Preference for Methods of Conflict Processing in Two Collectivist Cultures

Previous research has shown that harmony-enhancing procedures for conflict resolution are endorsed more in collectivist than in individualist societies, whereas the reverse is true for confrontational procedures. However, this result is derived from comparing Western with Eastern societies, leaving the possibility that it may be caused by a variety of East—West differences other than collectivism and individualism. To resolve this ambiguity and to extend the generality of this finding, two collectivist societies, one from Europe (Spain) and the other one from Asia (Japan), were contrasted in the present study. Consistent with the individualism—collectivism framework, results indicated that the procedural preferences of these two cultural groups were quite similar. Results also indicated that expectancies based on process control and animosity reduction were culture-general predictors of procedural preference, and that valences based on these variables yielded little additional variance over and above the expectancy variables. Expectancies based on fairness and favourableness were found to be culture-specific, as were their relationships with procedural preference. Results also implied that cultural femininity was not related to procedural preference. Finally, implications of these results for developing a universal theory of procedural preference are discussed.     

To Challenge the Morning Lark and the Night Owl: Using Smartphone Sensing Data to Investigate Day–Night Behaviour Patterns

For decades, day–night patterns in behaviour have been investigated by asking people about their sleep–wake timing, their diurnal activity patterns, and their sleep duration. We demonstrate that the increasing digitalization of lifestyle offers new possibilities for research to investigate day–night patterns and related traits with the help of behavioural data. Using smartphone sensing, we collected in vivo data from 597 participants across several weeks and extracted behavioural day–night pattern indicators. Using this data, we explored three popular research topics. First, we focused on individual differences in day–night patterns by investigating whether ‘morning larks’ and ‘night owls’ manifest in smartphone-sensed behavioural indicators. Second, we examined whether personality traits are related to day–night patterns. Finally, exploring social jetlag, we investigated whether traits and work weekly day–night behaviours influence day–night patterns on weekends. Our findings highlight that behavioural data play an essential role in understanding daily routines and their relations to personality traits. We discuss how psychological research can integrate new behavioural approaches to study personality.     

Imagined contact and mental illness stigma in an Asian context: Bolstering the effect and examining the impact of factual information

Imagined contact can be effective at reducing social stigma. However, the effect may depend on the strength of the stigma held. We tested the robustness of imagined contact in an Asian setting where stigmatization of mental illness is stronger than in Western countries. In Experiment 1 (n = 167) with five conditions, only an enhanced version of positive imagined contact was able to decrease stigma towards people with schizophrenia through decreasing intergroup anxiety. Given the potential discrepancy between imaginations and reality about experiences with stigmatized groups, in Experiment 2 (n = 121), we tested the hypothesis that after presenting participants with factual information about a mental illness group, imagined contact might backfire, resulting in more negative perceptions. However, enhanced imagined contact alongside factual message about schizophrenia did not increase stigma. The backfiring hypothesis was therefore not supported. Nevertheless, providing realistic information did negate the positive effects of enhanced imagined contact on stigma reduction. In both experiments, we also showed that intergroup anxiety mediated the effect of enhanced imagined contact on various measures of stigma.     

The effects of averaging subjective probability estimates between and within judges

The average probability estimate of J > 1 judges is generally better than its components. Two studies test 3 predictions regarding averaging that follow from theorems based on a cognitive model of the judges and idealizations of the judgment situation. Prediction 1 is that the average of conditionally pairwise independent estimates will be highly diagnostic, and Prediction 2 is that the average of dependent estimates (differing only by independent error terms) may be well calibrated. Prediction 3 contrasts between- and within-subject averaging. Results demonstrate the predictions' robustness by showing the extent to which they hold as the information conditions depart from the ideal and as J increases. Practical consequences are that (a) substantial improvement can be obtained with as few as 2-6 judges and (b) the decision maker can estimate the nature of the expected improvement by considering the information conditions.     

Risk and Prisoner's Dilemma: A Reinterpretation of Coombs' Re‐parameterization

We propose a model to measure risk in a prisoner's dilemma based on Coombs' (1973) re‐parameterization of the game as an individual risk decision‐making task that chooses between a gamble of cooperation and another gamble of defection. Specifically, we propose an index, r, to represent the risk associated with cooperation relative to defection. In conjunction with Rapoport's (1967) index of cooperation (K), our formulation of risk allows us to construct games that vary in risk (as indexed by r) while controlling for cooperativeness (as indexed by K). Following utility analysis that models risk seeking as a convex utility function and risk averse as a concave function, we predict that risk‐seeking people cooperate more in games that the cooperation choice is more risky, whereas risk‐averse people cooperate more in games that the cooperation choice is less risky. In the three studies that we varied game parameters, used different measures of risk orientation and prosocial orientation and used different experimental procedures, we found robust results supporting our predictions. Theoretical analysis of our formulation further suggests that risk and cooperativeness of a prisoner's dilemma game is not entirely independent. Games that have a higher cooperativeness index are necessarily more risky. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aligning inside and outside perspectives of the self: A cross‐cultural difference in self‐perception

Past research shows that European Americans tend to take a first‐person perspective to understand the self and are unlikely to align the inside look with the outside gaze, whereas Asians tend to take a third‐person perspective and are likely to shift their inside look in the direction of the outsize gaze. In three experiments, we compared Asians and European Americans' self‐perceptions when the presence of their parents in the background of self‐perception was primed or otherwise. Without the priming, both European Americans and Asians viewed themselves more positively from their own perspective than from their parents' perspective. With the priming, only Asians lowered the positivity of their self‐perceptions to match the perceived positivity of the self in the parents' perspective. These results suggest that Asians do not have a static, passive tendency to assimilate their self‐views into the perceived external assessments of the self. Rather, their self‐views are fluid and flexible.     

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.     

Effect of inequality on cooperation: Heterogeneity and hegemony in public goods dilemma

We conducted two studies to explain inconsistent findings on the effect of resource inequality based on two properties of heterogeneity: (a) level of inequality and (b) asymmetry of resource distribution. We confirmed that symmetrically heterogeneous groups cooperated less than homogeneous groups did. We also found that larger resource inequality led to less cooperation. More importantly, the effect of inequality was different among groups with different distributions of resources – cooperation declined in groups with a symmetrical distribution of resources but did not decline in groups with a hegemonic distribution. Hegemonic distribution also affected psychological states as resource inequality changed. High endowment members reported higher self-efficacy when distribution was hegemonic than symmetric. However, they also reported more fear of being a sucker in hegemonic groups.     

The mercy of anxiety: A relational-psychoanalytic study of Dialogues des Carmélites

This article discusses the complex relationship between anxiety and religion in identity formation by analysing an intense, contemporary opera, the Dialogues des Carmélites by the French composer Francis Poulenc. The theoretical framework for our discussion was adopted from what is currently called relational psychoanalysis - and more specifically, from the theories of Erik H. Erikson, Ernest G. Schachtel and Donald W. Winnicott. We will try to demonstrate that existential anxiety forms part of the process of developing a (religious) identity, and need not necessarily be a sign of weakness or pathology. Nonetheless, feelings of anxiety may be paralysing in a cultural climate such as ours, which stresses the values of freedom and autonomy. A relational psychoanalytic reading of the opera leads to a re-evaluation of these values, showing that (religious) identity development is an intrinsically relational process. The attitude of receptivity (which is connected to the theological theme of grace) plays an important role in this respect. On completing our analysis, we concluded that relational psychoanalysis complements the existential view on identity and anxiety. We also advocate more attention for the theme of receptivity in the psychology of religion.