Showing papers in "Genetic Social and General Psychology Monographs in 2005"

New developments in social interdependence theory.

Abstract: Social interdependence theory is a classic example of the interaction of theory, research, and practice. The premise of the theory is the way that goals are structured determines how individuals interact, which in turn creates outcomes. Since its formulation nearly 60 years ago, social interdependence theory has been modified, extended, and refined on the basis of the increasing knowledge about, and application of, the theory. Researchers have conducted over 750 research studies on the relative merits of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic efforts and the conditions under which each is appropriate. Social interdependence theory has been widely applied, especially in education and business. These applications have resulted in revisions of the theory and the generation of considerable new research. The authors critically analyze the new developments resulting from extensive research on, and wide-scale applications of, social interdependence theory.

Relation of academic support from parents, teachers, and peers to Hong Kong adolescents' academic achievement: the mediating role of academic engagement.

Abstract: The author tested a model hypothesizing that students' self-perceived academic support (from parents, teachers, and peers) is related to their achievement directly and indirectly through their own perceived academic engagement. The participants were 270 adolescents (M age = 15.41 years, range = 14-20 years) from 3 grade levels (Forms 3-5, equivalent to Grades 9-11 in the United States) in a Hong Kong secondary school. The school principal and teachers helped to collect data based on these adolescents' responses to a self-report questionnaire, consisting of a demographic profile and 4 scales assessing their self-perceptions of the extent of parental, teacher, and peer support, and their own academic engagement. Academic achievement was measured by self-reported grades in math, English, and Chinese. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that adolescents' perceived parental, teacher, and peer support were all indirectly related to their academic achievement mediated by their own perceived academic engagement. The strength of the relationships, however, varied by support system, with perceived teacher support to achievement being the strongest, followed closely by perceived parental support, and then perceived peer support. In addition, both perceived parental support and perceived teacher support were directly related to academic achievement. However, perceived teacher support made the most total (direct and indirect) contribution to student achievement. Perceived peer support had the smallest, nonetheless significant, indirect relationship to academic achievement. However, the negative, direct influence of perceived peer support canceled out its positive, indirect influence on academic achievement.

An evolutionary theory of human motivation.

Abstract: The authors review psychology's historical, competing perspectives on human motivation and propose a new comprehensive theory. The new theory is based on evolutionary principles as proposed by C. Darwin (1859) and modified by W. D. Hamilton (1964, 1996), R. L. Trivers (1971, 1972), and R. Dawkins (1989). The theory unifies biological, behavioral, and cognitive approaches to motivation. The theory is neuropsychological and addresses conscious and nonconscious processes that underlie motivation, emotion, and self-control. The theory predicts a hierarchical structure of motives that are measurable as individual differences in human behavior. These motives are related to social problem domains (D. B. Bugental, 2000; D. T. Kenrick, N. P. Li, & J. Butner, 2003), and each is hypothesized to solve a particular problem of human inclusive fitness.

Modern prejudice toward gay men and lesbian women: assessing the viability of a measure of modern homonegative attitudes within an Irish context.

Abstract: The authors examined the psychometric properties of the gay and lesbian versions of the Modern Homonegativity Scale (MHS-G and MHS-L) in samples of heterosexual Irish university students (Ns=179 and 353). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the MHS-G and MHS-L were unidimensional and factorially distinct from a well-established measure of old-fashioned homonegativity (Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale [ATLG]). Alpha coefficients for both versions of the MHS were good (range = .81 to .86), with 95% confidence intervals suggesting that unsatisfactory levels of scale score reliability (i.e., alpha values < .70) were relatively implausible. As hypothesized, participants' level of modern homonegativity correlated positively with their levels of old-fashioned and modem racism, patriotism, nationalism, religious fundamentalism, social dominance, and perceived political conservatism. The authors also observed a substantial inverse correlation between modern prejudice toward sexual minorities and support for their human rights. Finally, a series of multiple regression analyses indicated that, despite their interrelatedness, modern and old-fashioned homonegativity, particularly as they pertain to gay men, possess differential predictors. Limitations of the current series of studies and the need to conduct further research on attitudes toward sexual minorities within an Irish context are also discussed.

In the face of emotions: event-related potentials in supraliminal and subliminal facial expression recognition.

Abstract: Is facial expression recognition marked by specific event-related potentials (ERPs) effects? Are conscious and unconscious elaborations of emotional facial stimuli qualitatively different processes? In Experiment 1, ERPs elicited by supraliminal stimuli were recorded when 21 participants viewed emotional facial expressions of four emotions and a neutral stimulus. Two ERP components (N2 and P3) were analyzed for their peak amplitude and latency measures. First, emotional face-specificity was observed for the negative deflection N2, whereas P3 was not affected by the content of the stimulus (emotional or neutral). A more posterior distribution of ERPs was found for N2. Moreover, a lateralization effect was revealed for negative (right lateralization) and positive (left lateralization) facial expressions. In Experiment 2 (20 participants), 1-ms subliminal stimulation was carried out. Unaware information processing was revealed to be quite similar to aware information processing for peak amplitude but not for latency. In fact, unconscious stimulation produced a more delayed peak variation than conscious stimulation.

Development of the comprehension and appreciation of fables

Abstract: The authors proposed and tested a model of fable comprehension and appreciation. They proposed that fables are metaphoric in that they teach moral lessons about human activity, and that apprehension of the moral derives from a belief in a just world. In Study 1, children from kindergarten to 8th grade and college students received Aesop fables, reversed-outcome Aesop fables, and fable-like stories. As predicted, kindergartners and some 1st graders did not demonstrate a belief in a just world and did not differentiate between normal and reversed-outcome Aesop fables. Quality of morals provided by older participants was superior to that of younger participants. In Study 2, the quality of fable moral was found to be significantly correlated with quality of proverb and metaphor interpretation. Also, memory for goal or intention story elements was found to be related to quality of moral produced. Directions for future research are identified.

Forming subjective representations of subjective representations: evidence of a subjective status bias.

Abstract: In 3 studies and 2 pilot experiments, the author examined whether attending to the subjective status of mental representations would affect the ways humans view representational contents. The author found that simple drawing tasks were executed differently depending on whether or not the subject of the drawing was defined as a mental content (belief, imagination, perception). The results challenged particular lay epistemological concepts. They were partly accounted for by Gricean conversational rules (H. P. Grice, 1975), but the author postulated a subjective status bias to fully explain them. The discussion and recommendations for research center on the nature of this bias and relate it either to a tendency to conceive subjective representations as vague shadows of reality, or to an increased impact of the law of pregnance.