WorldWideScience

Sample records for social psychology theory

  1. How cultural evolutionary theory can inform social psychology and vice versa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mesoudi, Alex

    2009-10-01

    Cultural evolutionary theory is an interdisciplinary field in which human culture is viewed as a Darwinian process of variation, competition, and inheritance, and the tools, methods, and theories developed by evolutionary biologists to study genetic evolution are adapted to study cultural change. It is argued here that an integration of the theories and findings of mainstream social psychology and of cultural evolutionary theory can be mutually beneficial. Social psychology provides cultural evolution with a set of empirically verified microevolutionary cultural processes, such as conformity, model-based biases, and content biases, that are responsible for specific patterns of cultural change. Cultural evolutionary theory provides social psychology with ultimate explanations for, and an understanding of the population-level consequences of, many social psychological phenomena, such as social learning, conformity, social comparison, and intergroup processes, as well as linking social psychology with other social science disciplines such as cultural anthropology, archaeology, and sociology.

  2. Evolutionary Theory's Increasing Role in Personality and Social Psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gregory D. Webster

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Has the emergence of evolutionary psychology had an increasing impact on personality and social psychological research published over the past two decades? If so, is its growing influence substantially different from that of other emerging psychological areas? These questions were addressed in the present study by conducting a content analysis of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP from 1985 to 2004 using the PsycINFO online abstract database. Specifically, keyword searches for “evol*” or “Darwin*” revealed that the percentage of JPSP articles drawing on evolutionary theory was modest, but increased significantly between 1985 and 2004. To compare the growing impact of evolutionary psychology with other psychological areas, similar keywords searches were performed in JPSP for emotion and motivation, judgment and decision making, neuroscience and psychophysiology, stereotyping and prejudice, and terror management theory. The increase in evolutionary theory in JPSP over time was practically equal to the mean increase over time for the other five areas. Thus, evolutionary psychology has played an increasing role in shaping personality and social psychological research over the past 20 years, and is growing at a rate consistent with other emerging psychological areas.

  3. Psychology and social networks: a dynamic network theory perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westaby, James D; Pfaff, Danielle L; Redding, Nicholas

    2014-04-01

    Research on social networks has grown exponentially in recent years. However, despite its relevance, the field of psychology has been relatively slow to explain the underlying goal pursuit and resistance processes influencing social networks in the first place. In this vein, this article aims to demonstrate how a dynamic network theory perspective explains the way in which social networks influence these processes and related outcomes, such as goal achievement, performance, learning, and emotional contagion at the interpersonal level of analysis. The theory integrates goal pursuit, motivation, and conflict conceptualizations from psychology with social network concepts from sociology and organizational science to provide a taxonomy of social network role behaviors, such as goal striving, system supporting, goal preventing, system negating, and observing. This theoretical perspective provides psychologists with new tools to map social networks (e.g., dynamic network charts), which can help inform the development of change interventions. Implications for social, industrial-organizational, and counseling psychology as well as conflict resolution are discussed, and new opportunities for research are highlighted, such as those related to dynamic network intelligence (also known as cognitive accuracy), levels of analysis, methodological/ethical issues, and the need to theoretically broaden the study of social networking and social media behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. Towards a Comprehensive Socio-Psychological Perspective: A Critique of Social Dominance Theory

    OpenAIRE

    Tunçgenç, Bahar

    2010-01-01

    Psychology aims to understand human cognition and behavior, which necessitates making use of sociological-political theories. Social Dominance Theory (SDT) is one of the psychological theories that try to explain the individual-society relationship from a broad perspective. Yet, this theory has its shortcomings too. In an attempt to contribute to a well-grounded theory for psychological research, the paper at hand will discuss the shortcomings of SDT. The main discussion concerns following ap...

  5. Moral functioning: socio-psychological approach.Social intuitionist theory of John Haidt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor A. Zaikin

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The paper studies the methodological aspect of developing social intuitionist approach to moral psychology. The paper reveals the possibility of applying this approach to the study of morality and moral functioning today, emphasizes the representation of issues in moral psychology methodological origins of social psychology, both in Russia and abroad. Social and psychological foundations of social intuitionist approach are described in detail. The research results show that the child perceiving the concept of fairness and variability in the framework of a specific group membership is culturally determined. The matter of special consideration is the theory of the American social psychologist George Haidt. The results of his work and his colleagues’ works are presented herein describing the concept of cultural variable moral intuitions, the findings of empirical studies carried out in the framework of this approach are summarized. The paper reveals the fundamental provisions of the social and intuitionistic theory. The comparative analysis of the social intuitionistic and cognitive approaches in moral psychology is presented. The conclusion that the relativistic understanding of morality is not an obstacle to its study, and the presence of various determinants of moral functioning should be based on further empirical research. The authors conceptualized the current state of social intuitionistic theory of moral functioning, which describes the theoretical and methodological sources of this area (Rawls, 2010; Freud, 2005; Hume, 1996; Hare’s, 1981. As justification for this approach the paper considers the phenomena studied in psychology, social cognition, and those that create the possibility of developing this area, namely affective motivation (Zajonc, 1980, fair-world hypothesis (Lerner, 1965, the objectivity of the illusion (Perkins, Allen, & Hafner , 1983, the phenomenon of «naive realism» (Griffin, & Ross, 1991, group interaction in a

  6. Integrating Social Class into Vocational Psychology: Theory and Practice Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diemer, Matthew A.; Ali, Saba Rasheed

    2009-01-01

    Although social class plays a salient and significant role in career development and occupational attainment, social class is underrepresented in vocational psychology theory, scholarship, and practice. Vocational psychologists are in a unique position to meet the career development needs of persons from all social classes by integrating a fuller…

  7. Willingness to Share Knowledge Compared with Selected Social Psychology Theories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ewa Krok

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Knowledge is one of the key determinants in the growth and competitiveness of modern enterprises. Hence, it is essential to analyse the factors that induce employees to exchange knowledge. The problem of sharing an intangible asset — in this case, the knowledge of individuals — can be viewed from many perspectives: psychological, economic, organisational, sociological and technological. The aim of this article is to explore selected social psychology theories and to analyse the incentives for people to share knowledge. The article attempts to interpret the willingness to share knowledge through the Social Exchange Theory, the Social Impact Theory, the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. This analysis leads to the following conclusions: •we share our knowledge and expect a return; •we share our knowledge when we believe that the benefits of this action outweigh the costs; •we are pushed to share knowledge by the power of empathy; •workers’ willingness to share knowledge is influenced by three social processes: subordination, identification and internalisation; •the decision to share knowledge is preceded by an intention formed under the influence of an individual attitude towards that behaviour, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control; and •the decision to share knowledge is also influenced by additional components, including the knowledge and skills to implement this behaviour, environmental limitations, behavioural emphasis and habits.

  8. Social psychological theories of disordered eating in college women: review and integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzsimmons-Craft, Ellen E

    2011-11-01

    Because peer interaction, weight/shape, and self-concept formation are particularly salient to college women, the implications of social psychological theories may be especially far-reaching during the college years. College women may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of social comparison, objectification, and uses and gratifications theories, which describe social-cognitive mechanisms that provide an individual with information regarding her own view of her body and how she perceives that others perceive her body. The current paper will review and integrate findings related to these three theories of disordered eating in college women in an effort to present a more comprehensive understanding of the social psychological mechanisms that play a role in the development and maintenance of such pathology for this group of young women. Limitations of and future directions for research on these theories will be discussed, as will their potential integration with other factors that contribute to disordered eating and implications for treatment and prevention. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Psychological Theories of Acculturation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ozer, Simon

    2017-01-01

    advancements, together with greater mobility. Acculturation psychology aims to comprehend the dynamic psychological processes and outcomes emanating from intercultural contact. Acculturation psychology has been a growing field of research within cross-cultural psychology. Today, psychological theories......The proliferation of cultural transition and intercultural contact has highlighted the importance of psychological theories of acculturation. Acculturation, understood as contact between diverse cultural streams, has become prevalent worldwide due to technological, economical, and educational...... of acculturation also include cognate disciplines such as cultural psychology, social psychology, sociology, and anthropology.The expansion of psychological theories of acculturation has led to advancements in the field of research as well as the bifurcation of epistemological and methodological approaches...

  10. The first students’ conference in memory of M.Y. Kondratyev “Social Psychology: Theory and Practice”

    OpenAIRE

    Kochetkov N.V.

    2016-01-01

    This report gives a survey on the First students’ conference in memory of M.Y. Kon- dratyev “Social Psychology: Theory and Practice”. The conference demonstrated a number of best works by students at bachelor and master level, which were done in accordance with classical national tradition in social psychology studies. Thematically the conference spreads to such topics as: psychology of small groups, social psychol- ogy of an individual, ethnic psychology, social psychology of education, psyc...

  11. New social tasks for cognitive psychology; or, new cognitive tasks for social psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wettersten, John

    2014-01-01

    To elucidate how differing theories of rationality lead to differing practices, their social rules must be analyzed. This is true not merely in science but also in society at large. This analysis of social thinking requires both the identification of innate cognitive social psychological processes and explanations of their relations with differing rules of rational practice. These new tasks can enable social psychologists to contribute to the study of how social situations facilitate or inhibit rational practice and enable cognitive psychologists to improve social psychological theory. In contrast to dominant current research strategies, social and cognitive psychologists can integrate social studies of rational practices and their consequences with studies of underlying cognitive psychological processes. In this article I do not attempt to carry out these tasks but rather point to both their lack of recognition and their importance.

  12. Between Bandura and Giddens: Structuration Theory in Social Psychological Research?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seth Oppong

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available In any social analysis, one can attribute observed behavioural outcomes to actions and inactions of people (agents or to the presence or absence of certain structures or systems. The dualism of agent and structure is resolved through the concept of duality as proposed by Anthony Giddens in his structuration theory (ST. Though ST has been applied in other disciplines, it is either less known or applied in psychology. This paper sought to examine ST as a framework for understanding the interdependent relationship between structure and agents in the light of offering explanatory framework in social science research or policy formulation. It concluded with an integrated model comprising elements of both Bandura’s social-cognitive theory and Giddens’ ST.

  13. Agent-based modeling: a new approach for theory building in social psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Eliot R; Conrey, Frederica R

    2007-02-01

    Most social and psychological phenomena occur not as the result of isolated decisions by individuals but rather as the result of repeated interactions between multiple individuals over time. Yet the theory-building and modeling techniques most commonly used in social psychology are less than ideal for understanding such dynamic and interactive processes. This article describes an alternative approach to theory building, agent-based modeling (ABM), which involves simulation of large numbers of autonomous agents that interact with each other and with a simulated environment and the observation of emergent patterns from their interactions. The authors believe that the ABM approach is better able than prevailing approaches in the field, variable-based modeling (VBM) techniques such as causal modeling, to capture types of complex, dynamic, interactive processes so important in the social world. The article elaborates several important contrasts between ABM and VBM and offers specific recommendations for learning more and applying the ABM approach.

  14. The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglas, Karen M; Sutton, Robbie M; Cichocka, Aleksandra

    2017-12-01

    What psychological factors drive the popularity of conspiracy theories , which explain important events as secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups? What are the psychological consequences of adopting these theories? We review the current research and find that it answers the first of these questions more thoroughly than the second. Belief in conspiracy theories appears to be driven by motives that can be characterized as epistemic (understanding one's environment), existential (being safe and in control of one's environment), and social (maintaining a positive image of the self and the social group). However, little research has investigated the consequences of conspiracy belief, and to date, this research does not indicate that conspiracy belief fulfills people's motivations. Instead, for many people, conspiracy belief may be more appealing than satisfying. Further research is needed to determine for whom, and under what conditions, conspiracy theories may satisfy key psychological motives.

  15. The Theory of Social Control and the Social Psychology of Dissatisfaction: Inhibition, regression and isolation in a cultural context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orsolya Selymes, PhD Candidate

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The Theory of Social Control (TSC is grounded in satisfaction and happiness research. The study investigated the reasons behind relatively low levels of civil and personal satisfaction, subjective social well-being and experienced happiness in the post-communist Hungarian social context. The basic social process uncovered in the research is self-situating, which involves a continuous assessment of social control, which occurs on three psychological dimensions: activity, fairness and connectedness, operated via social flow. The culturally salient outcome of self-situating in Hungary is self-victimizing, meaning a subjective loss of control on all three dimensions. Some of the most important emotional-motivational consequences of self-victimizing are inhibition, regression and isolation, which contribute to various socio-cultural phenomenon such as distrust, bystander strategies, pessimism or anomie across a number of social situations. Based on the emerging theory, the concept of subjective social control is introduced and an expanded three-dimensional model of civil satisfaction, comfort and contribution, along with psychological and cultural implications, are discussed.Key words: social control, self-situating, self-victimizing, activity, fairness, connectedness, inhibition, fury, isolation

  16. Toward a Psychology of Social Change: A Typology of Social Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    de la Sablonnière, Roxane

    2017-01-01

    Millions of people worldwide are affected by dramatic social change (DSC). While sociological theory aims to understand its precipitants, the psychological consequences remain poorly understood. A large-scale literature review pointed to the desperate need for a typology of social change that might guide theory and research toward a better understanding of the psychology of social change. Over 5,000 abstracts from peer-reviewed articles were assessed from sociological and psychological publications. Based on stringent inclusion criteria, a final 325 articles were used to construct a novel, multi-level typology designed to conceptualize and categorize social change in terms of its psychological threat to psychological well-being. The typology of social change includes four social contexts: Stability, Inertia, Incremental Social Change and, finally, DSC. Four characteristics of DSC were further identified: the pace of social change, rupture to the social structure, rupture to the normative structure, and the level of threat to one's cultural identity. A theoretical model that links the characteristics of social change together and with the social contexts is also suggested. The typology of social change as well as our theoretical proposition may serve as a foundation for future investigations and increase our understanding of the psychologically adaptive mechanisms used in the wake of DSC. PMID:28400739

  17. Toward a Psychology of Social Change: A Typology of Social Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de la Sablonnière, Roxane

    2017-01-01

    Millions of people worldwide are affected by dramatic social change (DSC). While sociological theory aims to understand its precipitants, the psychological consequences remain poorly understood. A large-scale literature review pointed to the desperate need for a typology of social change that might guide theory and research toward a better understanding of the psychology of social change. Over 5,000 abstracts from peer-reviewed articles were assessed from sociological and psychological publications. Based on stringent inclusion criteria, a final 325 articles were used to construct a novel, multi-level typology designed to conceptualize and categorize social change in terms of its psychological threat to psychological well-being. The typology of social change includes four social contexts: Stability, Inertia, Incremental Social Change and, finally, DSC. Four characteristics of DSC were further identified: the pace of social change, rupture to the social structure, rupture to the normative structure, and the level of threat to one's cultural identity. A theoretical model that links the characteristics of social change together and with the social contexts is also suggested. The typology of social change as well as our theoretical proposition may serve as a foundation for future investigations and increase our understanding of the psychologically adaptive mechanisms used in the wake of DSC.

  18. Psychologic theories in functional neurologic disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carson, A; Ludwig, L; Welch, K

    2016-01-01

    In this chapter we review key psychologic theories that have been mooted as possible explanations for the etiology of functional neurologic symptoms, conversion disorder, and hysteria. We cover Freudian psychoanalysis and later object relations and attachment theories, social theories, illness behavior, classic and operant conditioning, social learning theory, self-regulation theory, cognitive-behavioral theories, and mindfulness. Dissociation and modern cognitive neuroscience theories are covered in other chapters in this series and, although of central importance, are omitted from this chapter. Our aim is an overview with the emphasis on breadth of coverage rather than depth. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Investigation of social cognitive career theory for minority recruitment in school psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bocanegra, Joel O; Gubi, Aaron A; Cappaert, Kevin J

    2016-06-01

    School psychology trainers have historically struggled to adequately increase the number of professionals from diverse backgrounds. An increase in diverse providers is important in meeting the needs of a burgeoning racial/ethnic minority student population. Previous research suggests that minority undergraduate psychology students have less knowledge and exposure to school psychology than for counseling and clinical psychology, and that students with greater exposure or knowledge of school psychology reported significantly greater choice intentions for school psychology. The purpose of this study is to test the applicability of the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) in explaining minority undergraduate psychology students' choice intentions for school psychology. This study is an analysis of existing data and is based on a national sample of 283 minority undergraduate psychology students. All instruments used in this study were found to have internal consistency ranging from .83 to .91. Students' learning experiences, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and choice intentions for school psychology were evaluated by way of a mediator analysis. Results from a path analysis suggest that outcome expectations mediated the relationship between exposure and choice intentions for school psychology. Implications for minority recruitment practices are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Prospect theory or construal level theory? Diminishing sensitivity vs. psychological distance in risky decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trautmann, Stefan T; van de Kuilen, Gijs

    2012-01-01

    Attitudes toward risks are central to organizational decisions. These attitudes are commonly modeled by prospect theory. Construal level theory has been proposed as an alternative theory of risky choice, accounting for psychological distance deriving from temporal, spatial and social aspects of risk that are typical of agency situations. Unnoticed in the literature, the two theories make contradicting predictions. The current study investigates which theory provides a better description of risky decisions in the presence of temporal, spatial, and social factors. We find that the psychophysical effects modeled by prospect theory dominate the psychological distance effects of construal level theory. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Social Change: Toward an Informed and Critical Understanding of Social Justice and the Capabilities Approach in Community Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munger, Felix; MacLeod, Tim; Loomis, Colleen

    2016-03-01

    Community psychology has long been concerned with social justice. However, deployments of this term are often vague and undertheorized. To address this weakness in the field's knowledge body we explored John Rawls's theory of social justice and Amartya Sen's economic theory of the capabilities approach and evaluated each for its applicability to community psychology theory, research, and action. Our unpacking of the philosophical and political underpinnings of Rawlsian theory of social justice resulted in identifying characteristics that limit the theory's utility in community psychology, particularly in its implications for action. Our analysis of the capability approach proposed by Amartya Sen revealed a framework that operationalizes social justice in both research and action, and we elaborate on this point. Going beyond benefits to community psychology in adopting the capabilities approach, we posit a bi-directional relationship and discuss how community psychology might also contribute to the capabilities approach. We conclude by suggesting that community psychology could benefit from a manifesto or proclamation that provides a historical background of social justice and critiques the focus on the economic, sociological, and philosophical theories that inform present-day conceptualizations (and lack thereof) of social justice for community psychology. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

  2. Social psychological origins of conspiracy theories: the case of the jewish conspiracy theory in malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swami, Viren

    2012-01-01

    Two studies examined correlates of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory among Malays in Malaysia, a culture in which state-directed conspiracism as a means of dealing with perceived external and internal threats is widespread. In Study 1, 368 participants from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed a novel measure of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation, and anomie. Initial analysis showed that the novel scale factorially reduced to a single dimension. Further analysis showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was only significantly associated with general conspiracist ideation, but the strength of the association was weak. In Study 2, 314 participants completed the measure of belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation, and ideological attitudes. Results showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was associated with anti-Israeli attitudes, modern racism directed at the Chinese, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation. General conspiracist ideation did not emerge as a significant predictor once other variables had been accounted for. These results suggest that there may be specific cultural and social psychological forces that drive belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory within the Malaysian context. Specifically, belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory among Malaysian Malays appears to serve ideological needs and as a mask for anti-Chinese sentiment, which may in turn reaffirm their perceived ability to shape socio-political processes.

  3. Social Psychological Origins of Conspiracy Theories: The Case of the Jewish Conspiracy Theory in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swami, Viren

    2012-01-01

    Two studies examined correlates of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory among Malays in Malaysia, a culture in which state-directed conspiracism as a means of dealing with perceived external and internal threats is widespread. In Study 1, 368 participants from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed a novel measure of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation, and anomie. Initial analysis showed that the novel scale factorially reduced to a single dimension. Further analysis showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was only significantly associated with general conspiracist ideation, but the strength of the association was weak. In Study 2, 314 participants completed the measure of belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation, and ideological attitudes. Results showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was associated with anti-Israeli attitudes, modern racism directed at the Chinese, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation. General conspiracist ideation did not emerge as a significant predictor once other variables had been accounted for. These results suggest that there may be specific cultural and social psychological forces that drive belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory within the Malaysian context. Specifically, belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory among Malaysian Malays appears to serve ideological needs and as a mask for anti-Chinese sentiment, which may in turn reaffirm their perceived ability to shape socio-political processes. PMID:22888323

  4. Social psychological origins of conspiracy theories: The case of the Jewish conspiracy theory in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viren eSwami

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Two studies examined correlates of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory among Malays in Malaysia, a culture in which state-directed conspiracism as a means of dealing with perceived external and internal threats is widespread. In Study 1, 368 participants from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed a novel measure of belief in a Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation and anomie. Initial analysis showed that the novel scale factorially reduced to a single dimension. Further analysis showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was only significantly associated with general conspiracist ideation, but the strength of the association was weak. In Study 2, 314 participants completed the measure of belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory, along with measures of general conspiracist ideation and ideological attitudes. Results showed that belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory was associated with anti-Israeli attitudes, modern racism directed at Chinese, right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation. General conspiracist ideation did not emerge as a significant predictor once other variables had been accounted for. These results suggest that there may be specific cultural and social psychological forces that drive belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory within the Malaysian context. Specifically, belief in the Jewish conspiracy theory among Malaysian Malays appears to serve ideological needs and as a mask for anti-Chinese sentiment, which may in turn reaffirm their perceived ability to shape socio-political processes.

  5. Embodiment in social psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Brian P; Schnall, Simone; Schwarz, Norbert; Bargh, John A

    2012-10-01

    Psychologists are increasingly interested in embodiment based on the assumption that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are grounded in bodily interaction with the environment. We examine how embodiment is used in social psychology, and we explore the ways in which embodied approaches enrich traditional theories. Although research in this area is burgeoning, much of it has been more descriptive than explanatory. We provide a critical discussion of the trajectory of embodiment research in social psychology. We contend that future researchers should engage in a phenomenon-based approach, highlight the theoretical boundary conditions and mediators involved, explore novel action-relevant outcome measures, and address the role of individual differences broadly defined. Such research will likely provide a more explanatory account of the role of embodiment in general terms as well as how it expands the knowledge base in social psychology. Copyright © 2012 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  6. Sociological theory and Jungian psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Gavin

    2012-01-01

    [[disenchantmentCarl JungpsychoanalysissociologyMax Weber ] In this article I seek to relate the psychology of Carl Jung to sociological theory, specifically Weber. I first present an outline of Jungian psychology. I then seek to relate this as psychology to Weber’s interpretivism. I point to basic methodological compatibilities within a Kantian frame, from which emerge central concerns with the factors limiting rationality. These generate the conceptual frameworks for parallel enquiries into the development and fate of rationality in cultural history. Religion is a major theme here: contrasts of eastern and western religion; the rise of prophetic religion and the disenchantment of modernity. Weber’s categories ‘ascetic’ and ‘mystic’ seem applicable to his own and Jung’s approaches and indeed temperaments, while a shared ironic view of rationality leads to similar visions of the disenchanted modern world. I conclude that Jung is sociologically coherent, but in an entirely different sense from Freud: rather than a constellation of family, socialization, ideology, social continuity, there is an analysis of cultural history against a background of adult normal psychology. I conclude that sociology should acknowledge Jung, but not in terms of over-arching theory. Rather Jungian insights might be used to orient new enquiries, and for reflexive analysis of sociology’s methodological debates.

  7. [Psychological theories of motivation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quoniam, Nolwenn; Bungener, Catherine

    2004-03-01

    The comprehension of the principles guiding the human actions has always been an important aspect of philosophy. The development of experimental psychology first completely rejected all mental explanations such as will, intentions or motives. Behavior should then only be understood as determined by conditioning and learning. However, different theories denied that human behavior could be considered as purely reactive to the environment and stressed the active role of the organism on the environment. Theories from the humanist psychology and the social psychology described two kinds of motivation. The extrinsic motivation results from external stimuli and the intrinsic motivation from the organism himself. Our behavior is therefore determined by an interaction between our beliefs, expectations, needs and the environment. Actually, the concept of motivation is not well specified. It refers either to a global dynamic structure responsible for action either to a specific tendency toward some specific actions. Anyway, motivation is a concept infered from behavior. Therefore, its evaluation could only be secondary.

  8. From theory construction to deconstruction: the many modalities of theorising in psychology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Looren De Jong, H.

    2010-01-01

    Theoretical psychology seems to have moved from helping theory construction in mainstream psychology to deconstructing and criticizing it. Three projects for theoretical psychology are sketched: theory construction (Kukla), naturalism (the Churchlands) and its variant metascience, and social

  9. Cooperation, psychological game theory, and limitations of rationality in social interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colman, Andrew M

    2003-04-01

    Rational choice theory enjoys unprecedented popularity and influence in the behavioral and social sciences, but it generates intractable problems when applied to socially interactive decisions. In individual decisions, instrumental rationality is defined in terms of expected utility maximization. This becomes problematic in interactive decisions, when individuals have only partial control over the outcomes, because expected utility maximization is undefined in the absence of assumptions about how the other participants will behave. Game theory therefore incorporates not only rationality but also common knowledge assumptions, enabling players to anticipate their co-players' strategies. Under these assumptions, disparate anomalies emerge. Instrumental rationality, conventionally interpreted, fails to explain intuitively obvious features of human interaction, yields predictions starkly at variance with experimental findings, and breaks down completely in certain cases. In particular, focal point selection in pure coordination games is inexplicable, though it is easily achieved in practice; the intuitively compelling payoff-dominance principle lacks rational justification; rationality in social dilemmas is self-defeating; a key solution concept for cooperative coalition games is frequently inapplicable; and rational choice in certain sequential games generates contradictions. In experiments, human players behave more cooperatively and receive higher payoffs than strict rationality would permit. Orthodox conceptions of rationality are evidently internally deficient and inadequate for explaining human interaction. Psychological game theory, based on nonstandard assumptions, is required to solve these problems, and some suggestions along these lines have already been put forward.

  10. The Evaluation of Significant Figures in the History of Social Psychology: A Class Exercise in the Teaching of Introductory Social Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Innes, John Michael; Chambers, Timothy Peter

    2017-01-01

    In teaching social psychology, the process of identifying a particular theorist can lead to an enhanced understanding of the theories associated with that individual. Employing this process into a summative assessment, this article outlines an exercise that facilitated the teaching of introductory social psychology to 147 undergraduate students.…

  11. From psychology of adaptation to psychology of social change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Awad, Sarah H.

    and is influenced by contemporary socio-political contexts, then we need to introduce the science as not only studying how individuals are inclined to adapt, conform, and assimilate to the world as is, but also how and under which conditions individuals are agents for social change. I will discuss challenges......Introducing psychology to first year students comes with its own challenges of presenting it in a clear introductory manner, yet also triggering students to think critically about the theories they are presented with. If we were to think of social psychology as a discipline that mutually influences...

  12. Social Class and Work-Related Decisions: Measurement, Theory, and Social Mobility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fouad, Nadya A.; Fitzpatrick, Mary E.

    2009-01-01

    In this reaction to Diemer and Ali's article, "Integrating Social Class Into Vocational Psychology: Theory and Practice Implications," the authors point out concerns with binary schema of social class, highlight the contribution of social class to the social cognitive career theory, argue for a more nuanced look at ways that work…

  13. Using "12 Angry Men" as an Integrative Review of Social Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fried, Carrie B.

    The use of the feature film "12 Angry Men" (1957) as an integrative review of social psychology is described. Students view the film, and then discuss the many aspects of social psychology represented in the interactions among the jurors. Discussion involves tying the movie examples back to social psychological research and theory as…

  14. Prospect theory or construal level theory? Diminishing sensitivity vs. psychological distance in risky decisions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Trautmann, S.T.; van de Kuilen, G.

    2012-01-01

    Attitudes toward risks are central to organizational decisions. These attitudes are commonly modeled by prospect theory. Construal level theory has been proposed as an alternative theory of risky choice, accounting for psychological distance deriving from temporal, spatial and social aspects of risk

  15. Realizing the promise of social psychology in improving public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klein, William M P; Shepperd, James A; Suls, Jerry; Rothman, Alexander J; Croyle, Robert T

    2015-02-01

    The theories, phenomena, empirical findings, and methodological approaches that characterize contemporary social psychology hold much promise for addressing enduring problems in public health. Indeed, social psychologists played a major role in the development of the discipline of health psychology during the 1970s and 1980s. The health domain allows for the testing, refinement, and application of many interesting and important research questions in social psychology, and offers the discipline a chance to enhance its reach and visibility. Nevertheless, in a review of recent articles in two major social-psychological journals (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology), we found that only 3.2% of 467 studies explored health-related topics. In this article, we identify opportunities for research at the interface of social psychology and health, delineate barriers, and offer strategies that can address these barriers as the discipline continues to evolve. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  16. Ecological psychology and social psychology: it is Holt, or nothing!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charles, Eric P

    2011-03-01

    What is the greatest contribution that ecological psychologists can offer social psychology? Ideally, ecological psychologists could explain how people directly perceive the unique properties of their social partners. But social partners are distinguished from mundane objects because they possess mental traits, and tradition tells us that minds cannot be seen. When considering the ideal possibility, we reject that doctrine and posit minds as perceivable. For ecological psychology, this entails asserting that minds are the types of things able to structure ambient energy. Contemporary research and theory suggests distinctly ecological ways of attacking this problem, but the problem is not new. Almost 100 years ago, Holt argued for the visibility of minds. Thus when considering these ideas, ecological psychologists face a choice that is at once about their future and their past. Extending ecological psychology's first principles into the social realm, we come to the point where we must either accept or reject Holt's arguments, and the wider context they bring. In doing so, we accept or reject our ability to study the uniquely social.

  17. Social dominance theory: Its agenda and method

    OpenAIRE

    Sidanius, Jim; Pratto, Felicia; van Laar, Colette; Levin, Shana

    2004-01-01

    The theory has been misconstrued in four primary ways, which are often expressed as the claims of psychological reductionism, conceptual redundancy, biological reductionism, and hierarchy justification. This paper addresses these claims and suggests how social dominance theory builds on and moves beyond social identity theory and system justification theor.

  18. Home-school Relations--An Exploration from the Perspective of Social Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pang, I-wah

    2000-01-01

    Explores home-school relations by using three social psychology theories: (1) symbolic interactionism; (2) social exchange theory; and (3) reference group theory. States that these theories can contribute to the understanding and development of home-school relations in Hong Kong (China). (CMK)

  19. The theory of social representations: overview and critique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matej Černigoj

    2000-03-01

    Full Text Available There is no doubt that the theory of social representations is one of the most popular, but at the same time one of the most controversial theories in contemporary social psychology. Its author, Serge Moscovici, conceived it with the explicit intention to create an alternative to the prevailing individualistic and psychologising, North-American social psychology. The theory of social representations is aimed at being a new social-psyhological paradigm, which would enable this scientific field to occupy a central place among the social sciencies. This place is supposed to be reserved for the field that would be able to connect the individual and the collective level of explanation of human behaviour. Because of such promisses, the theory of social representations took over the immagination of many european scholars, and research that refers to it in some way is abundant. However, there is also a darker side to the theory. It is incomplete and full of internal inconsistencies. Some authors repeatedly stress these points, but apparently without any considerable success. The theory of social representations has recently been presented in Slovenia (Vec, 1999, but without any serious attempt of evaluation and therefore, in my view, in an unsatisfactory way. Here I try to fill this gap, and so I focus on the logical structure of the theory and at its existing critiques. At the same time I try to explain the reasons for the theory's great popularity from a historical and socio-psychological point of view. In order to accomplish all that, I try to present the theory of social representations first, which — although already attempted many times — is by no means an easy task.

  20. Social perception: historic-philosophical and psychological preliminary investigation

    OpenAIRE

    A. O. Pocelujko

    2015-01-01

    The article investigates the prerequisite analysis of social perception in different epistemological, psychological General (socio­psychological) theories. Epistemology is the philosophy section, which explores the general premise of cognitive activity, the ratio of knowledge and reality, establishing the terms of true and certain knowledge creates a stable foundation for the study of social perception. Depending on a particular epistemological concepts can differentiate different understandi...

  1. Understanding Postdisaster Substance Use and Psychological Distress Using Concepts from the Self-Medication Hypothesis and Social Cognitive Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Adam C; Ward, Kenneth D

    2017-11-10

    This article applies constructs from the Self-Medication Hypothesis and Social Cognitive Theory to explain the development of substance use and psychological distress after a disaster. A conceptual model is proposed, which employs a sequential mediation model, identifying perceived coping self-efficacy, psychological distress, and self-medication as pathways to substance use after a disaster. Disaster exposure decreases perceived coping self-efficacy, which, in turn, increases psychological distress and subsequently increases perceptions of self-medication in vulnerable individuals. These mechanisms lead to an increase in postdisaster substance use. Last, recommendations are offered to encourage disaster researchers to test more complex models in studies on postdisaster psychological distress and substance use.

  2. Social psychology and energy attitude consumer change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karimi, Y.; Saffarinia, M.

    2005-01-01

    One of the most issues in social Psychology is study of attitude. Attitudes are causes of human behavior. If we regard energy consumption as a behavior for changing behavior in field of energy we must to study attitude and attitude change.In social psychology attitude define as positive and negative affective state to a matter of object. In this paper try it describe approaches and theories about attitudes and attitude change such as classical conditioning operant conditioning, social learning and cognitive. We hope this paper will be useful for planners and expert that work in this field

  3. Social phobia in developmental period: From theory to therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kolar Dušan

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The contemporary integrative theoretical and therapeutic concepts of social phobia in developmental period have been presented in the study. Besides current neurobiological theories, a very important hypothesis about behavioral inhibition has been represented as a predisposition of social phobia. The cognitive-behavioral theories of social phobia are dominant among psychological theories. The integrative concept of social phobia is the most realistic approach to this disorder and the bridge between biological and psychological theories. The interaction between biological and psychological etiological factors is represented through different therapeutical approaches to social phobia. Therapy of social phobia is integrative and involves different therapeutical modalities in different phases of therapy. In integrative psychotherapy, we use cognitive-behavioral therapy, dynamic oriented supportive psychotherapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy and phenomenological-existential psychotherapy. The cognitive-behavioral therapy yields the best results. The medicaments in use are the following: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, mono-amine oxidase inhibitors, high-potency benzodiazepines, new antiepileptic drugs and rarely (3-blockers. The combination of integrative psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy is the most optimal therapeutic approach to social phobia. This integrative and to patient adapted treatment will produce the best results in management of children's and adolescent's social phobia.

  4. A Critique of Social Bonding and Control Theory of Delinquency Using the Principles of Psychology of Mind.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, Thomas M.

    1996-01-01

    Describes the refined principles of Psychology of Mind and shows how their logical interaction can help explain the comparative amounts of deviant and conforming behavior of youthful offenders. The logic of these principles is used to examine the major assumptions of social bonding and control theory of delinquency focusing predominantly on the…

  5. Social and psychological creativity in gay male midlife identity management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajek, Christopher

    2016-06-01

    This study utilizes a qualitative thematic analysis methodology and a social identity theory framework to explore ways in which early midlife gay men report enhancing their social identities through social and psychological creativity. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with forty early midlife gay men (aged 40-53) in four US cities. Men discussed the collective and individual essences of their age and gay identities, including attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours that they embraced to self-enhance at midlife. These discussions emphasized differences from the younger gay outgroup, often in the context of intergenerational interaction. Identified were three strategies (and seven substrategies) that summarized the ways that interviewees constructed their identities in the interest of self-enhancement, specifically in the context of intergenerational comparisons with younger gay men. These strategies may be considered as extensions to social creativity strategies presented in Tajfel and Turner's (Psychology of intergroup relations. Chicago, IL: Nelson, 1986: 7) social identity theory. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

  6. Enhancing Placebo Effects: Insights From Social Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    SLIWINSKI, JIM; ELKINS, GARY R.

    2012-01-01

    Placebo effects are widely recognized as having a potent impact upon treatment outcomes in both medical and psychological interventions, including hypnosis. In research utilizing randomized clinical trials, there is usually an effort to minimize or control placebo effects. However, in clinical practice there may be significant benefits in enhancing placebo effects. Prior research from the field of social psychology has identified three factors that may enhance placebo effects, namely: priming, client perceptions, and the theory of planned behavior. These factors are reviewed and illustrated via a case example. The consideration of social-psychological factors to enhance positive expectancies and beliefs has implications for clinical practice as well as future research into hypnotic interventions. PMID:23488251

  7. CONCEPTS OF ENVY IN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Татьяна Викторовна Бескова

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes the foreign and Russian theorists of personality, representing different psychological directions in which there is a reference to the problem of envy. The problem of envy is discussed in the framework of classical psychoanalysis (S. Freud, M. Klein, individual psychology (A. Adler, analytical psychology (C.G. Jung, concept ofhumanistic psychoanalysis (E. Fromm, social-cultural theory (K. Horney, ego-theory (E. Erikson, A. Peeters, dispositional direction (G. Allport, R. Cattell, humanistic psychology (A. Maslow, existential psychology (V. Frankl. It is shown that in Russian theories of personality the problem of envy is reflected in the works of A.A. Bodalev, V.N. Myasishchev, V.N. Panferov, A.V. Petrovsky.Purpose.To carry out the analysis of psychological theories of the personality to identify the specific of ideas of psychological essence and envy sources.Methodology.Theoretical analysis and systematization of scientific data.Results.Separation and heterogeneity of scientific ideas of envy is revealed, that, on the one hand, allows looking at it from different points of view, and with another – counteracts the integration of knowledge of envy into uniform theoretical system.Practical implications. Research results can be used in the practice of psychological consultation, the psycho-correction of the envious relation, the outreach activity of psychologists.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-9-68

  8. Significance of Cultural-Historical Theory of Psychological Development of L.S. Vygotsky for the Development of Modern Models of Social Cognition and Psychotherapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kholmogorova A.B.,

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article acknowledges the situation of methodical crisis in modern research of social cognition related to the domination of reductive approaches that ignore the uniqueness of human psyche. Heuristicity of concepts of cultural-historical theory of psychological development of L.S. Vygotsky, which serves to overcome the apparent inconsistencies is substantiated. Models of social cognition based on the principles of cultural-historical psychology are described, those being the model of social cognition within phylogenesis of M. Tomasello, and the model of social cognition within ontogenesis of C. Fernyhough. Current situation in the area of mental health is reviewed from the standpoint of cultural-historical psychology, its specifics reflected in the increased burden on reflexive functions, that is, skills lying within the sphere of social cognition is substantiated. Modern psychotherapeutic apparatus directed to compensate social cognition deficits due to various psychiatric disorders is reviewed. The assumption that adolescense is sensitive period for the development of higher forms of social cognition is made, and a summary of researches supporting this assertion is presented. Main contradictions of modern-day maturing are enunciated. To conclude the presented theoretical analysis, a comprehensive multiple-factor model of social cognition is presented based on concepts of cultural-historical theory of L.S. Vygotsky.

  9. Social Climate Science: A New Vista for Psychological Science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearson, Adam R; Schuldt, Jonathon P; Romero-Canyas, Rainer

    2016-09-01

    The recent Paris Agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions, adopted by 195 nations at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, signaled unprecedented commitment by world leaders to address the human social aspects of climate change. Indeed, climate change increasingly is recognized by scientists and policymakers as a social issue requiring social solutions. However, whereas psychological research on intrapersonal and some group-level processes (e.g., political polarization of climate beliefs) has flourished, research into other social processes-such as an understanding of how nonpartisan social identities, cultural ideologies, and group hierarchies shape public engagement on climate change-has received substantially less attention. In this article, we take stock of current psychological approaches to the study of climate change to explore what is "social" about climate change from the perspective of psychology. Drawing from current interdisciplinary perspectives and emerging empirical findings within psychology, we identify four distinct features of climate change and three sets of psychological processes evoked by these features that are fundamentally social and shape both individual and group responses to climate change. Finally, we consider how a more nuanced understanding of the social underpinnings of climate change can stimulate new questions and advance theory within psychology. © The Author(s) 2016.

  10. Time Breath of Psychological Theories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tateo, Luca; Valsiner, Jaan

    2015-01-01

    Psychology as a self-aspiring, ambitious, developmental science faces the crucial limit of time—both theoretically and practically. The issue of time in constructing psychology’s theories is a major unresolved metatheoretical task. This raises several questions about generalization of knowledge...... of time—or fail to do that? How can they generalize with respect to time? The different conceptions of time often remain implicit, while shaping the concepts used in understanding psychological processes. Any preconception about time in human development will foster the generalizability of theory, as well......: which is the time length of breath of psychological theories? Which is the temporal dimension of psychological processes? In this article we discuss the role of different axiomatic assumptions about time in the construction of psychological theories. How could different theories include a concept...

  11. [Psychological theory and implicit sociology.].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sévigny, R

    1983-01-01

    This text is based on the hypothesis that every theory on the psychology of personality must inevitably, in one manner or another, have a sociological referent, that is to say, it must refer to a body of knowledge which deals with a diversity of social contexts and their relations to individuals. According to this working hypothesis, such a sociology is implicit. This text then discusses a group of theoretical approaches in an effort to verify this hypothesis. This approach allows the extrication of diverse forms or diverse expressions of this implicit sociology within this context several currents are rapidly explored : psychoanalysis, behaviorism, gestalt, classical theory of needs. The author also comments on the approach, inspired by oriental techniques or philosophies, which employs the notion of myth to deepen self awareness. Finally, from the same perspective, he comments at greater length on the work of Carl Rogers, highlighting the diverse form of implicit sociology. In addition to Carl Rogers, this text refers to Freud, Jung, Adler, Reich, Perls, Goodman, Skinner as well as to Ginette Paris and various analysts of Taoism. In conclusion, the author indicates the significance of his analysis from double viewpoint of psychological theory and practice.

  12. Psychological distress, health protection, and sexual practices among young men who have sex with men: Using social action theory to guide HIV prevention efforts.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ian W Holloway

    Full Text Available The present study addresses gaps in the literature related to theory development for young men who have sex with men (YMSM sexual practices through the application and modification of Social Action Theory. Data come from the Healthy Young Men study (N = 526, which longitudinally tracked a diverse cohort of YMSM ages 18-24 to characterize risk and protective factors associated with drug use and sexual practices. Structural equation modeling examined the applicability of, and any necessary modifications to a YMSM-focused version of Social Action Theory. The final model displayed excellent fit (CFI = 0.955, TLI = 0.947, RMSEA = 0.037 and suggested concordance between social support and personal capacity for sexual health promotion. For YMSM, practicing health promotion and avoiding practices that may put them at risk for HIV was associated with both social isolation and psychological distress (β = -0.372, t = -4.601, p<0.001; psychological distress is an internalized response to environmental and cognitive factors and sexual practices are an externalized response. Results point to the utility of Social Action Theory as a useful model for understanding sexual practices among YMSM, the application of which shows health protective sexual practices are a function of sociocognitive factors that are influenced by environmental contexts. Social Action Theory can help prevention scientists better address the needs of this vulnerable population.

  13. Functional Interdependence Theory: An Evolutionary Account of Social Situations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balliet, Daniel; Tybur, Joshua M; Van Lange, Paul A M

    2017-11-01

    Social interactions are characterized by distinct forms of interdependence, each of which has unique effects on how behavior unfolds within the interaction. Despite this, little is known about the psychological mechanisms that allow people to detect and respond to the nature of interdependence in any given interaction. We propose that interdependence theory provides clues regarding the structure of interdependence in the human ancestral past. In turn, evolutionary psychology offers a framework for understanding the types of information processing mechanisms that could have been shaped under these recurring conditions. We synthesize and extend these two perspectives to introduce a new theory: functional interdependence theory (FIT). FIT can generate testable hypotheses about the function and structure of the psychological mechanisms for inferring interdependence. This new perspective offers insight into how people initiate and maintain cooperative relationships, select social partners and allies, and identify opportunities to signal social motives.

  14. Making good theory practical: five lessons for an Applied Social Identity Approach to challenges of organizational, health, and clinical psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haslam, S Alexander

    2014-03-01

    Social identity research was pioneered as a distinctive theoretical approach to the analysis of intergroup relations but over the last two decades it has increasingly been used to shed light on applied issues. One early application of insights from social identity and self-categorization theories was to the organizational domain (with a particular focus on leadership), but more recently there has been a surge of interest in applications to the realm of health and clinical topics. This article charts the development of this Applied Social Identity Approach, and abstracts five core lessons from the research that has taken this forward. (1) Groups and social identities matter because they have a critical role to play in organizational and health outcomes. (2) Self-categorizations matter because it is people's self-understandings in a given context that shape their psychology and behaviour. (3) The power of groups is unlocked by working with social identities not across or against them. (4) Social identities need to be made to matter in deed not just in word. (5) Psychological intervention is always political because it always involves some form of social identity management. Programmes that seek to incorporate these principles are reviewed and important challenges and opportunities for the future are identified. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

  15. Persistent misunderstandings of inclusive fitness and kin selection : Their ubiquitous appearance in social psychology textbooks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Park, Justin H.

    2007-01-01

    Inclusive fitness theory and kin selection theory are among the most recognizable theories associated with evolutionary biology and psychology—they are also among the most widely misunderstood. The problem begins early, in undergraduate psychology textbooks. Here, ten social psychology textbooks

  16. Anti-homosexual prejudice . . . as opposed to what? Queer theory and the social psychology of anti-homosexual attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hegarty, Peter; Massey, Sean

    2006-01-01

    This article uses Sedgwick's distinction between minoritizing and universalizing theories of sexuality to analyze variability in social psychologists' studies of anti-homosexual prejudice, focusing on studies of attitudes. Anti-homosexual prejudice was initially defined in conversation with gay liberationists and presumed, among other things, that fear of homoerotic potential was present in all persons. Later social psychologists theorized anti-homosexual prejudice in strict minoritizing terms: as prejudice towards a distinct out-group. In the first section of this paper we discuss corresponding shifts in the conceptualization of anti-homosexual attitudes. Next, using a universalizing framework, we re-interpret experiments on behavioral aspects of anti-homosexual attitudes which were originally conceptualized using a minoritizing framework, and suggest avenues for future research. Finally, we examine how queer theory might enrich this area of social psychological inquiry by challenging assumptions about the politics of doing scientific work and the utility of identity-based sexual politics.

  17. A checklist to facilitate objective hypothesis testing in social psychology research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washburn, Anthony N; Morgan, G Scott; Skitka, Linda J

    2015-01-01

    Social psychology is not a very politically diverse area of inquiry, something that could negatively affect the objectivity of social psychological theory and research, as Duarte et al. argue in the target article. This commentary offers a number of checks to help researchers uncover possible biases and identify when they are engaging in hypothesis confirmation and advocacy instead of hypothesis testing.

  18. Evolution, Psychology, and a Conflict Theory of Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin MacDonald

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available This article develops an evolutionary theory of conflict over the construction of culture that is informed by current knowledge of psychological mechanisms. Psychological mechanisms important for the production of culture include (1 general intelligence (including the ability to engender hypothetical scenarios and means-end reasoning necessary for constructing tools and other exemplars of technology; (2 explicit processing mechanisms (e.g., symbolic representations of the world. Explicit processing allows humans to regulate modular mechanisms in accordance with culturally constructed norms and culturally constructed cost/benefit payoff schedules. It also enables active attempts to construct culture in accordance with explicit perceptions of possible costs and benefits. Because people have different construals of the costs and benefits of particular forms of culture, there is conflict over the construction of culture. Social controls and ideologies are introduced as general cultural categories that are enabled by explicit processing and which are able to regulate and motivate behavior within particular historical contexts, at times in ways that conflict with evolved predispositions. Ideologies are often intimately intertwined with various social controls but are logically and psychologically independent from social controls. Ideologies typically rationalize extant social controls but they also benefit from the power of social controls to enforce ideological conformity in schools or in religious institutions. Because of the control of explicit processing over behavior, this theory predicts that conflicts over culture will often be intense. Discussion deals with the implications of this model for group selection, cultural transmission, gene-culture co-evolution, and the various types of conflicts of interest apparent in conflicts over the construction of culture.

  19. Toward a more social social psychology of power

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lammers, J.

    2008-01-01

    In this dissertation I aim to take a step toward a more social social psychology of power. In my opinion the existing social psychology on power is insufficiently social, and too material and physical. I believe this material and physical view has greatly influenced how social psychology has studied

  20. Suicide in Maine: A Social Psychological Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbiati, David L.

    1977-01-01

    This paper reports the results of a field study on five proximal social psychological variables derived from Farber's theory of suicide: Hope in the Future Time Perspective; Demands for Interpersonal Giving; the Availability of Succorance; Demands for the Exercising of Competence; and the degree of Toleration of Suicide. (Author)

  1. More similarities than differences in contemporary theories of social development?: a plea for theory bridging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leaper, Campbell

    2011-01-01

    Many contemporary theories of social development are similar and/or share complementary constructs. Yet, there have been relatively few efforts toward theoretical integration. The present chapter represents a call for increased theory bridging. The problem of theoretical fragmentation in psychology is reviewed. Seven highlighted reasons for this predicament include differences between behavioral sciences and other sciences, theoretical paradigms as social identities, the uniqueness assumption, information overload, field fixation, linguistic fragmentation, and few incentives for theoretical integration. Afterward, the feasibility of theoretical synthesis is considered. Finally, some possible directions are proposed for theoretical integration among five contemporary theories of social and gender development: social cognitive theory, expectancy-value theory, cognitive-developmental theory, gender schema theory, and self-categorization theory.

  2. Advances in cognitive-socialpersonality theory : applications to sport psychology

    OpenAIRE

    Smith, Ronald E.

    2008-01-01

    Many theories and intervention techniques in sport psychology have a cognitive-behavioral emphasis, and sport psychologists have long been interested in individual differences. Recent developments in cognitive social personality theory offer new opportunities for understanding sport behavior. The finding of stable individual differences in situationbehavior relations has helped resolve the person-situation debate of past years, and idiographically-distinct behavioral signatures have now been ...

  3. Reclaiming the person: intersectionality and dynamic social categories through a psychological lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frazier, Kathryn E

    2012-09-01

    Psychology's conventionally treatment of individuals' engagement with and resistance to the societal processes in which they are embedded has come under scrutiny amid the rise of postmodernist and critical feminist perspectives (among many others) in the social sciences. A sample of social psychology's responses to these critiques is presented in the recently published book, Social Categories in Everyday Experience edited by Shaun Wiley et al. (2011). In this essay, the challenges of seriously addressing the critiques of psychology's conventional treatment of social categories, which implicate fundamental assumptions of the discipline, are discussed. Further, it is argued that in order to effectively construct psychological accounts of political activism and social change amid theories that are increasingly cognizant of the complexities and contingencies of social embeddiness, the person must be reclaimed and revisioned. Notions of agency that complement an intersectional and systemic vision of the social world are discussed.

  4. The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology: The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fredrickson, Barbara L.

    2001-01-01

    Describes the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, situating it within the field of positive psychology. The theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn build their enduring personal resources (physical, intellectual, social, and psychological). Reviews…

  5. Path dependence in social and psychological risk factors for dementia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroko Matsuoka

    Full Text Available Abstract This article focuses on social and psychological risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and cognitive impairment and presents some key points for prevention in developing countries based on previous studies, a social science theory, and our preliminary survey. Previous population-based studies found that educational and occupational attainment, income, participation in social and mental activities, and psychological distress were associated with dementia risk. According to the theory of path dependence, earlier factors largely determine successive ones, where education is one of these early experiences in life. Our preliminary survey suggested that education sets a path that several psychosocial risk factors are dependent on. The expansion of basic education is indispensable. Resources for prevention should be concentrated on individuals with a low level of education. In order to break from a path creating self-reinforcement of risk factors, it is necessary to implement early and active interventions.

  6. "The casual cruelty of our prejudices": on Walter Lippmann's theory of stereotype and its "obliteration" in psychology and social science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bottom, William P; Kong, Dejun Tony

    2012-01-01

    Reflecting on his wartime government service, Walter Lippmann (1922) developed a theory of policy formulation and error. Introducing the constructs of stereotype, mental model, blind spots, and the process of manufacturing consent, his theory prescribed interdisciplinary social science as a tool for enhancing policy making in business and government. Lippmann used his influence with the Rockefeller foundations, business leaders, Harvard and the University of Chicago to gain support for this program. Citation analysis of references to "stereotype" and Lippmann reveals the rapid spread of the concept across the social sciences and in public discourse paralleled by obliteration by incorporation of the wider theory in behavioral science. "Stereotype" is increasingly invoked in anthropology, economics, and sociology though Lippmann and his wider theory ceased being cited decades ago. In psychology, citations are increasing but content analysis revealed blind spots and misconceptions about the theory and prescription. Studies of heuristics, biases, and organizational decision substantiate Lippmann's theory of judgment and choice. But his model for social science failed to consider the bounded rationality and blind spots of its practitioners. Policy formulation today is supported by research from narrow disciplinary silos not interdisciplinary science that reflects an awareness of history. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. How Social Psychological Factors May Modulate Auditory and Cognitive Functioning During Listening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pichora-Fuller, M Kathleen

    2016-01-01

    The framework for understanding effortful listening (FUEL) draws on psychological theories of cognition and motivation. In the present article, theories of social-cognitive psychology are related to the FUEL. Listening effort is defined in our consensus as the deliberate allocation of mental resources to overcome obstacles in goal pursuit when carrying out a task that involves listening. Listening effort depends not only on hearing difficulties and task demands but also on the listener's motivation to expend mental effort in challenging situations. Listeners' cost/benefit evaluations involve appraisals of listening demands, their own capacity, and the importance of listening goals. Social psychological factors can affect a listener's actual and self-perceived auditory and cognitive abilities, especially when those abilities may be insufficient to readily meet listening demands. Whether or not listeners experience stress depends not only on how demanding a situation is relative to their actual abilities but also on how they appraise their capacity to meet those demands. The self-perception or appraisal of one's abilities can be lowered by poor self-efficacy or negative stereotypes. Stress may affect performance in a given situation and chronic stress can have deleterious effects on many aspects of health, including auditory and cognitive functioning. Social support can offset demands and mitigate stress; however, the burden of providing support may stress the significant other. Some listeners cope by avoiding challenging situations and withdrawing from social participation. Extending the FUEL using social-cognitive psychological theories may provide valuable insights into how effortful listening could be reduced by adopting health-promoting approaches to rehabilitation.

  8. Social Psychology and Gender: A New Direction through Feminist Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grella, Christine E.

    Traditionally, social psychology has conceptualized sex and gender as subject variables with sex as a biological substrate and gender as a sociocultural consequence of sex. These ideas rest on the assumption of two distinct biological categories. However, gender is better thought of in dialectical rather than oppositional terms. Gender is both…

  9. Bridging history and social psychology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Glaveanu, Vlad Petre; Yamamoto, Koji

    2012-01-01

    This special issue aims to bridge history and social psychology by bringing together historians and social psychologists in an exercise of reading and learning from each other’s work. This interdisciplinary exercise is not only timely but of great importance for both disciplines. Social psycholog......This special issue aims to bridge history and social psychology by bringing together historians and social psychologists in an exercise of reading and learning from each other’s work. This interdisciplinary exercise is not only timely but of great importance for both disciplines. Social...... psychologists can benefit from engaging with historical sources by being able to contextualise their findings and enrich their theoretical models. It is not only that all social and psychological phenomena have a history but this history is very much part of present-day and future developments. On the other...... hand historians can enhance their analysis of historical sources by drawing upon the conceptual tools developed in social psychology. They can “test” these tools and contribute to their validation and enrichment from completely different perspectives. Most important, as contributions to this special...

  10. Social anxiety and suicidal ideation: Test of the utility of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckner, Julia D; Lemke, Austin W; Jeffries, Emily R; Shah, Sonia M

    2017-01-01

    Social anxiety is related to greater suicidality, even after controlling for depression and other psychopathology. The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS; Joiner, 2005) proposes that people are vulnerable to wanting to die by suicide if they experience both perceived burdensomeness (sense that one is a burden to others) and thwarted belongingness (a greater sense of alienation from others). Socially anxious persons may be especially vulnerable to these interpersonal factors. The current study tested whether interpersonal IPTS components independently and additively mediate the social anxiety-suicidal ideation (SI) relation among 780 (80.5% female) undergraduates. Social anxiety was significantly, robustly related to SI and to thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. Social anxiety was indirectly related to SI via thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. The sum of these indirect effects was significant. Moderated mediation analyses indicated that perceived burdensomeness only mediated the relation between social anxiety and SI at higher levels of thwarted belongingness. Findings highlight that difficulties in interpersonal functioning may serve as potential pathways through which social anxiety may lead to greater suicidality. Findings highlight that difficulties in interpersonal functioning may serve as potential pathways through which social anxiety may lead to greater suicidality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. The Emergence of Contextual Social Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pettigrew, Thomas F

    2018-07-01

    Social psychology experiences recurring so-called "crises." This article maintains that these episodes actually mark advances in the discipline; these "crises" have enhanced relevance and led to greater methodological and statistical sophistication. New statistical tools have allowed social psychologists to begin to achieve a major goal: placing psychological phenomena in their larger social contexts. This growing trend is illustrated with numerous recent studies; they demonstrate how cultures and social norms moderate basic psychological processes. Contextual social psychology is finally emerging.

  12. The Second Annual Student Scientific-Practical Conference in memory of M.Y. Kondratyev “Social Psychology: Issues of Theory and Practice”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Babanin P.A.

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The present report contains the report on the work of the Second Annual Student Scientific-Practical Conference in Memory of M.Y. Kondratyev «Social Psychology: Issues of Theory and Practice». The conference was attended by the undergraduate and graduate students of MSUPE who submitted the reports, which reflected modern trends in the study of socialization of the individual, optimization of motivation in learning and professional activity, harmonization of interpersonal and intergroup relations in various spheres of life of a modern man.

  13. Factors Associated With Presenteeism and Psychological Distress Using a Theory-Driven Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coutu, Marie-France; Corbière, Marc; Durand, Marie-José; Nastasia, Iuliana; Labrecque, Marie-Elise; Berbiche, Djamal; Albert, Valérie

    2015-06-01

    To test a model of presenteeism on the basis of established and emerging theories separated into organizational and individual factors that could be mediated by psychological distress. This was a Web survey of 2371 employees (response rate of 48%) of a provincial government agency. We assessed theories with validated measures for organizational and individual factors. Psychological distress was negatively associated to presenteeism, when controlling for sex, short-term work absence in the last year, and social desirability. Both individual and organizational factors were related to psychological distress. The most important factors included the presence of stress events in the preceding 6 months, extrinsic efforts (interruptions, work requirements), self-esteem as a worker, and internal amotivation. By identifying modifiable factors, our results suggest that the implementation of a work organization structure that promotes stimulation and accomplishment would reduce psychological distress and further presenteeism.

  14. Research on Web Search Behavior: How Online Query Data Inform Social Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Kaisheng; Lee, Yan Xin; Chen, Hao; Yu, Rongjun

    2017-10-01

    The widespread use of web searches in daily life has allowed researchers to study people's online social and psychological behavior. Using web search data has advantages in terms of data objectivity, ecological validity, temporal resolution, and unique application value. This review integrates existing studies on web search data that have explored topics including sexual behavior, suicidal behavior, mental health, social prejudice, social inequality, public responses to policies, and other psychosocial issues. These studies are categorized as descriptive, correlational, inferential, predictive, and policy evaluation research. The integration of theory-based hypothesis testing in future web search research will result in even stronger contributions to social psychology.

  15. Psychological distress, health protection, and sexual practices among young men who have sex with men: Using social action theory to guide HIV prevention efforts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holloway, Ian W.; Traube, Dorian E.; Schrager, Sheree M.; Tan, Diane; Dunlap, Shannon; Kipke, Michele D.

    2017-01-01

    The present study addresses gaps in the literature related to theory development for young men who have sex with men (YMSM) sexual practices through the application and modification of Social Action Theory. Data come from the Healthy Young Men study (N = 526), which longitudinally tracked a diverse cohort of YMSM ages 18–24 to characterize risk and protective factors associated with drug use and sexual practices. Structural equation modeling examined the applicability of, and any necessary modifications to a YMSM-focused version of Social Action Theory. The final model displayed excellent fit (CFI = 0.955, TLI = 0.947, RMSEA = 0.037) and suggested concordance between social support and personal capacity for sexual health promotion. For YMSM, practicing health promotion and avoiding practices that may put them at risk for HIV was associated with both social isolation and psychological distress (β = -0.372, t = -4.601, pcognitive factors and sexual practices are an externalized response. Results point to the utility of Social Action Theory as a useful model for understanding sexual practices among YMSM, the application of which shows health protective sexual practices are a function of sociocognitive factors that are influenced by environmental contexts. Social Action Theory can help prevention scientists better address the needs of this vulnerable population. PMID:28886128

  16. Contemporary understanding of riots: Classical crowd psychology, ideology and the social identity approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stott, Clifford; Drury, John

    2016-04-01

    This article explores the origins and ideology of classical crowd psychology, a body of theory reflected in contemporary popularised understandings such as of the 2011 English 'riots'. This article argues that during the nineteenth century, the crowd came to symbolise a fear of 'mass society' and that 'classical' crowd psychology was a product of these fears. Classical crowd psychology pathologised, reified and decontextualised the crowd, offering the ruling elites a perceived opportunity to control it. We contend that classical theory misrepresents crowd psychology and survives in contemporary understanding because it is ideological. We conclude by discussing how classical theory has been supplanted in academic contexts by an identity-based crowd psychology that restores the meaning to crowd action, replaces it in its social context and in so doing transforms theoretical understanding of 'riots' and the nature of the self. © The Author(s) 2016.

  17. Historical spaces of social psychology

    OpenAIRE

    Kalampalikis , Nikos; Delouvée , Sylvain; Pétard , Jean-Pierre

    2006-01-01

    International audience; An extensive analysis of all social psychology textbooks published, in french, between 1947 and 2001, including a history chapter, provides a rich corpus for the study of the history of social psychology. In this article we choose to study the historical spaces of social psychology, in order to show how the discipline was located in geographical, urban, institutional and collective spaces. We argue that, into this specific corpus, spaces are essentially related to some...

  18. Lay theories of suicide among Austrian psychology undergraduates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voracek, Martin; Loibl, Lisa Mariella; Lester, David

    2007-01-01

    Lester and Bean's (1992) Attribution of Causes to Suicide Scale gauges lay theories of suicide including intrapsychic problems, interpersonal conflicts, and societal forces as causes. Results obtained with its German form (n=165 Austrian psychology undergraduates) showed no sex differences and no social-desirability effects. Intriguingly, all three subscales were moderately intercorrelated, thereby indicating respondents' general agreement (or disagreement) with all three theories. Thus, the critical dimension of lay theories of suicide appears to be the belief that suicide has definite causes (regardless of type) versus that it is without causes (unpredictable). In addition, religiosity was positively associated (and overall knowledge about suicide negatively associated) with belief in intrapsychic causes, whereas liberal political views were negatively associated with belief in interpersonal causes.

  19. Towards an expansive hybrid psychology: integrating theories of the mediated mind.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brinkmann, Svend

    2011-03-01

    This article develops an integrative theory of the mind by examining how the mind, understood as a set of skills and dispositions, depends upon four sources of mediators. Harré's hybrid psychology is taken as a meta-theoretical starting point, but is expanded significantly by including the four sources of mediators that are the brain, the body, social practices and technological artefacts. It is argued that the mind is normative in the sense that mental processes do not simply happen, but can be done more or less well, and thus are subject to normative appraisal. The expanded hybrid psychology is meant to assist in integrating theoretical perspectives and research interests that are often thought of as incompatible, among them neuroscience, phenomenology of the body, social practice theory and technology studies. A main point of the article is that these perspectives each are necessary for an integrative approach to the human mind.

  20. A melding of the minds: when primatology meets personality and social psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brosnan, Sarah F; Newton-Fisher, Nicholas E; van Vugt, Mark

    2009-05-01

    Social and personality psychology and behavioral primatology both enjoy long histories of research aimed at uncovering the proximate and ultimate determinants of primate-human and nonhuman-social behavior. Although they share research themes, methodologies, and theories, and although their studied species are closely related, there is currently very little interaction between the fields. This separation means that researchers in these disciplines miss out on opportunities to advance understanding by combining insights from both fields. Social and personality psychologists also miss the opportunity for a phylogenetic analysis. The time has come to integrate perspectives on primate social psychology. Here, the authors provide a historical background and document the main similarities and differences in approaches. Next, they present some examples of research programs that may benefit from an integrated primate perspective. Finally, the authors propose a framework for developing a social psychology inclusive of all primates. Such a melding of minds promises to greatly benefit those who undertake the challenge.

  1. A Social Practice Theory of Learning and Becoming across Contexts and Time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penuel, William R.; DiGiacomo, Daniela K.; Van Horne, Katie; Kirshner, Ben

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a social practice theory of learning and becoming across contexts and time. Our perspective is rooted in the Danish tradition of critical psychology (Dreier, 1997; Mørck & Huniche, 2006; Nissen, 2005), and we use social practice theory to interpret the pathway of one adolescent whom we followed as part of a longitudinal…

  2. Community Psychology, Evaluation, and Social Critique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Robin Lin

    2015-01-01

    Community psychology blends psychological science, a community-level perspective on social issues, and a social justice orientation. Despite important difference between community psychology and program evaluation, program evaluation is a key component of many community psychologists' practice and holds a central place in my own. In this…

  3. Social psychology and gender efficiency wage gap

    OpenAIRE

    Jellal, Mohamed

    2014-01-01

    Our paper introduces the dimension of social psychology in a model of efficiency wages and gender diversity. In this context, we show that women earn lower wages than men but provide in return relatively less effort. Therefore in order to increase women's productivity, the firm increases their level of employment. In our efficiency-wage theory, women’s lower wages is explained by assuming that efficiency-wages function for women are believed to be different from those of men. This could be th...

  4. A social network model for the development of a 'Theory of Mind'

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harré, Michael S.

    2013-02-01

    A "Theory of Mind" is one of the most important skills we as humans have developed; It enables us to infer the mental states and intentions of others, build stable networks of relationships and it plays a central role in our psychological make-up and development. Findings published earlier this year have also shown that we as a species as well as each of us individually benefit from the enlargement of the underlying neuro-anatomical regions that support our social networks, mediated by our Theory of Mind that stabilises these networks. On the basis of such progress and that of earlier work, this paper draws together several different strands from psychology, behavioural economics and network theory in order to generate a novel theoretical representation of the development of our social-cognition and how subsequent larger social networks enables much of our cultural development but at the increased risk of mental disorders.

  5. Risk perception and control, an integration of the psychometric research paradigm and social psychology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haugen, K.

    1998-01-01

    Full text of publication follows: this paper argues that perceptual control is an essential component in human risk evaluation. Control is seen as an integrative concept between the psychometric research paradigm and various psychological theories. The psychometric approach to the study of risk has mainly dealt with the intuitive judgements people do when they are asked to evaluate risky activities and technologies. It shows that people judge risk in relation to the possible consequences and probabilities related to an outcome; the former more typical for the public and the latter more often used by experts. The psychometric research tradition has concentrated on doing human risk evaluations quantifiable and the reactions predictable. This paper also relates to possible practical implications of this strategy, namely that humans react heterogeneously to different kinds of threats due to perceived control. Theoretical ability to explain and elaborate perceptions of risk, as well as individual reactions, were the main criteria for the literature selection, which includes work on e.g. attribution theory, locus of control, and learned helplessness. Thus, the paper addresses available psychological views for a contribution to a developed theoretical framework for human risk evaluation. It seeks to compare and integrate the psychometric research tradition within social psychological theories. The way in which people find their informational basis for their risk judgements, either from others or from their own perceptions is also discussed. Furthermore, the theories are related to the social and psychological reactions of the Chernobyl accident. The paper concludes that psychological theories can contribute to a more comprehensive framework for the understanding of human risk evaluation, leading to a more coherent and integrative knowledge. (author)

  6. Social psychology, war and peace: Towards a critical discursive peace psychology.

    OpenAIRE

    Gibson, Stephen

    2011-01-01

    In this paper I make two related arguments: that peace psychology and social psychological peace research should give greater attention to discourse, and that critical discursive approaches in social psychology should explore matters of international military conflict, an area which has hitherto been somewhat neglected in this tradition of work. These arguments are developed in relation to debates concerning the nature and status of psychological ‘science’, and the neglect of language in soci...

  7. Brazilian Social Psychology in the international setting A Psicologia Social brasileira no cenário internacional

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Raquel Rosas Torres

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this work was to discuss the Social Psychology that has been developing in Brazil, placing it in the international theoretical-methodological setting. To achieve this goal, we initially present a brief historical account of the founding of the Brazilian Association of Social Psychology and the Latin American Association of Social Psychology, providing insight into the political struggle that surrounded the emergence of these two organizations and that, to a certain degree, is still present today. We then present the results of research conducted with 150 Brazilian social psychologists concerning the definition of social psychology, the academic training perspective, and the theories used in the conduct of research. The results point to the existence of several contradictions, since, among other matters, they highlight the fact that while most participants advocate research practices tied to a more sociological perspective, the definitions given indicate a more psychological view of social psychology.O objetivo deste trabalho foi discutir a psicologia social que vem sendo desenvolvida no Brasil inserindo-a no cenário teórico-metodológico internacional. Para alcançar este objetivo, inicialmente apresentamos um breve relato histórico da fundação da Associação Brasileira de Psicologia Social e da Associação Latino Americana de Psicologia Social, fornecendo subsídios para o entendimento do embate político que envolveu o surgimento dessas duas organizações e que, de certa forma, ainda está presente na atualidade. Em seguida, apresentamos os resultados da pesquisa realizada com 150 psicólogos sociais brasileiros sobre a definição de psicologia social, sobre a perspectiva de formação e sobre as teorias utilizadas na atividade de pesquisa. Os resultados indicam a existência de algumas contradições, pois, dentre outros aspectos, destaca-se o fato que, embora a maioria dos participantes advogue uma prática de

  8. Social-psychological principles of community-based conservation and conservancy motivation: attaining goals within an autonomy-supportive environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Decaro, Daniel; Stokes, Michael

    2008-12-01

    Community-based natural resource conservation programs in developing nations face many implementation challenges underpinned by social-psychological mechanisms. One challenge is garnering local support in an economically and socially sustainable fashion despite economic hardship and historical alienation from local resources. Unfortunately, conservationists' limited understanding of the social-psychological mechanisms underlying participatory conservation impedes the search for appropriate solutions. We address this issue by revealing key underlying social-psychological mechanisms of participatory conservation. Different administrative designs create social atmospheres that differentially affect endorsement of conservation goals. Certain forms of endorsement may be less effective motivators and less economically and socially sustainable than others. From a literature review we found that conservation initiatives endorsed primarily for nonautonomous instrumental reasons, such as to avoid economic fines or to secure economic rewards, are less motivating than those endorsed for autonomous reasons, such as for the opportunity for personal expression and growth. We suggest that successful participatory programs promote autonomous endorsement of conservation through an administrative framework of autonomy support-free and open democratic participation in management, substantive recognition and inclusion of local stakeholder identity, and respectful, noncoercive social interaction. This framework of the autonomy-supportive environment (self-determination theory) has important implications for future research into program design and incentive-based conservation and identifies a testable social-psychological theory of conservancy motivation.

  9. Applying Differential Coercion and Social Support Theory to Intimate Partner Violence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zavala, Egbert; Kurtz, Don L

    2017-09-01

    A review of the current body of literature on intimate partner violence (IPV) shows that the most common theories used to explain this public health issue are social learning theory, a general theory of crime, general strain theory, or a combination of these perspectives. Other criminological theories have received less empirical attention. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to apply Differential Coercion and Social Support (DCSS) theory to test its capability to explain IPV. Data collected from two public universities ( N = 492) shows that three out of four measures of coercion (i.e., physical abuse, emotional abuse, and anticipated strain) predicted IPV perpetration, whereas social support was not found to be significant. Only two social-psychological deficits (anger and self-control) were found to be positive and significant in predicting IPV. Results, as well as the study's limitations and suggestions for future research, are discussed.

  10. Applying Social Cognitive Theory in Coaching Athletes: The Power of Positive Role Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connolly, Graeme J.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to help coaches apply specific principles of psychology to the coaching process. More specifically, the work of Albert Bandura and his social cognitive theory form the basis for the article. This article begins with a brief overview of Bandura's social cognitive theory. It then examines four types of behaviors worthy…

  11. The idea of atmosphere: Social psychology and other prolegomena

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jahir Navalles Gomez

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available The history of social psychology in this article differs from the standard versions. This is due to the fact that I call on contribtuons from different interlocutors, some of them from outside the discipline of social psychology. Their theorical insights provide a clue to the idea hidden in the background of social psychology –the idea of "atmosphere". I begin by setting out what official social psychology has held in contempt – its own past, its own unofficial history. I also make a case for the work of certain authors who have been ignored within social psychology, and introduce others who have cautiously developed the idea of 'atmosphere'. I trace how 'atmosphere' became the central metaphor which historically informed the discipline of social psychology, taking account of the work of historians and philosophers, as well as sociologists and philologists. 'Atmosphere' is the origin of social psychology, an idea that results in a nostalgic psychology, an historical psychology and a collective psychology.

  12. Game theory and its applications in the social and biological sciences

    CERN Document Server

    Colman, Andrew M; Humphreys, Peter; Negrine, Ralph

    2013-01-01

    Andrew Coleman provides an accessible introduction to the fundamentals of mathematical gaming and other major applications in social psychology, decision theory, economics, politics, evolutionary biology, philosophy, operational research and sociology.

  13. Political diversity will improve social psychological science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duarte, José L; Crawford, Jarret T; Stern, Charlotta; Haidt, Jonathan; Jussim, Lee; Tetlock, Philip E

    2015-01-01

    Psychologists have demonstrated the value of diversity--particularly diversity of viewpoints--for enhancing creativity, discovery, and problem solving. But one key type of viewpoint diversity is lacking in academic psychology in general and social psychology in particular: political diversity. This article reviews the available evidence and finds support for four claims: (1) Academic psychology once had considerable political diversity, but has lost nearly all of it in the last 50 years. (2) This lack of political diversity can undermine the validity of social psychological science via mechanisms such as the embedding of liberal values into research questions and methods, steering researchers away from important but politically unpalatable research topics, and producing conclusions that mischaracterize liberals and conservatives alike. (3) Increased political diversity would improve social psychological science by reducing the impact of bias mechanisms such as confirmation bias, and by empowering dissenting minorities to improve the quality of the majority's thinking. (4) The underrepresentation of non-liberals in social psychology is most likely due to a combination of self-selection, hostile climate, and discrimination. We close with recommendations for increasing political diversity in social psychology.

  14. Causal beliefs about depression in different cultural groups—what do cognitive psychological theories of causal learning and reasoning predict?

    OpenAIRE

    Hagmayer, York; Engelmann, Neele

    2014-01-01

    Cognitive psychological research focuses on causal learning and reasoning while cognitive anthropological and social science research tend to focus on systems of beliefs. Our aim was to explore how these two types of research can inform each other. Cognitive psychological theories (causal model theory and causal Bayes nets) were used to derive predictions for systems of causal beliefs. These predictions were then applied to lay theories of depression as a specific test case. A systematic lite...

  15. Productive Love Promotion Via Affective Technology: An Approach Based On Social Psychology And Philosophy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramon Solves Pujol

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes the use of social psychological and philosophical foundations for designing affective technology that promotes the experience of love. The adopted theoretical basis is the concept of productive love, which is heavily based on Enrich Fromm but also includes theories and scientific findings of numerous psychoanalysts, social psychologists, and philosophers. We conducted a review of the theory about the nature of love and found that social psychological and philosophical approaches differ regarding peoples' understandings. The findings were used to elaborate eight principles of productive love. Based on these principles, we derived criteria for designing affective technology when the objective is to promote productive love. We reviewed the existent studies on affective technologies and implemented the criteria into a system design, the Pictures' Call. A prototype of the system was pretested to illustrate how productive love technology could be based on established criteria.

  16. Social Learning Theory and Developmental Psychology: The Legacies of Robert Sears and Albert Bandura.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grusec, Joan E.

    1992-01-01

    Social learning theory is evaluated from a historical perspective that goes up to the present. Sears and others melded psychoanalytic and stimulus-response learning theory into a comprehensive explanation of human behavior. Bandura emphasized cognitive and information-processing capacities that mediate social behavior. (LB)

  17. An Integrative Bio-Psycho-Social Theory of Anorexia Nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munro, Calum; Randell, Louise; Lawrie, Stephen M

    2017-01-01

    The need for novel approaches to understanding and treating anorexia nervosa (AN) is well recognized. The aim of this paper is to describe an integrative bio-psycho-social theory of maintaining factors in AN. We took a triangulation approach to develop a clinically relevant theory with face validity and internal consistency. We developed theoretical ideas from our clinical practice and reviewed theoretical ideas within the eating disorders and wider bio-psycho-social literature. The synthesis of these ideas and concepts into a clinically meaningful framework is described here. We suggest eight key factors central to understanding the maintenance and treatment resistance of anorexia nervosa: genetic or experiential predisposing factors; dysfunctional feelings processing and regulation systems; excessive vulnerable feelings; 'feared self' beliefs; starvation as a maladaptive physiological feelings regulation mechanism; maladaptive psychological coping modes; maladaptive social behaviour; and unmet physical and psychological core needs. Each of these factors serves to maintain the disorder. The concept of universal physical and psychological core needs can provide an underpinning integrative framework for working with this distinctly physical and psychological disorder. This framework could be used within any treatment model. We suggest that treatments which help address the profound lack of trust, emotional security and self-acceptance in this patient group will in turn address unmet needs and improve well-being. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The concept of unmet physical and psychological needs can be used as an underlying integrative framework for understanding and working with this patient group, alongside any treatment model. A functional understanding of the neuro-biological, physiological and psychological mechanisms involved in anorexia nervosa can help patients reduce self-criticism and shame. Fears about being or becoming fat, greedy, needy

  18. Plug and Play Framework for Theories of Social Group Dynamics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rehm, Matthias; Endrass, Birgit; André, Elisabeth

    2006-01-01

    We present an extensible framework for behavior control of social agents in a multi-agent system that has the following features. It implements a basic repertoire of socio-psychological models of behavior and interpersonal interactions that can be plugged and unplugged at will depending on the sp......We present an extensible framework for behavior control of social agents in a multi-agent system that has the following features. It implements a basic repertoire of socio-psychological models of behavior and interpersonal interactions that can be plugged and unplugged at will depending...... on the specific context of the application. This enables us to test several theories in isolation or combination to increase the transparency of the system and to investigate how the inclusion of a certain theory influences the behavior of the agents. Unlike earlier approaches, our approach is not bound...

  19. Contributions of Literature to Social Psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasio Ovejero

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available There are two main kind of psychology: a intuitive psychology, and an academic and professional psychology. These two psychologies are different, but they can make important reciprocals contributions. And the best of the intuitive psychology, that in my opinion is in the literature and overall in the romance, can be very useful for professional psychologists. The main end of this paper is to show how the social psychologists can learn from the intuitive psychology of the great romances. This contribution of the romance to the social psychology is, at least, at these two levels. At the level of construction of the subjectivity and the modern subject and the, therefore, of the psychology’s arise, and at the level of some concrete subjects studied by the psychologists (romantic love, jealousy, infidelity, compunction, emotions, vengeance, human relations…

  20. The Warburg/Arnheim effect: Linking cultural/social and perceptual psychology of art

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ladislav Kesner

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Aby Warburg and Rudolf Arnheim represent two, mutually complementary, ways of productive interfacing between art history/culture history on the one hand and psychology on the other. It is suggested that neither Warburg´s nor Arnheim´s ideas could have come to form a sustainable theory without taking into account the perspective and focus that preoccupied the other. The article points to possible ways of bridging the gap between the kind of visual cultural and social psychology pursued by Warburg and the perceptual psychology that concerned Arnheim. It is argued that, far from being a matter of just historiographic interest, the attempt to make such connections touches on some key issues and concepts of art theory and its relationship to sciences of the mind and brain today. A conceptual framework is presented in which the approaches of Warburg and Arnheim can be meaningfully integrated. Both thinkers were much preoccupied by the problem of expression. The final section establishes some connections between their respective theories of expression and shows how these theories can be productively extended to address current research on the affective and the empathic response to visual art.

  1. Perspectives on the Social Psychology of Creativity

    OpenAIRE

    Amabile, Teresa M.; Pillemer, Julianna

    2012-01-01

    Scholars began serious study into the social psychology of creativity about 25 years after the field of creativity research had taken root. Over the past 35 years, examination of social and environmental influences on creativity has become increasingly vigorous, with broad implications for the psychology of human performance, and with applications to education, business, and beyond. In this article, we revisit the origins of the social psychology of creativity, trace its arc, and suggest dire...

  2. Scientific Theories and Naive Theories as Forms of Mental Representation: Psychologism Revived

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brewer, William F.

    This paper analyzes recent work in psychology on the nature of the representation of complex forms of knowledge with the goal of understanding how theories are represented. The analysis suggests that, as a psychological form of representation, theories are mental structures that include theoretical entities (usually nonobservable), relationships among the theoretical entities, and relationships of the theoretical entities to the phenomena of some domain. A theory explains the phenomena in its domain by providing a conceptual framework for the phenomena that leads to a feeling of understanding in the reader/hearer. The explanatory conceptual framework goes beyond the original phenomena, integrates diverse aspects of the world, and shows how the original phenomena follow from the framework. This analysis is used to argue that mental models are the subclass of theories that use causal/mechanical explanatory frameworks. In addition, an argument is made for a new psychologism in the philosophy of science, in which the mental representation of scientific theories must be taken into account.

  3. Religiousness, Race, and Psychological Well-Being: Exploring Social Psychological Mediators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaine, Bruce; Crocker, Jennifer

    1995-01-01

    Examined predictions (n=125) that the relationship between religious belief and psychological well-being should be more positive among black than white individuals, and the relationship should be mediated by social psychological aspects of religion with positive implications for well-being. Religious belief salience and psychological well-being…

  4. Encontro da psicologia social brasileira com a psicologia soviética The encounter of brazilian social psychology with soviet psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Luis Gonzalez Rey

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available O presente trabalho debate a relação da teoria desenvolvida por Sílvia Lane com os autores soviéticos, em particular com Vygotsky e Leontiev. No trabalho se analisam os diferentes momentos do pensamento de Sílvia Lane, especificando suas contribuições para o desenvolvimento de uma psicologia social comprometida com a realidade social brasileira, assim como com a elaboração de categorias e problemas de relevância geral para a psicologia.The present paper discusses the link between Lane's theory and soviet authors, particularly Vygotsky and Leontiev. In this paper the different moments of Lane's thinking specifying her contributions for the development of a social psycology involved with Brazilian reality as well as the elaboration of categories and problems of general relevance to psychology are analyzed.

  5. The SAGE Model of Social Psychological Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Power, Séamus A.; Velez, Gabriel; Qadafi, Ahmad; Tennant, Joseph

    2018-01-01

    We propose a SAGE model for social psychological research. Encapsulated in our acronym is a proposal to have a synthetic approach to social psychological research, in which qualitative methods are augmentative to quantitative ones, qualitative methods can be generative of new experimental hypotheses, and qualitative methods can capture experiences that evade experimental reductionism. We remind social psychological researchers that psychology was founded in multiple methods of investigation at multiple levels of analysis. We discuss historical examples and our own research as contemporary examples of how a SAGE model can operate in part or as an integrated whole. The implications of our model are discussed. PMID:29361241

  6. The SAGE Model of Social Psychological Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Power, Séamus A; Velez, Gabriel; Qadafi, Ahmad; Tennant, Joseph

    2018-05-01

    We propose a SAGE model for social psychological research. Encapsulated in our acronym is a proposal to have a synthetic approach to social psychological research, in which qualitative methods are augmentative to quantitative ones, qualitative methods can be generative of new experimental hypotheses, and qualitative methods can capture experiences that evade experimental reductionism. We remind social psychological researchers that psychology was founded in multiple methods of investigation at multiple levels of analysis. We discuss historical examples and our own research as contemporary examples of how a SAGE model can operate in part or as an integrated whole. The implications of our model are discussed.

  7. Core References in Introductory Social Psychology and Developmental Psychology Textbooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitehead, George I., III; Smith, Stephanie H.; Losonczy-Marshall, Marta

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to identify the core references in introductory textbooks in two sub-disciplines of psychology: social psychology and developmental psychology. One research question was the extent to which the common references in these textbooks present the trends in contemporary research in each sub-discipline. An analysis…

  8. The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology: The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions

    OpenAIRE

    Fredrickson, Barbara L.

    2001-01-01

    In this article, the author describes a new theoretical perspective on positive emotions and situates this new perspective within the emerging field of positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn serves to build their enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources. Preliminary empirical evidence supporting ...

  9. Social Usefulness: Theory and Evidence Concerning a Late Life Identity Construct.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gottlieb, Benjamin H; Sevigny, Andrée

    2016-10-01

    To clarify the construct of social usefulness by merging several influential theoretical perspectives on the findings of a qualitative investigation of late life prosociality. In-depth interviews with 20 older adults probed the meaning and psychological significance of the socially useful relationships they maintained with people and organizations. Based on identity theory, the thematic analysis yielded nine classes and more than 100 distinct properties of social usefulness. Self-determination theory was employed to organize and interpret the findings in relation to older adults' needs for relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Also addressed are the study's implications for multidimensional measurement of social usefulness in future epidemiological and psychosocial studies. © The Author(s) 2016.

  10. Social history of health psychology: context and textbooks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Michael

    2014-01-01

    Health psychology as a field of research and practice formally developed 30 years ago but it was prefigured by sustained debate within social and applied psychology about the nature of psychology and its role in society. This article considers this pre-history of health psychology and how the field has subsequently developed. It considers how its character is shaped by dominant ideas within psychology and is also enmeshed in broader social relations. To illustrate the changing character of health psychology it considers how the field is represented in a selection of popular textbooks. It concludes by considering the growth of some critical approaches within health psychology.

  11. Habit in Personality and Social Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Wendy

    2017-11-01

    Habits are largely absent from modern social and personality psychology. This is due to outdated perspectives that placed habits in conflict with goals. In modern theorizing, habits are represented in memory as implicit context-response associations, and they guide responding in conjunction with goals. Habits thus have important implications for our field. Emerging research shows that habits are an important mechanism by which people self-regulate and achieve long-term goals. Also, habits change through specific interventions, such as changes in context cues. I speculate that understanding of habits also holds promise for reducing intergroup discrimination and for understanding lay theories of the causes for action. In short, by recognizing habit, the field gains understanding of a central mechanism by which actions persist in daily life.

  12. Teaching Psychological and Social Gerontology to Millennial Undergraduates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegal, Brittany; Kagan, Sarah H.

    2012-01-01

    Matters of development and generation may create barriers in teaching millennial undergraduates psychological and social gerontology. We introduce strategy to mitigate these barriers by teaching psychological and social gerontology as undergraduate honors courses, augmented with the use of social networking tools. We detail honors programming,…

  13. Social Constructionist Psychology and its Application. Possibilities for a Reorientation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johannes von Tiling

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Social constructionism currently is understood as a metatheoretical alternative to positivism. It serves many social and cultural scientists as a point of reference. The possibilities to understand it as a psychological program of research that leaves space for agency and subjectivity usually are neglected. Promoting a dialogue with mainstream psychology constitutes one way of fostering social constructionist psychology. In addition, a theoretically productive conception of social constructionist psychology cannot do without reference to cultural psychology. An important advantage of such a conception lies in the increased number of possibilities for practical applications in hospitals, schools and factories. Whereas present applications of social constructionism tend to promote the postmodernization and individualization of the client, applied social constructionist psychology avoids these concomitant effects. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0801446

  14. Perspectives on the Social Psychology of Creativity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amabile, Teresa M.; Pillemer, Julianna

    2012-01-01

    Scholars began serious study into the social psychology of creativity about 25 years after the field of creativity research had taken root. Over the past 35 years, examination of social and environmental influences on creativity has become increasingly vigorous, with broad implications for the psychology of human performance, and with applications…

  15. In others' shoes: do individual differences in empathy and theory of mind shape social preferences?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artinger, Florian; Exadaktylos, Filippos; Koppel, Hannes; Sääksvuori, Lauri

    2014-01-01

    Abundant evidence across the behavioral and social sciences suggests that there are substantial individual differences in pro-social behavior. However, little is known about the psychological mechanisms that underlie social preferences. This paper investigates whether empathy and Theory of Mind shape individual differences in pro-social behavior as conventionally observed in neutrally framed social science experiments. Our results show that individual differences in the capacity for empathy do not shape social preferences. The results qualify the role of Theory of Mind in strategic interaction. We do not only show that fair individuals exhibit more accurate beliefs about the behavior of others but that Theory of Mind can be effectively used to pursue both self-interest and pro-social goals depending on the principle objectives of a person.

  16. A developmental intergroup theory of social stereotypes and prejudice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigler, Rebecca S; Liben, Lynn S

    2006-01-01

    Developmental intergroup theory specifies the mechanisms and rules that govern the processes by which children single out groups as targets of stereotyping and prejudice, and by which children learn and construct both the characteristics (i.e., stereotypes) and affective responses (i.e., prejudices) that are associated with these groups in their culture. Specifically, we argue that children have a drive to understand their world, and that this drive is manifested in their tendency to classify natural and non-natural stimuli into categories, and to search the environment for cues about which of the great number of potential bases for categorization are important. The first step in the process of stereotype and prejudice formation is, therefore, the establishment of the psychological salience of some particular set of dimensions. Four factors are hypothesized to affect the establishment of the psychological salience of person attributes: (1) perceptual discriminability of social groups, (2) proportional group size, (3) explicit labeling and use of social groups, and (4) implicit use of social groups. We argue that person characteristics that are perceptually discriminable are more likely than other characteristics to become the basis of stereotyping, but that perceptual discriminability alone is insufficient to trigger psychological salience. Thus, for example, young children's ability to detect race or gender does not mean that these distinctions will inevitably become the bases of stereotypes and prejudice. Instead, for perceptually salient groups to become psychologically salient, one or more additional circumstances must hold, including being characterized by minority status, by adults' use of different labels for different groups, by adults using group divisions functionally, or by segregation. After a particular characteristic that may be used to differentiate among individuals becomes salient, we propose that children who have the ability to sort consistently

  17. Darwinian Theory, Functionalism, and the First American Psychological Revolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Christopher D.

    2009-01-01

    American functionalist psychology constituted an effort to model scientific psychology on the successes of English evolutionary theory. In part it was a response to the stagnation of Wundt's psychological research program, which had been grounded in German experimental physiology. In part it was an attempt to make psychology more appealing within…

  18. Constructivism, the so-called semantic learning theories, and situated cognition versus the psychological learning theories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aparicio, Juan José; Rodríguez Moneo, María

    2005-11-01

    In this paper, the perspective of situated cognition, which gave rise both to the pragmatic theories and the so-called semantic theories of learning and has probably become the most representative standpoint of constructivism, is examined. We consider the claim of situated cognition to provide alternative explanations of the learning phenomenon to those of psychology and, especially, to those of the symbolic perspective, currently predominant in cognitive psychology. The level of analysis of situated cognition (i.e., global interactive systems) is considered an inappropriate approach to the problem of learning. From our analysis, it is concluded that the pragmatic theories and the so-called semantic theories of learning which originated in situated cognition can hardly be considered alternatives to the psychological learning theories, and they are unlikely to add anything of interest to the learning theory or to contribute to the improvement of our knowledge about the learning phenomenon.

  19. Teorias sobre o amor no campo da Psicologia Social Teorías sobre el amor en el campo de la Psicología Social Theories about love in the field of Social Psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priscilla de Oliveira Martins-Silva

    2013-01-01

    el amor es un fenómeno complejo y detectar la presencia de divergencias teóricas y metodológicas. La complejidad es observada en la diversidad teórica y en los resultados encontrados de investigaciones. Teóricamente, se registraron divergencias en la forma de como el amor es concebido; metodológicamente, hubo el predominio de abordajes cuantitativos, con la presencia de diferentes escalas. Se identificó que algunas cuestiones necesitan ser mejor investigadas, así como los instrumentos de medidas adoptados. Se nota, así, que esa área de estudio aún está en proceso de evolución y que la realización de más investigaciones puede contribuir para el desarrollo del campo. Al final, se sugiere el estudio de la interacción de la cultura vía creencias y valores en la vivencia del amor y una mayor utilización de abordajes cualitativos.The present study is a theoretical essay about the phenomenon of love in romantic relationships in the field of psychology and social psychology. The first theories on love in psychology are presented. After, three theories of social psychology are discussed in greater depth: love styles, by John Alan Lee, the adult attachment theory, by Phillip Shaver, Cindy Hazan and Donna Bradshaw, and the triangular theory of love, by Robert J. Sternberg. The contributions of each theory on theoretical, empirical and methodological issues are presented. Two aspects were observed: that love is a complex phenomenon and the presence of theoretical and methodological differences among the three theories. The complexity is observed in theoretical approach diversity and in research results. Theoretically, there is disagreement on how love is conceived. Methodologically, there is a predominance of quantitative research with different scales. It is observed that further investigation on the theme is needed, as well as on the scales adopted. Therefore, the love field of study is still in process of evolution, so further research may contribute to this

  20. Social psychological-pedagogical support of singleparent family

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruslana Kazhuk

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the definition of the concept of "incomplete family", describes the typology of single-parent families, the necessity of special social psychological and pedagogical support for children from such families and their parents has been proved. The analysis of various concepts of ―support‖has been made. The idea of psychological and pedagogical support of modern incomplete families has been determined. Key words: incomplete family, types of single-parent families, support, social support, psychological and pedagogical support of single-parent families.

  1. On the routes of Social Psychology in Brazil Sobre os rumos da Psicologia Social no Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Celso Pereira de Sá

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Considering the different paths of knowledge production that Social psychologists have run in Brazil, the text makes a distinction between a stricto sensu Social Psychology and the lato sensu one. The stricto sensu Social Psychologycomprises the trends found in the historical development of the discipline and in scientific modernity: the mainstream "psychological" Social Psychology; the European "sociological" Social Psychology; the "micro-sociological" perspectives, since Mead. The lato sensu Social Psychology comprises the trends that emerged aside the subject's history or very recently, following other epistemological guidelines: the Marxist Social Psychology, institutional analysis, socio-historical Psychology, socio-constructionism, and the philosophical Social Psychology. The eight trends listed are then submitted to evaluations regarding the two basic dimensions of Social Psychology: societal and psychological. A comparative picture of those evaluations discloses differences between the stricto and lato sensu sets of Social Psychology, as well as between the several trends in the scope of each set.Considerando os variados rumos de produção de conhecimento trilhados no Brasil pelos psicólogos sociais, o texto faz distinção entre uma Psicologia Social stricto sensu e outra lato sensu. À Psicologia Social stricto sensu correspondem as correntes que se situam no desenvolvimento histórico da disciplina e na modernidade científica: a Psicologia Social "psicológica" mainstream; a Psicologia Social "sociológica" europeia; as perspectivas "microssociológicas", desde Mead. À Psicologia Social lato sensu correspondem as correntes surgidas à margem da história da disciplina ou muito recentemente, com outras diretrizes epistemológicas: Psicologia Social marxista, análise institucional, Psicologia sócio-histórica, sócio-construcionismo e Psicologia Social filosófica. As oito correntes listadas são em seguida submetidas a avalia

  2. A theory of social thermoregulation in human primates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    IJzerman, Hans; Coan, James A; Wagemans, Fieke M A; Missler, Marjolein A; van Beest, Ilja; Lindenberg, Siegwart; Tops, Mattie

    2015-01-01

    Beyond breathing, the regulation of body temperature-thermoregulation-is one of the most pressing concerns for many animals. A dysregulated body temperature has dire consequences for survival and development. Despite the high frequency of social thermoregulation occurring across many species, little is known about the role of social thermoregulation in human (social) psychological functioning. We outline a theory of social thermoregulation and reconsider earlier research on people's expectations of their social world (i.e., attachment) and their prediction of the social world. We provide support and outline a research agenda that includes consequences for individual variation in self-regulatory strategies and capabilities. In our paper, we discuss physiological, neural, and social processes surrounding thermoregulation. Emphasizing social thermoregulation in particular, we appeal to the economy of action principle and the hierarchical organization of human thermoregulatory systems. We close with future directions of a crucial aspect of human functioning: the social regulation of body temperature.

  3. Incorporating intersectionality into psychology: An opportunity to promote social justice and equity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenthal, Lisa

    2016-09-01

    Intersectionality is receiving increasing attention in many fields, including psychology. This theory or framework has its roots in the work of Black feminist scholar-activists, and it focuses on interlocking systems of oppression and the need to work toward structural-level changes to promote social justice and equity. Thus, the current interest in intersectionality in psychology presents an opportunity to draw psychologists' attention more to structural-level issues and to make social justice and equity more central agendas to the field. The large, ever-growing bodies of research demonstrating the wide-ranging adverse consequences of structural- and interpersonal-level oppression, inequality, and stigma for the health and well-being of many diverse groups of people support that these issues are central to the field of psychology. We as individual psychologists and the field as a whole can work to fully incorporate the insights of intersectionality and therefore contribute to making social justice and equity more central across the varied subfields and realms of our work. Specific ways that we can do this are to (a) engage and collaborate with communities, (b) address and critique societal structures, (c) work together/build coalitions, (d) attend to resistance in addition to resilience, and (e) teach social justice curricula. There are important examples both within and outside of psychology that can guide us in achieving these goals. These suggestions are meant to foster conversation and consideration by psychologists across all subfields and areas of focus. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. In Others' Shoes: Do Individual Differences in Empathy and Theory of Mind Shape Social Preferences?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artinger, Florian; Exadaktylos, Filippos; Koppel, Hannes; Sääksvuori, Lauri

    2014-01-01

    Abundant evidence across the behavioral and social sciences suggests that there are substantial individual differences in pro-social behavior. However, little is known about the psychological mechanisms that underlie social preferences. This paper investigates whether empathy and Theory of Mind shape individual differences in pro-social behavior as conventionally observed in neutrally framed social science experiments. Our results show that individual differences in the capacity for empathy do not shape social preferences. The results qualify the role of Theory of Mind in strategic interaction. We do not only show that fair individuals exhibit more accurate beliefs about the behavior of others but that Theory of Mind can be effectively used to pursue both self-interest and pro-social goals depending on the principle objectives of a person. PMID:24743312

  5. Social influence in child care centers: a test of the theory of normative social behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapinski, Maria Knight; Anderson, Jenn; Shugart, Alicia; Todd, Ewen

    2014-01-01

    Child care centers are a unique context for studying communication about the social and personal expectations about health behaviors. The theory of normative social behavior (TNSB; Rimal & Real, 2005 ) provides a framework for testing the role of social and psychological influences on handwashing behaviors among child care workers. A cross-sectional survey of child care workers in 21 centers indicates that outcome expectations and group identity increase the strength of the relationship between descriptive norms and handwashing behavior. Injunctive norms also moderate the effect of descriptive norms on handwashing behavior such that when strong injunctive norms are reported, descriptive norms are positively related to handwashing, but when weak injunctive norms are reported, descriptive norms are negatively related to handwashing. The findings suggest that communication interventions in child care centers can focus on strengthening injunctive norms in order to increase handwashing behaviors in child care centers. The findings also suggest that the theory of normative social behavior can be useful in organizational contexts.

  6. School Psychology Research: Combining Ecological Theory and Prevention Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burns, Matthew K.

    2011-01-01

    The current article comments on the importance of theoretical implications within school psychological research, and proposes that ecological theory and prevention science could provide the conceptual framework for school psychology research and practice. Articles published in "School Psychology Review" should at least discuss potential…

  7. PSYCHOLOGICAL AMORTIZATION FACTORS FOR MEDIA IMPACT IN DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN FROM DIFFERENT SOCIAL GROUPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga I. Makhovskaya

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this publication is to analyze the domestic and foreign psychological researches on influence of TV-programs on social, cognitive and emotional development of children. Methods. Methods involve a comparative historical and psychological analysis of papers, manuscripts and archival records of television companies. Results. The present study demonstrates that educational television, subsequently on-line resources for children, affect operative cognitive functions, increase cognitive motivation, and contribute to the formation of other important cognitive and social skills. However, the impact on children on-screen resources depends on the status and education level of the family. Scientific novelty. Much attention is given to the fact that it is the first attempt to provide historical and psychological analysis of world-wide studies of the effects of children’s television, from the main countries-producers of TV and video programs for children of different age – Russia, USA, Germany, France, Israel, etc. Criteria and matrix for comparison of heterogeneous researches, the domestic theory of child development, cultural-historical approach, the theory of stage formation of mental actions, activity theory had been chosen. Practical significance of the research is that these criteria can be used to assess any of the videos, their educational potential. Psychologists involved in the process of television production, this article will help to simulate the learning process taking into account the age of the children and their socio-cultural origin. 

  8. corporate social responsibility and psychological contract

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Global Journal

    2017-07-04

    Jul 4, 2017 ... KEYWORDS: Corporate social responsibilities, Psychological contract, Nigeria, Niger delta, ... The concept of Corporate Social ... CSR initiatives rather than mere financial ..... fundamental idea in such a contract (PC) is the.

  9. Beyond folk psychology? : toward an enriched account of social understanding

    OpenAIRE

    Herschbach, Mitchell Albert

    2010-01-01

    Folk psychology is the ability to interpret people's mental states (beliefs, desires, etc.) and use this information to explain and predict their behavior. While folk psychology has traditionally been seen as fundamental to human social understanding, philosophers drawing on the phenomenological tradition have recently argued that most of our everyday social interactions do not involve folk psychology. I defend the role of folk psychology in human social understanding against these phenomenol...

  10. Nonlinear dynamics in psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen J. Guastello

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available This article provides a survey of the applications of nonlinear dynamical systems theory to substantive problems encountered in the full scope of psychological science. Applications are organized into three topical areas – cognitive science, social and organizational psychology, and personality and clinical psychology. Both theoretical and empirical studies are considered with an emphasis on works that capture the broadest scope of issues that are of substantive interest to psychological theory. A budding literature on the implications of NDS principles in professional practice is reported also.

  11. Social-Psychological Aspects of Professional Learning Motivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markov D.O.,

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The article contains a theoretical review of both Russian (T.O. Gordeeva A.G. Bugrimenko, O.A. Tchadenkova etc. and foreign (R. Rayan, and E. Dasy, A. Elliot and H. Makgregor, etc approaches, classifications and researches of motivation of educational-professional activity, and special attention is paid to the socially-psychological features of this motivation: external conditionality of structural components, including achievement motivation, the mechanism of its formation in changing conditions of social environment, as well as nature of correlation of socially-psychological features of personality, in particular, processes of its socially-psychological adaptation, with characteristics of its motivational sphere. The article considers researches of external educational environment, (M. Bokarts, etc. and inner personality settings (К. Dvak, А. Bandura on becoming and development of motivation training are considered. Also there are researches of dynamics of motivation of educational-professional activity on various phases of educational process are described.

  12. Theory in Social Marketing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hastings, Gerard; Brown, Abraham; Anker, Thomas Boysen

    2010-01-01

    influence this positioning (Social Cognitive Theory and Social Norms) and; (iii) what offerings might encourage them to change their behaviour – or, those in a position to do so, to make the social context more conducive to change (Exchange Theory). Moreover, the chapter outlines how social marketers might......The chapter looks at three important theories which help social marketers to think more systematically about the key questions they need to address:  (i) how does the target group or population feel about a particular behaviour (Stages of Change Theory); (ii) what social and contextual factors...... benefit from a social epistemological approach....

  13. Towards a new theory of practice for community health psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nolas, Sevasti-Melissa

    2014-01-01

    The article sets out the value of theorizing collective action from a social science perspective that engages with the messy actuality of practice. It argues that community health psychology relies on an abstract version of Paulo Freire's earlier writing, the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which provides scholar-activists with a 'map' approach to collective action. The article revisits Freire's later work, the Pedagogy of Hope, and argues for the importance of developing a 'journey' approach to collective action. Theories of practice are discussed for their value in theorizing such journeys, and in bringing maps (intentions) and journeys (actuality) closer together.

  14. Softening the Blow of Social Exclusion: The Responsive Theory of Social Exclusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gili Freedman

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Social exclusion is an interactive process between multiple people, yet previous research has focused almost solely on the negative impacts on targets. What advice is there for people on the other side (i.e., sources who want to minimize its negative impact and preserve their own reputation? To provide an impetus for research on the interactive nature of exclusion, we propose the Responsive Theory of Social Exclusion. Our theory postulates that targets and sources’ needs are better maintained if sources use clear, explicit verbal communication. We propose that sources have three options: explicit rejection (clearly stating no, ostracism (ignoring, and ambiguous rejection (being unclear. Drawing on psychology, sociology, communications, and business research, we propose that when sources use explicit rejection, targets’ feelings will be less hurt, their needs will be better protected, and sources will experience less backlash and emotional toil than if sources use ambiguous rejection or ostracism. Finally, we propose how the language of rejections may impact both parties.

  15. Softening the Blow of Social Exclusion: The Responsive Theory of Social Exclusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freedman, Gili; Williams, Kipling D.; Beer, Jennifer S.

    2016-01-01

    Social exclusion is an interactive process between multiple people, yet previous research has focused almost solely on the negative impacts on targets. What advice is there for people on the other side (i.e., sources) who want to minimize its negative impact and preserve their own reputation? To provide an impetus for research on the interactive nature of exclusion, we propose the Responsive Theory of Social Exclusion. Our theory postulates that targets and sources’ needs are better maintained if sources use clear, explicit verbal communication. We propose that sources have three options: explicit rejection (clearly stating no), ostracism (ignoring), and ambiguous rejection (being unclear). Drawing on psychology, sociology, communications, and business research, we propose that when sources use explicit rejection, targets’ feelings will be less hurt, their needs will be better protected, and sources will experience less backlash and emotional toil than if sources use ambiguous rejection or ostracism. Finally, we propose how the language of rejections may impact both parties. PMID:27777566

  16. Marañón and historical social psychology: some theoretical questions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Almagro González, Andrés

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available If one takes a multidisciplinary, integrative perspective on historical social psychology, one sees that it is a vital thread not only in the theoretical weave of social psychology as such, but in any social science which studies the social being. The multidisciplinary character of historical social psychology is friendly to authors and ideas from other domains of knowledge. Marañón's insights suggest interesting ways of answering the main questions that arise in historical social psychology. The application of his method, as I shall try to show, can orient to us towards a social psychology concerned not only with the here and now of its object of study, but also with the way in which it has evolved through history.

  17. La psicología social y el concepto de cultura Social psychology and the concept of culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Ángel Vera Noriega

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available El objetivo de este artículo es realizar una revisión de las teorías contemporáneas de la psicología social, observando en sus métodos experimentales y los datos de investigación, las diferentes maneras de medir, evaluar y teorizar sobre el uso del concepto de cultura. Se estudian las teorías de individualismo-colectivismo, capital social, identidad social y étnica, sistemas concéntricos y adaptativos. El análisis se lleva a cabo desde la perspectiva teórica que supone al constructo sociológico y antropológico de cultura como una categoría no psicológica que integra los aspectos sociales vinculados a la formación de valores y representaciones que cortan transversalmente el comportamiento social.O objetivo deste artigo é realizar uma revisão das teorias contemporâneas da psicologia social, observando em seus métodos experimentais e apresentação de dados de pesquisa, as diferentes maneiras de medir, avaliar e teorizar sobre o uso que fazem do conceito de cultura. Analisam-se as teorias de individualismo - coletivismo, capital social, identidade étnica, sistemas concêntricos e adaptativos. A análise é feita desde a perspectiva teórica que pressupõe o constructo sociológico e antropológico da cultura como uma categoria não psicológica que integra os aspectos sociais vinculados à formação de valores e representações que cortam transversalmente o comportamento social.The objective of this critic review related to the cultural concept is to review the contemporary theories of social psychology; taking in count its experimental designs and data, and its way to assume, to measure and to evaluate the cultural concept. There were analyzed the theories: individualism-collectivism, social capital, social and ethnic identity as well as the concentric and adaptive systems. Both of them were analyzed from the theoretical perspective of culture (sociological-anthropological construct as a non-psychological category that

  18. Understanding psychological distress among mothers in rural Nepal: a qualitative grounded theory exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background There is a large burden of psychological distress in low and middle-income countries, and culturally relevant interventions must be developed to address it. This requires an understanding of how distress is experienced. We conducted a qualitative grounded theory study to understand how mothers experience and manage distress in Dhanusha, a low-resource setting in rural Nepal. We also explored how distressed mothers interact with their families and the wider community. Methods Participants were identified during a cluster-randomised controlled trial in which mothers were screened for psychological distress using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). We conducted 22 semi-structured interviews with distressed mothers (GHQ-12 score ≥5) and one with a traditional healer (dhami), as well as 12 focus group discussions with community members. Data were analysed using grounded theory methods and a model was developed to explain psychological distress in this setting. Results We found that distress was termed tension by participants and mainly described in terms of physical symptoms. Key perceived causes of distress were poor health, lack of sons, and fertility problems. Tension developed in a context of limited autonomy for women and perceived duty towards the family. Distressed mothers discussed several strategies to alleviate tension, including seeking treatment for perceived physical health problems and tension from doctors or dhamis, having repeated pregnancies until a son was delivered, manipulating social circumstances in the household, and deciding to accept their fate. Their ability to implement these strategies depended on whether they were able to negotiate with their in-laws or husbands for resources. Conclusions Vulnerability, as a consequence of gender and social disadvantage, manifests as psychological distress among mothers in Dhanusha. Screening tools incorporating physical symptoms of tension should be envisaged, along with

  19. Teoria das representações sociais e ciências sociais: trânsito e atravessamentos Theory of social representations and social sciences: transit and crossings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela Arruda

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Este texto pretende assinalar a relação da teoria psicossocial das representações sociais de Serge Moscovici com as ciências sociais, a partir da sua caracterização como uma abordagem de interpenetração da Psicologia com a Sociologia. Primeiramente fará uma breve análise sobre o trânsito entre Psicologia-Psicologia Social e Ciências Sociais, como um dos elementos de explicação para o entrecruzamento da Teoria das Representações Sociais (TRS com as ciências sociais. Em seguida pontuará como este entrecruzamento se coloca na abordagem moscoviciana, e como a TRS não escapa a ele. O argumento da autora é de que a base da relação entre essas áreas e a TRS está na concepção do social, presente no pensamento moscoviciano, o qual, ao mesmo tempo, não negligencia o quanto os aspectos psicológicos participam dos fatos sociais. O texto se encerra com alguns exemplos de pesquisa para ilustrar esta posição.This text intends to pinpoint the relationship between the psychosocial theory of social representations by Serge Moscovici and the social sciences, based on the characterization of this theory as an interpenetrative approach between psychology and sociology. Firstly, the transit between psychology-social psychology and sociology will be briefly presented as one of the elements that explain the intertwining of the Theory of Social Representations (TSR and social sciences. Next, it will be indicated how this intertwining is present in Moscovici's approach and how the TSR cannot escape it. The author's argument is that the relationship between these two fields is based on the conception of the social in Moscovici's thought, which does not neglect the importance of psychological aspects for social facts as well. The text concludes with some examples of research works that illustrate this point of view.

  20. The Social Cognitive Theory of Personality in the Context of Personal Marketing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zvjezdana Penava Brekalo

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available The starting point of personal marketing is an individual, i.e. a person. Personal marketing, in the sense of the narrowest level of marketing, has a markedly interdisciplinary character, because it relies on the knowledge of psychology - the science of psychological characteristics of a person. Psychological factors of personal marketing, like personality, behaviour, emotions, temperament, character and intelligence are numerous, but in this paper some of the psychological categories relevant for the implementation of personal marketing are singled out and described. These are primarily the self, personal image, needs, desires, motives, motivation, attitudes and behaviour seen from the viewpoint of social cognitive theory of personality in the context of personal marketing.

  1. The Role of Social Support Seeking and Social Constraints on Psychological Outcomes After Trauma: A Social Cognitive Theory Perspective.

    OpenAIRE

    Donlon, Katharine

    2012-01-01

    Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) posits that survivors of a traumatic event have the ability to influence their own outcomes and do so most aptly when they perceive they can exert control over their outcomes. Posttraumatic growth outcomes are associated with a greater perception of controllability, while posttraumatic stress outcomes can be related to the lack of perceived control. In the context of the Virginia Tech shootings, several social factors were examined three months after the trauma ...

  2. Toward a Psychological Study of Class Consciousness: Development and Validation of a Social Psychological Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucas A. Keefer

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available While social class has recently become a prominent topic in social psychological research, much of this effort has focused on the psychological consequences of objective and subjective indices of class (e.g., income, perceived status. This approach sheds light on the consequences of social class itself, but overlooks a construct of central importance in earlier theorizing on class: class consciousness, or the extent to which individuals acknowledge and situate themselves within class relations. The current paper offers a psychological model of class consciousness comprised of five elements: awareness of social class, perceptions of class conflict, beliefs about the permeability of class groups, identification with a class group, and personal experience of being treated as a member of one’s class. We offer a measure assessing those central dimensions and assess differences in these dimensions by age, gender, indices of social class, political ideology, and among different class groups. Finally, we offer suggestions for how an awareness of class consciousness may enrich social psychology and ultimately foster political change.

  3. How do educational contexts contribute to the social class achievement gap: documenting symbolic violence from a social psychological point of view.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Croizet, Jean-Claude; Goudeau, Sébastien; Marot, Medhi; Millet, Mathias

    2017-12-01

    This article examines how the educational system participates in the reproduction of social inequality. After exposing the basics of the Social Reproduction Theory developed in sociology by Bourdieu and Passeron in 1977, we examine the research in social psychology that documents the reality of 'symbolic violence' that is the symbolic power that operates in the classroom and undermines the performance of students from underprivileged backgrounds. Three lines of research are examined: self-esteem, self-threat and research on the non-neutrality of educational settings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Social Isolation, Depression, and Psychological Distress Among Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Harry Owen; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Nguyen, Ann W; Chatters, Linda

    2018-02-01

    To investigate the impact of objective and subjective social isolation from extended family members and friends on depressive symptoms and psychological distress among a national sample of older adults. Data for older adults (55 years and above) from the National Survey of American Life ( N = 1,439) were used to assess level of objective social isolation and subjective social isolation and to test regression models examining their impact on depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression [CES-D] Scale) and psychological distress (Kessler 6 [K6] Scale). The majority of respondents were not socially isolated from family or friends; 5% were objectively isolated from family and friends, and less than 1% were subjectively isolated from family and friends. Regression analyses using both social isolation measures indicated that objective social isolation was unrelated to depressive symptoms and psychological distress. However, subjective social isolation from both family and friends and from friends only was associated with more depressive symptoms, and subjective social isolation from friends only was associated with higher levels of psychological distress. Assessments of social isolation among older populations should account for both subjective and objective dimensions, as well as both family and friend social networks. Social isolation from friends is an important, but understudied, issue that has significant consequences for older adult mental health.

  5. SOCIAL COMPETENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL VULNERABILITY: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF FLOURISHING.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uysal, Recep

    2015-10-01

    This study examined whether flourishing mediated the social competence and psychological vulnerability. Participants were 259 university students (147 women, 112 men; M age = 21.3 yr., SD = 1.7) who completed the Turkish versions of the Perceived Social Competence Scale, the Flourishing Scale, and the Psychological Vulnerability Scale. Mediation models were tested using the bootstrapping method to examine indirect effects. Consistent with the hypotheses, the results indicated a positive relationship between social competence and flourishing, and a negative relationship between social competence and psychological vulnerability. Results of the bootstrapping method revealed that flourishing significantly mediated the relationship between social competence and psychological vulnerability. The significance and limitations of the results were discussed.

  6. On the history of political diversity in social psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binning, Kevin R; Sears, David O

    2015-01-01

    We argue that the history of political diversity in social psychology may be better characterized by stability than by a large shift toward liberalism. The branch of social psychology that focuses on political issues has defined social problems from a liberal perspective since at least the 1930s. Although a lack of ideological diversity within the discipline can pose many of the problems noted by Duarte et al., we suggest that these problems (a) are less apparent when the insights of social psychology are pitted against the insights from other social science disciplines, and (b) are less pressing than the need for other types of diversity in the field, especially ethnic and racial diversity.

  7. Relevance of Piagetian cross-cultural psychology to the humanities and social sciences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oesterdiekhoff, Georg W

    2013-01-01

    Jean Piaget held views according to which there are parallels between ontogeny and the historical development of culture, sciences, and reason. His books are full of remarks and considerations about these parallels, with reference to many logical, physical, social, and moral phenomena.This article explains that Piagetian cross-cultural psychology has delivered the decisive data needed to extend the research interests of Piaget. These data provide a basis for reconstructing not only the history of sciences but also the history of religion, politics, morals, culture, philosophy, and social change and the emergence of industrial society. Thus, it is possible to develop Piagetian theory as a historical anthropology in order to provide a basis for the humanities and social sciences.

  8. Assessment of Teachers from a Social Psychological Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madni, Ayesha; Baker, Eva L.; Chow, Kirby A.; Delacruz, Girlie C.; Griffin, Noelle C.

    2015-01-01

    The focus of this chapter is on the description and assessment of teachers' social psychological factors, using the scientific literature as a base. Research on teachers' social psychological domains has an ultimate goal of populating classrooms with competent people who can model and incite behaviors that assist students in their own learning.…

  9. Sex differences, evolutionary psychology and biosocial theory : Biosocial theory is no alternative

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luxen, Marc F.

    Biosocial theory claims that evolution did not design human psychological sex differences. It argues that these are the result of the allocation of men and women into different sex roles, based on physical differences. This article argues, however, that biosocial theory is not an alternative to

  10. Bridging history and social psychology: what, how and why.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glăveanu, Vlad; Yamamoto, Koji

    2012-12-01

    This special issue aims to bridge history and social psychology by bringing together historians and social psychologists in an exercise of reading and learning from each other's work. This interdisciplinary exercise is not only timely but of great importance for both disciplines. Social psychologists can benefit from engaging with historical sources by being able to contextualise their findings and enrich their theoretical models. It is not only that all social and psychological phenomena have a history but this history is very much part of present-day and future developments. On the other hand historians can enhance their analysis of historical sources by drawing upon the conceptual tools developed in social psychology. They can "test" these tools and contribute to their validation and enrichment from completely different perspectives. Most important, as contributions to this special issue amply demonstrate, psychology's "historical turn" has the potential to shed a new light on striking, yet underexplored, similarities between contemporary public spheres and their pre-modern counterparts. This issue thereby calls into question the dichotomy between traditional and de-traditionalized societies-a distinction that lies at the heart of many social psychology accounts of the world we live in. The present editorial will introduce and consider this act of bridging history and social psychology by focusing on three main questions: What is the bridge made of? How can the two disciplines be bridged? and Why we cross this interdisciplinary bridge? In the end a reflection on the future of this collaboration will be offered.

  11. The individual-oriented and social-oriented Chinese bicultural self: testing the theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Luo

    2008-06-01

    The author proposes a bicultural self theory for contemporary Chinese individuals, encompassing 2 main components: the individual-oriented self and the social-oriented self. The social orientation is rooted in traditional Chinese conceptualization of the self, whereas the individual orientation has evolved and developed under Western influences along with recent societal modernization. The author conducted a series of 5 studies to test the theory and relate the model to important issues in current personality and social psychological research, such as cultural individualism-collectivism, self-construals, motivation, cognition, emotion, and well-being. A total of 977 university students in Taiwan participated. The author found that contrasting self-aspects were differentially associated with the aforementioned constructs, as theoretically predicted. This evidence thus generally supported the bicultural self model.

  12. Activity theories and the ontology of psychology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mammen, Jens Skaun; Mironenko, Irina

    2015-01-01

    Psychology has permanent problems of theoretical coherence and practical, analytic and critical efficiency. It is claimed that Activity Theory (AT) with roots in a long European philosophical tradition and continued in Russian AT is a first step to remedy this. A Danish version of AT may have a key...... in the encounter between subject and object which replace the dualistic dichotomies traditionally splitting psychology in Naturwissenschaft vs. Geisteswissenshaft. This also implies a "Copernican turn" of Cartesian dualism. The perspectives are to give place for a phenomenology of meaning without cutting human...... psyche out of Nature and to open Psychology to its domain....

  13. Social Welfare and the Psychology of Food Sharing: Short-Term Hunger Increases Support for Social Welfare

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Michael Bang; Aarøe, Lene; Jensen, Niels Holm

    2014-01-01

    Do politically irrelevant events influence important policy opinions? Previous research on social welfare attitudes has emphasized the role of political factors such as economic self-interest and ideology. Here, we demonstrate that attitudes to social welfare are also influenced by short-term flu......—we consistently find that hungry individuals act in a greedier manner but describe themselves as more cooperative and express greater support for social welfare.......Do politically irrelevant events influence important policy opinions? Previous research on social welfare attitudes has emphasized the role of political factors such as economic self-interest and ideology. Here, we demonstrate that attitudes to social welfare are also influenced by short......-term fluctuations in hunger. Using theories in evolutionary psychology, we predict that hungry individuals will be greedier and take more resources from others while also attempting to induce others to share by signaling cooperative intentions and expressing support for sharing, including evolutionarily novel forms...

  14. Collective Psychological Ownership and Intergroup Relations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verkuyten, Maykel; Martinovic, Borja

    2017-11-01

    Whereas much social psychological research has studied the in-group and out-group implications of social categorization and collective identity ("we"), little research has examined the nature and relevance of collective psychological ownership ("ours") for intergroup relations. We make a case for considering collective psychological ownership as an important source of intergroup tensions. We do so by integrating theory and research from various social sciences, and we draw out implications for future social psychological research on intergroup relations. We discuss collective psychological ownership in relation to the psychology of possessions, marking behavior, intergroup threats, outgroup exclusion, and in-group responsibility. We suggest that the social psychological processes discussed apply to a range of ownership objects (territory, buildings, cultural artifacts) and various intergroup settings, including international, national, and local contexts, and in organizations and communities. We conclude by providing directions for future research in different intergroup contexts.

  15. Theory-Driven Evaluation in School Psychology Intervention Research: 2007-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Sterett H.; Idler, Alyssa M.; Bartfai, Jamie M.

    2014-01-01

    This study is an investigation of the extent to which school psychology intervention research is guided by theory and addresses theoretical implications of findings. Intervention studies published during 2007-2012 in four journals, "Journal of School Psychology," "Psychology in the Schools," "School Psychology…

  16. The social consequences of conspiracism: Exposure to conspiracy theories decreases intentions to engage in politics and to reduce one's carbon footprint.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jolley, Daniel; Douglas, Karen M

    2014-02-01

    The current studies explored the social consequences of exposure to conspiracy theories. In Study 1, participants were exposed to a range of conspiracy theories concerning government involvement in significant events such as the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Results revealed that exposure to information supporting conspiracy theories reduced participants' intentions to engage in politics, relative to participants who were given information refuting conspiracy theories. This effect was mediated by feelings of political powerlessness. In Study 2, participants were exposed to conspiracy theories concerning the issue of climate change. Results revealed that exposure to information supporting the conspiracy theories reduced participants' intentions to reduce their carbon footprint, relative to participants who were given refuting information, or those in a control condition. This effect was mediated by powerlessness with respect to climate change, uncertainty, and disillusionment. Exposure to climate change conspiracy theories also influenced political intentions, an effect mediated by political powerlessness. The current findings suggest that conspiracy theories may have potentially significant social consequences, and highlight the need for further research on the social psychology of conspiracism. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

  17. Psychological risk factors of addiction to social networking sites among Chinese smartphone users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Anise M S; Cheung, Vivi I; Ku, Lisbeth; Hung, Eva P W

    2013-09-01

    Smartphones allow users to access social networking sites (SNSs) whenever and wherever they want. Such easy availability and accessibility may increase their vulnerability to addiction. Based on the social cognitive theory (SCT), we examined the impacts of outcome expectancies, self-efficacy, and impulsivity on young Chinese smartphone users' addictive tendencies toward SNSs. Two hundred seventy-seven Macau young smartphone users (116 males and 161 females; mean age = 26.62) filled out an online Chinese questionnaire concerning their usage of social networking sites via smartphones, addiction tendencies toward SNSs, impulsivity trait, outcome expectancies toward the use, and Internet self-efficacy. The findings revealed that those who spent more time on SNSs also reported higher addictive tendencies. Addictive tendencies were positively correlated with both outcome expectancies and impulsivity, but negatively associated with Internet self-efficacy. These three psychological variables explained 23% of the variance in addictive tendencies. The findings of this study suggest that, compared to demographics, psychological factors provide a better account for addictive tendencies towards SNSs among Chinese smartphone users in Macau. The three psychological risk factors were low Internet self-efficacy, favorable outcome expectancies, and high impulsivity trait. Educational campaigns with screening procedures for high-risk groups are recommended for effective prevention and treatment.

  18. Bringing culture to basic psychological theory--beyond individualism and collectivism: comment on Oyserman et al. (2002).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Joan G

    2002-01-01

    D. Oyserman, H. M. Coon, and M. Kemmelmeir (2002) offered a comprehensive literature review on individualism and collectivism that forwards valuable suggestions for ways to enhance future research conducted within this framework. The author argues that although their criticisms of much contemporary social psychological research on individualism and collectivism are valid, even more fundamental problems need to be recognized as characterizing work within this tradition, such as the insufficiently subtle nature of the views held of culture, the limited attention given to meanings, and the downplaying of contextual variation. The author suggests adopting more nuanced and process-oriented conceptions of culture and more contextually grounded views of its impact on psychological functioning as a way of realizing the promise of cultural psychology to broaden and provide insight into basic psychological theory.

  19. Athlete social support, negative social interactions and psychological health across a competitive sport season.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeFreese, J D; Smith, Alan L

    2014-12-01

    Social support and negative social interactions have implications for athlete psychological health, with potential to influence the links of stress-related experiences with burnout and well-being over time. Using a longitudinal design, perceived social support and negative social interactions were examined as potential moderators of the temporal stress-burnout and burnout-well-being relationships. American collegiate athletes (N = 465) completed reliable and valid online assessments of study variables at four time points during the competitive season. After controlling for dispositional and conceptually important variables, social support and negative social interactions did not moderate the stress-burnout or burnout-well-being relationships, respectively, but did simultaneously contribute to burnout and well-being across the competitive season. The results showcase the importance of sport-related social perceptions to athlete psychological outcomes over time and inform development of socially driven interventions to improve the psychological health of competitive athletes.

  20. Illuminating the dark matter of social neuroscience: Considering the problem of social interaction from philosophical, psychological, and neuroscientific perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Przyrembel, Marisa; Smallwood, Jonathan; Pauen, Michael; Singer, Tania

    2012-01-01

    Successful human social interaction depends on our capacity to understand other people's mental states and to anticipate how they will react to our actions. Despite its importance to the human condition, the exact mechanisms underlying our ability to understand another's actions, feelings, and thoughts are still a matter of conjecture. Here, we consider this problem from philosophical, psychological, and neuroscientific perspectives. In a critical review, we demonstrate that attempts to draw parallels across these complementary disciplines is premature: The second-person perspective does not map directly to Interaction or Simulation theories, online social cognition, or shared neural network accounts underlying action observation or empathy. Nor does the third-person perspective map onto Theory-Theory (TT), offline social cognition, or the neural networks that support Theory of Mind (ToM). Moreover, we argue that important qualities of social interaction emerge through the reciprocal interplay of two independent agents whose unpredictable behavior requires that models of their partner's internal state be continually updated. This analysis draws attention to the need for paradigms in social neuroscience that allow two individuals to interact in a spontaneous and natural manner and to adapt their behavior and cognitions in a response contingent fashion due to the inherent unpredictability in another person's behavior. Even if such paradigms were implemented, it is possible that the specific neural correlates supporting such reciprocal interaction would not reflect computation unique to social interaction but rather the use of basic cognitive and emotional processes combined in a unique manner. Finally, we argue that given the crucial role of social interaction in human evolution, ontogeny, and every-day social life, a more theoretically and methodologically nuanced approach to the study of real social interaction will nevertheless help the field of social cognition

  1. Illuminating the dark matter of social neuroscience: Considering the problem of social interaction from philosophical, psychological, and neuroscientific perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Przyrembel, Marisa; Smallwood, Jonathan; Pauen, Michael; Singer, Tania

    2012-01-01

    Successful human social interaction depends on our capacity to understand other people's mental states and to anticipate how they will react to our actions. Despite its importance to the human condition, the exact mechanisms underlying our ability to understand another's actions, feelings, and thoughts are still a matter of conjecture. Here, we consider this problem from philosophical, psychological, and neuroscientific perspectives. In a critical review, we demonstrate that attempts to draw parallels across these complementary disciplines is premature: The second-person perspective does not map directly to Interaction or Simulation theories, online social cognition, or shared neural network accounts underlying action observation or empathy. Nor does the third-person perspective map onto Theory-Theory (TT), offline social cognition, or the neural networks that support Theory of Mind (ToM). Moreover, we argue that important qualities of social interaction emerge through the reciprocal interplay of two independent agents whose unpredictable behavior requires that models of their partner's internal state be continually updated. This analysis draws attention to the need for paradigms in social neuroscience that allow two individuals to interact in a spontaneous and natural manner and to adapt their behavior and cognitions in a response contingent fashion due to the inherent unpredictability in another person's behavior. Even if such paradigms were implemented, it is possible that the specific neural correlates supporting such reciprocal interaction would not reflect computation unique to social interaction but rather the use of basic cognitive and emotional processes combined in a unique manner. Finally, we argue that given the crucial role of social interaction in human evolution, ontogeny, and every-day social life, a more theoretically and methodologically nuanced approach to the study of real social interaction will nevertheless help the field of social cognition

  2. Illuminating the Dark Matter of Social Neuroscience: Considering the Problem of Social Interaction from Philosophical, Psychological, and Neuroscientific Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marisa ePrzyrembel

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Successful human social interaction depends on our capacity to understand other people’s mental states and to anticipate how they will react to our actions. Despites its importance to the human condition, there are still quite a few debates about how we actually solve the problem of understanding other peoples’ actions, feelings and thoughts. Here we consider this problem from philosophical, psychological, and neuroscientific perspectives. In a critical review we show that attempts to draw parallels across these complementary levels of analysis are premature: The second-person perspective does not map directly to simulation theories, online social cognition or shared neural networks underlying action observation or empathy. Nor does the third-person perspective map onto theory-theory accounts of other agents mental states, offline social cognition or the neural networks that support Theory of Mind. We further propose that important qualities of social interaction emerge through the reciprocal interaction of two independent agents whose unpredictable behaviour requires a continual updating of models of their partner internal state. This analysis draws attention to the need for paradigms that allow two individuals to interact in a spontaneous and natural manner and to adapt their behaviour and cognitions in a response contingent fashion due to the unpredictability of their partners behaviour. Even if such paradigms were implemented, it is possible that the specific neural correlates supporting such reciprocal interaction would not reflect the processes unique to social interaction because much real social behaviour may reflect the use of basic cognitive and emotional process in a novel and unique manner. Given the role of social interaction in human evolution, ontogeny and every-day social life, a more theoretically and methodologically nuanced approach to the study of social interaction will help to shed new light on the dark matter of social

  3. The Psychology of Career Theory--A New Perspective?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodd, Maureen

    2000-01-01

    New perspectives on human behavior have invalidated some assumptions of career theories such as personality type, career stages, and life-cycle models. Other theories, such as Driver's Objective Career Patterns, Schein's Temporal Development Model, and Nicholson's Transition Cycle, are compatible with current psychological understanding. (SK)

  4. Social class, income, education, area of residence and psychological distress: does social class have an independent effect on psychological distress in Antalya, Turkey?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belek, I

    2000-02-01

    The aim of this study is to determine the separate effects of social class, income, education and area of residence on psychological distress. The study also assesses whether the association between prevalence of high score on the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ 12) and social class is independent of other variables. Psychological distress was assessed by means of the GHQ 12. The study covered 1,092 adults aged 15 years or more living in two different quarters of Antalya. Social class status was defined by occupational position, with income, education and area of residence treated as confounders. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the data. Large inequalities in psychological distress by all variables were observed. Psychological distress was significantly associated with class status, after adjusting for income, education, area of residence and other potential confounders (age, sex and marital status). Class inequalities in psychological distress were observed between blue-collar workers/unqualified employees and bourgeoisie. These findings support the view that the recent widening of inequalities among social classes in Turkey pose a substantial threat to health.

  5. Social Isolation, Psychological Health, and Protective Factors in Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall-Lande, Jennifer A.; Eisenberg, Marla E.; Christenson, Sandra L.; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne

    2007-01-01

    This study investigates the relationships among social isolation, psychological health, and protective factors in adolescents. Feelings of social isolation may influence psychological health in adolescents, but protective factors such as family connectedness, school connectedness, and academic achievement may also play a key role. The sample…

  6. POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: THE SCIENCE AND PRACTICE OF PSYCHOLOGY?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julio Alfonso Piña López

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Positive psychology is not a science of psychology, because it lacks a specific subject matter as well as conceptual categories that theoretically represent it. Even more, it is not built on the foundations of a theory that would make it possible to translate scientific knowledge into technological knowledge, applicable to social problems in which the psychological dimension is relevant. We conclude that positive psychology is more than just a “good fashion” or “sympathetic magic”; it is, in essence, an unwarranted and fruitless attempt to give life to a new and very different psychology. In short, it is a conspicuous example of the illogic of logic.

  7. Social constructionism and relational practices as a paradigm for organisational psychology in the South African context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dirk J. Geldenhuys

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: This article is about introducing social constructionism and relational practices as a paradigm perspective to organisational psychology, especially as these are applied in organisation development. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relevance of social constructionism and relational practices as a paradigm perspective for studying and practising organisational psychology in the South African context. Motivation for the study: The relevance of the paradigm perspective that is currently used in studying and practising organisational psychology in South Africa seems to be biased towards an individual perspective of human behaviour that is incongruent with the African context, which asks for an Afro-centric approach with the emphasis on human relationships. It was argued that social constructionism and relational practices could provide a relevant perspective that can help to transform workplace relationships in the South African context. Research approach, design and method: This study was based on a non-empirical, theoretical research design. Articles written in English and published between 2002 and 2013 using specific keywords relating to social constructionism and organisational psychology were retrieved. This was supplemented by other relevant electronic and hardcopy resources. The main findings are reported and discussed and recommendations made. Main findings: Although the literature on social constructionism and relational practices is limited in organisational psychology, it does provide an additional perspective, not only on the mainstream theory, but also as a practice in organisation development for transforming workplace relationships in the South African context. Practical/managerial implications: Organisational psychology should be cautious about the possibility of constructing a monologue at the expense of introducing new perspectives on behaviour in the workplace. Organisational

  8. Adolescent Psychological and Social Predictors of Young Adult Smoking Acquisition and Cessation: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Otten, R.; Bricker, J.B.; Liu, J.M.; Comstock, B.A.; Peterson, A.V.

    2011-01-01

    Objective: A 10-year follow-up study to test the extent to which theory-based adolescent psychological and social factors directly predict and moderate the prediction of young adult smoking acquisition and cessation. Design: A prospective community-based sample. A total of 2,970 adolescents

  9. Food Choice and Nutrition: A Social Psychological Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardcastle, Sarah J; Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Cecilie; Chatzisarantis, Nikos L D

    2015-10-01

    In this Special Issue, entitled "Food choice and Nutrition: A Social Psychological Perspective", three broad themes have been identified: (1) social and environmental influences on food choice; (2) psychological influences on eating behaviour; and (3) eating behaviour profiling.The studies that addressed the social and environmental influences indicated that further research would do well to promote positive food choices rather than reduce negative food choices; promote the reading and interpretation of food labels and find ways to effectively market healthy food choices through accessibility, availability and presentation. The studies on psychological influences found that intentions, perceived behavioural control, and confidence were predictors of healthy eating. Given the importance of psychological factors, such as perceived behavioural control and self-efficacy, healthy eating interventions should reduce barriers to healthy eating and foster perceptions of confidence to consume a healthy diet. The final theme focused on the clustering of individuals according to eating behaviour. Some "types" of individuals reported more frequent consumption of fast foods, ready meals or convenience meals or greater levels of disinhibitiona nd less control over food cravings. Intervention designs which make use of multi-level strategies as advocated by the Ecological Model of Behaviour change that proposes multi-level (combining psychological, social and environmental) strategies are likely to be more effective in reaching and engaging individuals susceptible to unhealthy eating habits than interventions operating on a single level.

  10. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, R M; Deci, E L

    2000-01-01

    Human beings can be proactive and engaged or, alternatively, passive and alienated, largely as a function of the social conditions in which they develop and function. Accordingly, research guided by self-determination theory has focused on the social-contextual conditions that facilitate versus forestall the natural processes of self-motivation and healthy psychological development. Specifically, factors have been examined that enhance versus undermine intrinsic motivation, self-regulation, and well-being. The findings have led to the postulate of three innate psychological needs--competence, autonomy, and relatedness--which when satisfied yield enhanced self-motivation and mental health and when thwarted lead to diminished motivation and well-being. Also considered is the significance of these psychological needs and processes within domains such as health care, education, work, sport, religion, and psychotherapy.

  11. Normative Bias and Adaptive Challenges: A Relational Approach to Coalitional Psychology and a Critique of Terror Management Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos David Navarrete

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Adherence to ingroup ideology increases after exposure to death-related stimuli, a reaction that proponents of terror management theory (TMT explain as a psychological defense against the uniquely human existential fear of death. We argue that existential concerns are not the relevant issue; rather, such concepts can be subsumed under a larger category of adaptive challenges that prime coalitional thinking. We suggest that increases in adherence to ingroup ideology in response to adaptive challenges are manifestations of normative mental representations emanating from psychological systems designed to enhance coordination and membership in social groups. In providing an alternative to TMT, we (1 explain why the theory is inconsistent with contemporary evolutionary biology, (2 demonstrate that mortality-salience does not have the unique evocative powers ascribed to it by TMT advocates, and (3 discuss our approach to coalitional psychology, a framework consistent with modern evolutionary theory and informed by a broad understanding of cultural variation, can be employed to help account for both the corpus of results in TMT research and the growing body of findings inconsistent with TMT's predictions.

  12. Psychological constraints on egalitarianism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kasperbauer, Tyler Joshua

    2015-01-01

    processes motivating people to resist various aspects of egalitarianism. I argue for two theses, one normative and one descriptive. The normative thesis holds that egalitarians must take psychological constraints into account when constructing egalitarian ideals. I draw from non-ideal theories in political...... philosophy, which aim to construct moral goals with current social and political constraints in mind, to argue that human psychology must be part of a non-ideal theory of egalitarianism. The descriptive thesis holds that the most fundamental psychological challenge to egalitarian ideals comes from what......Debates over egalitarianism for the most part are not concerned with constraints on achieving an egalitarian society, beyond discussions of the deficiencies of egalitarian theory itself. This paper looks beyond objections to egalitarianism as such and investigates the relevant psychological...

  13. Group processes in medical education: learning from social identity theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burford, Bryan

    2012-02-01

    The clinical workplace in which doctors learn involves many social groups, including representatives of different professions, clinical specialties and workplace teams. This paper suggests that medical education research does not currently take full account of the effects of group membership, and describes a theoretical approach from social psychology, the social identity approach, which allows those effects to be explored. The social identity approach has a long history in social psychology and provides an integrated account of group processes, from the adoption of group identity through a process of self-categorisation, to the biases and conflicts between groups. This paper outlines key elements of this theoretical approach and illustrates their relevance to medical education. The relevance of the social identity approach is illustrated with reference to a number of areas of medical education. The paper shows how research questions in medical education may be usefully reframed in terms of social identity in ways that allow a deeper exploration of the psychological processes involved. Professional identity and professionalism may be viewed in terms of self-categorisation rather than simply attainment; the salience of different identities may be considered as influences on teamwork and interprofessional learning, and issues in communication and assessment may be considered in terms of intergroup biases. Social identity theory provides a powerful framework with which to consider many areas of medical education. It allows disparate influences on, and consequences of, group membership to be considered as part of an integrated system, and allows assumptions, such as about the nature of professional identity and interprofessional tensions, to be made explicit in the design of research studies. This power to question assumptions and develop deeper and more meaningful research questions may be increasingly relevant as the nature and role of the medical profession change

  14. Imagine: towards an integrated and applied social psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abell, Jackie; Walton, Chris

    2010-12-01

    This commentary does not aim to engage with the epistemological and ontological technicalities of the discursive psychology maintained by epistemological constructionism and discursive psychology reliant on ontological constructionism approaches that form the basis of the two papers under discussion; other commentators, both in this issue and in the future, are likely to do that. Instead, this commentary aims to situate both papers within a broader frame of contemporary, primarily British social psychology, to ponder the circumstances that gave rise to them and their implications for social psychologists, discursive and non-discursive, alike. We have organized this commentary into two parts. The first part considers two simple questions. First, why does Corcoran critique DPEC for failing to do things that other discursive approaches provide for? And, second, why does Corcoran take DPEC research to task for having too little potential for or made too little contribution to improving the lives and subjectivities of people in general? These two questions are not unrelated, but for clarity's sake we will try to answer them separately. The second part of this commentary will consider the influence of discursive psychology on social psychology more generally.

  15. African Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The African Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues is dedicated to the Scientific investigation of psychological and social issues and related phenomenon in Africa. The journal does not undertake to specify rigidly an appropriate domain of context, but intends rather to reflect current significant research of ...

  16. Whither social theory?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pais, Alexandre; Valero, Paola

    2014-01-01

    What is the place of social theory in mathematics education research, and what is it for? This special issue of Educational Studies in Mathematics offers insights on what could be the role of some sociological theories in a field that has historically privileged learning theories coming from...... from a “socio-cultural” approach to learning and rather deploy sociological theories in the analysis of mathematics education practices. In this commentary paper, we will point to what we see to be the contributions of these papers to the field. We will do so by highlighting issues that run through...... the six papers. We will try to synthetize what we think are the benchmarks of the social approach to mathematics education that they propose. We will also take a critical stance and indicate some possible extensions of the use of social theory that are not addressed in this special issue but nonetheless...

  17. The psychological behaviorism theory of pain and the placebo: its principles and results of research application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staats, Peter S; Hekmat, Hamid; Staats, Arthur W

    2004-01-01

    The psychological behaviorism theory of pain unifies biological, behavioral, and cognitive-behavioral theories of pain and facilitates development of a common vocabulary for pain research across disciplines. Pain investigation proceeds in seven interacting realms: basic biology, conditioned learning, language cognition, personality differences, pain behavior, the social environment, and emotions. Because pain is an emotional response, examining the bidirectional impact of emotion is pivotal to understanding pain. Emotion influences each of the other areas of interest and causes the impact of each factor to amplify or diminish in an additive fashion. Research based on this theory of pain has revealed the ameliorating impact on pain of (1) improving mood by engaging in pleasant sexual fantasies, (2) reducing anxiety, and (3) reducing anger through various techniques. Application of the theory to therapy improved the results of treatment of osteoarthritic pain. The psychological behaviorism theory of the placebo considers the placebo a stimulus conditioned to elicit a positive emotional response. This response is most powerful if it is elicited by conditioned language. Research based on this theory of the placebo that pain is ameliorated by a placebo suggestion and augmented by a nocebo suggestion and that pain sensitivity and pain anxiety increase susceptibility to a placebo.

  18. Alternative probability theories for cognitive psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narens, Louis

    2014-01-01

    Various proposals for generalizing event spaces for probability functions have been put forth in the mathematical, scientific, and philosophic literatures. In cognitive psychology such generalizations are used for explaining puzzling results in decision theory and for modeling the influence of context effects. This commentary discusses proposals for generalizing probability theory to event spaces that are not necessarily boolean algebras. Two prominent examples are quantum probability theory, which is based on the set of closed subspaces of a Hilbert space, and topological probability theory, which is based on the set of open sets of a topology. Both have been applied to a variety of cognitive situations. This commentary focuses on how event space properties can influence probability concepts and impact cognitive modeling. Copyright © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  19. Essentialism goes social: belief in social determinism as a component of psychological essentialism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangel, Ulrike; Keller, Johannes

    2011-06-01

    Individuals tend to explain the characteristics of others with reference to an underlying essence, a tendency that has been termed psychological essentialism. Drawing on current conceptualizations of essentialism as a fundamental mode of social thinking, and on prior studies investigating belief in genetic determinism (BGD) as a component of essentialism, we argue that BGD cannot constitute the sole basis of individuals' essentialist reasoning. Accordingly, we propose belief in social determinism (BSD) as a complementary component of essentialism, which relies on the belief that a person's essential character is shaped by social factors (e.g., upbringing, social background). We developed a scale to measure this social component of essentialism. Results of five correlational studies indicate that (a) BGD and BSD are largely independent, (b) BGD and BSD are related to important correlates of essentialist thinking (e.g., dispositionism, perceived group homogeneity), (c) BGD and BSD are associated with indicators of fundamental epistemic and ideological motives, and (d) the endorsement of each lay theory is associated with vital social-cognitive consequences (particularly stereotyping and prejudice). Two experimental studies examined the idea that the relationship between BSD and prejudice is bidirectional in nature. Study 6 reveals that rendering social-deterministic explanations salient results in increased levels of ingroup favoritism in individuals who chronically endorse BSD. Results of Study 7 show that priming of prejudice enhances endorsement of social-deterministic explanations particularly in persons habitually endorsing prejudiced attitudes. 2011 APA, all rights reserved

  20. Food Choice and Nutrition: A Social Psychological Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah J. Hardcastle

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available In this Special Issue, entitled “Food choice and Nutrition: A Social Psychological Perspective”, three broad themes have been identified: (1 social and environmental influences on food choice; (2 psychological influences on eating behaviour; and (3 eating behaviour profiling. The studies that addressed the social and environmental influences indicated that further research would do well to promote positive food choices rather than reduce negative food choices; promote the reading and interpretation of food labels and find ways to effectively market healthy food choices through accessibility, availability and presentation. The studies on psychological influences found that intentions, perceived behavioural control, and confidence were predictors of healthy eating. Given the importance of psychological factors, such as perceived behavioural control and self-efficacy, healthy eating interventions should reduce barriers to healthy eating and foster perceptions of confidence to consume a healthy diet. The final theme focused on the clustering of individuals according to eating behaviour. Some “types” of individuals reported more frequent consumption of fast foods, ready meals or convenience meals or greater levels of disinhibition and less control over food cravings. Intervention designs which make use of multi-level strategies as advocated by the Ecological Model of Behaviour change that proposes multi-level (combining psychological, social and environmental strategies are likely to be more effective in reaching and engaging individuals susceptible to unhealthy eating habits than interventions operating on a single level.

  1. Ideology and community social psychology: theoretical considerations and practical implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montenegro, Marisela

    2002-08-01

    This paper addresses the importance of the concept of ideology in community work. The implications of a Marxist approach to ideology in community practice are analyzed in terms of the concepts of problematization (P. Freire, 1979) and consciousness-raising (J. Barreiro, 1976), illustrating the point with some examples. The traditional Marxist perspective is also examined in relation to the perspectives of social constructionism (I. Ibáñez, 1996), cultural studies (A. McRobbie, 1992), post-Marxism (E. Laclau & C. Mouffe, 1985), and feminism (D. Haraway, 1991). It is argued that the concepts of hegemony and habitus (P. Bourdieu, 1985) can be useful to community social psychology theory and practice. A "situated perspective"--in which it is possible to dialogue from different "subject positions," and articulate transformation and political action--is argued. The implications of this shifting in the concept of ideology by means of theoretical developments outside social communitypsychology can help to define the external (outside) agent's position in community practice.

  2. Self-determination theory and diminished functioning: the role of interpersonal control and psychological need thwarting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartholomew, Kimberley J; Ntoumanis, Nikos; Ryan, Richard M; Bosch, Jos A; Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Cecilie

    2011-11-01

    Drawing from self-determination theory, three studies explored the social-environmental conditions that satisfy versus thwart psychological needs and, in turn, affect psychological functioning and well-being or ill-being. In cross-sectional Studies 1 and 2, structural equation modeling analyses supported latent factor models in which need satisfaction was predicted by athletes' perceptions of autonomy support, and need thwarting was better predicted by coach control. Athletes' perceptions of need satisfaction predicted positive outcomes associated with sport participation (vitality and positive affect), whereas need thwarting more consistently predicted maladaptive outcomes (disordered eating, burnout, depression, negative affect, and physical symptoms). In addition, athletes' perceptions of psychological need thwarting were significantly associated with perturbed physiological arousal (elevated levels of secretory immunoglobulin A) prior to training. The final study involved the completion of a diary and supported the relations observed in the cross-sectional studies at a daily level. These findings have important implications for the operationalization and measurement of interpersonal styles and psychological needs.

  3. Closing the gap : measuring the social identity of terrorists

    OpenAIRE

    Ludwick, Keith W.

    2008-01-01

    CHDS State/Local Studies of terrorism today focus on psychological and behavioral aspects of individuals. Most research shows that using a single model in an attempt to profile terrorists psychologically is problematic, if not impossible. However, using two well established theories from social psychology, Social Identity Theory and Social Distance Theory, allows the development of a practical model to develop a social profile of a terrorist group. From that, it is further possible to...

  4. The social constructionist movement in modern psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenneth J. Gergen

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Social constructionism views discourse about the world not as a reflection or map of the world but as an artifact of communal interchange. Both as an orientation to knowledge and to the character of psychological constructs, constructionism forms a significant challenge to conventional understandings. Although the roots of constructionist thought may be traced to long-standing debates between empiricist and rationalist schools of thought, constructionism attempts to move beyond the dualism to which both of these traditions are committed and to place knowledge within the process of social interchange. Although the role of psychological explanation is rendered problematic, a fully developed constructionism could furnish a means for understanding the process of science and invites the development of alternative criteria for the evaluation of psychological inquiry.

  5. Notas para uma genealogia da Psicologia Social Notes for a genealogy of Social Psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosane Neves da Silva

    2004-08-01

    Full Text Available A partir de uma "desnaturalização" do conceito de social, pretende-se situar as condições de possibilidade para a invenção da psicologia social. Utilizando uma estratégia genealógica, nosso objetivo é mostrar que, no lugar da psicologia explicar o social, é o próprio social que deve explicar o surgimento da psicologia moderna. Para tanto, é preciso deixar de considerar o social como sinônimo da noção de sociabilidade e passar a considerá-lo como algo essencialmente construído a partir de determinadas práticas humanas. Tal problematização permite entender como se produzem, no final do século XIX, as primeiras aproximações da psicologia moderna em direção ao social a partir das questões relacionadas ao fenômeno das multidões.The "denaturalization" of the concept "social" allow us to situate the conditions to the invention of social psychology. Using the genealogy strategy, our goal is to show that it is not psychology that explains the "social" but it is the "social" itself that explains the emergence of modern psychology. In order to attain our goal it is necessary to abandon the use of social as a synonym of sociability and to consider the "social" as a product essentially constructed by determinate human practices. This strategy allows us to understand how, at the end of the XIX century, modern psychology's firsts theoretical approaches towards the "social" were produced from matters related to the phenomena of the masses.

  6. Political Psychology of European Integration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manners, Ian James

    2014-01-01

    The chapter engages in a survey of what political psychology and European integration have to say to each other in the understanding of the European Union. The chapter draws on five strands of political psychology as part of this engagement – conventional psychology, social psychology, social...... construction, psychoanalysis, and critical political psychology. Within each strand a number of examples of scholarship at the interface of political psychology and European integration are examined. The chapter argues that the study of the EU has much to benefit from political psychology in terms of theories...... and methods of European identity and integration, but it also argues that political psychology can benefit from the insights of European integration by rethinking the processes that drive the marking of inside and outside, interior and exterior, belonging and otherness....

  7. Introductory Psychology Texts as a View of Sociobiology/Evolutionary Psychology's Role in Psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Elisabeth Cornwell

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Sociobiology and its descendant evolutionary psychology (EP have struggled to gain ground within the social sciences over the past 30 years. While some have heralded the Triumph of Sociobiology (Alcock, 2001, others have critiqued it as a poor approach to understanding human behavior and would prefer that a Darwinian perspective remain outside the domain of human social sciences. We attempt to assess just how successful (or not it has been by examining how it has been covered in introductory psychology textbooks over the past 30 years. Our findings indicate that a Darwinian perspective has gained influence and acceptance within the field of psychology over the past three decades. However, we also find that EP as a sub-discipline is often perceived as narrowly defined and limited to research on mating strategies. We address how these perceptions may affect the future of EP, and possible steps needed to increase both the acceptance and importance of evolutionary theory to psychology.

  8. Navigating Social Networking and Social Media in School Psychology: Ethical and Professional Considerations in Training Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pham, Andy V.

    2014-01-01

    Social networking and social media have undoubtedly proliferated within the past decade, allowing widespread communication and dissemination of user-generated content and information. Some psychology graduate programs, including school psychology, have started to embrace social networking and media for instructional and training purposes; however,…

  9. Mapping out the subject of Brazilian social psychology in the production of the national association of research and post-graduate studies in psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Adegas de Azambuja

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper problematizes the Brazilian Social Psychology and its knowledge production on the registers of the Work Group (WG of symposiums of the National Association of Research and Post-Graduation in Psychology (ANPEPP, during 1988 to 2010. Using Michel Foucault's archeo-genealogical perspective and the contributions by Ian Hacking about the historical ontology of subjects, we analyzed technologies of power and knowledge in the disciplines of Social Psychology. We selected the WG abstracts in which circulate the utterances that make up the discursive field of Brazilian Social Psychology. Using the narrative of WGs we outlined a discursive formation of identities/technologies of the subject. The knowledges of Social Psychology in the history of the ANPEPP's WGs contribute to the constitution of categories and psychological classifications which objectivize subjects. We think Social Psychology, in its criticisms related to psychological and social concepts comprises practices and regimes of truth about the subject of Social Psychology.

  10. Sociological theory and social reality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J Díez Nicolás

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper pretends to demonstrate the complementary relations between three relatively recent sociological theories, each one of which explains a different aspect of the same social object: the origin, diffusion and change of social and cultural values, aiming at demonstrating that there is not such a thing as a sociological theory that explains all, but rather diverse theories that offer partial explanations of social reality. To that effect, and on the basis of the necessary relationship between theory and research, three different theories are evaluated separately: Hawley’s and Duncan’s theory of the social ecosystem, Galtung’s centre-periphery theory, and Inglehart’s theory of values’ change in modern-industrial societies, offering theoretical and empirical evidence of their complementary relations, based on Spanish and international data. Social ecosystem and centre-periphery theories show a high level of generalization (through space and time and a high level of abstraction, though both can easily operationalize their main concepts through valid and reliable indicators. The theory of values’ change, however, though showing a high level of generalization, is limited in time to the historical period after World War II, and also shows a high level of abstraction. Centre-periphery theory and values’ change theory use individual and collective units of analysis, but social ecosystem theory only uses collective units, by definition. The three theories lead to the conclusion that ‘security’ values will gain a growing importance in present societies.

  11. The Practice of Psychological Science: Searching for Cronbach's Two Streams in Social-Personality Psychology

    OpenAIRE

    Tracy, JL; Robins, RW; Sherman, JW

    2009-01-01

    The present research surveyed a group of editors and editorial board members of personality and social psychology journals to examine the practice of psychological science in their field. Findings demonstrate that (a) although personality and social researchers tend to use many of the same approaches, methods, and procedures, they nonetheless show average differences in each of these domains, as well as in their overarching theoretical aims and perspectives; (b) these average differences larg...

  12. Theory for the Public Good? Social Capital Theory in Social Work Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MaryAnn Overcamp-Martini

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available As a concept, social capital is both relatively recent and highly controversial. This analysis overviews the history of social capital theory and the three main theoretical frameworks related to the concept. The components of social capital are discussed, as well as the controversy over its conceptualization. A review of recent studies is provided, particularly in the relationship between social capital and mental health. The article concludes with a discussion regarding the heuristic usefulness of social capital theory in the human behavior and social environment sequence in social work education, opening discourse in civic engagement and participation, collectivity, and the value of social networking.

  13. Perceived Social Support and Assertiveness as a Predictor of Candidates Psychological Counselors' Psychological Well-Being

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ates, Bünyamin

    2016-01-01

    In this research, to what extent the variables of perceived social support (family, friends and special people) and assertiveness predicted the psychological well-being levels of candidate psychological counselors. The research group of this study included totally randomly selected 308 candidate psychological counselors including 174 females…

  14. Race/ethnicity, psychological resilience, and social support among OEF/OIF combat veterans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbert, Matthew S; Leung, Desmond W; Pittman, James O E; Floto, Elizabeth; Afari, Niloofar

    2018-07-01

    This study examined the relationship between race/ethnicity and psychological resilience, and the moderating role of social support in this relationship among non-Hispanic White (n = 605), Hispanic (n = 107), African American (n = 141), and Asian American (n = 97) Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) combat veterans. Veterans were primarily male (88%) with a mean age of 31.4 years (SD = 8.35). An analysis of covariance showed that Asian American veterans reported significantly lower psychological resilience than non-Hispanic White veterans. The interaction of race/ethnicity and social support with psychological resilience was examined via linear regression. We found that the relationship between psychological resilience and social support significantly differed by race/ethnicity such that social support was positively associated with psychological resilience among non-Hispanic White veterans, but not among other racial/ethnic groups. Our findings are consistent with previous studies that show Asian American veterans report lower psychological resilience than non-Hispanic White veterans. Cultural differences in how and why individuals use social support may underlie racial/ethnic differences in the relationship between social support and psychological resilience. Future qualitative and quantitative research is encouraged to better understand how social support relates to psychological resilience among minority OEF/OIF combat veterans. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  15. Is the social brain theory applicable to human individual differences? Relationship between sociability personality dimension and brain size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horváth, Klára; Martos, János; Mihalik, Béla; Bódizs, Róbert

    2011-06-17

    Our study intends to examine whether the social brain theory is applicable to human individual differences. According to the social brain theory primates have larger brains as it could be expected from their body sizes due to the adaptation to a more complex social life. Regarding humans there were few studies about the relationship between theory of mind and frontal and temporal brain lobes. We hypothesized that these brain lobes, as well as the whole cerebrum and neocortex are in connection with the Sociability personality dimension that is associated with individuals' social lives. Our findings support this hypothesis as Sociability correlated positively with the examined brain structures if we control the effects of body size differences and age. These results suggest that the social brain theory can be extended to human interindividual differences and they have some implications to personality psychology too.

  16. Towards a balanced social psychology: causes, consequences, and cures for the problem-seeking approach to social behavior and cognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krueger, Joachim I; Funder, David C

    2004-06-01

    Mainstream social psychology focuses on how people characteristically violate norms of action through social misbehaviors such as conformity with false majority judgments, destructive obedience, and failures to help those in need. Likewise, they are seen to violate norms of reasoning through cognitive errors such as misuse of social information, self-enhancement, and an over-readiness to attribute dispositional characteristics. The causes of this negative research emphasis include the apparent informativeness of norm violation, the status of good behavior and judgment as unconfirmable null hypotheses, and the allure of counter-intuitive findings. The shortcomings of this orientation include frequently erroneous imputations of error, findings of mutually contradictory errors, incoherent interpretations of error, an inability to explain the sources of behavioral or cognitive achievement, and the inhibition of generalized theory. Possible remedies include increased attention to the complete range of behavior and judgmental accomplishment, analytic reforms emphasizing effect sizes and Bayesian inference, and a theoretical paradigm able to account for both the sources of accomplishment and of error. A more balanced social psychology would yield not only a more positive view of human nature, but also an improved understanding of the bases of good behavior and accurate judgment, coherent explanations of occasional lapses, and theoretically grounded suggestions for improvement.

  17. Social and Abnormal Psychology Textbooks: An Objective Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christopher, Andrew N.; Griggs, Richard A.; Hagans, Chad L.

    2000-01-01

    Provides feature and content analyses of 14 social and 17 abnormal psychology full-length textbooks from 1995-98 that are available for undergraduate psychology courses. Provides instructors of these courses a means for more informed text selection. (CMK)

  18. Social theories for strategic communication

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ihlen, Ø.; Verhoeven, P.; Holtzhausen, D.; Zerfass, A.

    2015-01-01

    Social theory provides strategic communication with a basic understanding of the societal role of the practice, and its ethical and political consequences. This chapter draws out some key conclusions based on a wide reading of social theory approaches. First of all, building on social theory means

  19. Energy sustainable communities - social and psychological aspects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schweizer-Ries, P.; Baasch, St.; Jagszent, J.

    2004-01-01

    Besides technical, political and economic aspects of energy sustainability there are several social, behavioural and psychological dimensions of vital importance for a successful implementation of Renewable Energy Systems (RES) and Rational Use of Energy (RUE) within communities. The European Project ''Sustainable Communities-on the energy dimension'' pursues an interdisciplinary approach to detect essential success and facilitating factors. In the last years social and psychological aspects in the process of sustainability came to the fore more and more. Not only as a complementary science to facilitate the technical aims in the change process but also as an essential part for success. (authors)

  20. Assessing Coverage of Maslow's Theory in Educational Psychology Textbooks: A Content Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wininger, Steven R.; Norman, Antony D.

    2010-01-01

    Although Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory (HNT) is one of the most prevalent theories in psychology, the authors argued that it is also one of the most misinterpreted or misrepresented, particularly in educational psychology textbooks. Therefore, after carefully reading Maslow's writings on HNT they conducted a content analysis of 18 educational…

  1. Social Physique Anxiety and Intention to Be Physically Active: A Self-Determination Theory Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sicilia, Álvaro; Sáenz-Alvarez, Piedad; González-Cutre, David; Ferriz, Roberto

    2016-12-01

    Based on self-determination theory, the purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between social physique anxiety and intention to be physically active, while taking into account the mediating effects of the basic psychological needs and behavioral regulations in exercise. Having obtained parents' prior consent, 390 students in secondary school (218 boys, 172 girls; M age  = 15.10 years, SD = 1.94 years) completed a self-administered questionnaire during physical education class that assessed the target variables. Preliminary analyses included means, standard deviations, and bivariate correlations among the target variables. Next, a path analysis was performed using the maximum likelihood estimation method with the bootstrapping procedure in the statistical package AMOS 19. Analysis revealed that social physique anxiety negatively predicted intention to be physically active through mediation of the basic psychological needs and the 3 autonomous forms of motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation, integrated regulation, and identified regulation). The results suggest that social physique anxiety is an internal source of controlling influence that hinders basic psychological need satisfaction and autonomous motivation in exercise, and interventions aimed at reducing social physique anxiety could promote future exercise.

  2. Social Physique Anxiety and Intention to Be Physically Active: A Self-Determination Theory Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sicilia, Álvaro; Sáenz-Alvarez, Piedad; González-Cutre, David; Ferriz, Roberto

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Based on self-determination theory, the purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between social physique anxiety and intention to be physically active, while taking into account the mediating effects of the basic psychological needs and behavioral regulations in exercise. Method: Having obtained parents' prior consent, 390…

  3. Use of Social Desirability Scales in Clinical Psychology: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perinelli, Enrico; Gremigni, Paola

    2016-06-01

    There is still an open debate about the utility of social desirability indicators. This report systematically reviewed the use of social desirability scales in studies addressing social desirability in clinical psychology. A systematic review (January 2010-March 2015) was conducted, including 35 studies meeting the inclusion criteria of being published in peer-reviewed journals and describing quantitative findings about an association of social desirability with clinical psychology variables using a cross-sectional or longitudinal design. Social desirability was associated with self-reports of various clinical-psychological dimensions. Most of the included studies treated social desirability as a 1-dimensional variable and only 10 of 35 disentangled the impression management and self-deception components. Although theoretical literature does not consider social desirability a mere response bias, only 4 of the reviewed articles controlled for the possible suppressor effect of personality variables on social desirability, while the majority focused upon the stylistic (response bias) rather than the substantive (personality) nature of this construct. The present review highlighted some limitations in the use of social desirability scales in recent clinical psychology research and tried to offer a few suggestions for handling this issue. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. A Lesson on Social Role Theory: An Example of Human Behavior in the Social Environment Theory

    OpenAIRE

    Agnes M. Dulin

    2007-01-01

    This paper discusses the social role theory, a theory of Human Behavior in the Social Environment (HBSE). Relevance of this topic is briefly discussed, as well as a definition of the theory and its historical background. Empirical research that employs this theory will be discussed.Recommendations will be made for future theory development and implications for social work education will conclude the discussion.

  5. Broadening Participation in the Life Sciences with Social-Psychological Interventions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tibbetts, Yoi; Harackiewicz, Judith M.; Priniski, Stacy J.; Canning, Elizabeth A.

    2016-01-01

    Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have recently documented the positive effects of social-psychological interventions on the performance and retention of underrepresented students in the life sciences. We review two types of social-psychological interventions that address either students' well-being in college science courses or students'…

  6. Social theory and the everyday

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hermansen, Jens Christian

    2017-01-01

    The article argues for the relevance of rediscovering Wittgenstein in social theory with particular focus on his philosophical method. The article is divided into three parts. Part I gives a brief overview of Wittgenstein’s role in the coming of age of the influential 1980s generation of European...... social theory. Parts II and III discuss Wittgenstein’s method and its significance for social theory. In Wittgenstein’s late philosophy, there are deep and unique insights to be gained about doing theoretical research. These insights can be extended to the social sciences. The article argues...... that the tradition of social theory can benefit from being linked to Wittgenstein’s method which suggests a way of theorizing on the basis of detailed case-knowledge; that it can profit from bringing this method into an explicit relation to existing approaches, styles and tools in social theory. Despite its sketchy...

  7. An Analysis of Social Justice Research in School Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graybill, Emily; Baker, Courtney N.; Cloth, Allison H.; Fisher, Sycarah; Nastasi, Bonnie K.

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of the current content analysis was to build upon previous empirical research both within school psychology and in other subdisciplines of psychology to refine the operationalized definition of social justice within school psychology research. Operationalizing the definition and substantiating it within the empirical literature is a…

  8. Wundt, Völkerpsychologie, and experimental social psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenwood, John D

    2003-02-01

    Wilhelm Wundt distinguished between "experimental psychology" and Volkerpsychologie. It is often claimed that Wundt maintained that social psychological phenomena, the subject matter of Völkerpsychologie, could not be investigated experimentally but must be explored via comparative-historical methods. In this article it is argued that it is doubtful if many of the passages usually cited as evidence that Wundt held such a view actually such such a view. It is also argued that if Wundt did hold such a view, it was inconsistent with his own general theoretical position and methodological practice. It is suggested that it is anachronistic to attribute such a view to Wundt, because he appears to have had little interest in the experimental analysis of the synchronic social dynamics of psychological processes. Most of Wundt's arguments about the inappropriateness of experimentation were directed against the introspective analysis of diachronic historical processes.

  9. Replication, falsification, and the crisis of confidence in social psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Earp, Brian D; Trafimow, David

    2015-01-01

    The (latest) crisis in confidence in social psychology has generated much heated discussion about the importance of replication, including how it should be carried out as well as interpreted by scholars in the field. For example, what does it mean if a replication attempt "fails"-does it mean that the original results, or the theory that predicted them, have been falsified? And how should "failed" replications affect our belief in the validity of the original research? In this paper, we consider the replication debate from a historical and philosophical perspective, and provide a conceptual analysis of both replication and falsification as they pertain to this important discussion. Along the way, we highlight the importance of auxiliary assumptions (for both testing theories and attempting replications), and introduce a Bayesian framework for assessing "failed" replications in terms of how they should affect our confidence in original findings.

  10. Replication, falsification, and the crisis of confidence in social psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Earp, Brian D.; Trafimow, David

    2015-01-01

    The (latest) crisis in confidence in social psychology has generated much heated discussion about the importance of replication, including how it should be carried out as well as interpreted by scholars in the field. For example, what does it mean if a replication attempt “fails”—does it mean that the original results, or the theory that predicted them, have been falsified? And how should “failed” replications affect our belief in the validity of the original research? In this paper, we consider the replication debate from a historical and philosophical perspective, and provide a conceptual analysis of both replication and falsification as they pertain to this important discussion. Along the way, we highlight the importance of auxiliary assumptions (for both testing theories and attempting replications), and introduce a Bayesian framework for assessing “failed” replications in terms of how they should affect our confidence in original findings. PMID:26042061

  11. Cesium-137: psychological and social consequences of the Goiania's accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Helou, Suzana; Costa Neto, Sebastiao Benicio da

    1995-01-01

    The book care for radioactive accident occurred in 1987 in Goiania - brazilian city. The accident had origin by the hospitable equipment incorrect handling which contained a stainless steel capsule, in which interior there was cesium-137 chloride. The main boarded aspects are: psychological and social aspects verified after the accident; psychological and social analysis of population of Goiania three years after the accident; essay on the pertinence of Luscher's abbreviate test in psychological evaluation of the radioactive accident victims of Goiania; and psychological and mobile evaluation of intra-uterus children exposed to the radiation with cesium-137

  12. Shopping around for Theories for Counseling Psychology Practice: Reaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Clara E.

    2012-01-01

    Three psychotherapy theories are summarized and critiqued for their applicability to counseling psychology. The lack of attention to psychodynamic and experiential theories in the special section and the lack of theorizing by counseling psychologists in general are lamented. A plea is made for encouraging counseling psychologists to construct more…

  13. Handbook of Research Methods in Social and Personality Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reis, Harry T.; Judd, Charles M.

    2000-03-01

    This volume provides an overview of research methods in contemporary social psychology. Coverage includes conceptual issues in research design, methods of research, and statistical approaches. Because the range of research methods available for social psychology have expanded extensively in the past decade, both traditional and innovative methods are presented. The goal is to introduce new and established researchers alike to new methodological developments in the field.

  14. Anthropology and social theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomassen, Bjørn

    2013-01-01

    This article argues that anthropology may represent untapped perspectives of relevance to social theory. The article starts by critically reviewing how anthropology has come to serve as the ‘Other’ in various branches of social theory, from Marx and Durkheim to Parsons to Habermas, engaged...... in a hopeless project of positing ‘primitive’ or ‘traditional’ society as the opposite of modernity. In contemporary debates, it is becoming increasingly recognized that social theory needs history, back to the axial age and beyond. The possible role of anthropology in theorizing modernity receives far less...

  15. Sport psychology group consultation using social networking web sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dietrich, Frederick; Shipherd, Amber M; Gershgoren, Lael; Filho, Edson Medeiros; Basevitch, Itay

    2012-08-01

    A social networking Web site, Facebook, was used to deliver long-term sport psychology consultation services to student-athletes (i.e., soccer players) in 30- to 60-min weekly sessions. Additional short-term team building, group cohesion, communication, anger management, injury rehabilitation, mental toughness, commitment, and leadership workshops were provided. Cohesion and overall relationships between both the student-athletes and the sport psychology consultants benefited from this process. Social networking Web sites offer a practical way of providing sport psychology consulting services that does not require use of major resources. (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

  16. Exploring Physical Activity by Ethnicity and Gender in College Students Using Social Cognitive Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nehl, Eric J.; Blanchard, Chris M.; Kupperman, Janet; Sparling, Phillip; Rhodes, Ryan; Torabi, Mohammad R.; Courneya, Kerry S.

    2012-01-01

    Intervention;The psychological determinants of physical activity (PA) among college students may vary by ethnicity and gender, but few studies have considered these characteristics. This study tested constructs from Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) by ethnicity and gender to explain differences in PA. A total of 231 Blacks (70% female) and 218 White…

  17. Communicating uncertainty in cost-benefit analysis : A cognitive psychological perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mouter, N.; Holleman, M.; Calvert, S.C.; Annema, J.A.

    2013-01-01

    Based on a cognitive psychological theory, this paper aims to improve the communication of uncertainty in Cost-Benefit Analysis. The theory is based on different cognitive-personality and cognitive-social psychological constructs that may help explain individual differences in the processing of

  18. Ethnic heterogeneity, social capital and psychological distress in Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson-Singh, Charisse M; Rostila, Mikael; Ponce de Leon, Antonio; Forsell, Yvonne; Engström, Karin

    2018-05-25

    Ethnic heterogeneity has been linked to both protective and detrimental effects on mental health. Few studies have investigated the role of social capital in this relationship and none have found that it has an explanatory role. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between two measures of ethnic heterogeneity and psychological distress in Stockholm County, as well as the explanatory role of social capital for individuals with Swedish-background, foreign-background and those who are foreign-born. This study used data collected from respondents aged 18-64 to the 2002, 2006, 2010 baseline questionnaires of the Stockholm Public Health Cohort and was linked with individual and area-level register information. Ethnic heterogeneity was the main exposure, measured by: 1) ethnic density, defined as the proportion of first and second generation immigrants with 2 foreign-born parents; and 2) ethnic diversity, using the fragmentation index. Social capital measures of individual and contextual-level social support and horizontal trust were the main explanatory factors of interest. The outcome, psychological distress, was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire-12 with a 2/3 cut-off. Prevalence ratios with 95% confidence intervals were estimated using multi-level poisson regression with robust variances. Age and sex adjusted analyses for the whole study population demonstrated that a 10% increase in ethnic density or diversity was associated with a 1.06 (1.05-1.07) times higher prevalence of psychological distress. In the stratified analyses, both foreign-born respondents and those with Swedish-background showed increasing prevalence of psychological distress with increasing ethnic heterogeneity. However, this trend was entirely explained by socioeconomic factors in the Swedish-background respondents and by additional adjustments for individual and contextual social support and horizontal trust for the foreign-born. Further adjustment for contextual

  19. The practice of psychological science: searching for Cronbach's two streams in social-personality psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tracy, Jessica L; Robins, Richard W; Sherman, Jeffrey W

    2009-06-01

    The present research surveyed a group of editors and editorial board members of personality and social psychology journals to examine the practice of psychological science in their field. Findings demonstrate that (a) although personality and social researchers tend to use many of the same approaches, methods, and procedures, they nonetheless show average differences in each of these domains, as well as in their overarching theoretical aims and perspectives; (b) these average differences largely conform to social and personality researchers' stereotypes about each subgroup; (c) despite their methodological and philosophical differences, the 2 subgroups study many of the same research topics; and (d) the structure of social-personality research practices can be characterized as having 2 independent factors, which closely correspond to L. J. Cronbach's (1957) correlational and experimental "streams of research."

  20. Effective Application of Psychological Motivators for Social Advertisers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Severn, Jessica

    Social advertisers--those responsible for public and nonprofit advertising and marketing--must employ many of the major psychological motivations used by commercial advertisers to stimulate desire and action on the part of target audiences. For example, commercial advertisers create psychological stimuli to facilitate motivation of the fulfillment…

  1. The social neuroscience and the theory of integrative levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bello-Morales, Raquel; Delgado-García, José María

    2015-01-01

    The theory of integrative levels provides a general description of the evolution of matter through successive orders of complexity and integration. Along its development, material forms pass through different levels of organization, such as physical, chemical, biological or sociological. The appearance of novel structures and dynamics during this process of development of matter in complex systems has been called emergence. Social neuroscience (SN), an interdisciplinary field that aims to investigate the biological mechanisms that underlie social structures, processes, and behavior and the influences between social and biological levels of organization, has affirmed the necessity for including social context as an essential element to understand the human behavior. To do this, SN proposes a multilevel integrative approach by means of three principles: multiple determinism, nonadditive determinism and reciprocal determinism. These theoretical principles seem to share the basic tenets of the theory of integrative levels but, in this paper, we aim to reveal the differences among both doctrines. First, SN asserts that combination of neural and social variables can produce emergent phenomena that would not be predictable from a neuroscientific or social psychological analysis alone; SN also suggests that to achieve a complete understanding of social structures we should use an integrative analysis that encompasses levels of organization ranging from the genetic level to the social one; finally, SN establishes that there can be mutual influences between biological and social factors in determining behavior, accepting, therefore, a double influence, upward from biology to social level, and downward, from social level to biology. In contrast, following the theory of integrative levels, emergent phenomena are not produced by the combination of variables from two levels, but by the increment of complexity at one level. In addition, the social behavior and structures might be

  2. The social neuroscience and the theory of integrative levels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raquel eBello-Morales

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The theory of integrative levels provides a general description of the evolution of matter through successive orders of complexity and integration. Along its development, material forms pass through different levels of organization, such as physical, chemical, biological or sociological. The appearance of novel structures and dynamics during this process of development of matter in complex systems has been called emergence. Social neuroscience (SN, an interdisciplinary field that aims to investigate the biological mechanisms that underlie social structures, processes, and behavior and the influences between social and biological levels of organization, has affirmed the necessity for including social context as an essential element to understand the human behavior. To do this, SN proposes a multilevel integrative approach by means of three principles: multiple determinism, nonadditive determinism and reciprocal determinism. These theoretical principles seem to share the basic tenets of the theory of integrative levels but, in this paper, we aim to reveal the differences among both doctrines.First, SN asserts that combination of neural and social variables can produce emergent phenomena that would not be predictable from a neuroscientific or social psychological analysis alone; SN also suggests that to achieve a complete understanding of social structures we should use an integrative analysis that encompasses levels of organization ranging from the genetic level to the social one; finally, SN establishes that there can be mutual influences between biological and social factors in determining behavior, accepting, therefore, a double influence, upward from biology to social level, and downward, from social level to biology.In contrast, following the theory of integrative levels, emergent phenomena are not produced by the combination of variables from two levels, but by the increment of complexity at one level. In addition, the social behavior and

  3. Social theory and medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waitzkin, H; Waterman, B

    1976-01-01

    Three sociolgists-Talcott Parson, Eliot Freidson, and Mechanic-have explained medical phneomena within a broader theoretical framework. Although all three have made significant contributions, their conclusions remain incomplete on the theoretical level and seldom have been helpful for workers concerned with ongoing problems of health care. Our purpose here is to summarize some of the strengths and weakness of each theoretical position. Parsons has elucidated the sick role as a deviant role in society, the function of physicians as agents of social control, and the normative patterns governing the doctor-patient relationship. The principal problems in Parsons' analysis center on an uncritical acceptance of physicians' social control functions, his inattention tot the ways in which physicians' behavior may inhibit change in society, and overoptimism about the medical profession's ability to regulate itself and to prevent the exploitation of patients. Viewing medical phenomena within a broader theory of the professions in general, Freidson has formulated w wide ranging critique of the medical profession and professional dominance. On the other hand, Freidson's work neglects the full political implications of bringing professional autonomy under control. Mechanic's coceptual approach emphasizes the social psychologic factors, rather than the institutional conditions, which are involved in the genesis of illness behavior. Mechanic also overlooks the ways in which illness behavior, by permitting a controllable from of deviance, fosters institutional stability. In conclusion, we present a breif overview of a theoretical framework whose general orientation is that of Marixian analysis. Several themes recur in this framework: illness as a source of exploitation, the sick role as a conservative mechanism fostering social stability, stratification in medicine, and the imperialsm of large medical institutions and health-related industries.

  4. Bringing Cultural Diversity to Feminist Psychology. Theory, Research, and Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landrine, Hope, Ed.

    This book focuses on the theoretical, empirical and practice-based implications of recognizing cultural diversity in the psychology of women. Contributors to this volume share the common objective of keeping feminist psychology robust and useful. Chapters in the first section, "Cultural Diversity in Theory and Methodology in Feminist…

  5. The Psychology of Online Sociability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clemmensen, Torkil

    2006-01-01

    In this chapter, I will review current approaches to online sociability and present and exemplify a psychological theory, the Social Reality theory, of online sociability. By analyzing sociability in a virtual world based university course, I will present and analyze examples on how to understand...

  6. Secular and religious: the intrinsic doubleness of analytical psychology and the hegemony of naturalism in the social sciences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Main, Roderick

    2013-06-01

    In recent years a number of prominent social theorists, including Jürgen Habermas and Charles Taylor, have voiced concern about the hegemony of naturalistic, secular assumptions in the social sciences, and in their different ways have sought to address this by establishing greater parity between secular and religious perspectives. This paper suggests that C.G. Jung's analytical psychology, which hitherto has been largely ignored by social theory, may have something to contribute on this issue as it can be understood coherently both empirically, without reference to transcendent reality, and metaphysically, with reference to transcendent reality. It is argued that, despite his denials of any metaphysical intent, Jung does in fact engage in metaphysics and that together the empirical and metaphysical vectors of his thought result in a rich and distinctive double perspective. This dual secular and religious perspective can be seen as part of Jung's own critique of the hegemony of naturalism and secularism, which for Jung has profound social as well as clinical relevance. The concern and approach that Habermas and Taylor share with Jung on this issue may provide some grounds for increased dialogue between analytical psychology and the social sciences. © 2013, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

  7. Applying the Team Identification-Social Psychological Health Model to older sport fans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wann, Daniel L; Rogers, Kelly; Dooley, Keith; Foley, Mary

    2011-01-01

    According to the Team Identification-Social Psychological Health Model (Wann, 2006b), team identification and social psychological health should be positively correlated because identification leads to important social connections which, in turn, facilitate well-being. Although past research substantiates the hypothesized positive relationship between team identification and well-being, earlier studies focused solely on college student populations. The current study extended past work in this area by investigating the team identification/well-being relationship among older sport fans. A sample of older adults (N = 96; M age = 70.82) completed scales assessing demographics, identification with a local college basketball team, and measures of social psychological well-being. As hypothesized, team identification accounted for a significant proportion of unique variance in two measures of social psychological health (collective self-esteem and loneliness).

  8. El impacto de las representaciones sociales en la psicología de los conocimientos sociales: problemas y perspectivas The impact of social representations on the psychology of social knowledge: issues and perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Antonio Castorina

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Los estudios psicológicos sobre la formación de nociones sociales de los niños se han llevado a cabo en los términos de una actividad intelectual exclusivamente individual y en una secuencia temporal. Se muestran las dificultades de este enfoque, como por ejemplo, que no explican la perduración de nociones "personalizadas" de la historia durante el desarrollo, más allá del avance propiamente conceptual. Se propone utilizar a la teoría de las representaciones sociales, que considera a al niño como un actor social y cuyo foco está en los valores, que no pueden ser organizados en una secuencia lógica. Luego, se examinan los problemas que involucra utilizar las representaciones sociales en la psicología del desarrollo: si su definición es aceptable, si corresponde al orden simbólico y no a una actividad individual; si son irracionales o tienen otra lógica que los conceptos individuales. Finalmente, se aclaran cuáles son las condiciones epistémicas mínimas para establecer un diálogo entre algunos programas de investigación en psicología del conocimiento y la psicología de las representaciones sociales.Psychological studies on the formation of social notions by children have been conducted in terms of an exclusively individual intellectual activity in a time sequence. We show the difficulties of this approach, which does not, for example, explain the persistence of "personalized" notions of history during development, besides actual conceptual advancement. We propose to use the theory of social representations, which considers the child as a social actor and focuses on values, which may not be organized in a logical sequence. We then examine the issues posed by using social representations in developmental psychology: whether its definition is acceptable, whether it corresponds to the symbolic order and not to an individual activity; whether it is irrational or has a logic other than individual concepts. We finally shed light on

  9. Socially desirable responding by bariatric surgery candidates during psychological assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ambwani, Suman; Boeka, Abbe G; Brown, Joshua D; Byrne, T Karl; Budak, Amanda R; Sarwer, David B; Fabricatore, Anthony N; Morey, Leslie C; O'Neil, Patrick M

    2013-01-01

    Most bariatric surgery programs in the United States require preoperative psychological evaluations for candidates for surgery. Among those who perform these evaluations is concern that many patients engage in "impression management" or minimizing the symptoms of distress to receive a recommendation to proceed with surgery from the mental health professional. We sought to assess the prevalence of socially desirable responding and its associations with measures of psychological functioning among bariatric surgery candidates at 2 academic medical centers in the United States. The participants were male (n = 66) and female (n = 293) bariatric surgery candidates who presented for psychological evaluation. The participants completed 2 measures of socially desirable response styles (Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and Personality Assessment Inventory Positive Impression Management scale) and standardized measures of anxiety, depression, and alcohol-related problems. The participants exhibited elevated scores on the social desirability indicators, with 33.3-39.8% scoring above the recommended cut-score on the Personality Assessment Inventory Positive Impression Management scale and 62.3-67% scoring 1 standard deviation above the standardization mean on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Scores on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and Personality Assessment Inventory Positive Impression Management scale correlated inversely with the clinical measures of anxiety and depression, and the high/low scorers on the social desirability indices exhibited significant differences in anxiety and depression. Thus, elevated scores on the social desirability indices were associated with underreporting of certain clinical symptoms. A substantial proportion of bariatric surgery candidates appear to present themselves in an overly favorable light during the psychological evaluation. This response style is associated with less reporting of psychological

  10. Association of social skills with psychological distress among female nurses in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uchiyama, Ayako; Odagiri, Yuko; Ohya, Yumiko; Suzuki, Ayako; Hirohata, Kayoko; Kosugi, Shotaro; Shimomitsu, Teruichi

    2011-01-01

    Nursing is a highly stressful occupation. Because nursing work involves interaction with patients and colleagues, competence in social skills may be a key issue in stress management among nurses. However, there are very few studies among nurses focused on social skills together with social support, both of which are important aspects of job stress. The aim of this study was to examine the interrelationships between social skills and social support with job stressors, problem-solving coping, and psychological distress among Japanese nurses. Data from a self-administered questionnaire of 1,197 female nurses who worked for 5 general hospitals in Japan were analyzed. Covariance structure analysis with structural equation modeling techniques showed that social skills and social support were positively related to each other, while they were negatively associated with psychological distress and job stressors, and positively associated with problem-solving coping. Furthermore, the direct association between social skills and psychological distress was stronger than the association between social support and psychological distress. These findings suggested that improving not only social support at work but also individual social skills is important for nurses' mental health.

  11. Dimensions of Ideology. A Review of Social-Psychological Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bojan Todosijević

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In social psychological literature, ideology is typically conceived as a relatively stable and organized set of general orientations that include interrelated attitudes grouped according to various sources of constraint, such as psychological disposition, general values, or ideological traditions. The paper reviews social-psychological literature on the organization of social attitudes. Research on this topic started nearly eight decades ago, inspired by the research on the structure of intellectual abilities. Since then, a large body of literature has been generated, which has not been systematically reviewed. Despite the long tradition, this literature has not resulted in proportional cumulative scientific development. The review should help improving this situation by listing the relevant studies, examining the research methodology and the main findings. The review ends with the critical summary of the man findings and methodological problems, and recommendations for the future research.

  12. Applying the Team Identification-Social Psychological Health Model to Older Sport Fans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wann, Daniel L.; Rogers, Kelly; Dooley, Keith; Foley, Mary

    2011-01-01

    According to the Team Identification-Social Psychological Health Model (Wann, 2006b), team identification and social psychological health should be positively correlated because identification leads to important social connections which, in turn, facilitate well-being. Although past research substantiates the hypothesized positive relationship…

  13. When theory trumps ideology: Lessons from evolutionary psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tybur, Joshua M; Navarrete, Carlos David

    2015-01-01

    Evolutionary psychologists are personally liberal, just as social psychologists are. Yet their research has rarely been perceived as liberally biased--if anything, it has been erroneously perceived as motivated by conservative political agendas. Taking a closer look at evolutionary psychologists might offer the broader social psychology community guidance in neutralizing some of the biases Duarte et al. discuss.

  14. A Social Psychological Perspective:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Singla, Rashmi; Westerling, Allan

    2008-01-01

    and a longitudinal approach, differences and similarities in practices of care are identified. The care patterns are studied with a focus on young adults age 30-35. Quantitative as well as qualitative methods are employed. By utilising in-depth qualitative interview data the paper explores the interplay between...... of agency with the changing societal structures and the diaspora context is confirmed. Key words: intergenerational care, individualisation, social network analysis, socio-cultural psychology, modernisation...

  15. Sex Differences in Social Behavior: Are the Social Role and Evolutionary Explanations Compatible?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archer, John

    1996-01-01

    Examines competing claims of two explanations of sex differences in social behavior, social role theory, and evolutionary psychology. Findings associated with social role theory are weighed against evolutionary explanations. It is suggested that evolutionary theory better accounts for the overall pattern of sex differences and for their origins.…

  16. The influence of health-specific social network site use on the psychological well-being of cancer-affected people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erfani, Seyedezahra Shadi; Blount, Yvette; Abedin, Babak

    2016-05-01

    We aimed to explore and examine how and in what ways the use of social network sites (SNSs) can improve health outcomes, specifically better psychological well-being, for cancer-affected people. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with users of the Ovarian Cancer Australia Facebook page (OCA Facebook), the exemplar SNS used in this study. Twenty-five women affected by ovarian cancer who were users of OCA Facebook were interviewed. A multi-theory perspective was employed to interpret the data. Most of the study participants used OCA Facebook daily. Some users were passive and only observed created content, while other users actively posted content and communicated with other members. Analysis showed that the use of this SNS enhanced social support for users, improved the users' experiences of social connectedness, and helped users learn and develop social presence, which ultimately improved their psychological well-being. The strong theoretical underpinning of our research and empirically derived results led to a new understanding of the capacity of SNSs to improve psychological well-being. Our study provides evidence showing how the integration of these tools into existing health services can enhance patients' psychological well-being. This study also contributes to the body of knowledge on the implications of SNS use for improving the psychological well-being of cancer-affected people. This research assessed the relationship between the use of SNSs, specifically OCA Facebook, and the psychological well-being of cancer-affected people. The study confirmed that using OCA Facebook can improve psychological well-being by demonstrating the potential value of SNSs as a support service in the healthcare industry. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  17. Writing social psychology: fictional things and unpopulated texts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Billig, Michael

    2011-03-01

    This paper presents the author's position on the question how to write social psychology. It reflects the author's long-term interest in rhetoric and his more recent concerns about the writing of social scientists. The author argues that social psychologists tend to produce unpopulated texts, writing about 'fictional things' rather than people. Social psychologists assume that their technical terms are more precise than ordinary language terms. The author contests this assumption. He suggests that when it comes to describing human actions, ordinary language on the whole tends to be more precise. The paper analyses why this should be the case, drawing on ideas from linguistics and Vaihinger's notion of fictions. The author presents examples to show how psychological writers, by using passives and nominals, can omit information about the agents of action and the nature of the actions that they are performing. Although their texts may appear impressively technical, they can, in fact, be highly imprecise. Moreover, social psychologists, by using this nominal style of writing, tend to write about processes as if they were things and then attribute actions to these things. In so doing, they create 'fictional things', which they treat as if they were real things. The author offers six recommendations for writing in simpler, clearer ways. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

  18. Social-psychological specific of individual adaptation

    OpenAIRE

    Ovsyanik, Olga

    2012-01-01

    There is analyzing of specific of social-psychological adaptation person by model of adaptation. Structure model of adaptation of women of our age group, which was named “adaptation complex” was made by theoretic analyzes of problem of adaptation adult.

  19. Challenging the Conceptual Limits in Health Psychology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Kasper Andreas

    2015-01-01

    This contribution explores the connection between health and subjectivity. Up until recently a marginally discussed topic in health theories, recent critical research in health psychology introduces notions of subjectivity to theories of health. These notions can be linked to phenomenology......, embodied subjectivity, and psychosocial theories that have moved away from a partial, internal understanding of subjectivity. These recent theories tend to define subjectivity as a coherence of concrete, embodied and situated subjectivity that extends capabilities and activities towards a world of social....... Hence, I will argue for the concept of conduct of life as an important concept for health psychology. The concept of conduct of life enables an analysis of how people conduct their activities and of their access to life possibilities, within social settings and societal power systems. The concept can...

  20. Mischaracterizing social psychology to support the laudable goal of increasing its political diversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eagly, Alice H

    2015-01-01

    Duarte et al.'s arguments for increasing political diversity in social psychology are based on mischaracterizations of social psychology as fundamentally flawed in understanding stereotype accuracy and the effects of attitudes on information processing. I correct their misunderstandings while agreeing with their view that political diversity, along with other forms of diversity, stands to benefit social psychology.

  1. Social-Psychological Determinants of Electoral Voting Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K A Ivanenko

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This article reviews the current models of the voter behavior and proves the need in creating a new overarching conceptual framework, finding the integral social-psychological factor of the voter decision making. The public opinion is regarded as such a factor. The article presents the findings of the latest psychological research, devoted to the analysis of the connection between the different components of public opinion and electoral behavior.

  2. Relational Frame Theory and Industrial/Organizational Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Ian; Barnes-Holmes, Dermot; Barnes-Holmes, Yvonne; Bond, Frank W.; Hayes, Steven C.

    2006-01-01

    The current paper argues that a Relational Frame Theory account of complex human behavior including an analysis of relational frames, relational networks, rules and the concept of self can provide a potentially powerful new perspective on phenomena in the applied science of industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology. In this article, we first…

  3. Sociological Theory and Social Reality [ENG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JUAN DÍEZ NICOLÁS

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper pretends to demonstrate the complementary relations between three relatively recent sociological theories, each one of which explains a different aspect of the same social object: the origin, diffusion and change of social and cultural values, aiming at demonstrating that there is not such a thing as a sociological theory that explains all, but rather diverse theories that offer partial explanations of social reality. To that effect, and on the basis of the necessary relationship between theory and research, three different theories are evaluated separately: Hawley?s and Duncan?s theory of the social ecosystem, Galtung?s centre-periphery theory, and Inglehart?s theory of values? change in modern-industrial societies, offering theoretical and empirical evidence of their complementary relations, based on Spanish and international data. Social ecosystem and centre-periphery theories show a high level of generalization (through space and time and a high level of abstraction, though both can easily operationalize their main concepts through valid and reliable indicators. The theory of values? change, however, though showing a high level of generalization, is limited in time to the historical period after World War II, and also shows a high level of abstraction. Centre-periphery theory and values? change theory use individual and collective units of analysis, but social ecosystem theory only uses collective units, by definition. The three theories lead to the conclusion that ?security? values will gain a growing importance in present societies.

  4. Pragmatic nihilism: how a Theory of Nothing can help health psychology progress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, Gjalt-Jorn Ygram; Crutzen, Rik

    2017-06-01

    Health psychology developed a plethora of theories to explain and change a wide variety of behaviours. Several attempts have been undertaken to build integrative theories, some even striving for a Theory of Everything. We argue against these efforts, arguing that instead a 'pragmatic nihilism' perspective may be more fruitful to understand and change health behaviours. The first tenet of pragmatic nihilism is that psychological variables are usefully considered as metaphors rather than referring to entities that exist in the mind. As a consequence, the second tenet emphasizes theories' definitions and guidelines for the operationalisation of those variables. The third tenet of pragmatic nihilism is that each operationalisation represents an intersection of a variety of dimensions, such as behavioural specificity and duration, and most importantly, psychological aggregation level. Any operationalisation thus represents a number of choices regarding these dimensions. Pragmatic nihilism has two implications. First, it provides a foundation that enables integrating theories in a more flexible and accurate manner than made possible by integrative theories. Second, it emphasizes the importance of operationalisations, underlining the importance of investing in the careful development of measurement instruments, thorough reporting of measurement instruments' specifics and performance, and full disclosure of the instruments themselves.

  5. Supporting the Basic Psychological Needs of Athletes with Intellectual Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shangraw, Rebecca

    2017-01-01

    A subtheory of self-determination theory, basic needs theory (BNT), examines the ways in which social-environmental factors interact with athletes' physical and psychological wellness. When the three psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness) identified in BNT are met in a sport setting, athletes' perceptions of well-being and…

  6. Application of Chaos Theory to Psychological Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blackerby, Rae Fortunato

    This dissertation shows that an alternative theoretical approach from physics--chaos theory--offers a viable basis for improved understanding of human beings and their behavior. Chaos theory provides achievable frameworks for potential identification, assessment, and adjustment of human behavior patterns. Most current psychological models fail to address the metaphysical conditions inherent in the human system, thus bringing deep errors to psychological practice and empirical research. Freudian, Jungian and behavioristic perspectives are inadequate psychological models because they assume, either implicitly or explicitly, that the human psychological system is a closed, linear system. On the other hand, Adlerian models that require open systems are likely to be empirically tenable. Logically, models will hold only if the model's assumptions hold. The innovative application of chaotic dynamics to psychological behavior is a promising theoretical development because the application asserts that human systems are open, nonlinear and self-organizing. Chaotic dynamics use nonlinear mathematical relationships among factors that influence human systems. This dissertation explores these mathematical relationships in the context of a sample model of moral behavior using simulated data. Mathematical equations with nonlinear feedback loops describe chaotic systems. Feedback loops govern the equations' value in subsequent calculation iterations. For example, changes in moral behavior are affected by an individual's own self-centeredness, family and community influences, and previous moral behavior choices that feed back to influence future choices. When applying these factors to the chaos equations, the model behaves like other chaotic systems. For example, changes in moral behavior fluctuate in regular patterns, as determined by the values of the individual, family and community factors. In some cases, these fluctuations converge to one value; in other cases, they diverge in

  7. Social Network Methods for the Educational and Psychological Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweet, Tracy M.

    2016-01-01

    Social networks are especially applicable in educational and psychological studies involving social interactions. A social network is defined as a specific relationship among a group of individuals. Social networks arise in a variety of situations such as friendships among children, collaboration and advice seeking among teachers, and coauthorship…

  8. Impact of Child Maltreatment on Attachment and Social Rank Systems: Introducing an Integrated Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sloman, Leon; Taylor, Peter

    2016-04-01

    Child maltreatment is a prevalent societal problem that has been linked to a wide range of social, psychological, and emotional difficulties. Maltreatment impacts on two putative evolved psychobiological systems in particular, the attachment system and the social rank system. The maltreatment may disrupt the child's ability to form trusting and reassuring relationships and also creates a power imbalance where the child may feel powerless and ashamed. The aim of the current article is to outline an evolutionary theory for understanding the impact of child maltreatment, focusing on the interaction between the attachment and the social rank system. We provide a narrative review of the relevant literature relating to child maltreatment and these two theories. This research highlights how, in instances of maltreatment, these ordinarily adaptive systems may become maladaptive and contribute to psychopathology. We identify a number of novel hypotheses that can be drawn from this theory, providing a guide for future research. We finally explore how this theory provides a guide for the treatment of victims of child maltreatment. In conclusion, the integrated theory provides a framework for understanding and predicting the consequences of maltreatment, but further research is required to test several hypotheses made by this theory. © The Author(s) 2015.

  9. Negative symptoms and social cognition: identifying targets for psychological interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lincoln, Tania M; Mehl, Stephanie; Kesting, Marie-Luise; Rief, Winfried

    2011-09-01

    How to improve treatment for negative symptoms is a continuing topic of debate. Suggestions have been made to advance psychological understanding of negative symptoms by focusing on the social cognitive processes involved in symptom formation and maintenance. Following the recommendations by the National Institute of Mental Health workshop on social cognition in schizophrenia, this study investigated associations between negative symptoms and various aspects of social cognition including Theory of Mind (ToM), attribution, empathy, self-esteem, and interpersonal self-concepts in 75 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 75 healthy controls. Negative symptoms were significantly associated with difficulties in ToM, less readiness to be empathic, lower self-esteem, less self-serving bias, negative self-concepts related to interpersonal abilities, and dysfunctional acceptance beliefs. Different aspects of social cognition were mildly to moderately correlated and interacted in their impact on negative symptoms: Difficulties in ToM were associated with negative symptoms in persons with low but not in persons with medium or high levels of self-esteem. Taken together, the social cognition variables and their hypothesized interaction explained 39% of the variance in negative symptoms after controlling for neurocognition and depression. The results highlight the relevance of self-concepts related to social abilities, dysfunctional beliefs, and global self-worth alone and in interaction with ToM deficits for negative symptoms and thereby provide a helpful basis for advancing psychosocial interventions.

  10. Social Learning, Social Control, and Strain Theories: A Formalization of Micro-level Criminological Theories

    OpenAIRE

    Proctor, Kristopher Ryan

    2010-01-01

    This dissertation proposes theoretical formalization as a way of enhancing theory development within criminology. Differential association, social learning, social control, and general strain theories are formalized in order to identify assumptions of human nature, key theoretical concepts, theoretical knowledge claims, and scope conditions. The resulting formalization allows greater comparability between theories in terms of explanatory power, and additionally provides insights into integrat...

  11. SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF HIV-INFECTED INDIVIDUALS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liliya Anatolyevna Kudrich

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available By 2020 the prevalence of HIV in the Russian Federation may increase by 250%, unless we provide appropriate treatment to as many HIV-infected people as possible (V.I. Skvortsova, 2015. Previous research in this field shows that the psychotraumatic character of the disease lowers the psychological resource of HIV-infected individuals. In most cases, they are not psychologically prepared for the negative life events, unable to find an optimal behavioral pattern when their life stereotypes are being destroyed. In fact, being HIV-infected is an example of an acute event (V.V. Pokrovsky, 1993. The ability to overcome the life crisis and effectiveness of using adaptation and compensatory mechanisms to fight the disease depend on the level of adaptation to the fact of being infected and resistance to stress. The aim of the current study was to determine social and psychological features of HIV-infected individuals and assess their influence on the stress resistance and adaptation abilities of HIV+ patients. We observed men and women aged 21-30 who had been HIV+ for 1-5 years. Investigation methods included the following diagnostic tools: The Cattel Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (Form C, The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (conducted by Spielberger, adapted for use in Russia by Hanin, The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (The Holmes-Rahe Stress Inventory, The Social and Psychological Adaptation Questionnaire (by C. Rogers and R. Diamond, methods of mathematical statistics. As a result of the study, we have developed comparative factor profiles of individual psychological features of HIV-infected individuals that show their dependence on the social environment and form certain behavioral patterns. We have revealed significant difference in state and trait anxiety between HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected individuals. Self-blame, inadequate self-esteem and level of aspiration indicate low cognitive assessment of the condition by the patients

  12. THE PROGRAM SUPPORT SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY OF CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavel Aleksandrovich Kislyakov

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The article presents a description of the author’s program to support the social and psychological safety of children with intellectual disabilities enrolled in boarding school of VIII kind. The object of the study were children with intellectual disabilities. The subject of research – features of formation to children with intellectual disabilities the social and psychological safety. The methodological base are the special psychology (L.S. Vygotsky, S.L. Rubinstein, A. Speck. The results. Complex psychological and pedagogical support of social and psychological safety of children with intellectual disabilities reflects the content of psychological and pedagogical tasks (target function and technologies of their solution (instrumental function aimed at reducing internal and external risk factors. The target functions are: social and psychological adaptation, personal and developmental, the function of social support and psychological and pedagogical assistance, preventive and correctional function. Psycho-pedagogical objectives are the formation of skills of safe behavior and confront the dangers through the development of appropriate social skills, mental, physical and cognitive abilities, establishing a real and more comfortable with social contact (including municipal and educational environment, thereby ensuring individual protection and psychosocial well-being, support emotional balance, development of harmonious personality, to facilitate adaptation to the social environment, correction of risk factors of dysontogenesis. The program includes informative, technological and diagnostic modules. The basis for the construction of educational information in the field of security us based on the principle of integratively – interdisciplinary cooperation of academic subjects; a mix of mandatory core classes and extra-curricular and remedial work. Technological support included the following teaching methods: interactive (psychotechnical

  13. The impact of Einsteinian relativity and quantum physics theories on conceptualizations of the self in psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rechberger, Elke Ruth

    1999-11-01

    Prior to the 1600s c.e., the church was the final authority for theories about the universe and humanity's role within it. However, when the mathematical theories put forth by scientists such as Copernicus and Galileo refuted traditional theological explanations about the cosmos, a shift to science as the premiere authority for theories was established, a tradition which continues to this day. In the following century, the work of Newton set forth a theory of the universe operating as a machine, where all things were potentially knowable, measurable, and predictable. His mechanistic hypotheses helped substantiate a corollary philosophy known as modernism. In the early 1900s, Einstein's theories about light and relativity began to indicate a universe significantly less absolute. His work set the stage for the development of quantum physics theories, whose hallmarks are probability, uncertainty, and complementarity. Quantum physics theories helped substantiate the philosophy known as postmodernism, where truth is nonexistent, reality is a subjectively constructed phenomenon, and the concept of an individual self is considered an illusion. Given that developments in physics have had profound impact across academic disciplines, including psychology, this study examine the effect of major revolutions in physics to corollary developments in theories about the self in psychology. It is the assertion of this work that modernist conceptualization of the self is one that is highly individualistic and defined in mechanistic terms, whereas the postmodern conceptualization of the self is significantly more socially constructed and has more interpersonally fluid, amorphous boundaries. Implications for conceptualizations of the self from either the modern or postmodern paradigm are discussed, as well as suggestions for future theory development.

  14. Transformative Theory in Social Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ravn, Ib

    Social-scientific theory usually represents an attempt to describe or explain social phenomena and, sometimes, to criticize them. However, a theory can be transformative in the sense that in using and testing it, researchers may help practitioners transform and improve their social conditions......, institutions or organisations. This idea is illustrated by a research-and-development effort to help conference organisers develop meeting formats that create more learning among delegates than is accomplished by the conventional, lecture-based format. This effort was based on a (transformative) theory...... of conferences as forums for learning and "human co-flourishing." Seventeen learning techniques were derived from the theory and were tested as hypotheses: When implemented in 30 live experiments, did they contribute to learning, as specified by the theory? Properties of transformative theory that distinguish...

  15. Culture and Career Psychology: A Social Constructionist Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stead, Graham B.

    2004-01-01

    This paper reflects on the need to re-examine cultural and cross-cultural psychology with a view to re-invigorating them and placing them at the center of discourse in career psychology. One perspective that can be employed to achieve these goals is social constructionism in that it questions the centrality of post-positivism in cultural and…

  16. The possibilities of performing social-psychological and ethnic mediations in Community Psychology in a Deep America perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Góis, Cezar Wagner de Lima; de Oliveira, Luciane Alves; Góis, Sara Cavalcante; Silva, Alexsandra Maria Sousa

    2016-01-01

    In this article, we problematize the approximation between Community Psychology and the idea of Deep America, considering it capable of contributing through mediations and translations in the construction of knowledge and the recreation of social, ethnic, and human life as local diversity. We want to clarify the matter from Liberation and Southern epistemologies' point of views, and to present experiences that confirm this Community Psychology method. We talk about coloniality, connecting it to the Community Psychology method and emphasizing the importance of the social-psychological/ethnic mediation, of view interpretation, and the aspects that constitute mediation: dialogic, experiential, and participant. Finally, we briefly report some facilitation and research experiences performed by us in Ceará, mainly in the capital, Fortaleza, and in Sobral County.

  17. Can Ausubel's Theory of Meaningful Learning Become an Alternative to Piagetian Psychology?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albert, Edna

    1979-01-01

    Discusses Novak's views that Ausubel's meaningful learning can become an alternative to Piagetian psychology and argues that Ausubel does not provide a theory that can be an alternative to Piaget's developmental psychology. (HM)

  18. Closing the Gap: Measuring the Social Identity of Terrorists

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Ludwick, Keith W

    2008-01-01

    .... However, using two well-established theories from social psychology, Social Identity Theory and Social Distance Theory, allows the development of a practical model to develop a social profile of a terrorist group...

  19. Evolutionary psychology as a metatheory for the social sciences: How to gather interdisciplinary evidence for a psychological adaptation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ploeger, A.; van der Hoort, B.

    2015-01-01

    Evolutionary psychology has been proposed as a new metatheory for the social sciences (Buss, 1995). Evolutionary psychology is an approach that emphasizes the evolutionary background of psychological phenomena (e.g., cognition, motivation, perception), with the expectation that knowledge about this

  20. Decolonising Australian Psychology: Discourses, Strategies, and Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pat Dudgeon

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Colonisation in Australia has had a devastating and lasting impact on the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia (herein referred to as Indigenous Australians. This paper discusses the role of psychology in Australia and the negative impact that certain disciplinary theories and practices have had on Indigenous Australians. The impact has been further exacerbated by the failure of mainstream policy makers and mental health practitioners to recognise the key, distinctive cultural and social determinants that contribute to Aboriginal health and wellbeing. There is a growing response by Aboriginal psychologists, critical social theorists, and their allies to decolonise psychological theory and practice to redress this situation. This paper outlines key decolonising strategies that have been effective in interrupting those aspects of psychology that are inimical to Aboriginal wellbeing.

  1. Global trends in research related to social media in psychology: mapping and bibliometric analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zyoud, Sa'ed H; Sweileh, Waleed M; Awang, Rahmat; Al-Jabi, Samah W

    2018-01-01

    Social media, defined as interactive Web applications, have been on the rise globally, particularly among adults. The objective of this study was to investigate the trend of the literature related to the most used social network worldwide (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Instagram) in the field of psychology. Specifically, this study will assess the growth in publications, citation analysis, international collaboration, author productivity, emerging topics and the mapping of frequent terms in publications pertaining to social media in the field of psychology. Publications related to social media in the field of psychology published between 2004 and 2014 were obtained from the Web of Science. The records extracted were analysed for bibliometric characteristics such as the growth in publications, citation analysis, international collaboration, emerging topics and the mapping of frequent terms in publications pertaining to social media in the field of psychology. VOSviewer v.1.6.5 was used to construct scientific maps. Overall, 959 publications were retrieved during the period between 2004 and 2015. The number of research publications in social media in the field of psychology showed a steady upward growth. Publications from the USA accounted for 57.14% of the total publications and the highest h -index (48).The most common document type was research articles (873; 91.03%). Over 99.06% of the publications were published in English. Computers in Human Behavior was the most prolific journal. The University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked first in terms of the total publications (n = 39). A visualisation analysis showed that personality psychology, experimental psychology, psychological risk factors, and developmental psychology were continual concerns of the research. This is the first study reporting the global trends in the research related to social media in the psychology field. Based on the raw data from the Web of Science, publication

  2. Promoting a culture of innovation: BJSP and the emergence of new paradigms in social psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reicher, Stephen

    2011-09-01

    In this paper, I start by describing the role played by British Journal of Social Psychology (BJSP) in nurturing two important new paradigms in social psychology - the social identity approach and discourse psychology. I then consider the forces in contemporary academia, in general, and psychology, in particular, that militate against innovation. I conclude by suggesting some ways in which individual social psychologists and our journals, particularly BJSP, can contribute to the development of an innovative and intellectually dynamic discipline. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

  3. Neonatal Imitation: Theory, Experimental Design, and Significance for the Field of Social Cognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincini, Stefano; Jhang, Yuna; Buder, Eugene H; Gallagher, Shaun

    2017-01-01

    Neonatal imitation has rich implications for neuroscience, developmental psychology, and social cognition, but there is little consensus about this phenomenon. The primary empirical question, whether or not neonatal imitation exists, is not settled. Is it possible to give a balanced evaluation of the theories and methodologies at stake so as to facilitate real progress with respect to the primary empirical question? In this paper, we address this question. We present the operational definition of differential imitation and discuss why it is important to keep it in mind. The operational definition indicates that neonatal imitation may not look like prototypical imitation and sets non-obvious requirements on what can count as evidence for imitation. We also examine the principal explanations for the extant findings and argue that two theories, the arousal hypothesis and the Association by Similarity Theory, which interprets neonatal imitation as differential induction of spontaneous behavior through similarity, offer better explanations than the others. With respect to methodology, we investigate what experimental design can best provide evidence for imitation, focusing on how differential induction may be maximized and detected. Finally, we discuss the significance of neonatal imitation for the field of social cognition. Specifically, we propose links with theories of social interaction and direct social perception. Overall, our goals are to help clarify the complex theoretical issues at stake and suggest fruitful guidelines for empirical research.

  4. Neonatal Imitation: Theory, Experimental Design, and Significance for the Field of Social Cognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefano Vincini

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Neonatal imitation has rich implications for neuroscience, developmental psychology, and social cognition, but there is little consensus about this phenomenon. The primary empirical question, whether or not neonatal imitation exists, is not settled. Is it possible to give a balanced evaluation of the theories and methodologies at stake so as to facilitate real progress with respect to the primary empirical question? In this paper, we address this question. We present the operational definition of differential imitation and discuss why it is important to keep it in mind. The operational definition indicates that neonatal imitation may not look like prototypical imitation and sets non-obvious requirements on what can count as evidence for imitation. We also examine the principal explanations for the extant findings and argue that two theories, the arousal hypothesis and the Association by Similarity Theory, which interprets neonatal imitation as differential induction of spontaneous behavior through similarity, offer better explanations than the others. With respect to methodology, we investigate what experimental design can best provide evidence for imitation, focusing on how differential induction may be maximized and detected. Finally, we discuss the significance of neonatal imitation for the field of social cognition. Specifically, we propose links with theories of social interaction and direct social perception. Overall, our goals are to help clarify the complex theoretical issues at stake and suggest fruitful guidelines for empirical research.

  5. Psychological and social problems in primary care patients - general practitioners' assessment and classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosendal, Marianne; Vedsted, Peter; Christensen, Kaj Sparle; Moth, Grete

    2013-03-01

    To estimate the frequency of psychological and social classification codes employed by general practitioners (GPs) and to explore the extent to which GPs ascribed health problems to biomedical, psychological, or social factors. A cross-sectional survey based on questionnaire data from GPs. Setting. Danish primary care. 387 GPs and their face-to-face contacts with 5543 patients. GPs registered consecutive patients on registration forms including reason for encounter, diagnostic classification of main problem, and a GP assessment of biomedical, psychological, and social factors' influence on the contact. The GP-stated reasons for encounter largely overlapped with their classification of the managed problem. Using the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-2-R), GPs classified 600 (11%) patients with psychological problems and 30 (0.5%) with social problems. Both codes for problems/complaints and specific disorders were used as the GP's diagnostic classification of the main problem. Two problems (depression and acute stress reaction/adjustment disorder) accounted for 51% of all psychological classifications made. GPs generally emphasized biomedical aspects of the contacts. Psychological aspects were given greater importance in follow-up consultations than in first-episode consultations, whereas social factors were rarely seen as essential to the consultation. Psychological problems are frequently seen and managed in primary care and most are classified within a few diagnostic categories. Social matters are rarely considered or classified.

  6. Expressive writing promotes self-reported physical, social and psychological health among Chinese undergraduates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Zhihan; Tang, Xiaoqing; Duan, Wenjie; Zhang, Yonghong

    2015-03-01

    The present study examines the efficacy of expressive writing among Chinese undergraduates. The sample comprised of 74 undergraduates enrolled in a 9-week intervention (35 in experimental class vs. 39 in control class). The writing exercises were well-embedded in an elective course for the two classes. The 46-item simplified Chinese Self-Rated Health Measurement Scale, which assesses psychological, physical and social health, was adopted to measure the outcome of this study. Baseline (second week) and post-test (ninth week) scores were obtained during the classes. After the intervention on the eighth week, the self-reported psychological, social and physical health of the experimental class improved. Psychological health obtained the maximum degree of improvement, followed by social and physical health. Furthermore, female participants gained more psychological improvement than males. These results demonstrated that the expressive writing approach could improve the physical, social and psychological health of Chinese undergraduates, and the method can be applied in university psychological consulting settings in Mainland China. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

  7. Social and psychological risks expertise in crisis communities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shvalb, Y.

    1998-01-01

    Emerging and development of crises in the communities leads to considerable increase of individual's risks' quality and quantity. Irrespectively of risk scale - partial or total influence on a community - a number of tendencies of risks increase could be identified. On social level risks result from the tendency of social protection decrease and restriction in free choice of activities' forms and kinds. On group level confrontation and clashes emerge, increase intolerance and decrease tolerance are identified. On interpersonal (micro group) level aggression and abuse intensify. On individual level a complex of negative psychological statuses develops, which is diverse both as for its content and forms. Reasons of crisis development and its dynamics determine the content and concrete forms of risks on all levels. Systematic description of risks and development of psychological support programmes for population in risk presupposes organization and delivering of comprehensive social and psychological expertise of situation. Such an expertise makes it possible to unite in a comprehensive model of the multi-professional descriptions of crisis situations on the above mentioned levels, the subjective concepts of the population (or its separate groups) together with evaluation of various projects and programmes on crisis coping and risks decrease options. (author)

  8. Therapeutic Theory and Social Context: A Social Constructionist Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynch, Gordon

    1997-01-01

    Explores the foundation of therapeutic theory from the perspective of social constructionism. Proposes a theoretical description of the interaction between an individual and the social context in the formation of therapeutic theory. Then explores this description in relation to the early life and subsequent therapeutic theory of Carl Rogers. (RJM)

  9. Psychology and the conduct of everyday life

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Psychology and the Conduct of Everyday Life moves psychological theory and research practice out of the laboratory and into the everyday world. Drawing on recent developments across the social and human sciences, it examines how people live as active subjects within the contexts of their everyday...

  10. Critical Social Theory: A Portrait

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres, Carlos A.

    2012-01-01

    The term Critical Social Theory is employed in this article following the tradition of the Frankfurt School, and particularly the work of Herbert Marcuse and his interpretation of the political and social philosophy of Hegel and Marx. Discussing the contribution of G.W.F. Hegel to social theory Marcuse argued that: "Hegel's system brings to a…

  11. [Perception of health risks: psychological and social factors].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurzenhäuser, S; Epp, A

    2009-12-01

    This article reviews central findings and current developments of psychological and sociological research on the perception of health risks. Risk perception is influenced by numerous psychological, social, political, and cultural factors. These factors can be categorized into (a) risk characteristics, (b) characteristics of the risk perceiving person and his/her situation, and (c) characteristics of risk communication. Thus, besides individual cognitive and affective processing of risk information, social processes of risk amplification (e.g., media effects) are also involved in the construction of individual risk perceptions. We discuss the recommendations for health risk communication that follow from these findings with regard to different communication goals.

  12. Hedgehogs, Foxes, Ethics, and the Evolving Social Contract in Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosnow, Ralph L.

    This paper discusses the importance of ethics in psychological research. It defines the social contract between psychological science and society as the responsibility not to do psychological or physical harm to any research participants and to do beneficial research in a way that will produce valid research. Also explored are ways in which…

  13. ASSESSMENT OF EFFICIENCY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF INFLUENCE IN SOCIAL ADVERTISING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiyana B. Kolyshkina

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The main aim of the research is to estimate the efficiency of psychological influence mechanisms in social advertising. Numerous psychological, sociological, culturological studies, devoted to this issue, do not answer the question which mechanisms will be efficient and will lead to the expected reaction of a recipient. The correlation between the psychological influence methods and the goals set by the creators is especially important for social advertising, because its efficiency can’t be measured by economic indicators as it occurs in commercial advertising. In addition, it should be remembered that for guaranteeing of efficiency in this kind of advertising one need to take into account such special features of a recipient as their beliefs and sets. The study concentrates on the comparison of psychological influence mechanisms, used in World Wildlife Fund (WWF social advertising. Its creators use a great number of methods. But as practice shows us by no means all of them lead to the planned results. The study justifies, that the efficiency of advertising influence should be estimated by such indicators as the willingness of a recipient to take part in WWF programs (conative component and their emotional response (affective component. Consequently, it has been established that the behaviour of a recipient does not depend on a chosen creative strategy’s type, which is used by the creators. The willingness of a recipient to take part in the programs, advertised by WWF, is estimated by the content of their social and psychological sets (attitudes. The displayed results prove that one need to refuse a cruel and shocking way of advertising, which causes people’s negative emotions. It is corroborated by experiments that social advertising which defends wild nature can be efficient on condition that it gives a recipient an opportunity to actualize their own social and psychological sets.

  14. Understanding the experiences of people with disfigurements: An integration of four models of social and psychological functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kent, G

    2000-05-01

    Both psychological (Cash, 1996; Partridge, 1998; Leary et al ., 1998) and sociological (Goffman, 1968) models have been used to explain the personal and social consequences of cosmetic blemishes. In this study, people with the skin disease vitiligo were asked to describe a situation in which their condition had recently affected their lives. Consistent with theories of body image disturbance, incidents usually involved a triggering event when concerns about appearance were raised due to bodily exposure or enacted stigma. These events led respondents to be vigilant to others' behaviour, to be self-conscious and to attribute the cause of the event to their appearance. Theories of social anxiety could be used to account for how the respondents used impression management strategies such as avoidance and concealment. Respondents described how they could be uncertain as to how to deal with others' behaviour, illustrating the relevance of social skills models. In addition, avoidance/concealment had a number of social and personal costs, including the loss of valued activities, reluctance to develop intimate relationships and continuing anxiety. Thus, theories of body image, social anxiety, social skills and the sociology of stigma could be used to understand the respondents' experiences. It seems likely that therapeutic interventions based on different models are useful because they influence different aspects of the above process.

  15. Some notes about the relations between Social Psychology and Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasio Ovejero

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available In this paper I try to show the value that the study of the relationship between Social Psychology and Literature would have to improve our psychosocial knowledge of the human being. On one hand, the psychosocial analysis of the novel would provide us with the wide and deep knowledge that is contained in the classic literary works. On the other hand, it is also useful to analyze how these literary works have been reflecting both their own time as well as the social changes in the last centuries and, furthermore, its effect on the readers, their mentality, their behaviour and even the way they relate each other. This approach would be of great value for a Social Psychology that pretends to look beyond a positivist perspective, a perspective that is pervasive in Psychology for the last century. 

  16. On the Historical and Conceptual Foundations of a Community Psychology of Social Transformation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gokani, Ravi; Walsh, Richard T G

    2017-06-01

    We examine historical and conceptual literature in community psychology in order to understand the field's potential to be the socially transformative subdiscipline of psychology to which it aspires. By reviewing papers from two prominent journals and other literature, we conclude that the claim that community psychology is well-suited to social transformation, because it is a product of Sixties' radicalism and is theoretically equipped, is untenable. Systematic accounts of the subdiscipline's origins suggest that the transformative aspirations of current community psychologists do not correspond to the subdiscipline's reformist past. Furthermore, in analyzing three related concepts currently employed in the field-social justice, power, and praxis-we show that each suffers from conceptual ambiguity and a restricted political scope. These conceptual flaws, coupled with community psychology's historical inclination toward social reform, inhibit the possibility of contributing to radical social transformation. We conclude that neither questionable historical claims nor ambiguous and politically dubious concepts support a community psychology of social transformation. We offer solutions for the historical and conceptual problems we identify and, as a broader solution to the problem of engaging in socially transformative work, propose that community psychologists should seek direct political engagement in solidarity with other citizens as fellow citizens not as psychologists. © Society for Community Research and Action 2017.

  17. Economics versus psychology.Risk, uncertainty and the expected utility theory

    OpenAIRE

    Schilirò, Daniele

    2017-01-01

    The present contribution examines the emergence of expected utility theory by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern, the subjective the expected utility theory by Savage, and the problem of choice under risk and uncertainty, focusing in particular on the seminal work “The Utility Analysis of Choices involving Risk" (1948) by Milton Friedman and Leonard Savage to show how the evolution of the theory of choice has determined a separation of economics from psychology.

  18. Legal socialization of personality as a phenomenon of legal psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Borisova S.E.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The relevance of the topic to the continuing importance of legal regulation of human behavior, the necessity of foreseeing the adverse consequences of social disorders and urgency of the prevention of deconditioning and deviant behavioral manifestations. In this regard, it is important to examine the phenomenon of legal socialization, causing interest among the representatives of the human Sciences and specialists in different branches of psychological knowledge. Taking into account the multidimensional nature of this phenomenon, it is an essential consideration of the trajectories of its occurrence in correlation with different interacting with other determinants. Such determinants include age psychological characteristics, experience crises of mental development, socially conditioned factors, and the influence of the professional environment. In article are characterized by individual patterns of legal socialization of a personality, revealing its essence, on the basis of summarizing opinions of scientists based on their own point of view. On the basis of the theoretical analysis made assumptions about the peculiarities of legal socialization of the individual occurring in different age periods of life; formulated likely areas for further study the phenomenon under research legal psychology.

  19. [A psychological content of social phobia syndrome].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagalakova, O A; Truevtsev, D V; Stoyanova, I Ya

    2017-01-01

    To perform a psychological analysis of social phobia syndrome. The subject area of research is the structure of mental activity and behavior in social activity. The study included 32 patients with symptoms of social phobia (ICD-10 F40.1) and 29 healthy people (controls). A complex of psychological methods (questionnaires; pathopsychological experiment) was used. Early maladaptive schemes and a tendency to mental rigidity can be a premorbid basis of the syndrome. Primary violation is in organizational target component by type of distortion of goal-setting regulation. The mechanism is a reduction in the mediation of emotions and behavior (an influence of emotions on the process of activity, excess metacognitive anxiety control leading to multi-task and exhaustion of resources of voluntary activity). Fear of negative evaluation leads to the fact that a wide class of situations is interpreted as threatening. Secondary are changes in the system of goals and motives of activity (technically performing components of social behavior act as a focus of attention, along with the target, the target replaces the suprasituational meaning). Along with a strong motivation to succeed, the motive of avoiding failure is formed, which leads to a decrease in social activity. Tertiary symptoms of syndrome dynamics (ways to cope with maladaptation) are destructive forms of decompensation (substance abuse, learned helplessness and hopelessness, suicidal behavior, etc.), repeatedly reinforcing the primary and secondary disturbances.

  20. The challenger app for social anxiety disorder: New advances in mobile psychological treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Miloff

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Social anxiety disorder (SAD is a common debilitating mental illness with large negative effects on quality of life and economic productivity. Modern psychotherapy treatments utilizing cognitive–behavioral theory are increasingly delivered over the Internet and more recently using smartphone applications. The Challenger App written natively for the Apple iPhone was developed at the Stockholm University Department of Psychology for the treatment of SAD and uses a number of advanced features not previously seen in past mental health applications; these include real-time location awareness, notifications, anonymous social interaction between users, a high-degree of personalization and use of gamification techniques. This paper explores design considerations for the various components of the app, their theoretical and evidence base, and research opportunities that exist for apps making use of these novel features.

  1. Social psychology, terrorism, and identity: a preliminary re-examination of theory, culture, self, and society.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arena, Michael P; Arrigo, Bruce A

    2005-01-01

    This article relies upon structural symbolic interactionism and five of its organizing concepts (i.e. symbols, the definition of the situation, roles, socialization and role-taking, and the self) to put forth a novel conceptual framework for understanding the terrorist identity. In order to demonstrate the practical utility of the framework, applications to various terrorist groups around the globe are incorporated into the analysis. Overall, both the theoretical and application work help reorient the academic and practitioner behavioral science communities to the importance of culture, self, and society when investigating one's membership in and identity through militant extremist organizations. Given the unique approach taken by this article, several provisional implications are delineated. In particular, future research on terrorism, strategies linked to counter-terrorism, legal and public policy reform, and the relevance of utilizing a sociologically animated social psychology in the assessment of other forms of criminal behavior are all very tentatively explored.

  2. Lay theories about social class buffer lower-class individuals against poor self-rated health and negative affect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Jacinth J X; Kraus, Michael W

    2015-03-01

    The economic conditions of one's life can profoundly and systematically influence health outcomes over the life course. Our present research demonstrates that rejecting the notion that social class categories are biologically determined-a nonessentialist belief-buffers lower-class individuals from poor self-rated health and negative affect, whereas conceiving of social class categories as rooted in biology-an essentialist belief-does not. In Study 1, lower-class individuals self-reported poorer health than upper-class individuals when they endorsed essentialist beliefs but showed no such difference when they rejected such beliefs. Exposure to essentialist theories of social class also led lower-class individuals to report greater feelings of negative self-conscious emotions (Studies 2 and 3), and perceive poorer health (Study 3) than upper-class individuals, whereas exposure to nonessentialist theories did not lead to such differences. Discussion considers how lay theories of social class potentially shape long-term trajectories of health and affect of lower-class individuals. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  3. Application of factor analysis in psychological diagnostics (sample: study of students’ social safety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavel Aleksandrovich Kislyakov

    2015-10-01

    Our recommendations for the use of factor analysis, with necessary restrictions and clear reasons of a possible ambiguity of solutions, will be useful to everyone interested in mastering an adequate mathematical tool for solving problems pertaining to the humanities, in particular, those of practical psychology. As a practical example is presented the research of the psychological factors which provide students’ social safety. With the help of the factor analysis relevant personal and professional qualities of a teacher were revealed which are the subjective factors of students’ social safety, namely: social anticipation, socio-psychological stress resistance, social tolerance, professional orientation, responsibility, communication skills.

  4. Multiplicative Effects of Social and Psychological Risk Factors on College Students’ Suicidal Behaviors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shervin Assari

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Less is known about the multiplicative effects of social and psychological risk and protective factors of suicidality on college campuses. The current study aimed to investigate the multiplicative effects of social (identifying oneself as gay/lesbian, financial difficulty, violence victimization, and religiosity and psychological (anxiety, depression, problem alcohol use, drug use and risk/protective factors on suicidal behaviors among college students in the United States. Using a cross-sectional design, the Healthy Mind Study (HMS; 2016–2017, is a national online survey of college students in the United States. Social (identifying oneself as gay/lesbian, violence victimization, financial difficulty, and religiosity and psychological (anxiety, depression, problem alcohol use, and drug use risk/protective factors were assessed among 27,961 individuals. Three aspects of suicidality, including ideation, plan, and attempt, were also assessed. Logistic regression models were used for data analysis. Financial difficulty, violence victimization, identifying oneself as gay/lesbian, anxiety, depression, and drug use increased, while religiosity reduced the odds of suicidal behaviors. Multiplicative effects were found between the following social and psychological risk factors: (1 financial difficulty and anxiety; (2 financial difficulty and depression; (3 depression and drug use; (4 problem alcohol use and drug use; and (5 depression and problem alcohol use. There is a considerable overlap in the social and psychological processes, such as financial stress, mood disorders, and substance use problems, on risk of suicide in college students. As social and psychological risk factors do not operate independently, comprehensive suicidal risk evaluations that simultaneously address multiple social and psychological risk factors may be superior to programs that only address a single risk factor.

  5. Psychological treatment of social anxiety disorder improves body dysmorphic concerns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Angela; Sawyer, Alice T; Aderka, Idan M; Hofmann, Stefan G

    2013-10-01

    Social anxiety disorder and body dysmorphic disorder are considered nosologically distinct disorders. In contrast, some cognitive models suggest that social anxiety disorder and body dysmorphic disorder share similar cognitive maintenance factors. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of psychological treatments for social anxiety disorder on body dysmorphic disorder concerns. In Study 1, we found that 12 weekly group sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy led to significant decreases in body dysmorphic symptom severity. In Study 2, we found that an attention retraining intervention for social anxiety disorder was associated with a reduction in body dysmorphic concerns, compared to a placebo control condition. These findings support the notion that psychological treatments for individuals with primary social anxiety disorder improve co-occurring body dysmorphic disorder symptoms. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Towards a comprehensive model of scientific research and professional practice in psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerzy Marian Brzeziński

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In this article I present a model of associations between two social domains: the scientific research domain (here psychology and the professional practice domain. In the former case, its quality is determined by social and individual methodological awareness (MA. I introduce my own definition of MA. What determines the validity and usefulness of practical actions undertaken by professionals (e.g., assessment, therapy in the practice domain is the accurately constructed empirical theory high in descriptive power, explanatory power and predictive power. I propose a model (my own conceptualization in which I analyze information flow between the domains of scientific research (psychology as a science and professional practice (psychology as a profession. In the subsequent and final part I discuss my own model which links theory and practice: Scientific Research and Professional Practice in Psychology (SRPPP. The article ends with a presentation of three contexts in which the interrelationship between theory and practice is immersed: the ethical, psychological and cultural contexts.

  7. Why social dominance theory has been falsified.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, John C; Reynolds, Katherine J

    2003-06-01

    Schmitt, Branscombe and Kappen (2003) and Wilson and Lui (2003) present a persuasive series of studies which raise major problems for the conceptualization of social dominance orientation in social dominance theory. Building on these and other data in the literature, this commentary summarizes six fundamental criticisms which can be made of the theory. We conclude that social dominance theory is flawed by conceptual inconsistencies and has been disconfirmed empirically in relation to its key hypothesis of behavioural asymmetry. The reaction of subordinate groups to the social hierarchy is better explained by social identity theory.

  8. Psychological and social correlates of HIV status disclosure: the significance of stigma visibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stutterheim, Sarah E; Bos, Arjan E R; Pryor, John B; Brands, Ronald; Liebregts, Maartje; Schaalma, Herman P

    2011-08-01

    HIV-related stigma, psychological distress, self-esteem, and social support were investigated in a sample comprising people who have concealed their HIV status to all but a selected few (limited disclosers), people who could conceal but chose to be open (full disclosers), and people who had visible symptoms that made concealing difficult (visibly stigmatized). The visibly stigmatized and full disclosers reported significantly more stigma experiences than limited disclosers, but only the visibly stigmatized reported more psychological distress, lower self-esteem, and less social support than limited disclosers. This suggests that having a visible stigma is more detrimental than having a concealable stigma. Differences in psychological distress and self-esteem between the visibly stigmatized and full disclosers were mediated by social support while differences between the visibly stigmatized and limited disclosers were mediated by both social support and stigma. These findings suggest that social support buffers psychological distress in people with HIV.

  9. Social Role Theory and Social Role Valorization for Care Management Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blakely, Thomas J; Dziadosz, Gregory M

    2015-01-01

    This article proposes that social role theory (SRT) and social role valorization (SRV) be established as organizing theories for care managers. SRT is a recognized sociological theory that has a distinctive place in care management practice. SRV is an adjunct for SRT that focuses on people who are devalued by being in a negative social position and supports behavior change and movement to a valued social position.

  10. Parental hostility and its sources in psychologically abusive mothers: a test of the three-factor theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesnik-Oberstein, M; Koers, A J; Cohen, L

    1995-01-01

    A revised version of the three-factor theory of child abuse (Lesnik-Oberstein, Cohen, & Koers, 1982) is presented. Further, we report on a research designed to test three main hypotheses derived from Factor I (1) (a high level of hostility in abusive parents) and its sources. The three main hypotheses are: (1) that psychologically abusive mothers have a high level of hostile feelings (Factor I); (2) that the high level of hostile feelings in abusive mothers is associated with low marital coping skills (resulting in affectionless, violent marriages), a negative childhood upbringing (punitive, uncaring, over controlling), a high level of stress (objective stress), and a high level of strain (low self-esteem, depression, neurotic symptoms, social anxiety, feelings of being wronged); and (3) that maternal psychological child abuse is associated with low marital coping skills, a negative childhood upbringing, a high level of stress and a high level of strain. Forty-four psychologically abusing mothers were compared with 128 nonabusing mothers on a variety of measures and were matched for age and educational level. All the mothers had children who were hospitalized for medical symptoms. The three hypotheses were supported, with the exception of the component of hypothesis 2 concerning the association between objective stress and maternal hostility. The positive results are consistent with the three-factor theory.

  11. Longitudinal association between time-varying social isolation and psychological distress after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sone, Toshimasa; Nakaya, Naoki; Sugawara, Yumi; Tomata, Yasutake; Watanabe, Takashi; Tsuji, Ichiro

    2016-03-01

    The association between social isolation and psychological distress among disaster survivors is inconclusive. In addition, because these previous studies were cross-sectional in design, the longitudinal association between time-varying social isolation and psychological distress was not clear. The present study examined the longitudinal association between social isolation and psychological distress after the Great East Japan Earthquake. We analyzed longitudinal data for 959 adults who had responded to the self-report questionnaires about Lubben Social Network Scale-6 (LSNS-6) and K6 in both a community-based baseline survey (2011) and a follow-up survey (2014) after the disaster. Participants were categorized into four groups according to changes in the presence of social isolation (socially isolated", "became not socially isolated", "remained not socially isolated", and "became socially isolated". We defined a K6 score of ≥ 10/24 as indicating the presence of psychological distress. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to estimate the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to indicate how the change in social isolation was related to changes in psychological distress over 3 years. Among the participants who had not shown psychological distress at the baseline, the rates of deterioration of psychological distress were significantly lower in participants who "became not socially isolated" (multivariate OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.08-0.70) and "remained not socially isolated" (multivariate OR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.27-0.91), compared with participants who "remained socially isolated". Among the participants who had psychological distress at the baseline, the rate of improvement of psychological distress was significantly higher in participants who "remained not socially isolated" (multivariate OR = 2.61, 95% CI = 1.08-6.44). The present findings suggest that prevention of social isolation may be an effective public health strategy for

  12. The influence of social support on psychological distress in Canadian adults with bipolar disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, Christie D; Fowler, Ken; Speed, David; Walsh, Anna

    2018-05-08

    Individuals with bipolar I disorder (BD-I) and bipolar II disorder (BD-II) are at higher risk for experiencing high levels of psychological distress and low levels of social support. The primary objectives of this study were to examine perceived social support and psychological distress among Canadian adults with self-reported BD-I or BD-II as diagnosed by a health professional and explore the relationship between types of social support and psychological distress within this sample. Using a cross-sectional, national datafile, 563 Canadian male and female adults (20-64 years) who reported being diagnosed with BD-I or BD-II were investigated using the Social Provisions Scale (SPS), and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). It was observed that while the BD-I or BD-II sample had significantly lower SPS scores and significantly higher K10 scores than the overall Canadian sample, age and support in the form of reassurance of worth and social integration were associated with decreased psychological distress. Further, a diagnosis of BD-I and BD-II was found to moderate the effect of social support on psychological distress. Despite the limitations, which include self-reported diagnosis of BD-I and BD-II and potential exclusion of those who are not diagnosed but have BD-I or BD-II, these findings suggest that reassurance of worth and social integration may act as protective factors for psychological distress among individuals with BD-I or BD-II.

  13. Self-Esteem as a Moderator between Perceived Discrimination and Psychological Distress among Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corning, Alexandra F.

    2002-01-01

    The relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological distress was investigated within a social comparison theory framework. Predictions of a variant of social comparison theory--relative deprivation theory--as well as predictions from the stress-buffering literature pertaining to the moderating effects of self-esteem were tested…

  14. Socializing the human factors analysis and classification system: incorporating social psychological phenomena into a human factors error classification system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paletz, Susannah B F; Bearman, Christopher; Orasanu, Judith; Holbrook, Jon

    2009-08-01

    The presence of social psychological pressures on pilot decision making was assessed using qualitative analyses of critical incident interviews. Social psychological phenomena have long been known to influence attitudes and behavior but have not been highlighted in accident investigation models. Using a critical incident method, 28 pilots who flew in Alaska were interviewed. The participants were asked to describe a situation involving weather when they were pilot in command and found their skills challenged. They were asked to describe the incident in detail but were not explicitly asked to identify social pressures. Pressures were extracted from transcripts in a bottom-up manner and then clustered into themes. Of the 28 pilots, 16 described social psychological pressures on their decision making, specifically, informational social influence, the foot-in-the-door persuasion technique, normalization of deviance, and impression management and self-consistency motives. We believe accident and incident investigations can benefit from explicit inclusion of common social psychological pressures. We recommend specific ways of incorporating these pressures into theHuman Factors Analysis and Classification System.

  15. Critical Social Theories. 2nd Edition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agger, Ben

    2006-01-01

    Praised for its clarity and accessibility, this fully updated edition of "Critical Social Theories" presents a comprehensive analysis of leading social and cultural theories today. Diverse perspectives are addressed from feminism and cultural studies to postmodernism and critical theory. Written accessibly for students and faculty, the second…

  16. Theories of behaviour and behaviour change across the social and behavioural sciences: a scoping review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Rachel; Campbell, Rona; Hildon, Zoe; Hobbs, Lorna; Michie, Susan

    2015-01-01

    Interventions to change health-related behaviours typically have modest effects and may be more effective if grounded in appropriate theory. Most theories applied to public health interventions tend to emphasise individual capabilities and motivation, with limited reference to context and social factors. Intervention effectiveness may be increased by drawing on a wider range of theories incorporating social, cultural and economic factors that influence behaviour. The primary aim of this paper is to identify theories of behaviour and behaviour change of potential relevance to public health interventions across four scientific disciplines: psychology, sociology, anthropology and economics. We report in detail the methodology of our scoping review used to identify these theories including which involved a systematic search of electronic databases, consultation with a multidisciplinary advisory group, web searching, searching of reference lists and hand searching of key behavioural science journals. Of secondary interest we developed a list of agreed criteria for judging the quality of the theories. We identified 82 theories and 9 criteria for assessing theory quality. The potential relevance of this wide-ranging number of theories to public health interventions and the ease and usefulness of evaluating the theories in terms of the quality criteria are however yet to be determined.

  17. The contribution from psychological, social, and organizational work factors to risk of disability retirement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knardahl, Stein; Johannessen, Håkon A.; Sterud, Tom

    2017-01-01

    Background: Previous studies indicate that psychological, social, and organizational factors at work contribute to health, motivation, absence from work, and functional ability. The objective of the study was to assess the current state of knowledge of the contribution of psychological, social, a...... social support from ones superior. Conclusions: Psychological and organizational factors at work contribute to disability retirement with the most robust evidence for the role of work control. We recommend the measurement of specific exposure factors in future studies.......Background: Previous studies indicate that psychological, social, and organizational factors at work contribute to health, motivation, absence from work, and functional ability. The objective of the study was to assess the current state of knowledge of the contribution of psychological, social......, and organizational factors to disability retirement by a systematic review and meta-analyses. Methods: Data sources: A systematic literature search for studies of retirement due to disability in Medline, Embase, and PsychINFO was performed. Reference lists of relevant articles were hand-searched for additional...

  18. Applying Theories of Deviance to Academic Cheating.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michaels, James W.; Miethe, Terance D.

    1989-01-01

    Reports on a study that extends social psychological theories of deviance to explain academic cheating. Uses self-report data from college students to examine the theories of deterrence, rational choice, social bond, and social learning formulations of cheating. Supports the claim that cheating is a serious problem in higher education. (SLM)

  19. Investigation of Social Cognitive Career Theory for Minority Recruitment in School Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bocanegra, Joel O.; Gubi, Aaron A.; Cappaert, Kevin J.

    2016-01-01

    School psychology trainers have historically struggled to adequately increase the number of professionals from diverse backgrounds. An increase in diverse providers is important in meeting the needs of a burgeoning racial/ethnic minority student population. Previous research suggests that minority undergraduate psychology students have less…

  20. Building the boundaries of a science: First representations of Italian social psychology between 1875 and 1954.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sensales, Gilda; Areni, Alessandra; Del Secco, Alessandra

    2011-11-01

    The present study embraces the critical traditions of "New History" and of social representations theory articulated with the mainstream historiographical tradition of a bibliometric approach. The historical analysis deals with the early representations of Italian social psychology articulated and disseminated by some of the main Italian scientific-cultural and philosophical journals. We examined seven journals published between 1875 and 1954, and gathered 2,030 texts dealing with the various forms of social and collective psychology. We have applied a grid of content analysis whose data have been transcribed to a numerical file. At the same time, we have created a textual file containing the titles of the contributions as well as the names of the authors and scholars reviewed. The two files have been processed by SPAD-T for a correspondence analysis in which both lexical data and category variables have been considered as active variables. Through the scree-test, two factors that explain 18.90% of the variance have been singled out. Their combination has produced a factorial plan able to highlight three distinct areas differently characterized from journals and years. The results are also discussed with regard to the contextual historical frame.

  1. The importance of psychological and social factors in influencing the uptake and maintenance of physical activity after stroke: a structured review of the empirical literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Jacqui; Oliver, Tracey; Kroll, Thilo; Macgillivray, Steve

    2012-01-01

    Background. People with stroke are not maintaining adequate engagement in physical activity (PA) for health and functional benefit. This paper sought to describe any psychological and social factors that may influence physical activity engagement after stroke. Methods. A structured literature review of studies indexed in MEDLINE, CinAHL, P&BSC, and PsycINFO using search terms relevant to stroke, physical disabilities, and PA. Publications reporting empirical findings (quantitative or qualitative) regarding psychological and/or social factors were included. Results. Twenty studies from 19 publications (9 surveys, 1 RCT, and 10 qualitative studies) were included. Seventeen studies reported findings pertinent to psychological factors and fourteen findings pertinent to social factors. Conclusion. Self-efficacy, physical activity beliefs, and social support appear particularly relevant to physical activity behaviour after stroke and should be included in theoretically based physical interventions. The Transtheoretical Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour are candidate behavioural models that may support intervention development.

  2. Source Similarity and Social Media Health Messages: Extending Construal Level Theory to Message Sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Rachel

    2015-09-01

    Social media users post messages about health goals and behaviors to online social networks. Compared with more traditional sources of health communication such as physicians or health journalists, peer sources are likely to be perceived as more socially close or similar, which influences how messages are processed. This experimental study uses construal level theory of psychological distance to predict how mediated health messages from peers influence health-related cognition and behavioral intention. Participants were exposed to source cues that identified peer sources as being either highly attitudinally and demographically similar to or different from participants. As predicted by construal level theory, participants who perceived sources of social media health messages as highly similar listed a greater proportion of beliefs about the feasibility of health behaviors and a greater proportion of negative beliefs, while participants who perceived sources as more dissimilar listed a greater proportion of positive beliefs about the health behaviors. Results of the study could be useful in determining how health messages from peers could encourage individuals to set realistic health goals.

  3. Relationships and the social brain: integrating psychological and evolutionary perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutcliffe, Alistair; Dunbar, Robin; Binder, Jens; Arrow, Holly

    2012-05-01

    Psychological studies of relationships tend to focus on specific types of close personal relationships (romantic, parent-offspring, friendship) and examine characteristics of both the individuals and the dyad. This paper looks more broadly at the wider range of relationships that constitute an individual's personal social world. Recent work on the composition of personal social networks suggests that they consist of a series of layers that differ in the quality and quantity of relationships involved. Each layer increases relationship numbers by an approximate multiple of 3 (5-15-50-150) but decreasing levels of intimacy (strong, medium, and weak ties) and frequency of interaction. To account for these regularities, we draw on both social and evolutionary psychology to argue that relationships at different layers serve different functions and have different cost-benefit profiles. At each layer, the benefits are asymptotic but the costs of maintaining a relationship at that level (most obviously, the time that has to be invested in servicing it) are roughly linear with the number of relationships. The trade-off between costs and benefits at a given level, and across the different types of demands and resources typical of different levels, gives rise to a distribution of social effort that generates and maintains a hierarchy of layered sets of relationships within social networks. We suggest that, psychologically, these trade-offs are related to the level of trust in a relationship, and that this is itself a function of the time invested in the relationship. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

  4. Modern theories of social anxiety in childhood and adolescence ages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavlova T.S.

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This article describes the various modern approaches to the study of social anxiety in children. Social anxiety is examined in terms of the following approaches: in age-related psychology from the standpoint of behavioral inhibition and its biological sources; in developmental psychology as an affective-behavioral profile of loneliness/isolation and its sources in the child-parent relationship and interaction with peers; in clinical psychology within the Avoidant Personality Disorder (social phobia, its diagnosis, treatment and etiology. The article presents the results of current and future possible research.

  5. Storming the servers: a social psychological analysis of the First Internet War.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guadagno, Rosanna E; Cialdini, Robert B; Evron, Gadi

    2010-08-01

    In April 2007, the First Internet War began. Owing to the relocation of a World War II-era Soviet war memorial in Estonia, angry protestors, primarily of Russian descent, engaged in a month-long series of coordinated online attacks on Estonia's Internet infrastructure that disabled it for several days. We analyze this real-world event from a social psychological perspective. Specifically, we review the details surrounding the event and examine why protest manifested in this form of online attack and discuss how it was successfully orchestrated from a framework provided by social psychology, the science of human social interaction. We argue that the psychological principles of loss, relative anonymity of online interaction, group membership and adherence to group norms, social validation, and contagion all contributed to the success of the attacks.

  6. Applying psychological theories to evidence-based clinical practice: identifying factors predictive of placing preventive fissure sealants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonetti, Debbie; Johnston, Marie; Clarkson, Jan E; Grimshaw, Jeremy; Pitts, Nigel B; Eccles, Martin; Steen, Nick; Thomas, Ruth; Maclennan, Graeme; Glidewell, Liz; Walker, Anne

    2010-04-08

    Psychological models are used to understand and predict behaviour in a wide range of settings, but have not been consistently applied to health professional behaviours, and the contribution of differing theories is not clear. This study explored the usefulness of a range of models to predict an evidence-based behaviour -- the placing of fissure sealants. Measures were collected by postal questionnaire from a random sample of general dental practitioners (GDPs) in Scotland. Outcomes were behavioural simulation (scenario decision-making), and behavioural intention. Predictor variables were from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), Common Sense Self-regulation Model (CS-SRM), Operant Learning Theory (OLT), Implementation Intention (II), Stage Model, and knowledge (a non-theoretical construct). Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the predictive value of each theoretical model individually. Significant constructs from all theories were then entered into a 'cross theory' stepwise regression analysis to investigate their combined predictive value. Behavioural simulation - theory level variance explained was: TPB 31%; SCT 29%; II 7%; OLT 30%. Neither CS-SRM nor stage explained significant variance. In the cross theory analysis, habit (OLT), timeline acute (CS-SRM), and outcome expectancy (SCT) entered the equation, together explaining 38% of the variance. Behavioural intention - theory level variance explained was: TPB 30%; SCT 24%; OLT 58%, CS-SRM 27%. GDPs in the action stage had significantly higher intention to place fissure sealants. In the cross theory analysis, habit (OLT) and attitude (TPB) entered the equation, together explaining 68% of the variance in intention. The study provides evidence that psychological models can be useful in understanding and predicting clinical behaviour. Taking a theory-based approach enables the creation of a replicable methodology for identifying factors that may predict clinical behaviour

  7. African Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues - Vol 4 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    African Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. ... History, culture, social structure and entrepreneurship in the political ... Psychol-social factors in rural health information dissemination · EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT

  8. The Role of Social Work Practice and Policy in the Lived and Intimate Citizenship of Young People with Psychological Disorders

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Warming, Hanne

    2017-01-01

    Drawing on the concepts of lived and intimate citizenship and applying a weak theory approach, Warming shows how social work practices at a residence for young people with psychological disorders constitute a social intervention with contested and multidimensional (action-related, emotional......, affective, positioning-related) outcomes for clients’ rights, participation and belonging. Although the clients describe their stay as empowering and characterised by recognition, they also experience discrimination and exclusion. Indeed, the chapter’s socio-spatial analysis show how their time...

  9. Ethnic socialization, perceived discrimination, and psychological adjustment among transracially adopted and nonadopted ethnic minority adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Tara; Braje, Sopagna Eap; Kawahara, Debra; Shuman, Tara

    2016-01-01

    Little is known on how transracial adoptees (TRA) navigate issues of race and ethnicity. Using Shared Fate Theory as a framework, this study was interested in the moderating role of adoption status among a group of ethnic minority adults in explaining the relationship between ethnic socialization, perceived discrimination, and mental health outcomes. Nonadopted (NA; n = 83) and TRA (n = 87) ethnic minorities responded to measures on ethnic socialization, perceived discrimination, and psychological outcomes administered online. TRA and NA ethnic minorities reported similar levels of ethnic socialization, perceived discrimination, and psychological outcomes (depression and self-esteem). Perceived discrimination was significantly associated with depression for both TRA and NA ethnic minorities. Ordinal Least Squares (OLS) regressions that were run for a moderated moderational analysis suggest that the protective role of ethnic socialization depended on adoption status. Among the different forms of ethnic socialization, cultural socialization and preparation for bias significantly buffered against the effects of perceived discrimination, but the effects were more pronounced for TRA than for NA ethnic minorities. Because NA and TRA ethnic minorities were similarly affected by discrimination, it suggests that being a TRA does not confer any additional risk when experiencing discrimination. Additionally, the study found that ethnic socialization may continue to serve a protective role against the effects of discrimination into adulthood for TRA, but less so for NA ethnic minorities. These results have policy implications regarding the role of parental ethnicity in adoption decisions as well as the importance of educating adopted parents about ethnic socialization for ethnic minority children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Introduction to the Social and Psychological Dynamics of Collective Action

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Zomeren, Martijn; Iyer, Aarti

    2009-01-01

    Collective action is one of the core mechanisms of social change, and thus of major importance to social scientists, practitioners, and policy-makers. Our goal in editing this issue is to bring together recent advances on the social and psychological dynamics of collective action among members of

  11. Self-regulation of health behavior: social psychological approaches to goal setting and goal striving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, Traci; de Ridder, Denise; Fujita, Kentaro

    2013-05-01

    The goal of this article is to review and highlight the relevance of social psychological research on self-regulation for health-related theory and practice. We first review research on goal setting, or determining which goals to pursue and the criteria to determine whether one has succeeded. We discuss when and why people adopt goals, what properties of goals increase the likelihood of their attainment, and why people abandon goals. We then review research on goal striving, which includes the planning and execution of actions that lead to goal attainment, and the processes that people use to shield their goals from being disrupted by other competing goals, temptations, or distractions. We describe four types of strategies that people use when pursuing goals. We find that self-regulation entails the operation of a number of psychological mechanisms, and that there is no single solution that will help all people in all situations. We recommend a number of strategies that can help people to more effectively set and attain health-related goals. We conclude that enhancing health behavior requires a nuanced understanding and sensitivity to the varied, dynamic psychological processes involved in self-regulation, and that health is a prototypical and central domain in which to examine the relevance of these theoretical models for real behavior. We discuss the implications of this research for theory and practice in health-related domains. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  12. Cognitive poetics and biocultural (configurations of life, cognition and language. Towards a theory of socially integrated science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juani Guerra

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Based on the biocultural dynamics of Greek poiesis and autopoiesis as evolutionary processes of meaning evaluative (configuration, Cognitive Poetics proposes key methodological adjustments, mainly at the philological, ontological and cultural levels. The aim is to improve our understanding of cognitive and conceptual activity and the social foundations of individual language. From its new status as a fundamental metacognitive theory, it searches for a theory of socially integrated sciences from a new alliance as that discerned in current Cognitive Sciences: from Linguistics or Psychology, through Anthropology, Neurophilosophy or Literary Studies, to Neurobiology or Artificial Life Sciences. From a realist turn to a view of cognition as (social action, it provides new unforeseen accounts of the complex dynamics of human understanding processes studying and analyzing all form of texts as active data

  13. Psychological distress and academic self-perception among international medical students: the role of peer social support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamada, Yukari; Klugar, Miloslav; Ivanova, Katerina; Oborna, Ivana

    2014-11-28

    Psychological distress among medical students is commonly observed during medical education and is generally related to poor academic self-perception. We evaluated the role of peer social support at medical schools in the association between psychological distress and academic self-perception. An online survey was conducted in a medical degree program for 138 international students educated in English in the Czech Republic. The Medical Student Well-Being Index was used to define the students' psychological distress. Perceived peer social support was investigated with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Poor academic self-perception was defined as the lowest 30% of a subscale score of the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure. Analyses evaluated the presence of additive interactions between psychological distress and peer social support on poor academic self-perception, adjusted for possible confounders. Both psychological distress and low peer social support were negatively associated with poor academic self-perception, adjusted for local language proficiency and social support from family. Students with psychological distress and low peer social support had an odds ratio of 11.0 (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.1-56.6) for poor academic self-perception as compared with those without distress who had high peer social support. The presence of an additive interaction was confirmed in that the joint association was four times as large as what would have been expected to be on summing the individual risks of psychological distress and low peer social support (synergy index = 4.5, 95% CI: 1.3-14.9). Psychological distress and low peer social support may synergistically increase the probability of poor academic self-perception among international medical students. Promoting peer social relationships at medical school may interrupt the vicious cycle of psychological distress and poor academic performance.

  14. Theories in Social Policy and Development Studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Johannes Dragsbæk

    Theories in Social Policy and Development Studies Presentation for the PhD Seminar - Theories, Concepts and Methods in Development Studies and Sociology......Theories in Social Policy and Development Studies Presentation for the PhD Seminar - Theories, Concepts and Methods in Development Studies and Sociology...

  15. A Cultural Psychology of Agency: Morality, Motivation, and Reciprocity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Joan G; Goyal, Namrata; Wice, Matthew

    2017-09-01

    We highlight the need to culturally broaden psychological theories of social development in providing an overview of our programs of cross-cultural research on interpersonal morality, motivation, and reciprocity. Our research demonstrates that whereas Americans tend to treat interpersonal morality as a matter of personal choice, Indians tend to treat it as a role-related duty. Furthermore, Americans associate greater satisfaction with acting autonomously than with acting to fulfill social expectations, whereas Indians associate high levels of satisfaction with both types of cases. We also demonstrate that cultural variation exists in reliance on communal norms versus reciprocal exchange norms in everyday social support interactions among American, Indian, and Japanese populations, with these norms providing a background for contrasting experiences of agency. In conclusion, we highlight the contributions of cultural research to basic psychological theory. Although cultural research provides greater awareness of diversity in psychological functioning, its fundamental value is to contribute new insights into the theoretical formulations and methodological stances adopted in the discipline more generally.

  16. What are lay theories of social class?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varnum, Michael E W

    2013-01-01

    Numerous studies have documented the effects of social class on psychological and behavioral variables. However, lay beliefs about how social class affects these dimensions have not been systematically tested. Studies 1 and 2 assessed lay beliefs about the association between social class and 8 variables (including psychological and behavioral tendencies and cognitive ability). Study 3 assessed lay beliefs about the Big five personality traits and social class, and study 4 reframed the 8 variables from study 1 in opposite terms and yielded similar results. Study 5 contained the variables framed as in both studies 1 and 4, and replicated those results suggesting that framing effects were not responsible for the effects observed. Interestingly, for the most part lay beliefs about social class did not differ as a function of participants' own social class. In general people held relatively accurate and consistent stereotypes about the relationship between social class and well-being, health, intelligence, and neuroticism. In contrast lay beliefs regarding social class and reasoning styles, as well as relational, social, and emotional tendencies were less consistent and coherent. This work suggests that on the whole people's beliefs about social class are not particularly accurate, and further that in some domains there are contradictory stereotypes about the consequences of social class.

  17. Edutainment's Impact on Health Promotion: Viewing The Biggest Loser Through the Social Cognitive Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mocarski, Richard; Bissell, Kimberly

    2016-01-01

    Through a critical rhetorical analysis using Bandura's social cognitive theory as a lens to view The Biggest Loser (TBL), this article illustrates the contradictions between the show's health promotional aims and its entertainment aims, which show the problems the show creates for health promotion practitioners working on obesity. The social cognitive theory constructs of observational learning, psychological determinants, and environmental determinants emerged from this reading of TBL as central to how the show masquerades as a health promotion tool. This reading reveals that TBL promotes a neoliberal construction of health and obesity that challenges the worldview that many health promotion campaigns take and, therefore, complicates our own efforts to combat obesity. With this revealed, it is suggested that TBL be incorporated into health promotion campaigns only as a foil. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  18. Positive Psychology Theory, Research, and Practice: A Primer for Rehabilitation Counseling Professionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chou, Chih-Chin; Chan, Fong; Chan, Jacob Yui Chung; Phillips, Brian; Ditchman, Nicole; Kaseroff, Ashley

    2013-01-01

    Positive psychology is a scientific study that explores what makes life most worth living and applies psychological theory to understand the human strengths that are important for enhancing overall well-being and happiness. The rehabilitation counseling philosophy shares a similar emphasis on personal strengths and the importance of enhancing what…

  19. Psychological well-being among individuals aging with HIV: the value of social relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavandadi, Shahrzad; Zanjani, Faika; Ten Have, Thomas R; Oslin, David W

    2009-05-01

    Utilizing a heterogenous sample of adults diagnosed with HIV infection, the current study sought to explore associations among age, various dimensions of social support, and psychological and functional well-being. Cross-sectional data capturing subjective and instrumental support, social interaction, behavioral health service utilization, and psychological well-being (ie, positive affect and depressive symptomatology), and physical functioning, were collected from 109 men and women living with HIV. To explore age group differences, participants were stratified by age (social interaction. However, older adults reported higher subjective support, which in turn was associated with lower depressive symptomatology, greater positive affect, and nonutilization of behavioral health services. More attention should be paid to the social environment of individuals diagnosed with HIV as the quality of social relationships may be particularly important for successful psychological adaptation to HIV.

  20. Feeling psychologically restrained: the effect of social exclusion on tonic immobility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nora Mooren

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: A variety of studies have demonstrated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD symptoms in victims of bullying. Because bullying with only relational aggression, such as social exclusion, does not involve physical aggression that could explain PTSD symptoms, it remains unclear why these relational aggression situations are also linked to PTSD symptoms. Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the fear-response tonic immobility (Ti can occur during social exclusion. Since Ti, as an indicator of peritraumatic dissociation, is an important predictor of PTSD symptoms, we expected that the presence of Ti during social exclusion might contribute to possible explanations of PTSD symptoms in victims of relational aggression. Method: Social exclusion was manipulated by a virtual Cyberball game in which participants were excluded and included by virtual confederates. During the game, Ti was measured, both physiologically (heart rate and psychologically (subjective symptoms. Also, the underlying concepts of Ti, high levels of fear and psychological restraint (threatened sense of control, were measured. Results: Excluded participants experienced higher levels of subjective and physiological Ti symptoms (lower heart rates in comparison to social inclusion. Also, as expected, social exclusion resulted in higher levels of fear and psychological restraint in comparison to social inclusion. Conclusion: Social exclusion can evoke symptoms of Ti, fear, and psychological restraint, which might be important mechanisms to consider in explaining PTSD symptoms after relational forms of bullying in the absence of physical aggression. Limitations: The sample only contains healthy, female participants. Whether our results translate to bullying victims of relational aggression is therefore not known. Also, the physiological measurement of Ti (average heart rate was rather limited and could be expanded in future studies.

  1. Ideology: Its Resurgence in Social, Personality, and Political Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jost, John T; Nosek, Brian A; Gosling, Samuel D

    2008-03-01

    We trace the rise, fall, and resurgence of political ideology as a topic of research in social, personality, and political psychology. For over 200 years, political belief systems have been classified usefully according to a single left-right (or liberal-conservative) dimension that, we believe, possesses two core aspects: (a) advocating versus resisting social change and (b) rejecting versus accepting inequality. There have been many skeptics of the notion that most people are ideologically inclined, but recent psychological evidence suggests that left-right differences are pronounced in many life domains. Implicit as well as explicit preferences for tradition, conformity, order, stability, traditional values, and hierarchy-versus those for progress, rebelliousness, chaos, flexibility, feminism, and equality-are associated with conservatism and liberalism, respectively. Conservatives score consistently higher than liberals on measures of system justification. Furthermore, there are personality and lifestyle differences between liberals and conservatives as well as situational variables that induce either liberal or conservative shifts in political opinions. Our thesis is that ideological belief systems may be structured according to a left-right dimension for largely psychological reasons linked to variability in the needs to reduce uncertainty and threat. © 2008 Association for Psychological Science.

  2. Psychological and social correlates of doping attitudes among Italian athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zucchetti, Giulia; Candela, Filippo; Villosio, Carlo

    2015-02-01

    This study aims to identify the main psychological and social correlates of doping attitudes among Italian athletes. It is well recognized that athlete disposition and attitude towards doping is one of the factors responsible for doping behavior. Less is known, however, about the factors that sustain the level of athletes' attitudes towards doping. The main psychological (i.e., perfectionism, sport motivation, self-confidence and life satisfaction) and social correlates (i.e., social network and contact with people who use sports drugs) of attitudes towards doping among Italian athletes are examined in this paper. Differences are hypothesized regarding the type of sport (resistance sport vs. non-resistance sport) and athlete participation in competitive sport (i.e., agonistics) or in non-competitive sport (i.e., amateurs) on the level of attitude towards doping. The research hypothesis is that each of these constructs affects the level of athletes' attitudes toward doping. Data were collected from a sample of athletes (N=109), aged from 15 to 45 (M=31.5; SD=13.78) recruited in a Sports Medicine Center. Socio-demographic information, attitude towards doping, psychological and social variables were assessed through self-report questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that both psychological (i.e., extrinsic motivation, perfectionism) and social variables (i.e., athletes' contact with doping users) were associated with athletes' attitudes towards doping. The results highlighted that athletes with excessive perfectionism, extrinsically motivated and who have contact with doping users have a positive attitude toward doping. Athletes who exhibit these characteristics should be considered at risk and monitored to prevent possible future sports drug use. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. A Social Psychological Exploration of Power Motivation Among Disadvantaged Workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levitin, Teresa Ellen

    An extensive review of the literature on the social psychology of social power led to the conclusion that the area contains many unrelated, noncumulative theoretical and empirical works. Three conceptual distinctions were introduced to facilitate the systematic study of social power. Effectance motivation was used to describe the joint, often…

  4. Is there a place for psychology in the framework of rational choice theory?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mladenović Ivan

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to discuss psychological aspect of rational choice theory. The standard version of rational choice rests on a kind of psychology, since it operates with mental states. In standard davidsonian version it is claimed that we explain rational actions by stating proper desires and beliefs that caused the action. We will explore two challenges to the standard version that might be called cultural and naturalistic versions of rational choice. Satz and Ferejohn (1994 challenged standard version by stating that we can provide rational-choice explanations without relying too much on psychological assumptions. They argued in favor of moderate externalism, which should replace thin desire-belief model with thick structuralist conception. According to their model moderate externalism is compatible with realism about psychological states, while at the same time those states need not figure in the best rational choice explanations of actions. The focus of rational choice explanations therefore shifts to non-individual and non-psychological entities, such as firms in explaining economic behavior, parties in explaining functioning of democracy, etc. Although there is a place for psychological states within a moderate externalism, those states are not causally relevant. On Pettit’s account desires and beliefs figure in rational choice explanations merely as “standby causes”. They explain resilience of certain behavior, not its actual cause. Quite contrary to standard rational choice theory, the programming model (Pettit, 2002 defines the neurophysiological level as more basic in explaining behavior. This means that higher-level psychological states are causally relevant for certain behavior only if certain lower-level neurophysiological producer obtains. In this paper standard rational choice theory will be defended against culturalist and naturalist criticism.

  5. Applying psychological theories to evidence-based clinical practice: Identifying factors predictive of managing upper respiratory tract infections without antibiotics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glidewell Elizabeth

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Psychological models can be used to understand and predict behaviour in a wide range of settings. However, they have not been consistently applied to health professional behaviours, and the contribution of differing theories is not clear. The aim of this study was to explore the usefulness of a range of psychological theories to predict health professional behaviour relating to management of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs without antibiotics. Methods Psychological measures were collected by postal questionnaire survey from a random sample of general practitioners (GPs in Scotland. The outcome measures were clinical behaviour (using antibiotic prescription rates as a proxy indicator, behavioural simulation (scenario-based decisions to managing URTI with or without antibiotics and behavioural intention (general intention to managing URTI without antibiotics. Explanatory variables were the constructs within the following theories: Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT, Common Sense Self-Regulation Model (CS-SRM, Operant Learning Theory (OLT, Implementation Intention (II, Stage Model (SM, and knowledge (a non-theoretical construct. For each outcome measure, multiple regression analysis was used to examine the predictive value of each theoretical model individually. Following this 'theory level' analysis, a 'cross theory' analysis was conducted to investigate the combined predictive value of all significant individual constructs across theories. Results All theories were tested, but only significant results are presented. When predicting behaviour, at the theory level, OLT explained 6% of the variance and, in a cross theory analysis, OLT 'evidence of habitual behaviour' also explained 6%. When predicting behavioural simulation, at the theory level, the proportion of variance explained was: TPB, 31%; SCT, 26%; II, 6%; OLT, 24%. GPs who reported having already decided to change their management to

  6. Medium Theory and Social Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tække, Jesper

      the  possibility  for  observation both of a social micro and a social macro level from a medium perspective. In the next  section  the paper  frames  the macro  level by  a  tentative  synthesis of  the medium  theory  and  the  sociological systems theory briefly describing a socio......-evolutionary process where new media alter  the societal capacity to handle complexity  in  time and space.  In  this section it becomes probable  that  by  means  of  different  media,  social  systems  give  different  possibilities  for  actual  social  performance.  In a way,  social  systems  themselves can be......  seen as medium  for  formation. Finally  the  paper  takes  the micro  level  perspective  by  applying  the  theory  to  newsgroups,  interpreting  them as self-organizing interactive systems giving a differentiated and diversified scope for social  inclusion.  ...

  7. Three Theories of Psychological Development; Implications for Children's Dentistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    George, James M.; McIver, F. Thomas

    1983-01-01

    A slide-tape series developed for introduction of developmental and learning theories in freshman dental curriculum is described. Theories of social-emotional development, cognitive development, and theories of conditioning and observational learning are included. (MSE)

  8. Understanding sport continuation: an integration of the theories of planned behaviour and basic psychological needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gucciardi, Daniel F; Jackson, Ben

    2015-01-01

    Fostering individuals' long-term participation in activities that promote positive development such as organised sport is an important agenda for research and practice. We integrated the theories of planned behaviour (TPB) and basic psychological needs (BPN) to identify factors associated with young adults' continuation in organised sport over a 12-month period. Prospective study, including an online psycho-social assessment at Time 1 and an assessment of continuation in sport approximately 12 months later. Participants (N=292) aged between 17 and 21 years (M=18.03; SD=1.29) completed an online survey assessing the theories of planned behaviour and basic psychological needs constructs. Bayesian structural equation modelling (BSEM) was employed to test the hypothesised theoretical sequence, using informative priors for structural relations based on empirical and theoretical expectations. The analyses revealed support for the robustness of the hypothesised theoretical model in terms of the pattern of relations as well as the direction and strength of associations among the constructs derived from quantitative summaries of existing research and theoretical expectations. The satisfaction of basic psychological needs was associated with more positive attitudes, higher levels of perceived behavioural control, and more favourable subjective norms; positive attitudes and perceived behavioural control were associated with higher behavioural intentions; and both intentions and perceived behavioural control predicted sport continuation. This study demonstrated the utility of Bayesian structural equation modelling for testing the robustness of an integrated theoretical model, which is informed by empirical evidence from meta-analyses and theoretical expectations, for understanding sport continuation. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Towards an expansive hybrid psychology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brinkmann, Svend

    2011-01-01

    sources of mediators that are the brain, the body, social practices and technological artefacts. It is argued that the mind is normative in the sense that mental processes do not simply happen, but can be done more or less well, and thus are subject to normative appraisal. The expanded hybrid psychology......This article develops an integrative theory of the mind by examining how the mind, understood as a set of skills and dispositions, depends upon four sources of mediators. Harré’s hybrid psychology is taken as a meta-theoretical starting point, but is expanded significantly by including the four...... is meant to assist in integrating theoretical perspectives and research interests that are often thought of as incompatible, among them neuroscience, phenomenology of the body, social practice theory and technology studies. A main point of the article is that these perspectives each are necessary...

  10. Changes in Theory-Based Psychological Factors Predict Weight Loss in Women with Class III Obesity Initiating Supported Exercise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James J. Annesi

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Psychological factors' effect on weight loss is poorly understood, in general, and specifically in the severely obese. Objective. To examine whether a behavioral model based on tenets of social cognitive and self-efficacy theory will increase understanding of the relationship between exercise and weight loss. Methods. Fifty-one women with severe obesity participated in a 24-week exercise and nutrition information treatment and were measured on changes in psychological factors and exercise attendance. Results. A significant portion of the variance in BMI change (adjusted for number of predictors was accounted for by the behavioral model (2adj=0.23. Entry of exercise session attendance only marginally improved the prediction to 0.27. Only 19% of the weight lost was directly attributable to caloric expenditure from exercise. Conclusions. Findings suggest that participation in an exercise program affects weight loss through psychological pathways and, thus, may be important in the behavioral treatment of severe obesity.

  11. System as metaphor in the psychology and biology of shame.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maunder, R

    1996-01-01

    Biological theories of brain and psychological theories of mind are two systems of explanation that seem related to one another. The nature of the relationship is problematic and constitutes the age-old mind-body problem. The most prominent solutions currently are variations of materialism. While psychological theories can be consistent with materialism, there remains a difficulty in comprehending nonphysical (social, psychological) causes of physical effects. This difficulty is an obstacle to integration in psychiatry, where we routinely assume that illnesses that include or depend on biological dysfunction are caused multifactorially by causal agents such as perceived parental warmth, parental loss, stressful life events, genetics, and personality (Hammen et al. 1992; Kendler et al. 1993). Unity theory adopts the stance that neurobiological theories and psychological theories are essentially disparate explanations of the same psychobiological events; thus the relationship of mind to brain is one of shared reference (Goodman 1991; Maunder 1995). In Goodman's model the gap between biological and psychological systems is not bridgeable. Different conceptual categories refer to the same referents but cannot interact with each other. Stepping into the breach, systems theory has been presented as offering a language that can bridge the gap between psychological and biological theories of causation (Schwartz 1981; Weiner 1989). Thus, there is a controversy about the applicability of systems theory for integration in psychiatry.

  12. On the fundamental importance of the social psychology of research as a basic paradigm for the philosophy of science: A philosophical case study of the psychology of the Apollo moon scientists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitroff, I. I.

    1972-01-01

    A combined philosophical and social psychological study of over 40 of the Apollo moon Scientists reveals that the Orthodox or Received View of Scientific Theories is found wanting in several respects: (1) observations are not theory-free; (2) scientific observations are not directly observable; and (3) observations are no less problematic than theories. The study also raises some severe criticisms of distinction between the context of discovery and the context of justification. Not only does this distinction fail to describe the actual practice of science but even more important it has the dangerous effect of excluding some of the strongest lines of evidence which could most effectively challenge the distinction. The distinction is harmful of efforts to found interdisciplinary theories and philosophies of science.

  13. Social Cognition, Executive Functions and Self-Report of Psychological Distress in Huntington's Disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Ida Unmack; Vinther-Jensen, Tua; Nielsen, Jørgen Erik

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by motor symptoms, psychiatric symptoms and cognitive impairment in, inter alia, executive functions and social cognition. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between subjective feeling of psychological distress using...... a self-report questionnaire and performances on tests of executive functions and social cognition in a large consecutive cohort of HD patients. METHOD: 50 manifest HD patients were tested in social cognition and executive functions and each answered a self-report questionnaire about current status...... psychological distress was significantly associated with worse performances on social cognitive tests (mean absolute correlation .34) and that there were no significant correlations between perceived psychological distress and performance on tests of executive functions. The correlations between perceived...

  14. The experimental psychology of attitude change and the tradition of classical rhetoric.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Portolano, Marlana; Evans, Rand B

    2005-01-01

    Social psychologists might be surprised to learn that their discipline has been cut off from a vast and ancient family tree. The study of attitude change in the context of experimental social psychology began around 1918. It developed into a defined discipline in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly through the work of Carl Hovland and his associates. Unlike earlier specialties in experimental psychology, social psychology emerged well after the 19th-century split between psychology and philosophy in college curricula. Before this period of growth in empirical teaching and practice, the study of persuasion in classical rhetoric was a bedrock of higher education for more than 2000 years. Because of social psychology's late development in empirical science, there is a historical disconnect between experimental social psychology and its ancient philosophical counterpart, classical rhetoric. This article demonstrates similarities and differences between Hovland's findings and the theoretical groundings of classical rhetoric. We suggest areas where modern social psychology might benefit from a look at the older, more holistic theories of the art of rhetoric.

  15. School Violence, Social Support and Psychological Health among Taiwanese Junior High School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ji-Kang; Wei, Hsi-Sheng

    2013-01-01

    Objectives: This paper examines how peer social support mediates the association between school victimization and student psychological health among junior-high students in an Asian context (Taiwan), and further examines how gender and ethnicity differ in the interrelationships of school violence, peer social support and psychological health.…

  16. Does Social Interaction Matter Psychological Well-Being in Persons With Dementia?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kyung Hee; Boltz, Marie; Lee, Hana; Algase, Donna L

    2017-06-01

    Social interaction between residents and staff is an important factor influencing sense of well-being. This study examined the relationship between staff-resident interactions and psychological well-being of persons with dementia. A total of 831 observations of 110 persons with dementia in 17 nursing homes and 6 assisted living facilities were included. Psychological well-being was measured by observed displays of positive and negative emotional expressions. Social interaction was determined by the type of social interaction (ie, verbal interaction, nonverbal interaction, and both verbal and nonverbal interactions) and the quality of interaction (ie, positive, negative, and neutral). Verbal or both verbal and nonverbal interactions showed significant relationship with positive and negative emotional expressions. Positive interaction was significantly associated with more positive emotional expression, whereas negative interaction was not. Staff-resident interactions are important to promote the psychological well-being of persons with dementia in residential care.

  17. Identity disorder and social-psychological adaptation in patients with hepatobiliary disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Khramtsova

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Negative bodily experience due to health complications and disability is perceived as a difficult life situation. The success of adaptation, commitment to treatment and cooperation with a doctor depend on the personality characteristics that define behavioral representations. Aim. Investigate the structure of identity and mechanisms of social-psychological adaptation of patients with the hepatobiliary system disease. Contingent and methods. 75 patients with a diffuse liver disease - chronic hepatitis, mostly of viral etiology (36 people and liver cirrhosis (39 patients have been examined. We have applied clinical, clinical-psychological, mathematical and empirical methods, semi-structured cross-interviews ("patient-doctor", "patient-psychologist", diagnostics of personal characteristics, identity structure, social-psychological components of adaptation. Three leading personality profiles have been highlighted. Results. Persons with a disharmonious personality development are characterized by disorders in the area of identity formation and development. Fragmentation, the impossibility of personal integration and severe penetrability from the environment contribute to social-psychological maladjustment. The coping is aimed at preserving the problem situation and intensifying the intrapersonal conflict. For persons with difficulties in the adaptation of the personality, a violation of activity interaction with the surrounding world is characteristic, a ban on one's self-identity. Social adaptation is often disrupted due to instability in the emotional-volitional sphere and choosing low-adaptive coping strategies. Genuine "I" and identity formation is impeded for the individuals suppressing aggressive impulses. Adaptability tends to be discrete. With mental stress increasing, the likelihood of choosing low-adaptive coping strategies increases. Conclusions. When drafting psycho-correction programs and medical treatment of people with a hepatobiliary

  18. More stereotypes, please! The limits of 'theory of mind' and the need for further studies on the complexity of real world social interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrews, Kristin

    2017-01-01

    I suggest that the Stereotype Rationality Hypothesis (Jussim 2012) is only partially right. I agree it is rational to rely on stereotypes, but in the complexity of real world social interactions, most of our individuating information invokes additional stereotypes. Despite assumptions to the contrary, there is reason to think theory of mind is not accurate, and social psychology's denial of stereotype accuracy led us toward mindreading/theory of mind - a less accurate account of how we understand other people.

  19. Growing Fixed With Age: Lay Theories of Malleability Are Target Age-Specific.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neel, Rebecca; Lassetter, Bethany

    2015-11-01

    Beliefs about whether people can change ("lay theories" of malleability) are known to have wide-ranging effects on social motivation, cognition, and judgment. Yet rather than holding an overarching belief that people can or cannot change, perceivers may hold independent beliefs about whether different people are malleable-that is, lay theories may be target-specific. Seven studies demonstrate that lay theories are target-specific with respect to age: Perceivers hold distinct, uncorrelated lay theories of people at different ages, and younger targets are considered to be more malleable than older targets. Both forms of target-specificity are consequential, as target age-specific lay theories predict policy support for learning-based senior services and the rehabilitation of old and young drug users. The implications of target age-specific lay theories for a number of psychological processes, the social psychology of aging, and theoretical frameworks of malleability beliefs are discussed. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  20. Intercorporeality as a theory of social cognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Shogo

    2015-08-01

    The main aim of this article is to revisit Merleau-Ponty's notion of intercorporeality (intercorporéité) and elaborate it as a new theory of social cognition. As is well known, theory of mind has been the central issue in the field of social cognition for more than two decades. In reviewing the basic concepts involved in two major theories (theory theory and simulation theory), I make clear that both theories have been missing the embodied dimension because of their mind-body dualistic supposition. The notion of intercorporeality, in accordance with the recent interaction theory, stresses the role of embodied interactions between the self and the other in the process of social understanding. I develop this notion into two directions and describe the related process of social cognition: one is behavior matching and primordial empathy, the other is interactional synchrony and the sense of mutual understanding. Through these embodied interactions, intersubjective meanings are created and directly shared between the self and the other, without being mediated by mental representations.

  1. Natural Resource Management at Four Social Scales: Psychological Type Matters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allison, Helen; Hobbs, Richard

    2010-03-01

    Understanding organisation at different social scales is crucial to learning how social processes play a role in sustainable natural resource management. Research has neglected the potential role that individual personality plays in decision making in natural resource management. In the past two decades natural resource management across rural Australia has increasingly come under the direct influence of voluntary participatory groups, such as Catchment Management Authorities. The greater complexity of relationships among all stakeholders is a serious management challenge when attempting to align their differing aspirations and values at four social institutional scales—local, regional, state and national. This is an exploratory study on the psychological composition of groups of stakeholders at the four social scales in natural resource management in Australia. This article uses the theory of temperaments and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®) to investigate the distribution of personality types. The distribution of personality types in decision-making roles in natural resource management was markedly different from the Australian Archive sample. Trends in personality were found across social scales with Stabilizer temperament more common at the local scale and Theorist temperament more common at the national scale. Greater similarity was found at the state and national scales. Two temperaments comprised between 76 and 90% of participants at the local and regional scales, the common temperament type was Stabilizer. The dissimilarity was Improviser (40%) at the local scale and Theorist (29%) at the regional scale. Implications for increasing participation and bridging the gap between community and government are discussed.

  2. Attachment and the processing of social information across the life span: theory and evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dykas, Matthew J; Cassidy, Jude

    2011-01-01

    Researchers have used J. Bowlby's (1969/1982, 1973, 1980, 1988) attachment theory frequently as a basis for examining whether experiences in close personal relationships relate to the processing of social information across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. We present an integrative life-span-encompassing theoretical model to explain the patterns of results that have emerged from these studies. The central proposition is that individuals who possess secure experience-based internal working models of attachment will process--in a relatively open manner--a broad range of positive and negative attachment-relevant social information. Moreover, secure individuals will draw on their positive attachment-related knowledge to process this information in a positively biased schematic way. In contrast, individuals who possess insecure internal working models of attachment will process attachment-relevant social information in one of two ways, depending on whether the information could cause the individual psychological pain. If processing the information is likely to lead to psychological pain, insecure individuals will defensively exclude this information from further processing. If, however, the information is unlikely to lead to psychological pain, then insecure individuals will process this information in a negatively biased schematic fashion that is congruent with their negative attachment-related experiences. In a comprehensive literature review, we describe studies that illustrate these patterns of attachment-related information processing from childhood to adulthood. This review focuses on studies that have examined specific components (e.g., attention and memory) and broader aspects (e.g., attributions) of social information processing. We also provide general conclusions and suggestions for future research.

  3. The (ab)normal-social-personality catena: Exploring The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology during the interwar years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, Ian J

    2018-05-01

    This article is a cocitation network analysis of The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology ( JASP ) from 1925 to 1942. The analysis was conducted to help shed light on the historical roots of the intellectual and institutional relationships among social, personality, and abnormal psychology. JASP was a main venue for the boundary work of early- to mid-twentieth-century American psychologists. One of the main goals of these various research communities was to appropriate psychoanalytic and sociological concepts into preferred methods and approaches that favored an individualistic, quantifiable, and ultimately normal subject. Five major research communities are identified using the citations, and historically contextualized: Community #1, Measuring Social Aspects; Community #2, Psychometrics; Community #3, Operationalizing Psychoanalysis; Community #4, Introversion Studies; and Community #5, Experimental Social Psychology. This analysis demonstrates how disciplinary psychologists, at least within JASP , were united by the work of delimiting their research from closely aligned fields studying the same concepts-even while psychologists' methodological commitments to experimentalism or psychological testing might have ostensibly divided them. Possible future research incorporating post-World War II research and dynamic networking approaches is recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. Social, Psychological and Health Concerns of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Mysore District, Karnataka.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sebastian, Shibu Thomas; Siddanna, Sunitha

    2016-03-01

    One of the significant health and social problem the world facing today is Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AiDS). The patients affected with HIV and their family may face various psychosocial problems during diagnosis and treatment due to the stigma associated with this disease. The objective of the study was to identify social, psychological and health concerns of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and its association with the demographic factors in Mysore District, Karnataka, India. A questionnaire based study was conducted among 194 participants in Mysore District, Karnataka state who were receiving care and support services. A 22-item questionnaire provided information regarding social, psychological and health concerns of PLWHA in Mysore district. A general linear regression model was used for assessing the predictors of social, psychological and health concerns. The main social concern was that of "Fear of Losing a loved one" whereas the main psychological concern was "Too much worry", "No cure for AIDS" was the highly rated health concern. Males had more social, psychological and health concerns when compared to females but was not statistically significant. Employed people were having fewer psychological concerns when compared to unemployed people. Unemployed people were having fewer health concerns than employed people. For every unit increase in age there were fewer social and health concerns and both these findings were statistically significant. PLWHA in the present study reported that they were concerned about social, psychological and health issues in spite of the fact they were attending counseling. Health care workers, including those in public health sector should be educated about the importance of these factors that influence the health of the population they are caring for.

  5. GENDER RELATIONS AND KNOWLEDGE IN PSYCHOLOGY: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE CRITICAL THEORY

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    Luciana Dadico

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents some recent discussions raised by the feminist critical theory, which contribute to put in question the scientific objectivity of Psychology. It is alleged, first, a false neutrality of genre, built on the idea of a generic human being. This discussion leads to a necessary revision of supposedly universal concepts. One of these concepts is that of justice that pervades studies on moral in Psychology of Development. At the same time, it discusses the prevalence of a certain gender in universities, by establishing and legitimizing specific experiences in the construction of knowledge in the area. It explores works of feminist authors identified with the Critical Theory, focusing on the question of identity, as well as the political implications of language concepts involved in their positions. Finally, dialoguing with authors of the first generation of the Frankfurt School, it is proposed to consider the dialectic between concept and experience for building new knowledge and strategies for gender equality. It is expected to show that the feminist critique reached important pillars of psychology, which, like science, cannot remain inert in front of the new challenges. The various fields of psychology need to mobilize for construction of emancipatory strategies in order to ensure the very validity of the knowledge produced in the area.

  6. Social networking sites: an adjunctive treatment modality for psychological problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menon, Indu S; Sharma, Manoj Kumar; Chandra, Prabha S; Thennarasu, K

    2014-07-01

    Social networking is seen as a way to enhance social support and feeling of well-being. The present work explores the potentials of social networking sites as an adjunctive treatment modality for initiating treatment contact as well as for managing psychological problems. Interview schedule, Facebook intensity questionnaire were administered on 28 subjects with a combination of 18 males and 10 females. They were taken from the in-patient and out-patient psychiatry setting of the hospital. Facebook was the most popular sites and used to seek emotional support on the basis of the frequent updates of emotional content that users put in their profile; reconciliations, escape from the problems or to manage the loneliness; getting information about illness and its treatment and interaction with experts and also manifested as problematic use. It has implications for developing social networking based adjunctive treatment modality for psychological problems.

  7. Relationship between Psychological Hardiness and Social Support with Adaptation: A Study on Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

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    N hasan neghad

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Psychological hardiness is a personal factor and social support is regarded as an environmental factor that can facilitate adjustment to disease. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between adaptation with psychological hardiness and social support in individuals with Multiple sclerosis (MS. Methods: Seventy two females with MS and 25 males with MSwere selected through randomized sampling from two MS centers. Main variables of the study including adaptation, psychological hardiness, and social supportwere assessed respectively by Adaptation Inventory, Personal Attitudes Survey, and Social Support Questionnaire. Results: Spearman correlation coefficients revealed that there are significant relationships between adaptation and psychological hardiness (p<0.0001, as well as between adaptation and social support (p<0.0001. In addition, Multiple linear Regression showed that psychological hardiness (β= -0.483 and social support (β= -0.240 can explain 35/1% of adaptation variance in individuals with MS. Psychological hardinessproved to have a more important role in adaptation of individuals with MS. Conclusion: The study data demonstrated that personal factors like psychological hardiness and environmental factors such as social support can predict adjustment in individuals with MS. In order to clarify mechanisms of these factors on adaptation in individuals with MS, morelongitudinal and experimental studiesare required. These results are alsoapplicable in designing therapeutic programs for individuals with MS.

  8. [Placebo effect: a contribution of social psychology].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balez, R; Leroyer, C; Couturaud, F

    2014-10-01

    This article reviews the psychosocial variables, which are of interest in the relationship between the patient and the physician. According to a classical model of social psychology, such a relationship might contribute to the placebo/nocebo effects. We develop herein various relational and contextual variables, taking into account four dimensions (intra-individual, interpersonal, positional and ideological) and their potential effects on therapeutic responses. This applies both in the setting of daily clinical practice and of clinical trials. The placebo effect offers an opportunity for collaboration and dialogue between social scientists and physicians.

  9. How social cognition can inform social decision making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Victoria K.; Harris, Lasana T.

    2013-01-01

    Social decision-making is often complex, requiring the decision-maker to make inferences of others' mental states in addition to engaging traditional decision-making processes like valuation and reward processing. A growing body of research in neuroeconomics has examined decision-making involving social and non-social stimuli to explore activity in brain regions such as the striatum and prefrontal cortex, largely ignoring the power of the social context. Perhaps more complex processes may influence decision-making in social vs. non-social contexts. Years of social psychology and social neuroscience research have documented a multitude of processes (e.g., mental state inferences, impression formation, spontaneous trait inferences) that occur upon viewing another person. These processes rely on a network of brain regions including medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), superior temporal sulcus (STS), temporal parietal junction, and precuneus among others. Undoubtedly, these social cognition processes affect social decision-making since mental state inferences occur spontaneously and automatically. Few studies have looked at how these social inference processes affect decision-making in a social context despite the capability of these inferences to serve as predictions that can guide future decision-making. Here we review and integrate the person perception and decision-making literatures to understand how social cognition can inform the study of social decision-making in a way that is consistent with both literatures. We identify gaps in both literatures—while behavioral economics largely ignores social processes that spontaneously occur upon viewing another person, social psychology has largely failed to talk about the implications of social cognition processes in an economic decision-making context—and examine the benefits of integrating social psychological theory with behavioral economic theory. PMID:24399928

  10. How social cognition can inform social decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Victoria K; Harris, Lasana T

    2013-12-25

    Social decision-making is often complex, requiring the decision-maker to make inferences of others' mental states in addition to engaging traditional decision-making processes like valuation and reward processing. A growing body of research in neuroeconomics has examined decision-making involving social and non-social stimuli to explore activity in brain regions such as the striatum and prefrontal cortex, largely ignoring the power of the social context. Perhaps more complex processes may influence decision-making in social vs. non-social contexts. Years of social psychology and social neuroscience research have documented a multitude of processes (e.g., mental state inferences, impression formation, spontaneous trait inferences) that occur upon viewing another person. These processes rely on a network of brain regions including medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), superior temporal sulcus (STS), temporal parietal junction, and precuneus among others. Undoubtedly, these social cognition processes affect social decision-making since mental state inferences occur spontaneously and automatically. Few studies have looked at how these social inference processes affect decision-making in a social context despite the capability of these inferences to serve as predictions that can guide future decision-making. Here we review and integrate the person perception and decision-making literatures to understand how social cognition can inform the study of social decision-making in a way that is consistent with both literatures. We identify gaps in both literatures-while behavioral economics largely ignores social processes that spontaneously occur upon viewing another person, social psychology has largely failed to talk about the implications of social cognition processes in an economic decision-making context-and examine the benefits of integrating social psychological theory with behavioral economic theory.

  11. Psychological factors of social anxiety in Russian adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana S. Pavlova

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background. Social anxiety is one of the most common and disturbing conditions of childhood and adolescence. It is defined as an excessive fear of embarrassment or humiliation in social performance situations. Recent studies have identified a number of psychological factors that could explain the maintenance of the condition. Objective. The objective of this study was to investigate psychological factors of social anxiety in adolescents with a multifactor psychosocial model. Design: The study population comprised 183 Russian-speaking adolescents from Moscow secondary schools, ranging in age from 12 to 16 years. Self-report measures were used to access social anxiety, symptoms of depression, gender role identification, perfectionism, hostility, family emotional communications, and social support. Results. The results indicate that social anxiety was positively correlated with symptoms of depression and suicidal thoughts. No quantitative differences in social anxiety between girls and boys were found, while masculinity and undifferentiated gender identification had a strong association with social anxiety. A positive correlation was found between “concern over mistakes” (fear of making a mistake and being negatively compared with peers and “overdoing” (spending too much time doing homework and too little or none communicating with peers, using the Child Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ subscales and Social Anxiety and Distress Scale (SADS total score. Positive correlations were found between social anxiety and suppression of emotions and outward well-being subscales, as well in as the Family Emotional Communication (FEC total score. It is not common to discuss emotions and feelings; it is difficult to share negative experiences; and it is important for the families of socially anxious adolescents to put up a good front. Analysis revealed significant negative correlations between the SADS total score (as well its subscales and the Social

  12. Psychological Distress Following Suicidality Among Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youths: Role of Social Relationships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosario, Margaret; Schrimshaw, Eric W.; Hunter, Joyce

    2011-01-01

    Longitudinal relations between past suicidality and subsequent changes in psychological distress at follow-up were examined among gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) youths, as were psychosocial factors (e.g., self-esteem, social support, negative social relationships) that might mediate or moderate this relation. Past suicide attempters were found to have higher levels of depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, and conduct problems at a later time than youths who neither attempted nor ideated. Psychosocial factors failed to mediate this relation. The interaction among past suicidality, social support, and negative relationships was associated with subsequent changes in all three psychological distress indicators six months later. Specifically, high levels of support (either from family or friends) or negative relationships were found to predict increased psychological distress among those with a history of suicide attempts, but not among youths without a history of suicidality. The findings suggest that GLB youths who attempt suicide continue to have elevated levels of psychological distress long after their attempt and they highlight the importance of social relationships in the youths’ psychological distress at follow-up. PMID:22162620

  13. (De)colonizing culture in community psychology: reflections from critical social science.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes Cruz, Mariolga; Sonn, Christopher C

    2011-03-01

    Since its inception, community psychology has been interested in cultural matters relating to issues of diversity and marginalization. However, the field has tended to understand culture as static social markers or as the background for understanding group differences. In this article the authors contend that culture is inseparable from who we are and what we do as social beings. Moreover, culture is continually shaped by socio-historical and political processes intertwined within the globalized history of power. The authors propose a decolonizing standpoint grounded in critical social science to disrupt understandings of cultural matters that marginalize others. This standpoint would move the field toward deeper critical thinking, reflexivity and emancipatory action. The authors present their work to illustrate how they integrate a decolonizing standpoint to community psychology research and teaching. They conclude that community psychology must aim towards intercultural work engaging its political nature from a place of ontological/epistemological/methodological parity.

  14. Connecting Psychological Science with Climate Change: A Persuasion and Social Influence Assignment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munro, Geoffrey D.; Behlen, Margaret M.

    2017-01-01

    Students often have little understanding of the role psychological science plays in informing us about the impact of human behavior when addressing climate change. We designed an assignment for a social psychology course based on Frantz and Mayer's use of the decision tree model of helping behavior to identify the psychological barriers that…

  15. The features of the formation of the socio-psychological climate in the institution of social services

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    Balakhtar Valentina Vizitorіvna

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The article reveals the essence of the concepts “socio-psychological climate”, “climate” and “organizational culture”. The author analyses approaches to understanding the socio-psychological climate: the socio-psychological phenomenon, the general emotional and psychological mood, the style of people's relationships with direct contact with each other, the social and psychological compatibility of the members of the group. The features of the formation of the socio-psychological climate in the establishment of the social service, factors affecting the state of the socio-psychological climate in the team are considered.

  16. George Herbert Mead: contribuições para a história da psicologia social George Herbert Mead: contributions to history of the social psychology

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    Renato Ferreira de Souza

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Com este artigo pretende-se contribuir para a compreensão histórica de um autor/personagem da Psicologia. Analisamos e acrescemos conhecimento sobre George Herbert Mead e os desdobramentos de sua teoria psicossocial. Para esse propósito, explicitaremos, no texto, uma das vertentes analíticas utilizadas em nossa dissertação, qual seja: por meio da abordagem social em história da psicologia, confrontamos a vida de Mead com momentos de constituição da psicologia, colocando em relevo aspectos centrais dessa interlocução nem sempre identificados. Correlacionamos a história de Mead com questões sociais, políticas, econômicas e científicas, assim como suas conexões com práticas e valores culturais específicos de sua época. Buscamos compreender sua limitada difusão na ciência psicológica, dando, assim, continuidade ao processo de (revolta do autor.This article intends to contribute to historical understanding of author/character of Psychology. We analyzed and enlarged knowledge about George Herbert Mead and the developing of his psychosocial theory. For this reason, we will explain in the text as analytical side used in our dissertation, in other words: through of the social approach in history of psychology we confront the life of Mead with facts of constitution of the psychology, emphasizing central aspects of this discussion not always identified. We correlate the history of Mead with social, politic, economic and scientific questions as well as his connections with practices and specific cultural values of his time. We look to understand his limited diffusion in the psychological science, giving, so, continuity to the process of returns of the author.

  17. The Social psychology of citizenship: Engagement with citizenship studies and future research

    OpenAIRE

    Stevenson, Clifford; Hopkins, Nick; Luyt, Russell; Dixon, John

    2015-01-01

    In this article we review the argument outlined in the opening article in this special thematic section: that the current social psychology of citizenship can be understood as the development of longstanding conceptualisations of the concept within the discipline. These conceptualisations have contributed to the current social psychological study of the constructive, active and collective (but often exclusive) understandings of citizenship in people’s everyday lives, as evidenced by contribut...

  18. Association of theory of mind with social relations and child's social competence

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    Nuša Skubic

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The article reviews and evaluates the findings from the research in the field of theory of mind; how the theory of mind is connected to social relationships and how a child's social competence reflects his/hers theory of mind. It points to those factors that contribute most to considerable individual differences among children when developing a theory of mind and it stresses out the reciprocity of effects between child's social understanding and social relations with others. Positive factors for developing a theory of mind are first of all child's early quality experiences about mental states which predict a child's performance on the false belief test later on. Social-economic status, parental behavior and talk (for example appropriate use of mental states and appropriate disciplining of a child and presence of sibling of appropriate age (usually older one with whom a child develops a quality relationship are most important family factors for theory of mind development. The role of peers is most important factor outside the family, emphasized by studies. In accordance with these factors a child develops more or less successfully his/hers social understanding which plays an important part in his/hers daily life. Children with well developed theory of mind can use it in a pro-social way, or it can serve proactive or reactive aggression when children use their understanding of others as a way of manipulating and bullying, especially inside their peer group. Poorly developed theory of mind can prove to be a risk factor especially in a bad family situation, while a well developed theory of mind can play a protective role in child's development. The article points out some of the deficiencies of reviewed studies and proposes options for more complex future research of child's theory of mind.

  19. Applying psychological theories to evidence-based clinical practice: identifying factors predictive of placing preventive fissure sealants

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    Maclennan Graeme

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Psychological models are used to understand and predict behaviour in a wide range of settings, but have not been consistently applied to health professional behaviours, and the contribution of differing theories is not clear. This study explored the usefulness of a range of models to predict an evidence-based behaviour -- the placing of fissure sealants. Methods Measures were collected by postal questionnaire from a random sample of general dental practitioners (GDPs in Scotland. Outcomes were behavioural simulation (scenario decision-making, and behavioural intention. Predictor variables were from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT, Common Sense Self-regulation Model (CS-SRM, Operant Learning Theory (OLT, Implementation Intention (II, Stage Model, and knowledge (a non-theoretical construct. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the predictive value of each theoretical model individually. Significant constructs from all theories were then entered into a 'cross theory' stepwise regression analysis to investigate their combined predictive value Results Behavioural simulation - theory level variance explained was: TPB 31%; SCT 29%; II 7%; OLT 30%. Neither CS-SRM nor stage explained significant variance. In the cross theory analysis, habit (OLT, timeline acute (CS-SRM, and outcome expectancy (SCT entered the equation, together explaining 38% of the variance. Behavioural intention - theory level variance explained was: TPB 30%; SCT 24%; OLT 58%, CS-SRM 27%. GDPs in the action stage had significantly higher intention to place fissure sealants. In the cross theory analysis, habit (OLT and attitude (TPB entered the equation, together explaining 68% of the variance in intention. Summary The study provides evidence that psychological models can be useful in understanding and predicting clinical behaviour. Taking a theory-based approach enables the creation of a replicable methodology for

  20. Emotion, rationality, and decision-making: how to link affective and social neuroscience with social theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verweij, Marco; Senior, Timothy J; Domínguez D, Juan F; Turner, Robert

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we argue for a stronger engagement between concepts in affective and social neuroscience on the one hand, and theories from the fields of anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology on the other. Affective and social neuroscience could provide an additional assessment of social theories. We argue that some of the most influential social theories of the last four decades-rational choice theory, behavioral economics, and post-structuralism-contain assumptions that are inconsistent with key findings in affective and social neuroscience. We also show that another approach from the social sciences-plural rationality theory-shows greater compatibility with these findings. We further claim that, in their turn, social theories can strengthen affective and social neuroscience. The former can provide more precise formulations of the social phenomena that neuroscientific models have targeted, can help neuroscientists who build these models become more aware of their social and cultural biases, and can even improve the models themselves. To illustrate, we show how plural rationality theory can be used to further specify and test the somatic marker hypothesis. Thus, we aim to accelerate the much-needed merger of social theories with affective and social neuroscience.

  1. How Social Cognition Can Inform Social Decision Making

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victoria eLee

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Social decision-making is often complex, requiring the decision-maker to make inferences of others’ mental states in addition to engaging traditional decision-making processes like valuation and reward processing. A growing body of research in neuroeconomics has examined decision- making involving social and nonsocial stimuli to explore activity in brain regions such as the striatum and prefrontal cortex, largely ignoring the power of the social context. Perhaps more complex processes may influence decision-making in social versus nonsocial contexts. Years of social psychology and social neuroscience research have documented a multitude of processes (e.g. mental state inferences, impression formation, spontaneous trait inferences that occur upon viewing another person. These processes rely on a network of brain regions including medial prefrontal cortex, superior temporal sulcus, temporal parietal junction, and precuneus among others. Undoubtedly, these social cognition processes affect social decision-making since mental state inferences occur spontaneously and automatically. Few studies have looked at how these social inference processes affect decision-making in a social context despite the capability of these inferences to serve as predictions that can guide future decision-making. Here we review and integrate the person perception and decision-making literatures to understand how social cognition can inform the study of social decision-making in a way that is consistent with both literatures. We identify gaps in both literatures—while behavioral economics largely ignores social processes that spontaneously occur upon viewing another person, social psychology has largely failed to talk about the implications of social cognition processes in an economic decision-making context—and examine the benefits of integrating social psychological theory with behavioral economic theory.

  2. How Developments in Psychology and Technology Challenge Validity Argumentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mislevy, Robert J.

    2016-01-01

    Validity is the sine qua non of properties of educational assessment. While a theory of validity and a practical framework for validation has emerged over the past decades, most of the discussion has addressed familiar forms of assessment and psychological framings. Advances in digital technologies and in cognitive and social psychology have…

  3. HUBUNGAN RELIGIUSITAS, OPTIMISM, SOCIAL SUPPORT, DAN PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING PESERTA DIDIK MAN SE-KOTA MALANG

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    Muhammad Farid Ilhamuddin

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to know the relation between religiousity (X1 and psychological well being (Y, the relation between optimism (X2 and psychological well being (Y, as well as the relation between social support (X3 and psychological well being (Y of students of MAN in the entire Malang city. This study was a non-experimental study with causal relationship study plan. The result of this research showed that there was a positive significant between X1 and Y, X2 and Y, X3 and Y; X1, X2, X3 had strong linear relation with Y; the influence of the three independent     logical well being (Y, optimism (X2 dan psychological well being (Y, social support (X3 and psychological well being (Y student of MAN se-Kota Malang. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan religiusitas (X1 dan psychological well being (Y, optimis (X2 dan psychological well being (Y, social support (X3 dan psychological well being (Y peserta didik MAN se-kota Malang. Pendekatan yang digunakan adalah non experimental research dengan jenis penelitian causal relationship study. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan ada hubungan positif signifikan antara X1 dan Y, X2 dan Y, X3 dan Y; X1, X2, X3 memiliki hubungan linear yang kuat dengan Y; pengaruh ketiga variabel independen psychological well being (Y, optimism (X2 dan psychological well being (Y, social support (X3 dan psychological well being (Y peserta didik MAN se-Kota Malang.

  4. Constructal theory of social dynamics

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    Bejan, Adrian

    2007-01-01

    Combines for the first time theories of general physics and applies them to social sciencesOffers a new way to look at social phenomena as part of natural phenomenaA new domain of application of engineering such as thermodynamic optimization, thermoeconomics and "design as science"Discusses how the "flow architectures" of natural sciences are also found in social situationsBoth classes are covered by the same principle (the constructal law)First work to show that the concept of "efficiency" of engineering has a home in physics and social sciencesThe constructal law theory puts a scientific principle behind the major challenges of today and the future: sustainable development, energy sufficiency, equilibria between human settlements and environmental ecosystems, optimal allocation, optimal distribution of finite resources, etc.

  5. Self psychology as a shift away from the paranoid strain in classical analytic theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terman, David M

    2014-12-01

    Classical psychoanalytic theory has a paranoid strain. There is, in effect, an "evil other"--the id--within each individual that must be tamed in development and confronted and worked through as resistance in treatment. This last has historically endgendered an adversarial relationship between patient and analyst. This paranoid strain came from a paranoid element in Freud's personality that affected his worldview, his relationships, and his theory. Self psychology offers a different view of development and conflict. It stresses the child's need for responsiveness from and admiration of caretakers in order to develop a well-functioning self. Though severe behavioral and character problems may result from faults in the process of self-construction, the essential need is not instinctual discharge but connection. Hence the long-assumed opposition between individual needs and social institutions or between patient and analyst is no longer inevitable or universal. Rather, an understanding of the primary need for connection creates both a different interpretive stance and a more cooperative ambience. These changes in theory and technique are traced to Kohut's personal struggles to emancipate himself from his paranoid mother. © 2014 by the American Psychoanalytic Association.

  6. Psychological well-being and social participation assessment in visually impaired subjects playing Torball: a controlled study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Cagno, A; Iuliano, E; Aquino, G; Fiorilli, G; Battaglia, C; Giombini, A; Calcagno, G

    2013-04-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences in psychological well-being, symptomatic psychological disorders and social participation, between blind Torball players and non-players. Thirty blind male participants were recruited, 17 Torball players (aged 36.27±3.46) and 13 non-players (aged 34.80±2.53), and evaluated for social participation level, psychological well-being and symptomatic psychological disorders, using three validated self-report questionnaires: Participation Scale (PS), Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS) and Symptom Checklist 90 R (SCL-90-R) respectively. ANOVA showed significant overall differences between the two groups. The social restriction score in the non-player group was significantly higher (ppsychological well-being and social skills of visually impaired people and their Torball practice. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational Psychology: An Integrative Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glavas, Ante

    2016-01-01

    The author reviews the corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature that includes the individual level of analysis (referred to as micro CSR in the article) based on 166 articles, book chapters, and books. A framework is provided that integrates organizational psychology and CSR, with the purpose of highlighting synergies in order to advance scholarship and practice in both fields. The review is structured so that first, a brief overview is provided. Second, the literatures on organizational psychology and CSR are integrated. Third, gaps are outlined illuminating opportunities for future research. Finally, a research agenda is put forward that goes beyond addressing gaps and focuses on how organizational psychology and CSR can be partners in helping move both fields forward-specifically, through a humanistic research agenda rooted in positive psychology.

  8. Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational Psychology: An Integrative Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glavas, Ante

    2016-01-01

    The author reviews the corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature that includes the individual level of analysis (referred to as micro CSR in the article) based on 166 articles, book chapters, and books. A framework is provided that integrates organizational psychology and CSR, with the purpose of highlighting synergies in order to advance scholarship and practice in both fields. The review is structured so that first, a brief overview is provided. Second, the literatures on organizational psychology and CSR are integrated. Third, gaps are outlined illuminating opportunities for future research. Finally, a research agenda is put forward that goes beyond addressing gaps and focuses on how organizational psychology and CSR can be partners in helping move both fields forward—specifically, through a humanistic research agenda rooted in positive psychology. PMID:26909055

  9. Encouraging Healthful Dietary Behavior in a Hospital Cafeteria: A Field Study Using Theories from Social Psychology and Behavioral Economics

    OpenAIRE

    Mazza, Mary Carol

    2013-01-01

    Public policy efforts to curb obesity often adhere to a rational actor model of human behavior, asserting that consumer behavior will change provided proper economic incentives, nutritional information, and health education. However, rigorous academic research related to such questions remains limited in scope and appears inconclusive as to the success of such economic and cognitive interventions. In contrast, research in social psychology and behavioral economics suggests that decision mak...

  10. Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice in Vocational Psychology: Current Status and Future Directions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampson, James P., Jr., Ed.; Bullock-Yowell, Emily, Ed.; Dozier, V. Casey, Ed.; Osborn, Debra S., Ed.; Lenz, Janet G., Ed.

    2017-01-01

    This publication is based on the 2016 Society for Vocational Psychology (SVP) Biennial Conference, that was held at the Florida State University on May 16-17, 2016. The conference theme was "Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice in Vocational Psychology." The conference content and the resulting edited book are based on the…

  11. "‘Old-stream’ psychology will disappear with the dinosaurs!”

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schraube, Ernst; Mattes, Peter

    2004-01-01

    This conversation discusses the epistemology of social constructionism—theory, method, praxis—in relation with traditional psychology. The first part of the conversation deals with the places and forms of social constructionist thought and with the limits of the traditional positivistic epistemol...

  12. Reflections on History, Education, and Social Theories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franklin, V. P.

    2011-01-01

    Historians need social theories to conduct their research whether they are acknowledged or not. Positivist social theories underpinned the professionalization of the writing of history as well as the establishment of the social sciences as "disciplines," in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. August Comte's "science of society" and…

  13. Systemic humiliation as daily social suffering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rothbart, Daniel; Poder, Poul

    2017-01-01

    and capacities of these people. Drawing upon recent developments in social identity theory, moral philosophy, sociological theory, and clinical psychology, we argue that systemic humiliation generates social pain that is experienced as annulment of one’s inherent value; it is an affront to suffering persons...

  14. The Facebook Paradox: Effects of Facebooking on Individuals? Social Relationships and Psychological Well-Being

    OpenAIRE

    Hu, Xiaomeng; Kim, Andrew; Siwek, Nicholas; Wilder, David

    2017-01-01

    Research suggests that Facebooking can be both beneficial and detrimental for users’ psychological well-being. The current study attempts to reconcile these seemingly mixed and inconsistent findings by unpacking the specific effects of Facebooking on users’ online–offline social relationship satisfaction and psychological well-being. Using structural equation modeling, pathways were examined between Facebook intensity, online–offline social relationship satisfaction, perceived social support, soc...

  15. Suicide Prevention in Schools as Viewed through the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joiner, Thomas E., Jr.

    2009-01-01

    The author has proposed a new theory of suicidal behavior--the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior (Joiner, 2005)--which attempts to answer the question "Why do people die by suicide?" In this commentary, he briefly describes the theory, and then argues that the theory's constructs may allow a new level of focus and specificity…

  16. Psychological motives and online games addiction: a test of flow theory and humanistic needs theory for Taiwanese adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Chin-Sheng; Chiou, Wen-Bin

    2006-06-01

    Obviously, the negative impact of online games has received much attention as well as having become a popular research topic. This research explored, from flow theory and humanistic needs theory, the psychological motivations of Taiwanese adolescents who are addicted to online games. The purpose of Study 1 was to investigate the relationship between players' flow state and their online games addiction. The results indicated that flow state was negatively correlated with addictive inclination and it was not a significant predictor for players' subsequent additive inclination. Findings also revealed that the addicts' flow state was significantly lower than the nonaddicts. Thus, flow state might not be the key psychological mechanism of players' addiction. In Study 2, the results showed that the psychological needs of players of online games were close to the two-factor theory which depicts satisfaction and dissatisfaction dimensions. Addicted players' need-gratification was similar to the feature of dissatisfactory factor. That is, the absence of playing online games is more likely to generate sense of dissatisfaction; the addicts' compulsive use of online games seems to stem from the relief of dissatisfaction rather than the pursuit of satisfaction. In contrast, online games tend to provide the nonaddicts with a sense of satisfaction rather than a sense of dissatisfaction.

  17. Connectionism, parallel constraint satisfaction processes, and gestalt principles: (re) introducing cognitive dynamics to social psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Read, S J; Vanman, E J; Miller, L C

    1997-01-01

    We argue that recent work in connectionist modeling, in particular the parallel constraint satisfaction processes that are central to many of these models, has great importance for understanding issues of both historical and current concern for social psychologists. We first provide a brief description of connectionist modeling, with particular emphasis on parallel constraint satisfaction processes. Second, we examine the tremendous similarities between parallel constraint satisfaction processes and the Gestalt principles that were the foundation for much of modem social psychology. We propose that parallel constraint satisfaction processes provide a computational implementation of the principles of Gestalt psychology that were central to the work of such seminal social psychologists as Asch, Festinger, Heider, and Lewin. Third, we then describe how parallel constraint satisfaction processes have been applied to three areas that were key to the beginnings of modern social psychology and remain central today: impression formation and causal reasoning, cognitive consistency (balance and cognitive dissonance), and goal-directed behavior. We conclude by discussing implications of parallel constraint satisfaction principles for a number of broader issues in social psychology, such as the dynamics of social thought and the integration of social information within the narrow time frame of social interaction.

  18. From self to social relationships : An essentially relational perspective on social motivation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Zomeren, Martijn

    2016-01-01

    What is it that moves and motivates us in our lives? Martijn van Zomeren proposes social relationships are at the essence of this key question and, in a fascinating investigation into human motivation, he develops a novel and integrative psychological theory termed 'selvations theory'. The theory

  19. An evaluation of the impact of the European Association of Social Psychology: A response to Schruijer (2012)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hewstone, M.; Liebkind, K.; Lewicka, M.; Laszlo, J.; Voci, A.; Contarello, A.; Gomez, A.; Hantzi, A.; Bilewicz, M.; Guinote, A.; Graf, Sylvie; Petkova, K.

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 25, č. 3 (2012), s. 117-126 ISSN 0952-6951 Institutional support: RVO:68081740 Keywords : social psychology * science * European Association of Social Psychology Subject RIV: AN - Psychology Impact factor: 0.442, year: 2012

  20. PSYOP and Persuasion: Applying Social Psychology and Becoming an Informed Citizen

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Sara B.

    2004-01-01

    This project teaches students about persuasion techniques, especially as governments use them. Most project examples came from the work of the U.S. military's modern Psychological Operations division. Social psychology students (a) reviewed influence techniques; (b) examined posters, leaflets, and other persuasion tools used in World War II, the…

  1. Psychological and social aspects verified after the Goiania's radioactive accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Helou, Suzana

    1995-01-01

    Psychological and social aspects verified after the radioactive accident occurred in 1987 in Goiania - brazilian city - are discussed. With this goal was going presented a public opinion research in order to retract the Goiania's radioactive accident residual psychological effects. They were going consolidated data obtained in 1.126 interviews. Four involvement different levels groups with the accident are compared with regard to the event. The research allowed to conclude that the accident affected psychologically somehow all Goiania's population. Besides, the research allowed to analyze the professionals performance quality standard in terms of the accident

  2. Microfoundations of Social Theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Felin, Teppo; Foss, Nicolai Juul; Abell, Peter Malcolm

    principle ignores-and is somehow invalidated by-the complex, “emergent” and multi-level nature of social phenomena. We focus on the need to specify and understand 1) component actors and social complexity, 2) theory of action, aggregation, and emergence, 3) process and the context of action. We concurrently......In this short essay we respond to Jepperson and Meyer’s (2011) critique of “action theories” and methodological individualism in sociology. We highlight fundamental problems with their argument, notably their misunderstanding of methodological individualism(s) and the belief that this explanatory...... critique Jepperson and Meyer’s own (implicit but highly problematic and under-specified) theory of action....

  3. Theories of Social Media: Philosophical Foundations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiayin Qi

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Although many different views of social media coexist in the field of information systems (IS, such theories are usually not introduced in a consistent framework based on philosophical foundations. This paper introduces the dimensions of lifeworld and consideration of others. The concept of lifeworld includes Descartes’ rationality and Heidegger’s historicity, and consideration of others is based on instrumentalism and Heidegger’s “being-with.” These philosophical foundations elaborate a framework where different archetypal theories applied to social media may be compared: Goffman’s presentation of self, Bourdieu’s social capital, Sartre’s existential project, and Heidegger’s “shared-world.” While Goffman has become a frequent reference in social media, the three other references are innovative in IS research. The concepts of these four theories of social media are compared with empirical findings in IS literature. While some of these concepts match the empirical findings, some other concepts have not yet been investigated in the use of social media, suggesting future research directions. Keywords: Social media, Lifeworld, Consideration of others, Rationality, Historicity, Instrumentalism, Being-with, Presentation of self

  4. The social practice of psychology and the social sciences in a liberal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper explores the relevance of psychology and the social and human sciences in a changing South Africa. The new South Africa embraces a liberal democratic approach to government. The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) is a policy document that articulates the goals of this liberal democratic ...

  5. T.W. Adorno e a psicologia social T.W. Adorno and social psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Leon Crochík

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Neste ensaio, ressalta-se a importância da disciplina Psicologia Social na obra de T. W. Adorno e a concepção que formula acerca dessa disciplina. Esse autor defende que há uma nova forma de configuração dos indivíduos, expressada por atitudes e comportamentos individuais padronizados e por um ego frágil, facilmente cooptado por movimentos sociais totalitários. Tais indivíduos surgem em uma sociedade caracterizada por uma forma de dominação calcada na racionalidade administrativa e tecnológica. Para esse autor, a Psicologia Social deveria estudar esse objeto para que, com o esclarecimento produzido e difundido, os indivíduos possam resistir à adesão cega a movimentos sociais irracionais, tal como o fascismo, insistindo que a determinação desses movimentos não é individual, mas social.In this assay, the importance of Social Psychology discipline in the T.W. Adorno's work and the specific conception that he formulates about it are pointed out. He defends that there is a new way of individuals' configuration, expressed by standardized attitudes and their own behaviors, such as a fragile ego, which is easily co-opted by totalitarian social movements. Such individuals appear in a society characterized by a form of domination based on administrative and technological rationality. For that author, Social Psychology would have to study this issue so that, with the enlightenment achieved and diffused, the individuals are able to resist to the blind adhesion in irrational social movements, such as the fascism. Adorno empathized that the determination of these movements is not individual, but social.

  6. National survey of psychotherapy training in psychiatry, psychology, and social work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weissman, Myrna M; Verdeli, Helen; Gameroff, Marc J; Bledsoe, Sarah E; Betts, Kathryn; Mufson, Laura; Fitterling, Heidi; Wickramaratne, Priya

    2006-08-01

    Approximately 3% of the US population receives psychotherapy each year from psychiatrists, psychologists, or social workers. A modest number of psychotherapies are evidence-based therapy (EBT) in that they have been defined in manuals and found efficacious in at least 2 controlled clinical trials with random assignment that include a control condition of psychotherapy, placebo, pill, or other treatment and samples of sufficient power with well-characterized patients. Few practitioners use EBT. To determine the amount of EBT taught in accredited training programs in psychiatry, psychology (PhD and PsyD), and social work and to note whether the training was elective or required and presented as a didactic (coursework) or clinical supervision. A cross-sectional survey of a probability sample of all accredited training programs in psychiatry, psychology, and social work in the United States. Responders included training directors (or their designates) from 221 programs (73 in psychiatry, 63 in PhD clinical psychology, 21 in PsyD psychology, and 64 in master's-level social work). The overall response rate was 73.7%. Main Outcome Measure Requiring both a didactic and clinical supervision in an EBT. Although programs offered electives in EBT and non-EBT, few required both a didactic and clinical supervision in EBT, and most required training was non-EBT. Psychiatry required coursework and clinical supervision in the largest percentage of EBT (28.1%). Cognitive behavioral therapy was the EBT most frequently offered and required as a didactic in all 3 disciplines. More than 90% of the psychiatry training programs were complying with the new cognitive behavior therapy requirement. The 2 disciplines with the largest number of students and emphasis on clinical training-professional clinical psychology (PsyD) and social work-had the largest percentage of programs (67.3% and 61.7%, respectively) not requiring a didactic and clinical supervision in any EBT. There is a

  7. Emotion, rationality, and decision-making: how to link affective and social neuroscience with social theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verweij, Marco; Senior, Timothy J.; Domínguez D., Juan F.; Turner, Robert

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we argue for a stronger engagement between concepts in affective and social neuroscience on the one hand, and theories from the fields of anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology on the other. Affective and social neuroscience could provide an additional assessment of social theories. We argue that some of the most influential social theories of the last four decades—rational choice theory, behavioral economics, and post-structuralism—contain assumptions that are inconsistent with key findings in affective and social neuroscience. We also show that another approach from the social sciences—plural rationality theory—shows greater compatibility with these findings. We further claim that, in their turn, social theories can strengthen affective and social neuroscience. The former can provide more precise formulations of the social phenomena that neuroscientific models have targeted, can help neuroscientists who build these models become more aware of their social and cultural biases, and can even improve the models themselves. To illustrate, we show how plural rationality theory can be used to further specify and test the somatic marker hypothesis. Thus, we aim to accelerate the much-needed merger of social theories with affective and social neuroscience. PMID:26441506

  8. Emotion, rationality and decision-making: How to link affective and social neuroscience with social theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco eVerweij

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we argue for a stronger engagement between concepts in affective and social neuroscience on the one hand, and theories from the fields of anthropology, economics, political science and sociology on the other. Affective and social neuroscience could provide an additional assessment of social theories. We argue that some of the most influential social theories of the last four decades –rational choice theory, behavioral economics, and post-structuralism– contain assumptions that are inconsistent with key findings in affective and social neuroscience. We also show that another approach from the social sciences –plural rationality theory– shows greater compatibility with these findings. We further claim that, in their turn, social theories can strengthen affective and social neuroscience. The former can provide more precise formulations of the social phenomena that neuroscientific models have targeted, can help neuroscientists who build these models become more aware of their social and cultural biases, and can even improve the models themselves. To illustrate, we show how plural rationality theory can be used to further specify and test the somatic marker hypothesis. Thus, we aim to accelerate the much-needed merger of social theories with affective and social neuroscience.

  9. The Mind as Black Box: A Simulation of Theory Building in Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hildebrandt, Carolyn; Oliver, Jennifer

    2000-01-01

    Discusses an activity that uses the metaphor "the mind is a black box," in which students work in groups to discover what is inside a sealed, black, plastic box. States that the activity enables students to understand the need for theories in psychology and to comprehend how psychologists build, test, and refine those theories. (CMK)

  10. The changing psychology of culture from 1800 through 2000.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenfield, Patricia M

    2013-09-01

    The Google Books Ngram Viewer allows researchers to quantify culture across centuries by searching millions of books. This tool was used to test theory-based predictions about implications of an urbanizing population for the psychology of culture. Adaptation to rural environments prioritizes social obligation and duty, giving to other people, social belonging, religion in everyday life, authority relations, and physical activity. Adaptation to urban environments requires more individualistic and materialistic values; such adaptation prioritizes choice, personal possessions, and child-centered socialization in order to foster the development of psychological mindedness and the unique self. The Google Ngram Viewer generated relative frequencies of words indexing these values from the years 1800 to 2000 in American English books. As urban populations increased and rural populations declined, word frequencies moved in the predicted directions. Books published in the United Kingdom replicated this pattern. The analysis established long-term relationships between ecological change and cultural change, as predicted by the theory of social change and human development (Greenfield, 2009).

  11. The protective role of self-esteem, perceived social support and job satisfaction against psychological distress among Chinese nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Danjun; Su, Shan; Wang, Lu; Liu, Fang

    2018-05-01

    To determine the prevalence of psychological distress, and to explore the combined protective roles of self-esteem, perceived social support and job satisfaction against psychological distress. Few studies have explored the combined protective effect of self-esteem, perceived social support and job satisfaction on nurses' mental health in the same theoretical framework. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, a self-developed Job Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale were used to survey 581 nurses. The hypothesized model of the relationships among self-esteem, perceived social support, job satisfaction and psychological distress was tested with structural equation modelling. The prevalence of psychological distress was 92.3%. Job satisfaction exerted the strongest direct protective effect against psychological distress, with perceived social support and self-esteem exerting the second and third strongest direct protective effects, respectively. Additionally, self-esteem had an indirect protective effect. Chinese nurses showed a surprisingly high prevalence of psychological distress. Job satisfaction, self-esteem and perceived social support were identified, in this order of importance, as protective factors against psychological distress. Nurse administrators should take measures to improve nurses' job satisfaction and social support, and hire individuals with high self-esteem as nurses. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Jung's view on myth and post-modern psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Raya A

    2003-11-01

    Post-modern psychology embodies two core themes, the social mind and the narrative self. Whereas the social-mind thesis seems diametrically opposed to Jung's position regarding human nature, the narrative-self thesis is associated with research and theorizing about personal myth and mythmaking in ways that could make contact with Jung's concerns. Jung's view is examined here with particular attention to McAdams' theory of narrative identity. It is suggested that the ostensible differences between Jung and post-modern psychology might reflect divergent interests, rather than necessarily irreconcilable worldviews.

  13. Social value orientation: theoretical and measurement issues in the study of social preferences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Ryan O; Ackermann, Kurt A

    2014-02-01

    What motivates people when they make decisions and how those motivations are potentially entangled with concerns for others are central topics for the social, cognitive, and behavioral sciences. According to the postulate of narrow self-interest, decision makers have the goal of maximizing personal payoffs and are wholly indifferent to the consequences for others. The postulate of narrow self-interest-which has been influential in economics, psychology, and sociology-is precise and powerful but is often simply wrong. Its inadequacy is well known and efforts have been made to develop reliable and valid measurement methods to quantify the more nuanced social preferences that people really have. In this paper, we report on the emergence and development of the predominant conceptualization of social preferences in psychology: social value orientation (SVO). Second, we discuss the relationship between measurement and theory development of the SVO construct. We then provide an overview of the literature regarding measurement methods that have been used to assess individual variations in social preferences. We conclude with a comparative evaluation of the various measures and provide suggestions regarding the measures' constructive use in building psychologically realistic theories of people's social preferences.

  14. Difficulties implementing a mental health guideline: an exploratory investigation using psychological theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eccles Martin P

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Evaluations of interventions to improve implementation of guidelines have failed to produce a clear pattern of results favouring a particular method. While implementation depends on clinicians and managers changing a variety of behaviours, psychological theories of behaviour and behaviour change are seldom used to try to understand difficulties in implementation or to develop interventions to overcome them. Objectives This study applied psychological theory to examine explanations for difficulties in implementation. It used a theoretical framework derived from an interdisciplinary consensus exercise to code interviews across 11 theoretical domains. The focus of the study was a National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's Schizophrenia guideline recommendation that family intervention should be offered to the families of people with schizophrenia. Methods Participants were recruited from community mental health teams from three United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS Trusts; 20 members (social workers, nurses, team managers, psychologists, and psychiatrists participated. Semi-structured interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. Interview questions were based on the theoretical domains and addressed respondents' knowledge, attitudes and opinions regarding the guideline. Two researchers independently coded the transcript segments from each interview that were related to each theoretical domain. A score of 1 indicated that the transcript segments relating to the domain did not appear to contain description of difficulties in implementation of the family therapy guidelines; similarly a score of 0.5 indicated possible difficulties and a score of 0 indicated definite difficulties. Results Coding respondents' answers to questions related to the three domains 'beliefs about consequences,' 'social/professional role and identity,' and 'motivation' produced the three highest total scores indicating that factors relating

  15. Application of fuzzy logic to social choice theory

    CERN Document Server

    Mordeson, John N; Clark, Terry D

    2015-01-01

    Fuzzy social choice theory is useful for modeling the uncertainty and imprecision prevalent in social life yet it has been scarcely applied and studied in the social sciences. Filling this gap, Application of Fuzzy Logic to Social Choice Theory provides a comprehensive study of fuzzy social choice theory.The book explains the concept of a fuzzy maximal subset of a set of alternatives, fuzzy choice functions, the factorization of a fuzzy preference relation into the ""union"" (conorm) of a strict fuzzy relation and an indifference operator, fuzzy non-Arrowian results, fuzzy versions of Arrow's

  16. Psychological distress of older Chinese: exploring the roles of activities, social support, and subjective social status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wei; Chen, Min

    2014-03-01

    The goal of this research is to examine if the long neglected correlates such as social and leisure activities, social support, and subjective social status contribute to variations in psychological distress among older Chinese. Using data collected in one of the most developed areas in China-Suzhou city, Jiangsu province, the authors find that engaging in various exercises, living with both spouse and adult children, perceived availability of social support from others as well as believing in the importance of caring for other family members are particularly beneficial for mental health whereas the perception of relative deprivation and low life quality is detrimental to mental health for older Chinese. This work is among the first studies that comprehensively examined various important correlates of psychological distress and indicate the unique patterns of distress among the elderly in the most developed area in the contemporary China.

  17. The Social Psychology of Citizenship: Engagement With Citizenship Studies and Future Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clifford Stevenson

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available In this article we review the argument outlined in the opening article in this special thematic section: that the current social psychology of citizenship can be understood as the development of longstanding conceptualisations of the concept within the discipline. These conceptualisations have contributed to the current social psychological study of the constructive, active and collective (but often exclusive understandings of citizenship in people’s everyday lives, as evidenced by contributions to this thematic section. We consider how this emerging body of work might fit with current citizenship studies and in particular how it may contribute to the current trend towards conceiving citizenship as an active practice embedded in everyday social life. Specifically, we highlight three areas of future research that we think are particularly promising: citizenship and recognition; displays and enactments of citizenship in public space; citizenship and lived coexistence. Although this is far from an exhaustive list of possibilities, we propose that research in these areas could enable the way for social psychology to articulate a distinct, recognisable and valuable contribution to citizenship studies.

  18. Pain judgements of patients' relatives: examining the use of social contract theory as theoretical framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kappesser, Judith; de C Williams, Amanda C

    2008-08-01

    Observer underestimation of others' pain was studied using a concept from evolutionary psychology: a cheater detection mechanism from social contract theory, applied to relatives and friends of chronic pain patients. 127 participants estimated characters' pain intensity and fairness of behaviour after reading four vignettes describing characters suffering from pain. Four cues were systematically varied: the character continuing or stopping liked tasks; continuing or stopping disliked tasks; availability of medical evidence; and pain intensity as rated by characters. Results revealed that pain intensity and the two behavioural variables had an effect on pain estimates: high pain self-reports and stopping all tasks led to high pain estimates; pain was estimated to be lowest when characters stopped disliked but continued with liked tasks. This combination was also rated least fair. Results support the use of social contract theory as a theoretical framework to explore pain judgements.

  19. Organizational Epistemology, Education and Social Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartley, David

    2007-01-01

    Organizational learning or epistemology has emerged in order to manage the creation of knowledge and innovation within contemporary capitalism. Its insights are being applied also to the public sector. Much of the research in organizational learning has drawn upon the discipline of psychology, particularly constructivist theory. Two approaches in…

  20. The role of social and psychological factors in radiation protection after accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morrey, M.; Allen, P.

    1996-01-01

    The inclusion of social and psychological factors in the justification and optimisation of intervention after an accident requires identification of the relevant factors and their appropriate quantification. Recent studies suggest a possible approach. Some social and psychological factors either influence the consequences of radiation protection countermeasures, or are direct consequences of those measures. Such factors can be grouped into those that alter the dose-effectiveness of a countermeasure, those that extend the need for countermeasures in time or space, and those that fall into neither of the first two categories. Factors of the first two types can be quantified in terms of changes to the anticipated averted dose and monetary cost of a countermeasure. Quantification of the third type is currently difficult, but the existence of structural models for applications in social psychology suggests that such models could be developed for radiation protection in the future. (author)

  1. Preventive health psychology from a developmental perspective: an extension of protection motivation theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturges, J W; Rogers, R W

    1996-05-01

    Theories of health psychology developed to explain adults' rational decision making were applied to 10-year-old children (n = 112), who had not reached the stage of formal operational thought; 15-year-olds (n = 67); and 20-year-olds (n = 93), extending the protection motivation theory developed by R. W. Rogers (1983). Among the adolescents and young adults, the threat appeals worked only if people believed they could cope effectively with the danger; if they believed they could not cope, higher levels of the threat resulted in decreased intentions to refrain from tobacco use. Although children elaborated and integrated the information about threat severity, personal vulnerability, and response efficacy, the fragility and malleability of the children's beliefs in self-efficacy demonstrated the importance of adding a developmental perspective to theories of preventive health psychology.

  2. Psychological Adjustment to Lung Cancer: the role of self-compassion and social support

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rute Batista

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available // Introduction: The impact of the diagnosis of an oncologic disease is well-known in terms of psychological adjustment and quality of life. On the other hand it is known that depressive symptoms may also overlap the physical symptoms of cancer and cancer treatment, which may interfere in their detection and appropriate treatment approach.   Objectives: The aim of the current study was to explore the relationship between psychological adjustment to lung cancer, self-compassion, social support and emotional negative states in patients with lung cancer.   Method: Fifty-five patients diagnosed with lung cancer (38 men and 17 women with ages ranging from 44 to 87 years old participated in the study. A set of self-report instruments was used: the Mini Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (MiniMac, the Self-compassion Scale (SCS; Neff, 2003, the Social Support Satisfaction Scale (SSSS and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21.   Results: Significant correlations were found between psychological adjustment, psychopathology, emotion regulation strategies (self-compassion, and social support. The predictive models for psychological adjustment and stress related symptomatology include self-compassion and social support as significant predictive variables. Regarding the predictive model for depressive symptomatology, mindfulness seems to be the only significant predictor.   Conclusions: Our findings suggest that these patients may benefit, in their therapeutic approach, from the development of this kind of strategies (new ways of relating themselves with their emotional experiences and quality of their social networks in order to promote a better psychological adjustment to their clinical condition.

  3. Brief mindfulness meditation training alters psychological and neuroendocrine responses to social evaluative stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creswell, J David; Pacilio, Laura E; Lindsay, Emily K; Brown, Kirk Warren

    2014-06-01

    To test whether a brief mindfulness meditation training intervention buffers self-reported psychological and neuroendocrine responses to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in young adult volunteers. A second objective evaluates whether pre-existing levels of dispositional mindfulness moderate the effects of brief mindfulness meditation training on stress reactivity. Sixty-six (N=66) participants were randomly assigned to either a brief 3-day (25-min per day) mindfulness meditation training or an analytic cognitive training control program. All participants completed a standardized laboratory social-evaluative stress challenge task (the TSST) following the third mindfulness meditation or cognitive training session. Measures of psychological (stress perceptions) and biological (salivary cortisol, blood pressure) stress reactivity were collected during the social evaluative stress-challenge session. Brief mindfulness meditation training reduced self-reported psychological stress reactivity but increased salivary cortisol reactivity to the TSST, relative to the cognitive training comparison program. Participants who were low in pre-existing levels of dispositional mindfulness and then received mindfulness meditation training had the greatest cortisol reactivity to the TSST. No significant main or interactive effects were observed for systolic or diastolic blood pressure reactivity to the TSST. The present study provides an initial indication that brief mindfulness meditation training buffers self-reported psychological stress reactivity, but also increases cortisol reactivity to social evaluative stress. This pattern may indicate that initially brief mindfulness meditation training fosters greater active coping efforts, resulting in reduced psychological stress appraisals and greater cortisol reactivity during social evaluative stressors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Moral Contract Theory and Social Cognition : An Empirical Perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Timmerman, Peter

    2014-01-01

    This interdisciplinary work draws on research from psychology and behavioral economics to evaluate the plausibility of moral contract theory. In a compelling manner with implications for moral theory more broadly, the author’s novel approach resolves a number of key contingencies in contractarianism

  5. Social cognition and psychosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssen, I.

    2004-01-01

    This thesis describes studies on psychological mechanisms and associated social risk factors for the onset of psychotic symptoms. In the first part, studies are described that examined psychological mechanisms of psychosis at the level of the individual, such as changes in theory of mind and

  6. Microfoundations of Social Theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Felin, Teppo; Foss, Nicolai Juul; Abell, Peter Malcolm

    2014-01-01

    ignores – and is somehow invalidated by – the complex, “emergent” and multi-level nature of social phenomena. We focus on the need to specify and understand: 1) component actors and social complexity; 2) theory of action, aggregation, and emergence; 3) self-selection and matching; and 4) process......In this essay we respond to Jepperson and Meyer’s [2011] critique of “action theories” and methodological individualism in sociology. We highlight fundamental problems with their argument, notably their misconception of methodological individualism(s) and the belief that this explanatory principle...... and the context of action. We concurrently critique Jepperson and Meyer’s own (implicit but highly problematic and under-specified) theory of action....

  7. Some feminist contributions to community social psychology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Mayorga

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available This article analyzes the contributions of feminist debate about intersectionality of social categories for Community Social Psychology in Brazil. This was set up as dedicated to theoretical analyze the social inequalities that characterize contemporary societies and propose methodological processes of intervention for questioning and processing of these realities. We discuss how the emergence of new actors and demands on public space, as distinct from the 60/70, is required to understand the oppression from various power systems such as gender, race and sexuality. We conclude that intersectional analysis should consider different levels of relationships between categories, the history of the same differential and common aspects of different systems of power as naturalization of inequality, the relationship between public and private relationship between equality and difference. Analyses based on intersectionality can contribute to processes of social intervention that considers the complexity of contemporary societies.

  8. Attachment as a Moderating Factor Between Social Support, Physical Health, and Psychological Symptoms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kimberly A. Rapoza

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the extent to which perceived social support functioned as a protective factors, and dimensions of insecure attachment (i.e., avoidant and anxious functioned as risks factors for physical and psychological health. We explored whether insecure attachment was a mechanism that modified the relationship (i.e., protect against or increases risk between social support and adult health. Participants were 155 non-traditional adult college students from demographically diverse backgrounds. Students were approached in common areas on campus or in classrooms during break and were asked to complete the questionnaire. Bartholomew and Horowitz’s Attachment Questionnaire assessed avoidant and anxious attachment dimensions, the Brief Social Support Questionnaire assessed perceived social support, and the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale measured physical and psychological symptoms. Model results indicated that the anxious dimension of insecure attachment was more directly and positively associated with poorer general physical health and psychological symptoms, whereas greater perceived social support was linked with better reported health. However, an interesting pattern emerged with avoidant attachment through a moderated relationship with social support. The absence of a satisfying supportive network was significantly related to poorer physical and psychological health outcomes for those low in avoidant attachment, but not for those high in avoidant attachment. Results from this work suggest that insecure attachment plays a detrimental role in adult health. Perceived social support does not necessarily function as a blanket protective factor for health, as it seemed to offer less benefit to those high in attachment avoidance.

  9. Effects of Perceived Social Support and Psychological Resilience on Social Media Addiction among University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilgin, Okan; Tas, Ibrahim

    2018-01-01

    This research investigated the effects of perceived social support and psychological resilience on social media addiction among university students. The research group was composed of 503 university students. The ages of participant students varied between 17 and 31 years old. 340 (67.6%) of the participants are female and 163 (32.4%) of them are…

  10. Intuitive physics and intuitive psychology (“theory of mind” in offspring of mothers with psychoses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebeka Maróthi

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Offspring of individuals with psychoses sometimes display an abnormal development of cognition, language, motor performance, social adaptation, and emotional functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of children of mothers with schizophrenia (n = 28 and bipolar disorder (n = 23 to understand mental states of others using the Eyes Test (folk psychology or “theory of mind” and physical causal interactions of inanimate objects (folk physics. Compared with healthy controls (n = 29, the children of mothers with schizophrenia displayed significantly impaired performances on the Eyes Test but not on the folk physics test when corrected for IQ. The children of mothers with bipolar disorder did not differ from the controls. The folk physics test showed a significant covariance with IQ, whereas the Eyes Test did not exhibit such covariance. These results suggest that the attribution of mental states, but not the interpretation of causal interaction of objects, is impaired in offspring of individuals with schizophrenia, which may contribute to social dysfunctions.

  11. The Application of Social Justice Principles to Global School Psychology Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shriberg, David; Clinton, Amanda

    2016-01-01

    In as much as school psychology practice is based on the goals of supporting the rights, access, and treatment of children as related to their education, social justice has the potential to be a moral framework for training, research, and practice in school psychology. Accordingly, this article seeks to achieve many objectives. First, a definition…

  12. Applying Psychological Theories to Promote Long-Term Maintenance of Health Behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph, Rodney P.; Daniel, Casey L.; Thind, Herpreet; Benitez, Tanya J.; Pekmezi, Dori

    2014-01-01

    Behavioral health theory provides a framework for researchers to design, implement, and evaluate the effects of health promotion programs. However, limited research has examined theories used in interventions to promote long-term maintenance of health behaviors. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the available literature and identify prominent behavioral health theories used in intervention research to promote maintenance of health behaviors. We reviewed theories used in intervention research assessing long-term maintenance (≥ 6 months post-intervention) of physical activity, weight loss, and smoking cessation. Five prominent behavioral theories were referenced by the 34 studies included in the review: Self-Determination Theory, Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Cognitive Theory, Transtheoretical Model, and Social Ecological Model. Descriptions and examples of applications of these theories are provided. Implications for future research are discussed. PMID:28217036

  13. Effects of Social Psychological Phenomena on School Psychologists' Ethical Decision-Making: A Preliminary Empirical Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klose, Laurie McGarry; Lasser, Jon; Reardon, Robert F.

    2012-01-01

    This preliminary, exploratory study examines the impact of select social psychological phenomena on school-based ethical decision-making of school psychologists. Responses to vignettes and hypothetical statements reflecting several social psychological phenomena were collected from 106 practicing school psychologists. Participants were asked to…

  14. The need to control for regression to the mean in social psychology studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rongjun eYu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available It is common in repeated measurements for extreme values at the first measurement to approach the mean at the subsequent measurement, a phenomenon called regression to the mean (RTM. If RTM is not fully controlled, it will lead to erroneous conclusions. The wide use of repeated measurements in social psychology creates a risk that an RTM effect will influence results. However, insufficient attention is paid to RTM in most social psychological research. Notable cases include studies on the phenomena of social conformity and unrealistic optimism. In Study 1, 13 university students rated and re-rated the facial attractiveness of a series of female faces as a test of the social conformity effect. In Study 2, 15 university students estimated and re-estimated their risk of experiencing a series of adverse life events as a test of the unrealistic optimism effect. Although these studies used methodologies similar to those used in earlier research, the social conformity and unrealistic optimism effects were no longer evident after controlling for RTM. Based on these findings we suggest several ways to control for the RTM effect in social psychology studies.

  15. CyberPsychological Computation on Social Community of Ubiquitous Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Xuan; Dai, Genghui; Huang, Shuang; Sun, Xuemin; Hu, Feng; Hu, Hongzhi; Ivanović, Mirjana

    2015-01-01

    Under the modern network environment, ubiquitous learning has been a popular way for people to study knowledge, exchange ideas, and share skills in the cyberspace. Existing research findings indicate that the learners' initiative and community cohesion play vital roles in the social communities of ubiquitous learning, and therefore how to stimulate the learners' interest and participation willingness so as to improve their enjoyable experiences in the learning process should be the primary consideration on this issue. This paper aims to explore an effective method to monitor the learners' psychological reactions based on their behavioral features in cyberspace and therefore provide useful references for adjusting the strategies in the learning process. In doing so, this paper firstly analyzes the psychological assessment of the learners' situations as well as their typical behavioral patterns and then discusses the relationship between the learners' psychological reactions and their observable features in cyberspace. Finally, this paper puts forward a CyberPsychological computation method to estimate the learners' psychological states online. Considering the diversity of learners' habitual behaviors in the reactions to their psychological changes, a BP-GA neural network is proposed for the computation based on their personalized behavioral patterns. PMID:26557846

  16. Trust, cooperation, and equality: a psychological analysis of the formation of social capital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cozzolino, Philip J

    2011-06-01

    Research suggests that in modern Western culture there is a positive relationship between the equality of resources and the formation of trust and cooperation, two psychological components of social capital. Two studies elucidate the psychological processes underlying that relationship. Study 1 experimentally tested the influence of resource distributions on the formation of trust and intentions to cooperate; individuals receiving a deficit of resources and a surplus of resources evidenced lower levels of social capital (i.e., trust and cooperation) than did individuals receiving equal amounts. Analyses revealed the process was affective for deficit participants and cognitive for surplus participants. Study 2 provided suggestive support for the affective-model of equality and social capital using proxy variables in the 1996 General Social Survey data set. Results suggest support for a causal path of unequal resource distributions generating affective experiences and cognitive concerns of justice, which mediate disengagement and distrust of others. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

  17. [Psychological gender in clinical depression. Preliminary study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szpitalak, Malwina; Prochwicz, Katarzyna

    2013-01-01

    Psychosocial and social theories of mood disorders indicate that factors connected with women's gender roles could create a higher risk of depression. The fact that social role is an important factor associated with depressive disorders suggests that not only a biological but also a psychological gender influences the vulnerability to depression. Gender schema theory was applied to investigate a role of femininity in depressive disorders. It was predicted that patients who identify themselves with the traditional feminine gender role will be more depressed than androgynous and undifferentiated patients or individuals with high level of masculinity. Sixty one patients suffering from affective disorder participated in this research. The Polish adaptation of Bem Sex - Role Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory were used to investigate the association between psychological gender and symptoms of depression. The results indicated that there is a significant connection between the type of psychological gender and the level of depression. The highest level of depression was shown by undifferentiated patients, femininity was also found to be associated with a great number of depressive symptoms. These findings also suggest that androgynous individuals and patients with a high level of masculinity tend to be less depressed. Psychological gender is an important factor which interacts to create a higher depression risk in men and women.

  18. CULTURAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES OF SOCIAL CAPITAL OF ETHNIC GROUPS IN RUSSIA

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tatarko, A. N.

    2009-01-01

    Data of cross-cultural study of social capital of five ethnic groups of Russia (n = 300) is presented. According to proposed psychological point of view trust, social solidarity, civil identity, ethnic tolerance constitute the structure of social capital of polycultural society. The application of

  19. Coping, family social support, and psychological symptoms among student veterans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romero, Daniel H; Riggs, Shelley A; Ruggero, Camilo

    2015-04-01

    With rising numbers of student veterans on today's college campuses, multicultural competence in college counseling centers increasingly includes an understanding of military culture and its relation to the psychological health and functioning of student veterans. Research on interpersonal and intrapersonal factors associated with college student veterans' mental health is scarce. The current study examines the contributions of coping style and family social support on symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress in a student veteran sample. We also tested the moderating role of family social support in the relationship between coping style and psychological symptoms. Data from 136 student veterans were analyzed by using path analysis. Results revealed that avoidant coping and family social support significantly predicted depressive and anxiety symptoms. Avoidant coping also significantly predicted posttraumatic stress symptoms. In addition, findings indicated that family social support moderated the relationship between problem-focused coping and depression, as well as between avoidant coping and symptoms of anxiety and depression but not posttraumatic stress. Implications of results for college and university counselors are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. On psychological growth and vulnerability: basic psychological need satisfaction and need frustration as an unifying principle

    OpenAIRE

    Vansteenkiste, Maarten; Ryan, Richard

    2013-01-01

    Humans have a potential for growth, integration, and well-being, while also being vulnerable to defensiveness, aggression, and ill-being. Self-determination theory (R. M. Ryan & E. L. Deci, 2000, Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development and well-being, American Psychologist, Vol. 55, pp. 68–78) argues that satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness both fosters immediate well-being and strengthens i...

  1. Study of the Psychological Profile in Diabetic Patient and its Relationship with their Social Support

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akbar Atadokht

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Background & objectives: Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disorder that has negative effect on physical function, psychological condition, interpersonal, family and social relationship and in general, on psychological well being. The aim of this study was to investigate of psychological profile in diabetic patients and it's relatioship with social support.   Methods: In this descriptive-correlational study, 120 diabetic patients have been selected among of those that systematically refered to Diabetes Clinic of Emam Khomeini Hospital in order to follow their therapeutic process in Ardabil . Data gathering was accomplished by two tests: SCL-90-R and Social Support Scale. Finally data were analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient and T-test on SPSS-17 software and p-value less than 0.05 considered as significant.   Results: Results showed that 70% of diabetic patients had problems in somatic complaint and obsession, 62.5% in sensitivity, 72.5% in depression, 62.5% in anxiety, 55% in hostility, 67.5% in paranoid thoughts, 27.5% in phobia and 37.5% in psychosis. Correlations between social support with somatic complaint, obsession, sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility and paranoid thoughts were negatively significant. Family support associated significantly with all of the psychological variables but friend Support had no significant correlation with them.   Conclusion: The range of psychological problems experienced by diabetic patients is more extensive and these problems have significant relationship with social support. Thus, attention to different dimensions of psychological health is necessary and social support-based interventions can be more effective.

  2. Bullying and Social Anxiety in Chinese Children: Moderating Roles of Trait Resilience and Psychological Suzhi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Lili; Zhang, Dajun; Cheng, Gang; Hu, Tianqiang

    2018-02-01

    Research examining the relationship between bullying victimization and social anxiety has mainly been conducted in Western countries, and little is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. This study explores the correlation between bullying victimization and social anxiety in a Chinese context and determines the moderating roles of psychological suzhi (a mental quality characterized by being steady, essential and implicit that affects adaptive, developmental, and creative behavior) and trait resilience among victims of bullying. Data were obtained from a stratified sample of 1903 children in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. All participants completed measures of bullying victimization, social anxiety, trait resilience, and psychological suzhi. The results indicated that, after controlling for grade, residential area, and parental marital status, bullying victimization positively predicted children's social anxiety. In addition, multi-group analysis suggested that the association in girls was stronger relative to that observed in boys. Regarding underlying processes, trait resilience moderated the effect of bullying victimization on social anxiety only in girls. Further assessment of the latent interaction effects indicated that the protective effect of trait resilience was stronger for girls experiencing high, relative to low, levels of bullying victimization, and psychological suzhi buffered against the detrimental effects of bullying on children's social anxiety. Most notably, unlike the moderating effect of resilience, the buffering effect of psychological suzhi against social anxiety was most prominent when bullying victimization was low. Findings underscore the importance of enhancing trait resilience and psychological suzhi in interventions designed to reduce children's social anxiety. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. FOUNDER’S SYNDROME AT THE BACKSTAGE OF AGENCY THEORY: A THREAT TO CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Şafak GÜNDÜZ

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Agency theory studies have had almost no attention to antecedents of the causes leading agent-principal problem. As there is yet no consensus over what constitutes a perfectly working corporate governance mechanism, this discursive analysis tries to draw attention to the hidden reason of agent-principal problem in order to help the constitution of healthy corporate governance with corporate social responsibility. The purpose is to put forward that Founder’s Syndrome could be one of the reasons behind agency problem and a threat to corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. This paper is the first to extend Agency Theory by associating it with a syndrome analysing the psychological and behavioural instigations of it, which fills the void in literature. A theoretical lens to enhance organizations’ ability to be the corporate social responsibility-focused by overcoming Founder’s Syndrome is provided bearing implications especially for organisational behaviour researchers.

  4. Wittgenstein and the linguistic turn in social theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hermansen, Jens Christian

    of Winch in social theory, the wider and more recent influence of Wittgenstein in areas such as technology and science studies, social theory, feminist and gender studies and conversation and discourse analysis is also considered. Historically, the readings of Wittgenstein in the social sciences have taken...... of the linguistic turn in social theory, the linguistic turn is a double-edged sword of both profound insights and limits; the claim is that the limits of the linguistic turn are the strengths of functionalist, structuralist and materialist approaches to the social sciences. The approach of the critical turn...... is to develop a more comprehensive social theory that is sensitive to these strengths and thus supersedes the limits of the linguistic turn. This paper suggests a different approach. Against the critical turn, the paper argues that the limits of the linguistic turn are identical with the very assumptions...

  5. Social Psychological Conditions of Psychological Well-Being in Individuals Who Have Experienced Critical Events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pergamenshchik L.A.

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper addresses the issue of maintaining psychological well-being in individuals who have experienced critical events. The research presented in this paper was carried out within the paradigm of salutogenesis, according to which the most crucial factors in preserving one’s mental and physical health are the realization of the inner potential, cognitive and physical activity, orientation towards healthy life goals, and self-actualization, and not only the absence of illness and disabilities. The authors describe a procedure of methodological triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data that enabled them to outline the social psychological conditions necessary for the positive functioning of individuals who have experienced critical events.

  6. [Colors and their meaning in culture and psychology--a historical outline and contemporary status of color vision theories].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grzybowski, Andrzej; Lewicka, Romana; Torlińska, Teresa; Stelcer, Bogusław

    2008-01-01

    The mechanism of color perception has intrigued scholars from antiquity. However, the understanding of this phenomena only came with the recognition of the nature of light and visual perception. Ancient concepts, present in science until the Renaissance, were based more on philosophical considerations and theoretical speculations than on anatomical studies and a matter-of-fact assessment of physiological functions of the visual system. From antiquity to 17th century scientific approach to the concept of vision was dominated by two theories: intromission and extramission (emanation). Intromission theory, propagated by Alhazen (lbn al.-Haythama), Vitello, John Peckham, Roger Bacon and Leonardo da Vinci, assumed that the light was transmitted from the observed object perpendicularly to the transparent eye structures. Johannes Kepler was the first scholar to propose that the retina was the receptive part of the eye. In the first half of the 17th century, Kepler's groundbreaking optical achievements and anatomical discoveries of many other scientists cast new light on the understanding of the role of different eye structures, finally wiping out the intromission theory. A further major achievement contributing to the recognition of the true nature of colors was a theory presented by Newton in 1688. He argued that they were colored rays, and not white light, that were composed of homogenous and pure light. It was, however, not until the 19th century when two modern theories of color appeared, i.e. a trichromatic theory mostly associated with the names of Young and Hemlholtz, and an opponent colors theory of Hering. In the 20th century, the two theories--previously assumed as contradictory--were joined into the zone theories of color vision. Colors have their cultural and social meanings, as far as a very individual and personal interpretation. In the former function they are used to illustrate some cultural and sociological phenomena; in the latter, they are helpful in

  7. Social Networking in School Psychology Training Programs: A Survey of Faculty and Graduate Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pham, Andy V.; Goforth, Anisa N.; Segool, Natasha; Burt, Isaac

    2014-01-01

    The increasing use of social networking sites has become an emerging focus in school psychology training, policy, and research. The purpose of the current study is to present data from a survey on social networking among faculty and graduate students in school psychology training programs. A total of 110 faculty and 112 graduate students in school…

  8. College Students' Social Goals and Psychological Adjustment: Mediation via Emotion Regulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shim, Sungok Serena; Wang, Cen; Makara, Kara A.; Xu, Xiao-Guang; Xie, Li-Na; Zhong, Ming

    2017-01-01

    University life can be stressful and students may struggle to adjust socially. We examined students' social achievement goals--their orientations towards their relationships with their peers--as one important factor underlying students' social and psychological adjustment in college. When investigating the direct and indirect effects of social…

  9. Causal beliefs about depression in different cultural groups – What do cognitive psychological theories of causal learning and reasoning predict?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    York eHagmayer

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Cognitive psychological research focusses on causal learning and reasoning while cognitive anthropological and social science research tend to focus on systems of beliefs. Our aim was to explore how these two types of research can inform each other. Cognitive psychological theories (causal model theory and causal Bayes nets were used to derive predictions for systems of causal beliefs. These predictions were then applied to lay theories of depression as a specific test case. A systematic literature review on causal beliefs about depression was conducted, including original, quantitative research. Thirty-six studies investigating 13 non-Western and 32 Western cultural groups were analysed by classifying assumed causes and preferred forms of treatment into common categories. Relations between beliefs and treatment preferences were assessed. Substantial agreement between cultural groups was found with respect to the impact of observable causes. Stress was generally rated as most important. Less agreement resulted for hidden, especially supernatural causes. Causal beliefs were clearly related to treatment preferences in Western groups, while evidence was mostly lacking for non-Western groups. Overall predictions were supported, but there were considerable methodological limitations. Pointers to future research, which may combine studies on causal beliefs with experimental paradigms on causal reasoning, are given.

  10. Incorporating political socialization theory into baccalaureate nursing education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, S G

    1996-01-01

    Political socialization theory explains how an individual develops a political belief system. As the health care system undergoes dramatic changes, nursing faculty should use political socialization theory to enhance the education of student nurses. A political thread can be woven through the nursing curricula, and students can be socialized to the political role. The new generation of nurses must incorporate a political component into their professional role identity. Political socialization theory can guide nursing faculty as knowledge of the political system and political skills are incorporated into nursing curricula.

  11. The Making of Social Theory

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Balon, Jan

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 34, č. 4 (2012), s. 515-528 ISSN 1210-0250 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP401/11/2338 Institutional support: RVO:67985955 Keywords : social theory * styles of writing * commentary * interpretation * canon * social knowledge Subject RIV: AA - Philosophy ; Religion

  12. Psychology, Social Science and the Management of Violent ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper discusses the salient aspects of an eight – year experience in the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Abuja – Nigeria, where the author ... matter of psychology and rivalry emanating from subtle competition among sub disciplines of the social science for hegemonic role in conflict management, (b) many of ...

  13. Speaking for ourselves: feminist methods and community psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cosgrove, L; McHugh, M C

    2000-12-01

    Although feminist and community psychology share a number of epistemological and methodological perspectives that guide their respective theories and research practices, it has been argued that community psychology has not fully integrated a feminist perspective into the discipline. This paper examines how community psychology and feminist research methods might combine to help us better understand women's experiences without essentializing or universalizing those experiences. The authors offer a series of suggested directions for feminist research that may also prove promising for community psychology. Particular attention is paid to feminist social constructionist approaches insofar as they address the complex relationship between epistemology and methodology.

  14. Current use was established and Cochrane guidance on selection of social theories for systematic reviews of complex interventions was developed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noyes, Jane; Hendry, Maggie; Booth, Andrew; Chandler, Jackie; Lewin, Simon; Glenton, Claire; Garside, Ruth

    2016-07-01

    To identify examples of how social theories are used in systematic reviews of complex interventions to inform production of Cochrane guidance. Secondary analysis of published/unpublished examples of theories of social phenomena for use in reviews of complex interventions identified through scoping searches, engagement with key authors and methodologists supplemented by snowballing and reference searching. Theories were classified (low-level, mid-range, grand). Over 100 theories were identified with evidence of proliferation over the last 5 years. New low-level theories (tools, taxonomies, etc) have been developed for classifying and reporting complex interventions. Numerous mid-range theories are used; one example demonstrated how control theory had changed the review's findings. Review-specific logic models are increasingly used, but these can be challenging to develop. New low-level and mid-range psychological theories of behavior change are evolving. No reviews using grand theory (e.g., feminist theory) were identified. We produced a searchable Wiki, Mendeley Inventory, and Cochrane guidance. Use of low-level theory is common and evolving; incorporation of mid-range theory is still the exception rather than the norm. Methodological work is needed to evaluate the contribution of theory. Choice of theory reflects personal preference; application of theory is a skilled endeavor. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. When familiar social partners are selected in open-ended situations: further tests of the socioemotional selectivity theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dudley, Nikki M; Multhaup, Kristi S

    2005-01-01

    Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST; Carstensen, 1995, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4, 151-156) predicts that novel social partners are preferred in open-ended situations, whereas familiar social partners are preferred in future-limited situations. The authors attempted to generalize past research to new familiar and novel partner options. Studies 1 (N=144; undergraduates, community-dwelling adults ages 65 to 95) and 2 (N=336 community-dwelling participants ages 11 to 89) indicated that young and older participants in a future-limited situation preferred familiar partners. However, with different social partner options than have been used in previous research, young participants in an open-ended situation also preferred a familiar partner, contrary to the predictions of SST.

  16. Socioecological psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oishi, Shigehiro

    2014-01-01

    Socioecological psychology investigates humans' cognitive, emotional, and behavioral adaption to physical, interpersonal, economic, and political environments. This article summarizes three types of socioecological psychology research: (a) association studies that link an aspect of social ecology (e.g., population density) with psychology (e.g., prosocial behavior), (b) process studies that clarify why there is an association between social ecology and psychology (e.g., residential mobility → anxiety → familiarity seeking), and (c) niche construction studies that illuminate how psychological states give rise to the creation and maintenance of a social ecology (e.g., familiarity seeking → dominance of national chain stores). Socioecological psychology attempts to bring the objectivist perspective to psychological science, investigating how objective social and physical environments, not just perception and construal of the environments, affect one's thinking, feeling, and behaviors, as well as how people's thinking, feeling, and behaviors give rise to social and built environments.

  17. Dimensions and psychology of peer teaching in medical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ten Cate, Olle; Durning, Steven

    2007-09-01

    Peer teaching, an educational arrangement in which one student teaches one or more fellow students, is applied in several forms in medical education. A number of authors have linked peer teaching to theories of education and psychology. Yet no comprehensive overview of what theory can offer to understand dynamics of peer teaching has been previously provided. A framework is designed to categorize forms of peer teaching, distinguishing three dimensions: distance in stage of education, formality of the educational setting and size of the group taught. Theories are categorized in two dimensions: theories that explain benefits of peer teaching from a cognitive versus a social-psychological perspective, and theories that explain benefits for peer learners versus peer teachers. Both dimensional frameworks help to clarify why and in what conditions peer teaching may help students to learn.

  18. The Influence of Social Networking Sites on High School Students' Social and Academic Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, June

    2010-01-01

    This dissertation examines the effects of social network sites on youth social and academic development. First, I provide a critical analysis of the extant research literature surrounding social network sites and youth. I merge scholarly thought in the areas of Internet studies, digital divides, social capital theory, psychological well-being,…

  19. The folk psychology of souls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bering, Jesse M

    2006-10-01

    The present article examines how people's belief in an afterlife, as well as closely related supernatural beliefs, may open an empirical backdoor to our understanding of the evolution of human social cognition. Recent findings and logic from the cognitive sciences contribute to a novel theory of existential psychology, one that is grounded in the tenets of Darwinian natural selection. Many of the predominant questions of existential psychology strike at the heart of cognitive science. They involve: causal attribution (why is mortal behavior represented as being causally related to one's afterlife? how are dead agents envisaged as communicating messages to the living?), moral judgment (why are certain social behaviors, i.e., transgressions, believed to have ultimate repercussions after death or to reap the punishment of disgruntled ancestors?), theory of mind (how can we know what it is "like" to be dead? what social-cognitive strategies do people use to reason about the minds of the dead?), concept acquisition (how does a common-sense dualism interact with a formalized socio-religious indoctrination in childhood? how are supernatural properties of the dead conceptualized by young minds?), and teleological reasoning (why do people so often see their lives as being designed for a purpose that must be accomplished before they perish? how do various life events affect people's interpretation of this purpose?), among others. The central thesis of the present article is that an organized cognitive "system" dedicated to forming illusory representations of (1) psychological immortality, (2) the intelligent design of the self, and (3) the symbolic meaning of natural events evolved in response to the unique selective pressures of the human social environment.

  20. THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT ON PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS IN OLDER PERSONS: AN EXAMINATION OF INTERACTION PROCESSES IN AUSTRALIA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharpley, Christopher; Hussain, Rafat; Wark, Stuart; Mcevoy, Mark; Attia, John

    2015-12-01

    Social support is proposed as a coping mechanism against anxiety and depression amongst older persons, but few data have examined how this occurs. This study assessed the contributions of two sub-components of social support as mediators against psychological distress-broadly defined as anxiety and depression. 1,560 men and 1,758 women from the Hunter Community Study (Australia) completed the Duke Social Support Scale and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. The Duke Social Support Scale examined the amount of social interaction and satisfaction with social interactions. Significant mediating effects of social support were found in the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale items measuring depression but not anxiety. Satisfaction with social support was a significant predictor of Kessler Psychological Distress Scale total score and Sadness items, but the amount of social support was not a predictor of stress. Social support may assist with symptoms of depression, i.e., specific sadness/depressed mood, but not necessarily with anxiety. Implications for policy and service delivery were discussed.

  1. Constructive conflict coverage - A social-psychological research and development program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wilhelm Kempf

    2003-10-01

    Full Text Available Peace journalism is a relatively new research area in psychology which emerged in the last decade of the last century. Building on findings from social psychology (group processes, social influence, conflict research, attitude change, propaganda, and enemy concept research and on models of conflict management and the constructive transformation of conflicts, an investigation is made of the factors that determine the escalation oriented bias of conventional war reporting, and of how this can be transformed into de-escalation and/or peace oriented conflict reporting. This paper provides an outline of this research and development program in six sections: (1 Interest Perception, (2 Task Formulation, (3 Basic Theoretical Assumptions, (4 War Discourse vs. Peace Discourse, (5 a Two Step Model, and (6 Journalist Training.

  2. Institutional Theory as a Framework for Practitioners of Social Entrepreneurship

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agrawal, Anirudh; Hockerts, Kai

    2013-01-01

    The chapter proposes institutional theory as a framework for reflecting on social entrepreneurship. We advocate institutional theory as a tool for practitioners to reflect upon the legitimacy, survivability and scalability of social enterprises because institutional theory frameworks can reduce...... risks associated with emerging fields such as social entrepreneurship. In order to illustrate our claim, we present four cases of social entrepreneurship and reflect on them through different institutional theory frameworks. At the end of the chapter, we propose a future agenda for practitioners...... interested in social entrepreneurship from an institutional theory perspective....

  3. The psychological influences on participation in Wheelchair Rugby: a social relational model of disability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Damian Haslett

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Sport and exercise psychology research in disability sport seldom engages with social models of disability. As a result, the socio-historical landscape of disability is underrepresented in sport psychology research. The aim of this study is to interpret influences on participation in disability sport through the conceptual lens of the social relational model (SRM of disability (Thomas, 1999, 2004, 2007. Ten Irish adult male athletes with physical disabilities participated in semi-structured interviews exploring the barriers and facilitators that influence participation in Wheelchair Rugby. Deductive thematic analysis produced four themes influenced by the social relational model: impairment effects; societal attitudes and discourse; opportunities and access; and psychological well-being. Links were made to the experience of embodied impairment, classification, oppression, inequality, media, independence, and self-efficacy. The analysis illustrates how cultural constructions of disability are inextricably linked to individual influences on participation in Wheelchair Rugby. The results indicate that in disability sport participation, the experience of social oppression, inequality and cultural stereotypes of disability can be synonymous with the personal experience of physical impairment. The implication of this research is that there is a value in sport and exercise psychology practitioners utilising the social relational model as a tool to conceptualise the lived experience of physical disability.

  4. Why Community Works: The Use of Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology as a Foundational Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glenn, Robert K.; Keith, Edwin M.

    2002-01-01

    Asserts that the Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler should be used as a foundational theory for student affairs work. The success of community building programs is explained and the concepts of Individual Psychology are summarized. Also asserts that the current drive to develop programs to develop community on college campuses is firmly rooted…

  5. Social and psychologic factors related to falls among the elderly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mossey, J M

    1985-08-01

    Studies on falls are reviewed. Little information exists on which social or psychologic factors predispose an older person to fall or to sustain a fall-related injury. Risk of falling appears to be greater among females, the cognitively impaired, and those who use hypnotics, tranquilizers, and diuretics. The potential significance of depression and senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type on the risk of falling is explored. It is suggested that because of the associated impaired judgment, distraction, and psychomotor retardation, the presence of either clinical condition may increase an individual's risk of falling. In the final section of the article, directions for future research are discussed. Development of a systematic research program is suggested including epidemiologic studies of all falls and of medically treated falls. Such studies should be multidisciplinary and include assessment of social and psychologic factors as well as physical and functional health status, ambulatory function, perceptual acuity, and the circumstances surrounding the fall. The psychologic consequences of falling, particularly in the absence of a serious fall-related injury, is identified as an important research area.

  6. Psychological Capital, Career Identity and Graduate Employability in Uganda: The Mediating Role of Social Capital

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngoma, Muhammad; Dithan Ntale, Peter

    2016-01-01

    This paper seeks to evaluate the relationship between psychological capital, career identity, social capital and graduate employability. We also seek to evaluate the mediating role of social capital on the relationships between psychological capital, career identity and graduate employability in Uganda. A population of 480 unemployed young people…

  7. "Was it something I said?" "No, it was something you posted!" A study of the spiral of silence theory in social media contexts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gearhart, Sherice; Zhang, Weiwu

    2015-04-01

    New media technologies make it necessary for scholars to reassess mass communication theories developed among legacy media. One such theory is the spiral of silence theory originally proposed by Noelle-Neumann in the 1970s. Increasing diversity of media content, selectivity, social networking site (SNS) interactivity, and the potential for anonymity have posed various challenges to its theoretical assumptions. While application of the spiral of silence in SNS contexts has been theorized, its empirical testing is scarce. To fill this void, the Pew 2012 Search, Social Networks, and Politics survey is used to test the theory. Results reveal that encountering agreeable political content predicts speaking out, while encountering disagreeable postings stifles opinion expression, supporting the spiral of silence theory in the SNS environment. However, certain uses of SNSs and psychological factors demonstrate a liberating effect on opinion expression.

  8. The increasing use of theory in social gerontology: 1990-2004.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alley, Dawn E; Putney, Norella M; Rice, Melissa; Bengtson, Vern L

    2010-09-01

    To determine how often theory is used in published research in social gerontology, compare theory use over a 10-year period (1990-1994 to 2000-2004), and identify the theories most frequently used in social gerontology research. Systematic review of articles published in eight leading journals from 2000 to 2004 (N = 1,046) and comparison with a review conducted 10 years earlier. Theory was mentioned in 39% of articles published from 2000 to 2004, representing a 12% increase in the use of theory over 10 years. This increase was driven by theories outside the core sociology of aging theories identified by Bengtson, V. L., Burgess, E. O., and Parrott, T. M. (1997). Theory, explanation, and a third generation of theoretical development in social gerontology. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 52B, S72-S88. The five most frequently used theories included the life course perspective, life-span developmental theories, role theory, exchange theory, and person-environment theory/ecological theories of aging. Commonly used models included stress process/stress and coping models, successful aging models, the Andersen behavioral model of health services use, models of control/self-efficacy/mastery, and disablement process models. Theory use in social gerontology increased between 1990 and 2004, with a shift toward theories that cross disciplines. However, the majority of research in social gerontology continues to be atheoretical. Models are widely used as a supplement to or substitute for theory. Many of these models are currently being debated and elaborated, and over time, they may emerge as important theoretical contributions to social gerontology.

  9. Social Capital Theory: Implications for Women's Networking and Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alfred, Mary V.

    2009-01-01

    This chapter describes social capital theory as a framework for exploring women's networking and social capital resources. It presents the foundational assumptions of the theory, the benefits and risks of social capital engagement, a feminist critique of social capital, and the role of social capital in adult learning.

  10. Integrating social capital theory, social cognitive theory, and the technology acceptance model to explore a behavioral model of telehealth systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Chung-Hung

    2014-05-07

    Telehealth has become an increasingly applied solution to delivering health care to rural and underserved areas by remote health care professionals. This study integrated social capital theory, social cognitive theory, and the technology acceptance model (TAM) to develop a comprehensive behavioral model for analyzing the relationships among social capital factors (social capital theory), technological factors (TAM), and system self-efficacy (social cognitive theory) in telehealth. The proposed framework was validated with 365 respondents from Nantou County, located in Central Taiwan. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the causal relationships that were hypothesized in the proposed model. The finding indicates that elderly residents generally reported positive perceptions toward the telehealth system. Generally, the findings show that social capital factors (social trust, institutional trust, and social participation) significantly positively affect the technological factors (perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness respectively), which influenced usage intention. This study also confirmed that system self-efficacy was the salient antecedent of perceived ease of use. In addition, regarding the samples, the proposed model fitted considerably well. The proposed integrative psychosocial-technological model may serve as a theoretical basis for future research and can also offer empirical foresight to practitioners and researchers in the health departments of governments, hospitals, and rural communities.

  11. Integrating Social Capital Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and the Technology Acceptance Model to Explore a Behavioral Model of Telehealth Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chung-Hung Tsai

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Telehealth has become an increasingly applied solution to delivering health care to rural and underserved areas by remote health care professionals. This study integrated social capital theory, social cognitive theory, and the technology acceptance model (TAM to develop a comprehensive behavioral model for analyzing the relationships among social capital factors (social capital theory, technological factors (TAM, and system self-efficacy (social cognitive theory in telehealth. The proposed framework was validated with 365 respondents from Nantou County, located in Central Taiwan. Structural equation modeling (SEM was used to assess the causal relationships that were hypothesized in the proposed model. The finding indicates that elderly residents generally reported positive perceptions toward the telehealth system. Generally, the findings show that social capital factors (social trust, institutional trust, and social participation significantly positively affect the technological factors (perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness respectively, which influenced usage intention. This study also confirmed that system self-efficacy was the salient antecedent of perceived ease of use. In addition, regarding the samples, the proposed model fitted considerably well. The proposed integrative psychosocial-technological model may serve as a theoretical basis for future research and can also offer empirical foresight to practitioners and researchers in the health departments of governments, hospitals, and rural communities.

  12. A Pathway to Psychological Difficulty: Perceived Chronic Social Adversity and Its Symptomatic Reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Cody; Zhang, Jingqiu; Yang, Dong

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, we attempt to predict and explain psychological maladjustment or difficulty. Specifically, we discuss the concept of perceived chronic social adversity, and we expect that such perceived chronic social adversity may potentially lead to chronic stress responses. Accordingly, we propose the symptomatic reactions of perceived chronic social adversity. We put forward a set of hypotheses regarding the relationships between perceived chronic social adversity and those chronic stress responses, and we further hypothesize a mediating role of individualized negative essentialism brought by perceived chronical social adversity. Resilience and individual differences in the ability to cope with perceived adversity are discussed. Future research and prevention need to pay more attention to effects of subjective personal experiences on psychological difficulty, focusing on the importance of exploring daily social experiences in improving cognitive construction processes and developing appropriate preventions.

  13. A Pathway to Psychological Difficulty: Perceived Chronic Social Adversity and Its Symptomatic Reactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cody Ding

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we attempt to predict and explain psychological maladjustment or difficulty. Specifically, we discuss the concept of perceived chronic social adversity, and we expect that such perceived chronic social adversity may potentially lead to chronic stress responses. Accordingly, we propose the symptomatic reactions of perceived chronic social adversity. We put forward a set of hypotheses regarding the relationships between perceived chronic social adversity and those chronic stress responses, and we further hypothesize a mediating role of individualized negative essentialism brought by perceived chronical social adversity. Resilience and individual differences in the ability to cope with perceived adversity are discussed. Future research and prevention need to pay more attention to effects of subjective personal experiences on psychological difficulty, focusing on the importance of exploring daily social experiences in improving cognitive construction processes and developing appropriate preventions.

  14. Effect of Couple Therapy Based on the Choice Theory on Social Commitment of Couples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hossein Abbasi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objective: Commitment to spouse, marriage, and family is one of the most important factors ensuring the continuity of marriage and strength of family bonds that has attracted considerable attention in the contemporary family and marriage studies. In this study, we sought to determine the effect of couple therapy based on the choice theory on the social commitment of couples. Materials and Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design and a control group that was performed among volunteer couples visiting Isfahan Counseling and Psychology Centers in Isfahan, Iran, during 2015. The subjects consisted of 32 incompatible couples who were selected through convenience sampling and were randomly assigned into experimental (16 couples and control (16 couples groups. Then, the experimental group received nine sessions of group couple therapy during three months on family life skills based on choice theory. It is worth mentioning that the dependent variable was the social commitment of couples evaluated by the dimensions of commitment inventory of Adams and Jones (1997. The collected data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance in SPSS, version 20. Results: At the post-test stage, couple therapy based on choice theory significantly enhanced social commitment in the experimental group compared to the control group (P<0.001. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, couple therapy based on the choice theory is an effective strategy in promoting commitment and loyalty to spouse, marriage, and family and can decrease and prevent family-related problems and threats such as divorce and marital infidelity.

  15. Rorty and contemporary social theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prodanović Srđan

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to show certain aspects of Rorty’s philosophy that are relevant to social theory, and also to point out the most important divergences of Rorty’s insights from postmodern understanding of social reality. Therefore, in the first part of the paper I will examine both Rorty’s philosophy of edification and all relevant criticisms to his view of philosophy “as a communication of mankind”. Furthermore, I will try to establish to which extent Rorty’s understanding of contingency and its implications really falls close to postmodern thought. I will also argue that the impossibility of philosophical justification of social reality, according to Rorty, does not entail impossibility of moral progress and that the role of social theory is actually in raising the level of inclusion of social interaction and in providing social hope. Moreover, it will be shown that Rorty, unlike Foucault and Derrida, thought that the institutions of Western democracy and liberalism are quite capable to achieve these goals and that accomplishment of this liberal utopia greatly depends on the degree of commitment to moral progress that all actors (writers, social scientists and philosophers within the cultural field share.

  16. Theorizing political psychology: Doing integrative social science under the condition of postmodernity

    OpenAIRE

    Rosenberg, Shawn W.

    2003-01-01

    At the beginning of the 21st century, the field of political psychology; like the social sciences more generally, is being challenged. New theoretical direction is being demanded from within and a greater epistemological sophistication and ethical relevance is being demanded from without. In response, direction for a reconstructed political psychology is offered here. To begin, a theoretical framework for a truly integrative political psychology is sketched. This is done in light of the appar...

  17. Disentangling the Importance of Psychological Predispositions and Social Constructions in the Organization of American Political Ideology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verhulst, Brad; Hatemi, Peter K; Eaves, Lindon J

    2012-06-01

    Ideological preferences within the American electorate are contingent on both the environmental conditions that provide the content of the contemporary political debate and internal predispositions that motivate people to hold liberal or conservative policy preferences. In this article we apply Jost, Federico, and Napier's (2009) top-down/bottom-up theory of political attitude formation to a genetically informative population sample. In doing so, we further develop the theory by operationalizing the top-down pathway to be a function of the social environment and the bottom-up pathway as a latent set of genetic factors. By merging insights from psychology, behavioral genetics, and political science, we find strong support for the top-down/bottom-up framework that segregates the two independent pathways in the formation of political attitudes and identifies a different pattern of relationships between political attitudes at each level of analysis.

  18. Social Justice and Lesbian Feminism: Two Theories Applied to Homophobia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denise L. Levy

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Trends in contemporary social work include the use of an eclectic theory base. In an effort to incorporate multiple theories, this article will examine the social problem of homophobia using two different theoretical perspectives: John Rawls’ theory of social justice and lesbian feminist theory.Homophobia, a current social problem, can be defined as “dislike or hatred toward homosexuals, including both cultural and personal biases against homosexuals” (Sullivan, 2003, p. 2. Rawls’ theory of justice and lesbian feminist theory are especially relevant to the issue of homophobia and provide a useful lens to understanding this social problem. In this article, these two theories will be summarized, applied to the issue of homophobia, and compared and contrasted based on their utility.

  19. The Psychological Self as Actor, Agent, and Author.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAdams, Dan P

    2013-05-01

    The psychological self may be construed as a reflexive arrangement of the subjective "I" and the constructed "Me," evolving and expanding over the human life course. The psychological self begins life as a social actor, construed in terms of performance traits and social roles. By the end of childhood, the self has become a motivated agent, too, as personal goals, motives, values, and envisioned projects for the future become central features of how the I conceives of the Me. A third layer of selfhood begins to form in the adolescent and emerging adulthood years, when the self as autobiographical author aims to construct a story of the Me, to provide adult life with broad purpose and a dynamic sense of temporal continuity. An integrative theory that envisions the psychological self as a developing I-Me configuration of actor, agent, and author helps to synthesize a wide range of conceptions and findings on the self from social, personality, cognitive, cultural, and developmental psychology and from sociology and other social sciences. The actor-agent-author framework also sheds new light on studies of self-regulation, self-esteem, self-continuity, and the relationship between self and culture. © The Author(s) 2013.

  20. Development of a psychological test to measure ability-based emotional intelligence in the Indonesian workplace using an item response theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fajrianthi

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Fajrianthi,1 Rizqy Amelia Zein2 1Department of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2Department of Personality and Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia Abstract: This study aimed to develop an emotional intelligence (EI test that is suitable to the Indonesian workplace context. Airlangga Emotional Intelligence Test (Tes Kecerdasan Emosi Airlangga [TKEA] was designed to measure three EI domains: 1 emotional appraisal, 2 emotional recognition, and 3 emotional regulation. TKEA consisted of 120 items with 40 items for each subset. TKEA was developed based on the Situational Judgment Test (SJT approach. To ensure its psychometric qualities, categorical confirmatory factor analysis (CCFA and item response theory (IRT were applied to test its validity and reliability. The study was conducted on 752 participants, and the results showed that test information function (TIF was 3.414 (ability level = 0 for subset 1, 12.183 for subset 2 (ability level = -2, and 2.398 for subset 3 (level of ability = -2. It is concluded that TKEA performs very well to measure individuals with a low level of EI ability. It is worth to note that TKEA is currently at the development stage; therefore, in this study, we investigated TKEA’s item analysis and dimensionality test of each TKEA subset. Keywords: categorical confirmatory factor analysis, emotional intelligence, item response theory 

  1. Mathematical psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batchelder, William H

    2010-09-01

    Mathematical psychology is a sub-field of psychology that started in the 1950s and has continued to grow as an important contributor to formal psychological theory, especially in the cognitive areas of psychology such as learning, memory, classification, choice response time, decision making, attention, and problem solving. In addition, there are several scientific sub-areas that were originated by mathematical psychologists such as the foundations of measurement, stochastic memory models, and psychologically motivated reformulations of expected utility theory. Mathematical psychology does not include all uses of mathematics and statistics in psychology, and indeed there is a long history of such uses especially in the areas of perception and psychometrics. What is most unique about mathematical psychology is its approach to theory construction. While accepting the behaviorist dictum that the data in psychology must be observable and replicable, mathematical models are specified in terms of unobservable formal constructs that can predict detailed aspects of data across multiple experimental and natural settings. By now almost all the substantive areas of cognitive and experimental psychology have formal mathematical models and theories, and many of these are due to researchers that identify with mathematical psychology. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Counseling, Psychological, and Social Services Staffing: Policies in U.S. School Districts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brener, Nancy; Demissie, Zewditu

    2018-06-01

    Schools are in a unique position to meet the mental and behavioral health needs of children and adolescents because approximately 95% of young people aged 7-17 years attend school. Little is known, however, about policies related to counseling, psychological, and social services staffing in school districts. This study analyzed the prevalence of such policies in public school districts in the U.S. Data from four cycles (2000, 2006, 2012, and 2016) of the School Health Policies and Practices Study, a national survey periodically conducted to assess policies and practices for ten components of school health, were analyzed in 2017. The survey collected data related to counseling, psychological, and social services among nationally representative samples of school districts using online or mailed questionnaires. Sampled districts identified respondents responsible for or most knowledgeable about the content of each questionnaire. The percentage of districts with a district-level counseling, psychological, and social services coordinator increased significantly from 62.6% in 2000 to 79.5% in 2016. In 2016, 56.3% of districts required each school to have someone to coordinate counseling, psychological, and social services at the school. Fewer districts required schools at each level to have a specified ratio of counselors to students (16.2% for elementary schools, 16.8% for middle schools, and 19.8% for high schools), and the percentage of districts with these requirements has decreased significantly since 2012. Increases in the prevalence of district-level staffing policies could help increase the quantity and quality of counseling, psychological, and social services staff in schools nationwide, which in turn could improve mental and behavioral health outcomes for students. This article is part of a supplement entitled The Behavioral Health Workforce: Planning, Practice, and Preparation, which is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

  3. Eight myths on motivating social services workers: theory-based perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latting, J K

    1991-01-01

    A combination of factors has made formal motivational and reward systems rare in human service organizations generally and virtually non-existent in social service agencies. The author reviews eight of these myths by reference to eight motivational theories which refute them: need theory, expectancy theory, feedback theory, equity theory, reinforcement theory, cognitive evaluation theory, goal setting theory, and social influence theory. Although most of these theories have been developed and applied in the private sector, relevant research has also been conducted in social service agencies. The author concludes with a summary of guidelines suggested by the eight theories for motivating human service workers.

  4. HIV-related stigma and psychological distress: the harmful effects of specific stigma manifestations in various social settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stutterheim, Sarah E; Pryor, John B; Bos, Arjan E R; Hoogendijk, Robert; Muris, Peter; Schaalma, Herman P

    2009-11-13

    Recent research has shown that experiences of stigmatization have an adverse impact on the psychological well being of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Most studies investigating this relationship employ an aggregate measure of stigma. Although this approach provides useful information about the psychological implications of HIV-related stigma in general, it neglects to acknowledge the possibility that some manifestations in specific settings may be psychologically more detrimental than others. The present study examines which specific stigma experiences are most strongly related to psychological distress across a number of social settings. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 667 PLWHA in the Netherlands. We examined participants' experiences of 11 manifestations of HIV-related stigma in six social settings. Linear regression analyses were conducted to determine which setting-specific manifestations best predict psychological distress after controlling for marital status, education and health status. Three manifestations in family settings, namely receiving advice to conceal one's status, being avoided and being treated with exaggerated kindness, and one manifestation in healthcare settings, namely awkward social interaction, best predicted psychological distress in PLWHA. Manifestations of HIV-related stigma vary according to setting. Certain manifestations in specific social settings impact the psychological well being of PLWHA more than others. In this study, certain experiences of stigmatization with PLWHA's families and in healthcare settings were more strongly related to psychological distress than experiences occurring in other social settings. These findings suggest that stigma reduction interventions focusing on these influential settings may benefit the psychological well being of PLWHA.

  5. MEMBEDAH TEORI SOSIOLOGI: Teori Pertukaran (Exchange Theory George Caspar Homans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wardani Wardani

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This article is aimed at analyzing critically George Caspar Homans’s theory of exchange. The critical analysis that may be called here simply as “maping ideology” embodied in theory is needed to place the theory within the specific social and political condition, intellectual background, school of thought having great influence on it, and so forth, and also to assesses its limitedness as a theoretical frame-work of scientific research to explain complicated social phenomenon or human interaction. Influenced by psychological and economic theories, Homans’s theory of exchange has been intended at the beginning by the author as attack against Marxism domination that addressed criticism to capitalism as macro-structure oppressing the proletariat by the ruling class and against Durkheimian structural functionalism. By addressing the attack against Marxism and because of his intellectual and social background, Homans’s theory then has been regarded as an explanation justifying the existing situation. Being attributed as psychological reductionism, as neglecting the important role of structure, and deterministic are some of the objections addressed to his theory.

  6. Social integration, psychological distress, and smoking behaviors in a midwest LGBT community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivadon, Angela; Matthews, Alicia K; David, Kevin M

    2014-01-01

    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations have smoking rates twice that of their heterosexual counterparts. To design effective outreach, prevention, and treatments for these individuals, a comprehensive understanding of associated factors is needed. To increase understanding of how social integration and psychological distress are related to smoking behaviors among LGBT populations. A cross-sectional, descriptive study of 135 LGBT adults using an online data collection strategy. Multivariate analyses were performed to examine factors associated with current smoking status. Social integration was not significantly related to smoking behaviors in this LGBT population, although psychological distress was higher among smokers than nonsmokers. Although social support has been reported to have an impact on health behaviors in the general population, the present findings suggest that the benefits of social support may not apply to the smoking activities of LGBT individuals. © The Author(s) 2014.

  7. Perceived social support and the psychological well-being of AIDS orphans in urban Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okawa, Sumiyo; Yasuoka, Junko; Ishikawa, Naoko; Poudel, Krishna C; Ragi, Allan; Jimba, Masamine

    2011-09-01

    Parental deaths due to AIDS seriously affect the psychological well-being of children. Social support may provide an effective resource in the care of vulnerable children in resource-limited settings. However, few studies have examined the relationships between social support and psychological well-being among AIDS orphans. This cross-sectional study was conducted to explore associations between perceived social support (PSS) and the psychological well-being of AIDS orphans, and to identify socio-demographic factors that are associated with PSS. Data were collected from 398 pairs of AIDS orphans (aged 10-18 years) and their caregivers in Nairobi, Kenya. The participants provided information on their socio-demographic characteristics, the children's PSS, and the children's psychological status (based on measures of depressive symptoms and self-esteem). Of the 398 pairs, 327 were included in the analysis. PSS scores of AIDS orphans showed significant correlations with depressive symptoms (ρ =-0.31, psiblings (β=3.044, p=0.016), were also associated with higher PSS scores. In particular, HIV-infected children (n=37) had higher scores of PSS from a special person (β=2.208, p=0.004), and children living with biological siblings (n=269) also had higher scores of PSS from both a special person (β=1.411, p=0.029) and friends (β=1.276, p=0.039). In conclusion, this study showed that PSS is positively associated with the psychological well-being of AIDS orphans. Siblings and special persons can be effective sources of social support for AIDS orphans, which help to promote their psychological well-being.

  8. [Influence of social support and personality traits on psychological characteristic of patients with chronic cervicodynia and lumbodynia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Jie; Zhao, Ping; Chen, Li-Jun; Qin, Hui-Qing; Shi, Wang-Hong; Guo, Wei; Zhen, Ying

    2012-03-01

    To explore the effects of social support and personality traits on psychological characteristic of patients with chronic cervicodynia and lumbodynia and improve the level of diagnosis and treatment. From August 2009 to April 2010, 231 patients (obtained 217 effective responses) with chronic cervicodynia and lumbodynia were recruited. Among the patients, there were 123 males and 94 females, with an average age of (38.00 +/- 5.67) years (ranged from 15 to 66 years). Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Cattell Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) were used to test social support and psychological characteristic and compared the difference of psychological, personality traits and norm, then analyzed the effect of social support and personality traits on psychological characteristic. Two hundred and seventeen (93.9%) patients completed the questionnaire. Compared with normal 16PF scores, there were significant differences in factor scores of intelligence, stability, excitability, perseverance,social boldness, vigilance, sophistication, experimental, independence and tonicity (P characteristic between patients with chronic cervicodynia and lumbodynia and norms. Improving social support level and optimizing personality traits can improve psychological profile of these patients.

  9. Family and peer social support and their links to psychological distress among hurricane-exposed minority youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banks, Donice M; Weems, Carl F

    2014-07-01

    Experiencing a disaster such as a hurricane places youth at a heightened risk for psychological distress such as symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. Social support may contribute to resilience following disasters, but the interrelations of different types of support, level of exposure, and different symptoms among youth is not well understood. This study examined associations among family and peer social support, level of hurricane exposure, and their links to psychological distress using both a large single-time assessment sample (N = 1,098) as well as a longitudinal sample followed over a 6-month period (n = 192). Higher levels of hurricane exposure were related to lower levels of social support from family and peers. Higher levels of family and peer social support demonstrated both concurrent and longitudinal associations with lower levels of psychological distress, with associations varying by social support source and psychological distress outcome. Findings also suggested that the protective effects of high peer social support may be diminished by high hurricane exposure. The results of this study further our understanding of the role of social support in hurricane-exposed youths' emotional functioning and point to the potential importance of efforts to bolster social support following disasters.

  10. Social support, psychological vulnerability, and HIV risk among African American men who have sex with men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saleh, Lena D; van den Berg, Jacob J; Chambers, Christopher S; Operario, Don

    2016-05-01

    Previous research has suggested a need to understand the social-psychological factors contributing to HIV risk among African American men who have sex with men (MSM). We conducted individual in-depth interviews with 34 adult African American MSM to examine their personal experiences about: (i) sources of social support, (ii) psychological responses to the presence or absence of social support and (iii) influences of social support on sexual behaviours. The majority of participants described limited positive encouragement and lack of emotional support from family, as well as few meaningful personal relationships. Feelings of isolation and mistrust about personal relationships led many participants to avoid emotional intimacy and seek physical intimacy through sexual encounters. Findings highlight a need for multilevel interventions that enhance social support networks and address the social-psychological, emotional and interpersonal factors that contribute to HIV risk among African American MSM.

  11. Social smerte i det moderne arbejdsliv ud fra et arbejdspsykologisk perspektiv

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baldursson, Einar Baldvin

    2012-01-01

    It is often argued, that modern work and living in globalized knowledge society involve new demands and social stressors. This paper argues that it is meaningful to assume the existence of a psychological immune system that has emerged through the evolution of social mammals and humans. Accord...... to the theory, this system is activated in the case of social threats, loss or damage. When activated it causes psychological pain and depressive reaction. Similar to the innate immune system, the psychological immune system involves (social) behavior with the goal to limit damage and improve the odds...... for recovery. In the paper it is argued that modern work involves increased focus on social relations and cooperation. The experience of permanent changes at work, increased pressure and emotional demands lead to increasing risk for social loss and defeat at work. According to this theory such experiences...

  12. Theory and model use in social marketing health interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luca, Nadina Raluca; Suggs, L Suzanne

    2013-01-01

    The existing literature suggests that theories and models can serve as valuable frameworks for the design and evaluation of health interventions. However, evidence on the use of theories and models in social marketing interventions is sparse. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify to what extent papers about social marketing health interventions report using theory, which theories are most commonly used, and how theory was used. A systematic search was conducted for articles that reported social marketing interventions for the prevention or management of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, HIV, STDs, and tobacco use, and behaviors related to reproductive health, physical activity, nutrition, and smoking cessation. Articles were published in English, after 1990, reported an evaluation, and met the 6 social marketing benchmarks criteria (behavior change, consumer research, segmentation and targeting, exchange, competition and marketing mix). Twenty-four articles, describing 17 interventions, met the inclusion criteria. Of these 17 interventions, 8 reported using theory and 7 stated how it was used. The transtheoretical model/stages of change was used more often than other theories. Findings highlight an ongoing lack of use or underreporting of the use of theory in social marketing campaigns and reinforce the call to action for applying and reporting theory to guide and evaluate interventions.

  13. Common prescriptions for psychology derived from dialectical materialism and chaos theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilgen, A R

    2000-04-01

    During the entire Soviet period (1917-1991), Russian psychologists labored to create a psychology which would be consonant with Marxist-Leninist assumptions derived from dialectical materialism. Some of their early prescriptions, in particular those put forward by Konstantin N. Kornilov in the 1920s and early 1930s, are identical to strategies being advanced by contemporary American psychologists who propose that chaos theory and nonlinear meta-modeling techniques in general, given advances in computer and television technologies, can be designed for research capable of dealing with the complexities, nonlinearities, self-organizational processes, and abrupt transformations characteristic of human psychological functioning.

  14. Psychological theory and pedagogical effectiveness: the learning promotion potential framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomlinson, Peter

    2008-12-01

    After a century of educational psychology, eminent commentators are still lamenting problems besetting the appropriate relating of psychological insights to teaching design, a situation not helped by the persistence of crude assumptions concerning the nature of pedagogical effectiveness. To propose an analytical or meta-theoretical framework based on the concept of learning promotion potential (LPP) as a basis for understanding the basic relationship between psychological insights and teaching strategies, and to draw out implications for psychology-based pedagogical design, development and research. This is a theoretical and meta-theoretical paper relying mainly on conceptual analysis, though also calling on psychological theory and research. Since teaching consists essentially in activity designed to promote learning, it follows that a teaching strategy has the potential in principle to achieve particular kinds of learning gains (LPP) to the extent that it embodies or stimulates the relevant learning processes on the part of learners and enables the teacher's functions of on-line monitoring and assistance for such learning processes. Whether a teaching strategy actually does realize its LPP by way of achieving its intended learning goals depends also on the quality of its implementation, in conjunction with other factors in the situated interaction that teaching always involves. The core role of psychology is to provide well-grounded indication of the nature of such learning processes and the teaching functions that support them, rather than to directly generate particular ways of teaching. A critically eclectic stance towards potential sources of psychological insight is argued for. Applying this framework, the paper proposes five kinds of issue to be attended to in the design and evaluation of psychology-based pedagogy. Other work proposing comparable ideas is briefly reviewed, with particular attention to similarities and a key difference with the ideas of Oser

  15. The Social Making of Educational Theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Øland, Trine; Sandbjerg Hansen, Christian

    2014-01-01

    in power-knowledge constellations. On the backcloth of analyses of the ontology and epistemology operating in these approaches we conclude that they all ignore the systematic study of the social context in which ideas and theories are conceived and we argue for a social space and social history approach...

  16. The social making of educational theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Øland, Trine; Hansen, Christian Sandbjerg

    in power-knowledge constellations. On the backcloth of analyses of the ontology and epistemology operating in these approaches we conclude that they all ignore the systematic study of the social context in which ideas and theories are conceived and we argue for a social space and social history approach...

  17. Los movimientos sociales: ¿la nueva masa psicológica?. (Social Movements: the New Psychological Mass?.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Fernanda Rodríguez

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Resumen Freud parece explicar el comportamiento psicológico de las masas organizadas a partir de los procesos anímicos de la psique individual. Bajo las consideraciones freudianas y a la luz de ciertas apreciaciones lacanianas, el presente trabajo, resultado de la una investigación de tesis de grado de la maestría en Psicoanálisis, subjetividad y Cultura de la Universidad Nacional, caracterizará una nueva formación colectiva que se ha venido gestando desde la década de los 80 y que parece diferenciarse radicalmente la masa psicológica freudiana. Se trata de los Movimientos Sociales, denominados así por los sociólogos y estudiosos de la psicología colectiva más recientes. Ésta nueva formación colectiva a primera vista parece poner en tela de juicio las apreciaciones freudianas sobre la psicología de las masas, o al menos demandar una nueva consideración de las mismas desde los aportes psicoanalíticos. Palabras clave: lazo social, psicología, masa, psicoanálisis, Movimiento Social. Abstract Freud seems to explain the psychological behavior of the organized masses from the mental processes of the individual psyche. Under the Freudian considerations and in light of certain Lacanian findings, the present research work, the result of an investigation thesis of the Master's Degree in Psychoanalysis, Subjectivity, and Culture at the National University of Colombia, will characterize a new collective formation that has been growing from the 1980s and that seems to be radically different from the Freudian psychological mass. This is the Social Movements, so called by the most recent sociologists and scholars of collective psychology. This new collective formation appears to call into question the Freudian insights on group psychology, or it demands at least a new consideration of masses from the psychoanalytic contributions. Keywords: social bond, psychology, mass, psychoanalysis, Social Movement. Résumé Freud semble expliquer le

  18. Social Psychology Of Persuasion Applied To Human-agent Interaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shenghua Liu

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses and evaluates the application of a social psychologically enriched, user-centered approach to agent architecture design. The major aim is to facilitate human-agent interaction (HAI by making agents not only algorithmically more intelligent but also socially more skillful in communicating with the user. A decision-making model and communicative argumentation strategies have been incorporated into the agent architecture. In the presented content resource management experiments, enhancement of human task performance is demonstrated for users that are supported by a persuasive agent. This superior performance seems to be rooted in a more trusting collaborative relationship between the user and the agent, rather than in the appropriateness of the agent's decision-making suggestions alone. In particular, the second experiment demonstrated that interface interaction design should follow the principles of task-orientation and implicitness. Making the influence of the agent too salient can trigger counterintentional effects, such as users' discomfort and psychological reactance.

  19. Dynamics of social-psychological consequences 10 years after Chernobyl

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rumyantseva, G.M.; Levina, T.M.; Archangelskaya, H.V.; Zykova, I.A.

    1996-01-01

    The study has been carried out according to the long-term JSP2 in comparison with the results of data acquired by the authors in previous years in other programs in 1988-95 for more then 5 thousand people. In working out the strategy of post-catastrophe situation it is necessary to have a joint effort of the population and authority. The studies have showed that cooperation has not been achieved in this case. Hence, the effect of protective measures have been seriously decreased. Countermeasures taken after the catastrophe have had not only a positive, but in some cases a negative impact. The results of many previous studies as will as JSP2 program have shown serious social and psychological consequences of Chernobyl Accident. There is a constant year-to-year comprehension among population anxiety concerning their health. The main result of the study is that social and psychological consequences of the Chernobyl Accident include nonradiological risks as seriously as the radiation risk.23

  20. Psychological Analysis of "Humboldt's Gift" from the Perspective of Lacan's Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiang, Fang

    2017-01-01

    Two protagonists Humboldt and Citrine in "Humboldt's gift" are characterized as restless even lunatic, for they are constantly or madly seeking something such as honor, power or intimate relationship something or other. This thesis intends to analyze Humboldt and Citrine's psychological troubles from the perspective of Lacan's theory and…

  1. "Social Learning" Buzz Masks Deeper Dimensions: Mitigating the Confusion Surrounding "Social Learning"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganis, Frank

    2009-01-01

    There is a century of rich literature on social learning from the fields of education, psychology, and sociology characterizing a wide variety of practical applications such as instructional techniques, consumer behavior conditioning and determining criminal motives. In social learning theory, according to Bandura, there are four fundamental…

  2. Reformulating Psychological Difficulties in People with Parkinson’s Disease: The Potential of a Social Relational Approach to Disablism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jane Simpson

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Research investigating the psychological difficulties experienced by people with Parkinson's disease (PD is dominated by individualistic neurobiological and psychological perspectives. Therefore, this opinion paper draws on a reformulation of the social model of disability, Thomas' (1999 and (2007 social relational approach to disablism, to offer an alternative way of conceptualising psychological difficulties experienced by people with PD. This opinion paper explores the ways in which socially imposed restrictions and stigma may contribute to psychological difficulties by using Thomas' (2007 concept of psychoemotional disablism. By using the lens of psychoemotional disablism, this paper demonstrates that people with PD can be exposed to stigmatising attitudes and interactions which could contribute to restrictions, feelings of shame, and psychological difficulties such as depression. Accordingly, it is argued that further attention to the link between psychological difficulties and social dimensions of disablism in PD is needed in both research arenas and clinical practice to broaden understandings and interventions for people with PD.

  3. Social Comparison of Pay and Inequity Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Judd, Ben

    Inequity theory differs from social exchange theory in its analysis of a worker's reaction to pay by asserting that effects on work performance caused by high or low pay are due to social comparison of fairness rather than principles of direct exchange, such as reciprocity and power. The present experiment held piece-rate pay constant at two…

  4. Note on "History of psychology in India: Problems and prospects".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinha, Chetan; Fox Lee, Shayna

    2017-02-01

    Discusses the indigenization movement of psychology in India, which attempts to develop a context sensitive discipline that can understand the concept of mind and human behavior from the cultural perspective. It emphasizes the culturally bound aspects of human nature and uses methods to explore the ways in which culture emerges from history. Given the directions of scientific research, it is not absurd to engage with Western theories. Nevertheless, some Indian psychologists have resisted what they consider the intrusion of modern psychology. They have forwarded premises about human nature in the philosophical roots of traditional Indian thought which look tautological and feed back to our oppressive social structures; for example, the patriarchy and caste systems. The scope of social change is limited under the garb of indigenization, unless the movement of indigenization calls for social change. Several points are made, of which Indian psychological approaches should become cognizant to better understand the relevant contexts for social responsibility. In addition, several recommendations are suggested for a new wave of psychological research in India. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. Interaction of social support and psychological stress on anxiety and depressive symptoms in breast cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Dong-Gen; Wang, Shu-Sen; Peng, Rou-Jun; Qin, Tao; Shi, Yan-Xia; Teng, Xiao-Yu; Wang, Xi; Chen, Wei-Qing; Yuan, Zhong-Yu

    2011-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to assess the association of psychological stress and social support with anxiety and depressive symptoms in Chinese newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Four hundred and one patients with breast cancer were recruited. Their demographic characteristics, psychological stress and social support were determined with a structured questionnaire, and their anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Psychological stressors caused by breast cancer diagnosed originated from five major sources, as determined by factor analysis. These included "Worrying about health being harmed, " "Fear of decline of physical function, " "Fear of work being harmed, " "Worry about daily life and social relationship being restricted, " and "Fear of family being harmed. " Hierarchical linear regression analysis indicated that, after adjusting for gender, age, marital status, educational level, and duration of illness, solid social support can alleviate such symptoms. The results of this study suggest that there are strong associations between patients' needs and psychological distress with newly diagnosed breast cancer. Social support might affect these associations in Chinese women with breast cancer.

  6. Naive Theories of Social Groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhodes, Marjorie

    2012-01-01

    Four studies examined children's (ages 3-10, Total N = 235) naive theories of social groups, in particular, their expectations about how group memberships constrain social interactions. After introduction to novel groups of people, preschoolers (ages 3-5) reliably expected agents from one group to harm members of the other group (rather than…

  7. The changing psychology of culture in German-speaking countries: A Google Ngram study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Younes, Nadja; Reips, Ulf-Dietrich

    2017-05-05

    This article provides evidence for the long-term affiliation between ecological and cultural changes in German-speaking countries, based on the assumptions derived from social change and human development theory. Based on this theory, the increase in urbanisation, as a measure of ecological change, is associated with significant cultural changes of psychology. Whereas urbanisation is linked to greater individualistic values and materialistic attitudes, rural environments are strongly associated with collectivistic values like allegiance, prevalence of religion, and feelings of belonging and benevolence. Due to an increase in the German urbanisation rate over time, our study investigates whether Germany and the German-speaking countries around show the presumed changes in psychology. By using Google Books Ngram Viewer, we find that word frequencies, signifying individualistic (collectivistic) values, are positively (negatively) related to the urbanisation rate of Germany. Our results indicate that predictions about implications of an urbanising population for the psychology of culture hold true, supporting international universality of the social change and human development theory. Furthermore, we provide evidence for a predicted reversal for the time during and after World War II, reflecting Nazi propaganda and influence. © 2017 International Union of Psychological Science.

  8. Social Outcomes in Childhood Brain Disorder: A Heuristic Integration of Social Neuroscience and Developmental Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeates, Keith Owen; Bigler, Erin D.; Dennis, Maureen; Gerhardt, Cynthia A.; Rubin, Kenneth H.; Stancin, Terry; Taylor, H. Gerry; Vannatta, Kathryn

    2010-01-01

    The authors propose a heuristic model of the social outcomes of childhood brain disorder that draws on models and methods from both the emerging field of social cognitive neuroscience and the study of social competence in developmental psychology/psychopathology. The heuristic model characterizes the relationships between social adjustment, peer interactions and relationships, social problem solving and communication, social-affective and cognitive-executive processes, and their neural substrates. The model is illustrated by research on a specific form of childhood brain disorder, traumatic brain injury. The heuristic model may promote research regarding the neural and cognitive-affective substrates of children’s social development. It also may engender more precise methods of measuring impairments and disabilities in children with brain disorder and suggest ways to promote their social adaptation. PMID:17469991

  9. Research Productivity in Top-Ranked Schools in Psychology and Social Work: Research Cultures Do Matter!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holosko, Michael J.; Barner, John R.

    2016-01-01

    Objectives: We sought the answer to one major research question--Does psychology have a more defined culture of research than social work? Methods: Using "U.S. News and World Report" 2012 and 2013 rankings, we compared psychology faculty (N = 969) from their 25 top ranked programs with a controlled sample of social work faculty (N = 970)…

  10. Social Identity, Health and Well-Being : An Emerging Agenda for Applied Psychology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haslam, S.A.; Jetten, J; Postmes, T.; Haslam, C.

    The social environment comprising communities, families, neighbourhoods, work teams, and various other forms of social group is not simply an external feature of the world that provides a context for individual behaviour. Instead these groups impact on the psychology of individuals through their

  11. Application of Attachment Theory in Clinical Social Work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blakely, Thomas Joseph; Dziadosz, Gregory M

    2015-11-01

    This article proposes the use of attachment theory in clinical social work practice. This theory is very appropriate in this context because of its fit with social work concepts of person-in-situation, the significance of developmental history in the emergence of psychosocial problems, and the content of human behavior in the social environment. A literature review supports the significance of the theory. Included are ideas about how attachment styles and working models may be used in assessment and treatment to help clients achieve a secure attachment style.

  12. The roles of acculturative stress and social constraints on psychological distress in Hispanic/Latino and Asian immigrant college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Celia Ching Yee; Correa, Alma; Robinson, Kendall; Lu, Qian

    2017-07-01

    Acculturative stress has been linked to psychological distress, but few studies have explored the moderating role of social constraints on this relationship. Social constraints are the perception that social networks are unsupportive to stressor-related discussions. In the present study, the relationship between acculturative stress and psychological distress in Hispanic/Latino and Asian immigrants and the moderating role of social constraints in this relationship were examined. Participants were 306 college students (169 Hispanics/Latinos, 137 Asians; 33.9% first-generation immigrants, 66.1% second-generation immigrants) from two Texas universities. Correlation results showed that acculturative stress and social constraints were significantly associated with higher levels of psychological distress in Hispanics/Latinos and Asians. In addition, regression results indicated a significant three-way interaction effect among acculturative stress, social constraints, and racial/ethnic groups. Social constraints were found to moderate the relationship between acculturative stress and psychological distress in Asians but not in Hispanics/Latinos. Significant association between acculturative stress and psychological distress was found in Asians with higher levels of social constraints but not in Asians with lower levels of social constraints. These findings suggested that the interaction effect of acculturative stress and social constraints on psychological distress may be subject to cultural influences, and social constraints may have differential roles in Hispanics/Latinos and Asians. Potential implications on the development of culturally adaptive interventions for different racial/ethnic minority groups were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Social support, locus of control, and psychological well-being

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Zee, KI; Buunk, BP; Sanderman, R

    1997-01-01

    Social support seems to be positively related to psychological well-being. Studies have shown that individual differences exist in the ability to mobilize and use sources of support. The current study focused on locus of control as a personality factor that might be related to this ability, In 2

  14. Social and Psychological Adjustment in Foster Care Alumni: Education and Employment

    OpenAIRE

    Archakova T.O.

    2015-01-01

    The article analyses issues in social and psychological adjustment of young adults, grown up in foster families. The psychological and socio-pedagogical factors facilitating professional education, successful employment and financial independence are emphasized. The methods and results of several large simple design researches of adjustment in foster care alumni, conducted in USA, are described. Recommendations for services and specialists working with young adults leaving state care are prov...

  15. Biological psychological and social determinants of old age: Bio-psycho-social aspects of human aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Małgorzata Dziechciaż

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Biological psychological and social determinants of old age: Bio-psycho-social aspects of human aging. The aging of humans is a physiological and dynamic process ongoing with time. In accordance with most gerontologists’ assertions it starts in the fourth decade of life and leads to death. The process of human aging is complex and individualized, occurs in the biological, psychological and social sphere. Biological aging is characterized by progressive age-changes in metabolism and physicochemical properties of cells, leading to impaired self-regulation, regeneration, and to structural changes and functional tissues and organs. It is a natural and irreversible process which can run as successful aging, typical or pathological. Biological changes that occur with age in the human body affect mood, attitude to the environment, physical condition and social activity, and designate the place of seniors in the family and society. Psychical ageing refers to human awareness and his adaptability to the ageing process. Among adaptation attitudes we can differentiate: constructive, dependence, hostile towards others and towards self attitudes. With progressed age, difficulties with adjustment to the new situation are increasing, adverse changes in the cognitive and intellectual sphere take place, perception process involutes, perceived sensations and information received is lowered, and thinking processes change. Social ageing is limited to the role of an old person is culturally conditioned and may change as customs change. Social ageing refers to how a human being perceives the ageing process and how society sees it.

  16. What would Karl Popper say? Are current psychological theories of ADHD falsifiable?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Katherine A; Wiersema, Jan R; Kuntsi, Jonna

    2009-03-03

    Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common and highly heritable neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorder. Here, we critically review four major psychological theories of ADHD - the Executive Dysfunction, the State Regulation, the Delay Aversion and the Dynamic Developmental - on their abilities to explain all the symptoms of ADHD, their testability and their openness to falsification. We conclude that theoreticians should focus, to a greater extent than currently practiced, on developing refutable theories of ADHD.

  17. Applying Social Capital Theory and the Technology Acceptance ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Applying Social Capital Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model in information and knowledge sharing research. ... Inkanyiso: Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences ... The paper explains the components, relevance and practical applicability of the two theories to information and knowledge sharing research.

  18. Participation by women in developmental, social, cognitive, and general psychology: A context for interpreting trends in behavior analysis

    OpenAIRE

    McSweeney, Frances K.; Parks, Craig D.

    2002-01-01

    We examined participation by women in journals devoted to social, developmental, cognitive, and general psychology. Authorship and first authorship by women increased from 1978 to 1997 for most journals. Participation by women on the editorial staff did not keep pace with their increased authorship for social and developmental psychology. Based on these trends, women's participation decreased with increases in the selectivity of the position for social and developmental psychology (a glass ce...

  19. Psychological distress, social withdrawal, and coping following receipt of an abnormal mammogram among different ethnicities: a mediation model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molina, Yamile; Beresford, Shirley A A; Espinoza, Noah; Thompson, Beti

    2014-09-01

    To explore ethnic differences in psychological distress and social withdrawal after receiving an abnormal mammogram result and to assess if coping strategies mediate ethnic differences. Descriptive correlational. Two urban mobile mammography units and a rural community hospital in the state of Washington. 41 Latina and 41 non-Latina Caucasian (NLC) women who had received an abnormal mammogram result. Women completed standard sociodemographic questions, Impact of Event Scale-Revised, the social dimension of the Psychological Consequences Questionnaire, and the Brief COPE. Ethnicity, psychological distress, social withdrawal, and coping. Latinas experienced greater psychological distress and social withdrawal compared to NLC counterparts. Denial as a coping strategy mediated ethnic differences in psychological distress. Religious coping mediated ethnic differences in social withdrawal. Larger population-based studies are necessary to understand how ethnic differences in coping strategies can influence psychological outcomes. This is an important finding that warrants additional study among women who are and are not diagnosed with breast cancer following an abnormal mammogram. Nurses may be able to work with Latina patients to diminish denial coping and consequent distress. Nurses may be particularly effective, given cultural values concerning strong interpersonal relationships and respect for authority figures.

  20. Psychosocial work factors and social inequalities in psychological distress: a population-based study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caroline S. Duchaine

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Mental health problems (MHP are the leading cause of disability worldwide. The inverse association between socioeconomic position (SEP and MHP has been well documented. There is prospective evidence that factors from the work environment, including adverse psychosocial work factors, could contribute to the development of MHP including psychological distress. However, the contribution of psychosocial work factors to social inequalities in MHP remains unclear. This study evaluates the contribution of psychosocial work factors from two highly supported models, the Demand-Control-Support (DCS and the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI models to SEP inequalities of psychological distress in men and women from a population-based sample of Quebec workers. Methods Data were collected during a survey on working conditions, health and safety at work. SEP was evaluated using education, occupation and household income. Psychosocial work factors and psychological distress were assessed using validated instruments. Mean differences (MD in the score of psychological distress were estimated separately for men and women. Results Low education level and low household income were associated with psychological distress among men (MD, 0.56 (95% CI 0.06; 1.05 and 1.26 (95% CI 0.79; 1.73 respectively. In men, the contribution of psychosocial work factors from the DCS and the ERI models to the association between household income and psychological distress ranged from 9% to 24%. No clear inequalities were observed among women. Conclusions These results suggest that psychosocial work factors from the DCS and the ERI models contribute to explain a part of social inequalities in psychological distress among men. Psychosocial factors at work are frequent and modifiable. The present study supports the relevance of targeting these factors for the primary prevention of MHP and for health policies aiming to reduce social inequalities in mental health.