Charis Psaltis

The use of symbolic resources in developmental transitions

This paper introduces the idea of symbolic resources as the use of cultural elements to mediate the representational work occasioned by ruptures or discontinuities in the smooth experience of ordinary life, moments when the ‘taken-for-granted’ meanings cease to be taken for granted. In particular we are concerned with the use of symbolic resources in moments of developmental transitions, that is, the mobilization of symbolic elements ranging from shared bodies of knowledge or argumentative strategies to movies, magazines or art pieces. The paper begins with a brief theoretical sketch of these ideas, and then presents three case studies, each of which involves the use of a different type of symbolic resource within a particular age group. In the first, children are observed in interaction with a peer about a conservation problem. In the second, adolescents are observed negotiating the meaning of their art productions with their peers, teachers and parents. The third example looks at Western tourists searching for spirituality, adventure and freedom in Ladakh as an alternative to the materialism of modernity. In each case the analysis of the symbolic resources employed indicates the significance of the gaze of the other in the construction of meanings, and of the various constraints operating within specific situations. The analysis also reveals different modes of use of symbolic resources, linked to changing forms of reflectivity.

Secondary transfer effects of intergroup contact : Alternative accounts and underlying processes

Although intergroup contact is one of the most prominent interventions to reduce prejudice, the generalization of contact effects is still a contentious issue. This research further examined the rarely studied secondary transfer effect (STE; Pettigrew, 2009), by which contact with a primary outgroup reduces prejudice toward secondary groups that are not directly involved in the contact. Across 3 cross-sectional studies conducted in Cyprus (N = 1,653), Northern Ireland (N = 1,973), and Texas (N = 275) and 1 longitudinal study conducted in Northern Ireland (N = 411), the present research sought to systematically rule out alternative accounts of the STE and to investigate 2 potential mediating mechanisms (ingroup reappraisal and attitude generalization). Results indicated that, consistent with the STE, contact with a primary outgroup predicts attitudes toward secondary outgroups, over and above contact with the secondary outgroup, socially desirable responding, and prior attitudes. Mediation analyses found strong evidence for attitude generalization but only limited evidence for ingroup reappraisal as an underlying process. Two out of 3 tests of a reverse model, where contact with the secondary outgroup predicts attitudes toward the primary outgroup, provide further evidence for an indirect effect through attitude generalization. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed, and directions for future research are identified.

The Metaphor of the Triangle in Theories of Human Development

Developmental psychologists have a long history of using triangle metaphors to conceptualise the social constitution of psychological development. In this paper, we present a genealogy of triadic theories, to clarify their origins, distinctions between them, and to identify key themes for theoretical development. The analysis identifies three core triangle models in the developmental literature. Each theory relies on some combination of the terms subject, object, other and sign, and they can be distinguished by the core psychological dynamic which they entail. We distinguish an emotional triangle rooted in psycho-analysis, a mediational triangle rooted in the work of Vygotsky, and a sociocognitive triangle originating with Piaget. Despite their differences, the analysis reveals a common theme of the transformation from external mediation to internal mediation. Contemporary research and possible future directions are discussed in the light of the theoretical distinctions that our genealogy has revealed.

Conservation and Conversation Types: Forms of Recognition and Cognitive Development.

While the productive role of social interaction between peers in promoting cognitive development has been clearly established, the communicative processes through which this is achieved is less clearly understood. Earlier work has established that different types of conversation become established between children as they work together on a problem, and that these types have different implications for the progress of a non-conserver. The paper focuses on the forms of recognition that emerge within these different conversation types. It reports further analyses of a study in which 226 6.5- to 7.5-year-old children were presented with a Piagetian task of conservation of liquid. Conservers and non-conservers were asked to discuss in pairs their conflicting answers and agree upon a joint response. Cognitive progress was assessed by pre- to post-test gains. Analyses of the conversational moves made by each of the participants to the conversation indicates that both non-conservers and conservers not only make characteristic contributions, but that these contributions vary across the conversation types, and hence also relate differentially to the non-conservers progress. More detailed qualitative analyses of the different conversation types provide insights into the ways in which different forms of recognition emerge through these interactions. These results are discussed in relation to a socio-cognitive account of development.

The Social and the Psychological: Structure and Context in Intellectual Development.

This paper discusses the distinct meanings of internalization and interiorization as ways of rendering intelligible the social constitution of the psychological in a line of research that started with Piaget and extended into a post-Piagetian reformulation of intelligence in successive generations of studies of the relations between social interaction and cognitive development. While the same clarity cannot be found in Vygotsky’s work, the emphasis on the cultural embeddedness of cognitive activity in contemporary cultural psychology has also been a significant influence on the evolution of this work. This paper proposes a further integration of these perspectives by developing the idea of operativity-in-context as a means of retaining the advantages of Piaget’s structural analysis of cognition whilst recognizing the situational and cultural constraints on cognitive functioning.

Culture and social representations: A continuing dialogue in search for heterogeneity in social developmental psychology

In this commentary on Jahoda (2012) and Moghaddam (2012), I discuss the problem of the reification of culture from a social representations perspective and argue that social representations as a notion overcomes many of the shortcomings of the notion of culture, the main being reification. Whilst building this argument I show, by making reference to recent developments in the field of social representations and social developmental psychology, how weaknesses in social representations theory identified by Jahoda (1988) were addressed and how insights from this approach can be used for diversity management policies in education.

From the Epistemic to the Social-Psychological Subject: The Missing Role of Social Identities, Asymmetries of Status, and Social Representations

Sorsana and Trognon [this issue] discussed the various representations of the subject of cognitive development that have been formed over the years since the seminal work of Jean Piaget. The terminology they used to describe this shift is that of the epistemic subject to the psychological subject, and finally, to the psychosocial actor . The aim of their review was to discuss the major conceptual and methodological obstacles to the analysis of the contextual determination of human thinking in psychology. In other words, the question was to identify the conceptual and methodological progress that was made during the last decades in order to try to grasp how cognitive acquisitions take place in interaction. Compared to similar reviews in Human Development [Psaltis, Duveen, & Perret-Clermont, 2009], this paper is an addition in at least three ways. First, it offered a more informed historical account of the importance of the work of Bärbel Inhelder on the microgenetic method and especially the emphasis on goals, intentions and control as a ‘transitional’ shift between the epistemic subject and the psychosocial actor. Second, it offered a convincing critique of methodological solipsism found in cognitive psychological research. Finally, it proposed an analysis of some data using the approach based on interlocutory logic as a way to formalize reasoning moves and their transformations in the unfolding interaction, thus offering a concrete proposal of how to analyze the psychosocial actor. However, at the same time, this analysis exposed the weak points of interlocutory logic since it can be criticized for lack of clarity in what it accepted and what it rejected in terms of the theoretical and methodological advances of work previously published and reviewed in the same paper. There was also a lack of theoreti-

Contested Symbols as Social Representations: The Case of Cyprus

Symbols are, first of all, a means of representation as they stand in the place of something else. From the perspective of genetic social psychology representations have a symbolic function since they use symbols to signify, to make sense of and to establish the real. Representations are simultaneously social as they are formed and enacted in social interaction between people in their everyday life in a way that they point to particular social relations in a single community and importantly, with members from other communities. This chapter examines symbols as social representations and specifically focuses on the ways that symbolic meanings of cultural artefacts relating to intergroup conflict vary as a function of the quality of social relations between conflicting groups in the context of the unresolved Cyprus issue. The important role that intergroup contact plays in changing the meaning of symbols within and across the dividing line is highlighted, as well as related forms of communication.

History Education and Conflict Transformation

This volume discusses the effects, models and implications of history teaching in relation to conflict transformation and reconciliation from a social-psychological perspective. Bringing together a mix of established and young researchers and academics, from the fields of psychology, education, and history, the book provides an in-depth exploration of the role of historical narratives, history teaching, history textbooks and the work of civil society organizations in post-conflict societies undergoing reconciliation processes, and reflects on the state of the art at both the international and regional level. As well as dealing with the question of the �perpetrator-victim� dynamic, the book also focuses on the particular context of transition in and out of cold war in Eastern Europe and the post-conflict settings of Northern Ireland, Israel and Palestine and Cyprus. It is also exploring the pedagogical classroom practices of history teaching and a critical comparison of various possible approaches taken in educational praxis. The book will make compelling reading for students and researchers of education, history, sociology, peace and conflict studies and psychology.

The role of inter-ethnic online friendships in prejudice reduction in post-conflict societies: Evidence from Serbia, Croatia and Cyprus

Direct contact between members of ethnic groups is proven to reduce intergroup prejudice. Recent research, however, explores the effects of alternative types of contact, amongst them via social networks in virtual space. This is especially important for e.g. post-conflict societies in which there is limited opportunity for direct contact between the groups. Drawing from a sample of 374 ethnic majority students from three such societies Serbia, Croatia, and Cyprus, we tested if the number of online interethnic friends predicted more positive out-group attitudes over and above the effect of face-to-face contacts. This relationship testified to the added value of online ties. We also tested if intergroup anxiety and perceived ethnic threat would mediate the relationship between online friendships and out-group attitudes. Results from the combined sample showed clear mediation effects. This suggested that the mechanisms through which online contact reduces prejudice are comparable to the mechanisms detected for face-to-face contact. Yet the mediation was not convincingly replicated at the country level. Further research could make use of this simple measure of alternative contact, as well as test a different set of mediators to identify mechanisms that are possibly unique to online contacts. Interethnic online contact via social networks has potential to reduce prejudice.Online contact reduces prejudice by reducing anxiety and perceived intergroup threat, similar to direct contact.The effects of online contact were investigated in three post-conflict societies: Serbia, Croatia and Cyprus.Online friendships predicted more positive out-group attitudes over and above direct interethnic contact.Mediation was found for the combined sample, but not consistently for separate countries.