Europe’s Journal of Psychology (PsychOpen)
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A Framework for Thinking about the (not-so-funny) Effects of Sexist Humor
No full textThe prevalence of sexist humor in popular culture and its disguise as benign amusement or “just a joke” give it potential to cultivate distress and harassment for women and to facilitate tolerance of sexism and discriminatory behavior among men. Thus, understanding the social consequences of sexist humor is a critical project for research in social psychology. The purpose of our paper is to provide researchers with a conceptual framework for organizing and evaluating empirical research and theories on sexist humor. We divided research on sexist humor into two categories: direct effects and indirect effects. Research on direct effects addresses questions about variables that moderate the interpretation of sexist humor as benign amusement versus a reprehensible expression of sexism. Research on indirect effects considers questions about the broader social consequences of exposure to sexist humor. For instance, “how does exposure to sexist humor affect the way people think about women and their perceptions of discrimination against women?” and “does sexist humor promote sexist behavior among men?” For each category of research, we describe representative empirical research and theoretical frameworks used to guide that research. Importantly, we also raise important issues or questions that require further empirical research or theoretical development. We hope that this research will cultivate further interest in theoretically guided empirical research on sexist humor
An experimental study of the psychological impact of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program on highly sensitive persons
No full textBackground. The mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program has been provided in a variety of settings, and for a variety of individuals. Over two decades of research show that its effectiveness has been made plausible. However, the effects of MBSR interventions on highly sensitive persons (HSPs) have not been examined to date. Aim. This study investigated the effects of participation in a MBSR program on symptoms of stress, social anxiety, self-acceptance, emotional empathy, personal growth, and self-transcendence in HSPs. Sample. Forty-seven participants, 34 females (72%), enrolled in an eight-week MBSR program. Method. Participants were matched on sensitivity scores, the amount of experience in relaxation exercise, gender, age and level of education. Subsequently, they were randomly assigned to an experimental group (first trained group), and a control group (second trained group). The MBSR program, an intensive training in mindfulness meditation, consisted of eight sessions of two and a half hours each. Results. Findings showed that immediately after the eight-week program, as well as four weeks later, the participating HSPs suffered less from stress and appeared to have less social anxiety, whereas their scores for mindfulness, emotional empathy, personal growth initiative, self-acceptance and self-transcendence were significantly higher. Effect sizes ranged from medium (0.63) to very large (2.52). These effects persisted at 4-weeks follow-up and even improved significantly for stress, social anxiety and self-acceptance. Conclusion. The MBSR program has the capacity to help HSPs to deal with stress and social anxiety, as well as to develop their assumed greater capabilities for empathy, personal growth, and self-transcendence. MBSR could offer a meaningful supplement to therapies for HSPs
Massive modularity? The relationship between context-relevance, information encapsulation and functional specialization
No full textIn this article, I discuss the debate between domain-specificity and content-generality in regard to the human mind. My main objective is to argue that the human mind can both be understood as a content-dependent machinery, as well as a general-purpose system that encapsulates information and manifests it accordingly. In evolutionary psychology a strong case is made for the mind’s domain-specific architecture but assumptions of domain-general importance could also be taken into account. In evolutionary terms, it is argued that the mind is composed of content-dependent and specialized functions that have evolved in order to help humans deal with adaptive problems. The mind’s evolved functionality of domain-specific systems has helped humans not only to survive but also to be creative in their relationships to others and the environment. However, advocates of behaviourist models and learning theories have proposed that the mind is a content-independent device which encapsulates information of a general nature. In this paper, domain specificity will be explained in terms of functional specialization, and content-generality in terms of informational encapsulation. My main aim will be to argue that both assumptions can be viewed in context-relevance to each other
Mentoring and work attitudes among nurses: the moderator roles of gender and social support
No full textThis study examined the relationships of mentoring and satisfaction with mentoring with work attitudes of nurses and the moderating roles of gender and social support in the relationships. Questionnaires were used to collect data on mentoring, satisfaction with mentoring, social support (from friends, family, professional association members, co-workers and supervisors) work attitudes, (job involvement, job satisfaction, organizational commitment) and demographic factors from 470 nurses (males =230, females = 240) from five states in Southwestern Nigeria. Data analysis included regressing work attitudes on mentoring, satisfaction with mentoring, social support and gender. Results revealed that mentoring, satisfaction with mentoring and social support predicted work attitudes and social support moderated the relationships but gender did not. The relationships were stronger for nurses who scored high on social support than for nurses who scored low on social support. The implication of the findings is that mentoring programmes should be developed by counselling and personnel psychologists for work organizations and these should be complemented with social support from family members, friends, and co-workers, professional association members and supervisors to improve the nurses’ work attitudes
Organizational commitment in Spanish and Italian volunteers: A comparative study
No full textRecently, it has been demonstrated that attitudes toward an organization impact upon sustained volunteerism. We compared Spanish and Italian volunteers using the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) and then investigated how organizational commitment related to the intention to remain in the organization. Confirmatory and multiple-groups confirmatory factor analysis were used to assess factor structure and structural invariance across the two countries. The results showed that a two-factor model of organizational commitment best characterized the OCQ structure for both samples. Factorial invariance across countries was demonstrated for both factors (Involvement and Acceptance). When we examined the relations between each invariant factor and the intention to remain, Acceptance was the factor that accounted for more variation in the intention to remain
The intrinsic diversity of creativity research: Interview with Prof. Todd Lubart
No full textProfessor Todd Lubart’s past and present work on creativity is a perfect example of how dynamic and multi-faceted this area of psychology really is. Creative phenomena draw on cognitive, personality, emotional, motivational and social processes at once and creativity studies can be found at the intersection between different psychological fields: cognitive, social and personality, organisational, developmental, educational, individual differences and so on. In this interview Professor Lubart discusses his creativity research projects and how they evolved in a constant dialogue between personal interests and opportunities for research and collaboration. Creativity is portrayed as a heterogeneous domain where the most interesting breakthroughs happen ‘at the borders’. Here, those who make an impact are the ones ready to take risks and exploit the domain’s intrinsic diversity and the possibilities for creative thinking associated with it
Assessing movement imagery ability: Self-report questionnaires vs. performance-based tests
No full textThis study was designed to compare the relevance of self-report questionnaires and performance-based tests to assess movement imagery ability in sports. Participants included elite and novice athletes, from fencing, judo and wrestling, who completed a self-report, the Movement Imagery Questionnaire – Revised (MIQ-R; Hall & Martin, 1997), and two performance-based tests, the Movement Imagery Specific Test (MIST), and the Mental Rotation Test (MRT; Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978). There was no significant effect of the expertise variable on the MIQ-R performance, although the results yielded a positive effect of expertise on the MIST and on the MRT. Besides, results showed no correlations between the MIQ-R and the MIST, or between the MIQ-R and the MRT. However, we found a correlation between the MIST and the MRT. These findings are in line with research dissociating imagery measured by self-reports and spatial ability assessed through performance-based tests, and are discussed in terms of their implication in using self-report questionnaires in experimental psychology in general, and to assess movement imagery ability in sports in particular
The role of perfectionism in psychological health: A study of adolescents in Pakistan
No full textThis study investigated the effects of perfectionism on psychological health and explored the adaptive and maladaptive dimensions of perfectionism in the Eastern culture of Pakistan. Demographic data were also analyzed. Participants were 323 university students (144 males & 179 females), who completed the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Frost, Marten, Lahart & Rosenblate, 1990), the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck & Mermelstein, 1983), the Psychological Well-being Measure (Ryff, 1989) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Zigmond & Snaith, 1983). Results indicate that overall perfectionism has a significant positive relationship with psychological distress and non-significant negative relationship with psychological well-being. Three dimensions of perfectionism, personal standards (PS), parental expectations (PE) and organization (OG), have a significant positive relationship with psychological well-being, similarly other three dimensions – concern over mistake (CM), parental criticism (PC) and doubt about actions (DA) – have a strong positive relationship with psychological distress. Results of Independent sample t-tests indicate that there is a significant difference between high and low overall perfectionism groups on stress, depression, anxiety, psychological distress and two sub-scales of psychological well-being – environmental mastery and purpose in life. Moreover, individuals having high scores on CM, PC and DA also have high scores on depression, stress, anxiety and psychological distress as compared to low scorers on the same scales, whereas high scored PS, PE and OG groups showed high level of psychological well-being, environmental mastery and purpose in life. Finally, analyses of demographic data indicate that only age has a significant effect on DA and age by gender interaction has a significant effect on PE. Potential implications for educational and counseling purposes are discussed
3rd International Conference Children And Youth In Changing Societies
No full text2 - 4 December 2010 Thessaloniki, Greece The past twenty years have witnessed an increased academic interest in issues related to children and young people. As a result, Childhood and Youth Studies has emerged as a new field of interdisciplinary research in social sciences. Whereas childhood and adolescence have been extremely popular topics in psychological research in the past, today these topics attract researchers from a wide range of scientific fields, including sociologists, anthropologists, historians, political scientists, lawyers and legal theorists, who present a variety of theoretical approaches and research findings. The focus of this new field of studies is on the re-conceptualization of childhood and youth, as well as on the deeper understanding of the life experiences of children and young people in contemporary societies that are characterized by significant economic, political, social and cultural changes. Therefore, in an era of social change and globalization it is imperative for scientists to examine how the lives of young people are both developed and transformed