Can empathic concern be generalized from one person to others? Another positive side of the ‘one‐among‐others’ effect
Previous research on the one‐among‐others effect has shown that inducing empathic concern towards a victim presented among other individuals in need enhances: (1) awareness of these others and (2) the willingness to help them individually. In this work, we test that these outcomes are linked by an additional process: the generalization of empathic concern felt for the victim towards the others in need. Study 1 revealed that inducing empathic concern for a victim presented as one‐among‐others led to see the others as separate and different individuals, not as a unitary group. Study 2 showed that the one‐among‐ot...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 31, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tamara Ambrona, Luis Oceja, Bel én López‐Pérez, Pilar Carrera Tags: Personality and Social Psychology Source Type: research
Mental health of outpatient pediatric patients
The purpose of this study is to estimate the percentage of mental health problems in a pediatric outpatient Norwegian clinic. We used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to screen for mental health problems. Families of children aged 4–11 took part in the study, and 380 out of 982 possible families consented to take part, and 349 families contributed with questionnaire data. The main referral reasons for the patients were asthma, eneuresis and stomach pain. Mothers reported that 17.4% of boys and 17.8% of girls displayed mental clinical problems. The prevalence of problems did not differ significantly between so...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 31, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John A. R ønning, Hans Petter Fundingsrud, Arild Leknessund, Bjørn Helge Handegård Tags: Development and Aging Source Type: research
Unemployment in Iraqi refugees: The interaction of pre and post ‐displacement trauma
Previous refugee research has been unable to link pre‐displacement trauma with unemployment in the host country. The current study assessed the role of pre‐displacement trauma, post‐displacement trauma, and the interaction of both trauma types to prospectively examine unemployment in a random sample of newly‐arrived Iraqi refugees. Participants (N = 286) were interviewed three times over the first two years post‐arrival. Refugees were assessed for pre‐displacement trauma exposure, post‐displacement trauma exposure, a history of unemployment in the country of origin and host country, and symptoms of posttrau...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 31, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: A. Michelle Wright, Abir Dhalimi, Mark A. Lumley, Hikmet Jamil, Nnamdi Pole, Judith E. Arnetz, Bengt B. Arnetz Tags: Personality and Social Psychology Source Type: research
Experience of living with nonspecific building ‐related symptoms
Nonspecific building‐related symptoms (NBRS) is a combination of general, skin and mucosal symptoms related to certain buildings. Despite high prevalence in the general population and severe symptomatology in certain cases there is no scientific documentation of quality of life in NBRS. The purpose of this study was to illuminate how individuals with NBRS experience daily life. Data were collected through descriptive, written texts and through telephone interviews with 11 individuals diagnosed with NBRS, and qualitative content analysis was conducted. Three main content areas were identified: (1) attitudes from the surro...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 31, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Anna S öderholm, Ann Öhman, Berndt Stenberg, Steven Nordin Tags: Health and Disability Source Type: research
Psychological variables underlying political orientations in an old and a new democracy: A comparative study between Sweden and Latvia
This study examines in detail the psychological variables underlying ideological political orientation, and structure and contents of this orientation, in Sweden and Latvia. Individual political orientation is conceptualized on two dimensions: acceptance vs. rejection of social change and acceptance vs. rejection of inequality. Swedish (N = 320) and Latvian (N = 264) participants completed measures of political orientation, Social Dominance Orientation (SDO), Right Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), self vs. other orientation, tolerance for ambiguity, humanism and normativism, core political values, system justification, as ...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 31, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Girts Dimdins, Maria Sandgren, Henry Montgomery Tags: Personality and Social Psychology Source Type: research
Readiness to accept Western standard of beauty and body satisfaction among Muslim girls with and without hijab
The purpose of this paper was to determine whether there is a difference in the readiness to accept Western standards of beauty in which thinness is an ideal of beauty and attractiveness, as well in body and appearance satisfaction between Muslim adolescent girls attending madrassa and dressing in accordance with tradition, that is to say wearing hijab, and Muslim adolescent girls who do not wear hijab and who follow contemporary Western‐influenced fashion trends. Both of these groups were also compared to a non‐Muslim group of adolescent girls. The sample consisted of 75 Muslim adolescent girls with hijab, 75 Muslim a...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 31, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Du šanka Đurović, Marija Tiosavljević, Harisa Šabanović Tags: Personality and Social Psychology Source Type: research
The location of the Trait Emotional Intelligence in the Zuckerman's Personality Model space and the role of General Intelligence and social status
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between Emotional Intelligence (EI) measured by the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) and personality measured by the Zuckerman‐Kuhlman‐Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA‐PQ) with the purpose of analyzing similarities and differences of both psychological constructs. Additionally, we studied the relationship among EI, personality, General Intelligence (GI) and a social position index (SPI). Results showed that the ZKA‐PQ predicts the 66% (facets) and the 64% (factors) of the TEIQue. High scores in EI correlated negatively with Neuroticis...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 27, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Eduardo Blanco, Luis Francisco Garc ía, Anton Aluja Tags: Personality and Social Psychology Source Type: research
Getting along or ahead: Effects of gender identity threat on communal and agentic self ‐presentations
When faced with a threat to gender identity, people may try to restore their gender status by acting in a more gender‐typical manner. The present research investigated effects of gender identity threat on self‐presentations of agentic and communal traits in a Swedish and an Argentine sample (N = 242). Under threat (vs. affirmation), Swedish women deemphasized agentic traits (d [95% CI] = −0.41 [−0.93, 0.11]), Argentine women increased their emphasis on communal traits (d = 0.44 [−0.08, 0.97]), and Argentine men increased their emphasis on agentic traits (d = 0.49 [−0.03, 1.01]). However, Swedish men did...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Samantha Sinclair, Rickard Carlsson, Fredrik Bj örklund Tags: Personality and Social Psychology Source Type: research
Psychometric properties of the Affect Phobia Test
The aim of this study was to make the first evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Affect Phobia Test, using the Swedish translation – a test developed to screen the ability to experience, express and regulate emotions. Data was collected from a clinical sample (N = 82) of patients with depression and/or anxiety participating in randomized controlled trial of Internet‐based affect‐focused treatment, and a university student sample (N = 197). The internal consistency for the total score was satisfactory (Clinical sample α = 0.88/Student sample α = 0.84) as well as for all the affective domains, exc...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 26, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: My Frankl, Bj örn Philips, Lene Berggraf, Pål Ulvenes, Robert Johansson, Peter Wennberg Tags: Personality and Social Psychology Source Type: research
Genetic and environmental influences on the association between performance ‐based self‐esteem and exhaustion: A study of the self‐worth notion of burnout
In the self‐worth model, burnout is considered to be a syndrome of performance‐based self‐esteem (PBSE) and experiences of exhaustion. Studies have shown that PBSE and burnout indices such as Pines’ Burnout Measure (BM) are associated. Whether these variables have overlapping etiologies has however not been studied before. Genetic and environmental components of covariation between PBSE and exhaustion measured with Pines’ BM were examined in a bivariate Cholesky model using data from 14,875 monozygotic and dizygotic Swedish twins. Fifty‐two per cent of the phenotypic correlation (r = 0.41) between PBSE and Pi...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 25, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Pia Svedberg, Lennart Hallsten, Jurgita Narusyte, Lennart Bodin, Victoria Blom Tags: Personality and Social Psychology Source Type: research
Enhanced visual performance in obsessive compulsive personality disorder
Visual performance is considered as commanding modality in human perception. We tested whether Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) people do differently in visual performance tasks than people without OCPD. One hundred ten students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and non‐student participants were tested by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV Axis II Personality Disorders (SCID‐II), among whom 18 (mean age = 29.55; SD = 5.26; 84% female) met the criteria for OCPD classification; controls were 20 persons (mean age = 27.85; SD = 5.26; female = 84%), who did not met the OCPD criteria. Both groups we...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 22, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Zohreh Ansari, Javad Salehi Fadardi Tags: Personality and Social Psychology Source Type: research
Social stimuli increase physiological reactivity but not defensive responses
Emotional reactions are crucial in survival because they provide approach and withdrawal behaviors. However, an unsolved question is whether the social content of the affective stimuli has a specific effect on emotional responses. We studied whether the social content of affective pictures influenced the defensive response and response mobilization. For this purpose, we recorded startle blink reflex (a defensive response) and skin conductance responses (a measure of unspecific physiological reactivity or arousal) in 73 participants while they viewed a series of 81 pictures of varying affective valence and social content. ...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 21, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Vladimir Kosonogov, Juan Pedro Sanchez ‐Navarro, Jose Maria Martinez‐Selva, Ginesa Torrente, Eduvigis Carrillo‐Verdejo Tags: Cognition and Neurosciences Source Type: research
Analgesic effect of Facebook: Priming with online social networking may boost felt relatedness that buffers against physical pain
Social networking sites (SNSs) are extremely popular for providing users with a convenient platform for acquiring social connections and thereby feeling relatedness. Plenty of literature has shown that mental representations of social support can reduce the perception of physical pain. The current study tested whether thinking about SNS would interfere with users’ perceptions of experimentally induced pain. Ninety‐six undergraduate Facebook users were recruited to participate in a priming‐based experiment. They were randomly assigned to one of the three study conditions (SNS prime, neutral prime, or no prime) via rat...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 18, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Liang‐Chu Ho, Wen‐Hsiung Wu, Wen‐Bin Chiou Tags: Personality and Social Psychology Source Type: research
The higher you climb: Dark side personality and job level
This study replicates and extends existing leadership research by focusing on self‐defeating behavioral tendencies. A Danish consultancy provided data on 264 adults based on assessment reports. This paper explored linear and quadratic relationships between personality and de facto job level. More senior managers scored high on Cluster B/Moving Against Others scales of Bold, Colorful and Imaginative, and low on Cautious and Dutiful. These Danish data are compared to data from Great Britain and New Zealand which show very similar findings. Practice should take into account that dark side personality traits associated with ...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 14, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Oluf Gøtzsche‐Astrup, Joan Jakobsen, Adrian Furnham Tags: Personality and Social Psychology Source Type: research
Examining the role of positive and negative metacognitive beliefs in depression
Many psychological models have been developed to explain the development and maintenance of depression. The most widely evaluated model is the cognitive model of depression, and it is against this model that emerging models should be compared. Accordingly, this cross‐sectional study examined whether metacognitive beliefs, as specified in the metacognitive model of depression, would explain additional variance in depressive symptoms over dysfunctional attitudes; the core feature of the cognitive model. Moreover, mediational relationships between metacognitive beliefs, rumination, and depressive symptoms, predicted by the ...
Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology - July 12, 2016 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Christopher D. Huntley, Peter L. Fisher Tags: Personality and Social Psychology Source Type: research
