The individual within the group: Balancing the need to belong with the need to be different

Many theorists have wrestled with the notion of how people balance their need to be included in social groups with their need to be different and distinctive. This question is particularly salient to researchers from the social identify perspective, who have traditionally viewed individual differentiation within groups as being inimical to group identification. In this article we present a number of strategies that people can use to balance their need to belong and their need to be different, without violating social identity principles. First, drawing from optimal distinctiveness theory, we discuss 4 ways in which the need for belonging and the need to be different can be resolved by maximizing group distinctiveness. We then discuss 4 ways in which it is possible to achieve individual differentiation within a group at the same time demonstrating group identification. These strategies are discussed and integrated with reference to recent empirical research and to the social identity perspective.

Turning configural processing upside down: Part and whole body postures

Like faces, body postures are susceptible to an inversion effect in untrained viewers. The inversion effect may be indicative of configural processing, but what kind of configural processing is used for the recognition of body postures must be specified. The information available in the body stimulus was manipulated. The presence and magnitude of inversion effects were compared for body parts, scrambled bodies, and body halves relative to whole bodies and to corresponding conditions for faces and houses. Results suggest that configural body posture recognition relies on the structural hierarchy of body parts, not the parts themselves or a complete template match. Configural recognition of body postures based on information about the structural hierarchy of parts defines an important point on the configural processing continuum, between recognition based on first-order spatial relations and recognition based on holistic undifferentiated template matching.

Intergroup processes in intragroup contexts: The roles of group status, group identification and communication in diverse work teams

The present research examines employee identification and communication in organisations. In Study 1, 2229 soldiers from a military organisation completed measures of perceived status and strength of identification with their unit, employment category and their brigade. As predicted, the status of a key organisational group influenced reactions to different organisational groups: full-time soldiers evaluated their work unit and the organisation as being lower in status and identified less strongly with both of these groups than part-time soldiers. The second study extended these findings to a different research context: a large psychiatric hospital undergoing downsizing and restructuring. Surprisingly, there were no differences in survivors' and victims' levels of identification with organisational groups. Instead, and consistent with Study 1, there was evidence to suggest that employees adjusted their patterns of identification and perceptions of group status through a compensatory mechanism that maximised opportunities for selfenhancement and positive distinctiveness. In the third study, employees from a public hospital (N = 142) rated communication from double ingroup members (same work unit/same occupational group) more favourably than communication from partial group members (same work unit/different occupational group). These results are considered in terms of their practical implications for identity management in organisations.

Exchange fairness and employee performance:An examination of the relationship between organizational politics and procedural justice

Data obtained from a manufacturing firm and a newspaper firm in India were used to examine the relationship between organizational politics and procedural justice in three separate studies. Study 1 constructively replicated research on the distinctiveness of the two constructs. Confirmatory factor analyses in which data from the manufacturing firm served as the development sample and data from the newspaper firm served as the validation sample demonstrated the distinctiveness of organizational politics and procedural justice. Study 2 examined the antecedents of the two constructs using data from the manufacturing firm. Structural equation modeling (SEM) results revealed formalization and participation in decision making to be positively related to procedural justice but negatively related to organizational politics. Further, authority hierarchy and spatial distance were positively related to organizational politics but unrelated to procedural justice. Study 3 examined the consequences of the two constructs in terms of task and contextual performance using data from the newspaper firm. Results of SEM analysis revealed procedural justice but not organizational politics to be related to task performance and the contextual performance dimensions of interpersonal facilitation and job dedication. © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

To link or not to link: a test of the case linkage principles using serial car theft data

The purpose of the present study is to test the case linkage principles of behavioural consistency and behavioural distinctiveness using serial vehicle theft data. Data from 386 solved vehicle thefts committed by 193 offenders were analysed using Jaccard's, regression and Receiver Operating Characteristic analyses to determine whether objectively observable aspects of crime scene behaviour could be used to distinguish crimes committed by the same offender from those committed by different offenders. The findings indicate that spatial behaviour, specifically the distance between theft locations and between dump locations, is a highly consistent and distinctive aspect of vehicle theft behaviour; thus, intercrime and interdump distance represent the most useful aspects of vehicle theft for the purpose of case linkage analysis. The findings have theoretical and practical implications for understanding of criminal behaviour and for the development of decision-support tools to assist police investigation and apprehension of serial vehicle theft offenders.

Empirical research into white racialized identities in Britain

The intellectual project of using whiteness as an explicit tool of analysis is not one that has taken root in Britain. However, there are a number of empirical studies that investigate the racialization of white identities. In this article, I look at some empirical sociological fieldwork carried out on white identities in Britain since the early 1990s and identify the key themes arising. These themes are (in)visibility, norms and values, cultural capital and integration, contingent hierarchies and Empire in the present. In Britain, a pertinent distinction is between rural and urban settings for the enactment of white identities vis-a`-vis those of minorities, and there is an exploration of some of the contingency that draws the boundary between ‘white’ and ‘Other’ in different places. Areas of commonality and distinctiveness are noted in terms of the American work. In the last section, I argue that there are a number of issues to resolve around continuing such studies, including linking the micro-level to the macro-level analysis, and expanding to international comparative work.

Feminist poststructural discourse analysis

Feminist poststructuralist discourse analysis (FPDA) is an approach to analyzing spoken interactions that focuses on the ways in which speakers negotiate their subject positions within competing and interwoven discourses. This article identifies the theoretical background to FPDA, its key principles, its distinctiveness from other approaches such as critical discourse analysis, and outlines some of the main directions in current research.

The experiences of Cuban American women attending a Hispanic serving institution and the influences on identity development

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding and gather insight into the experiences of Cuban American women attending a 4-year, public, Hispanic Serving Institution and how those experiences influenced their identity development. This was accomplished by conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups with 12 self-identified Cuban American women who were classified as sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduate students. All of the participants had attended Florida International University for at least 1 year. The women had varying degrees of on and off campus academic and campus involvement activities. Participants were asked about six topics: (a) family, (b) cultural influences, (c) gender, (d) ethical and moral development, (e) education, and (f) ethnic identity. Based on the coding of the data provided by the participants, several interconnected themes emerged including the importance of family, familial support, cultural pride, expected gender roles, core values, decision making, biculturalism, and the value of attending a Hispanic Serving Institution. These themes were found to be all related to the identity development of the participants. It was found that looking at identity through a multidimensional lens is essential. Looking at personal growth and development through anthropological, sociological, and psychosocial lenses gave greater insight to a population of students who have been largely underrepresented in the literature. The findings of this case study are that culture is contextual and identity development is complex for first and second generation Cuban American women attending a Hispanic Serving Institution in a majority minority city. It was found that several factors, including the importance of family and gender roles, were not found to be more important than one another; rather they supported each other in regards to the participants' identity development. The notion of biculturalism as it has been presented in the literature was challenged in this study as it was found that the participants' experiences living and attending a school in a majority minority city presented a new way of understanding what it might mean to be bicultural. For professionals in the field, the findings of this study may lead to a broader understanding of nuances within the Hispanic community and a better understanding of the distinctiveness of what it means to be a Cuban American woman.

The production effect: the role of attentional resources

The production effect is the benefit in memory found for produced (i.e., read aloud) words relative to words read silently. It is proposed that the production effect occurs as a result of the enhanced distinctiveness associated with the produced items. The current research investigated whether attentional resources are required to encode and/or retrieve the distinctive information associated with the produced words. The literature suggests that the encoding of this distinctive information occurs automatically, but at test, purposeful attention is required to retrieve this distinctive information. To test this, participants read words aloud and silently, under either full or divided attention. Participants then completed either a recognition (Experiment 1) or free recall (Experiment 2) memory test under either full or divided attention. The findings show that when attention is divided at encoding, the benefit for aloud words remains for both recognition and free recall. When attention is divided at test, however, the benefit for aloud words remains for recognition but is absent for free recall. Overall, these results suggest that the distinctive information associated with produced words is encoded automatically, but it may not be accessible at test under attentionally demanding conditions.

Post-liberal Regionalism in South America: The Case of UNASUR

This paper examines the formal features, the political rationale, distinctiveness, potential, and difficulties of post-liberal regionalism, with a particular focus on the case of UNASUR. Through this organization, traditional unionism and aspirations of Latin American regional integration are redefined in a South American geographic and ideational framework. Through this strategy South America became a political and economic construct in order to respond to globalization challenges and to achieve its members’ goals in development, regional autonomy (particularly in regards to the US), international influence and at the same time domestic governance of the involved countries. Nevertheless, the limits of this project’s future are being defined by nationalism, traditional visions of sovereignty and by a regional construction that involve significant institutional limitations, which are product of its intergovernmental logic, internal asymmetries and ambivalent Brazilian leadership

The relationship between non-suicidal self-injury and suicidality

The overall purpose of this study was to explain the overlap and distinctiveness of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidality from a diathesis-stress perspective. The first part of this study evaluated the third variable theory as an explanation for the high rates of lifetime co-occurrence between NSSI and suicidality. Specifically, it was hypothesized that these forms of self-harm share a common vulnerability profile comprised of five affective, cognitive and behavioural diatheses. The second part of this study tested the hypothesis that NSSI and suicidality become distinguishable on the basis of immediate, proximal stressors, namely psychache and survival and coping beliefs (SCB). Participants (N = 262) were community individuals aged 16-24 years who reported either no history of self-harm (i.e., no history of NSSI, suicidality, or both), a history of NSSI, suicidality or both, or current NSSI-only or current NSSI+suicidality. They were recruited online to complete an online battery of questionnaires. Using a set of discriminant function analyses, it was found that the vulnerability profile was unable to distinguish between the three self-harm groups, but was able to differentiate the no self-harm group from a collated self-harm group. Result patterns were also analyzed for gender differences. It was also found that a current NSSI+suicidality group exhibited significantly higher psychache and lower SCB (for women only) than a current NSSI-only group. These results suggest that NSSI and suicidality may tend to co-occur because they have similar long-term diatheses, but that they may become more distinct with respect to immediate psychological stressors.

La construcción de una relación con los espectadores en la continuidad televisiva

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo evaluar hasta qué punto las cadenas de televisión generalista en España adoptan estrategias de comunicación coherentes, sólidas y atractivas a la hora de construir una relación con los espectadores en su continuidad. Para ello, se aplica un análisis del discurso verbal a una muestra de piezas de continuidad televisiva de La1, Antena3, Telecinco y TV3. El análisis de las características enunciativas de las piezas muestra que, más allá de sus especificidades (en relación a la proximidad con los espectadores, su grado de directividad o su vinculación con ciertas identidades), los discursos de la continuidad de las cadenas requieren mayor coherencia y capacidad de diferenciación, más aún en un contexto de pérdida de prominencia social de la televisión generalista.

Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs: are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?

Skates and rays constitute the most speciose group of chondrichthyan fishes, yet are characterised by remarkable levels of morphological and ecological conservatism. They can be challenging to identify, which makes monitoring species compositions for fisheries management purposes problematic. Owing to their slow growth and low fecundity, skates are vulnerable to exploitation and species exhibiting endemism or limited ranges are considered to be the most at risk. The Madeira skate Raja maderensis is endemic and classified as ‘Data Deficient’ by the IUCN, yet its taxonomic distinctiveness from the morphologically similar and more wide-ranging thornback ray Raja clavata is unresolved. This study evaluated the sequence divergence of both the variable control region and cytochrome oxidase I ‘DNA barcode’ gene of the mitochondrial genome to elucidate the genetic differentiation of specimens identified as R. maderensis and R. clavata collected across much of their geographic ranges. Genetic evidence was insufficient to support the different species designations. However regardless of putative species identification, individuals occupying waters around the Azores and North African Seamounts represent an evolutionarily significant unit worthy of special consideration for conservation management.

Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs: are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?

Skates and rays constitute the most speciose group of chondrichthyan fishes, yet are characterised by remarkable levels of morphological and ecological conservatism. They can be challenging to identify, which makes monitoring species compositions for fisheries management purposes problematic. Owing to their slow growth and low fecundity, skates are vulnerable to exploitation and species exhibiting endemism or limited ranges are considered to be the most at risk. The Madeira skate Raja maderensis is endemic and classified as ‘Data Deficient’ by the IUCN, yet its taxonomic distinctiveness from the morphologically similar and more wide-ranging thornback ray Raja clavata is unresolved. This study evaluated the sequence divergence of both the variable control region and cytochrome oxidase I ‘DNA barcode’ gene of the mitochondrial genome to elucidate the genetic differentiation of specimens identified as R. maderensis and R. clavata collected across much of their geographic ranges. Genetic evidence was insufficient to support the different species designations. However regardless of putative species identification, individuals occupying waters around the Azores and North African Seamounts represent an evolutionarily significant unit worthy of special consideration for conservation management.

Correlation between anxiety and academic self-concept in interpreter trainees

This paper focuses on two basic issues: the anxiety-generating nature of the interpreting task and the relevance of interpreter trainees’ academic self-concept. The first has already been acknowledged, although not extensively researched, in several papers, and the second has only been mentioned briefly in interpreting literature. This study seeks to examine the relationship between the anxiety and academic self-concept constructs among interpreter trainees. An adapted version of the Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (Horwitz et al., 1986), the Academic Autoconcept Scale (Schmidt, Messoulam & Molina, 2008) and a background information questionnaire were used to collect data. Students’ t-Test analysis results indicated that female students reported experiencing significantly higher levels of anxiety than male students. No significant gender difference in self-concept levels was found. Correlation analysis results suggested, on the one hand, that younger would-be interpreters suffered from higher anxiety levels and students with higher marks tended to have lower anxiety levels; and, on the other hand, that younger students had lower self-concept levels and higher-ability students held higher self-concept levels. In addition, the results revealed that students with higher anxiety levels tended to have lower self-concept levels. Based on these findings, recommendations for interpreting pedagogy are discussed.