Soc Psychol Research Articles

The Impact of Unpunished Hate Crimes: When Derogating the Victim Extends into Derogating the Group

Just world research has shown that observers derogate victims more for their misfortunes if the perpetrator is not harshly punished (Lerner in J Personal Soc Psychol 1(4):355–360, 1980). However, few studies have investigated minority group derogation as a just world preservation strategy after instances of intergroup harm-doing. This study is among the first to demonstrate the derogation of both individual victims and of the victim’s minority group experimentally, using the context of a racist hate crime in Australia. In the present experiment, participants (N = 110) read a news article describing a hate crime against an Aboriginal Australian teenager and were informed that the perpetrator was harshly or leniently punished (secure vs. justice threat condition). Our results show that in the justice threat condition, participants not only derogated the individual Aboriginal Australian victim more after his death, they also expressed greater racism toward the victim’s group. An indirect effect of the justice threat condition on modern racism via individual victim derogation was observed, along with moderating effects of individual differences in belief in a just world. These findings provide support for the alarming hypothesis that racist hate crimes are not only the manifestation of a racist society, but may also bolster racial prejudices if leniently treated. The results highlight the important role of political and judicial authorities, whose response or non-response to a hate crime can exacerbate or ameliorate existing prejudices.

Faith-Based Volunteer Motivation: Exploring the Applicability of the Volunteer Functions Inventory to the Motivations and Satisfaction Levels of Volunteers in an Australian Faith-Based Organization

Increasingly studies on volunteer motivation are exploring the process stages of volunteerism with particular attention to recruitment and retention. Volunteer experience and its dynamic association to satisfaction, however, remain underexamined, particularly in faith-based contexts. This study uses a functional approach to explore the applicability of the Volunteer Functions Inventory (Clary et al. in J Personal Soc Psychol, 74(6):1516–1530, 1998) to a sample of volunteers in an Australian faith-based organization. Factor analysis was supportive of a four-factor solution with the elimination of the Protective function and the emergence of a new function, Enrichment. The validity of a new structure, the Faith-Based Volunteer Motivation Scale, is tested against levels of volunteer satisfaction for this sample. Results concur with Clary et al.’s correlation between high-level motive fulfilment and degrees of satisfaction.

Daily global stress is associated with nocturnal asthma awakenings in school-age children

Daily global stress is associated with nocturnal asthma awakenings in school-age children

Motivational Mechanisms of Self-Concordance Theory: Goal-Specific Efficacy and Person–Organization Fit

The purpose of this study was to elaborate on two mechanisms of self-concordance theory (SCT; Sheldon and Elliot in Pers Soc Psychol 24(5):546, 1998)—goal-specific efficacy and perceived person–organization (PO) fit—as mediators of the relationships between autonomous and controlled goal motives and goal accomplishment and job satisfaction. Data were from two independently collected samples of administrative employees (N1 = 37, N2 = 102) and their significant others across two points in time. Results indicated that autonomous motives were positively related to goal-specific efficacy and perceived PO fit (Time 1), and showed indirect effects on goal accomplishment and other-rated job satisfaction (Time 2). Controlled motives were negatively related to the same intermediaries and outcomes. Goal motives implicate goal-specific outcomes, and individuals’ overall composition of goal motives—across their goals—shape their goal efficacy and PO fit perceptions. These mechanisms relate to distal outcomes of goal accomplishment and job satisfaction. The research offers theoretical implications for the proximal outcomes of goal motives, but also practical implications for ways in which organizations can improve incumbent PO fit perceptions. Although research has shown that having self-concordant goals is positively associated with individual outcomes, existing research has yet to understand why this is the case. In addition, most studies of SCT apply difference scores to study the construct at the individual-level rather than specifying motives separately and considering a multilevel perspective. Our research offers a novel investigation of the proximal outcomes of SCT and the levels at which they operate.

Social Well-Being Among Colombian and Peruvian Immigrants in Northern Chile.

In recent years, northern Chile has received a large number of immigrants attracted mainly by mining and related services. The last population census revealed that 70.5% of foreigners in Chile came from South America, and were mainly Peruvians (30.5%), Argentines (16.8%), and Colombians (8.1%). The aim of this cross-sectional study is to describe the social well-being levels reported by Colombian and Peruvian immigrants in northern Chile, as well as their connection to socio-demographic and relational factors. The Spanish version of the Scale of Social Well-being (Keyes in Soc Psychol Q 61:121-140, 1998) was administered to 431 men and women over 18years old, with a minimum residence of 6months in the city of Antofagasta. The highest-rated aspect was Social Contribution, and the lowest-rated aspect was Social Acceptance. The relational variables that show statistically significant differences in both populations relate to who the subject lives with, the degree of contact that the subject has with people from Chile, and the subject's relationship status. There are no differences that indicate a higher level of social well-being in one population more than the other; however, it appears that the Peruvian population has a greater perception of Social Coherence, while Colombians show a greater perception of Social Contribution.

Where is the Location of “Health” in the Human Values System? Evidence from Estonia

Schwartz et al. (J Pers Soc Psychol 103(4):663–688, 2012) proposed a refined value theory. Like earlier value inventories, however, their measure captures only one approach to health—avoidance of disease. A broader measure to capture the full spectrum of the importance people place on health was developed, which was based on the World Health Organization’s definition of health. It includes the components of physical, mental, social, and emotional health. Research materials comprised the answers of 1818 Estonian online-survey respondents, and multidimensional scaling was used. Association on the first two value dimensions showed that valuing health might be a consequence of different motivations. Health values were further found to disperse on a third dimension, which did not follow the conflicts and compatibilities ordering the original two value dimensions. Taken together, these findings indicate that health values operate in conjunction with other value types in guiding health-related attitudes, intentions, and behaviors, and therefore potentially relate to objective and perceived health outcomes.

Global Mental Health: Anthropological Perspectives

Global Mental Health: Anthropological Perspectives

Emotion and hypervigilance: negative affect predicts increased P1 responses to non-negative pictorial stimuli.

Previous research has demonstrated that negative affect influences attentional processes. Here, we investigate whether pre-experimental negative affect predicts a hypervigilant neural response as indicated by increased event-related potential amplitudes in response to neutral and positive visual stimuli. In our study, seventeen male participants filled out the German version of the positive and negative affect schedule (Watson et al. in J Pers Soc Psychol 54:1063-1070, 1988; Krohne et al. in Diagnostica 42:139-156, 1996) and subsequently watched positive (erotica, extreme sports, beautiful women) and neutral (daily activities) photographs while electroencephalogram was recorded. In line with our hypothesis, low state negative affect but not (reduced) positive affect predicted an increase in the first positive event-related potential amplitude P1 as a typical marker of increased selective attention. As this effect occurred in response to non-threatening picture conditions, negative affect may foster an individual's general hypervigilance, a state that has formerly been associated with psychopathology only.

Do monkeys compare themselves to others?

Social comparisons are a fundamental characteristic of human behaviour, yet relatively little is known about their evolutionary foundations. Adapting the co-acting paradigm from human research (Seta in J Pers Soc Psychol 42:281–291, 1982. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.42.2.281), we examined how the performance of a partner influenced subjects’ performance in long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Using parallel testing in touch screen setups in which subjects had to discriminate familiar and novel photographs of men and women, we investigated whether accuracy and reaction time were influenced by partner performance and relationship quality (affiliate vs. non-affiliate). Auditory feedback about the alleged performance of the co-actor was provided via playback; partner performance was either moderately or extremely better or worse than subject performance. We predicted that subjects would assimilate to moderately different comparison standards as well as to affiliates and contrast away from extreme standards and non-affiliates. Subjects instantly generalized to novel pictures. While accuracy was not affected by any of the factors, long reaction times occurred more frequently when subjects were tested with a non-affiliate who was performing worse, compared to one who was doing better than them (80 % quantile worse: 5.1, better: 4.3 s). For affiliate co-actors, there was no marked effect (worse: 4.4, better: 4.6 s). In a control condition with no auditory feedback, subjects performed somewhat better in the presence of affiliates (M = 77.8 % correct) compared to non-affiliates (M = 71.1 %), while reaction time was not affected. Apparently, subjects were sensitive to partner identity and performance, yet variation in motivation rather than assimilation and contrast effects may account for the observed effects.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10071-015-0943-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Collective Action in Response to Microaggression: Implications for Social Well-Being

Discrimination towards various minority groups can now be found to have subtler manifestations. These forms can be described as microaggressions—the brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioural and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory or negative racial slights and insults to the target person or group (Sue et al. in Am Psychol 62(4):271–286, 2007). In order to delineate the process involved in the tendency to act in response to perceived discrimination, researchers have distinguished two distinct routes: an emotional route which explores the role of anger in response to injustice in triggering action and an efficacy route where the conviction that problems can be solved collectively motivates group members to act against discrimination (Van Zomeren et al. in J Personal Soc Psychol 87(5):649–664, 2004). The present research adopts and extends this model to explore how Northeasterners in Delhi respond to microaggression experiences and further what implication this has for their social well-being. Not just in Delhi, but all over the country Northeasterners face prejudice due to their looks and different lifestyle. However, the concerns of this group have not been the focus of much academic research. Two hundred and fourteen (109 females; 105 males) Northeasterners residing in Delhi for a minimum of 1 year at the time of the study in the age group of 19–31 years took part in this research. Results provide evidence for the emotional pathway. The results are discussed in the light of existing work on discrimination, collective action and social well-being as well as the unique context of Northeasterners in Delhi.

Examining Links Among Parents’ Depressive Symptoms, Attacking Conflict Behaviors, Childrearing Disagreements, and Over-Reactive Discipline

This study examined links among parents’ depressive symptoms, attacking conflict behaviors, childrearing disagreements, and their over-reactive discipline using a community sample of 39 mothers and fathers. Correlational analyses provided considerable support for the expected associations among the study variables. Notably, when a regression-based approach recommended by Baron and Kenny (J Pers Soc Psychol 51:1173–1182, 1986) was applied to the data in order to more fully explore the links among the study variables, findings indicated different pathways of influence among the study variables for mothers and fathers. Mothers’ attacking behaviors partially mediated the link between their depressive symptoms and over-reactive discipline; whereas, fathers’ depressive symptoms and attacking behaviors were independent predictors of their over-reactive discipline. Further, fathers’ childrearing disagreements served as a mediator in the link between their depressive symptoms and over-reactive discipline. Findings suggest important targets for therapeutic intervention and lend support to the Family Systems Theory notion of spillover effects, especially where fathers are concerned.

Failure-Related Action Orientation and Life Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Forgivingness

This study examined the association between failure-related action orientation and life satisfaction, with a primary focus on confirmation of the mediating role of forgivingness in Chinese college students. 277 participants (165 males and 112 females) from Mainland China completed a subscale of the Action Control Scale (ACS-90) called the Failure-related Action Orientation Scale (AOF), the Tendency to Forgive Scale (Brown in Personal Soc Psychol Bull 29(6):759–771, 2003) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al. in J Personal Assess 49(1):71–75, 1985). Results from structural equation modeling showed that forgivingness partially mediated the relationship between failure-related action orientation and life satisfaction. Moreover, AOF, forgivingness and life satisfaction did not differ across gender or age groups. Implications for the model of failure-related action orientation, forgivingness and life satisfaction in college students are discussed.

PC-FACS

PC-FACS

Caregiver Burden, Spirituality, and Psychological Well-Being of Parents Having Children with Thalassemia.

The research determined the relationship of caregiving burden, spirituality and psychological well-being of parents of Pakistani thalassemic patients in a crosssectional research design. The sociodemographic form, Montgomery-Borgatta burden measure (Montgomery et al. in Who should care for the elderly? An east-west value divide. World Scientific, River Edge, pp 27-54, 2000), Multidimensional Measure of Islamic Spirituality (Dasti and Sitwat in J Muslim Ment Health 8(2):47-67, 2014. doi: 10.3998/jmmh.10381607.0008.204 ) and Ryff Scale of Psychological Well-being (Ryff in J Pers Soc Psychol 57(6):1069-1081, 1989. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069 ) were administered on a sample of 80 parents (32 fathers and 48 mothers) recruited from different Thalassemic Centers of Lahore city, Pakistan. Data were analyzed through correlation and mediational analyses. Results indicated that the caregiver burden was negatively correlated with the psychological well-being and the domains of spirituality, while the psychological well-being and spirituality were positively correlated. We identified that the caregiver burden has direct effect on the psychological well-being of the parents and it influences the psychological well-being through the pathway of the two domains of spirituality, i.e., self-discipline and meanness-generosity. These results highlighted the role of spirituality upon the psychological well-being of caregivers, which could be utilized to prevent pathological influences (such as hard feelings, hopelessness, depressed mood, anxiety, and relationship problems) of caregiver burden and enhance psychological well-being through spiritual counseling. Caregivers can work on their well-being and burden by disciplining their lives and forgoing hard feelings toward others.

“I’m not the same person since I met you”: The role of romantic passion in how people change when they get involved in a romantic relationship

Using the dualistic perspective on romantic passion (Ratelle et al. in Motiv Emot 37:106–120, 2013; Vallerand et al. in J Pers Soc Psychol 85:756–767, 2003), the present research examined the role of harmonious and obsessive romantic passion in the prediction of personal changes in people’s lives associated with romantic relationships. Young adults recruited through universities (Studies 1 and 2) and social networking sites (Studies 2 and 3) composed the samples of the three studies. Results of Study 1 revealed that harmonious and obsessive passion both positively predicted perceptions of personal growth while they respectively negatively and positively predicted disengagement from important activities and other social relationships for the sake of the romantic relationship. These associations were either fully replicated (for harmonious passion) or partially replicated (for obsessive passion) when examined using a six-month longitudinal design (Study 2) and when the two outcomes (i.e., personal growth and social disengagement) were reported by an informant (Study 3). Overall, the results suggest that the nature and extent of changes in people’s lives as they become romantically involved may be predicted by the quality of their romantic passion.

The Relationship Between Intelligence and Psychological Well-Being in Incoming College Students

This study investigated the relationship between intelligence and psychological well-being in young adults. Contradictory findings are presented about the relationship between intelligence and PWB in children and adolescents, and qualitative findings by Lovecky (J Couns Develop 64:572–575, 1986) in adults. For young adults, the authors predicted positive linear relationships between intelligence and PWB dimensions of Environmental Mastery, Autonomy, Personal Growth, Purpose in Life, and a curvilinear relationship between intelligence and the PWB dimension of Positive Relations with Others. These hypotheses were tested on a sample of 3,829 incoming first-year students at a large university using multiple regression of SAT scores (The College Board, SAT Reasoning Test, 1926–2005) and scores of these dimensions on a 54-item version (van Dierendonck, Personal Individ Differ 36:629–643, 2004) of Ryff’s (J Personal Soc Psychol, 57(6):1069–1081, 1989) Scales of Psychological Well-Being. Results supported a curvilinear relationship between SAT Verbal and Positive Relations with Others; significant relationships between SAT Math and Purpose in Life and Personal Growth were also discovered, but in the negative direction. Limitations, possible reasons for data trends, and potential application of results to university policy are discussed.

Positive Time: Balanced Time Perspective and Positive Orientation

The aim of the research presented in this article is to investigate the relationship between positive orientation and time perspective as outlined by Zimbardo and Boyd (J Pers Soc Psychol 77:1271–1288, 1999) and extended by an additional form of concentration on the present. The Polish version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory was used. A third type of present time perspective, namely active concentration on the present, was measured by the Carpe Diem Scale. One hundred and eighty five Polish people (non-students) participated in a survey to which a canonical-correlation analysis and a cluster analysis were applied. Positive orientation was correlated with a balanced temporal profile comprising a strong positive past orientation, moderate concentration on the future, poor fatalistic time perspective, poor concentration on the negative past and moderate active concentration on the present. Whereas a positive orientation is based on a general positive attitude towards life and self, a balanced time perspective reflects a general positive attitude towards time, in which an active concentration on the present plays an important role.

Odor Emotional Quality Predicts Odor Identification.

It is commonly agreed upon a strong link between emotion and olfaction. Odor-evoked memories are experienced as more emotional compared with verbal, visual, and tactile stimuli. Moreover, the emotional quality of odor cues increases memory performance, but contrary to this, odors are poor retrieval cues for verbal labels. To examine the relation between the emotional quality of an odor and its likelihood of identification, this study evaluates how normative emotion ratings based on the 3-dimensional affective space model (that includes valence, arousal, and dominance), using the Self-Assessment Manikin by Bradley and Lang (Bradley MM, Lang PJ. 1994. Measuring emotion: the Self-Assessment Manikin and the Semantic Differential. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 25(1):49-59.) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson D, Clark LA, Tellegen A. 1988. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol. 54(6):1063-1070.) predict the identification of odors in a multiple choice condition. The best fitting logistic regression model includes squared valence and dominance and thus, points to a significant role of specific emotional features of odors as a main clue for odor identification.

Emotional Intelligence and Consumer Ethics: The Mediating Role of Personal Moral Philosophies

Research on the antecedents of consumers’ ethical beliefs has mainly examined cognitive variables and has (with a few exceptions) neglected the relationships among affective variables and consumer ethics. However, research in moral psychology indicates that moral emotions have a significant role in ethical decision-making (Haidt, Handbook of affective sciences, 2003). Thus, the ability to experience, perceive and regulate emotions should influence consumers’ ethical decision-making. These abilities, which are components of emotional intelligence (Davies et al., J Person Soc Psychol, 1998), are examined as antecedents to consumers’ ethical beliefs in this study. Five hundred Australian consumers participated in this study by completing an online questionnaire that included measures of emotional intelligence, consumers’ ethical beliefs and personal moral philosophies (idealism and relativism, Forsyth, J Person Soc Psychol, 1980). Results demonstrate that the ability to appraise and express emotions in oneself is directly negatively related to beliefs regarding actively benefiting from illegal actions as a consumer, passively benefiting at the expense of the seller and actively benefiting from questionable but legal actions as a consumer. The ability to appraise and express emotions in oneself is directly positively related to beliefs regarding ‘doing-good’ (pro-social) actions. The ability to appraise and recognise emotions in others is also directly positively related to beliefs regarding ‘doing-good’ actions as well as pro-environmental buying actions. The effects of the different components of emotional intelligence on consumers’ ethical beliefs are (in most cases) mediated by personal moral philosophies. This study demonstrates the relationship between emotional intelligence and consumer ethics and highlights the interplay of affect and cognition in consumers’ ethical decision-making.

The psychology of passion: A meta-analytical review of a decade of research on intrapersonal outcomes

It is just over a decade since Vallerand et al. (J Personal Soc Psychol 85:756–767, 2003) introduced the dualistic model of passion. In this study, we conduct a meta-analytical review of relationships between Vallerand et al’s two passions (viz. harmonious and obsessive), and intrapersonal outcomes, and test the moderating role of age, gender, domain, and culture. A systematic literature search yielded 94 studies, within which 27 criterion variables were reported. These criterion variables derived from four research areas within the intrapersonal sphere: (a) well-/ill-being, (b) motivation factors, (c) cognitive outcomes and, (d) behaviour and performance. From these areas we retrieved 1308 independent effect sizes and analysed them using random-effects models. Results showed harmonious passion positively corresponded with positive intrapersonal outcomes (e.g., positive affect, flow, performance). Obsessive passion, conversely, showed positive associations with positive and negative intrapersonal outcomes (e.g., negative affect, rumination, vitality). Correlations were largely invariant across age and gender, but certain relationships were moderated by domain and culture. Implications are discussed.