1. |
- Andrén, Victoria, et al.
(author)
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Gender and arson : psychosocial, psychological, and somatic offender characteristics at the time of the crime
- 2023
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In: Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1478-9949 .- 1478-9957. ; 34:1, s. 113-130
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Deliberate fire-setting, such as the crime of arson, can have devastating, even lethal, consequences. This study compared factors at the time of arson by female and male offenders in Sweden between 2000–2010. The women (n = 100), and men (n = 100) included in this study were randomly chosen from among all individuals who had been convicted for arson during this period and who underwent forensic psychiatric investigations. Information regarding psychiatric and somatic characteristics, their psychosocial situation, and whether they were in contact with health or social services before the arsons were examined. The results showed that both women and men have complex psychiatric and somatic characteristics, as well as psychosocial situations. Women showed more self-destructive behaviour, lower Global Assessment of Functioning scores, and had been in contact with psychiatric health services to a greater extent than men. More women than men had children. These findings suggest that specific actions may be needed for preventing and treating women compared with men at risk for committing arson.
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2. |
- Croy, Ilona, et al.
(author)
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COVID-19 and Social Distancing : A Cross-Cultural Study of Interpersonal Distance Preferences and Touch Behaviors Before and During the Pandemic
- 2024
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In: Cross-Cultural Research. - 1069-3971 .- 1552-3578. ; 58:1, s. 41-69
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the introduction of unprecedented safety measures, one of them being physical distancing recommendations. Here, we assessed whether the pandemic has led to long-term effects on two important physical distancing aspects, namely interpersonal distance preferences and interpersonal touch behaviors. We analyzed nearly 14,000 individual cases from two large, cross-cultural surveys – the first conducted 2 years prior to the pandemic and the second during a relatively stable period of a decreased infection rate in May-June 2021. Preferred interpersonal distances increased by 54% globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase was observable across all types of relationships, all countries, and was more pronounced in individuals with higher self-reported vulnerability to diseases. Unexpectedly, participants reported a higher incidence of interpersonal touch behaviors during than before the pandemic. We discuss our results in the context of prosocial and self-protection motivations that potentially promote different social behaviors.
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3. |
- Engelkes, Torbjörn, 1971-
(author)
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Loyal until death (?) : The nature, measurement and predictors of loyalty in a military context
- 2024
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis was to broaden the understanding of the concept of loyalty within a military context, by focusing on how the nature of loyalty is experienced, how it can be measured and how it can be predicted. To achieve this, the thesis was structured in three interrelated studies, which initially aimed to examine the content of loyalty within the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF), then to develop and validate a scale to measure loyalty, and finally to examine possible predictors of loyalty.The aim of Study I was to examine how loyalty is experienced within the SAF. To achieve this, Study I examined how high-ranking officers – presumed to have a large influence on professional ethics within the SAF – gave meaning to their experiences of loyalty. The results showed that although the nature of loyalty in the military organization is based on a strong identification with the profession, loyalty is a multifaceted phenomenon which requires the individual to manage competing and sometimes counteracting domains (objects) of loyalty.The aim of Study II was to develop a psychometric scale for measuring loyalty in a military context, based on the findings of Study I. Given the complex and varying nature of loyalty and dealing with different domains of loyalty in the military, the scale was developed to consider several domains for an individual’s loyalty (e.g., workgroup, mission, nation). Additionally, there was a focus on the overall nature of loyalty involving sacrifice and action to protect the domain of loyalty. To achieve this, three independent samples, consisting of military personnel (in training and on overseas mission), were invited to answer a questionnaire based on the results from Study I. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses resulted in a scale measuring loyalty, denoted the Swedish Military Loyalty Scale (SMiLS). The SMiLS was found to consist of a four-dimensional representation of the willingness to act loyally. The dimensions are sectioned in loyal sacrifice and loyal action, further divided into moderate and extreme loyal sacrifice and loyal action, respectively.The aim of Study III was to examine how individuals’ willingness to act loyally to certain domains (the closest workgroup, the unit, and the unit mission) can be predicted by social identity fusion and developmental leadership. To achieve this, a sample consisting of military personnel serving on an overseas mission in Mali, took part in a survey, using the SMiLS as the dependent variable. Demographic factors, such as rank and gender, were also examined, taking the outcome of loyalty into consideration. The results show that social identity mainly predicted the sacrificial dimensions of loyalty, while developmental leadership predicted all dimensions of loyalty for all domains.In conclusion, the present thesis broadens the understanding of loyalty within a military context. It also contributes with a scale for measuring loyalty and identifies two predictors for loyalty. Further research should focus on a deepened understanding of loyalty within the military and in the context of total defense organizations, further validation of the SMiLS and the examination of additional possible predictors for loyalty.
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4. |
- Engelkes, Torbjörn, et al.
(author)
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Measuring Loyalty : Developing a Scale for a Swedish Military Context
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There is a lack of psychometric scales for measuring the levels and directions of loyalty within a military setting. The aim of the present study was to contribute to a further understanding of the concept of loyalty within the military context. For this reason, a scale measuring loyalty towards five different domains – own values, one’s family, the workgroup, the mission, and the nation – within a military context was developed. A total of 14 items, designed to reflect loyal sacrifice and loyal action, were developed and tested using three independent samples from the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF). The results of exploratory factor analyses suggested a 10-item scale. The 10 items were best accounted for by a four-dimensional model with two loyal sacrificial dimensions (moderate and extreme sacrifice, respectively) and two loyal action dimensions (moderate and extreme action, respectively). The result of confirmatory factor analyses generally supported the four-factor representation. Invariance tests between the two confirmatory samples indicated configural invariance for all domains but one. The current study provides the first thoroughly developed and tested scale for measuring loyalty within a military context. The scale also enables identification of possible loyalty dilemmas that may arise in extreme operational environments.
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5. |
- Engelkes, Torbjörn, et al.
(author)
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Predicting Loyalty : Examining the Role of Social Identity and Leadership in an Extreme Operational Environment – A Swedish Case
- 2024
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In: Armed Forces and Society. - 0095-327X .- 1556-0848. ; 50:3, s. 607-627
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Military organizations often emphasize the importance of loyalty. It has been suggested that loyalty enhances motivation to take great risks and strive to accomplish a mission. However, research into what influences loyalty among military personnel is scarce. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine how leadership and social identity fusion relate to loyalty, using data from a sample consisting of a Swedish military unit on a United Nation mission (N = 152) in Mali. Hierarchical multiple regression results generally showed that social identity fusion and leadership were positively related to a willingness to show loyalty to the closest workgroup, one’s own unit, and the mission. The findings indicate that leadership and high levels of social identity fusion may influence the willingness to be loyal to organizational goals. The practical implication of this study is increased knowledge about the importance of leadership and social identity in developing relevant loyalties.
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6. |
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7. |
- Groyecka-Bernard, Agata, et al.
(author)
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Conservatism Negatively Predicts Creativity : A Study Across 28 Countries
- 2024
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In: Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. - 0022-0221 .- 1552-5422.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous studies have found a negative relationship between creativity and conservatism. However, as these studies were mostly conducted on samples of homogeneous nationality, the generalizability of the effect across different cultures is unknown. We addressed this gap by conducting a study in 28 countries. Based on the notion that attitudes can be shaped by both environmental and ecological factors, we hypothesized that parasite stress can also affect creativity and thus, its potential effects should be controlled for. The results of multilevel analyses showed that, as expected, conservatism was a significant predictor of lower creativity, adjusting for economic status, age, sex, education level, subjective susceptibility to disease, and country-level parasite stress. In addition, most of the variability in creativity was due to individual rather than country-level variance. Our study provides evidence for a weak but significant negative link between conservatism and creativity at the individual level (β = −0.08, p < .001) and no such effect when country-level conservatism was considered. We present our hypotheses considering previous findings on the behavioral immune system in humans.
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8. |
- Gruneau Brulin, Joel, 1984-, et al.
(author)
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In the State We Trust? Attachment-Related Avoidance Is Related to Lower Trust, Both in Other People and in Welfare State Institutions
- 2022
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In: The Journal of Social and Political Psychology. - : Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID). - 2195-3325. ; 10:1, s. 158-172
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Social and political trust are crucial for societal well-being and are linked to lower levels of corruption as well as to the size of the welfare state. Interpersonal trust is shaped through attachment-related experiences in close interpersonal relationships. However, previous research has not linked these two strands of research, yielding an important knowledge gap about the potential implications of attachment for social and political trust. Therefore, we investigated whether attachment orientations are related to both social trust and trust in the welfare state. Data were collected in two countries with different organization and size of the welfare state, the United States (n = 284) and Sweden (n = 280). In both countries, attachment-related avoidance (but not anxiety) was negatively related both to social trust and trust in the welfare state, even after controlling for pertinent confounds. Our findings also suggested that social trust may mediate the link between avoidance and trust in the welfare state. These results cohere with an assumption that people’s attachment-related working models may extend to their models of the world at large. We conclude that interpersonal parameters should be considered to fully understand the development of trust in political institutions.
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9. |
- Gültekin, Raver, et al.
(author)
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Effects of Eyewitnesses’ Primary Language in Investigative Interviews
- 2023
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In: ICPS 2023 Brussels. - : Association for Psychological Science. ; , s. 41-41
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- We examined whether an eyewitness memory accuracy and susceptibility to suggestions were affected by whether the testimony was given in a native or non-native language. Results showed no effects of language on memory accuracy or suggestibility. Witnesses testifying in a non-native vs. native language were less confident in their memory.
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10. |
- Gustafsson, Philip U., et al.
(author)
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Eyewitness accuracy and retrieval effort : Effects of time and repetition
- 2022
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 17:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An important task for the law enforcement is to assess the accuracy of eyewitness testimonies. Recent research show that indicators of effortful memory retrieval, such as pausing and hedging (e.g. “I think”, “maybe”), are more common in incorrect recall. However, a limitation in these studies is that participants are interviewed shortly after witnessing an event, as opposed to after greater retention intervals. We set out to mitigate this shortcoming by investigating the retrieval effort-accuracy relationship over time. In this study, participants watched a staged crime and were interviewed directly afterwards, and two weeks later. Half the participants also carried out a repetition task during the two-week retention interval. Results showed that the retrieval-effort cues Delays and Hedges predicted accuracy at both sessions, including after repetition. We also measured confidence, and found that confidence also predicted accuracy over time, although repetition led to increased confidence for incorrect memories. Moreover, retrieval-effort cues partially mediated between accuracy and confidence.
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