A Social Comparison Account of Gossip.

The central thesis of this article is that all gossip involves social comparison. Research on social comparison is applied toward understanding motivations for gossip. In addition, the authors address why gossip tends to be negative and make predictions about factors that trigger especially negative talk about others. Factors such as need for moral information, powerlessness, formation and maintenance of in-groups and out-groups, and situations that bring on perceptions of injustice or feelings of jealousy, envy, and resentment all contribute to malicious gossip. Finally, the morality of gossip is considered, especially as it relates to the misuse or overuse of social comparison. Gossip is purposeful and, perhaps, necessary for healthy social functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

In the Eye of the Storm: Race and Genomics in Research and Practice.

The difficulties of operationalizing race in research and practice for social, behavioral, and genetic researchers and practitioners are neither new nor related to recent genetic knowledge. For geneticists, the bases for understanding groups are clines, observed traits that gradually change in frequency between geographic regions without distinct identifiable population boundaries and population histories that carry information about the distribution of genetic variants. For psychologists, race may not exist or be a social and cultural construct associated with fluid social inferences. Because definitions of populations and race can be socially and biologically incongruent, the authors suggest that geneticists and social and behavioral scientists and clinicians attend to external validity issues by operationalizing population and racial categories and avoiding race proxies for other biological, social, and cultural constructs in research designs, data analyses, and clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gossip in Evolutionary Perspective.

Conversation is a uniquely human phenomenon. Analyses of freely forming conversations indicate that approximately two thirds of conversation time is devoted to social topics, most of which can be given the generic label gossip. This article first explores the origins of gossip as a mechanism for bonding social groups, tracing these origins back to social grooming among primates. It then asks why social gossip in this sense should form so important a component of human interaction and presents evidence to suggest that, aside from servicing social networks, a key function may be related explicitly to controlling free riders. Finally, the author reviews briefly the role of social cognition in facilitating conversations of this kind. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological research, practice, and social policy: Potential pathways of influence.

Greater use of psychological research and practice knowledge in the formulation of social policy is necessary to enhance the well-being of U.S. citizens and communities. Although historically there are instances in which psychological and social science research and practice have had a substantial influence on federal policy, for the most part the relationships among research, practice, and policy have been tenuous. Three cases in which research has substantively influenced policy over the past 80 years are reviewed: Keynesian economics, Head Start legislation, and the activities of conservative think tanks. Several recommendations are made for ways in which psychologists can enhance their influence in the policy arena, including communicating directly with policymakers regarding relevant policy findings and knowledge gleaned from practice; conducting interdisciplinary, multilevel research as well as evaluation research (including qualitative data drawn from practice settings); and networking among researchers, practitioners, policy advocates, and social action groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gossip as Cultural Learning.

To complement views of gossip as essentially a means of gaining information about individuals, cementing social bonds, and engaging in indirect aggression, the authors propose that gossip serves to help people learn about how to live in their cultural society. Gossip anecdotes communicate rules in narrative form, such as by describing how someone else came to grief by violating social norms. Gossip is thus an extension of observational learning, allowing one to learn from the triumphs and misadventures of people beyond one's immediate perceptual sphere. This perspective helps to explain some empirical findings about gossip, such as that gossip is not always derogatory and that people sometimes gossip about strangers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of encoding variability, processing activity, and rule–examples sequence on the transfer of conceptual rules.

Meaningful activity (relative to a more rote activity) and exposure to concepts in a variety of situations (as opposed to one situation) were hypothesized to positively influence the breadth of concept acquisition. 198 undergraduates performed concept-acquisition tasks, which involved learning the concept definitions and practice with examples, and completed a recognition test 2 days later. Examples of concepts on the criterion test represented a variety of contexts. Results indicate that more meaningful activity at the time of learning significantly facilitated overall performance on the criterion test. Though all Ss did comparably well on tests of concepts from a restricted context, those exposed to greater variations at the time of learning were significantly better at recognizing broader concept applications. Both concept definitions followed immediately by practice examples, and practice examples given the 1st day with concept definitions given just prior to the test produced better recall than practice examples followed immediately by concept definitions. Results are discussed in terms of the contextualist model for understanding the effects of these variables on learning, memory, and the outcomes of instruction. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

For the good of the group? Exploring group-level evolutionary adaptations using multilevel selection theory.

In this paper, we present an evolutionary framework, multilevel selection theory (MLS), that is highly amenable to existing social psychological theory and empiricism. MLS provides an interpretation of natural selection that shows how group-beneficial traits can evolve, a prevalent implication of social psychological data. We outline the theory and provide a number of example topics, focusing on prosociality, policing behavior, gossip, brainstorming, distributed cognition, and social identity. We also show that individual differences can produce important group-level outcomes depending on differential aggregation of individual types and relate this to the evolutionary dynamics underlying group traits. Drawing on existing work, we show how social psychologists can integrate this framework into their research program and suggest future directions for research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internal bremsstrahlung: Exact relativistic independent-particle-approximation calculations

Recently, natural and social scientists have pointed out that the need to make scientific results apply to both sexes is not met by simply adding women as research subjects. They suggest that the social and biological specificity of both sexes must be recognized and adjustments made to the ways questions are asked, hypotheses are generated, research subjects are chosen, and data are analysed. It is important to examine the definitions, concepts and methods used in research in occupational health to see whether they obstruct recognition of women's occupational health problems or interfere with gender-neutral standard setting. Unravelling the effects of sex on occupational health is complicated by the fact that women and men do not, by and large, work at the same jobs. Definitions of "work" must in some cases be adjusted to take account of women's occupations, just as definitions involving "health" must include women's biological specificity. Appropriate changes must be made to generate sex-inclusive definitions of exposures to occupational hazards and of health effects. Methods for evaluating exposures typical of women's work must be developed. Women and their work must be appropriately included when standards for occupational exposures are set. If these adjustments are not made, women's occupational health problems will be seriously underestimated and understanding of health problems of both sexes will be hindered. Sociological analysis should also be done to reveal the mechanisms by which biased concepts and procedures develop and are reinforced.     

Disability, health care, and public policy.

Efforts to persuade policymakers to rely on data to plan health care services for people with a disability or a chronic illness must confront the fact that many competing definitions of disability are currently used. It is important to recognize that pressures for standardization as well as disputes over disability definitions take place in a broader social and political context. Despite the practical difficulties facing researchers and the highly charged atmosphere in which disagreements over definitions must be managed, researchers have made progress in developing policy-relevant data that underline the importance of the health needs of people with a disability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improved Baseline Productivity Analysis Technique

Previous studies have aimed to develop effective methods to derive baseline productivity (BP) for labor-intensive activities in construction sites. However, there are two different definitions of BPs: one is defined as a performance benchmark of best practice and the other as a standard reflecting a contractor’s normal operating performance. It is necessary to clarify the difference between the two definitions and their corresponding BPs. This research introduces data envelopment analysis (DEA) as a new method for deriving BP and compares DEA with the other four BP deriving methods. DEA is concluded as the best method in terms of objectivity, effectiveness, and consistency to find BP that represents the best performance a contractor can possibly achieve. With the capability of deriving productivities of multi-input and multi-output activities, the proposed DEA has raised the scale of labor productivity from the level of single factor productivity to total factor productivity which will help construction researchers and managers to evaluate performances of interests in a much more effective way.     

Introduction to the Special Issue on Gossip.

This article represents the introduction to a special issue of the Review of General Psychology on gossip. All of the articles in this special issue argue that gossip is purposeful and important to social functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"All in a Day's Work": How Follower Individual Differences and Justice Perceptions Predict OCB Role Definitions and Behavior.

The authors draw on theories of social exchange and prosocial behavior to explain how employee perceptions of procedural justice and individual differences in reciprocation wariness, empathic concern, and perspective taking function jointly as determinants of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) role definitions and behavior. As hypothesized, empirical findings from a field study show both direct and interactive effects of procedural justice perceptions and individual differences on OCB role definition. In turn, OCB role definitions not only predict OCB directly but also moderate the effects of procedural justice perceptions on OCB. The authors explore the implications of these findings for practice as well as research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

John P. Sabini (1947-2005).

Presents an obituary for John Paulus Sabini. Sabini spent his career, starting in 1976, in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Sabini was fascinated with Milgram's research on obedience. Milgram's imprint is obvious in Sabini's interest in social influence, the psychology of everyday life, and in his style. Sabini's studies of moral reproach, gossip, procrastination, embarrassment, envy, shame, self-deception, and sincerity are simultaneously analyses of causal determinants and of speech acts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Redefining the science-practice relationship and professional training.

A revised conception of the relationship between psychological science and professional practice is proposed in the light of postmodern changes in perspectives on knowledge. Positivistic science, which has dominated the traditional interpretation of scientist–practitioner training, is considered from a constructivist point of view to be only one possible foundation of psychological knowledge. It is argued that the knowledge base of the profession should be derived with diverse methods and from multiple sources, including the knowledge of practice. The mutuality of science and practice is emphasized. An evolving framework for understanding the epistemology of practice, based on cognitive psychology, is presented. Emphasis on broadened choices of research methods, the development of reflective skills, and better linkage between teaching in the domains of research and practice are urged. Suggestions for research related to scientific training and the knowledge processes of practice are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group psychotherapy specialty practice.

Group psychotherapy (mental health treatment-focused interventions based in social psychological research on group dynamics) is a growing specialization within psychology, not yet fully recognized by the public and the professional community. This article aims to inform the reader about the multiple components of training, practice, and research. Many graduate programs are teaching fewer group courses than ever before despite the fact that groups are being utilized increasingly in many settings. As defined, group specialty practice covers small, medium, and large groups led by expert leaders or coleaders specifically trained in group intervention skills, which are based on a rich history. Group typologies range from prevention and education to growth, counseling, or psychotherapy (although some controversy exists regarding definitions). Still, a consensus exists that it has more to do with who the members are and in what settings groups occur. Group practice is well-established given the extant evidence-based research, the depth and breadth of its utilization, and professional organizations--such as the Council of Specialties and the American Board of Professional Psychology--that officially recognize group practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

La pratique de la psychologie communautaire.

The aim of this article is to highlight the value of community psychology practice. There is a growing consensus in the field that community psychologists should focus more attention on describing and communicating the nature and contributions of their practice. To further this goal, we identify five typical change strategies (applied research, consultation, training, knowledge sharing, and stakeholder participation) that community psychology practitioners might apply in six different domains (program evaluation, program development, problem/setting analysis, organisational capacity building, policy development, community organising, and social action). We provide definitions for each domain as well as examples of typical interventions. Challenges in the field of community psychology practice are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group psychological consulting to organizations: A perspective on history.

Professional practice, whether in research or consultation, can be understood as the dynamic interaction among theory, data, methods, and values. A little-known episode from the history of medicine, the death of George Washington, illustrates the interdependence between what is known scientifically and what is judged ethical at any point in history. A review of ethical statements in organizational psychology shows the limited role theory has played in assessing ethical practice and suggests that current trends are regressive. Embedded intergroup relations theory provides one strong theoretical perspective for understanding downsizing and other practice problems confronting those who consult to changing organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How hard is hard science, how soft is soft science? The empirical cumulativeness of research.

This article notes the parallels between methods used in the quantitative synthesis of research in the social and in the physical sciences. Essentially identical methods are used to test the consistency of research results in physics and in psychology. These methods can be used to compare the consistency of replicated research results in physics and in the social sciences. The methodology is illustrated with 13 exemplary reviews from each domain. The exemplary comparison suggests that the results of physical experiments may not be strikingly more consistent than those of social or behavioral experiments. The data suggest that even the results of physical experiments may not be cumulative in the absolute sense by statistical criteria. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Guidelines on multicultural education, training, research, practice, and organizational change for Psychologists.

Presents the Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists. These guidelines reflect the continuing evolution of the study of psychology, changes in society at large, and emerging data about the different needs of particular individuals and groups historically marginalized or disenfranchised within and by psychology based on their ethnic/racial heritage and social group identity or membership. These guidelines reflect knowledge and skills needed for the profession in the midst of dramatic historic sociopolitical changes in US society, as well as needs of new constituencies, markets, and clients. The specific goals of these guidelines are to provide psychologists with (a) the rationale and needs for addressing multiculturalism and diversity in education, training, research, practice, and organizational change; (b) basic information, relevant terminology, current empirical research from psychology and related disciplines, and other data that support the proposed guidelines and underscore their importance; (c) references to enhance ongoing education, training, research, practice, and organizational change methodologies; and (d) paradigms that broaden the purview of psychology as a profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)