Differences in Beliefs About Psychological Services in the Relationship Between Sociorace and One's Social Network

The roles of previous psychological service use and social network variables in beliefs about psychological services were examined with 184 college students. Having friends and family members who used psychological services, being female, and having used psychological services positively related with beliefs about psychological services. Socioracial differences in the effects of previous use of psychological services and social network variables on students’ beliefs about psychological services were found. Suggestions for ways counselors can provide support to students are discussed.     

Prevalence, antecedent causes and consequences of domestic violence in Myanmar

The present study explored women's experiences of domestic violence in Myanmar. In particular, the study examined the relation between antecedents and outcomes of their experiences as well as influences of attribution styles, response styles and different types of violence on their experiences. Using the Myanmar version of the Revised Conflict Tactic Scale, survey data from a representative sample of 286 women in Myanmar were conducted. Results indicated that 27% of women experienced physical assault and 69% of women experienced psychological aggression in a 1-year period. The factors associated with increased risks of violence included witnessing parental violence, husbands' unemployment, husbands' frequent alcohol use, and women's feminism attitudes. Severe physical assault was a strong predictor of negative outcomes and formal intervention. Formal intervention was related to fewer negative outcomes.     

Implicit and explicit attitude dissociation in spontaneous deceptive behavior

Society considers deception to be an improper act but at the same time, people deceive each other surprisingly often during interpersonal interactions. In our study, this hypocrisy was assumed to be derived from ambivalent attitudes stemming from different sources, which we divided into implicit and explicit. Using a simulated racing task in a virtual environment, we identified participants who chose to be deceptive. Twenty two of the 60 subjects spontaneously decided to cheat in order to gain monetary compensation, while the other 38 subjects chose to be honest. We compared these two groups’ implicit beliefs about deception using the Implicit Association Test (Deception-IAT), as well as their explicit attitudes about deception and their personalities using self-report questionnaires. There was no difference between the two groups in explicit attitude or personality; however, the group who cheated on the racing task showed their implicit preference for deception more than that of the group who acted honestly as measured by the Deception-IAT.     

The impact of online brand community type on consumer's community engagement behaviors: consumer-created vs. marketer-created online brand community in online social-networking web sites

The current study proposed and tested a theoretical model of consumers' online brand community engagement behaviors, with particular attention given to online brand community type (consumer vs. marketer-created). By integrating attribution and social identity theories, this study investigated the causal linkages between intrinsic motives of altruism, social identification motivations, and online brand community engagement behaviors. The results showed that consumers' online brand community engagement intentions were indirectly influenced by the different types of communities through different levels of consumers' attributions to intrinsic motives of altruism. This study also found that, in the attribution processes, consumers' intrinsic motives of altruism motivated them to identify themselves socially with the online communities they join. Finally, this study demonstrated that the intrinsic motives of altruism and social identification motivations provided strong social incentives to motivate consumers to engage in subsequent online brand community behaviors.     

‘Healed to imagine’: healing discourse in Korean popular culture and its politics

Healing culture is rapidly growing in the neoliberal late-capitalist context of modern Korea. This study proposes, by defining healing culture as a case of mediated religion, an alternative reading of the culture’s contribution to social change, although not disproving altogether the conventional readings that healing culture has ideological, status quo and conforming effects. First, since healing discourse tends to broaden and universalise the subjects of healing into the general society, it reveals that urgent remedies are required for many individuals and, more generally, for the entire society. Second, healing messages initiate a change within the repertoire of the society’s accepted discourses, specifically by providing post-materialist values that have been dismissed in the society and by enabling people to imagine an alternative society where post-materialist values are governing.     

Brain functions associated with verbal working memory tasks among young males with alcohol use disorders

This study aimed to investigate the differences in brain functions during verbal working memory between individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUD) and normal controls. fMRI was used to scan brain activations associated with verbal working memory while participants performed 2-back and 0-back tasks. A total of 21 young male college students participated in the study. Eleven of those who clinically met the criteria for AUD were assigned to the AUD group, whereas ten demographically similar subjects who were social drinkers but not AUD were assigned to the normal control group. The AUD group showed less activation in bilateral frontal and precentral, left superior temporal, left superior parietal, and left cerebellar cortex during the 2-back task relative to 0-back task compared to the normal control group. In contrast, the control group showed less activation only in the right uncus than the AUD group. These results suggest that subjects with AUD present abnormality in brain functioning during verbal working memory.