The relationship between closed-mindedness and militant extremism in a post-conflict society

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ljiljana B. Lazarevic ◽  
Goran Knezevic ◽  
Janko Mileta Međedović ◽  
Boban Petrović ◽  
Lazar Stankov
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Death Anxiety ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Structural Relationships ◽  
Relevant Variables ◽  
The Relationship

This study aimed to examine the role of socio-political attitudes and motivational tendencies supposed to mark closed-mindedness, as well as other relevant variables of individual differences (Disintegration, i.e., proneness to psychotic-like experiences/ behaviors and Death Anxiety), in the Militant Extremist Mindset (MEM). A community sample of 600 young respondents (Serbs, Bosniaks, and Albanians, aged 18-30) was recruited within a multiethnic region of Serbia that experienced armed conflict during the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. The best-fitted SEM model, incorporating measurement and structural relationships between the variables, showed that the latent factor of Closed-mindedness predicted all three aspects of MEM as well as Neighborhood Grudge, i.e., resentment toward neighboring ethnicities. The effects of Disintegration and Death Anxiety on MEM were entirely mediated by Closed-mindedness. Compared to previous findings, Closed-mindedness appears to represent the most important set of cognitive and motivational tendencies that channel protracted intergroup tensions into militant extremism.

The role of personality in shaping pandemic response: Systemic sociopolitical factors drive country differences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan Siritzky ◽  
David M Condon ◽  
Sara J Weston
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
State Fragility ◽  
Systemic Factors ◽  
Pandemic Response ◽  
The Relationship

The current study utilizes the current COVID-19 pandemic to highlight the importance of accounting for the influence of external political and economic factors in personality public-health research. We investigated the extent to which systemic factors modify the relationship between personality and pandemic response. Results shed doubt on the cross-cultural generalizability of common big-five factor models. Individual differences only predicted government compliance in autocratic countries and in countries with income inequality. Personality was only predictive of mental health outcomes under conditions of state fragility and autocracy. Finally, there was little evidence that the big five traits were associated with preventive behaviors. Our ability to use individual differences to understand policy-relevant outcomes changes based on environmental factors and must be assessed on a trait-by-trait basis, thus supporting the inclusion of systemic political and economic factors in individual differences models.

The Affiliative Role of Empathy in Everyday Interpersonal Interactions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Whitney R. Ringwald ◽  
Aidan G.C. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Interpersonal Behavior ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Student Sample ◽  
Ecological Momentary

Empathy theoretically serves an affiliative interpersonal function by satisfying motives for intimacy and union with others. Accordingly, empathy is expected to vary depending on the situation. Inconsistent empirical support for empathy’s affiliative role may be due to methodology focused on individual differences in empathy or differences between controlled experimental conditions, which fail to capture its dynamic and interpersonal nature. To address these shortcomings, we used ecological momentary assessment to establish typical patterns of empathy across everyday interactions. Associations among empathy, affect, and interpersonal behavior of self and interaction partner were examined in a student sample (N=330), then replicated in a pre-registered community sample (N=279). Multi-level structural equation modeling was used to distinguish individual differences in empathy from interaction-level effects. Results show people are more empathetic during positively-valanced interactions with others perceived as warm and when expressing warmth. By confirming the typically affiliative role of empathy, existing research to the contrary can be best understood as exceptions to the norm.

Higher education, post-conflict democratization and the legacies of authoritarian rule: The Tripoli University Programme for Rebuilding Libya

2021 ◽  
pp. 174619792098136
Author(s):  
Sansom Milton
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Civic Education ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Transitional Processes ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Relationship

In this paper, the role of higher education in post-uprising Libya is analysed in terms of its relationship with transitional processes of democratization and civic development. It begins by contextualising the Libyan uprising within the optimism of the ‘Arab Spring’ transitions in the Middle East. Following this, the relationship between higher education and politics under the Qadhafi regime and in the immediate aftermath of its overthrow is discussed. A case-study of a programme designed to support Tripoli University in contributing towards democratisation will then be presented. The findings of the case-study will be reflected upon to offer a set of recommendations for international actors engaging in political and civic education in conflict-affected settings, in particular in the Middle East.

scholarly journals The effects of armed conflict on forest cover changes across temporal and spatial scales in the Colombian Amazon

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar V. Bautista-Cespedes ◽  
Louise Willemen ◽  
Augusto Castro-Nunez ◽  
Thomas A. Groen
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Peace Negotiations ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Forest Cover Changes ◽  
The Government ◽  
Colombian Amazon

AbstractThe Amazon rainforest covers roughly 40% of Colombia’s territory and has important global ecological functions. For more than 50 years, an internal war in the country has shaped this region. Peace negotiations between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) initiated in 2012 resulted in a progressive de-escalation of violence and a complete ceasefire in 2016. This study explores the role of different deforestation drivers including armed conflict variables, in explaining deforestation for three periods between 2001 and 2015. Iterative regression analyses were carried out for two spatial extents: the entire Colombian Amazon and a subset area which was most affected by deforestation. The results show that conflict variables have positive relationships with deforestation; yet, they are not among the main variables explaining deforestation. Accessibility and biophysical variables explain more variation. Nevertheless, conflict variables show divergent influence on deforestation depending on the period and scale of analysis. Based on these results, we develop deforestation risk maps to inform the design of forest conservation efforts in the post-conflict period.

The role of production practice in lexical and phonological development – a commentary on Stoel-Gammon's ‘Relationships between lexical and phonological development in young children’*

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARILYN VIHMAN ◽  
TAMAR KEREN-PORTNOY
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Phonological Learning ◽  
Production Practice ◽  
The Relationship

Carol Stoel-Gammon has made a real contribution in bringing together two fields that are not generally jointly addressed. Like Stoel-Gammon, we have long focused on individual differences in phonological development (e.g. Vihman, Ferguson & Elbert, 1986; Vihman, Boysson-Bardies, Durand & Sundberg, 1994; Keren-Portnoy, Majorano & Vihman, 2008). And like her, we have been closely concerned with the relationship between lexical and phonological learning. Accordingly, we will focus our discussion on two areas covered by Stoel-Gammon (this issue) on which our current work may shed some additional light.

The Relationship Between Domestic Partner Violence and Suicidal Behaviors in an Adult Community Sample: Examining Hope Agency and Pathways as Protective Factors

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 1399-1412
Author(s):  
Edward C. Chang ◽  
Elizabeth A. Yu ◽  
Emma R. Kahle ◽  
Yifeng Du ◽  
Olivia D. Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protective Factors ◽  
Prediction Model ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Suicidal Behaviors ◽  
Interactive Model ◽  
Independent Effects ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Additional Variance

We examined an additive and interactive model involving domestic partner violence (DPV) and hope in accounting for suicidal behaviors in a sample of 98 community adults. Results showed that DPV accounted for a significant amount of variance in suicidal behaviors. Hope further augmented the prediction model and accounted for suicidal behaviors beyond DPV. Finally, we found that DPV significantly interacted with both dimensions of hope to further account for additional variance in suicidal behaviors above and beyond the independent effects of DPV and hope. Implications for the role of hope in the relationship between DPV and suicidal behaviors are discussed.

scholarly journals Matteo Vergani: How is Terrorism Changing Us? Threat Perception and Political Attitudes in the Age of Terror.

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-81
Author(s):  
José De Arimatéia da Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Social Mechanisms ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Social Divisions ◽  
Original Analysis ◽  
Terrorism Threat ◽  
Geographical Scope ◽  
The Relationship

This book examines how the perception of terrorism threat erodes civil liberties, sows doubt about the loyalties of immigrants, and heightens the left-right ideological divide. The book presents original analysis of survey data and experiments conducted in Australia, Europe and the United States.Research in the book posits questions that others have largely avoided: How does the threat of terrorist violence undermine multicultural democracies? What are the psychological and social mechanisms that explain how the threat of terrorism can change political attitudes? What is the relationship between terrorism and death threats? What is the role of media in shaping the perception of terrorism threat? And what are the ethical responsibilities of journalists? This book will help readers distinguish between groundless speculation and solid scientific knowledge of the topic. Moreover, it provides concrete recommendations on how to prevent the most negative consequences of the polarization of political attitudes, such as social divisions, exclusivism and conflict. Given the broad geographical scope of the research presented in the book, specifically North America, Europe and Australia, this book will appeal to broad scope of readers.

Effects of Color and Trait Anxiety on State Anxiety

1978 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 855-858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Reeves ◽  
Ed M. Edmonds ◽  
Dollie L. Transou
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Factorial Design ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
State Anxiety ◽  
The State ◽  
Color Condition ◽  
State Trait Anxiety Inventory ◽  
Trait Theory ◽  
The Relationship

A 2 (trait anxiety) × 4 (color) factorial design was used to determine the effects of red, green, yellow, and blue on state anxiety as a function of high and low trait anxiety. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to assess both trait (A-Trait) and state (A-State) anxiety for the 10 students assigned to each of the eight treatment combinations. High A-Trait students were significantly more anxious while viewing blue, red, and green than were the low A-Trait students and blue produced significantly more state anxiety than did either yellow or green. These results are consistent with state-trait theory and indicate that the effects of color on state anxiety may be confounded with trait anxiety unless the levels of A-Trait are equivalent for each color condition. The role of cultural and individual differences in the relationship between color and emotion and implications for research are discussed.

Ambivalent reflections on violence and peacebuilding: Activist research in Croatia and the wider post-Yugoslav space1

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Stubbs
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
The Real ◽  
Nationalist Movements ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
External Actors ◽  
The Relationship

The chapter explores theoretical, political and ethical challenges inherent in activist research in conflict and post-conflict environments, focusing on Croatia and the wider post-Yugoslav space. Framed in terms of ‘ambivalence’, ‘positionality’ and ‘reflexivity’, the chapter revisits themes which were especially important in the wars of the Yugoslav succession: the ‘projectisation’ of NGOs; the relationship between ‘the real’ and ‘the virtual’; the role of external actors within a ‘new humanitarianism’; the over-emphasis on medicalised understanding of ‘trauma’; and the limits and possibilities of anti-nationalist movements in times of nationalist mobilisation. The chapter emphasises the importance of multi-voiced ethnography, a conscious post-colonial positioning and a stance of deep humility as preconditions for activist research to open up new arenas of possibility, struggle and change.

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