Education, academic program and intergroup attitudes

Plusieurs études ont montré l'existence d'une relation positive entre le degré d'instruction et les attitudes intergroupes. Ces résultats suggèrent à certains chercheurs que l'éducation réduit les préjugés mais d'autres soutiennent que les gens les plus instruits ont simplement plus de facilités à cacher leurs préjugés. De façon similaire, si plusieurs considèrent que l'éducation rend les gens plus réceptifs à l'idéologie dominante, d'autres maintiennent l'inverse. La présente recherche évalue un modèle intégrant ces positions apparement contradictoires. Le modèle propose que les effets de l'instruction varient en fonction du domaine d'études. Alors que les étudiants/étudiantes d'un secteur d'études peuvent devenir plus favorables a l'égard d'un groupe social donné, ceux et celles d'un autre domaine peuvent maintenir leur attitude ou devenir plus negatifs à l'égard de ce même groupe. Le modèle présume que l'éducation constitue un processus de socialisation et que les domaines d'études professent des idéologies différentes. Une étude transversale menée auprès de 675 étudiants/étudiantes de trois niveaux scolaires et de trois domaines d'études a permis de recueillir des évaluations de sept groupes sociaux. II ressort que les étudiants/étudiantes en sciences sociales sont plus favorables à l'égard des ‘socialistes’à mesure que leur niveau scolaire augmente alors que les étudiants/étudiantes en administration deviennent moins favorables. L'inverse se produit par rapport à l'évaluation des ‘militaires’ et des ‘conservateurs’. Les résultats appuient le modèle qui propose un effet différentiel du domaine d'études sur les attitudes intergroupes. La discussion souligne les implications de ces résultats pour les recherches étudiant l'incidence de l'instruction sur les attitudes sociales et politiques et pour les théories sociologiques de l'éducation. Several studies have shown a positive relation between education and intergroup attitudes, with such results usually being taken as evidence that education reduces prejudice. Others have argued that the better-educated simply have a greater ability to disguise their prejudice. Similarly, while many have argued that education increases support for the dominant ideology, others maintain the opposite. The present study tests a model that would permit reconciliation of these seemingly contradictory positions. The model proposes that effects of education on intergroup attitudes will vary as a function of academic discipline. While students in one area of study may become more positive toward a given social group, students in another area may not change or may become more negative toward that same group. The model assumes education is a socialization process and that academic areas differ in the ideology they promulgate. A cross-sectional survey of 675 students at three levels of education, in three fields of study, collected ratings of seven groups. Social science students were found to give more positive ratings to 'socialist as their level of education increased while business students became more negative. The reverse pattern was observed on ratings of 'the military and 'conservatives. The results support the model of differential effects of field of study on intergroup attitudes. The implications for research on the effects of education and for theories regarding the nature of the educational process are discussed.     

Anticipating relocation: concerns about moving among NORC residents

Most older adults prefer to live at home as long as possible, requiring supports and services to help them age in place. This study examines the relocation concerns of a group of older adults in a suburban naturally-occurring retirement community (NORC). Twenty-six percent of the 324 residents interviewed expressed concern about having to move in the next few years. Residents who were worried differed from those who did not worry on a number of demographic and biopsychosocial characteristics. Overall, residents present a profile of vulnerability that calls for preemptive action to help them stay in their homes. A NORC is an ideal setting in which to provide supportive services.     

A room with a view: a metaphor analysis of Vietnamese women’s representations of living with depression using photo elicitation

Depression is complex and it is known that how people name and give meaning to this experience when they are from cross cultural backgrounds differs to that of dominant Anglo cultures. Yet surprisingly very little is known about the naming and meaning-making conventions particularly for Vietnamese communities. In Anglo cultures, people commonly describe their experiences of depression as ‘travelling through dark tunnels toward a light’; ‘climbing out of a hole’; ‘a black dog’, and the ‘descent of a black cloud’. These metaphoric representations provide us with visual messages and new meanings about the experience of depression and how it impacts individuals. In this article, we describe a study that aimed to examine if a photo elicitation method could provide a group of women from Vietnamese backgrounds with another language set by which to represent their experience of depression in the face-to-face interview context. Women were provided with a digital camera and asked to take a minimum of 10 photos about their everyday experiences of living with depression. Recruitment and face-to-face interviews were completed with an interpreter already known to participants employed at the community health centre. Participants were asked to select five key photos for discussion within the interpreted interview. In the following article, a metaphor analysis is presented to reflect on how the photos enabled further insight into Vietnamese women’s representations of living with depression and examine the application of this participatory visual method for cross cultural research settings.     

Twelve reasons why rape is not sexually motivated: A skeptical examination

The most popular current explanation of rape holds that rapists are seeking power, control, violence, and/or domination instead of sex. After reviewing the history of this explanation, this paper examines the evidence that has been used to demonstrate that rapists are not sexually motivated. Twelve specific arguments are examined in light of existing data on rape. All twelve of the arguments are found to be either logically unsound, based on inaccurate definitions, untestable, or inconsistent with the actual behavior of rapists. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Physical Attractiveness,Halo Effects,and Social Joining

Objective: Scholarship in psychology on halo effects demonstrates the powerful effects attractiveness has on social interactions. Here, we consider the influence of physical attractiveness on the development of social capital through social joining. With the unavoidable nature of attractiveness biases, we argue that more physically attractive individuals should be increasingly likely to join social organizations, which have been shown to be important parts of broader social engagement and the growth of social capital. Methods: Utilizing the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study and an original survey experiment, we find that individuals who are rated as more attractive are consistently more likely to participate in organizations, particularly early in adult life. These effects persist when controlling for socioeconomic variables like income and education. Results: Our experimental results bolster these findings, showing that more attractive individuals are more likely to be invited to join both organizations and informal gatherings. Conclusions: These findings suggest a further mechanism through which the development of social capital differs between individuals in society.     

Measuring children's needs: how are we doing?

Children's services in England and Wales are legally required to determine the nature and extent of children's needs in their areas as a precursor to providing needs-led services. However, few needs assessments are ever published. This article analyses 83 such reports conducted between 1999 and 2007 in two local authorities in England (one urban, one rural), focusing on their quality and usefulness. It makes recommendations for improving practice in this important area, both in terms of the type of needs assessment required and how best to produce and use them.     

Pop-up messages on electronic gaming machines in New Zealand: experiences and views of gamblers and venue staff

In New Zealand, a pop-up message feature that interrupts gambling is mandatory on all electronic gaming machines (EGMs) in all venues. The present research documented the views and experiences of pop-up messages from a range of gamblers and gambling venue staff. A series of focus groups was held with 40 gamblers (ranging from infrequent gamblers to current/former problem gamblers), and 19 staff from casino and non-casino venues. Most participants thought that pop-up messages were ineffective as a harm-minimization measure. Venue staff participants viewed pop-up messages much more negatively than gamblers, who were generally accepting of their existence and sometimes described them as useful. Venue staff participants were also very negative about the additional hassles and confusion they believed to be caused by pop-up messages, and a range of problems they perceived with their accuracy. Nonetheless, there was a consistent although less prevalent view that pop-up messages were useful in reducing gambling harm and potentially bringing harmful gamblers to the attention of others. Participants raised some possibilities for enhancing their effectiveness; these were generally consistent with the evidence base developed since the introduction of pop-up messages in the New Zealand gambling environment.     

Gratification versus frustration: The legacy of the schism between Ferenczi and Freud

The tension between whether to gratify or frustrate a patient reappears countless times in the course of every therapeutic treatment. This tension, so dramatically encapsulated in the relationship between Ferenczi and Freud, and resurfaced repeatedly in the writings and teachings of such influential thinkers as Alexander, Greenson, Stone, Brenner, Winnicott, Kohut and Kernberg.In this paper, we track how the general concepts of frustration and gratification continually re-emerge in one or another form, and are considered and debated by our most gifted psychoanalytic writers.     

A COMPARISON OF FAMILY ADAPTATIONS TO HAVING A CHILD WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS

The effect of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) on the structure and social climate of the family was examined with self-report scales and independent observations of family functioning. Families in which the child with CF was not the firstborn were found to be functioning more healthily than those in which the child was the firstborn. This was found on 7 of 10 family environment scales, a family hierarchy test, and on all three of the family system scales used by the independent observers (power, cohesion and closeness). Significant correlations between specific family variables and problem behaviors and social competencies were also found.     

Reassessing Charity Trusteeship in Britain? Toward Conservatism, Not Change

The growing prominence given to charity trustees' strategy-making roles and responsibilities is encouraging reassessment of the values and purposes of trusteeship in Britain. This occurs against a background of an increasingly professionalized and managerialist charity sector. Trustees are seen, in public policy terms, as a homogeneous and leadership-oriented group, while some charity managers aspire to or are already fulfilling leadership roles. This research note reviews these developments, considering trustees' strategy-making and controlling functions, and the nature of the relations between charity staffs and trustees. It describes the development of a tentative typology by the authors, characterizing trustees' approaches to their roles, as a means of illustrating the heterogeneous rather than homogeneous nature of the overall charity trustee body. The research process, leading toward the typology's development, is outlined and critiqued. Reflections on the value of the typology are given and possible future developments in trusteeship are considered. The authors consider that those trustees willing to remain in role are likely to adopt custodial rather than entrepreneurial approaches to their trusteeship. Such a role is likely to be increasingly at odds with the role sought or adopted by senior managers in some charities, and also with the proactive model of trusteeship that is being encouraged by the regulatory systems for British charities.