages of change. Specifically, the main hypotheses were that experiential change mechanisms (ECM; clarification of meaning, problem actuation, emotional bond and group cohesion) should be especially relevant for early stages of change (precontemplation and contemplation), whereas behavioral change mechanisms (BCM; resource activation, mastery/coping and task and goals) should be especially relevant for late stages of change (action and maintenance). Therefore, 140 outpatients attending different types of group therapy, with a typical duration of 8 sessions, were investigated. Patients completed the Form for the Evaluation of Therapeutic Processes in Group Therapy (FEPiG), the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment, short version (URICA-S) and several symptomatology measures (BDI-II, BSCL and IIP-32) at two measuring times. Intersections were analysed through correlational analyses, cross-lagged panels and a path-analytic model, supporting the hypotheses. Specifically, results suggested that experiencing ECM at t1 predicted higher levels of reported contemplation at t2. Patients experiencing higher levels of BCM at t1 reported higher levels of action at t2. Clinical implications of the results are discussed.     

The effects of safety knowledge and psychological factors on self-reported risky driving behaviors including group violations for e-bike riders in China

ObjectivesIt is unknown that how safety knowledge and psychological factors affect e-bike rider safety. Also, group violation behaviors, which are commonly observed in the field, have been rarely examined for e-bike riders in China. In this paper, the effects of safety knowledge and psychological factors on self-reported risky driving behaviors including group violations were examined.MethodsA questionnaire was developed to acquire information of e-bike riders in Guilin, Guangxi Province. Explanatory factor analysis was used to examine the reliability of the questionnaire and exclude redundant measurement items. Then, a Structure Equation Model was developed to examine the relationships among safety knowledge, safety attitude, risk perception and risky driving behaviors. After that, multiple regression models were fitted to examine the effect of safety knowledge on each type of risky driving behavior, as well as factors associated with group violations. At last, ANOVA tests were conducted to identify significant differences among e-bike rider groups in safety knowledge, safety attitude, and risk perception.ResultsSafety knowledge was found significantly associated with risky driving behaviors for e-bike riders in China, including aggressive driving, erroneous driving, and group violations. E-bike riders severely lack safety knowledge, especially that of traffic rules, including unmarried riders, under-educated riders, riders without driver’s license, younger riders, and riders with little riding experience. Group violations were largely found among e-bike riders, and to be associated with safety knowledge of traffic rules, risk-taking attitude, and riding experience of e-bike riders.ConclusionsThe findings could add some new safety implication and be beneficial for developing safety policies and interventions for e-bikes.     

Inviting witnesses to speculate: effects of age and interaction on children's recall

Inviting speculation has been found to increase children's false recall. In this study, kindergartners and third graders saw a clown perform actions alone or in interaction with a child. Two weeks later, the speculation group recalled all actions and was asked to speculate on half the actions. The control group recalled all actions without speculating. Four weeks after the show, all children recalled all actions again. The speculation group gave more false answers to the speculated items than the control group. Surprisingly, older children tended to report as many if not more false responses than younger children, regardless of speculation. In the speculation group, there were fewer false answers for interactions than actions, but false answers did not differ across observation types in the control group. Finally, speculation did not affect free and cued recall differentially.     

Group Identity and Conflicting Expectations of the Future in Northern Ireland

Much of the conflict in Northern Ireland is based on investments in one of three opposing political futures possible for the region: remaining part of Britain, joining Ireland, or becoming independent. Speculative scenarios describing each of these futures were randomly assigned to equal numbers of Protestant and Catholic undergraduates in Northern Ireland, and their expectations regarding material and civic improvement for their ingroup and peace and reconciliation between the groups were assessed. Two dimensions of religious identity, measured by the Identity and Public subscales of Luhtanen and Crocker's (1992) Collective Self-Esteem Scale (CSES), moderated the differences between groups, but only for their expectations of peace and reconciliation. Stronger expectations of improvement for the ingroup were related to higher scores on the Public subscale, regardless of religion or the political future presented. Thus, group identity had a complex, context-dependent relationship to intergroup conflict.