They Both Matter: Reality and Belief: Reply.

Responds to the comment by Kamyar Arasteh (see record 2004-14611-007) on the Eidelson and Eidelson article (see record 2003-03645-004) which made an important contribution, at a critical juncture, to the discussion of international conflicts by identifying core dimensions that allow for the systematic examination of the problem. The authors appreciate Arasteh's thought-provoking comments about their article and they are grateful for the opportunity to respond. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dangerous ideas: Five beliefs that propel groups toward conflict.

The toll in death, suffering, and displacement caused by conflicts engaging groups defined by ethnicity, nationality, religion, or other social identities has reached staggering proportions over the past decade. With expertise in research and intervention, psychologists have critical contributions to make to more fully understanding and more effectively confronting this distressing global phenomenon. The authors focus on the parallels between the core beliefs of individuals and the collective worldviews of groups that may operate to trigger or constrain violent struggles. On the basis of a review of relevant literatures, 5 belief domains--superiority, injustice, vulnerability, distrust, and helplessness--are identified as particularly important for further study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an integrative social identity model of collective action: A quantitative research synthesis of three socio-psychological perspectives.

An integrative social identity model of collective action (SIMCA) is developed that incorporates 3 socio-psychological perspectives on collective action. Three meta-analyses synthesized a total of 182 effects of perceived injustice, efficacy, and identity on collective action (corresponding to these socio-psychological perspectives). Results showed that, in isolation, all 3 predictors had medium-sized (and causal) effects. Moreover, results showed the importance of social identity in predicting collective action by supporting SIMCA's key predictions that (a) affective injustice and politicized identity produced stronger effects than those of non-affective injustice and non-politicized identity; (b) identity predicted collective action against both incidental and structural disadvantages, whereas injustice and efficacy predicted collective action against incidental disadvantages better than against structural disadvantages; (c) all 3 predictors had unique medium-sized effects on collective action when controlling for between-predictor covariance; and (d) identity bridged the injustice and efficacy explanations of collective action. Results also showed more support for SIMCA than for alternative models reflecting previous attempts at theoretical integration. The authors discuss key implications for theory, practice, future research, and further integration of social and psychological perspectives on collective action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Collective efficacy, group potency, and group performance: Meta-analyses of their relationships, and test of a mediation model.

The authors examined relationships among collective efficacy, group potency, and group performance. Meta-analytic results (based on 6,128 groups, 31,019 individuals, 118 correlations adjusted for dependence, and 96 studies) reveal that collective efficacy was significantly related to group performance (.35). In the proposed nested 2-level model, collective efficacy assessment (aggregation and group discussion) was tested as the 1st-level moderator. It showed significantly different average correlations with group performance (.32 vs. .45), but the group discussion assessment was homogeneous, whereas the aggregation assessment was heterogeneous. Consequently, there was no 2nd-level moderation for the group discussion, and heterogeneity in the aggregation group was accounted for by the 2nd-level moderator, task interdependence (high, moderate, and low levels were significant; the higher the level, the stronger the relationship). The 2nd and 3rd meta-analyses indicated that group potency was related to group performance (.29) and to collective efficacy (.65). When tested in a structural equation modeling analysis based on meta-analytic findings, collective efficacy fully mediated the relationship between group potency and group performance. The authors suggest future research and convert their findings to a probability of success index to help facilitate practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational Justice and Stress: The Mediating Role of Work-Family Conflict.

This study examined the relationship between organizational justice and stress and whether work-family conflict was a mediator of the relationship. Distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational injustice were cast as stressors to explore their relationships with the stress levels of 174 faculty members employed at 23 U.S. universities. The results revealed that procedural and interpersonal justice had the strongest relationships with stress, and that these effects were mediated by work-family conflict. The presence of justice seemed to allow participants to better manage the interface of their work and family lives, which was associated with lower stress levels. These results were observed even when controlling for job satisfaction and the presence of organizational work-family policies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is there any scapegoat around? Determinants of intergroup conflicts at different categorization levels.

Recategorization at a higher level reduces tensions between groups. However, recategorization may cause conflicts between the common in-group and a new out-group. Additionally, determinants of conflict between subgroups may enhance conflict at the higher categorization level. In the context of German unification, the authors explored these suggestions with an East German 3-wave longitudinal study and a West German control group. Results show that a salient East German versus West German categorization enhances conflict between subgroups, whereas categorization as German enhances conflict at the common in-group level. Determinants of subgroup conflict also influence conflict at the inclusive level (Germans and foreigners). Thus, recategorization is a 2-edged instrument: Although it reduces conflict at the subgroup level, it may initiate conflict at the common in-group level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Le nationalisme d'un groupe minoritaire: pour le meilleur ou pour le pire?

This study pertains to the causes and effects of the nationalism of a minority group. According to the predictive model presented, identification with the minority group is positively associated with collective relative deprivation, whereas identification with the majority group is negatively associated with these feelings. The model links collective relative deprivation to nationalism and neoracist beliefs. Finally, it is expected that nationalism would be associated with neoracist beliefs. Hypotheses were tested among 346 college students. Results showed the importance of identification with the minority group in the emergence of feelings of collective relative deprivation and support of nationalism. Contrary to predictions, nationalism was not related to neoracist beliefs. The discussion draws on research pertaining to inter-group relations and nationalism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond insight: An additional necessary step in redressing intrapsychic conflict.

It is axiomatic in psychoanalytic thinking that many forms of psychopathology are rooted in unconscious conflict over libidinal and aggressive impulses. The following treatment corollary of this proposition comprises the heart of this paper: If these unconscious conflicts are to be securely overcome in psychoanalytic treatment, beyond gaining insight, the analysand must become more accepting of the impulses that had been warded off--i.e., find modulated and regulated avenues of impulse expression. Both the presence of a nonjudgmental analyst and certain aspects of the psychoanalytic process foster such an outcome. Whereas for some analysands that is sufficient for achieving this goal, for others, specific interventions are necessary, ranging from particular kinds of interpretations to the use of parameters. These interventions are discussed with consideration given to both their potential yield and their dangers, and with suggestions made as to how the latter can be minimized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Belief versus race as determinants of social distance: Comment on Triandis' paper.

A joinder by Rokeach to a criticism of an idea in his book (1960) by Triandis (1961). From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:3GD87R. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Remembering historical victimization: Collective guilt for current ingroup transgressions.

The authors examined the consequences of remembering historical victimization for emotional reactions to a current adversary. In Experiment 1, Jewish Canadians who were reminded of the Holocaust accepted less collective guilt for their group's harmful actions toward the Palestinians than those not reminded of their ingroup's past victimization. The extent to which the conflict was perceived to be due to Palestinian terrorism mediated this effect. Experiment 2 illustrated that reminding Jewish people, but not non-Jewish people, of the Holocaust decreased collective guilt for current harm doing compared with when the reminder concerned genocide committed against another group (i.e., Cambodians). In Experiments 3 and 4, Americans experienced less collective guilt for their group's harm doing in Iraq following reminders of either the attacks on September 11th, 2001 or the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor compared with a historical victimization reminder that was irrelevant to the ingroup. The authors discuss why remembering the ingroup's past affects responses to outgroups in the present. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Not quite human: Infrahumanization in response to collective responsibility for intergroup killing.

The present research examines how awareness of violence perpetrated against an out-group by one's in-group can intensify the infrahumanization of the out-group, as measured by a reduced tendency to accord uniquely human emotions to out-groups. Across 3 experiments that used different in-groups (humans, British, White Americans) and out-groups (aliens, Australian Aborigines, and Native Americans), when participants were made aware of the in-group's mass killing of the out-group, they infrahumanized the victims more. The perception of collective responsibility, not just the knowledge that the out-group members had died in great numbers, was shown to be necessary for this effect. Infrahumanization also occurred concurrently with increased collective guilt but was unrelated to it. It is proposed that infrahumanization may be a strategy for people to reestablish psychological equanimity when confronted with a self-threatening situation and that such a strategy may occur concomitantly with other strategies, such as providing reparations to the out-group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk perceptions: Assessment and relationship to influenza vaccination.

Objective: Accurate measurement of beliefs about risk probability is essential to determine what role these beliefs have in health behavior. This study investigated the ability of several types of risk perception measures and of other constructs from health behavior theories to predict influenza vaccination. Design: Prospective study in which students, faculty, and staff at 3 universities (N = 428) were interviewed in the fall, before influenza vaccine was available, and again early in the next calendar year. Main Outcome Measure: Self-reported influenza vaccination. Results: Two interview questions that asked about feeling at risk and feeling vulnerable predicted subsequent behavior better (r = .44, p = .001) than 2 questions that asked for agreement or disagreement with statements about risk probability (r = .25, p = .001) or 4 questions that asked respondents to estimate the magnitude of the risk probability (r = .30, p = .001). Of the 4 perceived risk magnitude scales, a 7-point verbal scale was the best predictor of behavior. Anticipated regret was the strongest predictor of vaccination (r = .45, p = .001) of all constructs studied, including risk perceptions, worry, and perceived vaccine effectiveness. Conclusion: Risk perceptions predicted subsequent vaccination. However, perceived risk phrased in terms of feelings rather than as a purely cognitive probability judgment predicted better. Because neither feeling at risk nor anticipated regret is represented in the most commonly used theories of health behavior, the data suggest that these theories are missing important constructs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Military conflict and terrorism: General psychology informs international relations.

Several experiments, focusing on decisions made by young, voting-age citizens of the United States about how to respond to incidents of international conflict, are summarized. Participants recommended measured reactions to an initial attack. Repeated attacks led to escalated reaction, however, eventually matching or exceeding the conflict level of the attack itself. If a peace treaty between contending nations was in place, women were more forgiving of an attack, and men were more aggressive. There was little overall difference in reactions to terrorist versus military attacks. Participants responded with a higher level of conflict to terrorist attacks on military than on cultural-educational targets. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Collaborative remembering in older adults: Age-invariant outcomes in the context of episodic recall deficits.

Rapidly growing research reveals complex yet systematic consequences of collaboration on memory in young adults, but much less is known about this phenomenon in older adults. Young and older adults studied a list of categorized words and took three successive recall tests. Test 1 and 3 were always taken individually, and Test 2 was done either in triads or alone. Despite older adults recalling less overall than young adults, both age groups exhibited similar costs and benefits of collaboration: Collaboration reduced both correct and false recall during collaborative remembering, was associated with more positive beliefs about its value, and produced reminiscence, collective memory, and some forgetting in its cascading effects on postcollaborative recall. We examine the role of retrieval organization in these effects. As environmental support may play a substantial role in healthy aging, the relatively preserved effects of collaboration on memory in older adults hold promise for testing judicious uses of group remembering in aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Voices from beyond: Comment from other countries: Introduction.

The first "made-in-Canada" code for psychologists was adopted in 1986, 34 years after the American Psychological Association adopted its first code. In the ensuing years Canadian psychologists tested the viability of applying the Code to various areas of psychological activity. The results were generally positive, especially regarding the ethical principles, the ethical decision making process and the usefulness of the Code in teaching. What we had not anticipated was the international attention that the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists would receive. It seems important to know what use is being made of the Canadian Code outside of Canada, and what aspects of the Code seem most valuable to others. For this special issue, several psychologists beyond Canada's borders were asked to comment on the Canadian Code. We are happy to present the voices of the six contributors who responded to our request. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

International Humanitarian Award: Michael G. Wessells.

Michael G. Wessells, recipient of the International Humanitarian Award, is cited for his pioneering and sustained contributions to the protection of children affected by armed conflict and to the development of international guidelines for the provision of community-based, culturally responsive psychosocial support in emergencies. Wessells has served as an eminent professor, researcher, and author, developing and promoting the most advanced strategies for providing psychological support for children and families. He has contributed extensively to peace and reconciliation efforts and has provided direct humanitarian services in conflict areas in Asia, Africa, Central America, Europe, and South America, where his efforts on behalf of children often placed him in personal jeopardy. In addition to the citation, a biography and selected bibliography of Wessells' works are provided. Also included is Wessells' paper, entitled "Do no harm: Toward contextually appropriate psychosocial support in international emergencies," a version of which was presented at the American Psychological Association's annual convention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explaining radical group behavior: Developing emotion and efficacy routes to normative and nonnormative collective action.

A recent model of collective action distinguishes 2 distinct pathways: an emotional pathway whereby anger in response to injustice motivates action and an efficacy pathway where the belief that issues can be solved collectively increases the likelihood that group members take action (van Zomeren, Spears, Fischer, & Leach, 2004). Research supporting this model has, however, focused entirely on relatively normative actions such as participating in demonstrations. We argue that the relations between emotions, efficacy, and action differ for more extreme, nonnormative actions and propose (a) that nonnormative actions are often driven by a sense of low efficacy and (b) that contempt, which, unlike anger, entails psychological distancing and a lack of reconciliatory intentions, predicts nonnormative action. These ideas were tested in 3 survey studies examining student protests against tuition fees in Germany (N = 332), Indian Muslims' action support in relation to ingroup disadvantage (N = 156), and British Muslims' responses to British foreign policy (N = 466). Results were generally supportive of predictions and indicated that (a) anger was strongly related to normative action but overall unrelated or less strongly related to nonnormative action, (b) contempt was either unrelated or negatively related to normative action but significantly positively predicted nonnormative action, and (c) efficacy was positively related to normative action and negatively related to nonnormative action. The implications of these findings for understanding and dealing with extreme intergroup phenomena such as terrorism are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group beliefs, ability, and performance: The potency of group potency.

Although it is clear that group members' attitudes, beliefs, and abilities are factors that contribute to group success, the interplay among these factors has received little attention. This study examined the impact of group potency, group goal commitment, and group ability on group performance. One hundred forty-three Officer Cadets, working in 51 groups, participated in this study. Consistent with our hypothesis, group potency contributed to the prediction of group performance over and above group ability. In contrast, group goal commitment did not have a strong relation with group performance. On the basis of these results, it seems that "thinking we can" is an important factor in its own right, regardless of the group's ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)