1,721,036 research outputs found
Keep Calm and Belong to be Strong: Social identity developed through an Adventure Education Programme foster resilience in Māori and New Zealand European youth.
No full textResearch on the Social Cure has demonstrated the undeniable importance of belonging to social groups and the impact that this has on one’s functioning, quality of life, health and well-being. Here, we extend this research into the realm of psychological resilience. Psychological resilience is defined as positive growth or adaptation following an adverse event. For youth, psychological resilience is extremely important and there is growing interest in the development of interventions that foster/develop resilience. The current study used sail training as a method to promote psychological resilience in New Zealand European and Māori youth. Specifically, 54 Māori and 37 New Zealand European adolescents completed the 7-day youth-development voyage on-board the gaffed rigged schooner, R. Tucker Thompson. The R. Tucker Thompson encourages a social and supportive atmosphere that provides participants with skills to overcome adversity and challenges. For both New Zealand European and Māori, there was a significant increase in resilience from the first day of the voyage to the final day. Furthermore, it was found that the social identity participants established through the development of the new group contributed to the increases in resilience observed over the course of the voyage
The Relationships between Children and Young Adults' Social Evaluations, Prosociality, and Callous-Unemotional Traits
No full textGrowing evidence suggests that infants and young children distinguish between prosocial and antisocial others. The main paradigm employed to test this ability is the hill paradigm. The hill paradigm involves three characters: a protagonist trying to climb a hill, an agent that facilitates them to achieve their goal by pushing them up the hill (i.e., the Helper), and an agent that prevents them from achieving their goal by pushing them down the hill (i.e., the Hinderer). After watching these scenarios infants and young children not only display a preference for the Helper, but also hold expectations about how the protagonist should interact with the Helper and Hinderer. The first aim of the current study was to replicate these basic findings with both children and young adults. Specifically, we hypothesised that when the Helper and Hinderer were presented side-by-side, participants would show a looking preference for the Helper (Hypothesis 1a) and expect the protagonist to approach the character that helped, rather than hindered, its ascent of the hill (Hypothesis 1b). In addition, when participants’ own helping behaviour was assessed, we expected the level of helping they provided to correlate with their preference and expectation looking data (Hypothesis 2). Finally, we investigated how participants’ preferences and expectations following the hill paradigm, and their own helping behaviour, correlated with psychopathic traits. Specifically, we assessed social cue focus (i.e., face looking preference, especially eyes), and Callous-Unemotional (CU) Traits, hypothesising that those with a higher incidence of CU traits would have improved memory for the Helper (Hypothesis 3a) and that there would be a relationship between social cue focus and participants’ preferences and expectations following the hill paradigm (Hypothesis 3b). Our results revealed that none of the hypotheses were supported; participants looked equally at the Helper and Hinderer (Hypothesis 1a) and did not expect the protagonist to approach the Helper (Hypothesis 1b). Further, participants’ own helping behaviour did not correlate with the measures derived from the hill paradigm (Hypothesis 2), nor did their social cue focus (Hypothesis 3a) or their incidence of CU traits (Hypothesis 3b). These results call into question the basic findings derived from the hill paradigm and the assumption it is a marker of prosocial behaviour or preference
The Role of Self-Compassion in Influencing First-Year Students' Mental Health
Get PDFIn a recently published report, the New Zealand Student Association reported that 56% of tertiary students across New Zealand had considered dropping out at some point during their time at university. Major triggers for dropping out included academic anxiety, mental illnesses, and feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities both within and outside of class. Even more alarming is the finding that a small number of students had experienced suicidal thoughts. These findings highlight the need to understand and address mental health issues in the university student population. Results from the present study unveiled that: (1) students’ mental health did decrease in the span of first academic year, (2) self-compassion uniquely predicted students’ well-being outcomes, and (3) psychological needs satisfaction mediated the relationships between self-compassion and mental health. Findings from this study may be used to develop interventions to promote self-compassion among university students
Testing the Effectiveness of a Combined Web-Based and Ecological Momentary Intervention for First-Year University Students
Get PDFFirst year university students engage in heavy alcohol use. Concerns around adverse alcohol-related health outcomes has prompted research on methods to reduce alcohol consumption in university students. The current study investigated the effectiveness of a combined Web-Based Intervention (WBI) and Ecological Momentary Intervention (EMI) on reducing alcohol consumption in first-year university students. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three conditions: Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), EMA+WBI, or EMA+WBI+EMI. The WBI consisted of personalized feedback on participants’ alcohol consumption while the EMIs consisted of a combination of social norms, potential alcohol-related consequences, and protective behavioural strategies. To assess the impact of the intervention, participants completed three surveys across the academic year (i.e., pre-university, end of semester 1, end of semester 2) and responded to fortnightly EMA text messages to report their weekend alcohol consumption. Results revealed that alcohol consumption reported by those in the EMA+WBI+EMI and EMA+WBI conditions did not differ from that of participants in the EMA control condition. Further, although participants in the EMA+WBI+EMI condition reported an average of one less harm than those who received the EMA+WBI condition, it was not significantly different from the number of harms reported by those in the EMA control condition
Relative or absolute? The impact of reward size on 3- and 4-year old children’s ability to delay gratification.
No full textThe ability to delay gratification in childhood correlates with a number of positive outcomes in adulthood. The delay-of-gratification choice paradigm is a widely used measure of children’s ability to make decisions that favour their future self. The present study investigated 3- and 4-year-old children’s preferences for the delayed reward when the difference between size of the immediate and delayed rewards was manipulated. Children in the relative condition chose between an immediate reward of one sticker and a delayed reward of two, three, four, and five stickers. Children in the absolute condition chose between an immediate reward of one, two, three, and four sticker rewards and a delayed reward of five stickers. It was hypothesized that 3- year-old children’s preferences would be driven by the absolute value of the delayed reward, whereas 4-year-old children’s preferences would be driven by the relative difference between the immediate and delayed rewards. In contrast to our predictions, there was no difference between the performance of 3- and 4-year-old children and children’s choices did not differ as a function of condition. We did, however, find that females selected the delayed reward on a greater number of trials than males
The Buffering Effects of Right-Wing Authoritarianism on Future Anxiety: the Mediating Role of COVID-19-Related Demoralization and Perceived Risk
Get PDFIn the last decade, our knowledge of authoritarianism has completely shifted from that of a personality dimension to that of a multidimensional attitudinal structure. Current theories stipulate that individuals are motivated to maintain a sense of collective security within their social group. When a group is confronted with societal threats, such as COVID-19, individuals respond by increasing their exhibition of authoritarian practices to maintain collective security. Where a sense of control cannot be maintained, it can contribute to poor psychological outcomes such as negative future outlooks. In the present study, we collected a community sample of 948 individuals to test how authoritarianism may alleviate feelings of future anxiety. We hypothesized that perceived risk and demoralization would mediate the effects of authoritarianism on future anxiety. Our results supported that demoralization is a significant mediator, in that higher authoritarianism is associated with lower levels of demoralization that in turn is associated with lower levels of future anxiety. However, we did not support a mediating role in the perceived risk of COVID-19. Our results illuminate a potential pathway between authoritarianism and the mitigation of maladaptive psychological outcomes in the face of societal threats. Perhaps encouragingly, authoritarianism was associated with morale but did not diminish the seriousness of the perceived threat of COVID-19. We suggest that morale be a point of future investigation when aiming to understand the effects of authoritarianism on maintaining groups’ collective security
Mother Knows Best? The Influence of Maternal Modelling on Preschool Children's Ability to Delay Gratification
No full textYoung children’s ability to exhibit self-control has been linked to a wide range of positive outcomes later in life, providing a strong impetus for improving this skill in young children. While previous theorists suggested that self-control can be trained like a muscle, support for this approach is dwindling. We propose that mechanisms for improving self-control should aim to utilise children’s natural resources. The current study investigated how maternal talk and behaviour during the delay-of-gratification maintenance task (i.e., the marshmallow test) influenced pre-schoolers ability to delay gratification. Twenty-six 30- to 36-month-old children participated in two sessions, one in which their mother was encouraged to help them delay gratification (i.e., the Maternal condition) and the other in which the mother was asked not to intervene (i.e., the Control condition). Maternal talk and behaviour was coded as “distraction” or “reward” oriented and correlated with children’s wait times. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that maternal talk about the reward during the maternal condition was negatively related to children’s wait times in both the maternal and control conditions. In contrast, mothers’ distraction techniques and talk did not significantly influence children’s ability to delay gratification. These findings are discussed in relation to the effects that reward saliency and the development of episodic memory play in young children’s ability exhibit self-control in the presence of tempting stimuli
Relative or absolute? The impact of reward size on 3- and 4-year old children’s ability to delay gratification.
No full textThe ability to delay gratification in childhood correlates with a number of positive outcomes in adulthood. The delay-of-gratification choice paradigm is a widely used measure of children’s ability to make decisions that favour their future self. The present study investigated 3- and 4-year-old children’s preferences for the delayed reward when the difference between size of the immediate and delayed rewards was manipulated. Children in the relative condition chose between an immediate reward of one sticker and a delayed reward of two, three, four, and five stickers. Children in the absolute condition chose between an immediate reward of one, two, three, and four sticker rewards and a delayed reward of five stickers. It was hypothesized that 3- year-old children’s preferences would be driven by the absolute value of the delayed reward, whereas 4-year-old children’s preferences would be driven by the relative difference between the immediate and delayed rewards. In contrast to our predictions, there was no difference between the performance of 3- and 4-year-old children and children’s choices did not differ as a function of condition. We did, however, find that females selected the delayed reward on a greater number of trials than males
Keep Calm and Belong to be Strong: Social identity developed through an Adventure Education Programme foster resilience in Māori and New Zealand European youth.
Get PDFResearch on the Social Cure has demonstrated the undeniable importance of belonging to social groups and the impact that this has on one’s functioning, quality of life, health and well-being. Here, we extend this research into the realm of psychological resilience. Psychological resilience is defined as positive growth or adaptation following an adverse event. For youth, psychological resilience is extremely important and there is growing interest in the development of interventions that foster/develop resilience. The current study used sail training as a method to promote psychological resilience in New Zealand European and Māori youth. Specifically, 54 Māori and 37 New Zealand European adolescents completed the 7-day youth-development voyage on-board the gaffed rigged schooner, R. Tucker Thompson. The R. Tucker Thompson encourages a social and supportive atmosphere that provides participants with skills to overcome adversity and challenges. For both New Zealand European and Māori, there was a significant increase in resilience from the first day of the voyage to the final day. Furthermore, it was found that the social identity participants established through the development of the new group contributed to the increases in resilience observed over the course of the voyage
The benefits of belonging: National belonging as a resource for mental health and a potential buffer against the effects of ostracism for young and older adults
No full textPeople develop strong emotional connections with the places they inhabit, similar to the connections formed between caregivers and infants. Moreover, as we get older, places come to form part of our identity. Taking a social identity approach, the current thesis investigates the relationship between national belonging and well-being. In Study 1, data from the New Zealand General Social Survey was utilised to investigate the relationship between a sense of belonging to New Zealand and mental well-being. Consistent with Hypothesis 1, a sense of belonging to New Zealand was positively associated with mental health. Further, consistent with Hypothesis 2, the positive relationship observed between a sense of belonging to New Zealand and mental health was stronger for older adults than young adults. Building on Study 1, in Study 2 we investigated whether the benefits of a sense of belonging to New Zealand could be leveraged to protect against the negative impact of ostracism. Specifically, young and older adults were primed with belonging to New Zealand or a control location before being ostracised. It was hypothesised that participants primed with New Zealand, relative to those primed with a control location, would be buffered against the negative impact of ostracism. Additionally, it was hypothesised that this buffering effect would be stronger for older, compared to younger, adults. Neither hypothesis was supported. Priming participants with a sense of belonging to New Zealand did not buffer younger or older adults against the negative effects of ostracism. We discuss our findings in the context of research on the social identity approach and the ostracism literature more generally
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