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An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study to investigate individuals’ reactions to perceived social exclusion
Get PDFMost psychological research on social exclusion mainly focused on maximizing internal validity (e.g., controlling for confounding variables). However, maximizing external validity to produce generalizable knowledge about real-world experiences becomes increasingly essential. In the present study (N=89), we adopted an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) design to track exclusionary experiences and their impact on psychological distress over 15 consecutive days. We tested the mediating effects of positive and negative emotions on the link between daily exclusionary experiences and psychological distress, examining the moderating role of experiential avoidance (EA). Results confirmed a large effect of social exclusion on distress mediated by positive and negative emotions. However, EA did not moderate the exclusion-distress link but was, unexpectedly, found to moderate the exclusion-positive emotions relationship. Specifically, this relationship was stronger for low (vs. high) levels of EA, indicating that adopting EA in response to perceived exclusion may provide a protective function from blunted positive emotions. The present study suggests the usefulness of investigating the occurrence and reactions to the daily experiences of social exclusion, going beyond the sole reliance on experimental manipulations, especially to explore the role of individual differences in working towards a more integrated theoretical model of exclusion
Action Researchers Book++ Review
Get PDFWe are innovating with a new approach to book reviewing for the ARJ journal. Good books and excellent digital media are clearly invaluable inputs to our work as action researchers. But in a world awash with excellent content, how does the ARTist find gold?
Our aim with the journal itself is to support action researchers in their transformative work of creating sustainable and regenerative societies, places to live and work and of course to protect our planet (Bradbury, Waddell et al., 2019a). For this, we have elaborated seven quality choicepoints that guide a lot of what we do at the journal (Bradbury, Glenzer et al., 2019b) and in our ART more generally
Involuntary voluntary action
Get PDFVoluntariness is an essential factor in determining if someone should be held legally responsible for his actions. Equally, voluntary actions of the victim in certain situations can break the chain of causation, thus removing criminal liability from the defendant. To create the desired certainty in the law a clear definition of voluntary action is essential, however, this article highlights how such a definition remains elusive. The binding ratio in Kennedy, that a victim's free, informed and deliberate actions can break the chain of causation, has been applied in an inconsistent way in R v Wallace. As a consequence, the law relies on a moralistic judgment in determining whether a defendant should be criminally liable for his actions. Thus, causing complexity and confusion in determining when actions can be deemed voluntary. R v Field has caused further uncertainty by holding that voluntarily choosing to drink whisky can be said to be an involuntary action. It is concluded that R v Field could have instead been viewed more clearly through the lens of omissions. This would have enabled established legal principles to be applied without the resulting challenges that R v Field has caused in determining what is voluntary action
Performance breakdown under pressure among esports competitors
Get PDFThis study investigated the effects of psychological pressure on cognitive anxiety, challenge and threat appraisals, gaze behaviour, and action performance during an esport task among national- and university-level competitors. In Experiment 1, 90 participants (67 male, 23 female; Mage = 20.57 years, SD = 2.26), divided into national (n = 33) and university (n = 57) level competitors, completed an esport task under both low- and high-pressure conditions while anxiety, appraisals, gaze, and performance were assessed. Participants reported higher anxiety, threat appraisals, and displayed suboptimal gaze behaviour and poorer performance in the high-pressure condition than the low-pressure condition, and effects were stronger for university- than national-level competitors. In Experiment 2, the same protocol was repeated with 28 national-level competitors (25 male, 3 female; Mage = 22.01 years, SD = 4.35), using further ecologically valid adjustments to the pressure manipulation given the eliteness of participants (i.e., live audience, intra-round feedback, audience reactions), and the additional measurement of cognitive effort. Participants reported higher state anxiety, threat appraisals, and exhibited suboptimal gaze behaviour and poorer performance despite investing more cognitive effort. In line with pertinent theory (e.g., Integrative Framework of Stress, Attention, and Visuomotor Performance), the findings suggest that esport performance might breakdown under pressure due to elevated anxiety, threat appraisals, and disrupted gaze behaviour, even when more cognitive effort is mobilized
An empathetic leader
Get PDFThis month's article in the leadership journey series follows assistant educational psychologist Emelia Parker and how she introduced Makaton as a tool to promote inclusion and child development
An Exploratory Investigation of Personality in Counter-Strike:Global Offensive
Get PDFPersonality traits can provide insightful predictions relating to thoughts, feelings and behaviour. The aim of the present study was to examine differences in personality traits across in-game rank in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). A total of 95 CS:GO players from the United Kingdom and North America were classified using CS:GO in-game rank and grouped into high, moderate and low in-game rank. The NEO-Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) questionnaire was utilised to measure the Big Five Personality traits. Using one-way MANOVA with follow-up tests of Discriminant Analysis, our main finding was that high in-game rank players reported significantly lower levels of neuroticism and significantly higher levels of conscientiousness than both moderate and low in-game rank players. The present study offers preliminary evidence elucidating personality differences across in-game rank in CS:GO players
On the lowest rung of the ladder: How social exclusion, perceived economic inequality and stigma increase homeless people’s resignation
Get PDFDespite the relevance of social exclusion and economic inequality for homelessness, empirical studies investigating how these issues relate to homeless people’s psychological well-being are scarce. We aimed to fill this gap by conducting two quasi-experimental studies on homeless and non-homeless groups. The first study (N=200) showed that homeless (vs. non-homeless) people presented higher levels of resignation, characterized by depression, alienation, helplessness, and unworthiness. The second study (N=183) replicated the findings from Study 1 and showed that perceived economic inequality could increase homeless people’s resignation by emphasizing perceptions of social exclusion. Additional analyses found that identification with the stigmatized homeless group could mediate the relationship between perceived inequality and social exclusion, increasing the resignation. Overall, the results showed that chronic social exclusion of homeless people is associated with higher levels of resignation. Moreover, they showed the role of perceived economic inequality and homeless group stigmatized identification as group-specific mechanisms favouring social exclusion and ultimately worsening psychological well-being
‘You Took me Back to the sea:’ Using Narrative to Explore and Inform the Practice of Social Work with Dying People
Get PDFThis article centres on a qualitative interview extract, the ‘Story of the Pebble’, in which a West African Hospital Social Worker Ado, working in a UK context, and identifying as a Shaman, describes successfully trusting his instincts to create a symbol for a dying patient. Despite criticisms from colleagues, Ado's capacity to understand his patients needs are justified both before and after her death. The article discusses significant themes from the interview extract, including the meaning of professionalism, practice wisdom and cultural influences in a UK social work context, as well as through Ado's heritage and identification as a Shaman. The article considers holistic patient care in a medical context and suggests this has some useful lessons for social workers, particularly those involved with dying people. Although the extract, and wider research study from which it is drawn, pre-date the Covid 19 pandemic, this is referenced throughout, linking the interview extract to ways of helping practitioners and educators to consider people holistically at end of life
The Recruitment Crisis in the British Hospitality Industry
No full textThe scarce supply of labour and of a competent workforce in the hospitality sector has been researched and debated for decades. Although the sector is important to the UK economy contributing £130 billion pounds to the gross domestic product, the inability of the sector to attract and retain the best talent remains an age-old problem. This chapter is a commentary of the current debate on the recruitment crisis based on an examination of the most recent academic literature. The research finds that although many recommendations have been proffered by researchers to solve these problems, the issues and mistakes made by hospitality employers appear to remain the same. Possible best practice solutions are explored. Reviews of scholarly journals, books, and materials from the domains of marketing, human resources, hospitality management, and organisational behaviour were used to find evidence about the current trends of thought, research findings, and best practices in this field. The chapter concludes with three conceptual models that summarise the critical issues and possible solutions