Giving meaning to illness: An investigation of self-defining memories in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients are often unable to adequately fulfill their established roles due to physical disabilities and cognitive changes, making this chronic illness particularly threatening to personal identity. Twenty-five MS patients and 25 healthy controls were asked to recall five self-defining memories (SDM). Overall characteristics of SDM did not differ between patients and controls; MS patients displayed preserved capacity to draw meaning upon past events. Moreover, almost two-thirds of MS patients mentioned at least one illness related SDM and about 25% of patients’ SDM referred to MS. These memories were experienced as more negative and associated with more tension than other SDM but led toward more positive emotion and less negative emotion over time; they were also more central and more integrated to the personal identity. We concluded that self-challenging events due to MS may trigger both cognitive and emotional processes enabling the integration of illness in patients’ self-representations.     

Waving the Flag: National Symbolism,Social Identity,and Political Engagement*

This research examined the psychological underpinnings of concern for national symbols and ritualistic‐ceremonial activities or “symbolic involvement.” We propose and test a distinction between symbolic and “instrumental” involvement or concern for the functionality of national institutions and their capability to provide instrumental benefits to citizens. Items comprising the two constructs were found to be empirically distinct, evidenced by statistically reliable and orthogonal dimensions in exploratory factor analysis. Moreover, evidence based on divergent patterns of relations with various forms of national membership indicates that symbolic and instrumental involvement are rooted in distinct motivational concerns related to identity expression and object appraisal, respectively. These findings suggest that national symbolism evokes a psychological attachment to the nation as an abstracted social entity, but not as a concrete functional system.     

Interviews with ethnic interviewees: Non-verbal communication errors in impression formation

Two studies are described concerning ethnic interviewees in interviews. The first study (a style of presentation study) revealed several differences in non-verbal behaviour displayed by Dutch and ethnic interviewees in interviews. The second study showed that interviewees with an ‘ethnic style’ of non-verbal presentation were assessed more negatively than interviewees with a ‘Dutch style’ of non-verbal presentation by a Dutch selection board. Finally, some implications of the results are discussed.     

The real and the ideal; gender differences in heterosexual behaviour among Norwegian adolescents

This article focuses on gender differences in early heterosexual behaviour among Norwegian adolescents. The material comprised a random sample of 3000 Norwegian adolescents aged 17–19 years. The response rate was 63%. Data were collected by means of anonymous self-administered questionnaires. Sixty-nine per cent of the girls and 59% of the boys had had sexual intercourse. The majority of the adolescents, and a larger percentage of girls than of boys, had their first intercourse within a relationship of mutual commitment. The boys' first coital partners were 0.2 years younger than the boys themselves and the girls' partners were 2.8 years older than were the girls. Boys had had more coital partners than girls but girls had had intercourse more often than boys. Coital frequency was affected more by how long the adolescents had known the partner than by gender as such. In conclusion, boys and girls aged between 17 and 19 years form part of couples at two different stages of development. For this reason, boys and girls accumulate different sexual experiences in the early stage of their sexual careers.     

Playing to their strengths: Can focusing on typical in-group strengths be detrimental to people of colour?

With increasing awareness about racism, portrayals of communities of colour are shifting away from negative representations. Emphasizing their strengths could counter negative stereotypes about who they are and low expectations for who they can be, but could also backfire. In two experiments centring adolescents (n = 198) and adults of colour (n = 321), the effect of reflecting on a typical strength was moderated by perceived misalignments between racial/ethnic and ideal future selves (i.e., ethnic–ideal self-discrepancy). For participants perceiving them as aligned, reflecting on a typical in-group strength reduced actual–ideal self-discrepancy. However, for participants perceiving them as misaligned, reflecting on a typical in-group strength increased actual–ideal self-discrepancy. Reflecting on a typical strength also indirectly influenced engagement, through actual–ideal self-discrepancy. Reflecting on an atypical in-group strength did not yield significant effects. Thus, emphasizing typical aspects of stigmatized communities, even when positive, sometimes impede identity and motivation.     

Exploring the Context-Sensitivity of Collective Action Motivations and the Mobilizing Role of Social Media: A Comparative Interview Study With Activists in Germany and Turkey

Western scholarship has underlined the relevance of social identity, perceived efficacy, emotions, and cost–benefit assessments as central catalysts of collective action. Little has been done to understand the context-sensitivity of these catalysts by means of cross-culturally comparative designs. The current study explores their context-sensitivity. It aims to find out whether existing opportunity structures in a democratic, nonrepressive country like Germany produce catalysts of collective action different from those produced in an autocratic, repressive country like Turkey. It also aims to understand the role of social media in mobilizing people in these two contexts. Semistandardized interviews with activists were carried out in both countries (n = 18 in Germany and n = 15 in Turkey) and analyzed by means of a cross-culturally comparative inductive coding procedure including initial and focused coding. Results show that collective action is related to different configurations of collective-action catalysts in the two countries. Solidarity concerns at the face of existential risks are more pronounced in Turkey, whereas political-change concerns are more important in Germany. The role of social media accordingly differs, adhering to the different activist goals. Theoretical implications for the role of context in studying collective action are discussed.     

Représentations des cheffes de cuisine quant à leur activité de management : faire sa place dans des brigades exclusivement masculines

This article presents an exploratory study aimed at identifying the représentations of female chefs regarding their management activity in often exclusively mal teams. In order to carry out this research, 20 female chefs were questioned via individual interviews, equipped with projective maps from the DIXIT game. The thematic analysis shows that female leaders have a family heritage that prompted them to enroll in this profession, without necessarily having received training in management activities. Chefs are looking for their own style, which they distinguish from that of men. Finally, the heads express having to build their own professional environment to protect themselves. These results will be discussed in the last part.