Millennials’ national and global identities as drivers of materialism and consumer ethnocentrism

ABSTRACT

A major effect of globalization is one that occurs on the self-concept. This is especially the case for young consumers, and particularly for millennials. Despite this cohort’s idiosyncrasies, little attention has been paid to the study of their consumer identities, an important aspect of self-concept. The current research addresses this gap by examining the way millennial consumers’ global and national identities help explain two attitudinal outcomes associated with globalization: materialism and consumer ethnocentrism. Data were collected from millennials in two distinct socio-cultural contexts. A key finding suggests that distinct contexts (i.e., collectivist and ethnically homogeneous vs. individualistic and ethnically diverse) exhibit differences in the formation of materialism and consumer ethnocentrism among millennials. Additionally, results indicate that for similar consumer segments, each context’s configuration of millennials shows differences in global and national identities. Implications for future researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

Effects of the range and frequency of vibrations on the momentary riding comfort evaluation of a railway vehicle

When trains pass level-crossings, turnouts, and rail joints, they are momentarily subjected to extreme vibrations. In railway engineering, evaluation of the riding comfort under such occasional vibrations is called the momentary riding comfort evaluation, as distinct from the long-term evaluation, which addresses the riding comfort of passengers for certain lengths of train operation. In order to identify the effective vibrational characteristics of the momentary evaluation, an experiment was performed with a riding comfort simulator. Ten adult subjects for each condition, 80 in total, participated in the experiment. The effects of differences in the range of stimuli, frequency of each stimulus, and scores on a rating scale of discomfort were studied. Differences in the range and frequency affected the evaluation such that subjects tended to make a relative judgment on discomfort. They made almost an absolute judgment when the rating scale was well defined, with a small number of categories.     

Children view own-age faces qualitatively differently to other-age faces

Like most own-group biases in face recognition, the own-age bias (OAB) is thought to be based either on perceptual expertise or socio-cognitive motivational mechanisms [Wolff, N., Kemter, K., Schweinberger, S. R., &; Wiese, H. (2013). What drives social in-group biases in face recognition memory? ERP evidence from the own-gender bias. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. doi:10.1093/scan/nst024]. The present study employed a recognition paradigm with eye-tracking in order to assess whether participants actively viewed faces of their own-age differently to that of other-age faces. The results indicated a significant OAB (superior recognition for own-age relative to other-age faces), provided that they were upright, indicative of expertise being employed for the recognition of own-age faces. However, the eye-tracking results indicate that viewing other-age faces was qualitatively different to the viewing of own-age faces, with more nose fixations for other-age faces. These results are interpreted as supporting the socio-cognitive model of the OAB.     

Ecumenism and Global Governance

On 21 June 2018, on his 23rd international journey, Pope Francis travelled to Geneva to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the World Council of Churches. The Swiss city also hosts a large number of representative international institutions dealing with global governance and the issues of peace, human rights, and migration. After reviewing the main highlights of the journey, this article discusses its significance: to appeal to the common commitment of Christians to proclaim the gospel and its power of salvation in a divided and wounded world. In this way, Pope Francis underlined that in the pluralistic society of today, harmony is not possible if we just ignore faith and focus on what it means to be human while excluding the transcendent. Indeed, it is the gospel that promotes harmony and commitment to a better world.     

A Plea for Internormative Ethics

Plurality of life forms and value systems is a given (almost) everywhere on earth. Imposing on them a value system or individual values and virtues from an exterior position is rather counterproductive. Value systems are normative for individual communities but not the same. They are to relate to each other and to interact, negotiating with each other common goals and the validity and limits of values involved in their relationships and shared action. Anything else leads to tensions and violence. Internormative ethics reflect on such interaction of value systems.     

反馈评估的局部背景依赖效应：ERP研究

人脑对反馈的评估依赖于其所处背景。但是只能依赖整体背景(整个组块的结果范围), 还是可以依赖局部背景(单个试次的结果范围)进行评估, 目前并不清楚。本研究通过获益/损失线索操纵所在试次的反馈背景, 探讨反馈评估仅依赖整体背景, 还是可延伸到局部水平。25名被试参与实验。结果发现, 背景试次间变化时, 在获益背景下, ￥0 (负反馈)比+ ￥4 (正反馈)引发更负的FRN (feedback-related negativity); 在损失背景下, - ￥4 (负反馈)比￥0 (正反馈)引发更负的FRN。这一结果说明反馈评估以某线索背景中可能的结果为参考对象, FRN的背景依赖可以延伸到局部水平。结合前人研究, 推测任务类型和反馈真实性会调节背景依赖水平。在含真实反馈的主动性任务中, FRN的背景依赖效应可延伸至局部水平。     

Contextual Adaptation of the Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Victims of the Armed Conflict in Colombia: A Case Study

The delivery of a contextually adapted version of the Unified Protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders is illustrated through a case study of an internally displaced female victim of armed conflict in Colombia. A detailed account of how her history of continuous traumatic events and her forced displacement resulted in multiple emotional disorders and behaviors which hindered her ability to react to daily stressors illustrates the particular conditions of individuals exposed to extreme violence. Emphasis is placed on how her culture and context required adaptations of evidence-based interventions. The contextually adapted UP (CXA-UP) is described in “slow-motion,” through a session-by-session account of the procedure along with the specific changes in each module. Outcome measures showed four positive diagnoses at pretreatment, but none at posttreatment, 3-month, or 2-year follow-up. Implications for global applications with individuals in similar contexts and for widening access to such interventions are discussed.     

Impact of maternal adverse childhood experiences on child socioemotional function in rural Kenya: Mediating role of maternal mental health

Mothers in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMIC) suffer heightened vulnerability for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which is exacerbated by the multitude of risk factors associated with poverty and may lead to increased risk of psychiatric disorder. The constellation of complex, co‐occurring biological, environmental, social, economic and psychological risk factors are in turn transmitted to her child, conferring vulnerability for adverse development. This study examines the association between maternal intra‐ and extra‐familial ACEs, maternal education and the mental health of her child, mediated by maternal mental health. Mother‐child dyads (n = 121) in Machakos, Kenya were examined cross‐sectionally using self‐report measures of ACEs, maternal mental health and child internalizing and externalizing mental health problems. The four models proposed to examine the relationship between intra‐ and extra‐familial maternal ACEs and child internalizing and externalizing problems demonstrated indirect pathways through maternal mental health. These effects were found to be conditional on levels of maternal education, which served as a protective factor at lower levels of maternal ACEs. These models demonstrate how the impact of ACEs persists across the lifespan resulting in a negative impact on maternal mental health and conferring further risk to subsequent generations. Elucidating the association between ACEs and subsequent intergenerational sequelae, especially in LMIC where risk is heightened, may improve targeted caregiver mental health programs for prevention and intervention.     

Unique contribution of semantic representations to immediate memory: an individual-differences approach

Studies have reported dissociations between the contributions of semantic and phonological representations to immediate remembering, found through experimental manipulations as well as specific clinical cases. Also, some studies based on the analysis of individual differences reported that a semantic cued recall task has a variance unshared with the immediate memory tasks which tap the contribution of phonological representations. However, another study suggested that cued recall performance could reflect a wider ability to cluster information by category. Furthermore, no studies of individual differences have investigated the unique semantic contribution in the visual domain. Therefore, the present study used specific immediate recognition memory tasks that have been used to investigate the semantic contribution in the verbal and visual domains. The results demonstrate the unshared variance that reflects the semantic contribution in both the verbal and the visual domain, and some commonality in these variances across the domains.