Silvia Helena Koller

Affect, culture, and morality, or is it wrong to eat your dog ?

Are disgusting or disrespectful actions judged to be moral violations, even when they are harmless? Stories about victimless yet offensive actions (such as cleaning ones toilet with a flag) were presented to Brazilian and U.S. adults and children of high and low socioeconomic status (N = 360). Results show that college students at elite universities judged these stories to be matters of social convention or of personal preference. Most other Ss, especially in Brazil, took a moralizing stance toward these actions. For these latter Ss, moral judgments were better predicted by affective reactions than by appraisals of harmfulness. Results support the claims of cultural psychology (R.A. Shweder, 1991a) and suggest that cultural norms and culturally shaped emotions have a substantial impact on the domain of morality and the process of moral judgment. Suggestions are made for building cross-culturally valid models of moral judgment.

Inserção ecológica na comunidade: uma proposta metodológica para o estudo de famílias em situação de risco

The aim of this paper is to describe a methodology for research with families in natural environment: Ecological Insertion. This methodology is based on Ecological Systems Theory, that proposes that development must be studied through a scientific model that involves interaction among four nucleus: process, person, context and time, denominated bioecological model. For this theory, the bioecological model become an appropriate theoretical-methodologial approach for research on development-in-context. This paper describes an operacionalization of this model in a qualitative research about resilience and vulnerability in families under risk situation. The ecological insertion involved the study accompaniment of three poor families who live in a violent community and included observations, informal chats and interviews. The operacionalization of the bioecological model in this research promoted the accomplishment of a study with ecological validity, apart from allowing to include various levels of analysis.

Competência social e empatia: um estudo sobre resiliência com crianças em situação de pobreza

Social competence and empathy: Study about resilience with children in poverty The aim of this study was to evaluate social competence and empathy in schoo...

Alguns aspectos observados no desenvolvimento de crianças vítimas de abuso sexual

Child sexual abuse is one of the most frequent form of maltreatment, which has medical, legal, and psychosocial implications. This review of the literature p...

Contextos ecológicos: promotores de resiliência, fatores de risco e de proteção

This study presents a consolidation of aspects of protection and risk in human development, in several ecological contexts, such as the family, the institution and the school, taken from literature, and relates them to the furtherance of resilience. It also defines the concepts of the resilience process, protective and risk factors and offers considerations about children in risk situations. Urie Bronfenbrenners bioecological human development theory was used as a theoretical-methodological basis to analyze these contexts and factors of risk and/or protection. This theory addresses the study of development by integrating the understanding of the aspects of peoples lives, whether it be the period in which they live, the environments in which they participate or the relationships that are established. Irrespective of the context (family, institution or school), a variety of influences and life events may be classified as risk or as protection. However, this will depend on the quality and existence of emotional and social relationships, of the presence of affection and reciprocity that such environments provide.

Fatores de risco e de proteção na rede de atendimento a crianças e adolescentes vítimas de violência sexual

Sexual violence against children and adolescences is a public health concern, characterized by a complex dynamics, which involves psychological, social and legal aspects, demanding the coordinated intervention of different institutions. This study presents the mapping of risk and protective factors in resource network for children and adolescences victims of sexual violence, who were identified in the 1992-1998 judicial processes of the Ministerio Publico (District Attorneys Office) of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The analysis of 71 files present the interventions that were performed by the institutions that composed the network. The results pointed out the difficulty of the protection services to intervene in the cases. The lack of communication among the institutions to articulate the necessary protection measures and to follow-up on their implementation was verified. These results suggest the need to qualify the services of the network, seeking the real understanding of the cases, as well as performing appropriate interventions.

Fatores de proteção relacionados à promoção de resiliência em pessoas que vivem com HIV/AIDS

The aim of this theoretical review was to articulate the resilience concept with key aspects in the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS. We emphasize the analysis of protective factors traditionally related to resilience (personal characteristics and social and affective support networks). The reviewed studies show important protective factors that contribute to the health and well-being of people with HIV/AIDS, such as cognitive coping and acceptance of their HIV status, family participation in treatment and family support, the role of governmental and nongovernmental institutions, and religious beliefs. The concept of resilience defined as a dynamic process that allows human beings to overcome adversities is essential for understanding HIV infection and treatment of AIDS patients. It helps decrease stigmatization and prejudice towards the disease and patients. It also helps alter the notion that living with AIDS is incompatible with well-being and quality of life and fosters the creation of new HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment perspectives.

Culture and the distinctiveness motive : constructing identity in individualistic and collectivistic contexts

The motive to attain a distinctive identity is sometimes thought to be stronger in, or even specific to, those socialized into individualistic cultures. Using data from 4,751 participants in 21 cultural groups (18 nations and 3 regions), we tested this prediction against our alternative view that culture would moderate the ways in which people achieve feelings of distinctiveness, rather than influence the strength of their motivation to do so. We measured the distinctiveness motive using an indirect technique to avoid cultural response biases. Analyses showed that the distinctiveness motive was not weaker-and, if anything, was stronger-in more collectivistic nations. However, individualism-collectivism was found to moderate the ways in which feelings of distinctiveness were constructed: Distinctiveness was associated more closely with difference and separateness in more individualistic cultures and was associated more closely with social position in more collectivistic cultures. Multilevel analysis confirmed that it is the prevailing beliefs and values in an individuals context, rather than the individuals own beliefs and values, that account for these differences.

Psicologia Positiva: uma nova abordagem para antigas questões

Abstract: Throughout history , Psychology studies were focused on pathologies, neglecting issuesrelated to human healthy state. In 1998, when Seligman assumed the head of AmericanPsychological Association, he started the Positive Psychology movement, which objective is tooffer a new approach to human strengthens and virtues, by studying the conditions and processesthat contribute to the prosperity of individuals and communities. The present paper presents anddiscusses this new scientific approach that intends to promote the quality of life at individual andcommunity levels, preventing pathologies. We also point out its gaps in Human Sciences-directedinvestigations, as well as its theoretical and empirical contributions and applications.Keywords: Positive psychology . Human potentiality . History of psychological investigation. Psicologia Positiva: un nuevo acercamiento para antiguas cuestiones Resumen: Historicamente, la Psicologia se preocupo por investigar patologias, descuidandosede los aspectos saludables de los seres humanos. Pero, desde 1998, Cuando Seligman, asumio lapresidencia de la American Psychological Association, se inicio el movimiento denominadoPsicologia Positiva, cuyo objetivo fue dar una nueva mirada a las potencialidades y virtudes huma-nas, estudiando las condiciones y los procesos que contribuyen para la prosperidad de los individuosy comunidades. Este articulo presenta y discute esta nueva propuesta cientifica, que prometemejorar la calidad de vida de los individuos y prevenir patologias; asi como indicar las lagunasproducidas en las investigaciones de las Ciencias Humanas, sus contribuciones teoricas, empiricasy posibles aplicaciones.Palabras clave: Psicologia positiva. Potencialidades humanas. Historia de la investigacionpsicologica.Historicamente, la Psicologia se preocupo por investigar patologias, descuidandose de los aspectos saludables de los seres humanos. Pero, desde 1998, Cuando Seligman, asumio la presidencia de la American Psychological Association, se inicio el movimiento denominado Psicologia Positiva, cuyo objetivo fue dar una nueva mirada a las potencialidades y virtudes humanas, estudiando las condiciones y los procesos que contribuyen para la prosperidad de los individuos y comunidades. Este articulo presenta y discute esta nueva propuesta cientifica, que promete mejorar la calidad de vida de los individuos y prevenir patologias; asi como indicar las lagunas producidas en las investigaciones de las Ciencias Humanas, sus contribuciones teoricas, empiricas y posibles aplicaciones.

Confirming the Three-Factor Structure of the Disgust Scale—Revised in Eight Countries

The current study evaluates the factor structure of the Disgust Scale—Revised (DS-R) in eight countries: Australia, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States (N = 2,606). Confirmatory factor analysis is used to compare two different models of the DS-R and to investigate the invariance of the factor structure of the DS-R across countries and gender. A three-factor solution consisting of three different but interrelated disgust factors (a 12-item core disgust factor, an 8-item animal-reminder disgust factor, and a 5-item contamination disgust factor) best accounted for the data in all countries except the Netherlands. Relative to the United States, the three-factor solution is invariant in Australia, Brazil, and Japan but not in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The three-factor solution is also invariant across gender in most countries. The implications of these cross-cultural findings for promoting a more valid and reliable assessment of disgust dimensions, as assessed by the DS-R, are discussed.