Dawn X. Henderson

Chapter Three - The Fading Affect Bias: Its History, Its Implications, and Its Future

Recalling a memory often prompts an emotional response. Research examining the fading affect bias (FAB) indicates that the emotional response prompted by positive memories often tends to be stronger than the emotional response prompted by negative memories. This chapter presents an overview of research that has explored the FAB effect. This overview indicates that the FAB reflects two trends: (1) over time, the affect associated with positive memories tends to fade more slowly from event occurrence to event recall than the affect associated with negative memories, and (2) it is more often the case that events that were negative at their occurrence will ultimately come to prompt positive affect-at-recall than it is the case that events that were positive at their occurrence will come to prompt negative affect-at-recall. Research has also revealed that the FAB can be altered by event moderators, situational moderators, and individual-difference moderators. The chapter uses this research review to highlight several needed directions for future research, suggest some theoretical ideas that may underlie the FAB, and discuss some ways in which the FAB might be important to life in a social world.Abstract Recalling a memory often prompts an emotional response. Research examining the fading affect bias (FAB) indicates that the emotional response prompted by positive memories often tends to be stronger than the emotional response prompted by negative memories. This chapter presents an overview of research that has explored the FAB effect. This overview indicates that the FAB reflects two trends: (1) over time, the affect associated with positive memories tends to fade more slowly from event occurrence to event recall than the affect associated with negative memories, and (2) it is more often the case that events that were negative at their occurrence will ultimately come to prompt positive affect-at-recall than it is the case that events that were positive at their occurrence will come to prompt negative affect-at-recall. Research has also revealed that the FAB can be altered by event moderators, situational moderators, and individual-difference moderators. The chapter uses this research review to highlight several needed directions for future research, suggest some theoretical ideas that may underlie the FAB, and discuss some ways in which the FAB might be important to life in a social world.

This too shall pass: evidence of coping and fading emotion in African Americans' memories of violent and nonviolent death

Two studies examined African Americans essays on coping with violent and nonviolent death and fading affect bias. Essays from 101 African Americans were coded for psychological resolution (resolved or unresolved) and for type of death (violent or nonviolent). Linguistic analyses were used to examine the experience of loss and coping methods. Religious coping was important for nonviolent death events while social support and emotion (e.g., crying) were themes that emerged for violent death events. For unresolved violent death events, dissociation was a common theme. The perceived change in the emotional intensity of the events was examined and revealed that the negative emotion showed evidence of substantial fading. Overall, these results suggest religious coping, social support and sharing enhance coping among African American participants. These processes can help negative affect associated with death events fade, allowing for psychological resolution, healing, and resilience.

Exploring Dimensions of Social Inclusion among Alternative Learning Centres in the USA.

ABSTRACT Increasing disparities in out-of-school suspension and dropout rates have led a number of school districts to develop alternative models of education to include alternative learning centres (ALCs). Using an exploratory mixed methods design, this study explores dimensions of social inclusion among ALCs, located in the southeastern region of the USA. In the first phase, case-study analyses across two sites contextualised student experiences from the perspective of students, teachers, and assistant principals. In the second phase, data explored student outcomes among a sample of 593 students across 28 ALCs in the school district. Qualitative findings revealed varying dimensions of social inclusion through access, success through empowerment, and participation and engagement. Quantitative findings revealed a majority of students transitioned back to the traditional school environment. There were no clear student or school advantages associated with student transitions; however, high school students were more likely to transition back to the traditional school environment than middle school students. Discussion centres on the challenges school districts experience in promoting social inclusion and implications for inclusive models of education.

A qualitative exploration of suspended youth social connectedness in a community-based intervention program

ABSTRACT Out-of-school suspension continues to disconnect an overwhelming number of economically disadvantaged ethnic minority (EDEM) youth from school—leading to out-of-school placement. Youth communities and localities may provide alternative spaces for suspended youth and create opportunities for prosocial engagement and support. The present study employed participant observation and interviews to explore suspended youth sense of social connectedness in a community-based intervention program in the United States. Findings illustrate psychosocial assets and youth sense of social connectedness emerged from relational bonds and a structural culture enforcing a nurturing and inclusive environment. A discussion on improving the capacity of community-based organizations to address the needs of suspended youth follows.

Regenerative medicine: a vehicle to infuse laboratory-bench modules into an exercise physiology curriculum

Regenerative medicine is a novel discipline that both excites undergraduates and may be used as a vehicle to expose students to scientific concepts and opportunities. The goal of this article is to describe the implementation of a National Science Foundation-funded Targeted Infusion Project in which underrepresented minority undergraduates are exposed to laboratory-bench skills and summer research opportunities that they may not have encountered otherwise. A 3-wk infusion of laboratory-bench and data presentation skills, in the context of a regenerative medicine/bioengineering project, aimed to engage students and expose them to opportunities as summer researchers and teaching assistants. The infusion aimed to assess the extent to which students improved 1) attitudes toward laboratory-bench-based techniques, using attitudes toward science as a proxy; 2) perceptions of scientific inquiry; 3) intentions to engage in undergraduate research; and 4) intentions to persist in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related fields. Results indicate that the 3-wk infusion had no effect on science attitudes, but transcribed responses to structured interviews administered after the summer research experience indicated that students who completed summer research projects had positive experiences. Differences in intentions to engage in research were detected between groups of students in different STEM majors, in addition to differences in intentions to pursue a career in science. We describe the implementation of the infusion and briefly discuss quantitative outcomes. We conclude that infusion of laboratory-bench modules in the context of a regenerative medicine/bioengineering project may play a small but important role in increasing (minority) participation and persistence in the STEM pipeline.

Modeling Community Engagement in an Undergraduate Course in Psychology at an HBCU

This article describes an undergraduate course in community psychology at an Historically Black University. The course integrated community engagement using a local neighborhood revitalization project as a platform for students to volunteer, prepare a historical analysis, and sense of community project. The course aims to fulfill a requirement under the Counseling, Community, and Health Foundation for psychology majors. The course used applied experiences within a neighborhood context to introduce students to theories and principles in community psychology. The article will discuss implications for undergraduate psychology education and the value of providing undergraduate community psychology courses to students.

It Really Takes a Village: A Socio-Ecological Model of Resilience for Prevention Among Economically Disadvantaged Ethnic Minority Youth.

Promoting resilience prevents maladaptation among economically disadvantaged ethnic minority (EDEM) youth. EDEM youth need access to a variety of assets and promotive factors (i.e., resources) in the family, school, and community system to counter risks and promote positive adaptation. However, the field lacks a socio-ecological model of resilience for prevention targeted towards EDEM youth. We aim to review assets and promotive factors in the family, school, and community systems to present a socio-ecological model of resilience for the prevention of negative educational and health outcomes among EDEM youth. We reorient the social ecologies of EDEM youth from “at risk” to “at promise” focusing on family and community-centered prevention models. We discuss implications for the design of prevention strategies as well as their implementation and methodological challenges.

Book Review: Underserved women of color, voice, and resistance: Claiming a seat at the tableGivensS. M. B.TassieK. E. (Eds.). (2014). Underserved women of color, voice, and resistance: Claiming a seat at the table. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. 171 pp.

How do voices of resistance transform dominant narratives and empower collectives, often forgotten or silenced? This is the question that underpins the book, Underserved Women of Color, Voice, and Resistance: Claiming a Seat at the Table. The editors aim to present the discourse of scholars, professors, and students who have forged pathways to demand their sociopolitical engagement in academia and the broader society. This book can best be summarized from the title of Chapter 4, ‘‘Writing for Ourselves,’’ where content situates voices of women and men in profeminist thought and as a point of resistance against a patriarchal narrative. The personal stories and research represent a dialectic in ‘‘othering’’ through social and politic spaces that distance women, men, individuals who are ethnic, and cultural others within the walls of academia, the classroom, and society. The cross-dialogue that begins in the first chapter between a professor and his student and the transposed landscapes of shifting positionality from professor to student, from an African American man to a Muslim woman, sets the foundation for the remaining chapters. Each chapter adds varying layers to the discourse of othering, that is, being a racial binary and queer, Women of Color in the military or in science. Although at times disjointed, the book attempts to transition the reader from personal accounts to pedagogical perspectives that challenge psychological and structural oppression. The reflective nature of the narratives presents some limitations in understanding ways in which the table at which the ‘‘other’’ demands a seat is transformed. Rarely do the authors shift their positions to write not as the invisible but rather the visible; their position within academia is a point of visibility and serves as a catalyst to challenge and transform the academy. Resistance is not only ‘‘claiming a seat at the table’’ but also reflects psychological and social shifts—changes in the structure of the table. In Chapter 9, Price-Herndl writes, ‘‘It would be nice if there were a set of clear rules, a strategic plan with all its points delineated so you could follow them from point A to point Z’’ (p. 163). This statement reveals a need to advance narrative to action by creating a blueprint for resistance and an alliance to fortify movements that shift power and radicalize patriarchal and canonized structures in the academy. This book represents voices and stories that help individuals across disciplines and fields to find spaces for visibility, personal power, and efficacy. The consistent integration of feminist theorists (e.g., hooks, Lorde, Hill Collins, and Cooper) shares solidarity with well-developed schools of feminist thought and critical perspectives as well as contributes to a canon that is still evolving. These voices demonstrate courage and models of resistance for well-established scholars and those who have yet to enter the academy. The inclusion of Black and Brown voices, feminists as women and men, underserved, and underrepresented can be embraced by developing and established scholars and pedagogues who aim to unravel and deconstruct power structures that force women to be invisible, imperceptible, and complaisant.