Person perception when aggressive or nonaggressive sports are primed

Previous research investigating the factors contributing to sports spectator violence has focused primarily on conscious processes such as the disinhibiting effects of aggressive models and physiological arousal. The current research borrows a methodology from social cognition work to examine the role of passive, category accessibility effects on fan hostility. Prior research has indicated that as a schema becomes more accessible in memory, the use of it to encode subsequent information is increased. It was therefore hypothesized that individuals for whom the category of hostility had been unobtrusively primed with aggressive-sports names (e.g., boxing) would rate an ambiguous target person as more hostile and as more likely to prefer hostile activities relative to persons who were primed with sports names which were not associated with violence (e.g., golf). The results supported the hypotheses, with subjects who were primed with aggressive-sports rating an unrelated target person's behavior as significantly more hostile and as more likely to prefer aggressive activities relative to subjects exposed to sentences containing references to nonaggressive-sports. Discussion includes the potential ramifications for spectator aggression at sporting events.     

From “4Rs and 2Ss” to “Amaka Amasanyufu” (Happy Families): Adapting a U.S.-based Evidence-Based Intervention to the Uganda Context

In Uganda, one in five children presents mental health challenges, including disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs). DBDs can persist through adulthood and result in negative outcomes. Effective interventions for DBDs have been developed and tested in high-poverty communities in developed countries. Yet, most African countries, such as Uganda, lack such interventions. This paper describes the adaptation process of an evidence-based intervention of U.S. origin to optimize fit to context with intervention fidelity, as part of a randomized trial conducted with youth that exhibit behavioral challenges and their caregivers in 30 schools in Uganda. The process involved: initial meetings with headteachers and teachers to introduce the study and the main concepts of the intervention; initial manual review focusing on 4Rs and 2Ss content by the Uganda team; engagement of community stakeholders for additional feedback on content and cultural relevance; final revision of the manual; and collection of children’s drawings for the illustration of the manual. This paper describes both similarities and differences between the original and adapted intervention content and methods of delivery. The findings also highlight the importance of involving community stakeholders in the adaptation process.     

Displacement trauma: complex states of personal,collective and intergenerational fragmentation and their intergenerational transmission

Originally presented at the Journal’s one day conference entitled ‘Displacement: Contemporary Traumatic Experience’ held in London in November 2019, this paper expands on the author’s theory of the implicit psychological organizing gestalt, an associated pattern of psychic functions which operate in an integrated way to simultaneously structure and organize our experience of self-cohesion and self-continuity. The gestalt, which implicitly links the formation of psychic skin, body image, cultural skin and both personal and cultural identity with place, functions as an emergent non-conscious permanent presence or background ‘constant’. It develops over time and emerges out of embodied emotional experiencing with the total environment – both human and non-human. The author argues that it is the rupture of this gestalt and the disorganizing consequences of its loss which underlies the experience of displacement trauma. If disruptions in the formation of the gestalt and/or its later rupture remain unrecognized and unrepresented then the absence creates a void which can be intergenerationally transmitted. Case material is presented which describes this and which highlights the ways in which the gestalt can contribute to our understanding of collective displacement anxiety, cultural trauma and cultural complexes.     

Archetypal images emerging in the therapy of Lithuanian cancer patients

The goal of this paper is to show through clinical examples how archetypal images connected with nature emerged in Lithuanian cancer patients, to analyze how these images helped them to get in touch with their emotions and meaningful personal experiences, and to discuss how these archetypal images are related to the Lithuanian cultural unconscious, and may also assist the psychological treatment of cancer. The analyzed examples permit the preliminary conclusion that when ill with cancer, a person's psyche generates universal archetypal images that constitute an important part of the process of coping psychologically with the disease.     

Stigma towards psychosis: Cross‐cultural differences in prejudice,stereotypes, and discrimination in White British and South Asians

Public stigma towards people with mental health problems has been demonstrated in Western societies. Little is known about non‐Western cultures and whether cultures differ in their perceptions of people with mental health problems. Aim of this study was to examine cultural differences in prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination towards people with psychosis. Participants were from White British and South Asian backgrounds (N = 128, aged 16–20 years) recruited from two schools and colleges in the United Kingdom. They completed a cross‐sectional survey on affective, cognitive, and behavioural dimensions of stigma. Results revealed significant cultural differences on all three stigma dimensions. South Asians attributed higher anger (prejudice) and dangerousness (stereotypes) to people with psychosis than White British. They also reported lower willingness to help, greater avoidance, and higher endorsement of segregation (discrimination). The effects of ethnic group on helping intentions, avoidance, and segregation endorsement were mediated by anger and by dangerousness. Understanding cultural differences in stigma towards psychosis will be important for designing stigma interventions as well as treatments for people with different cultural backgrounds.     

Attachment and resource sharing

In three studies we examined the associations between resource sharing (RS) and attachment, and the enhancement of RS using attachment security primes. In Study 1, we showed that attachment avoidance was negatively associated with RS. We also identified differences and similarities between RS and pro‐sociality. In Studies 2 and 3, we showed that research participants were more likely to share their monetary resources after they were primed with attachment security. Study 3 further revealed that security priming affected mainly people low on state attachment anxiety. Our findings extend previous work on pro‐sociality into the specific realm of RS, provide behavioral evidence, and tie attachment and close relationships in with game theory and research on economic decision making.     

The cultural in the social: A reflection on sociocultural models approaches

Culture is a critical concept for social psychology in Asia. The sociocultural models approach, as exemplified in this special issue, is a significant synthesis of the past work and a generative platform for future research. From the perspective of cultural dynamics, this commentary provides what I hope to be constructively critical reflections on this approach and attempts to point to potential directions for future investigation.     

The effect of unilateral hand contractions on psychophysiological activity during motor performance: Evidence of verbal-analytical engagement

ObjectivesConscious engagement in movement control can influence motor performance. In most cases, the left hemisphere of the brain plays an important role in verbal-analytical processing and reasoning, so changes in the balance of hemispheric activation may influence conscious engagement in movement. Evidence suggests that unilateral hand contractions influence hemispheric activation, but no study has investigated whether there is an associated effect of hand contractions on verbal-analytical processing during motor performance. This study utilized psychophysiological (and behavioural) measures to examine whether pre-performance unilateral hand contraction protocols change verbal-analytical engagement during motor performance.DesignA repeated measures crossover design was employed.MethodsTwenty-eight participants completed three hand contraction protocols in a randomised order: left-, right- and no-hand contractions. Electroencephalography (EEG) measures of hemispheric asymmetry were computed during hand contractions. A golf putting task was conducted after each protocol. EEG connectivity between sites overlying the left verbal-analytical temporal region (T7) and the motor planning region (Fz) was computed for the 3 sec prior to movement initiation. Additionally, electrocardiography (ECG) and electromyography (EMG) signals were analysed 6 sec prior to movement initiation until 6 sec after. Golf putting performance (distance from the target) and putter swing kinematics were measured.ResultsContralateral hemisphere activity was revealed for the left-hand and right-hand contraction conditions. During motor planning, the left-hand contraction protocol led to significantly lower T7-Fz connectivity, and the right-hand contraction protocol led to significantly higher T7-Fz connectivity than the other conditions. EMG, ECG and kinematic measures did not differ as a function of condition. Importantly, T7-Fz connectivity mediated the relationship between hand squeezing and motor performance (distance from the target).ConclusionThe EEG results suggest that pre-performance unilateral hand contractions influence the extent of verbal-analytical engagement during motor planning, which in turn influences motor performance. However, the hand contractions did not influence cardiac activity, muscle activity or kinematics.