The terror management function of Orthodox Jewish religiosity: a religious culture approach

Terror management theory proposes that humans, able to envision their inevitable death, develop worldviews opposing this debilitating fear. One TMT implication of considerable interest is its connection with the formation of religious belief. Taking a religious culture approach, this study measured the effect of death reminders on self-reported religiosity among 131 Orthodox Jews, and examined if Baal Teshuva—“returnees” differed from individuals born into Orthodox Judaism. Results showed that death reminders had a varied effect—both Baal Teshuva and those with intra-Orthodox religious change reported higher levels of intrinsic religiosity, while those without change reported lower. Explanations for these intra-faith differences relate to attachment theory and possible “Compensation” among those with religious change.     

Lay Perceptions of Psychotherapists in South Africa

The study investigated South African layperson perceptions of psychotherapists. Participants were 10 males and 25 females (Whites = 23, Blacks = 10, Coloreds = 2; age range 20 to 59). Semi structured interviews were used to study expectations, attitudes and stereotypical beliefs and behavior towards psychotherapists. Laypersons perceived psychotherapists negatively, and would personally not want any assistance from psychotherapists.     

Body talk and body-related co-rumination: Associations with body image,eating attitudes,and psychological adjustment

Talk about physical appearance and body image is common among young women. We investigated how body talk (negative, positive/self-accepting, and co-ruminative) is related to body image, body-related cognitive distortions, disordered eating, psychological adjustment, and friendship quality via hierarchical regression analyses (controlling for social desirability and body mass index). In a sample of young adult women (N = 203), negative body talk was, as predicted, negatively related to body satisfaction and self-esteem and positively related to appearance investment, body-related cognitive distortions, disordered eating, and depression, but not friendship quality. Self-accepting/positive body talk was negatively related to body-related cognitive distortions and positively related to body satisfaction, self-esteem, and friendship quality. Body-related co-rumination demonstrated adjustment trade-offs, being related to body-related cognitive distortions, disordered eating, and higher friendship quality. Results indicated no advantage to negative body talk, both individual and relationship benefits from positive/self-accepting body talk, and mixed outcomes for body-related co-rumination     

Hardiness: The courage to grow from stresses

The recent emphasis on positive psychology is welcome, and has spurred much relevant research. But, there are still many unresolved conceptual and research issues, as more variables are being proposed as relevant. As part of this process, the present paper proposes hardiness as an addition to positive psychology. Hardiness is a combination of attitudes that provides the courage and motivation to do the hard, strategic work of turning stressful circumstances from potential disasters into growth opportunities. In this regard, the inherently stressful nature of living is discussed. Also clarified are the particular aspects of excellence in performance and health to which hardiness is relevant. The paper concludes with a call for issue-resolving research through which orientations and actions proposed as part of positive psychology can be compared in their contributions to performance and health. Two studies along these lines have found hardiness more powerful than optimism and religiousness in coping with stresses.     

Inducing Hypocrisy to Reduce Prejudicial Responses among Aversive Racists

Might a hypocrisy induction procedure reduce prejudicial behavior among aversive racists? We identified aversive racists as individuals low in explicit prejudice but high in implicit prejudice toward Asians. Results revealed that aversive racists, but not truly low prejudiced participants (i.e., those low in both explicit and implicit prejudice), responded to a hypocrisy induction procedure with increased feelings of guilt and discomfort, compared to those in a control condition. Furthermore, aversive racists, but not low prejudiced participants, responded to a hypocrisy induction procedure with a reduction in prejudicial behavior. These results suggest that consciousness raising might play an important role in motivating aversive racists to reduce their prejudicial behavior.     

Cognitive Skills as Predictor of Attitudes Toward Political Conflict: A Study of Polish Politicians

The relationship between cognitive development and attitudes toward a current political conflict was examined in a sample of 46 Polish politicians. This relationship was examined in a control group in a neutral condition and in an experimental group after participants were presented with a hostile attack on their position on the conflict. Politicians with less advanced cognitive skills tended to use competitive attitudes in both conditions. In contrast, those who possessed more advanced skills tended to use cooperative attitudes in the neutral situation; after the emotional attack, they tended to avoid further involvement in the conflict and sought to exit it. The key difference in participants' cognitive functioning was their ability to differentiate perspectives and to transcend their own point of view in the conflict.     

Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory Correlates with Personality Characteristics of Organ Donation Advocates

Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and background questionnaire data were collected from a sample of men and women organ donation advocates (N = 362) as part of a national study to investigate their personality characteristics, temperaments, and attitudes about organ donation advocacy. Goals included identifying unique traits for advocates, and response consistency between the TCI and questionnaire. The TCI results included high scores on Cooperativeness and Self-Directedness, and low on Harm Avoidance dimensions. The questionnaire results indicated that most advocates were White, married, college-educated females, who typically spent less than 2 hr with potential donor families, were satisfied with life and job, and believed they would be in a donation position 2 years from the time surveyed. TCI and questionnaire measures were correlated for Self-Transcendence and Spirituality, Helpfulness and Job Satisfaction, and Compassion and Identification variables.     

猝死、医疗纠纷与尸体剖检

貌似“健康”的人突然死亡(即猝死),由于事先无任何预兆,出乎人们意料往往使人们对死因产生怀疑,若死者是在因病就医过程中突然死亡,特别是在刚注射或服药后死亡,很容易被认为是医护人员的医疗活动及其相关活动有问题而引发医疗纠纷,每位医务人员应高度重视,若死因不明,尸检则是解决这一棘手问题的关键。     

Political Participation and Feminist Consciousness Among Women Activists of the 1960s

This paper examined the hypothesis that women who took part in student movements of the 1960s would be distinguishable from their contemporaries in terms of political ideology, political behavior, and feminism in middle age. Women who had been identified as student activists in public records during the late 1960s and early 1970s were compared to a sample of nonactivist peers. Although the two groups scored similarly on variables related to work and family arrangements, former activists scored higher on measures of leftist political orientation and political efficacy, reported greater political salience and collectivism, and reported greater current political participation. Although both groups reported high levels of feminist consciousness and identity, activists scored significantly higher. The difficulty of politically mobilizing women to combat gender discrimination is discussed in light of the discrepancy between consciousness and activism in the comparison group.