Similarity to imagined interlocutor and integration of viewpoints in internal dialogues

Numerous positive functions are ascribed to integrative internal dialogues (IDs). Additionally, IDs simulating social relationships are thought to serve as “prototypes” for interpersonal communication. Therefore, it would be useful to know how to increase the frequency of integrative IDs. Previous studies exploring the relationship between similarity to an imagined interlocutor and the integration in ID have produced inconsistent results. The aim of the present study was to examine the moderating and mediating factors in this relationship. Data from 119 people (mostly students) were analysed. Before the participants conducted IDs, they had written down 3 characteristics common to them and to their interlocutor. Finally, the Integration–Confrontation questionnaire was completed. Plausibility of ID was a moderator of the relationship between similarity to imagined interlocutor and integration in IDs; this relationship was significantly positive at lower plausibility, but non‐significant at high plausibility. Perceived similarity in ID exerted an indirect effect on ID's integration in 2 ways. The first pathway was through identifying with the interlocutor and the author's integrative attitude, suggesting a mechanism in line with social identity theory. The second potential mechanism, which seems to be consistent with similarity–attraction theory, was connected with the wishfulness of IDs and the interlocutor's integrative attitude.     

Dissociating automatic associations: Comparing two implicit measurements of race bias

Weak correspondence across different implicit bias tasks may arise from the contribution of unique forms of automatic and controlled processes to response behavior. Here, we examined the correspondence between estimates of automatic and controlled processing derived from two sequential priming tasks with identical structure and timing designed to separately measure stereotypic (Weapons Identification Task; WIT) and evaluative (Affective Priming Task; APT) associations. Across two studies using predominantly White samples, three consistent patterns emerged in the data: (a) stereotypic bias was stronger for Black targets, whereas evaluative bias was stronger for White targets; (b) overall response accuracy bias correlated modestly across the two tasks; and (c) multinomial processing tree estimates of controlled processing corresponded much more strongly than estimates of automatic processing. These findings support models positing distinct learning and memory systems for different forms of race bias, and suggest that these differing forms contribute to estimates of automatic associations.     

The American South: Explorations on southern attachments and personal values

ABSTRACT

Group membership is central to understanding political behavior and political psychology. However, regional group membership is rarely examined, despite its relevance to political psychology and personal values. To address this, we investigated the relationships among southern identity, southern nationalism, southern pride, and southern constructive patriotism for the U.S. South, as well as the connections between personal values and southern attachments. Results from the structural equation modeling (N = 268) revealed that stronger southern identity predicted more southern nationalism, southern pride, and southern constructive patriotism. Additionally, greater endorsement of conservation values predicted stronger southern identity and southern pride; those favoring self-transcendence values exhibited less southern nationalism and more southern constructive patriotism; and those with higher self-enhancement values expressed more southern nationalism. This study confirms the predictive role of southern identity on other southern attachments and provides support for how different southern attachments are related to but distinctive from each other.     

The development of our sense of self as a defense against invading thoughts: From Buddhist psychology to psychoanalysis

In interdisciplinary debates on the nature of the self, no-self accounts often refer to Buddhist psychology, arguing that the self is an illusion arising from our identification with mental content. What is often missing, however, is a developmentally, motivationally and emotionally plausible reason why this identification happens in the first place. It is argued that directing attention to our ongoing thought activities and their effect on our mind reveals their often invasive character. This is supported by psychoanalytic accounts on the ontogenetic and phylogenetic origins of thinking. On an experiential level, invading thoughts have similarities to attacks and provoke defensive reactions. The defense mechanism described as identification with the aggressor is used as a model in order to better grasp how we deal with invading thoughts, namely, by identifying with them and thus generating a sense of self as an agent of thoughts which provides an illusion of control.     

When the physical coldness in the viewer's environment leads to identification with a suffering protagonist

Based on theories of narrative engagement and embodied cognition, we hypothesised that a fit between the psychological state of a protagonist and the physical sensation of the viewer would enhance the subsequent identification with the protagonist, but not para-social relationship with him (seeing the protagonist as a friend). We also hypothesised that identification and a para-social relationship would lead to distinct effects on attitudes related to the narrative. Participants (N = 60) were randomly assigned to either a warmed or cooled room where they watched a movie clip alone in which a suffering protagonist wanted to undergo euthanasia while his close others wanted him to stay alive. Then, the participants answered a questionnaire measuring their identification and para-social relationship with the protagonist and their attitudes toward euthanasia. In accordance with the hypotheses, the results demonstrated that feeling cold enhanced identification with the suffering protagonist. However, the environmental temperature did not affect the development of para-social relationships. Moreover, identification with the suffering protagonist contributed to acceptance of his attitudes, reflected in more positive views of euthanasia. In contrast, having a para-social relationship with the protagonist resulted in negative attitudes toward euthanasia.     

礼仪和当代社会理论：权力、公民社会和自我认同

德裔社会学家诺贝特．爱理雅斯的《文明化进程》是礼仪研究领域的名著。本文介绍了它的基本观点，指出了它的不足之处，并在三种新的社会理论的视角下，重新审视了该理论和礼仪研究。爱理雅斯认为，西欧社会在中世纪末以后经历了一个”文明化”的过程，即人们更能够克制自我，言行举止更为谦恭有礼，其原因有二，一是国家对暴力的垄断，二是社会相互依赖性的增强。这一理论在文明化进程的一般性、历史起源及真实性等三个方面都存在着缺陷。礼仪研究和三种新社会理论可以在如下的条件下相互增益：福柯式的权力重新获得主体，公民社会有必要关注非政治动机，而自我认同则可以突现其历史性和日常性的一面。     

Infant individuation and identification of objects

Recent studies of the infant's object concept have focused on the role of property information in individuation. We draw a distinction between individuation and identification. By individuation, we mean the setting up of an object representation (OR). By identification, we mean using the information stored in an OR to decide which, if any, previously individuated object is presently encountered. We investigate this distinction in experiments with 12-month-old infants. We find that for infants of this age, a shape difference between two objects has a large effect on both individuation and identification. However, a color difference between two objects has a large effect on individuation, but little or no effect on identification. This suggests that, somewhat surprisingly, information used to establish an OR may not always be incorporated into that representation.     

Multi‐Criteria Ratios: What is the Unit?

When Analytic Hierarchy Process ratios are normalized to sum to unity, the unit of measure becomes obscure. This paper investigates this obscurity and whether ratio measurement is possible when there is no prior knowledge of the measurement unit. Initially, we look at ratio scales of tangible attributes of objects with well‐known measures. Then, ratio scales of unknown intangible attributes of objects are analysed. We discover that natural zero and a specific unit of measure are not necessarily used explicitly in deriving ratio scale measures. Nevertheless, the derived scale does have a derived unit of measurement. We conclude that although composite multi‐criteria answers are possible in ratio form, it is important to know that a unit of measure exists if ambiguities are to be avoided. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.