Psychology & Developing Societies recent issues

Justice and Diversity: The Twin Concerns for Developing Societies

Singh, P. — 2009-07-28

Enduring Local Justice in India: An Anomaly or Response to Diversity?

Mathew, L., Pellissery, S. — 2009-07-28

How do collective societies deal with the issue of justice? Addressing this central question, we argue that collective societies emphasise understanding rather than rational agreement. As a result, different notions of justice embedded with socio-local identities are acceptable in a given society. Therefore, to grapple with the question of the relationship between diversity and justice, it is important to unearth the extra-rational elements in the exercise of justice. Rationally oriented notion of justice has been anthropocentric and it has focused on attaining common good. On the other hand, justice system that aims at rhythmic existence with living and non-living organisms de-emphasises consensus on justice itself.

Social Values, Trust and Fairness: Gauging Neglected "Psychocultural" Factors in Jamaican Development

Powell, L. A. — 2009-07-28

This article summarises recent trends in national research on Jamaican societal values, patterns of interpersonal trust and intergroup fairness perceptions, using data from 2006 and 2007 Leadership and Governance surveys and the 2002 Cross-cultural Variations in Distributive Justice Perception survey. Several examples are given of ways in which the "psychocultural factors gap" in understanding and implementing development policies can be bridged by empirically measuring, in ongoing nationally representative survey instruments, some of the salient national values, perceptions and behavioural "habits of the heart" that have implications for Jamaican development and long-term policy design. This is illustrated using recent national surveys that incorporated measures gauging levels of trust, fairness and social value priorities.

Protestant Work Ethic Endorsement and Social Justice Values in Developing and Developed Societies: Comparing Jamaica and New Zealand

Frey, R. A., Powell, L. A. — 2009-07-28

Taking Weber's Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism thesis as the point of departure, this paper compares work ethic endorsement patterns and social justice correlates in a developing society, Jamaica, and a developed society, New Zealand. A condensed version of Mirels and Garrett's Protestant work ethic scale and related demographic and social values-related measures were administered at Jamaican and New Zealand universities. High and low Protestant ethic (PE) clusters were isolated, within each culture, among comparable samples of undergraduate social science students, and multiple analysis of variance applied to test effects of culture, Protestant religious affiliation and related "social justice values" variables (welfare state support, redistribution, intergenerational equity, free enterprise, social distance from the disadvantaged, social Darwinism). Results suggest there are significant cultural differences between high and low PE scorers on key justice-related societal values often seen as being associated with the Protestant work ethic. Possible reasons for the differences are advanced in light of Jamaican and New Zealand social and political conditions.

Reward and Punishment Allocation in the Indian Culture

Krishnan, L., Varma, P., Pandey, V. — 2009-07-28

Two scenario studies examined justice perceptions in Indian samples. Study 1 investigated the effect of allocator-recipient relationship and internal/external locus of merit and need on both reward and punishment allocation in a distributive context, involving a meritorious and a needy recipient. Between merit, need and equality, subjects showed a clear equality orientation, in both allocation rule preference and perceived fairness of a given allocation. This finding was inconsistent with the strong need orientation reported in several Indian studies. In order to obtain more information on punishment alone, Study 2 was conducted in order to investigate a non-distributive context, involving internal/external locus of merit and need, and choice of punishment and perceived fairness of a given set of punishments, seriousness of the offence, guilt of the offender and the importance of need and merit. In both studies, the effect of situational variables did not emerge as expected. The apparent absence of effects of the situational variables was interpreted as the expression of a cognitive strategy to combine all the contextual information. The equality orientation found in Study 1 was interpreted as the resultant of such a combination. One part of this combination was in terms of the merit and need rules. It was suggested that subjects thought in terms of merit and need, instead of merit or need. Some evidence for this suggestion was obtained in Study 2. Need and merit were rated as being similar in importance when deciding a fair punishment. Attention was drawn to several aspects of justice perception, especially those related to punishment that requires further detailed investigation with modified methods.

Do Young Carers Deserve Justice? Young Caring in the Context of Illness

Sahoo, R., Suar, D. — 2009-07-28

Though there is a lot of discussion on carers’ issue, young caring is still ignored and many facts remain unknown to us, which need to be revealed. Children or young people who provide continuous care for ill or disabled parents, siblings or any other family members are young carers. This raises several issues related to justice in the context of the young. Caring has its rewards and difficulties. This paper reviews the literature on informal caregiving for ill family members in order to explore caring concept in children's mind and how young caring varies with age, sex, types of illness and different family situations from the perspective of children and parents. Causes and consequences of young caring have been explored. Agenda for future research is suggested.

Book Reviews

2009-07-28

Breath Psychology: Fundamentals and Applications

Edwards, S. D. — 2009-02-02

As the study and use of the breath, breath psychology is an ancient applied science. While it is more obvious and flourishes in an holistic way in economically less developed countries of the world, it remains a foundation for modern forms of psychology, however academic and professional these have become, in the so-called first world countries. The aim of this article is to reintroduce this original psychology from a pragmatic, fundamental and applied perspective. Breath psychology fundamentals, which have been extolled for millennia in the form of various wisdom and spiritual traditions, are explicated in relation to the themes of consciousness, embodiment, ecology, spirituality and healing. Breath psychology applications are discussed with reference to health, sport and skills training. It is concluded that general breathing exercises constitute an immediate form of energy management, illness prevention and the basis for cost-effective public health promotion in both economically developed and developing countries. In an ecological and cosmic context, with threats such as pollution, overpopulation and global warming, optimal use of the breath becomes a planetary imperative.

The Use of Written Expression of Emotion Paradigm as a Tool to Reduce Stress among Indian International Students

Nandagopal, S. — 2009-02-02

The written emotional disclosure procedure, developed by Pennebaker and Beall in 1986, has been used as a therapeutic tool since its conception. The very act of getting the participants to write about the most traumatic or stressful events of their lives for about 20 minutes, over a period of three consecutive days, has resulted in improvements on measures of physical and psychological well-being. The objective of this study was to determine whether the written emotional disclosure procedure could be used as a tool to reduce stress among international university students. Baseline measures of perceived stress, alexithymia and limbic languidness of the participants were measured before and after the writing intervention procedure. The investigation found evidence to support the hypothesis that the written emotional expression procedure could be used as a tool to reduce perceived stress among university students. However, recommending the use of this method as a lone intervention still seems a little premature.

A Quasi-experiment on the Effects of Superordinate Categorisation on Liking of People from Other Nations

Kamau, C., Rutland, A. — 2009-02-02

A number of studies have shown that categorisation at a superordinate level can effectively reduce bias. This experiment examined the effects of superordinate categorisation on liking and stereotyping amongst 102 Kenyans. Participants were presented with pictures of purportedly Kenyan, Nigerian and American targets. The results were that participants with nationalistic categorisation bias exhibited reduced liking of Nigerian/American targets, and that superordinate categorisation reduced such bias. However, nationalistic categorisation bias did not have a significant effect on negative stereotyping. Post hoc findings suggested that participants made trait inferences about targets as individuals and that this influenced negative stereotyping scores. It also appears that intergroup competition (e.g., for positive distinctiveness) may determine liking of outgroup members.

Gender and Decision-Making in Technology Adoption among Youth: A Study of Computer Learners in India

Umrani, F., Ghadially, R. — 2009-02-02

Computer adoption is tested by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) that theorises how users come to accept and use a technology. The sample for the study consisted of 172 trainees (102 females, 70 males; mean age 21.34 years), enrolled in a one-year diploma course in computer applica-tions and multilingual desktop publishing from three computer training centres in Mumbai. Data was collected after six weeks of computer training using standard psychological scales. Results of multiple regression analyses indicate that compared to the West, TAM offers limited explanation for adoption of computer technology by Indian youth. The article highlights the reasons for this in the light of constraints in resource availability and cultural differences. It is suggested that TAM has to be sensitive to the nature of the sample, nature of the technology and the cultural context of adoption to improve its predictive power. Perceived usefulness and subjective norm are the key factors in predicting future computer use. Hence, a model accounting for technology adoption in India should include a strong normative component to supplement the effect of usability. The gender comparisons indicate that TAM is a better predictor of computer adoption for females than males. Women make a balanced analysis of the technology that includes both productivity aspects and influence of significant others. However, what attitudes and cognitive dimensions work in the Indian men to adopt computer technology remains to be further researched.

Adolescent Risk-perception Cognition and Self-assessment in Relation to the HIV/AIDS Pandemic: The Case of Some Selected Schools in Zomba, Malawi

Mwale, M. — 2009-02-02

Most researchers, on adolescent reproductive health and associated vulnerability to contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome HIV/AIDS, have explicitly highlighted the paradoxical misfit between adolescent knowledge of HIV/AIDS transmission dynamics and positive change in behaviour. Popular explanation focuses more on socio-cultural factors such as male chauvinism, peer influence and pressure, and stoicism towards death in most African cultures. An alternative explanation derived from psycho-social theory is that, as a result of egocentrism and the crisis at adolescence, the period is imbued with confounded perception of risk to the pandemic. This alternative is tested using survey data from adolescent students from some selected schools in southern Malawi. Results show that respondents are typified by adolescent egocentrism. This is consistent with the conception of adolescence as a period of crisis. These results are discussed within the larger context of the applicability of psychodynamic theory to the AIDS pandemic.

Psychological Differentiation in Relation to Some Socialisation Variables: A Study with Rural Children

Mishra*, R. C., Singh, D. V. — 2009-02-02

Adolescent-Parent Relationships in Indian and Indian Immigrant Families in the US: Intersections and Disparities

Kapadia, S. — 2009-02-02

The article discusses how adolescents interpret their relationships with their parents in two different cultural contexts. Interpersonal conflicts have been largely studied to understand adolescent-parent relationships across different cultural groups, including immigrant families who are often caught between bicultural values and expectations. The balancing act of reconciling values of the "culture of origin" with values of the "culture of destination" is likely to create discrepant views between parents and adolescents. What kind of everyday disagreements occur between parents and adolescents in two distinctly different cultures—India and the United States (US)? How are these disagreements resolved? To what extent are adolescents able to take parents’ perspectives in interpreting and resolving disagreements? How do the perspectives of Indian adolescents compare with those of the Indian immigrant adolescents? These research questions were addressed through individual interviews of 40 adolescents in Baroda, India and New York, US. The results indicate that adolescents in both societies experience everyday disagreements related to regulation of behaviour/activities and interpersonal relations, academics, chores and finance. Mutual accommodation and adolescent compromise were the commonly used strategies of resolving disagreements. More adolescents from the Indian group acknowledged their responsibility to accommodate to parents on account of faith in parents’ experience, respect for them and the belief that parents have children's welfare at heart. Although adolescents from both groups also endorsed the need for parent accommodation to adolescent views, parent compromise featured more in the Indian immigrant group.

Book Review

Kapadia, K. — 2009-02-02

Conceptualisation of Health and Illness: A Study of Social Representations among Bondos of Orissa

Dixit, S., Mishra, M., Sharma, A.K. — 2008-05-01

The present article attempts to understand the relationship between culture and health through an empirical investigation of health and illness conceptualisation among the members of Bondo tribe of Orissa in India. The investigation of socio-cultural definitions and meanings of health and illness was done using the social representations framework. The dynamic nature of health and illness conceptualisation was investigated among the three groups of Bondos: The upper, isolated group; middle, partially assimilated group; and lower assimilated group. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and focus group discussions. Qualitative content analysis of responses was done in order to extract the meaning of categories employed by the three groups of Bondos. The content of these categories reflected the content of the social representations of health and illness among the Bondos. The categories employed by the Bondos for sense-making of health and illness states revealed the meanings of health and illness, beliefs regarding causes of illness, healing practices and treatment pattern and the difference in meanings and definitions of health and illness among the three groups of Bondos.

Karma-Yoga, the Indian Work Ideal, and its Relationship with Empathy

Mulla, Z. R., Krishnan, V. R. — 2008-05-01

Karma-Yoga, the technique of performing action such that the soul of the actor is not bound by the results of the action, constitutes the Indian work ideal. The relationship of Karma-Yoga with the dimensions of empathy was explored through a study done on 108 students in a postgraduate programme of business management. Karma-Yoga was found to be related to some dimensions of empathy. The results highlighted the differential impact of dimensions of empathy. Empathic concern was found to be related to Karma-Yoga only for those individuals who were low on personal distress. For individuals high on personal distress, empathic concern was not related to Karma-Yoga. Findings indicate that Karma-Yoga is very similar to altruism motivation in the Indian context. Individuals who are high on empathic concern and low on personal distress are more likely to take actions for the benefit of others rather than for their own benefit.

A Study of Job Burnout among University Teachers

Azeem, S. M., Nazir, N. A. — 2008-05-01

This study investigated the levels of job burnout among 300 university teachers including Lecturers, Readers and Professors. Using Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educator's Survey, the results indicated that lecturers have high level of emotional exhaustion and are found to be significantly different on emotional exhaustion from professors and readers. Readers show less emotional exhaustion as compared to lecturers but high emotional exhaustion as compared to professors. Readers are not found to be significantly different from professors. The three groups are not found to be significantly different on depersonalisation and personal accomplishment.

Non-formal Education in a Tribal Setting: Strategies for Qualitative Changes in Children

Konantambigi, R. M., Meghani, S., Modi, A. — 2008-05-01

In the present study, an intervention in non-formal education was initiated to mobilise tribal people to fight for the right to the life of dignity and to have better opportunity for their children's educational needs. The intervention was initiated in four tribal villages of Betul district, Madhya Pradesh, with one village as control. The intervention was planned with participative, humanistic and constructivist approaches to change and learning. The Korku children, young adolescents and local youth, as instructors, brought about cognisant changes. Children who hid and cried on being spoken to by people outside their village and who lacked confidence, after a Bal Mela, two hours of interaction for seven months in two years and three camps, were able to speak to everyone freely, including the police. There was a change in their self-confidence and perception about self, and significant gain in general knowledge. Positive change in self-esteem that come about with clearing their formal grades of VIII, X and XII was also seen. The young instructors were especially vocal about the leading roles they could play in the Sanghathana that the villages in the region were able to join/establish and contribute to. Literacy and numeracy learning were not retained and schooling seemed to instil these skills better. The findings are placed in the premise of education for the disadvantaged and learning that is contextual and learner-centred.

Counselling in China: Past, Present and Future

Higgins, L. T., Davey, G., Gao, X., Zheng, R., Ni, Z., Lang, L. — 2008-05-01

This article reviews the development of psychological counselling in China. It consists of three parts: counselling in ancient China, counselling in China today, and counselling in the future. Counselling ideas can be traced back to ancient China, 2,500 years ago, but Western counselling theories have only recently been introduced into China. Counselling has become more and more popular in China, developing rapidly from schools to hospitals, communities, armies and companies. Although Western approaches are popular, some Chinese psychologists are developing indigenous counselling approaches. Government support for the control of professional counselling training programmes is needed. Despite counselling in China lagging behind the West at present, it is likely that in the future it will help people cope with the stresses and strains of living in such a rapidly modernising and changing society.

How Good People are at Estimating their Own Performance? A Study of the Relationship between Hand Preference and Motor Performance

Misra, I., Suar, D., Mandal, M. K. — 2008-05-01

This article examines the relationship between the awareness of hand preference and hand and foot performance among right-, left- and mixed-handers (n = 224). The hand preference was assessed using a handedness inventory. Hand and foot performances were measured using rapid index finger or toe tapping. A significant interaction between hand preference and the tapping rate indicated that in left-handers, left tapping was faster than right tapping and in right-handers, right tapping was faster than left tapping regardless of effector, finger or toe. The mixed-handers, however, did not show differences between left and right tapping performance. Correlations between performances were highest between hands or between feet. Also, hand performance was more strongly positively associated to foot performance in the mixed- and left-handers than right-handers. Similar inter-limb performance in mixed-handers tends to implicate inconsistent or undeveloped cerebral lateralisation. The results indicate that self-awareness of the pattern of hand use significantly relates to hand and foot performance.

Book Review

2008-05-01

Do Lessons People Learn Determine Disaster Cognition and Preparedness?

Mishra, S., Suar, D. — 2008-02-21

The study examines whether disaster experience and education through risk perception initiate flood and heat wave preparedness. Data were collected from 300 people, each of flood-prone and heat wave affected areas in Orissa. Results reveal that people having disaster experience and education are more prepared for flood and heat wave. More the people have prior disaster experience and education, more they perceive the risk of flood and heat wave. While increase in perceived risk of the disaster initiates flood preparedness, it does not further heat wave preparedness. Risk perception is only found to be a mediator between disaster experience, disaster-related education and flood preparedness.

Development of Child Abuse Scale: Reliability and Validity Analyses

Malik, F. D., Shah, A. A. — 2008-02-21

The aim of the study was to develop a reliable self report measure to identify maltreatment among children—across a broad range of parental abusive and neglecting behaviours towards children— that could be used to evaluate different levels and types of abuse and neglect, that is, physical abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect and sexual abuse among children of the age ranging from 8–12 years with specific reference to Pakistani cultural context. This indigenous measure comprised 34 items indicative of parental abusive and neglecting behaviours towards children, and was further organised into four categories of abuse and neglect: physical abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect and emotional care/neglect (low score on which was indicative of emotional neglect). A sample of 200 children (100 boys and 100 girls) taken from six different cities of Punjab indicated the measure to have a highly significant internal consistency measured by coefficient alpha for the total scale and its four sub-scales. Construct validity was determined with the help of Principal Component Factor Analysis that resulted in four-factor solution. Finally, the self report measure termed as Child Abuse Scale (CAS) comprised 34 items pertaining to four major categories of abuse and neglect, and these were labelled accordingly. The reasons for the exclusion of fifth category of sexual abuse have been discussed with special reference to Pakistani cultural and social set up.

Role of Coping Strategies and Social Support in Perceived Illness Consequences and Controllability among Diabetic Women

Awasthi, P., Mishra, R.C. — 2008-02-21

Interest in the processes by which people cope with stress has grown dramatically over the past decade. In the present study the role of coping strategies and social support in perceived illness consequences and illness controllability beliefs among diabetic women (n = 100) were studied. It was found that approach coping strategies reduced the severity of perceived illness consequences, whereas avoidance coping strategies increased the severity of perceived illness consequences. The approach strategies of coping were positively correlated to self and doctors’ control. The patients characterised by high level of social support felt less severe consequences of illness. These findings are discussed in the context of the current analyses of lay theories and also folk models of illness find due representation.

Moderating Influence of Emotional Intelligence on the Link Between Academic Self-efficacy and Achievement of University Students

Adeyemo, D.A. — 2008-02-21

The study examined the moderating influence of emotional intelligence on the link between academic self-efficacy and achievement among university students. The participants in the study were 300 undergraduate students at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Their age ranged between 16.5 years and 30 years with mean age of 19.4 years. Two valid and reliable instruments were used to assess emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy while participants’ first semester result was used as a measure of academic achievement. Descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and hierarchical regression analysis were used to analyse the data. The result demonstrated that emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy significantly correlated with academic achievement. The moderating effect of emotional intelligence on the relationship between academic self-efficacy and achievement was also established. On the basis of the findings, it is suggested that emotional intelligence should be integrated into undergraduate curriculum. The study further advocated for the promulgation of educational policy on emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy.

Promoting Health and Well-being in Lives of People Living with HIV and AIDS

Biswas, U. N. — 2008-02-21

The highly effective pharmaceutical polytherapies for the treatment of HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome) have practically reduced HIV and AIDS to a chronic condition like any other chronic illness. People living with HIV and AIDS can now have an almost normal life expectancy; the challenge for them is to live a physically and mentally healthy life. These challenges involve avoiding and managing opportunistic infections physically on one hand and taking care of their mental health needs and promoting and sustaining psycho-social well-being on the other hand. Although a torrent of research has studied the psychosocial correlates of slower disease progression and psycho-social well-being among people living with HIV and AIDS, very few sustained approaches have been made to understand and isolate the contribution of different psycho-bio-behavioural parameters for the psycho-immuno-enhancement in people living with HIV and AIDS. Systematic search in different electronic databases as well as different relevant psychological and AIDS care journals have been done to assimilate and review the research studying the effect of different psycho-social, bio-behavioural interventions through randomised control trials on the health promotion, well-being and disease progression parameters in people living with HIV and AIDS. The article makes an attempt to synchronise and consolidate these research efforts, discussing the role of cognitive behavioural stress management, exercise, spiritual practices, hypnosis, relaxation and guided imagery, social support for the psycho-immuno-enhancement in lives of people living with HIV and AIDS, and suggests a comprehensive three-tier intervention model, consisting of intervention at individual, dyadic and community levels, for psychological and immunological improvement in lives of people living with HIV and AIDS.

Ingroup Bias, Intergroup Contact and the Attribution of Blame for Riots

Ruback, R. B., Singh, P. — 2008-02-21

Hindu and Muslim college students judged the severity of a riot and attributed blame for that riot to the Hindu community, the Muslim community and the individual offenders. Both Hindu and Muslim students showed an ingroup bias, in that when offenders were from participants’ own religious group, they blamed the offenders the most and their own community the least. However, when the offenders were from the other religious group, students (both Hindus and Muslims) blamed the other religious community. Two results were consistent with the research literature on equal status intergroup contact. First, the amount of contact Hindu students had with Muslims was negatively related to their assignment of blame to offenders. Second, Hindu participants who lived in mixed Hindu–Muslim neighbourhoods were less likely to blame the Muslim community.

Book Reviews

2008-02-21