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Research Collection School of Social Sciences

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Full-Text Articles in Social Psychology and Interaction

The New Normal Of Social Psychology In The Face Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: Insights And Advice From Leaders In The Field, Kim Pong Tam, Angela K. Y. Leung, Sammyh Khan Mar 2021

The New Normal Of Social Psychology In The Face Of The Covid-19 Pandemic: Insights And Advice From Leaders In The Field, Kim Pong Tam, Angela K. Y. Leung, Sammyh Khan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Revisiting the history of social psychology, one noticeable trend is that the agenda of social psychologists is interwoven with events that happen in society and the world (Ross et al., 2010). For example, the Holocaust during World War II stimulated social psychologists’ interest in ethnocentrism, aggression, and obedience, just as increasing globalization became one of the impetuses for investigations into the role of culture in human behaviour, and hence the emergence of cultural and cross‐cultural psychology. Considering its immensity, we believe that the COVID‐19 pandemic will likely be a trigger for profound and consequential changes in social psychology (Khazaie & …


Subjective Social Status And Inflammation: The Role Of Culture And Anger Control, Jose C. Yong, Andree Hartanto, Jacinth Jia Xin Tan Jan 2021

Subjective Social Status And Inflammation: The Role Of Culture And Anger Control, Jose C. Yong, Andree Hartanto, Jacinth Jia Xin Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Objective: Research on subjective social status (SSS) and inflammation risk suffers from a lack of cross-cultural data as well as inconsistent findings between SSS and the biomarker C-reactive protein (CRP). The current study addressed these issues by examining possible cultural differences in the SSS-CRP link with anger control as an underlying mechanism while controlling for potential confounds such as wealth, education, and health factors. Method: Participants comprised 1,435 adults from the Biomarker Project of the MIDUS (American) and MIDJA (Japanese) studies. Participants’ SSS and tendency to control anger were assessed through surveys, and their CRP levels were measured through fasting …


The Association Between Objective And Subjective Socioeconomic Standing And Subjective Well-Being: A Meta-Analysis, Jacinth J. X. Tan, Michael W. Kraus, Nichelle C. Carpenter, Nancy E. Adler Nov 2020

The Association Between Objective And Subjective Socioeconomic Standing And Subjective Well-Being: A Meta-Analysis, Jacinth J. X. Tan, Michael W. Kraus, Nichelle C. Carpenter, Nancy E. Adler

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This meta-analysis tested if the links between socioeconomic status (SES) and subjective well-being (SWB) differ by whether SES is assessed objectively or subjectively. The associations between measures of objective SES (i.e., income and educational attainment), subjective SES (i.e., the MacArthur ladder SES and perceived SES), and SWB (i.e., happiness and life satisfaction) were synthesized across 357 studies, totaling 2,352,095 participants. Overall, the objective SES and subjective SES measures were moderately associated (r = .32). The subjective SES-SWB association (r = .22) was larger than the objective SES-SWB association (r = .16). The income-SWB association (r = .23) was comparable with …


How Much Money Can Buy You Happiness, And Can Happiness Be Engineered?, Chandran Kukathas Oct 2020

How Much Money Can Buy You Happiness, And Can Happiness Be Engineered?, Chandran Kukathas

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There may be a lot of misery in the world, opines Chandran Kukathas, but for many, ‘there’s gold in them thar hills’. But can happiness be engineered?


Foster Positivity Amid Covid-19 Challenges, David Chan Aug 2020

Foster Positivity Amid Covid-19 Challenges, David Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Many behaviours have encouraged positivity during the pandemic. More can be done to create communities that nurture positive attitudes and experiences


Executive Function And Subjective Well-Being In Middle And Late Adulthood, Wei Xing Toh, Hwajin Yang, Andree Hartanto Jul 2020

Executive Function And Subjective Well-Being In Middle And Late Adulthood, Wei Xing Toh, Hwajin Yang, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Objectives: A growing body of research has investigated psychosocial predictors of subjective well-being (SWB), a key component of healthy ageing, which comprises life satisfaction and affective well-being. However, few studies have examined how executive function (EF)-a collection of adaptive, goal-directed control processes-could affect SWB in middle and late adulthood. Methods: By analyzing a nationally representative adult cohort ranging from early 30s to early 80s from the Midlife Development in the United States 2 study, we examined two potential mediators (i.e., sense of control versus positive reappraisal) that could underlie the relation between EF and SWB. Further, we assessed how these …


A Toolkit To Deal With Negative Reactions In The Covid-19 Crisis, David Chan Apr 2020

A Toolkit To Deal With Negative Reactions In The Covid-19 Crisis, David Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Understanding our own and others’ biases helps us respond better to difficult situations. Adopt what I call the 3Rs approach - refrain, reflect and resolve, to deal with negative events and manage our negative gut emotions and reactions.


Drill Into What Makes People Socially Responsible, David Chan Mar 2020

Drill Into What Makes People Socially Responsible, David Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In an invited commentary, SMU Behavioural Sciences Institute Director Professor David Chan explained why being socially responsible is critical in Singapore’s efforts to contain the Covid-19 outbreak and mitigate its effects. He discussed the psychology underlying people’s behaviour change and suggested that we pay attention to issues of values, image, norms, convenience and enforcement.


Mood-Creativity Relationship In Groups: The Role Of Equality In Idea Contribution In Temporal Mood Effects, Angela K. Y. Leung, Shynan Liou, Ming-Hong Tsai, Brandon Koh Mar 2020

Mood-Creativity Relationship In Groups: The Role Of Equality In Idea Contribution In Temporal Mood Effects, Angela K. Y. Leung, Shynan Liou, Ming-Hong Tsai, Brandon Koh

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

As people working in groups might fare better in solving complex problems than those working alone (e.g., Laughlin, Hatch, Silver, & Boh, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 2006 and 644), organizations have increasingly assigned creative projects to groups. Group members contribute their collective efforts over time until the creative project has come to fruition. Although mood is identified as an important antecedent to creativity, little is known about the temporal pattern of how group mood enhances or inhibits group creativity, as well as the underpinning group process that explains the mood—creativity link in groups. We set out to …


Cognitive, Social, Emotional, And Subjective Health Benefits Of Computer Use In Adults: A 9-Year Longitudinal Study From The Midlife In The United States (Midus), Andree Hartanto, Jose C. Yong, Wei Xing (Zhuo Weixing) Toh, Sean Teck Hao Lee, Yue Qi Germaine Tng, William Tov Mar 2020

Cognitive, Social, Emotional, And Subjective Health Benefits Of Computer Use In Adults: A 9-Year Longitudinal Study From The Midlife In The United States (Midus), Andree Hartanto, Jose C. Yong, Wei Xing (Zhuo Weixing) Toh, Sean Teck Hao Lee, Yue Qi Germaine Tng, William Tov

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Computer use has been proposed to carry a host of benefits for cognitive function and socioemotional well-beingin older adults. However, the literature on computer use remains equivocal as extant research suffers from mixedfindings as well as methodological limitations, such as overreliance on cross-sectional designs, small samplesizes, and use of narrow criterions. The current studies (NStudy 1 ¼ 3,294, NStudy 2 ¼ 2,683) sought to address theselimitations through the use of a large-scale, nationally representative, and longitudinal dataset. We found thatfrequency of computer use—over a period of approximately 9 years—longitudinally predicted positive changesin executive functioning, hedonic well-being, eudaimonic well-being, sense of …


Partner Commitment In Close Relationships Mitigates Social-Class Differences In Subjective Well-Being, Jacinth J. X. Tan, Michael W. Kraus, Emily A. Impett, Dacher Keltner Jan 2020

Partner Commitment In Close Relationships Mitigates Social-Class Differences In Subjective Well-Being, Jacinth J. X. Tan, Michael W. Kraus, Emily A. Impett, Dacher Keltner

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The present exploratory research examined the possibility that commitment in close relationships among lower class individuals, despite greater strains on those relationships, buffers them from poorer subjective well-being (SWB). In two samples of close relationship dyads, we found that when partners reported high commitment to the relationship, the typical deficits in relatively lower class individuals’ well-being compared to their upper-class counterparts, assessed as life satisfaction among romantic couples (Study 1) and negative affect linked to depression among ethnically diverse close friendships (Study 2), were mitigated. Conversely, when partners reported low commitment to the relationship, relatively lower class individuals reported poorer …


Seeking And Ensuring Interdependence: Commitment Desirability And The Initiation And Maintenance Of Close Relationships, Kenneth Tan, Christopher R. Agnew, Benjamin W. Hadden Jan 2020

Seeking And Ensuring Interdependence: Commitment Desirability And The Initiation And Maintenance Of Close Relationships, Kenneth Tan, Christopher R. Agnew, Benjamin W. Hadden

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The current research offers and examines the concept of commitment desirability, defined as the subjective desire to be involved in a committed romantic relationship at a given time. In pursuing their desire for a committed romance, how do individuals high in commitment desirability strategically ensure success? We suggest that high perceived partner commitment is sought by individuals who themselves desire to be involved in a committed relationship. In three studies involving individuals both currently involved and not involved in a relationship, we found support for the hypothesized interactive effect of commitment desirability and perceived partner commitment, such that greater …


When Essentialism Facilitates Intergroup Conflict Resolution: The Positive Role Of Perspective-Taking, Donna J. Yao, Melody M. Chao, Angela K. Y. Leung May 2019

When Essentialism Facilitates Intergroup Conflict Resolution: The Positive Role Of Perspective-Taking, Donna J. Yao, Melody M. Chao, Angela K. Y. Leung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Essentialism, a fundamental belief of the fixedness of social group essences, is often associated with negative intergroup outcomes. However, research is yet to explore the role of essentialism in intergroup conflicts, despite their prevalence. To address this gap, we conducted the first direct examination on how essentialism influences conflict management toward out-group members. Moreover, we examined perspective-taking as a positive factor in improving conflict management among essentialist individuals relative to their non-essentialist counterparts in intergroup contexts. Results across three experiments provided little support to the negative effect of essentialism on intergroup (vs. intragroup) conflict management. Yet, we found that perspective-taking …


The Effects Of Perceived Decision-Making Styles On Evaluations Of Openness And Competence That Elicit Collaboration, Ming-Hong Tsai, Nadhilla Velda Melia, Verlin B. Hinsz Jan 2019

The Effects Of Perceived Decision-Making Styles On Evaluations Of Openness And Competence That Elicit Collaboration, Ming-Hong Tsai, Nadhilla Velda Melia, Verlin B. Hinsz

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

When interacting with a task partner, individuals often rely upon characteristics they infer about their partner to determine their level of collaboration with the partner. To explore social perception processes related to collaboration, we examined perceptions of an actor’s decision-making style as predictors. Using different methods in various research settings, we found that compared with perceptions of an actor’s intuitive decision-making style or of a nonspecific decision-making style, perceptions of an actor’s rational decision-making style were more positively associated with inferences of the actor’s openness and competence, both of which were in turn associated with the perceiver’s collaborative intention with …


Prevention-Permission-Promotion: A Review Of Approaches To Errors In Learning, Sarah Shi Hui Wong, Stephen Wee Hun Lim Jan 2019

Prevention-Permission-Promotion: A Review Of Approaches To Errors In Learning, Sarah Shi Hui Wong, Stephen Wee Hun Lim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Errors are often perceived as undesirable events to be avoided at all costs. However, a growing body of research suggests that making errors is, in fact, beneficial for learning. Building on human resource development literature, the present review proposes a 3P framework of approaches to errors during learning: prevention (avoiding or observing errors), permission (allowing errors), and promotion (inducing or guiding errors). This framework is applied to examine and integrate the empirical evidence on errors that have been commonly investigated in cognitive, educational, and applied psychology research. The psychological mechanisms of each error approach are discussed, and implications for education …


Using Multiple Methods To More Fully Understand Causal Relations: Positive Affect Enhances Social Relationships, Shannon Moore, Ed Diener, Kenneth Tan Aug 2018

Using Multiple Methods To More Fully Understand Causal Relations: Positive Affect Enhances Social Relationships, Shannon Moore, Ed Diener, Kenneth Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

We review research indicating that higher levels of positive affect help produce better social relationships for that person and those around him or her. By better relationships we mean those that are experienced as more pleasant and less aversive, are closer and more supportive, and are long-lasting. We review longitudinal, experimental, experience-sampling, cross-cultural, and other types of evidence that suggest that not only do good relationships produce positive affect, but that positive affect can lead to them as well. We also focus on the mediators that create the association going from positive affect to sociability and high-quality relationships. Finally, we …


Well-Being Concepts And Components, William Tov Jan 2018

Well-Being Concepts And Components, William Tov

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Well-being is a broad, multifaceted construct. This chapter reviews different ways of defining and measuring well-being and the implications this has for understanding the correlates and causes of well-being. Hedonic well-being (HWB), eudaimonic well-being (EWB), and other conceptions of well-being are discussed. Specific components and aspects of HWB are elaborated on. These include the distinction between affective and cognitive well-being. Major aspects of affective well-being include valence, frequency versus intensity, arousal, and interpersonal engagement. Major aspects of cognitive well-being include life satisfaction, life evaluation, and domain satisfaction. Processes underlying the structure of cognitive well-being are discussed including top-down versus bottom-up …


Lack Of Dream-Capital Among Korean Youths: Rationally Chosen Or Culturally Forbidden?, Seokho Kim, Hongjung Kim, Sangkyu Lee, Eunji Kim, Ohjae Gowen Jan 2018

Lack Of Dream-Capital Among Korean Youths: Rationally Chosen Or Culturally Forbidden?, Seokho Kim, Hongjung Kim, Sangkyu Lee, Eunji Kim, Ohjae Gowen

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper attempts to provide empirical evidence in understanding the ways that contemporary youth pursue their dreams in Korea. This paper examines the rational aspect of "dreaming" or "non-dreaming" by employing two concepts: dream-capital and penetration. In this paper, dream-capital is conceptualized as a seed that facilitates the accumulation of other capitals. It is the total capacity to dream and is composed of four dimensions: imagination, hope, optimism and resilience. Penetration is defined as the "cognitive judgment about the (un)realizability of dream." It refers to the discrepancy that exists between judgment about the capacity, condition and qualification required to fulfill …


Big Data In Social And Psychological Science: Theoretical And Methodological Issues, Lin Qiu, Sarah Hian May Chan, David Chan Dec 2017

Big Data In Social And Psychological Science: Theoretical And Methodological Issues, Lin Qiu, Sarah Hian May Chan, David Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Big data presents unprecedented opportunities to understand human behavior on a large scale. It has been increasingly used in social and psychological research to reveal individual differences and group dynamics. There are a few theoretical and methodological challenges in big data research that require attention. In this paper, we highlight four issues, namely data-driven versus theory-driven approaches, measurement validity, multi-level longitudinal analysis, and data integration. They represent common problems that social scientists often face in using big data. We present examples of these problems and propose possible solutions.


Tackling The Health Gap: The Role Of Psychosocial Processes, Nancy E. Adler, Jacinth J. X. Tan Sep 2017

Tackling The Health Gap: The Role Of Psychosocial Processes, Nancy E. Adler, Jacinth J. X. Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In The Health Gap, Michael Marmot describes how, starting even before birth, social conditions set individuals on trajectories that eventuate in inequities in health and longevity. In addition to race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status linked to income and education plays a major role in determining health trajectories. The effects emerge not only at the very bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum, but across the whole range.1 The fact that health effects persist at levels where resources are more than adequate to fulfill material needs suggests that the health gap is not due only to material privation associated with poverty, but also …


Global Corporate Responsibility In Domestic Context: Lateral Decoupling And Organizational Responses To Globalization, Alwyn Lim Aug 2017

Global Corporate Responsibility In Domestic Context: Lateral Decoupling And Organizational Responses To Globalization, Alwyn Lim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper examines how the domestic reception of global corporate responsibility is significantly shaped by institutionalized differences among state, business and civil society actors in the domestic context. In the global diffusion of ideas and practices, the decoupling of global policies and domestic practice is endemic, a process that this paper argues results from competing domestic interests and orientations. I examine this process of ‘lateral decoupling’ in a case study of the reception of the United Nations Global Compact among corporate responsibility practitioners in the city-state of Singapore. Differences in ceremonial, pragmatic and non-adversarial orientations towards global corporate responsibility generated …


Impulsivity, Communication, And Marital Satisfaction In Newlywed Couples, Kenneth Tan, Amber M. Jarnecke, Susan C. South Jun 2017

Impulsivity, Communication, And Marital Satisfaction In Newlywed Couples, Kenneth Tan, Amber M. Jarnecke, Susan C. South

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The authors used a vulnerability–stress–adaptation framework to examine how and why impulsivity affects communication and marital satisfaction in a sample of 100 newlywed couples. We specifically examined the links between impulsivity and perceptions of conflict communication patterns and their associations with marital satisfaction. Using an actor–partner interdependence framework, the results demonstrated that impulsivity was negatively associated with one's own and partner's marital satisfaction. Impulsivity was also negatively associated with constructive communication and positively associated with destructive communication. Furthermore, mediation analyses showed that communication patterns mediated the impulsivity–satisfaction link. Taken together, these findings suggest that impulsivity is likely to lead to …


Signs Of Social Class: The Experience Of Economic Inequality In Everyday Life, Michael W. Kraus, Jun Won Park, Jacinth J. X. Tan May 2017

Signs Of Social Class: The Experience Of Economic Inequality In Everyday Life, Michael W. Kraus, Jun Won Park, Jacinth J. X. Tan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

By some accounts, global economic inequality is at its highest point on record. The pernicious effects of this broad societal trend are striking: Rising inequality is linked to poorer health and well-being across countries, continents, and cultures. The economic and psychological forces that perpetuate inequality continue to be studied, and in this theoretical review, we examine the role of daily experiences of economic inequality—the communication of social class signals between interaction partners—in this process. We theorize that social class signals activate social comparison processes that strengthen group boundaries between the haves and have nots in society. In particular, we argue …


Avoidance In Negative Ties: Inhibiting Closure, Reciprocity, And Homophily, Nicholas Harrigan, Janice Yap Jan 2017

Avoidance In Negative Ties: Inhibiting Closure, Reciprocity, And Homophily, Nicholas Harrigan, Janice Yap

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Theorising of negative ties has focused on simplex negative tie networks or multiplex signed tie networks. We examine the fundamental differences between positive and negative tie networks measured on the same set of actors. We test six mechanisms of tie formation on face-to-face positive (affect/esteem) and negative (dislike/disesteem) networks of 282 university students. While popularity, activity, and entrainment are present in both networks, closure, reciprocity, and homophily are largely absent from negative tie networks. We argue this arises because avoidance is inherent to negative sentiments. Avoidance reduces information transfer through negative ties and short-circuits cumulative causation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. …


Youth And Social Media: Power To Empower?, Sujith Kumar Prankumar Jan 2017

Youth And Social Media: Power To Empower?, Sujith Kumar Prankumar

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Much has been written on social media and how it has positively revolutionised communication and information transmission. The infl uence of social media is indubitable—it reaches anyone with an Internet connection, no matter their geographic location or socioeconomic status. This means information that was previously out of reach for isolated and less well-off communities is now accessible by more people than ever before. For example, University College London’s “Why We Post” social media anthropology project—conducted by nine researchers in nine different communities over 15 months—found that communities that have traditionally received comparatively lower levels of schooling now have access to …


Violation Of Long-Term Mate Preferences, M. L. W. Long, Norman P. Li Dec 2016

Violation Of Long-Term Mate Preferences, M. L. W. Long, Norman P. Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Violations of short-term mate preferences refer to instances in which a person in a short-term, casual sexual relationship has mate preferences that were in place when the relationship commenced but subsequently are not being met.


Ease Of Retrieval Effects On Relationship Commitment: The Role Of Future Plans, Kenneth Tan, Christopher Agnew Feb 2016

Ease Of Retrieval Effects On Relationship Commitment: The Role Of Future Plans, Kenneth Tan, Christopher Agnew

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

How do perceptions of future romantic plans affect close relationships? In three studies, we examined the effects of ease of retrieval of future plans on romantic relationship commitment. We hypothesized that greater ease of retrieval would be associated with greater relationship commitment among those who were high in need for cognition. Study 1 participants listed either two or 10 future plans and completed a measure assessing need for cognition. Results showed that high need for cognition individuals asked to list two instead of 10 future plans reported greater commitment, but those low in need for cognition showed the opposite pattern. …


Enriching The Perceived Norms Perspective Of Intergenerational Cultural Transmission: The Roles Of Norm Reference Groups And Norm Adherence/Deviance Motive, Angela K. Y. Leung Nov 2015

Enriching The Perceived Norms Perspective Of Intergenerational Cultural Transmission: The Roles Of Norm Reference Groups And Norm Adherence/Deviance Motive, Angela K. Y. Leung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this article, I seek to apply Morris and Liu (2015)’s functionalist account of subjective norms to enrich Tam’s (2015) perceived norms perspective of intergenerational cultural transmission. This enriched approach recognizes parents’ choice to construct their transmission preferences that include norms of a nonmainstream reference group and that support a norm deviance motive. In this light, I review empirical evidence examining some factors that affect whether parents reference on peer or elite groups or they tend toward norm adherence or deviance in the transmission process. Acknowledging these variants allows the bridge of value transmission and value change studies that are …


A Conclusion, Yet An Opening To Enriching The Normative Approach Of Culture, Chi-Yue Chiu, M. J. Gelfand, J. R. Harrington, Angela K. Y. Leung, Zhi Liu, M. W. Morris, Yan Mu, G. Shteynberg, Kim-Pong Tam, Ching Wan, Xi Zou Nov 2015

A Conclusion, Yet An Opening To Enriching The Normative Approach Of Culture, Chi-Yue Chiu, M. J. Gelfand, J. R. Harrington, Angela K. Y. Leung, Zhi Liu, M. W. Morris, Yan Mu, G. Shteynberg, Kim-Pong Tam, Ching Wan, Xi Zou

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

We compile in this article the target article authors’ thoughtful responses to the commentaries. Their responses identify some common threads across the rich contents of the commentary pieces, interlink the observation and theoretical propositions in the commentaries with broader streams of research, present new perspectives inspired by the commentary contributors, and pose provocative questions to further ignite research efforts on the normative analysis of culture.


Being Environmentally Responsible: Cosmopolitan Orientation Predicts Pro-Environmental Behaviors, Angela K. Y. Leung, Kelly Koh, Kim-Pong Tam Sep 2015

Being Environmentally Responsible: Cosmopolitan Orientation Predicts Pro-Environmental Behaviors, Angela K. Y. Leung, Kelly Koh, Kim-Pong Tam

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Much research has examined individuals' values and beliefs as antecedents or correlates of pro-environmental behaviors (PEB). We approach this question from the novel perspective of individuals' cosmopolitan orientation (CO). We define CO as made up of three essential qualities. First, cultural openness captures individuals' receptiveness to immerse in and learn from other cultures. Second, global prosociality denotes a sense of collective moral obligation to universally respect and promote basic human rights. Third, respect for cultural diversity concerns high tolerance of and appreciation for cultural differences. Across two studies, we validated the Cosmopolitan Orientation Scale (COS) with theoretically related criterion measures …