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Psychological insight as an effect of inspiring narratives: validating the psychological insight self-report scale
Abstract
This article presents the results of two experiments in which participants were exposed to audiovisual narratives (Study 1, N = 245) and to short written narratives (Study 2, N = 360) with high or low inspiring potential so as to validate a measurement instrument to assess psychological insight (Psychological Insight Self-Report Scale). Insight is defined as a reception process involving sudden discovery and the sensation of experiencing a state of enlightenment or inner revelation through exposure to inspiring narratives. The results of our research confirm the structural , criterion, construct, and incremental validity of the scale. Our work furthers the advancement of media entertainment research regarding the impact of eudaimonic messages by providing a new construct (psychological insight) to explain the effects of inspiring narratives.
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Background:
Validity is a core topic in educational and psychological assessment. Although there are many available resources describing the concept of validity, sources of validity evidence, and suggestions about how to obtain validity evidence; there is little guidance providing specific instructions for planning and carrying out validation studies.
Method:
In this paper we describe (a) the fundamental principles underlying test validity, (b) the process of validation, and (c) practical guidance for practitioners to plan and carry out sufficient validity research to support the use of a test for its intended purposes.
Results:
We first define validity, describe sources of validity evidence, and provide examples where each of these sources are addressed. Then, we describe a validation agenda describing steps and tasks for planning and developing validation studies.
Conclusions:
Finally, we discuss the importance of addressing validation studies from a comprehensive approach.
The present review examines whether commonalities and differences can be detected in the content of eudaimonic entertainment. We focused on two features: the fundamental human needs that were threatened, and the specific virtues that were portrayed. The results showed that the examined materials often included a combination of portrayals of threats to the fundamental human needs for safety, health and relatedness, and portrayals of the virtue of humanity, like love and kindness. Two subcategories could be distinguished in the materials, one in which the focus is on the portrayal of virtue as an answer to threatened needs, and one in which the focus is on the portrayal of threatened needs in which characters struggle even though they also have virtue.
In proposing a model of three processes triggered by media content – evocation, transcendence, and motivation – this study seeks to define what kinds of media content can lead to a state of inspiration. Specifically, during the evocation process, media content moves people and then provokes their thoughts to a greater extent; in the transcendence process, it generates more hopeful feelings and then elicits a greater sense of self-expansion; and in the motivation process, media content generates more feelings of vitality and then motivates people to act like the characters (i.e., emulate them) to a greater degree. All three multi-stage routes might lead to greater inspiration. Two pilot studies identify three common content themes that inspire people, such that they demonstrate people’s moral virtues, transformation (i.e., overcoming difficulties through perseverance despite adversity), and creativity. The experiment in Study 1 tests the proposed process model using feature stories in news programs that demonstrate moral virtues, transformation, and creativity by exemplars. A second experiment in Study 2 provides a further test by comparing competition shows that involve different levels of creativity (cooking, singing, quizzes). Media content involving more creativity inspires viewers to a greater degree, through all three processes. Click here for free online copies: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/GCKJHCPIU26H9KASGEAW/full?target=10.1080/15213269.2022.2097927
The insight phenomenon is thought to comprise two components: cognitive and affective (the Aha! experience). The exact nature of the Aha! experience remains unclear; however, several explanations have been put forward. Based on the processing fluency account, the source of the Aha! experience is a sudden increase in processing fluency, associated with emerging of a solution. We hypothesized that in a situation which the Aha! experience accompanies the solution in, the problem would be judged as less difficult, regardless of the objective difficulty. We also planned to confirm previously discovered associations between the Aha! experience and accuracy, confidence, and pleasure. To test the proposed hypothesis, during the preliminary stage of the study, we developed a set of 100 remote associate problems in Russian (RAT-RUS) and asked 125 participants to solve problems and indicate the Aha! moment (after solution generation or solution presentation), confidence, difficulty, and likability of each problem. As expected, the Aha! experience often accompanied correct solutions and correlated with confidence judgments. We also found a positive correlation between the Aha! experience and problem likability. As for the main hypothesis, we confirmed that the Aha! experience after the presentation of the solution was associated with a decrease in subjective difficulty. When participants could not solve a problem but experienced the Aha! moment after the solution was presented to them, the problem was perceived as easier than one without the Aha! experience. We didn’t find the same effect for the Aha! after solution generation. Thus, our study partially supports the processing fluency account and demonstrates the association between the Aha! experience and metacognitive judgments about the accuracy and difficulty of problems.
Research on moral elevation has steadily increased and identified several psychosocial benefits that bear relevance to both the general population and people with psychological distress. However, elevation measurement is inconsistent, and few state-level measures have been created and critically evaluated to date. To address this gap, the State Moral Elevation Scale (SMES) was developed and tested using an online sample (N = 930) including subsamples of general participants (nonclinical) and those who screened positive for mental health symptoms (clinical). Factor analysis indicated a single factor structure with nine items that demonstrated excellent reliability. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis indicated good fit statistics and strict measurement invariance across clinical and nonclinical subsamples. Lastly, correlational analyses with related constructs provided evidence of construct validity for both subsamples. Thus, the SMES is a psychometrically valid and reliable assessment tool for state-level elevation which can be used in both general and clinical populations.
The design of campaigns for the improvement of intergroup attitudes requires innovative approaches that consider both the characteristics of the messages and the psychological processes they evoke. This work addresses the study of factors that increase the persuasive effectiveness of testimonial messages aimed at improving attitudes towards stigmatized immigrants. An experiment was conducted using a representative sample of 443 participants of Spanish origin on the effect of similarity to the protagonist and the narrative voice. Two mediating mechanisms (identification with the protagonist and cognitive elaboration) were evaluated, and the indirect effect of the two independent variables was studied with respect to two dependent variables: the attitude towards immigration and the intention to collaborate with NGOs to support immigrants. Similarity to the protagonist of the narrative message increased identification only when the participants read the version written in the first person. In addition, a conditional process model was tested, revealing that identification increased cognitive elaboration, which, in turn, was associated with a more favorable attitude towards immigration and a greater intention to collaborate with immigrant support organizations. This study highlights the relevance of the characteristics of narrative messages to increase affective (identification) and cognitive (elaboration) processes that explain their persuasive impact. The results are discussed in the context of research on narrative persuasion and the design of campaigns for the prevention of racism and xenophobia.
Introduction
As their name suggests, ‘psychedelic’ (mind-revealing) compounds are thought to catalyse processes of psychological insight; however, few satisfactory scales exist to sample this. This study sought to develop a new scale to measure psychological insight after a psychedelic experience: the Psychological Insight Scale (PIS).
Methods
The PIS is a six- to seven-item questionnaire that enquires about psychological insight after a psychedelic experience (PIS-6) and accompanied behavioural changes (PIS item 7). In total, 886 participants took part in a study in which the PIS and other questionnaires were completed in a prospective fashion in relation to a planned psychedelic experience. For validation purposes, data from 279 participants were analysed from a non-specific ‘global psychedelic survey’ study.
Results
Principal components analysis of PIS scores revealed a principal component explaining 73.57% of the variance, which displayed high internal consistency at multiple timepoints throughout the study (average Cronbach’s α = 0.94). Criterion validity was confirmed using the global psychedelic survey study, and convergent validity was confirmed via the Therapeutic-Realizations Scale. Furthermore, PIS scores significantly mediated the relationship between emotional breakthrough and long-term well-being.
Conclusion
The PIS is complementary to current subjective measures used in psychedelic studies, most of which are completed in relation to the acute experience. Insight – as measured by the PIS – was found to be a key mediator of long-term psychological outcomes following a psychedelic experience. Future research may investigate how insight varies throughout a psychedelic process, its underlying neurobiology and how it impacts behaviour and mental health.
Scholars have increasingly explored the ways that media content can touch, move, and inspire audiences, leading to numerous beneficial outcomes including increased feelings of connectedness to and heightened motivations for doing good for others. Although this line of inquiry is relatively new, sufficient evidence and patterns of results have emerged such that a clearer picture of the inspiring media experience is coming into focus. This article has two primary goals. First, we seek to synthesize the existing research into a working and evolving model of inspiring media experiences reflecting five interrelated and symbiotic elements: exposure, message factors, responses, outcomes, and personal/situational factors. The model also identifies theoretical mechanisms underlying the previously observed positive effects. Secondly, the article explores situations in which, and precipitating factors present, when these hoped-for outcomes either fail to materialize or result in negative or maladaptive responses and outcomes. Ultimately, the model is proposed as a heuristic roadmap for future scholarship and as an invitation for critique and collaboration in the emerging field of positive media psychology.
Abundant literature shows the effects of negative emotions on motivations to engage in collective action (i.e., to collectively mobilize personal resources to achieve a common objective), as well as their influence on the creation of shared identities. In this proposal, we focus on the possible role of Self-Transcendent Emotions (STEs) defined as positive-valence emotions that have been key in the creation and maintenance of collective identities, as well as in promoting individuals well-being. In detail, we examine their influence in (a) strengthening a global identification, (b) increasing willingness to collectively help others, and (c) improving people’s wellbeing. For this reason, we conducted a preliminary literature review of k = 65 independent studies on the effects of STEs on connection to others. Through this review (fully available in Supplementary Materials ), we selected a sample of STEs (Awe, Elevation, and Kama Muta) and elicitors to conduct a video-base study. In it, 1,064 university students from 3 different cultural regions (from Spain and Ecuador) were randomized to answer one of three STE scales (i.e., each measuring one of the selected STEs), and evaluate three videos in random order (i.e., each prototypical for the selected STEs). Participants also answered a measure of global identification and intentions to collectively help others (after each video), as well as self-transcendent and well-being (at the end of the survey). Results from SEM analyses show these STEs motivated a fusion of identity with all humanity, as well as collective intentions to help others, even controlling for individuals’ value orientations. In addition, the three of them indirectly increased participants’ well-being through a higher global identity. While there are differences among them, these three STEs share common elements and their effects are constant across the different cultural regions. It is concluded that Awe, Elevation, and Kama Muta, even individually experienced, have a significant potential to influence people’s behavior. Specifically, in various forms of collective action aimed at helping others.
Applying a dual-process rationale, this study explored the cognitive and affective mechanisms involved in the processing of hedonic versus eudaimonic film clips and their putatively distinct inspirational effects. The two types of narratives were operationalized in terms of complete and incomplete goal satisfaction in the film endings. Participants either watched the final boxing match from Rocky , where the protagonist loses the fight, but achieves self-mastery and finds love (eudaimonic narrative) or from Rocky II , where he wins against his opponent (hedonic narrative). A combination of continuous measures of how pleasant participants felt (slider ratings) and psychophysiological measures (heart rate, galvanic skin response [GSR], pulse volume amplitude [PVA]) indicating cognitive load and arousal was used to track the audience responses while watching a compilation of the same intro and the different fight versions. Results revealed that arousal was more strongly associated with participants’ affective scores during the hedonic (winning) version than during the eudaimonic (losing) one. Furthermore, participants experience more positive affect and arousal after watching the protagonist win the match compared to those that watched him lose. Lastly, participants in the eudaimonic condition were more likely to be inspired to exercise afterward. Implications of our results are discussed.
This Open Access book tracks the latest trends in the theory, research, and practice of entertainment-education, the field of communication that incorporates social change messaging into entertaining media. Sometimes called edutainment, social impact television, narrative persuasion, or cultural strategy, this approach to social and behavior change communication offers new opportunities including transmedia and digital formats. However, making media can be a chaotic process. The realities of working in the field and the rigid structures of scholarly evaluation often act as barriers to honest accounts of entertainment-education practice. In this collection of essays, experienced practitioners offer unique insight into how entertainment-education works and present a balanced view of its potential pitfalls. This book gives readers an opportunity to learn from the successes and mistakes of the experts, taking a behind-the-scenes look at the business of making entertainment-education media.
Narrative messages are increasingly being used in the field of tobacco prevention. Our study is based on narrative persuasion and aims to analyze the psychological mechanisms that explain why the narrative voice is relevant to promote persuasive impact. An online experiment with a 2 (narrative voice) × 2 (message) factorial design was carried out. Participants (525 adult smokers) were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions (first-person versus third-person narrative message). To increase the external validity of the study, two different messages were used within each condition. After reading the narrative message the mediating and dependent variables were evaluated. Participants who read the narrative in the first person experienced greater identification. Moreover, mediational analysis showed that both counterarguing and cognitive elaboration played a significant role in the relationship between narrative voice, identification, and persuasive impact. This study confirm that narrative voice is not only an anecdotal formal choice but that it indirectly affects variables related to tobacco prevention, due to the fact that first-person messages activate a mechanism of affective connection with the message (increasing the identification with the protagonist) that decreases resistance to prevention (the counterarguing process) while simultaneously stimulating reflection or cognitive elaboration.
Eudaimonic entertainment, which motivates a reflection on topics such as virtue or meaning, has many benefits, such as fostering wellbeing and inspiring prosocial behavior. Yet, it may also have a darker side when Islamic extremists use accordant elements in online propaganda. So far, this “dark inspiration” has attracted little scholarly interest. The current article fills this gap via a mixed-methods case study of an Islamic extremist influencer on Instagram. The study combined a qualitative content analysis of the account’s postings from 2016 to 2018 (n = 301 posts), with a hierarchical cluster analysis and digital data on aggregated user response to these posts. I found four types of post, ranging from calls for conservativism to calls for violent jihad. Different eudaimonic cues were used in all four types. Likes and comments varied as a function of type, with the violence promoting posts motivating the largest number of user responses.
Self-transcendent media experiences are thought to involve cognitive engagement and mixed affect, leading to psychological well-being. The current study investigated whether these characteristics were reflected in viewers’ psychophysiological responses and sharing intentions. Multilevel model analyses revealed that viewers (n = 57) allocated more cognitive resources to encoding (heart rate), experienced greater physiological arousal (skin conductance level), and less positive but greater negative affect (facial electromyography), and were more motivated to share content (prosociality) when exposed to self-transcendent videos relative to humorous videos. Moreover, specific self-transcendent portrayals (appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, and hope) elicited greater cognitive effort and mixed affect relative to the average response of these videos. In line with emotional flow, cognitive resources increased after the transformational scene in each self-transcendent video, which was accompanied by a negative-to-positive emotional trajectory shift wherein negative emotion remained statistically the same but positive emotion increased. The current study provides initial evidence for theoretical development into the ways that self-transcendent content and narrative structure influence cognitive and affective responses and prosocial intentions.
Este artículo aborda la emoción de autotrascendencia
de elevación o inspiración moral, con el
fin de examinarla su estudio a través de un enfoque
multidimensional que abarca evaluaciones, reacciones
afectivas, corporales, cognitivo-subjetivas y tendencias
de acción, comprendidas en los estudios revisados.
A través de dos estudios, se desarrolla una batería de
instrumentos que consisten en un modelo de medir
elevación mediante el recuerdo libre y un segundo,
con una lista de eventos y una escala cerrada de 19
ítems. Con esta última, se presentan los análisis de
fiabilidad y validez pertinentes, utilizando como criterios
medidas de emociones (Fredrickson, 2009), valores de
universalidad y benevolencia (Schwartz, 2007), creencias
de espiritualidad-religiosidad (Piedmont, 2004),
identificación con una supra categoría de identidad (de
Rivera, 2016), y bienestar (Hervás & Vázquez, 2013).
Finalmente, se discuten las potencialidades y limitaciones
con el objetivo de facilitar líneas futuras de investigación.
Having a sudden insight is often associated with inherent confidence, enough for Archimedes to run nakedthrough the streets shouting “Eureka!”. Recent evidence demonstrates that public displays of enthusiasm, suchas the ancient polymath’s, are actually supported by a higher likelihood of being correct.
We propose that the dark triad of personality predicts how recipients respond to eudaimonic narratives (stories dealing with purpose in life, the human condition, and human virtue). Matched eudaimonic or non-eudaimonic videos were presented via random assignment. The more individuals lack empathy and organize their world around self-promotion – reflected in the so-called dark triad of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy – the more they perceived the eudaimonic stories (vs. control) to be inauthentic and corny (perceived corniness). This effect translated to a more negative overall evaluation of the eudaimonic videos (moderated mediation). Self-reported feelings of being touched, moved, and inspired (meaningful affect) were largely unaffected by the dark triad, suggesting that these personality factors do not disable emotional responses to eudaimonic narratives.
Despite the increased attention to eudaimonic media experiences, to date scholars have paid little attention to the specific portrayals responsible for those experiences. Study 1 of this project reports the first systematic content analysis of self-transcendent media—a particular type of eudaimonic media—using a sample of 100 “inspirational” YouTube videos. The presence of 20 specific elicitors associated with self-transcendent emotions was examined and reported. In Study 2, respondents provided real-time self-transcendent emotional reactions while viewing 3 “inspirational” videos. As expected, ratings significantly increased immediately following exposure to each specific elicitor. Thus, this project reports the first empirical evidence directly linking specific representations to content identified as “inspirational” and directly linking those representations to self-transcendent emotional reactions.
In this article we review the emerging literature on the self-transcendent emotions. We discuss how the self-transcendent emotions differ from other positive emotions and outline the defining features of this category. We then provide an analysis of three specific self-transcendent emotions—compassion, gratitude, and awe—detailing what has been learned about their expressive behavior, physiology, and likely evolutionary origins. We propose that these emotions emerged to help humans solve unique problems related to caretaking, cooperation, and group coordination in social interactions. In our final section we offer predictions about the self-transcendent emotions that can guide future research.
The results of a research on the impact of films on immigration in attitudes towards immigration are presented. A
quasi-experimental study with 142 high school students was carried out, establishing two conditions: watching a movie that emphasized discrimination and empathy reactions towards immigrants (Poniente) or watching a movie that emphasized the positive intergroup contact between ingroup and out-group characters (El Próximo Oriente). A
month before viewing the movies participants filled a questionnaire that contained a scale to measure modern racism. Immediately after viewing the movies identification with ingroup and out-group characters, attitude towards immigration and other relevant reception processes were measured. It was observed that the film designed to stimulate empathy towards immigrants provoked greater identification with out-group characters, which in turn induced more positive attitudes towards immigration, but only when modern racism was low
or moderate.
Research on non-hedonic entertainment suggests the experience of elevation as an important construct leading to beneficial outcomes such as prosocial motivation. This study builds on first findings in this realm by distinguishing between different meaningful media contents. In a 3 × 4 between-subjects online experiment, we varied type of video (beauty of the earth, unity of humankind, portrayals of human kindness, and funny control videos) and context of proliferation (presentation on an unknown video platform or on YouTube with low vs high number of views). Meaningful videos indeed led to greater elevation, more universal orientation, and prosocial motivation—with videos showing human kindness standing out against other forms of meaningful videos. Human kindness videos additionally fostered more positive attitudes toward stereotyped groups—mediated by the feeling of elevation and the subsequent feeling of universal orientation.
Theories of eudaimonic entertainment and destigmatization concur to suggest that empathic feelings elicited by portrayals of Paralympic athletes can increase audience interest in para-sports and can lead to prosocial attitude change toward persons with disabilities in general. Three experiments were conducted to examine this dual, mutually reinforcing function of empathy in promoting public awareness and destigmatization. Participants watched television spots about the Paralympics that elicited different levels of empathy. As expected, structural equation modeling revealed indirect effects of empathy on audience interest, attitudes, and behavioral intentions that were mediated by elevation and reflective thoughts (Studies 1 and 2), and by feelings of closeness, elevation, and pity (Study 3). Mediation effects were positive for reflective thoughts, elevation, and closeness, but were negative for pity. Results are discussed with regard to problematic effects of pity, and concerns that elevating “supercrip” narratives might lead to negative perceptions of persons with disabilities in general.
The purpose of this review was to come closer to answering the question why insight gained in psychotherapy does not necessarily lead to a change in patient’s behaviour. The review of literature on the subject of insight allowed us to distinguish two types of insight: “more intellectual than emotional” (I-e) and “more emotional than intellectual” (E-i). In addition, we differentiated E-i insight with a component of negative emotions (aversive) and with a component of positive emotions (corrective). We assumed that each type of insight would motivate the patient to change their behaviour in a different way. The I-e insight makes it easier for the patient to achieve concrete adaptive goals, the E-i aversive insight discourages them from attaining maladaptive goals, while the E-i corrective insight encourages them to form and follow adaptive goals. We also analysed the influence on behaviour change of some other factors, co-occurring with insight: the therapeutic relationship, the actions of the patient and his narrative motivation. Insight does not always lead to a change in behaviour because: 1) the type of the insight does not match the type of patient’s motivation; 2) insight occurs in the context of a weak therapeutic relationship or is not reinforced by the patient’s actions; 3) insight is not a key factor of change, but rather its effect or indicator.
Expanding on the research of meaningful entertainment media and its effects, this study investigated the relationship between experiences related to elevation responses to film. Whereas research thus far has focused primarily on portrayals of altruism to elicit elevation, the results of this study show that portrayals of connectedness, love, and kindness in meaningful films are also able to elicit feelings of elevation. Moreover, elevation mediated the relationship between meaningful films and feelings of connectedness toward the transcendent, close others, and toward one’s family; compassionate love toward close others; and compassionate motivation to love and be good to humanity. The study demonstrates the potential of meaningful films to increase experiences of connectedness to the transcendent, which ultimately can enhance our concern about the well-being of others, and motivation to be more compassionate even to strangers. Implications for the scholarship of positive media psychology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)
This book discusses the conditions under which stories we view on screens—movies, streamed series, and television—can lead to moral understanding in viewers. Moral understanding goes beyond moral knowledge; it is a complex cognitive achievement that may consist of the ability to understand why, to ask the right questions, to categorize, to apply general models to specific incidents, and/or to make connections between morally charged situations that have a common underlying meaning. The authors approach the topic from the disciplinary perspectives of communication, psychology, philosophy, and film and media studies. This book is a first attempt to initiate interdisciplinary cooperation in this area. The authors make different grounding assumptions and use different terminologies, all while making progress on this issue. This interdisciplinary coverage makes this book uniquely interesting. Part I considers the nature of moral understanding in relation to screen stories. Part II describes transfer and cultivation, the means by which moving-image fictions can transfer knowledge to and cultivate perspectives in viewers. This perspective also considers the particular visual and aural means of communication employed in screen stories. Part III describes the role of affect in generating moral understanding and the implications of the viewer’s engagement with fictional characters. Part IV examines the role of the viewer’s engagement with fictional characters in moral understanding. Part V considers what we do with screen stories after viewing them, and traces how various institutions encourage and direct postfilm reflection.
This study addresses the factors that increase the persuasive impact of entertainment – education (EE) narrative messages designed to improve attitudes toward immigrants. Specifically, the effect of the demographic similarity between the protagonist of the narrative message (a transitional character) and the audience is studied. Three online experiments were carried out simultaneously in Greece (N = 286), Italy (N = 295), and Spain (N = 294) to evaluate the indirect effect of demographic similarity on identification with the protagonist through perceived similarity, as well as the specific indirect effects on attitude, perceived threat, intergroup anxiety, and prosocial behavior toward immigrants, while including perceived similarity, identification, meaningful affect, and cognitive elaboration as mediating mechanisms. The
results obtained in the three countries were in accordance, indicating that demographic similarity increased perceived similarity and, in turn, identification. Furthermore, identification was associated with greater cognitive elaboration and meaningful affect, and both processes, in turn, were associated with more positive
attitudes toward immigrants (in all three countries) and also with less perceived threat and more prosocial behavior (in two countries). The findings are discussed in relation to the reduction of prejudice using EE narratives that inspire audiences through
cognitive and emotional processes.
Media effects have been studied for decades. However, it is still unclear how to assess the dynamic nature of media effects methodologically and analytically. Building on recent research on media effects and developments in statistical modeling, I present a methodological framework to provide a detailed analysis of media effect dynamics. To do so, I describe general patterns for the appearance and the duration of media effects and present statistical approaches to analyze them. Using artificial data, I illustrate how these statistical approaches can be applied to longitudinal data and show how they behave across different data scenarios. Further, extensions, limitations, and the theoretical contribution of the framework to the field of media effects research are discussed. In sum, the presented framework can be used to test various communication theories and can be combined with many research designs in order to identify patterns in the appearance and duration of media effects.
This article provides a 20-year, apples-to-apples update of the National Television Violence Studies. Using the same sampling procedures and codebook, we coded 765 primetime television programs and movies airing on 21 broadcast and cable networks. Results suggest the prevalence of violence has increased slightly, but the number of programs saturated with violence has experienced a more significant increase. This appears to be driven by an influx of highly violent movies airing in primetime on cable channels. Although some contextual variables suggest slight improvements in terms of negative consequences for violence, the overwhelming majority of violent television programs and movies do not feature anti-violence themes. Implications for social cognitive, cultivation, schema, transportation, and media vividness theories are discussed.
In everyday life, we mainly solve problems with a conscious solution search (non-insight). However, sometimes a perplexing problem is resolved by a quantum leap in understanding. This phenomenon is known as the Aha! experience (insight). Although insight has a distinct phenomenological and behavioral signature, its driving mechanism remains debated. Weisberg (2015) proposed an integrated theory of insight arguing that insight, like non-insight, mainly depends on conscious, cognitive operations with restructuring as a distinguishing feature of insight. However, only if those operations lead to an impasse, insight is achieved through unconscious processes. We assessed some of the premises of this theory by asking participants (N = 42) to solve 70 word puzzles (CRAT) that can either be solved with insight or non-insight. For each puzzle, participants indicated word puzzle difficulty, solution confidence, solution suddenness, and the experiences of impasse and restructuring. As expected, participants reported higher suddenness of and confidence in insight solutions than non-insightful ones. Surprisingly, we could not corroborate the otherwise consistently reported higher solution accuracy and faster solution speed for insight. Crucially, as suggested by the integrated theory of insight, impasse was not a prerequisite for insight to occur. Although restructuring, indeed, preceded insight solutions more often, it seemed a more general problem-solving skill also applied for non-insight solutions. Moreover, early on, participants reported an increased experience of problem difficulty for puzzles later solved with insight. This ability to report on the solution search of insight demonstrates that, as proposed by the theory, insight involves conscious, cognitive operations.
This new text provides a state-of the-art introduction to educational and psychological testing and measurement theory that reflects many intellectual developments of the past two decades. The book introduces psychometric theory using a latent variable modeling (LVM) framework and emphasizes interval estimation throughout, so as to better prepare readers for studying more advanced topics later in their careers. Featuring numerous examples, it presents an applied approach to conducting testing and measurement in the behavioral, social, and educational sciences. Readers will find numerous tips on how to use test theory in today's actual testing situations.To reflect the growing use of statistical software in psychometrics, the authors introduce the use of Mplus after the first few chapters. IBM SPSS, SAS, and R are also featured in several chapters. Software codes and associated outputs are reviewed throughout to enhance comprehension. Essentially all of the data used in the book are available on the website. In addition instructors will find helpful PowerPoint lecture slides and questions and problems for each chapter.The authors rely on LVM when discussing fundamental concepts such as exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, test theory, generalizability theory, reliability and validity, interval estimation, nonlinear factor analysis, generalized linear modeling, and item response theory. The varied applications make this book a valuable tool for those in the behavioral, social, educational, and biomedical disciplines, as well as in business, economics, and marketing. A brief introduction to R is also provided.Intended as a text for advanced undergraduate and/or graduate courses in psychometrics, testing and measurement, measurement theory, psychological testing, and/or educational and/or psychological measurement taught in departments of psychology, education, human development, epidemiology, business, and marketing, it will also appeal to researchers in these disciplines. Prerequisites include an introduction to statistics with exposure to regression analysis and ANOVA. Familiarity with SPSS, SAS, STATA, or R is also beneficial. As a whole, the book provides an invaluable introduction to measurement and test theory to those with limited or no familiarity with the mathematical and statistical procedures involved in measurement and testing.
Narrative Absorption brings together research from the social sciences and Humanities to solve a number of mysteries: Most of us will have had those moments, of being totally absorbed in a book, a movie, or computer game. Typically we do not have any idea about how we ended up in such a state. Nor do we fully realize how we might have changed as we return for the fictional worlds we have visited. The feeling of being absorbed is one of the most illusive and transient feelings, but also one that motivates audiences to spend considerable amounts of time in narrative worlds, and one that is central to our understanding of the effects of narratives on beliefs and behavior. Key specialists inform the reader of this book about the nature of the peculiar state of consciousness during episodes of absorption, the perception of absorption in history, the role of absorption in meaningful experiences with narratives, the relation with related phenomena such as suspense and identification, issues of measurement, and the practical implications, for instance in education-entertainment.
Various fields have worked separately on topics of absorption, albeit using different terminology and methods, but having reached a high level of development and complexity in understanding absorption. Now is the time to bring them together. This volume will be a point of reference for years to come.
We propose to expand the boundaries of the news process by introducing, defining and subsequently coining the interdisciplinary concept of constructive journalism as an emerging form of journalism that involves applying positive psychology techniques to news processes and production in an effort to create productive and engaging coverage, while holding true to journalism’s core functions. First, we review the critical issues in journalism that highlight the need for this approach. Next, we coin constructive journalism and situate the concept in the field. Finally, we outline techniques by which constructive journalism can be practiced, including the psychological frameworks supporting these applications. Overall, this essay suggests a needed direction for journalism by means of constructive reporting which aims to positively impact journalism’s diminished reputation and weary news audiences.
Little is yet known about audiences who routinely seek out media content that is inspirational in nature. The current study expands the research on inspirational media by utilizing a nationally representative sample of U.S. audiences ( n = 2,016) to explore relationships between inspiring media exposure, trait transcendence, and self-transcendent emotions. Results show that media content is a reliable source for everyday self-transcendent emotional experiences in U.S. audiences. These experiences are most frequently encountered by persons with high levels of trait spirituality and gratitude. The profile of U.S. audiences that seek out inspiring media is discussed.
Prior research has shown that acute subjective psychedelic effects are associated with both spontaneous and intended changes in depression and anxiety. Psychedelics are also theorized to produce increases in psychological flexibility, which could explain decreases in depression and anxiety following a psychedelic experience. Therefore, the present cross-sectional survey study sought to examine whether psychological flexibility mediated the relationship between acute psychedelic experiences and spontaneous or intended changes in depression and anxiety among a large international sample of people who reported having used a psychedelic (n=985; male=71.6%; Caucasian/white=84.1%; Mage=32.2, SD=12.6). A regression analysis showed that acute effects (i.e., mystical and insightful effects) were significantly associated with decreases in depression/anxiety following a psychedelic experience. A path analysis revealed that, while controlling for age and sex, increases in psychological flexibility fully mediated the effect of mystical and insightful experiences on decreases in depression and anxiety following a psychedelic experience. This suggests that psychological flexibility may be an important mediator of the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs. Future prospective experimental studies should examine the effect of psychedelic drug administration on psychological flexibility in order to gain a better understanding of the psychological processes that predict therapeutic effects of psychedelics.
This study examines violence in prime-time broadcast network television programs aired between 1967 and 2015. The data show that violence has been a consistent and central part of programming, although levels vary by genre. Violence decreased in the 1990s, due mostly to the greater prominence of sitcoms and crime-related procedurals (such as Law & Order, CSI), which feature fewer explicit acts of violence. However, violence is making a serious comeback on prime time, with four of the five measures we examined reaching historically high levels in the 2010s. The percent of characters involved in violence remains lower than in earlier years. Despite some ebbs and flows over the years, and dramatic institutional and technological changes, even at its lowest points violence on television is never far from the scene and remains difficult for the heavy viewer to avoid.
An analysis of all published research articles in the Journal of Communication (N = 1574) revealed a slow progression toward openness and diversity of thought, interrupted by temporal slowdowns and declines. Among the recorded gaps is the overwhelmingly small representation of voices outside the United States. The assumption of interdisciplinarity is also questioned, as primary journal contributors were limited to a small set of sub-disciplines. The results also reveal a dominance of the (post-)positivistic paradigm and quantitative methods. While the relative proportion of atheoretical research is decreasing, there is also a remarkable slowdown in new theory development. Finally, with a steep decline in federal funding, communication scholars are becoming more reliant on universities, public organizations, and private donors.
Interest in the meaningful sides of media entertainment has blossomed over the last decade, with numerous scholars examining how certain media content can enhance social good and well-being. Because social scientific work in this area is relatively new and is rapidly evolving, numerous conceptualizations of meaningful media experiences have been introduced. In this paper we argue for the importance of recognizing a unique form of media experience that causes us to look beyond our own concerns, to recognize moral beauty, and to feel unity with humanity and nature—what we label here as “self-transcendent media experiences.”
In two studies, the present research tested whether a paper-based game intervention that guides participants into understanding and questioning their assumptions about gender can decrease biases. Participants in Study 1 (N = 143 college students) and Study 2 (N = 341 high school students) played a game in which they either had to realize that a scientist character was a woman (Intervention condition) or a professor (Control condition) to solve the mystery. Across both studies, in a game with a storyline that included both male and female scientists, the vast majority of students who used gendered pronouns assumed that non-gendered scientist characters were men. In Study 1, playing the Intervention version of the game had no effect on college students' explicit or implicit attitudes toward women in science. In Study 2, there was a positive effect of the Intervention condition on implicit attitudes: participants in the Intervention condition were less likely to describe a female professor as a man than were participants in the Control condition. However, there was a negative effect of the Intervention condition on explicit attitudes toward women in science. Taken together, the present research points to the continued need for research on raising awareness of bias and developing interventions that can decrease biases while avoiding defensiveness.
This article reports the findings from a national survey of self-transcendent (or inspiring) media audience members in the United States. Exposure to self-transcendent content is socially significant because, theoretically, it can orient users towards matters beyond themselves, ultimately promoting connections with others and altruistic behaviors. However, to date, little is known about the daily audiences for such fare. Four primary questions guided the investigation: (1) What are the media sources and contents identified as “inspiring” by the audience? (2) Who makes up the current U.S. audience for self-transcendent media content? (3) What personality traits and viewer characteristics are associated with self-transcendent media consumption? and (4) What prosocial and altruistic behaviors are associated with self-transcendent media consumption? To address these questions, a nationally representative survey (n = 3,006) was conducted. The findings are discussed in relation to the growing body of scholarship on positive media psychology.
Engagement with narratives and identification with narrative characters is usually conceptualized as occurring during the narrative experience itself. However, much involvement with a story world and narrative characters may occur retrospectively and imaginatively. The present study, using a cross-sectional survey quota-sampled to represent U.S. demographic norms, provides conceptualization and measurement of parasocial relationships (PSR) that is clearly retrospective and conceptually distinct from parasocial interaction (PSI). Moreover, we distinguish PSR from another concept introduced and operationalized here, retrospective imaginative involvement (RII), and provide evidence for validity of these measures. We compare them to the related concepts of transportability and boundary expansion, and assess fit using measurement models and confirmatory factor analysis, refining measurement on half the data set and confirming fit on the other half. We demonstrate predictive validity with respect to a measure of self-reported effects of narratives on beliefs and behavior, controlling for these various related measures, and also validate short versions of these measures for greater ease of research use
Three online studies assessed a new approach for increasing help seeking among people with depressive symptomatology (i.e. a positive emotion infusion, PEI). A PEI refers to the induction of positive emotion such that people’s mindsets – including perceptions of help-seeking – are temporarily altered. Study 1 (n = 382) indicated that help-seeking intentions are negatively correlated with depressive symptomatology and positively correlated with elevation and gratitude. Studies 2 and 3 implemented fully randomized experimental designs. In Study 2, two elevation-based (Study 2a, n = 285) and two gratitude-based (Study 2b, n = 338) emotion inductions increased levels of elevation and gratitude, respectively. Results of Study 3a (n = 390) indicate a causal relationship between experiencing the story-based elevation induction and increased help-seeking intentions. The two gratitude-based PEIs (Study 3b, n = 466) were unsuccessful at influencing help-seeking; auxiliary analyses indicate the possibility of iatrogenic effects. Overall, the potential of PEIs was indicated, as was need for caution.
How accurate are insights compared to analytical solutions? In four experiments, we investigated how participants' solving strategies influenced their solution accuracies across different types of problems, including one that was linguistic, one that was visual and two that were mixed visual-linguistic. In each experiment, participants' self-judged insight solutions were, on average, more accurate than their analytic ones. We hypothesised that insight solutions have superior accuracy because they emerge into consciousness in an all-or-nothing fashion when the unconscious solving process is complete, whereas analytic solutions can be guesses based on conscious, prematurely terminated, processing. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that participants' analytic solutions included relatively more incorrect responses (i.e., errors of commission) than timeouts (i.e., errors of omission) compared to their insight responses.