Andrew G. Livingstone

The hourglass of emotions

Human emotions and their modelling are increasingly understood to be a crucial aspect in the development of intelligent systems. Over the past years, in fact, the adoption of psychological models of emotions has become a common trend among researchers and engineers working in the sphere of affective computing. Because of the elusive nature of emotions and the ambiguity of natural language, however, psychologists have developed many different affect models, which often are not suitable for the design of applications in fields such as affective HCI, social data mining, and sentiment analysis. To this end, we propose a novel biologically-inspired and psychologically-motivated emotion categorisation model that goes beyond mere categorical and dimensional approaches. Such model represents affective states both through labels and through four independent but concomitant affective dimensions, which can potentially describe the full range of emotional experiences that are rooted in any of us.

Ganging up or sticking together? Group processes and children's responses to text‐message bullying

Drawing on social identity theory and intergroup emotion theory (IET), we examined group processes underlying bullying behaviour. Children were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a perpetrators group, a targets group, or a third party group. They then read a gender-consistent scenario in which the norm of the perpetrators group (to be kind or unkind towards others) was manipulated, and an instance of cyberbullying between the perpetrators group and a member of the targets group was described. It was found that group membership, group norms, and the proposed antecedents of the group-based emotions of pride, shame, and anger (but not guilt) influenced group-based emotions and action tendencies in ways predicted by social identity and IET. The results underline the importance of understanding group-level emotional reactions when it comes to tackling bullying, and show that being part of a group can be helpful in overcoming the negative effects of bullying.

Birds of a feather bully together: group processes and children's responses to bullying

Recent research has shown that a group-level analysis can inform our understanding of school bullying. The present research drew on social identity theory and intergroup emotion theory. Nine- to eleven-year olds were randomly assigned to the same group as story characters who were described as engaging in bullying, as being bullied, or as neither engaging in bullying nor being bullied. Participants read a story in which a bully, supported by his or her group, was described as acting unkindly towards a child in a different group. Gender of protagonists and the bullys group norm (to be kind or unkind to other children) were varied. Identification affected responses to the bullying incident, such that those who identified more highly with each group favoured this group. Moreover, childrens group membership predicted the group-based emotions they reported, together with the associated action tendencies. Implications for understanding the processes underlying bullying behaviour are discussed.

“We Drink, Therefore We Are” The role of group identification and norms in sustaining and challenging heavy drinking “Culture”

We consider how ingroup norms, identification and individual attitudes interact when a behaviour (heavy alcohol consumption) is defining of an ingroup identity. We sampled 115 students at a UK university, measuring ingroup identification and attitudes to heavy drinking before manipulating the ingroup drinking norm (moderate vs. heavy). Heavy drinking intentions and tendencies to socially include/exclude two target students—one of whom drank alcohol regularly and one of whom did not—were measured. As predicted, participants with a positive attitude to heavy drinking and who identified strongly with the ingroup reported stronger intentions to drink heavily when the ingroup had a moderate, rather than a heavy drinking norm, indicating resistance to the normative information. A complementary pattern emerged for the social inclusion/exclusion measures. Implications for theory and interventions that focus on group norms are discussed.

Why the psychology of collective action requires qualitative transformation as well as quantitative change

The argument of this paper is that social psychological models of collective action do not (and cannot) adequately explain social change and collective action through models based on shared variance between variables. Over and above the questions of why and how collective action and social change occur, such models do not adequately address the question of when they occur: at what point on a measure of perceived illegitimacy – or any other predictor – does a person decide that enough is enough, and at what point do shared grievances transform into mass protest? Instead, it is argued that the transition from inaction to action at the level of both the individual and the group is better conceptualised as a qualitative transformation. A key agenda for the social psychology of collective action should therefore be to conceptualise the link between quantitative variation in predictors of action and the actual emergence of action.

Referees’ decision-making and player gender: the moderating role of the type of situation

The influence of player gender on referees’ decision-making was examined in 30 handball matches played at the highest regional level. The results indicated that referees make more lenient decisions toward male players when administering sporting sanctions, but more severe decisions toward male players when administering disciplinary sanctions, depending on whether or not the players were able to succeed in their action despite the foul. The findings are congruent with the hypothesis that referees use player gender as a judgmental heuristic. We suggest that further experimental studies examining the effects of referee gender and level of expertise, and of level of competition are needed to better understand the extent and limits of referees’ use of player gender as a decision-making heuristic.

Policing football crowds in England and Wales: a model of ‘good practice’?

There have been important developments in psychological theory of crowd dynamics (Reicher 2001). When this body of knowledge has been combined with operational policing it has been associated with conflict reduction in the context of high risk football matches with an international dimension (e.g., Stott et al. 2007). This paper extends this body of work by reporting upon a longitudinal observational study of policing within the environment of domestic football in England and Wales. This paper focuses upon the potential impact policing has upon crowd dynamics and ‘disorder’. On the basis of the analysis recommendations are developed with regard to understandings of ‘risk’ to public order, strategy and tactics, operational structure, role and function of officers and multi-agency cooperation. This paper concludes by exploring the relevance of psychological theory for models of good practice, policy making and training in the arena of the policing of domestic football in England and Wales.

The influence of norms and social identities on children's responses to bullying

BACKGROUND Research on bullying increasingly focuses on social processes, showing that group membership affects childrens responses to bullying scenarios. Additionally, correlational research has shown links between norms of cooperation and prosocial behaviour, and between competition and more aggressive forms of behaviour. AIMS This paper focuses on how childrens peer group membership affects their group-based emotions in response to an intergroup bullying incident, and the action tendencies that these emotions predict, in the context of different background norms (for competitive or cooperative behaviour). SAMPLE Italian schoolchildren, 10-13 years old (N= 128, 65 males) took part in this study. METHODS Participants were randomly assigned to the group of a perpetrator, target, or third-party group member described in a scenario. Next, they played a game designed to induce a cooperative, competitive, or neutral norm, and read the scenario. They then answered a questionnaire measuring their group-based emotions. RESULTS Results underscored the role of norms and group processes in responses to bullying. In particular, children exposed to a cooperative norm expressed less pride and more regret and anger about the bullying than those in other conditions. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that the influence peer groups have on bullying may be tempered by the introduction of a cooperative normative context to the school setting.

The language of change? Characterizations of in-group social position, threat, and the deployment of distinctive group attributes

A considerable body of research has shown that group members establish and emphasize characteristics or attributes that define their in-group in relation to comparison out-groups. We extend this research by exploring the range of ways in which members of the same social category (Welsh people) deploy a particular attribute (the Welsh language) as a flexible identity management resource. Through a thematic analysis of data from interviews and two public speeches, we examine how the deployment of the Welsh language is bound up with characterizations of the in-groups wider intergroup position (in terms of power relations and their legitimacy and stability), and ones position within the in-group. We focus in particular on the rhetorical and strategic value of such characterizations for policing in-group boundaries on the one hand, and for the in-groups intergroup position on the other. We conclude by emphasizing the need to (1) locate analyses of the uses and importance of group-defining attributes within the social setting that gives them meaning and (2) to appreciate such characterizations as attempts to influence, rather than simply reflect that setting.

External Influences on Referees’ Decisions in Judo: The Effects of Coaches’ Exclamations During Throw Situations

The present research investigated the influence of coaches’ exclamations on referees’ decision-making in judo. Under time pressure, 65 judo referees judged identical throw situations played on video. The coaches’ exclamations during throws were audible in the experimental condition, whereas no sound was present in the control condition. The throw situations varied in ambiguity (low vs. high) and strength (minor sanctions vs. hard sanctions), while coaches’ exclamations interpreted the throws in a manner that was congenial for their own competitor. Results indicated that referees may use an audience response heuristic or a consensus heuristic to help them make decisions.