Personal choice: A blessing or a burden,or both? A cross‐cultural investigation on need for closure effects in two Western and two East‐Asian societies

The present study investigates the role of dispositional need for closure (NFC) in how individuals within a particular culture perceive and appreciate choice. Data sets from the US (283 adults), Europe (263 adults and 427 students), China (218 adults and 309 students) and Singapore (258 students) were collected. The results showed that in Western cultures, people perceived choice in a linear way as either a burden or a blessing, whereas in Chinese culture, such opposition between perspectives did not appear, and individuals generally saw choice as both burden and blessing simultaneously. In Western cultures, high dispositional NFC was strongly associated with viewing choice‐as‐a‐burden, whereas Chinese respondents with a high NFC perceived choice as a blessing and a burden simultaneously. The Singaporean results were similar to the Western pattern. These findings are discussed in terms of the NFC literature and cultural differences in dialectic versus differentiation thinking styles.     

SOME REFLECTIONS ON IAN MCEWAN'S ATONEMENT: ENACTMENT,GUILT, AND REPARATION

Recognizing that enactments have been discussed in psychoanalysis primarily as occurrences in the treatment setting, the author proposes a new application of the term enactments: that it may pertain to the actions of some individuals in their efforts to cope with bad things that they have done to others. That is, enactment can be a substitute‐for‐atonement mechanism. The author illustrates this view of enactment through a discussion of Ian McEwan's novel Atonement (2001), and in particular by examining the behavior and motivations of one of its central characters, Briony Tallis. Included are explorations of the relationships between enactment and guilt and between enactment and reparation.     

Reorganization of personal identity in the context of motivational dynamics and internal dialogical activity

Identity is constantly constructed and reconstructed. It may be assumed that there are six fundamental motivational goals according to which it is organized: self‐esteem, self‐efficacy, continuity, distinctiveness, belonging, and meaning (Vignoles, 2011 ). Moreover, identity is shaped by its dialogical nature (Hermans, 2003 ; van Halen & Janssen, 2004 ). The longitudinal study was conducted to examine both the motivational and the dialogical basis of identity structure dynamics. The results showed that the more the identity element was connected with a sense of continuity and the more dialogical it was, the greater the perceived centrality of this element was after two months. Furthermore, the more the identity element satisfied the self‐esteem and belonging motives, the more positive was the affect ascribed to it. In the behavioral domain of identity, participants more strongly manifested those identity aspects that were earlier rated as more dialogical and satisfying the motive of belonging. The results showed that the motivational underpinnings of identity along with its dialogical nature explain changes in identity structure.     

Social Dominance and the Cultural Politics of Immigration

We argue that conflict over immigration largely concerns who bears the burden of cultural transaction costs, which we define as the costs associated with overcoming cultural barriers (e.g., language) to social exchange. Our framework suggests that the ability of native‐born citizens to push cultural transaction costs onto immigrant out‐groups serves as an important expression of social dominance. In two novel studies, we demonstrate that social dominance motives condition emotional responses to encountering cultural transaction costs, shape engagement in cultural accommodation behavior toward immigrants, and affect immigration attitudes and policy preferences.     

Differentiation of Self and Social Justice Commitment Mediated by Hope

This study tested a theoretical model of hope mediating the relationship between differentiation of self and social justice commitment among graduate students (N = 202) in the helping professions. The theory was based primarily on the social justice philosophies of Martin Luther King Jr., Cornel West, and Paulo Freire using a cultural psychology approach. Results generally supported the theoretical model. Implications are considered for both training and future research on social justice.     

Shyness and Psychosocial Functioning in South Korean Children

The purpose of this study was to examine whether anxious shyness and regulated shyness, initially identified in the Chinese culture, is found in South Korean children, and to explore whether these two forms of shyness were differentially related to children's psychosocial functioning. Participants were 544 fourth to sixth grade children (251 girls, M age = 11.38 years old) who were recruited from an elementary school in Bucheon City, South Korea. Children's anxious and regulated shyness were measured using peers' nominations and teachers' ratings, whereas their social preference and social impact were assessed using peers' nominations. Parents rated their children's temperamental shyness and effortful control, and children self‐reported their loneliness and interpersonal concerns. The results of confirmatory factor analysis replicated the two factor model of shyness found in previous studies of Chinese children. Anxious shyness and regulated shyness were positively associated and were similarly related to temperamental shyness. Anxious shyness was negatively related to effortful control and social preference, and positively associated with self‐reported loneliness and interpersonal concerns, whereas regulated shyness was positively related to effortful control and social preference and negatively associated with loneliness and social impact. These results were generally consistent with prior Chinese findings and provided preliminary support for the construct validity of anxious and regulated shyness in another Asian culture that emphasizes interdependence and modesty. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

焦虑障碍的系统式家庭治疗

焦虑障碍是最常见的心理障碍之一.其具有症状重、病程慢、复发率高、社会功能明显缺损等特点,给个人、家庭和社会造成了巨大的负担.家庭环境因素在焦虑障碍的发病、转归和预后方面都起到重要作用.本文介绍了国内外关于焦虑障碍患者家庭特点和家庭互动模式的研究结果.系统式家庭治疗作为一种家庭治疗模式,具有其独特的治疗理念和方法,国内外研究结果表明系统式家庭治疗用于焦虑障碍具有良好疗效.今后,还应该运用更加多元化的研究方法探讨中国焦虑症家庭动力学特点和家庭功能,并采用更加严格的随机对照设计,进一步证实系统式家庭治疗对焦虑障碍的治疗效果.     

SON-R6-40非言语智力测验在中国的适用性

SON-R 6-40非言语智力测验是以非文字形式测量个体推理与空间能力的智力评估工具.研究旨在考查SON-R6-40在中国的适用性.根据全国人口分布,在中国六大行政区6至40岁年龄人群中施测了1721人,通过与荷兰/德国混合样本比较,分析该测验的跨文化等值水平.结果表明：（1）测验信度与结构跨样本一致,说明该测验在两种文化下结构等值;（2）多样本验证性因素分析证明了该测验的测量单位等值性.因此,SON-R 6-40适合在中国推广使用以及用于智力的跨文化比较研究.     

The dynamics,processes, mechanisms,and functioning of personality: An overview of the field

Personality psychology has long focused on structural trait models, but it can also offer a rich understanding of the dynamics, processes, mechanisms, and functioning of individual differences or entire persons. The field of personality dynamics, which works towards such an understanding, has experienced a renaissance in the last two decades. This review article seeks to act as a primer of that field. It covers its historical roots, summarizes current research strands – along with their theoretical backbones and methodologies – in an accessible way, and sketches some considerations for the future. In doing so, we introduce relevant concepts, give an overview of different topics and phenomena subsumed under the broad umbrella term ‘dynamics’, and highlight the interdisciplinarity as well as applied relevance of the field. We hope this article can serve as a useful overview for scholars within and outside of personality psychology who are interested in the dynamic nature of human behaviour and experience.     

The model of a simple self-reproducing system

The model of a simple self-reproducing system has been investigated. The current model has been developed in the framework of syser systems. The term syser is the abbreviation of the words “SYstem of SElf-Reproduction”. The syser model can be considered as a reasonable model of the prebiological macromolecular self-reproducing systems. The syser includes a polynucleotide matrix, a replication enzyme, a translation enzyme, and other enzymes and protein. Earlier, we studied the model of sysers with a large number of macromolecules. However, a large number of macromolecules is a certain disadvantage of models of prebiological systems. In order to overcome this disadvantage, a new syser model with a small number of macromolecules has been constructed and investigated in the present work. The macromolecules of the syser are located inside the protocell. Additionally, we consider special macromolecules that provide sysers with energy. There is a mechanism for duplication of protocells. We consider the evolution of the population of sysers. The dynamics of macromolecules in protocells and evolution of sysers populations have been analyzed by means of computer simulation. It was shown that during the evolution of the sysers population, the comparative number and rate of synthesis of macromolecules, which provide protocells with energy, could be increased. The decrease of the synthesis rate of polynucleotide matrices is also possible.