Some recommendations for doing high‐impact research in social psychological science

In this article, I reflect upon my own career to distil some general recommendations for doing high‐impact social psychological research in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. My suggestions include (a) testing and deriving theories that can help explain real‐world human judgment and behaviour (answering questions that people care about), (b) preaching beyond the choir (communicating your research to audiences outside of social psychology), and (c) birds of a feather are stronger together (maximizing impact through strategic collaborations).     

Beyond trigger warnings: Toward a trauma‐informed andragogy for the graduate theological classroom*

Although development of trauma‐informed pedagogy for elementary and secondary classrooms has developed significantly, a dearth of resources for trauma‐informed andragogy in graduate theological classrooms remains. Theological classrooms are a unique context in which many students and professors carry experiences of trauma with them. This article makes the case for the need for a trauma‐informed andragogical model for the graduate theological classroom by: discussing the pervasiveness of trauma; providing definitions of key terms that need to be understood for elaborating a trauma‐informed andragogy; recommending trauma‐informed principles for course design and class‐session planning based in safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and empowerment; and identifying a few next steps for cultivating trauma‐informed classrooms and institutions at the graduate level.     

Majority world successes and European and American failure to contain COVID‐19: Cultural collectivism and global leadership

United Nations and World Health Organization data show a positive correlation, r = .53, p < .0001, N = 189, between COVID‐19 infection rates and the human development index (HDI). Less wealthy, less educated countries with lower life spans were also more successful in maintaining lower fatality rates, r = .46, p < .0001, N = 189 whereas 9 of the top‐10 countries in the world in per capita fatalities due to COVID‐19 were Western societies high in HDI. Similar positive correlations were found between COVID‐19 infection and fatality rates and a smaller sample of 76 countries measured on Schwartz intellectual autonomy (or individualism), and negative correlations of similar magnitude were found for embeddedness (or collectivism). East Asia was a global leader in preventing the spread of COVID‐19 because of a vigilant public concerned for public safety and compliant with public safety measures. African Union leaders coordinated their responses, and bought into a continent‐wide African Medical Supplies Platform that prevented panicked competition for scare supplies. Western global media and scholars have not paid attention to the successes of East Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific in fighting the pandemic. It is worth asking why this should be the case; understand the weaknesses of extreme individualism in fighting a pandemic requiring coordinated and unified public response, and consider the lessons for global scholars from the pandemic for doing research in the future.     

Effects of containment and closure policies on controlling the COVID‐19 pandemic in East Asia

Growing efforts have been made to pool coronavirus data and control measures from countries and regions to compare the effectiveness of government policies. We examine whether these strategies can explain East Asia’s effective control of the COVID‐19 pandemic based on time‐series data with cross‐correlations between the Stringency Index and number of confirmed cases during the early period of outbreaks. We suggest that multidisciplinary empirical research in healthcare and social sciences, personality, and social psychology is needed for a clear understanding of how cultural values, social norms, and individual predispositions interact with policy to affect life‐saving behavioural changes in different societies.     

Selfish power and unselfish status in Chinese work situations

The present research explored the selfishness of power and status as well as the mechanism in Chinese work situations. By using experimental and survey methods, two studies were designed to investigate the relationships among power, status, and self‐interested behaviour (SIB) as well as the mediating effect of perspective‐taking (PT). Results of the two studies consistently indicated that power increases whereas status reduces SIB. These opposing behavioural effects are partially attributed to the fact that power reduces whereas status increases PT. In addition, our results showed an interaction between power and status on SIB in Study 1 (interaction as a mental function), and a positive correlation between perceived power and status in Study 2 (correlation as a mental perception). Through the discussion from the perspective of the self/other‐orientation trait, as well as the stable effects of power and status on SIB in the two studies, we conclude that power is selfish and status is unselfish in Chinese work situations.     

东西方文化下的真实自我研究：一种关系的视角

真实自我反映了个体行为与其价值观、信仰、需求等内在状态的一致性程度, 分为特质真实与状态真实。在辨析了真实自我与自我认知、自我概念清晰性、自我一致性、正直、真诚等相关概念的异同, 并梳理该领域已有理论后, 提出真实自我表现或实现的文化差异, 即西方文化中的真实自我是自主动机驱动的, 而东方文化中的真实自我是关系要求驱动的。未来可以将“关系化”作为现象场, 以儒家传统思想为理智资源, 从理论建构、社会现象(新兴网络社交平台、社会变迁), 以及结合具体的研究方法(如跨文化比较、突显情境变化的方法)等方面开展研究。     

Research in counselling and psychotherapy Post‐COVID‐19

The COVID‐19 pandemic brings to light many areas the field of counselling and psychotherapy may need to address in future research. We outline several issues stemming from or exacerbated by the pandemic and offer suggestions for future research to address the mental health needs of those impacted. Our suggestions focus on five domains: (a) the health and well‐being of helping professionals, (b) the infodemic, (c) discrimination and minority stress, (d) spiritual and existential dynamics in mental health and (e) couple and family stress and resilience. We aim to provide a multi‐systemic perspective of mental health and well‐being in the time of COVID‐19, as well as encourage current and future studies to incorporate these suggestions to advance the health and well‐being of our communities through evidence‐based treatment approaches.     

敬则不逐物——敬畏对炫耀性消费倾向的抑制：小我的中介作用

以往炫耀性消费研究多囿于自尊补偿视角,本文着眼于驱动炫耀性消费动机的自我增强属性,提出敬畏的自我超越属性可以降低个体对自身目标重要性的评估（即提升“小我”水平）,进而降低炫耀性消费倾向。四个研究采用三种炫耀性消费倾向测量方式,通过测量特质敬畏（研究1a）和操纵状态敬畏（研究1b）均验证了敬畏对炫耀性消费倾向的抑制作用。研究2表明敬畏不影响非炫耀性消费倾向。研究3发现“小我”在敬畏与炫耀性消费倾向之间起到了中介作用。