Does Commercialized Political Coverage Undermine Political Trust?: Evidence Across European Countries

Media commercialization has long been suspected of exerting a negative influence upon political culture. The news media's interest in intrigues, personal details, and scandals rather than political issues in order to capture audience attention is regarded by many as a prime source of political cynicism. This article scrutinizes this claim by examining whether a commercialized media environment correlates with lower levels of citizen political trust across countries. Integrating cross-national survey data with country-level measures of commercialized political coverage, the findings indicate that, across 33 European countries, a negative link exists between media commercialization and political trust. Replication of the analysis with a separate cross-national survey across 28 countries demonstrated the robustness of the findings. These support the claim that media commercialization undermines political trust.     

Intellectual Humility and Morality as Consultee-Centered Consultation Epistemologies

ABSTRACT

Little research examines how epistemological constructs affect the consultation process in schools. We consider how the epistemological constructs of (a) intellectual humility and (b) moral foundations may moderate the effectiveness of consultee-centered consultation. We define the constructs and provide examples of their potential influences on consultee-centered consultation. Then we provide four areas of investigation for future research on the epistemologies of school-based consultation.     

Trauma and Dissociation: Predictors of Loneliness in Students at an Urban University

Loneliness is often seen in college students as they leave established support networks and family. Loneliness is also associated with negative mental health outcomes, including depression and decreased life satisfaction. The authors explored relationships between trauma, dissociation, and loneliness, and assessed the predictive ability of trauma and dissociation on feelings of loneliness. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that trauma experience and dissociation significantly predicted loneliness in the current sample (n = 429). Implications for counseling are discussed.     

Spheres of citizenship: The role of distinct perceived threats in legitimizing allocation of political, welfare and cultural rights in Israel

The question of who is excluded from full citizenship stands at the heart of the political and scholarly debate. This issue is highly relevant considering the gap between those whose substantive citizenship is taken for granted and various “strangers”. This paper addresses the issue by exploring the motivations that shape patterns of exclusion from full citizenship. The aim is to understand the attitudes of the dominant group regarding allocation of different kinds of rights to minorities under the impact of intergroup hostility and threat perception. Looking at dominant group perceptions makes it possible to explore the role of economic, symbolic and security threat perceptions as antecedents of exclusionist attitudes towards welfare, cultural and political rights for three dissimilar minorities in Israel: Palestinian citizens of Israel, non-Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union and ultra-Orthodox Jews. Analysis has indicated that regardless of the dissimilarity between the three minority groups there is a clear pattern of hierarchy of attitudes toward rights allocation. However, only the symbolic threat plays an identical role in shaping these attitudes toward the three groups. These findings emphasize the significance of the cultural dimension of citizenship.     

Enhancing executive function skills in preschoolers through a mindfulness‐based intervention: A randomized,controlled pilot study

Executive functions (EFs) develop rapidly in preschoolers and lay an important foundation for school readiness. One potential method of supporting EF development is through mindfulness‐based interventions (MBIs). Whereas studies with older children and adults have supported this approach, research with young children has been more limited. In the current study, we evaluated the effectiveness, acceptability, and feasibility of Mini‐Mind, a 12‐session MBI created specifically for preschoolers. We used a randomized controlled design in a sample of 27 (intervention n = 12) preschoolers (3–5 years old). The evaluation included indirect measures of EF skills completed by teachers who were blinded to the experimental condition of the students. Additionally, parents, teachers, children, and facilitators provided feedback about the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. Findings revealed mostly nonsignificant, small‐to‐medium effects in favor of the intervention group on indirect measures of EF skills. Furthermore, Mini‐Mind was rated as highly feasible and acceptable by children and stakeholders. Overall, the findings support the implementation and continued evaluation of Mini‐Mind in more diverse settings.