Keep on searching!

I dedicate this to all my beloved friends who are researchers, want to be a researcher or just like research:

"There is really no such thing as research. There is only search, more search, keep on searching." (Bowering, 1988, p.5)

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culture contact - own experiences more than enough for sources of research ideas. look at your psychology sketches.

Muy Interesting Abstracts !!!

Yogeeswaran, K., N. Dasgupta, et al. (2011). "To be or not to be (ethnic): Public vs. Private expressions of ethnic identification differentially impact national inclusion of White and non-White groups." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 47(5): 908-914.

Many pluralistic nations are witnessing vigorous debate about multiculturalism. In the U.S., Americans generally embrace principles of ethnic diversity but dislike minorities who express strong ethnic identification. Two experiments examined this seeming contradiction by differentiating between ethnic identity expressed in private vs. public by non-White and White individuals. Then we tested whether individuals' identity expressions differentially affected perceivers' construal of their entire ethnic group as legitimately American. Results indicated that at a conscious level, White and non-White ethnic groups were held to the same standard and construed as significantly less American when members expressed their ethnic identity publicly vs. privately. However, at an unconscious level, a double standard emerged: non-White ethnic groups were implicitly rejected as less American if members expressed ethnic identity publicly, while White ethnics were implicitly accepted as legitimate Americans regardless of where they expressed ethnic identity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

Pennekamp, S. F., B. Doosje, et al. (2009). "In matters of opinion, what matters is the group: Minority group members' emotional reactions to messages about identity expression." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45(4): 778-787.

Two studies investigated the reactions of minority group members to messages about identity expression by ingroup and outgroup sources. Our main hypothesis was that compared to ingroup sources, outgroup sources arouse more anger when they argue for identity suppression. In the first study homosexuals evaluated an outgroup source arguing for identity suppression more negatively than an ingroup source, felt more threatened by this source and as a result, experienced stronger feelings of anger towards this source. The second study among members of a language-based minority replicated and extended these findings. Furthermore we showed that the anger that is experienced towards an outgroup source causes a willingness to change the opinion of this source. When ingroup or outgroup sources supported identity expression, evaluations and experience of anger did not differ in both studies. The importance of a source's group membership in reactions to opinions about one's group is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

Thomsen, L., E. G. T. Green, et al. (2008). "We will hunt them down: How social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism fuel ethnic persecution of immigrants in fundamentally different ways." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 44(6): 1455-1464.

Despite the fact that SDO and RWA are correlated with one another and both predict support for ethnic persecution of immigrants, it is argued that this aggression is provoked for very different reasons. For authoritarians, outgroup aggression against immigrants should primarily be provoked by immigrant refusal to assimilate into the dominant culture because this violates ingroup conformity. In contrast, SDO should be associated with aggression against immigrants who do assimilate into the dominant culture because this blurs existing status boundaries between groups. Using samples of American and Swiss college students, the data were consistent with this status boundary enforcement hypothesis regarding social dominators and largely consistent with the ingroup conformity hypothesis regarding authoritarians. National and ethnic identification did not account for these results. The results further support the argument that outgroup prejudice and discrimination is most fruitfully seen as an interactive function of individual differences and situational constraints. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved) (from the journal abstract)

Outten, H. R., M. T. Schmitt, et al. (2009). "Coping options: Missing links between minority group identification and psychological well-being." Applied Psychology: An International Review 58(1): 146-170.

Using concepts from social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) cognitive theory of stress and coping we tested the capacity for group identification to foster beliefs in one's ability to cope successfully and in turn predict psychological well-being. Black American participants appraised the availability of coping options that varied by level of identity (individual, intragroup, and intergroup) as well as function of coping (problem-focused and emotion-focused). Replicating prior work, participants who were higher in racial group identification reported more positive well-being. Appraisals of individual emotion-focused and intergroup problem-focused options mediated the relationship of group identification with both self-esteem and life satisfaction. Appraisals of intergroup emotion-focused options also partially mediated the relationship between group identification and life satisfaction. Findings suggest that the relationship between minority group identification and well-being may partly be due to its influence over a person's sense that they and their group can respond effectively to disadvantage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

communication - in the plane

I enjoy meeting people naturally very much, and creating a bound with them naturally, coincidentally.  I think life has this power, to bring  the utmost joy to one’s life in the most unexpected times. When good things happen unexpectedly, they mean more to us, they occupy our minds longer because of the surprise we feel along with the happiness which the unexpected evokes.

This lab seems like it is heaven

http://www.stanford.edu/group/mcslab/cgi-bin/wordpress/examine-the-research/#project6
Remember this:

The Dynamic between Independence and Interdependence in
Middle Eastern Cultural Contexts

Although we have had increasingly close political and economic ties with the Middle East in the past decades, there has been very little research to understand the Middle Eastern cultural contexts so far. Existing few studies in the literature indicate that individuals in the Middle Eastern contexts possess independent and interdependent tendencies in different domains. Although they tend to have self- enhancing biases, such as unrealistic optimism, even more than the individuals in the Western contexts, they also tend to highly value conformity just as the individuals in the East Asian contexts do. In this research, we aim to understand the roots and nature of this dynamic between independence and interdependence in the Middle Eastern cultural contexts along with its implications for the relations between the US and Middle East

Social Butterflies

Speaking of where research ideas come from...I wonder if there has been  research done on social butterflies...I should look into this.

Bungee-Thoughts-Jumping!

At first sight, I must confess that I have been a bit dissapointed with the structures of the elective courses in the Master's program. We have 4-5 articles to read on motivation, power and leadership for each week, and what bothers me is not the amount of readings that we have, but not being able to discuss the articles in depth or writing our own critical analyses of the papers. This elective course I am taking has nothing different than the courses I had taken in my undergrad years. Then again, I am not even interested in all the articles we are supposed to read. I don't even have the slightest interest in some of them. So, I am kind off discontent with wasting time in reading uninteresting text and forgetting them right after the class.

It's 12am! Library is closing. Gotta go home. Argh neeee, it's raining (again). I'll be back here right away!!!

...

Well, I couldn't get back right away. After a 2-day long delay, I am finally back to blogging about...so where was I left???

Today, another colleague of mine burst into tears, after the one who did last week...I haven't boohooed yet and will probably never do, but the point is clear I guess. Us, the international students are not much satisfied with the courses and the structure of the research program.

Ok enough blah-ing. I now want to get into some interesting business. These are reminders for myself:

Possible Thesis Topics:
1) Explaining immigrant acculturation from the intersectionality theory perspecting by focusing on Turkish/Moroccan immigrants in the Netherlands. - Ample research in social sciences, feminist sociology, gender studies, etc., but not in social psychology!

2) Domain dis-identification theory (Crocker, Major & Steele, 1998). Sounds familiar, eh? - The issue of domain dis-identification by minority populations (gender, ethnic/cultural, religious, etc.). - can possibly get better supervision in Leiden?

3) Highly interesting topic that I would like to read more: Coercive Persuasion (Brainwashing). Start with reading: http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/fear-cult-mind-control.php . Identify sources from psychology, and read read read!

How will I figure out what I want to do for my thesis when I don't even have time to finish my mandatory course work?!

p.s. Look into collaquia in Tilburg...seems like very interesting talks going on there!!!

And last but not least...

met vriendelijke groet,
P.


, 

Research ideas # 1

Once again, there were thousands of things that I could write in my blog, but I preferred to share most of my time interacting with people face-to-face rather than sitting in front of a computer and writing writing erasing writing again. The drive to socialize in the most direct way possible is at the maximum level for me...at least for now.

Leaving aside the reasons why I wasn't writing (yet again) to my new blog, I thought that I may as well share my research ideas here, so that this blog can at least function as a storage place for my psychology/scientific-related thoughts.

Check this out:
Social categorization (Ellemers, 2004) and ethnic/cultural minorities acculturation. Has there been research done on these concepts? Has social categorization theory been used to explain immigrants' acculturation processes, interactions with in-groups, and out-groups, group processes in multicultural settings, etc.???


Doesn't really make sense I know.