Effects of Islamist Terror in Muslim Students: Evidence from Turkey in the Wake of the November 2003 Attacks

Following the November 2003 attacks in Turkey by Turkish Islamist extremists, we designed an experiment to assess the religious identification of Turkish Muslim students using the inclusion/exclusion model of social judgment and social identity theory as general frameworks. Students (n = 193) were randomly assigned to experimental groups and then completed a questionnaire about religious identification. Groups varied in terms of the religious labels (i.e. Muslim vs specific religious sects) used for both the attackers and respondents in the introduction to the questionnaire. Results indicate that labeling terrorists as “Muslims” increased the respondents’ religious identification when they focused on their identity as “Muslims”, but decreased it when participants focused on their own sect membership. Regardless of the strength of their identification, being cast into similar categories with Islamist terrorists increased the ambivalence that Turkish citizens felt toward their religious identities. The highest ambivalent identification occurred when both respondents and attackers were categorized as Muslims. This research highlights the benefits and hazards of various identity management strategies that a Muslim society may employ in the face of Islamist terrorism. Future studies should address the changes in religious identification and ambivalent identification over time, and extend the current study to other populations

Family Matters:Rethinking the Psychology of Human Social Motivation

What motives do people prioritize in their social lives? Historically, social psychologists, especially those adopting an evolutionary perspective, have devoted a great deal of research attention to sexual attraction and romantic-partner choice (mate seeking). Research on long-term familial bonds (mate retention and kin care) has been less thoroughly connected to relevant comparative and evolutionary work on other species, and in the case of kin care, these bonds have been less well researched. Examining varied sources of data from 27 societies around the world, we found that people generally view familial motives as primary in importance and mate-seeking motives as relatively low in importance. Compared with other groups, college students, single people, and men place relatively higher emphasis on mate seeking, but even those samples rated kin-care motives as more important. Furthermore, motives linked to long-term familial bonds are positively associated with psychological well-being, but mate-seeking motives are associated with anxiety and depression. We address theoretical and empirical reasons why there has been extensive research on mate seeking and why people prioritize goals related to long-term familial bonds over mating goals. Reallocating relatively greater research effort toward long-term familial relationships would likely yield many interesting new findings relevant to everyday people’s highest social priorities

Fundamental social motives measured across forty-two cultures in two waves

How does psychology vary across human societies? The fundamental social motives framework adopts an evolutionary approach to capture the broad range of human social goals within a taxonomy of ancestrally recurring threats and opportunities. These motives—self-protection, disease avoidance, affiliation, status, mate acquisition, mate retention, and kin care—are high in fitness relevance and everyday salience, yet understudied cross-culturally. Here, we gathered data on these motives in 42 countries (N = 15,915) in two cross-sectional waves, including 19 countries (N = 10,907) for which datawere gathered in both waves. Wave 1 was collected from mid-2016 through late 2019 (32 countries, N = 8,998; 3,302 male, 5,585 female; Mage = 24.43, SD = 7.91). Wave 2 was collected from April through November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic (29 countries, N = 6,917; 2,249 male, 4,218 female; Mage = 28.59, SD = 11.31). These data can be used to assess differences and similarities in people’s fundamental social motives both across and within cultures, at different time points, and in relation to other commonly studied cultural indicators and outcomes

The Interplay between Self-Construal and Regulatory Focus in Decision Making under Risk and Uncertainty

This dissertation examined the motivational and cultural underpinnings of financial decision making under risk and uncertainty, using regulatory fit theory, self-regulatory focus theory, self-construal theory, and prospect theory as guiding frameworks. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, a theoretical model was proposed that sought to resolve existing conceptual questions and debates. Central predictions of the model were the differential implications of two different types of fit, i.e., incidental fit and integral fit, for processing mode (intuitive versus systematic), motivational experiences (feeling right versus task engagement) as well as use of different types of information (emotions versus objective factors). Across two online and offline experiments, incidental fit was operationalized as fit between self-construals and self-regulatory focus, and integral fit as fit between self-regulatory focus and decision context. Specifically, Study 1 used a 2 (self-construal: independent versus interdependent) x 2 (self-regulatory focus: promotion versus prevention) x 2 (decision context: gain versus loss versus mixed-gamble) design and required participants to work on hypothetical scenarios, which assessed changes in risk seeking, risk aversion and loss aversion separately. Study 2 used a 2 (self-construal) x 2 (self-regulatory focus) design but relied on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), in which participants earned real money.Results showed that incidental fit (fit between self-construal and regulatory focus), but not integral fit (fit between decision context and regulatory focus) influenced the processing mode and the type of factors taken into account in financial decision making under risk and uncertainty. Study 1 revealed that incidental fit resulted in more risk-neutral choices, which maximize monetary outcome. However, systematic processing was not consistently related to better decision outcomes, suggesting that incidental fit between independent self-construals and promotion focus, and incidental fit between interdependent self-construals and prevention focus improves decision making independent of processing mode. Results also replicated and extended previous research in that decision context (loss versus gain) influenced risk-taking, motivational experiences, and processing.The discussion explored different theoretical explanations of fit effects, and argued that they are likely the result of increased processing fluency. In light of the experimental findings, a revised model is proposed

The adaptation of Causal Uncertainty Scale into Turkish

Objective: Causal uncertainty is being uncertain about the causes of social events. Causal uncertainty is related with effortful information processing, attributional processes, depression, anxiety, and negative affect. Although causal uncertainty is implicated in relation to many psychiatric as well as clinical and social psychological constructs, a Turkish version of Causal Uncertainty Scale is missing. The present study was carried out in order to translate the Causal Uncertainty Scale into Turkish, and examine its validity and reliability. Methods: It was translated into Turkish by three English-Turkish bilinguals who first worked independently, then worked together. Once a version was agreed upon, the scale was back-translated into English and was found to be equivalent. The final Turkish scale was tested upon 138 university students. Results: Item analysis, factor analysis, and internal reliability tests showed that the Turkish scale was internally reliable. Discriminant and predictive validity tests indicated that the Turkish scale was valid. There were no sex or age differences in Turkish scale, attesting further to its reliability and validity. Discussion: Future studies can use the validated Turkish Causal Uncertainty Scale both to replicate the findings found in other countries and to venture into new research areas

Islamist terrorism as identity threat: the case of ambivalent identification and self-stereotyping among Turkish Muslims

Terrorist attacks committed in 2003 by Turkish Islamist extremists threatened the social identity of Turkish Muslims by associating them with terrorism. Using a 2 x 3 experimental design, we categorized Turkish respondents and terrorists as members of a shared superordinate group ("Muslims") or as members of separate subgroups. When sharing superordinate group membership with terrorists, less identified Turkish respondents experienced ambivalent identification, i.e., they sought to maintain attachment to their group while simultaneously seeking distance from it. Ambivalent identification was reduced when respondents emphasized their typicality as members of a Muslim subgroup that did not include terrorists. The discussion focuses on ambivalent identification as a response to identity threat, and the implications for Islamist terrorism for the social identity of Muslims

Sex and Gender Differences in Achievement Motivation across Cultures

This study examined cross-cultural sex and gender differences in achievement motivation. In contrast to the common intuition that collectivist societies show greater levels of sex differentiation than individualistic societies, we predicted that sex differences would be greater in individualistic countries. Study 1 found partial support for this prediction across five countries. Also, this study demonstrated that regardless of the country's level of individualism, gender roles are better predictors of achievement motivation than sex. Using representative data from 37 countries, Study 2 found individualism to be related to greater sex differences in achievement motivation. The findings of these two studies contributed to the growing cross-cultural literature on sex and gender demonstrating that men and women seem to differ more in individualist societies

The Index of Cultural Tightness and Looseness Among 68 Countries

If a culture is characterized by pervasive norms and sanctioning of deviance from norms, it is a tight culture. In a tight culture, people's values, norms, and behavior are similar to each other. Thus, cultural tightness can be conceptualized as homogeneity in values, norms, and behaviors. As such, the cultural tightness and looseness (CTL) can be captured by SD. In the present study, a theoretical framework to study CTL was suggested. Three different indices of CTL in 68 societies were developed based on cultural-level SDs: a domain-specific index, a domain-general index, and a combination index. The combination CTL index showed the greatest validity compared with the domain-specific index, domain-general index, and another measure based on aggregation of individual-level perceptions. With the CTL index at hand, further theoretical predictions pertaining to the CTL can be tested. In general, wider use of SD was advocated

Can deception be desirable?

Critics of deception in research allege harm to society, the discipline of psychology, the researchers and participants. However, neither empirical findings nor a reasonable-person' test seem to support those allegations. By and large, researchers who use deception consider its costs and benefits, and the kind and degree of deceit that is typically used in psychology is of a benevolent type. Moreover, participants prefer to participate in deception research rather than its non-deceptive alternatives. In the light of these premises, we argue that deception can be desirable, especially when considering cost and benefits to research participants