An Examination of Selfish and Selfless Motives

Current behavioral economics/game theory and social psychology literature have been captivated by the idea of altruism and egoism. In large part, these two disciplines have tried to determine the foundation of selfish and selfless behavior, without much result. The current chapter examines the root issues associated with this inquiry and argues for a shift in attention towards factors associated with cooperation. As such, empirical research from both disciplines is presented to show the advancements in relation to identification of these factors. Additionally, the authors offer a possible solution to the fractured literature in the form Weber, Kopelman, and Messick's (2004) dual process model in an effort to merge findings from both disciplines in an attempt progress this line of research.

Why Psychology and Criminal Justice Can Only Take Us So Far

Concerns about continued increases in violent behavior in American schools and schools' ability to mitigate and reduce risks abound. Psychology and criminal justice have contributed much to what we know and understand about violence in schools; however, the author argues that these dominant disciplinary perspectives also obscure some important aspects of these phenomena, namely focus on underlying cultural logics that may be impacting violence in schools. In this chapter, the author sets out to achieve two objectives. First, she provides an overview of areas of focus in current literature in psychology and criminal justice that represent the dominant framework within which school violence in the U.S. is viewed. Additionally, she examines those disciplinary perspectives in terms of specific strengths and limitations. Second, she presents and describes a series of social psychological theories and pulls those theories into a coherent framework to demonstrate the value of the social psychological lens in studies of school violence and stimulate further discussion and research on this important topic.

Cross-Cultural Decision-Making in Healthcare

This chapter describes how people are connected to each other through a common system of encoding and decoding messages. Opening the European gate has made intercultural communication omnipresent, and this includes health care. Internationally-based tasks need new, culture-aware medical practitioners. The challenges, barriers, and solutions in the aforementioned area based on the personal experiences of the authors. The chapter concludes that in spite of personal experience, intercultural tension continues to be a major hinderance to patient healthcare services.

Gratitude and Happiness in Adolescents

Gratitude is important for social and emotional health. Research suggests that there is a relation between experiencing and expressing gratitude and happiness. The aim of this chapter is to review current research regarding gratitude development and happiness, adolescent gratitude development, and to discuss future recommendations. This chapter also discusses a study examining adolescent perspectives on the meaning of being thankful. To obtain adolescent perspectives on the meaning of being thankful, adolescents (N = 1,098) wrote essays describing what being thankful meant to them. Thematic analysis was used to identify and analyze themes within the essays. Percentiles were calculated for the most recurrent themes across essays (Appreciation = 54.07%, Family = 31.42%, Positive Emotions = 28.81%, Assistance/Support from Others = 25.99%, Friendship = 21.18%, and Downward Comparison = 16.60%). Understanding gratitude development in adolescents can aid in creating effective interventions, potentially increasing adolescent well-being and happiness.

Psychological Impacts of Downsizing Trauma

The chapter summarizes research studies as well as case studies from companies worldwide that show how organizational changes followed by downsizing create a traumatic experience for all organization members. The author's focus is on the psychological perspective on traumatic experience by all employees (victims and survivors) and managers whose task is to organize and implement changes in the organization. Based on the literature review, the chapter describes symptoms and psychological effects of organizational change trauma on individuals and the ways to minimize the traumatic effects. The author believes that outplacement and therapeutic approach are effective tools for overcoming the layoff trauma and also send positive signals to employees and to general public.

Positive Psychological Interventions and Information and Communication Technologies

Since the advent of Positive Psychology there has been a connection between positive psychological interventions (PPIs) and the digital world. The development of PPIs, especially those delivered online, is becoming widespread within and outside the scientific field. Therefore, there is currently a need for accurate information that provides a critical view of all the interventions currently available. This chapter presents an updated review of the relationship between these two fields (PPIs and technologies), and discusses relevant considerations that should be taken into account when technologies are used to deliver PPIs, as well as the elements that can moderate their effectiveness. The final aim of the chapter is to provide readers with basic tools to make critical judgments about PPIs delivered via a technological format.

An Exploration of Mental Skills Among Competitive League of Legend Players

ESports, also known as competitive video gaming, has seen tremendous growth over the past few years. Several studies have been conducted that examined the potential cognitive benefits of playing video games, but few have examined the psychosocial factors needed to perform at the highest level of competitive video gaming. In this study, the researchers aimed to identify specific mental obstacles players face and any mental techniques gamers already utilize by conducting a qualitative content analysis. Interviews with five high-level competitive League of Legend players were conducted to shed light on their experiences. The interviews resulted in two high order themes. Those high order themes were the following: techniques used to achieve optimal performance and obstacles encountered by competitive gamers. The data collected can be used by a wide population in both the performance psychology field and the eSports realm, more specifically, future mental skills consultants working with League of Legends players, gamers themselves, and academics who wish to serve, improve, or study those involved in an emerging performance domain.

Individual, Institutional, and Environmental Factors Promoting Patient Retention and Dropout

The primary purpose of this chapter is to determine factors that shape client dropout and adherence to Cardiac Disease Prevention and Rehabilitation Programs. The sample consists of 68 individuals, including those currently in the program (adherents) and those who have dropped out (dropouts). Findings show that clients undergoing rehabilitation are much likely to drop out when they are in the critical zone. This is a point where institutional factors, individual factors and environmentally-related factors are not favorable to clients. The risk of clients dropping out can be drastically reduced through the provision of an enabling environment comprising a set of factors that foster adherence such as financial sponsorship, institutional support, high intrinsic motivation, improved illness perception. In that context, there is the need for program administrators to closely monitor at-risk clients, especially those whose social, economic and psychological profiles predict non-adherence.

Pre-Marital Counselling and Sustainability of Marriages in Contemporary Ghanaian Society

Marriages in Ghana are usually preceded by counseling. It is believed that premarital counseling helps to sustain marriages because it gives couples the initial skills needed to enable them to start their marriage and solve minor problems that may be encountered in the relationship. This study was aimed at assessing the significance of premarital counseling to the sustenance of marriage. The study adopted a mixed methodological approach in gathering the data. Data was gathered from 112 individuals from three different suburbs of the capital city of Ghana. The results showed that although pre-marital counseling was observed to be important for would-be couples, it does not help sustain all marriages. Married couples that were given pre-marital counseling were getting separated as well as those who never had pre-marital counseling. It is therefore recommended that although premarital counseling may be necessary, it is not sufficient to sustain marriages. Therefore, counseling should continue even after marriage.

Deconstructing Racial Stigma in the Therapeutic Relationship

This chapter seeks to deconstruct racial stigma of mental illness held by counselors within the therapeutic relationship. The authors will provide counselors with practical tools that will help them work through their own prejudices, discriminations, and stereotypes about people of color and mental illness. This chapter will provide background information on stigma, specifically racial stigma, the process for incorporating theoretical variation in clinical work, and its importance. Additionally, the authors will explore best practices that will help counselors obtain the knowledge and skills needed to effectively work with a variety of clients who are racially and ethnically diverse.