Sammyh S. Khan

Heroes and villains of world history across cultures

Emergent properties of global political culture were examined using data from the World History Survey (WHS) involving 6,902 university students in 37 countries evaluating 40 figures from world history. Multidimensional scaling and factor analysis techniques found only limited forms of universality in evaluations across Western, Catholic/Orthodox, Muslim, and Asian country clusters. The highest consensus across cultures involved scientific innovators, with Einstein having the most positive evaluation overall. Peaceful humanitarians like Mother Theresa and Gandhi followed. There was much less cross-cultural consistency in the evaluation of negative figures, led by Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and Saddam Hussein. After more traditional empirical methods (e.g., factor analysis) failed to identify meaningful cross-cultural patterns, Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to identify four global representational profiles: Secular and Religious Idealists were overwhelmingly prevalent in Christian countries, and Political Realists were common in Muslim and Asian countries. We discuss possible consequences and interpretations of these different representational profiles.

Participation in Mass Gatherings Can Benefit Well-Being: Longitudinal and Control Data from a North Indian Hindu Pilgrimage Event

How does participation in a long-duration mass gathering (such as a pilgrimage event) impact well-being? There are good reasons to believe such collective events pose risks to health. There are risks associated with communicable diseases. Moreover, the physical conditions at such events (noise, crowding, harsh conditions) are often detrimental to well-being. Yet, at the same time, social psychological research suggests participation in group-related activities can impact well-being positively, and we therefore investigated if participating in a long-duration mass gathering can actually bring such benefits. In our research we studied one of the worlds largest collective events – a demanding month-long Hindu religious festival in North India. Participants (comprising 416 pilgrims who attended the gathering for the whole month of its duration, and 127 controls who did not) completed measures of self-assessed well-being and symptoms of ill-health at two time points. The first was a month before the gathering commenced, the second was a month after it finished. We found that those participating in this collective event reported a longitudinal increase in well-being relative to those who did not participate. Our data therefore imply we should reconceptualise how mass gatherings impact individuals. Although such gatherings can entail significant health risks, the benefits for well-being also need recognition. Indeed, an exclusive focus on risk is misleading and limits our understanding of why such events may be so attractive. More importantly, as our research is longitudinal and includes a control group, our work adds robust evidence to the social psychological literature concerning the relationship between participation in social group activities and well-being.

Cross-Cultural Dimensions of Meaning in the Evaluation of Events in World History?: Perceptions of Historical Calamities and Progress in Cross-Cultural Data From Thirty Societies

The universality versus culture specificity of quantitative evaluations (negative-positive) of 40 events in world history was addressed using World History Survey data collected from 5,800 university students in 30 countries/societies. Multidimensional scaling using generalized procrustean analysis indicated poor fit of data from the 30 countries to an overall mean configuration, indicating lack of universal agreement as to the associational meaning of events in world history. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified one Western and two non-Western country clusters for which adequate multidimensional fit was obtained after item deletions. A two-dimensional solution for the three country clusters was identified, where the primary dimension was historical calamities versus progress and a weak second dimension was modernity versus resistance to modernity. Factor analysis further reduced the item inventory to identify a single concept with structural equivalence across cultures, Historical Calamities, which included man-made and natural, intentional and unintentional, predominantly violent but also nonviolent calamities. Less robust factors were tentatively named as Historical Progress and Historical Resistance to Oppression. Historical Calamities and Historical Progress were at the individual level both significant and independent predictors of willingness to fight for one’s country in a hierarchical linear model that also identified significant country-level variation in these relationships. Consensus around calamity but disagreement as to what constitutes historical progress is discussed in relation to the political culture of nations and lay perceptions of history as catastrophe.

Intergroup Attributions and Ethnocentrism in the Indian Subcontinent: The Ultimate Attribution Error Revisited

Predictions of Pettigrews ultimate attribution error were investigated among 148 Indians (91 Hindus and 57 Muslims) and 145 Pakistanis (107 Muslims and 38 Hindus) in the Indian subcontinent. Using hypothetical scenarios, the first prediction, that negative behavior would be attributed more to dispositional than situational factors for out-group compared to in-group actors, received little support. The second prediction, that positive out-group behavior would be attributed more to situational circumstances, received considerable but not total support. Hindu participants attributed in-group actors as more competent but also warmer in Pakistan, whereas Muslim participants attributed in-group actors as being warmer in both countries. Autostereotypes (rather than heterostereotypes) of competence and warmth consistently mediated ethnocentric intergroup attributions. Collective self-esteem mediated ethnocentrism among both groups in Pakistan but only among Muslims in India, whereas social dominance orientation mediated majority group biases in both countries. Overall, the ultimate attribution error received mixed support, and results supported an in-group favoring more than out-group derogating pattern.

Shared identity predicts enhanced health at a mass gathering

Identifying with a group can impact (positively) upon group members’ health. This can be explained (in part) through the social relations that a shared identity allows. We investigated the relationship between a shared identity and health in a longitudinal study of a month-long pilgrimage in north India. Questionnaire data (N = 416) showed that self-reported health (measured before, during, and after the event) was better at the event than before, and although it reduced on returning home, it remained higher than before the event. This trajectory was predicted by data concerning pilgrims’ perceptions of a shared identity with other pilgrims at the event. We also found evidence that a shared identity amongst pilgrims had an indirect effect on changes in self-assessed health via the belief one had closer relations with one’s fellow pilgrims. We discuss the implications of these data for our understandings of the role of shared identity in social relations and health.

Cross-Cultural Dimensions of Meaning in the Evaluation of Events in World History?

The universality versus culture specificity of quantitative evaluations (negative-positive) of 40 events in world history was addressed using World History Survey data collected from 5,800 university students in 30 countries/societies. Multidimensional scaling using generalized procrustean analysis indicated poor fit of data from the 30 countries to an overall mean configuration, indicating lack of universal agreement as to the associational meaning of events in world history. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified one Western and two non-Western country clusters for which adequate multidimensional fit was obtained after item deletions. A two-dimensional solution for the three country clusters was identified, where the primary dimension was historical calamities versus progress and a weak second dimension was modernity versus resistance to modernity. Factor analysis further reduced the item inventory to identify a single concept with structural equivalence across cultures, Historical Calamities, which included man-made and natural, intentional and unintentional, predominantly violent but also nonviolent calamities. Less robust factors were tentatively named as Historical Progress and Historical Resistance to Oppression. Historical Calamities and Historical Progress were at the individual level both significant and independent predictors of willingness to fight for one’s country in a hierarchical linear model that also identified significant country-level variation in these relationships. Consensus around calamity but disagreement as to what constitutes historical progress is discussed in relation to the political culture of nations and lay perceptions of history as catastrophe.

Social Meaning of Ambiguous Sounds Influences Retrospective Duration Judgments

Social scientists have described noise as “sound out of place” (Bailey, 1996, p. 50). This implies that the human experience of a stimulus is not simply a reflection of its intrinsic properties, but depends on the social-contextual meanings attributed to it. Following Bruner’s lead (Bruner, 1957; Bruner & Goodman, 1947), psychologists have confirmed the importance of social meaning for perception, especially visual information processing (Balcetis & Lassiter, 2010). In the research reported here, we extended this perspective to time perception and asked if an ambiguous auditory stimulus is processed differently as a function of its social meaning. When research participants are asked to reproduce a sound’s duration, they typically underestimate it. The extent of such underestimation is affected by the complexity, familiarity, and valence of the stimulus and by the participants’ characteristics (Block & Zakay, 1997; Brown, 2010; Kowal, 1987; Ornstein, 1969; Phillips & Cross, 2011; Tobin, Bisson, & Grondin, 2010). These effects have been explained as the results of attentional and memoryrelated processes, with the latter being particularly relevant in retrospective paradigms (i.e., those in which participants are not aware that they will be asked to make duration estimates; see Block, Hancock, & Zakay, 2010). Our research was conducted with pilgrims attending a Hindu festival (Mela) in India. Every year, thousands of such pilgrims (kalpwasis) live by the Ganges River for a month in a tented encampment and renounce the everyday concerns that inhibit a focus on spiritual matters. However, the simple life pursued at the Mela is far from tranquil: Pilgrims are surrounded by multiple loudspeaker broadcasts of different songs, religious speeches, and announcements. This auditory multiplicity often makes it difficult to discern the contents of these broadcasts. The result is a loud cacophony (85–90 dB) that often resembles the sound of a busy city street. Despite this, because these sounds have religious connotations, pilgrims describe them as nonintrusive and meaningful (Prayag Magh Mela Research Group, 2007). We prepared a sound clip that contained very little recognizable material, so that it could be labeled as coming either from the religious festival itself or from the everyday secular setting of busy city streets. Using a design in which participants knew in advance that they would be asked about the sound, but not that they would be asked to estimate its duration (i.e., a retrospective paradigm), we predicted that participants would make longer duration estimates when the sound clip was attributed to the Mela than when it was attributed to a city setting. We expected that when the sound clip was attributed to the Mela, the various snippets of sound within the sound clip would capture participants’ attention (because imagined religious associations were primed) and that the encoding of the stimulus would therefore be richer. In turn, this richer encoding would facilitate remembering the material, which would result in participants making longer duration estimates (for evidence of the role of memory-related processes in retrospective paradigms, see Block et al., 2010). In contrast, when the sound clip was attributed to everyday city streets, we expected that the same sounds would have less symbolic significance and would attract less encoding, and that participants would therefore make shorter duration estimates. Given that longer duration estimates do not necessarily indicate an effect of encoding, we also manipulated when participants were given an attribution for the sound’s source (either prestimulus or poststimulus). This allowed us to test whether social meaning affects encoding rather than simply retrieval. We hypothesized that when the attribution occurred prestimulus, the sound’s meaning 465293 PSSXXX10.1177/0956797612465293Srinivasan et al.Social Context Influences Time Perception research-article2013

What do national flags stand for? An exploration of associations across 11 countries

We examined the concepts and emotions people associate with their national flag, and how these associations are related to nationalism and patriotism across 11 countries. Factor analyses indicated that the structures of associations differed across countries in ways that reflect their idiosyncratic historical developments. Positive emotions and egalitarian concepts were associated with national flags across countries. However, notable differences between countries were found due to historical politics. In societies known for being peaceful and open-minded (e.g., Canada, Scotland), egalitarianism was separable from honor-related concepts and associated with the flag; in countries that were currently involved in struggles for independence (e.g., Scotland) and countries with an imperialist past (the United Kingdom), the flag was strongly associated with power-related concepts; in countries with a negative past (e.g., Germany), the primary association was sports; in countries with disruption due to separatist or extremist movements (e.g., Northern Ireland, Turkey), associations referring to aggression were not fully rejected; in collectivist societies (India, Singapore), obedience was linked to positive associations and strongly associated with the flag. In addition, the more strongly individuals endorsed nationalism and patriotism, the more they associated positive emotions and egalitarian concepts with their flag. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Where Are We Going? Perspective on Hindu–Muslim Relations in India

The twin issues of making peace and building it over time, which are very much at the forefront of social concerns in contemporary India, remain a major source of worry and require a thoughtful understanding. The lack of effort that has been dedicated towards the development of a systematic understanding of the psychological dynamics underpinning intergroup hostility and violence between Hindus and Muslims in India is disappointing to say the least. While elaborate analyses and accounts of these intergroup dynamics have emerged from academic disciplines such as sociology, political science, economics and history (e.g. Basu, Datta, Sarkar, Sarkar, & Sen, 1993; Brass, 2003; Engineer, 1995; Lal, 2003b; Ludden, 2005; Pandey, 1991; Varshney, 2002; Wilkinson, 2004), psychological theory and research with some predictive validity have been slow to emerge (Ghosh & Kumar, 1991; Hutnik, 2004; Kakar, 1996; Nandy, 1990; Singh, 1989). This brings to the forefront a couple of basic queries: (a) how can the discipline of psychology contribute towards the current understanding of intergroup dynamics in India and (b) can psychological theory and research translate into knowledge and action to promote peaceful coexistence in applied contexts? The objective of this chapter is to address these two questions which comprise the core of our account. We will begin this endeavour by briefly reviewing theoretical and empirical paradigms that have been explored previously. These will then be juxtaposed against the historical, social and political contexts of Hindu–Muslim relations in India to elucidate those issues that have been adequately investigated, but most importantly, those issues that need further elaboration and inquiry. Before embarking upon this assessment, we will provide a brief outline of the historical, political and social contexts of Hindu–Muslim relations in India. We maintain that for analysing socially meaningful phenomena it is necessary to depart from the habitually close confines of psychology’s argumentation and to include historical, cultural, social and political perspectives in analysis and theorising (Valsiner, 2001). Consequently, this chapter aims to gather insights from other disciplines and integrate them with psychological understanding in order to help augment the psychology of peace and conflict resolution.

Can Raising Awareness about the Psychological Causes of Obesity Reduce Obesity Stigma

ABSTRACT Obesity stigma largely remains a socially acceptable bias with harmful outcomes for its victims. While many accounts have been put forward to explain the bias, the role of obesity etiology beliefs has received little scrutiny. The research examined the effect that beliefs about the psychological etiology of obesity have on the expression of obesity stigma and the mechanisms underpinning this effect. Participants (N = 463) were asked to evaluate a target person with obesity after reading one of three possible etiologies: psychological, genetic, or behavioral. The presentation of a psychological etiology of obesity elicited less prejudice compared to behavioral causes but greater prejudice compared to genetic causes; observed differences were found to be a function of the agency ascribed to the target’s obesity and empathy expressed for the target. The findings highlight the impact that communicating obesity in terms of psychological causes can have for the expression of obesity stigma.