Religious Identity,Expression, and Civility in Social Media: Results of Data Mining Latter‐Day Saint Twitter Accounts

This study explores religious self‐identification, religious expression, and civility among projected Latter‐Day Saint Twitter accounts (201,107 accounts and 1,542,229 tweets). Novel methods of data collection and analysis were utilized to test hypotheses related to religious identity and civility against social media data at a large scale. Results indicated that (1) projected LDS Twitter accounts tended to represent authentic (rather than anonymous or pseudonymous) identities; (2) local minority versus majority status did not influence users’ willingness to religiously self‐identify; (3) isolation stigma did not occur when users religiously self‐identified; (4) participants exhibited much lower degrees of incivility than was anticipated from previous studies; and (5) religious self‐identification was connected to improved civility. Results should be of interest to scholars of religion for better understanding participation patterns and religious identity among Latter‐Day Saints and for exploring how these results may transfer to other groups of religious people.     

Well-being vocabulary in media language: An analysis of changing word usage in Norwegian newspapers

Well-being is a widely discussed topic in research, policy, and media. This study was aimed at examining usage patterns of core terminology related to well-being in Norwegian newspapers during the past two decades. Specifically, we investigated occurrence across time of 39 words describing well-being facets from four theoretical perspectives: affective approaches, cognitive or life satisfaction approaches, eudaimonic and humanistic approaches, and character strengths. Four major newspapers were selected in order to capture sociocultural and regional variation. Evidence of significant changes in usage frequency was detected for about half of the search terms. Affective words showed variable trends, while usage of words referring to satisfaction declined. The most notable magnitude of change concerned the increase in eudaimonic words related to mastery, motivation, and self-development. Findings suggest that core vocabulary of well-being belongs to a changeable field of linguistic practice. Implications for positive psychology are proposed.     

媒体暴力对大学生攻击性的长时效应和短时效应

本研究采取前后测实验设计,以内隐联想测验和Buss的攻击性问卷为研究工具,探讨了媒体暴力对大学生攻击性的长时效应和短时效应。结果发现:(1)个体实验前接触媒体暴力的程度越强烈,内隐攻击性越强,外显攻击性也越强;(2)接触暴力视频游戏10分钟就会增强个体的内隐攻击性,接触非暴力视频游戏10分钟对个体的内隐攻击性没有影响;接触暴力和非暴力视频游戏10分钟对个体的外显攻击性没有影响;(3)外显攻击性基线水平和游戏类型的交互作用不显著;内隐攻击性基线水平和游戏类型交互作用显著。内隐攻击性基线水平较高的个体,游戏类型对其内隐攻击性的影响差异不显著;内隐攻击性基线水平较低的个体,暴力视频游戏增加了他们的内隐攻击性,非暴力视频游戏对他们的内隐攻击性没有影响。     

Virtual team leadership: The effects of leadership style and communication medium on team interaction styles and outcomes

This study investigated the effects of transformational and transactional leadership styles and communication media on team interaction styles and outcomes. Teams communicated through one of the following three ways: (a) face-to-face, (b) desktop videoconference, or (c) text-based chat. Results indicated that transformational and transactional leadership styles did not affect team interaction styles or outcomes; that the mean constructive interaction score was higher in FTF than videoconference and chat teams, but not significantly higher in videoconference than chat teams; and that teams working in richer communication media did not achieve higher task performance than those communicating through less rich media. Finally, mean team cohesion scores were higher in FTF and videoconference than chat teams, but not significantly higher in FTF than videoconference teams. These results provide further evidence that communication media do have important effects on team interaction styles and cohesion.     

新媒体研究述评及其心理学研究取向

新媒体的横空出世,对人们的生活带来极大影响。针对新媒体自身的一些问题及其影响,国内外进行了一系列研究。在综观相关研究成果基础上,介绍了新媒体的内涵与外延、特征及新媒体时代的起始时间,并主要介绍了新媒体的研究焦点,包括新媒体对人们生活方式及生活质量的影响,影响人们对新媒体态度及行为背后的心理因素分析。最后,在综合评价已有研究的基础上,提出应进一步加强新媒体的心理学研究取向,同时指出新媒体研究问题的具体深入化、方法的多元化及研究的本土化是未来的研究趋向。     

心理战信息损伤的概念与研究

信息是心理战进攻的主要武器,以造成心理杀伤为最终目标。为了更好地研究心理战防御,需要首先对信息损伤的特点进行研究。本文通过“非典”流行期间信息损伤的调查,界定了信息损伤的概念,总结了信息损伤的特点,分析了信息损伤的影响因素,提出了未来信息损伤的研究方向     

GOD AS A COMMUNICATIVE SYSTEM SUI GENERIS: BEYOND THE PSYCHIC, SOCIAL, PROCESS MODELS OF THE TRINITY

With an aim to develop a public theology for an age of information media (or media theology), this article proposes a new God-concept: God is a communicative system sui generis that autopoietically processes meaning/information in the supratemporal realm via perfect divine media ad intra (Word/Spirit). For this task, Niklas Luhmann's systems theory is critically appropriated in dialogue with theology. First, my working postmetaphysical/epistemological stance is articulated as realistic operational constructivism and functionalism. Second, a series of arguments are advanced to substantiate the thesis: (1) God is an observing system sui generis ; (2) self-referential communication is divine operation; (3) unsurpassable complexity is divine mystery; (4) supratemporal autopoiesis of meaning is divine processing; (5) agape is the symbolic medium of divine communication. Third, this communicative model of God is developed into a trinitarian theology, with a claim that this model offers a viable alternative beyond the standard (psychic, social, process) models. Finally, some implications of this model are explored for constructive theology (conceiving creation as divine mediatization) and for science-and-religion in terms of derivative models: (1) God as a living system sui generis and (2) God as a meaning system sui generis .     

Can we still stand by words? or: Why rhetoric needs A pragmatic turn

Rhetorical theory has developed powerful criticisms of pretentions to objectivity, in the spirit of deconstruction and ideology critique. These critiques contain nihilistic tendencies when they become abstracted from the interactive social contexts upon which they depend for their own significance and efficacy. With a rich analysis of the social bases of communication sustained by its commitment to the project of deliberative democracy, the classic Pragmatism of John Dewey and G. H. Mead can provide an important corrective by orienting rhetorical theory toward reflective social-political engagement.     

Constructing and contesting threat: Representations of white British Muslims across British national and Muslim newspapers

White British Muslims pose a challenge to racialised representations of British Muslims as non‐white, foreign and Other. By drawing on tools from Critical Discourse Analysis to develop Social Representations Theory on a micro‐analytic level, and making connections with other relevant social psychological theories on intergroup relations, this article examines the constructions of white British Muslims as a threat in six national and two Muslim British newspapers. It looks at how discourses are used to create, perpetuate and challenge the ‘hegemonisation’ of social representations in majority and minority press. The findings show that white British Muslims are portrayed as a threat not just despite of, but because of, their position as part of the ‘white British’ ingroup. Consequently, the threat they pose often leads to their Muslimness being emphasised. This was, at times, contested, however, either through direct challenges, or by making the threat ambivalent by drawing on their whiteness.