Social Psychology Commons^™

Trends. Geropsychology And Global Security, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses how to evaluate whether national leaders, as senior citizens, can be considered the best and brightest, and the possible role for cognitive stimulation.

The “Politically Motivated” Defense: An Example From Paraguay, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes and analyzes the construct of a specific defense strategy employed by political leaders against allegations of wrongdoing.

Trends. North Korea, The United States, And Causal Relevance: Relevant To The Contemporary Conflict?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses the importance of social inferential differences in the analysis of the intentions of adversaries, especially in crises. Countries discussed include North Korea (DPRK) and the United States.

Obedience To Authority As Obedience To Authority: Current Perspectives On The Milgram Paradigm, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article considers political implications of the Milgram obedience studies and of how these studies have fared in professional and lay discourse. A point of departure for the article is a volume edited by Thomas Blass on the studies.

The Effect Of Background Information On The Identity Formation And Self-Concept Of Adoptees, Molly Susan Dye

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adoptees are over represented in clinical populations. Issues of self-concept, identity formation and the search for background history may be of particular relevance to adoptee clients and could be addressed as a focus of treatment. This study attempted to assess if lack of knowledge about background information is related to poorer selfconcepts and increased difficulty with identity formation in adoptees. Adults (N=299) who were adopted prior to 6 months of age were recruited from adoption related sites on the Internet. Measures of self-concept, identity formation and adoption related factors were completed on a web page designed for this study. Results …

The Relationship Between Reality Beliefs, Personality Traits, Need For Cognition, And Social Desirability, Scott J. Adams

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project investigates reality beliefs (RBs), which are defined as a system of fundamental premises about the world, knowledge, value, relationships, and humanity that set standards by which one evaluates the relevance and importance of experience.

The Black And White Of Profiling: Sniping On The Sniper Case, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article analyzes the construct of profiling in the aftermath of the arrest of two suspects in the recent sniper attacks perpetrated in the greater Washington, D.C. area.

Lay Theories And Evaluation-Based Organization Of Impressions: An Application Of The Memory Search Paradigm, Yuk-Yue Tong, Chi-Yue Chiu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

People may believe that personal attributes are fixed entities that cannot be changed (hold an entity theory). Alternatively, they may believe that qualities of a person are malleable (hold an incremental theory). In the present research, the authors used Sternberg's (1966) memory search task to examine entity and incremental theorists' cognitive strategies in memory search. It was hypothesized that entity theorists, who have a greater tendency to make spontaneous evaluation of people, would organize impressions in short-term memory according to whether the stimulus persons are positively or negatively evaluated. Next, they might compare the probe only to the stimulus persons …

Personnel Security: Beyond Initial Screening And Selection To Career Aftermath, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes Issues pertaining to personnel security in the aftermath of an individual’s career with an organization.

Commentary On “Conditions For Success And Failures Of Denial And Deception: Democratic Regimes”, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article provides commentary on an essay written by Mr. Walt Jajko. Mr. Jajko’s essay was itself a commentary on an article published in the book, Strategic Denial and Deception, the Twenty First Century Challenge, that was edited by Roy Godson and James J. Wirtz and published by Transaction Publishers (2002).

Mr. Jajko was formerly assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Oversight and director, Special Advisory Staff, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy within the United States Government (USG).

Trends. If You're So Right, Why Are We Sure You're So Wrong? Iraq, Free Riders, And Social Loafing, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses and evaluates public discourse surrounding the acceptability of militarily invading Iraq through a social psychological perspective. In social psychology, the research tradition for constructs such as free-riding and social loafing suggests that, wittingly or unwittingly, many political actors assume that the United States will act to address actual political threats in a certain way, and that they (the other political actors) can adopt contrarian ideological stances because they don’t have to address those same threats.

An Empirical Analysis Of The Effect Of The Need For Closure On Materiality Thresholds Of Auditors, Cynthia M. Daily

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify the strengths of a specific motivator for judgment and decision-making, referred to as “need for closure” and determine how the strength of that motivator affects materiality judgments of auditors.

The extent to which auditors seek and process information prior to forming a judgment can have important consequences in the conduct of an audit. In this regard, psychology researchers have identified a personality characteristic—a motive for judgment and decision making—that influences the decision making process. This motive, referred to as the need for closure, pertains to the desire of individuals to clear …

A Comparison Of Big-Five Personality Factors Safe Sex Behaviors And Social Desirability Using Paper-And-Pencil And Interactive-Voice-Response Surveys, J. Eric Tedford

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Paper-and-pencil tests (PP) have been the cornerstone of surveys and questionnaires in psychology for well over a century. Researchers have longed for a survey method that would provide similar results and quicker data analysis. There are several methods that have been commonly tested against PP surveys; including computers and computer-assisted telephone interviewing, in which a researcher phones the participant who answers questions by pressing the numbers on the keypad of his phone. Both of these methods have yielded conflicting results that showed them to give either equivalent, more social desirable, or less social desirable answers. There has been relatively little …

Trends. Self-Esteem And Terrorism, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses the role self-esteem plays in terrorist behavior. Analysis includes the application of Jennifer Crocker and Connie T. Wolfe’s views as presented in their 2001 Psychological Review article “Contingencies of self-worth” (Vol 108 (3), pp. 593-623).

Vestiges Of Communism And Personnel Security, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article illustrates several interpretive difficulties in employing personnel security criteria in the context of national security.

Trends. A Room With A Cue: Validating An Age-Old Intelligence Tool?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the psychological implications of the choices regarding physical features of a given individual’s environment (e.g., a person’s office).

The Necessities And Luxuries Of Mate Preferences: Testing The Tradeoffs, Norman P. Li, J. Michael Bailey, Douglas T. Kenrick, Joan A. W. Linsenmeier

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Social exchange and evolutionary models of mate selection incorporate economic assumptions but have not considered a key distinction between necessities and luxuries. This distinction can clarify an apparent paradox: Status and attractiveness, though emphasized by many researchers, are not typically rated highly by research participants. Three studies supported the hypothesis that women and men first ensure sufficient levels of necessities in potential mates before considering many other characteristics rated as more important in prior surveys. In Studies 1 and 2, participants designed ideal long-term mates, purchasing various characteristics with 3 different budgets. Study 3 used a mate-screening paradigm and showed …

Trends. Fetishism, Secrecy, And Security, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the Federation of American Scientists’ Secrecy News and how it characterized the Bush Administration’s stance towards the President’s Daily Brief as “fetishism.”

Magical Thinking But No Magic: Implications For Sacred Terrorism, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes lay and scientific psychological constructs of magic with implications for terrorism perpetrated through religious motivation.

Communication And Shared Reality: Implications For The Psychological Foundations Of Culture, Ivy Yee-Man Lau, Chi-Yue Chiu, Sau-Lai Lee

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Lau et al present a conceptualization of the evolution of shared beliefs from individual interactions, focusing on the role of communication. They argue that the reciprocal relationship between shared reality and communication enables the development of systems of social representations at an individual level.

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between The Family Of Origin And Selected Career Development Outcomes, Timothy Dean Dodge

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study was designed to examine, from the perspective of Bowen family systems theory (Papero, 1990) and Williamson's theory of personal authority in the family system (Williamson, 1981, 1982a, 1982b), the impact of family dynamics on the career development of college students and to overcome methodological weaknesses of prior research in this area. Methodologically, the present study overcomes weaknesses of prior research by providing a unifying theory from which measures of family dynamics are derived and by measuring career outcomes which are logically tied to family dynamics. Career outcome measures selected for the study include vocational identity, career decision-making …

Trends. Psychology And False Consciousness: 2001 Update, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

A recent study in the prestigious Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reports that what makes people happy is not money, luxury, influence, or popularity. Instead, feelings of autonomy, competence, closeness to others, and self-esteem are the primary happiness pathways. Although one might applaud findings that suggest that material well-being is not a stairway to heaven, there is much in these findings that maintain exploitive relations in various social contexts.

Ibpp Research Associates: Uganda, Staff Writer – The Monitor Online (Uganda)

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article - Issue joint statement against bombs, by a newspaper staff writer - was originally posted on The Monitor [Online] (Uganda) on January 30, 2001. It presents information about the 2001 elections in Uganda, comparing the current events to the violence- and tension-filled elections of 1996.

The full article is not available for download due to copyright restrictions. Please contact Daily Monitor for details.

Daily Monitor was established as an independent daily newspaper, The Monitor, and relaunched as Daily Monitor in June 2005. Daily Monitor is a subsidiary of Monitor Publications Ltd, which is owned by The Nation Media …

The Effect Of Residence Type On Adjustment To College, Matthew J. Facemire

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study examined the difference in adjustment to college between Commuters (students who lived at home with their parents) and Boarders (students who lived on campus in residence halls). The study was conducted at a rural teachers college in West Virginia. The Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) was administered to 86 students from four English 102 classes. The results include 48 students who met the requirements of the study. The results of the SACQ were input into a SPSS computer program to produce a 2x2 design ANOVA. The Test of Between-Subject Effects showed three areas of significant difference between …

Gender And Parenting Stress Using Abidin's Parenting Stress Index, K. Penny Nicholls

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The effect of gender on parenting stress was studied on a sample of 56 parents at the time of custody disputes. Each pair of parents completed the Parenting Stress Index or the Parenting Stress Index/Short Form. Results were not significant when gender was matched to the total parent stress scores, indicating parent child stress was not associated with parent gender as was found in previous research.

The Political Psychology Of Photographic Images: Facts, Fiction, And Superstition, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes psychological research that might make it less likely that bans against photographic images in Third World countries are viewed by Western observers as products of backwardness and ignorance.

Restraints On Restraint: Attributions And Israeli Violence, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes aspects of social cognition that may be implicated in conclusions about the degree of restraint attributed to acts of violence perpetrated by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) towards some individuals claiming the identity of Palestinians who live in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel itself.

Colombia Cognitive Straits: No Way Out In A Maze Of Words, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes the untenable cognitive position of many Colombian citizens without the material means to emigrate away from the current political upheaval.

Trends. Sending Messages: The Fate Of Slobodan Milosevic, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

As President Vojislav Kostunica continues to attempt to consolidate his political power throughout Yugoslavia, controversy still rages as to the fate of the former president, Slobodan Milosevic. Of special interest is whether he should be forced to stand trial at The Hague as an indicted war criminal.

This article discusses arguments for and against Milosevic standing trial.

Mirror Imaging And Ideology In Palestine, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article identifies ideological mirror imaging on the part of most United States (US) policymakers concerning the political cognitions of many Palestinian National Authority leaders, PNA supporters, and Arab and Islamic supporters and exploiters of the construct of Palestinian self-determination.