Culture, assumptions about the world, and interpretations of children's disabilities

Cheng

Social & Personality Psych

et al. 2023

Self Cite

Two studies examined the role of holistic thinking in meaning‐making and gratitude during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Correlational and mediational evidence showed that participants with high holistic thinking tended to construct more meaning from the pandemic and feel grateful, compared to participants with low holistic thinking (Study 1). Experimental manipulation of holistic thinking elicited behavioral choice for books on life meaning, which predicted gratitude (Study 2). These results cannot be explained by individual differences in the perception of threat (Study 1) or distress (Studies 1–2) associated with the pandemic. They cannot be explained by demographic factors such as age or gender, or cultural constructs such as ethnicity, educational level, or religiosity (Studies 1–2). These findings push understanding forward. They strengthen interdisciplinary links, fusing positive psychology with the social cognition of thinking styles. We discuss promising directions for future research with cross‐cultural implications.

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Thanking in the times of the plague: The role of holistic thinking in meaning‐making and gratitude

Cheng

Social & Personality Psych

et al. 2023

Self Cite

“…In addition, cultural differences in the effects of positive reappraisal and self-distancing can be explored. A recent study suggested that dialecticism—the assumption that contradictory information can coexist ( Peng and Nisbett, 1999 )—may influence the ability to appraise negative situations more positively ( Chen and Lee, 2021 ). For instance, East Asians (higher in dialecticism) were able to focus more on the positive aspects of negative events, as compared to North Americans who tended to hold more polarizing attitudes ( Peng and Nisbett, 1999 ; Grossmann et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of positive reappraisal and self-distancing on the meaningfulness of everyday negative events

Lau

Tov²

2023

Front. Psychol.

Current work on meaning-making has primarily focused on major negative life events such as trauma and loss, leaving common daily adversities unexplored. This study aimed to examine how utilizing meaning-making strategies such as positive reappraisal and self-distancing (in isolation or in combination) can facilitate an adaptive processing of these daily negative experiences. Overall meaning and facets of meaning (coherence, purpose, and significance/mattering) were assessed at both global and situational levels. Results suggested that positive reappraisal was generally effective for enhancing situational meaning but not under all conditions. Specifically, when negative experiences were high on emotional intensity, reflecting on the experience from a distanced (third-person) perspective enhanced coherence and existential mattering more than engaging in positive reappraisal. However, when negative experiences were low on intensity, distanced reflection led to less coherence and mattering than positive reappraisal. The findings of this study elucidated the importance of examining the multidimensional construct of meaning at the facet level and highlighted the importance of applying different coping strategies to effectively make meaning out of daily negative experiences.

“…These concerns may go against the cultural grammar in Asian cultures (e.g., Ji et al, 2010). Likewise, underneath the curse of mental issues or disabilities can be perceived as an opportunity for self-improvement, but only in some cultures but not in others (Chen and Lee, 2021). Network of publications generated through the document co-citation analysis (DCA).…”

Section: Cluster #6: Perception Of Counseling Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Culture and the assumptions about appearance and reality: a scientometric look at a century of research

Carollo,

Stanzione,

Fong

et al. 2023

Front. Psychol.

Self Cite

IntroductionPeople represent the world in terms of two constructs: how something appears on the surface (appearance) and what it is underneath that surface (reality). Both constructs are central to various bodies of literature. What has not been done, however, is a systematic look at this collection of literature for overarching themes. Motivated by this research gap, the present scientometric review aimed to identify the common themes that penetrate through a century of scholarly work on appearance and reality. In doing so, this review also sketched a scientometric outline of the international network, pinpointing where the work was carried out.MethodsWith CiteSpace software, we computed an optimized document co-citation analysis with a sample of 4,771 documents (1929–2022), resulting in a network of 1,785 nodes.Results and discussionWe identified impactful publications, summarized major intellectual movements, and identified five thematic clusters (“Perception of Counseling Services”, “Appearance and Reality in Sociocultural Evolution,” “Cultural Heritage and Identity,” “Media and Culture,” and “Cultural Identity”), all with theoretical and pragmatic implications which we discuss. A deeper look at these clusters reveals new empirical questions and promising directions for future research.