The aim of the present study was to examine the mediating effect of self-concordance on the relationship between internet altruistic behaviour (IAB) and subjective wellbeing (SWB). A total of 356 Chinese university students (159 males and 197 females) participated, using the questionnaires in the Internet Altruistic Behavior Scale (IABS), the Self-Concordance Scale (SCS) and the General Well-Being Schedule (GWBS). Correlation results indicated that IAB was positively correlated with self-concordance and SWB. The hierarchical regression analyses indicated that both IAB and self-concordance positively affect SWB. Moreover, IAB affected SWB indirectly via self-concordance, which confirmed self-concordance partially mediated the relationship between IAB and SWB. These findings extend the previous research on the association between altruism and SWB.

The study aimed at investigating any bias in the perceptions of young people from two ethnic groups who were not directly involved in an ethnic conflict. Assuming that such perception bias only happens in the members of ethnic groups who were involved in the conflict and in those who became the victims of the other group's transgression. Therefore, we predicted that the subjects from the Dayaknese group would evaluate the photos of their own group members more positively compared to their perception of the Madurese photos. Meanwhile, there would be no bias among Madurese students in evaluating both Dayak and Madura photos. An experimental approach was carried out using photos of neutral faces of Dayaknese and Madurese people. Each photo was presented with negative or positive words. The participants of the study comprised 111 students who represented Madurese and Dayaknese ethnic groups, as well as Javanese who had not been involved in the conflict serving as the control group. They were asked to evaluate the photos in terms of the negativity and positivity of each picture. A two-way ANOVA supported the hypothesis that the Dayaknese evaluated their own groups better than the other ethnic groups, while the Madurese did not.

Adolescents who immigrate face particular adjustment challenges. This study investigated (a) levels of wellbeing and depression in migrant adolescents and their Australian native counterparts, (b) associations between adjustment and four psychosocial resources, and (c) moderating effects of country of birth on the relationships between these resources and adjustment indices. The sample (N = 327) included students born in Australia, English-speaking countries other than Australia, and non-English-speaking countries. Students born outside of Australia in English-speaking countries reported highest mean levels of wellbeing and ethnic identity. Ethnic identity did not have the expected protective effects on migrant adolescent adjustment. In contrast, a sense of school membership affected Australian-born adolescents more positively than it did their overseas-born peers. The results raise questions regarding sources of support and connectedness that might particularly help migrant adolescents.

This research examined whether feeling awe weakens people's desire for money. Two experiments demonstrated that, as a self-transcendent emotion, awe decreased people's money desire. In Experiment 1, recalling a personal experience of awe makes people place less importance on money, compared with recalling an experience of happiness and recalling a neutral experience. In experiment 2, we examined different variants of awe, such as negative awe and non-nature awe. Viewing images that elicited awe, no matter what kind of awe, can induce people to put less effort into obtaining money. Process evidence suggested that awe's weakening of money desire was due to its power to make people transcend their mundane concerns. Our findings have implications for willingness to donate, price sensitivity, religious practices, and economic utilities.

Racism refers to ‘the differential treatment enacted by an individual, group, or organization on individuals based on assumptions of a group's phenotypic, linguistic, or cultural differences’ (Gamst, Liang, & Der-Karabetian, 2011, p. 251). Currently, there is a lack of psychological research investigating racism in Singapore. The available research, narrative reviews, qualitative studies, and quantitative studies have yielded limited and inconclusive results. These researches are critically evaluated to provide four recommendations for a psychological research agenda: (a) develop a reliable and valid instrument to assess racism, (b) conduct experimental research to examine racism perpetuated by the majority or institutions, (c) examine the negative effects of racism, and (d) develop and evaluate interventions for racism.

The final thematic special issue in the series ‘The Social Psychology of Social Change: Science and Practice in Asia’ features 10 empirical studies that apply diverse social psychological theories and approaches to understand and to address a wide range of social concerns in Asian societies. The articles in the special issue align more to mainstream social psychological approaches to studying social phenomena, and as such are mainly derivative of Western social psychological paradigms, with the exception of a couple of studies that adopt emic indigenous approaches. Nevertheless, the various studies display a clear motivation to use social psychology to engage particular societal concerns, representing incremental progress towards using social psychology in the service of social change.

This study examined whether taking advice is influenced by regulatory fit and whether this effect is reduced or disappears within certain attribution conditions during vocational decision making. Experiment 1 created a vocational decision setting to compare differences in decision makers’ weight of advice (WOA) between ‘eager strategy’ and ‘vigilant strategy’ advice conditions. Results showed no significant main effect of regulatory orientation or advice strategy, but there was a significant interaction. The WOA value, with fit between regulatory focus and advice strategy, was higher than with a fit violation. Experiment 2 examined whether the regulatory fit effect is reduced or disappears within attribution conditions during vocational decision making. Results showed job seekers more easily take others’ advice under the fit condition, and a significant interaction existed between regulatory fit and attribution. Thus, attribution could reduce the influence of the regulatory fit effect. Implications for vocational consultants, job seekers, and advisors are also discussed.

Social media has outpaced traditional media to be the most popular sociocultural channel to transmit thin-ideal images, an established trigger for body image concerns and disordered eating in women. With an experimental design, the present research first demonstrated that exposure to thin images on social media threatened women's body image and increased their unhealthy food consumption (Study 1). However, given that thin images posted on social media are usually from wealthier people, the present research hypothesised that it may not be the body shape but the perceived socioeconomic status (SES) of images that indeed have negative effects on women. By manipulating the perceived SES of thin images and incorporating a baseline control group (Study 2), the present research provided causal evidence for the hypothesis by indicating that viewing thin images with parallel-perceived SES could significantly buffer undesirable thin-ideal effects on self-objectification and food intake. Therefore, future research needs to pay more attention to the role of SES in the thin media images literature.

Self-attribution bias operates in social mobility attributions, with positive circumstances triggering individualist attributions (attributed to one's merits) and negative circumstances triggering structural attributions (attributed to one's race, religion, sex, social connections). Analyses of East Asian and Pacific data of the International Social Survey Programme's Social Inequality Module show that perceived social inequality (PSI) leads to structural attributions, while high subjective social position (SSP) leads to individualist attributions. Cultural contexts, however, support or temper self-attribution bias, thus modifying the effects of PSI and SSP. Cross-level interactions show that the effect of PSI on structural attributions is larger in small power-distance countries, while the effect of SSP on individualist attributions is larger in countries with small power distance, high individualism, and low country average for SSP. That a small power distance strengthens the effects of PSI on structural attributions and of SSP on individualist attributions suggests contrasting scenarios, where disadvantaged groups devalue their competencies for mobility, while privileged groups believe themselves deserving of better outcomes. The context-dependency of the SSP effect suggests the modifiability of individualist attributions. These results help explain why mobility attribution profiles of Australia and New Zealand differ from those of China, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Background: Among patients with schizophrenia, there is evidence of a negative association between self-stigma and subjective quality of life (SQoL), and self-esteem was an important mediator in the association. We attempted to use a longitudinal study to investigate the aforementioned mediation on a sample with schizophrenia. Methods: We used longitudinal data retrieved from medical records of a psychiatric centre between June 2014 and December 2015. In the data, we retrieved information of self-stigma using the Self-Stigma Scale — Short; SQoL, using the WHO questionnaire on the Quality of Life — Short Form; and self-esteem, using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. All the measures were evaluated five times. Linear mixed-effect models accompanied by Sobel tests were used to tackle the mediating effects. Results: Data from 74 patients (57 males) with schizophrenia were eligible for analysis; their mean (SD) age was 39.53 (10.67); mean age of onset was 22.95 (8.38). Self-esteem was a mediator for patients in physical (p = .039), psychological (p = .003), and social SQoL (p = .004), but not in environment SQoL (p = .051). Conclusion: Based on our findings, mental health professionals could tailor different programs to patients with schizophrenia, such as self-stigma reduction and self-esteem improvement programs. However, treatment as a whole should be sensitive to both self-stigma and self-esteem. Also, we should consider individuals’ health and wellbeing from social perspectives of disability rather than the medical model of disability emphasising symptoms and medications.

An interdependence approach to empathic concern could transform the current societal environment for people with disability into a more accessible and equitable one. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate two possible factors influencing empathic concern, gender and ethnic culture, in specific helping scenarios. We first examined whether the female gender and collectivist culture of Japan were associated with higher levels of interdependence and empathic concern for disability than were the male gender and individualist culture of New Zealand. Empathic concern for people with impairment was assessed in accessible and inaccessible environments. Neither gender nor culture significantly influenced the level of interdependence, whereas gender and culture differentially moderated empathic concern. We also explored the possibility of altering self-construal and thus promoting prosocial behaviour by examining the correlation between self-construal and prosocial intention, and the effect of cultural priming on self-construal. The correlation was significant under inaccessible conditions in the Japanese sample, and the effect of interdependent priming was not significant on interdependent self-construal in both countries. Discussion centres on theoretical implications of the observed conditional support for the female-gender and collectivist-culture hypotheses, and on ways to promote prosocial behaviour, taking into account gender and cultural differences.

This article documents the development of a community-based drug intervention for low- to mild-risk drug users who surrendered as part of the Philippine government's anti-drug campaign. It highlights the importance of developing evidence-informed drug recovery interventions that are appropriate to the Asian culture and to developing economies. Interviews and consultations with users and community stakeholders reveal the need for an intervention that would improve the drug recovery skills and life skills of users. Evidence-based interventions were adapted using McKleroy and colleagues’ (2006) Map of Adaptation Process (MAP) framework. The resulting intervention reflected the country's collectivist culture, relational values, propensity for indirect and non-verbal communication, and interdependent self-construal. The use of small groups, interactive and creative methodologies, and the incorporation of music and prayer also recognised the importance of these in the Philippine culture.

In this study, we investigated a psychological mechanism underlying the corruption of government officials, based on cultural factors in China. The proposed psychological kidnapping model describes how some bribers set up relations (guanxi, 关系) with bribees to conceal the intention of bribery and gradually lead them into corruption. Through text analysis, classification, and encoding of corruption cases, we defined the term psychological kidnapping, as well as its fundamental characteristics and the corresponding interaction process model (study 1). Using qualitative analysis, we confirmed the three stages of the process of corruption (attraction and acceptance, trust and integration, and collusion or fracture). In a further step, we unveiled three characteristics of psychological kidnapping, known as concealed resource delivery, imbalanced perceptions of corruption risk and cost for government officials, and soft menace from bribers. Then we explored the essential role of renqing (人情) in study 2 as a key enabler of psychological kidnapping. We hope that this work can provide a theoretical base for the prevention of corruption in the public service sector in China.

This study examined the mediating effects of future social expectations and interpersonal distrust on the relationship between individual relative deprivation and intention to rebel. Data were gathered from 807 people from multiple occupational backgrounds in a municipality in southwest China. Structural equation modelling showed that individual relative deprivation predicted intention to rebel directly and also that it predicted intention to rebel indirectly via negative future social expectations, interpersonal distrust, and a chain mediating effect of negative future social expectations and interpersonal distrust. These results highlight the importance of the associations between future social expectations and interpersonal distrust with intention to rebel in people who report relative deprivation. The findings also indicate that prevention and intervention programs related to relative deprivation and intention to rebel in China are worthy of further research.

Holland's RIASEC vocational interest typology may not be fully applicable to Chinese populations, and adapting models from Western cultures directly may fail to address important constructs specifically tied to the Chinese cultural background. This study made an exploration into Chinese college students’ vocational interests and built a new self-report vocational interests scale based on Chinese university student samples. In study 1, researchers constructed a self-report vocational interests inventory developed from an item pool based on open-ended questionnaires and previous scales. Nine dimensions were identified through exploratory factor analysis: Artistic, Biotic, Conventional, Expressive, Investigative, Operational, Social, Enterprising, and Adventurous. In study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was employed to test its construct validity, and the indexes indicated good fit. Empirical evidence proved adequate homogeneity reliability and test–retest reliability, as well as sufficient concurrent validity with the Self-Directed Search. Thus, evidence lent support for the psychometrical properties of this scale. This exploratory research may expand our view of cross-cultural, vocational interest theories.

Building on social identity approach and intergroup helping as status relations model, the current research examined the explored effects of stability of social stratification and forms of help on higher socioeconomic status (SES) members’ attitudes towards anti-poverty programs. Two studies were conducted in a 2 (social stratification stability) × 2 (forms of help) design on willingness to support anti-poverty programs. Study 1 examined the conditions of unstable and stable social stratification that might pattern differences in support of hypothetical anti-poverty programs construed as dependency-oriented or autonomy-oriented help. Study 2 replicated and extended study 1 by examining higher SES (subjective) participants’ attitudes towards the cash transfer programs (conditional vs. unconditional, which were determined by their perceptions of the stability of social stratification). Overall, the results of the two studies confirmed that attitudes towards anti-poverty programs could be construed as specific forms of help (dependency-oriented and/or autonomy-oriented help) depending on the nature of the intergroup relations (stability of the social stratification). Finally, the theoretical contribution of the current research is discussed.

In risky decision making, whether decision makers follow an expectation rule as hypothesised by mainstream theories is a compelling question. To tackle this question and enrich our knowledge of the underlying mechanism of risky decision making, we developed a series of new experimental paradigms that directly examined the computation processes to systematically investigate the process of risky decision making and explore the boundary condition of expectation rule over the course of a decade. In this article, we introduce these methods and review behavioural, eye-tracking, event-related potential, and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies that employed these methods. Results of these studies consistently showed that decision makers in the single-application condition did not perform the weighting and summing process assumed by the expectation rule. Moreover, decision makers were inclined to adopt a non-compensatory strategy, such as a heuristic one, in risky decision making. Furthermore, results indicated that the expectation rule was only applicable for conditions that involved decisions applied to numerous events (multiple applications) or to people (everyone). The findings indicated that using an index based on expected value to prescribe human risk preferences appears to be an artificial or false index of risk preference, and emphasised a new methodological direction for risky decision-making research.

An object located in the centre position is believed to be the most attended and well remembered, which increases its likelihood of being chosen (i.e., centrality preference). However, the literature has yielded inconsistent evidence. With the support of an eye-tracking technique, this study tried to provide another means of examining the relationship between preference and attention. Thirty undergraduates were asked to choose one of five similar items presented on a horizontal line. The findings on eye fixation points and looking duration positively related to the probability of an item being chosen as the preferred item. Yet performance in a recall test revealed an independence between preference and remembering. Furthermore, an unexpectedly large proportion of the participants also preferred the items on the leftmost side of the array. The mental number line and social norms, together with centrality preference, were used to provide an explanation of our implicit preference in decision making.

Destructive leadership and employee silence have attracted increasing attention in the academy of organisational behaviour and human resource management. However, the research on the mediating mechanism and boundary variables of their relationship has received little attention. The main purpose of our research was to explore the underlying influence of negative leadership (specifically, destructive leadership) on employee silence by developing a moderated mediation model. Drawing from conservation of resources theory, role theory, and the job characteristic model, the new theoretical model concentrates on the role of stress with three dimensions as mediators and the job complexity as a moderator. Using 318 samples collected from multiple companies in southeast China, the model was tested through confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, and the PROCESS program in AMOS and SPSS environments. Results reveal that employees may resort to silence in the workplace due to their feelings of role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload when they face destructive leadership; while the presence of high job complexity makes the adverse impact of destructive leadership even worse. Managerial and practical implications, limitations, and research directions in future are discussed and offered.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether hesitant or preoccupied people (state-oriented) have different goal content and motives compared to initiative or disengaged people (action-oriented). People rated the degree of autonomous versus controlled feelings for extrinsic or intrinsic types of goals. Results showed that action-oriented people had a higher autonomous motive than state-oriented people for intrinsic goals, but not for extrinsic goals. Moreover, action-oriented individuals were related to a more internalised goal content (intrinsic goal) than state-oriented individuals. Implications for goal internalisation are discussed.