Monitor on Psychology - February 2012 - (Page 85)

Each year APF grants up to $20,000 to support innovative psychological solutions to pressing human problems including violence, stigma and prejudice, natural and manmade disasters and health conditions. on a physiological level — an area that’s received little research attention to date. In her study, African-American, AsianAmerican and Latino youth will view still images that denote overt and subtle discrimination, racial acceptance, or a neutral stance — a picture of a sign explicitly derogating a group, a store clerk seemingly eyeing a person of color with suspicion, or a face with a neutral expression, for example, while at the same time being presented with a startling noise. Sensors will capture eye blinks as well as physiologic measures of stress such as skin conductance and heart rate. Kiang hopes the findings will broaden our understanding of prejudice’s impact. “Knowing how young adults automatically and physiologically respond to discrimination could provide a more complete picture of how race affects individuals’ lives, and ultimately lead to more concrete and practical interventions for handling and overcoming such experiences,” she says. The other two Visionary grants will look at how ethnopolitical violence affects people and consider how that information can be used to help people cope in the aftermath of such trauma. Clark University Assistant Professor Johanna Ray Vollhardt, PhD, will use her $18,501 award to expand research on victim groups’ reactions to mass violence. She has found that victimized group members develop either an “exclusive” victim consciousness — a focus on the uniqueness of their own group’s suffering — or an “inclusive” victim consciousness — in which they vollhardt perceive similarities among their experiences and those of other groups. These mindsets, she posits, can lead to very different outcomes, ranging from cycles of violence and revenge to more prosocial attitudes and actions, such as supporting international aid to victims of war and genocide. The grant will enable her to validate a measure of these cognitions among four diverse groups, explore factors that shape these mindsets, and gather ideas for future research through focus group interviews and surveys. In a related vein, E. Mark Cummings, PhD, a professor at Notre Dame University, received $16,500 from APF to develop and test Cummings culturally sensitive instruments that will shed light on the relationship between intergroup tension and adolescent mental health outcomes among Serbian and Croatian youth in Vukovar, a divided city in Croatia. The effort is part of a larger study he is conducting with Notre Dame colleagues Christine Merrilees, PhD, and Laura Taylor and colleagues at the University of Zagreb. They seek to understand the psychosocial factors that underlie child, family and community behavior in a conflict setting—how young people’s emotional insecurity about community or ethnic social identity might lead to aggression and delinquency, for instance. They seek to understand the psychosocial factors that underlie child, family and community behaviors. Previous efforts to restore civil societies following political violence have focused largely on agreements between political leaders, Cummings says. By enabling his team to study the reactions of communities and average citizens, the APF grant “may allow us to better understand the obstacles to achieving civil societies and to create more informed and effective interventions,” he says. n Tori DeAngelis is a writer in Syracuse, N.Y. The next deadline for the Visionary and Drs. Raymond A. and Rosalee G. Weiss Research and Program Innovation Fund Grants is March 15. To apply online, visit www.apa.org/apf/funding/vision-weiss. aspx. 85 F e b ru a ry 2 0 1 2 • M o n i t o r o n p s y c h o l o g y http://www.apa.org/apf/funding/vision-weiss.aspx http://www.apa.org/apf/funding/vision-weiss.aspx

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - February 2012

Monitor on Psychology - February 2012
Letters
President’s column
Contents
From the CEO
APA files two briefs in support of same-sex couples
New registry seeks to understand addiction recovery through ‘crowdsourcing’
APA launches a database of tests and measures
Watch for new member benefit: “APA Access”
Apply now for APA’s Advanced Training Institutes
PsycTHERAPY, APA’s new database, brings therapy demos to life
In Brief
APA scientists help guide tobacco regulation
A-mazing research
‘A machine for jumping to conclusions’
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Righting the imbalance
The beginnings of mental illness
Science Directions
Improving disorder classification, worldwide
Protesting proposed changes to the DSM
Interventions for at-risk students
Harnessing the wisdom of the ages
Anti-bullying efforts ramp up
Hostile hallways
R U friends 4 real?
Support for teachers
Speaking of Education
Record keeping for practitioners
Going green
At the intersection of law and psychology
Division Spotlight
Grants help solve society’s problems
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - February 2012