Introduction: social psychology and positive psychology

Introducción al tema monográfico: Psicología social y psicología positiva / Special issue: Social psychology and positive psychologyLa Psicología Positiva surge como una perspectiva científica complementaria a la psicología tradicional, y supone un nuevo modelo centrado en las fortalezas. Implica una nueva forma de analizar los procesos básicos frente a los traumas, trastornos y patologías (o psicología "negativa"). El estudio de las emociones placenteras, el desarrollo de las capacidades y la búsqueda de la felicidad se han convertido en aspectos centrales de la Psicología. El número especial sobre Psicología Positiva de la revista American Psychologist, que Martin Seligman y Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi editaron en 2000, promovió un avance en la investigación científica bajo este paradigma en todos los ámbitos de la Psicología y en la Psicología Social en particular. Los científicos españoles, al igual que los científicos del resto del mundo, han contribuido fuertemente al conocimiento y desarrollo de la Psicología Positiva con gran empuje y amplitud de investigación. Con esta sección monográfica pretendemos analizar el estado de la cuestión en España con investigaciones realizadas en el ámbito de la Psicología Social. En concreto, se presenta una reflexión sobre el análisis psicosocial de la Psicología Positiva, trabajos relativos al bienestar subjetivo, psicológico y social junto a su influencia en las relaciones familiares, la inteligencia emocional y la experiencia de "flow" como experiencia positiva en el trabajoPositive Psychology emerged as a scientific perspective, complementary to traditional psychology, and represents a new model based on personal strengths. It involves a novel way of analysing basic processes dealing with trauma, disorders and pathologies (or "negative" psychology). The study of pleasant emotions, the development of abilities, and the pursuit of happiness has become central to psychology. The special issue on Positive Psychology of the journal American Psychologist, which Martin Seligman and Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi edited in 2000, promoted a breakthrough in scientific research under this paradigm in all areas of Psychology, particularly in Social Psychology. Spanish scientists, just as scientists around the world, have strongly contributed to the understanding and development of Positive Psychology with a great corpus of research. This special issue aims to analyse the state of research in Spain in the field of Social Psychology. Specifically, papers included in this section present a reflection on the psychosocial analysis of positive psychology, on subjective, psychological, and social well-being together with its influence on family relations, emotional intelligence, and the experience of "flow" as a positive work experienc

Women and leadership: Disabled to exercise leadership in public spheres?

Hablar de discapacidad, o incluso de exclusión social de las mujeres en el ámbito público, implica considerar que no están capacitadas para realizar determinadas tareas. Incluso aunque tengan plena capacidad psíquica, física y sensorial, en muchas ocasiones se trata a las mujeres como discapacitadas para ejercer determinadas labores. Esto se visualiza claramente en el porcentaje de mujeres que pueden acceder a puestos de dirección de mayor nivel, en el tipo de organizaciones en el que se producen más dificultades, o en el tipo de atribuciones que se les asigna cuando son ellas las que acceden a un puesto de mayor responsabilidad pública. En este trabajo nos centramos en los estereotipos y las atribuciones causales como variables psicosociales que dificultan que las mujeres sean vistas con plena capacidad para ejercer el liderazgo.To talk on handicap or even social exclusion of women in public affairs implies to regard that they are not able to carry on some tasks. Sometimes, women are regarded as handicapped for some works. This can be clearly seen in the percentage of women in highest level post, the kind of organizations more resultant to incorporate women or the kind of tasks carried on by women on high level posts. In this work we consider the clichés and causal attributions as psychosocial variables that difficult women can be seen as fully able for leadership

In search of a consumer-focused food classification system. An experimental heuristic approach to differentiate degrees of quality

The present paper focuses on the problems that arise in food classification systems (FCSs), especially when the food product type has different levels or grades of quality. Despite the principal function of these systems being to assist the consumer (to inform, clarify and facilitate choice and purchase), they frequently have the opposite effect. Thus, the main aim of the present research involves providing orientations for the design of effective food classification systems. To address this objective, considering the context of food product consumption (related to heuristic processing), we conducted an experimental study with 720 participants. We analysed the usefulness of heuristic elements by a factorial 2 (category length: short and long) × 3 (visual signs: colours, numbers and images) design in relation to recall and recognition activities. The results showed that the elements used to make the classification more effective for consumers vary depending on whether the user seeks to prioritize the recall or the recognition of product categories. Thus, long categories with images significantly improve recognition, and short categories with colours improve recall. A series of recommendations are provided that can help to enhance FCSs and to make them more intuitive and easier to understand for consumers. Implications with regard to theory and practice are discussed

Inteligencia emocional y rendimiento escolar: Estado actual de la cuestión

Una de las líneas de investigación que más interés ha generado en los últimos años, dentro del campo de la Inteligencia Emocional (IE), ha sido el análisis del papel que juegan las emociones en el contexto educativo y, sobre todo, profundizar en la influencia de la variable inteligencia emocional a la hora de determinar tanto el éxito académico de los estudiantes como su adaptación escolar. En los últimos años, se han realizado numerosos estudios con el propósito de analizar la relación existente entre inteligencia emocional y rendimiento académico. Sin embargo, los resultados se muestran inconsistentes debido a la falta de consenso en cuanto a la definición, operacionalización del constructo y la metodología tan diversa que presentan los estudios. En este trabajo, analizaremos la relación entre IE y el rendimiento académico así como los objetivos y beneficios de la implementación de programas de alfabetización emocional en los centros educativos

The importance of emotional intelligence and cognitive style in institutionalized older adults’ quality of life.

Despite previous evidence showing a positive relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and quality of life (QoL), associating older adults’ emotional processing with several health indicators, few studies have explored both the IE and the mechanisms through which they affect QoL. This cross-sectional study analyzes themediator role of optimistic and pessimistic cognitive styles in the relationship between perceived EI (PEI) and QoL in 115 institutionalized older adults from Southern Spain. Regression analyses showed, after controlling for cognitive style, that PEI predicted a significant percentage of variance in: Health (β = .25, p < .01), Functional abilities (β = .20, p < .05), Activity and leisure (β =.17, p<.05) and Life satisfaction (β =.21, p<.05). Additionally, multiplemediation analysis revealed that cognitive style partially mediated the relationship between PEI and Health, Activity and leisure and Life satisfaction. Thus, PEI could promote personal but not external or environmental QoL aspects, highlighting the importance of developing emotional skills for healthy aging.pre-print511 K

Gene Expression Profiling in Lungs of Chronic Asthmatic Mice Treated with Galectin-3: Downregulation of Inflammatory and Regulatory Genes

Background. Asthma is a disorder characterized by a predominance of Th2 cells and eosinophilic inflammation. Suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins act as negative regulators of cytokine signaling. In particular, SOCS1 and SOCS3 play an important role in immune response by controlling the balance between Th1 and Th2 cells. In a previous study, we demonstrated that treatment of chronic asthmatic mice with gene therapy using plasmid encoding galectin-3 (Gal-3) led to an improvement in Th2 allergic inflammation. Methods. Using a microarray approach, this study endeavored to evaluate the changes produced by therapeutic Gal-3 delivered by gene therapy in a well-characterized mouse model of chronic airway inflammation. Results were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemical analysis. Results. We identify a set of genes involved in different pathways whose expression is coordinately decreased/increased in mice treated with Gal-3 gene therapy. We report a correlation between Gal-3 treatment and inhibition of SOCS1 and SOCS3 expression in lungs. Conclusion. These results suggest that negative regulation of SOCS1 and 3 following Gal-3 treatment could be a valuable therapeutic approach in allergic disease

Actitudes hacia el consumo de aceite de oliva entre los jóvenes gaditanos

La actual situación por la que atraviesa el sector oleícola andaluz, aquejado por unos reducidos precios en origen del aceite de oliva, hace necesaria la adopción urgente de medidas que permitan asegurar la supervivencia y la rentabilidad futura de los oleicultores. Por ello, una de las alternativas pasa por determinar cómo podemos desarrollar entre los jóvenes consumidores un firme comportamiento de compra hacia este producto, contribuyendo a incrementar el futuro nivel de demanda. El propósito central de este trabajo será analizar cuál es el papel de las actitudes en el desarrollo de una conducta de compra del aceite de oliva. Para ello, tomamos como punto de partida la denominada Teoría de la Acción Razonada (Ajzen y Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein y Ajzen, 1975). Los resultados obtenidos nos permiten destacar como aquellos individuos cuya frecuencia de uso se presenta más elevada, desarrollan una intención de compra más sólida. Por tanto, recomendamos la realización en la provincia de Cádiz de actividades de promoción del aceite de oliva, al ostentar uno de los primeros puestos como destino turístico en Andalucía, lo cual supone un magnífico escaparate de divulgación de la cultura del olivar y del aceite de oliva, en particular

Suppressors of Cytokine Signaling 3 Expression in Eosinophils: Regulation by PGE2 and Th2 Cytokines

Asthma and nonasthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis (NAEB) are respiratory disorders characterized by a predominance of Th2 cells and eosinophilic inflammation. Suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins play an important role in Th2-mediated allergic responses through control of the balance between Th1 and Th2 cells, particularly, SOCS3 and SOCS5. The aim of this study was to analyze SOCS expression in human peripheral blood eosinophils from patients with asthma, NAEB and healthy controls. SOCS expression in eosinophils from subjects was demonstrated by different techniques. Results showed that expression of SOCS3 in eosinophils and CD4 T cells from patients was higher than in healthy subjects. In addition, we demonstrated that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and Th2 cytokines are able to upregulate SOCS3 production in eosinophils and attenuate its degranulation. In conclusion, eosinophils are able to transcribe and translate SOCS3 protein and can contribute to the regulation of the Th1/Th2 balance through SOCS3 production

Social Support and Emotional Intelligence as Protective Resources for Well-Being in Moroccan Adolescents.

This study aimed to test a structural model to examine the protective role of psychosocial variables, such as social support, emotional intelligence and their interaction, on the cognitive dimension of subjective positive well-being (life satisfaction) and negative well-being (depression) in Moroccan adolescents. The participants consisted of 1277 students (571 men, 694 women and 12 missing values) with a mean age of 16.15 years (SD = 2.22; range = 9 to 23) who attended 26 public schools in different territories of Morocco. These students were in secondary education (n = 893) and high school (n = 378) (6 missing values). The scales for measuring the variables of interest had to be adapted and validated as a previous step for the further proposal of a model of relations. Statistical analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the proposed model. The model that optimally adjusted the data confirmed the protective role of social support in the well-being of Moroccan adolescents. Consistent with previous studies, social support was directly related to well-being. However, it also modulated levels of satisfaction with life. Likewise, the inclusion of emotional intelligence as an additional protective factor contributed to the explanation of the well-being mechanisms in adolescents. In addition to direct associations with the levels of social support, satisfaction with life and depression (negative in the latter case), emotional intelligence participated in a complex chain affecting life satisfaction and life satisfaction affecting depression. Moreover, the interaction of emotional intelligence with social support was confirmed to determine levels of life satisfaction in adolescents. Specifically, social support multiplied the effects of the relationship between satisfaction with life and emotional intelligence in cases of moderate and high levels in Moroccan adolescents. This study fills a gap in the literature by adapting and further analyzing several scales with Moroccan samples of adolescents and by proposing and verifying a relational model that can help researchers and teachers to more precisely clarify these relations according to their context. The enhancement of protective factors, such as social support and emotional intelligence, will promote healthy youth development, thus creating healthier societies in the future.pre-print1494 K

CSIC Commission for Women and Science (November 2023)

Spanish version: Mayoral Gastón, María del Carmen; López Sala, Ana María; Zafra, Remedios; Suárez González, Teresa; Garcés, Esther ; Pozo-Bayón, Mª Ángeles; Campillo, Nuria E.; Olmo Orozco, Ascensión; Faraldos, Marisol; González-Sampériz, Penélope; Criado-Boado, Felipe; Valdés-Solís Iglesias, Teresa; Cuesta Ruiz, María; Comisión de Mujeres y Ciencia del CSIC. Recomendaciones para la inclusión del género en los contenidos de investigación. https://doi.org/10.20350/digitalCSIC/15694Following the recommendations of the European research institutions, research should be considered as a complete cycle that includes the impact of results on society, economy, business opportunities, creativity, innovation, the use of resources, end-users, local or global development, the environment, etc., and it is in these aspects that the inclusion of gender considerations brings quality to research. The analysis about the different needs, attitudes and preferences of both genders increases the social relevance and quality of scientific development reached. The Commission for Women and Science already pointed out in 2015 and 2018 the need to receive training for the adequate inclusion of gender issues in research contents. In this way, the available materials such as tools for that purpose were revised and the delivery of a specific in-house CSIC training course was promoted. In general, there is great difficulty (and also some resistance) in applying the gender dimension in research content. The Commission for Women and Science presents this informal guide to help applicants to complete gender mainstreaming issues in contents, for both national and European calls, contributing to the objectives of the 3rd Equality Plan (AXIS 7) and CSIC’S HRS4R (Action 17) strategy.Peer reviewe