Applied Psychology - Journal Articles

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    Psychosocial correlates in treatment seeking gamblers: Differences in early age onset gamblers vs later age onset gamblers
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2019) Sharman, Steve; Murphy, Raegan; Turner, John; Roberts, Amanda; Society for the Study of Addiction; National Institute for Health Research
    Background: Age of onset is an important factor in the development and trajectory of psychiatric disorders; however, little is known regarding the age of onset in relation to disordered gambling in treatment seeking samples in the UK. Utilising a large residential treatment seeking gambler cohort, the current study examined the relationship between age of gambling onset and a range of variables thought to be associated with disordered gambling. Method: Data were collected from 768 gamblers attending residential treatment for disordered gambling. Individuals were grouped per the age they started gambling as either a child (≤12), adolescent (13–15), or young adult/adult (≤16). Data were analysed using linear, backward stepwise, and multinomial logistic regressions to identify significant relationships between age of onset and variables of theoretical significance. Results: Results indicate the younger age of gambling onset was associated with increased gambling severity. Those who began gambling at an earlier age were more likely to have abused drugs or solvents, committed an unreported crime, been verbally aggressive and experienced violent outbursts. They are less likely to report a positive childhood family environment and are more likely to have had a parent with gambling and/or alcohol problems. Discussion: Gamblers who began gambling at an earlier age experience negative life events and exhibit some antisocial behaviors more than later onset gamblers, indicating that when addressing gambling behavior, it is important to consider the developmental trajectory of the disorder, rather than merely addressing current gambling behavior. However, the direction of the relationship between gambling and significant variables is in some instance unclear, indicating a need for further research to define causality. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
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    Eye gaze during semi-naturalistic face-to-face Interactions in autism
    (Springer, 2023-12-04) Ross, Alasdair Iain; Chan, Jason S.; Ryan, Christian
    Objectives: Reduced eye contact is common in autistic people and has frequently been investigated using two-dimensional stimuli with eye-tracking technology. Only a few studies have investigated the use of gaze in autistic individuals during real-world interactions. The current study explored how autistic adults engage in eye contact during real-life interpersonal interactions. Methods: Twenty participants (autistic n = 10, neurotypical n = 10) were recruited to participate in a semi-naturalistic, face-to-face, in-person conversation while wearing unobtrusive, lightweight, eye-tracking glasses. Participants also completed measures of emotion recognition, empathy and alexithymia. Results: The results of this study were consistent with the autobiographical accounts of autistic adults, who report reduced eye contact in social situations. The autistic group had a lower overall gaze duration and made fewer fixations towards the eyes and face than the control group. Both autistic and control groups adjusted their mean gaze duration on the eyes and face, depending on whether they were speaking or listening during the interaction. Conclusions: Importantly, some measures of eye fixation are significant predictors of both autistic symptoms and emotion recognition ability. The study highlights the subtlety of eye gaze differences in autistic people and the importance of accounting for the conversational phase in this area of research. It also highlights the potential relationship between eye gaze and emotion recognition ability
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    The value of experience-centered design to responsible software design and engineering
    (MIT Press, 2023-10-01) McCarthy, John; Wright, Peter
    In this conceptual article, we review experience-centered approaches to the design of personal digital interactive technologies, with a view to exploring how these approaches might be of value in understanding the experience-in-use and the responsible design of today's highly networked, data-rich, and ubiquitous software technologies. Experience-centered design research leans heavily on pragmatist philosophy for its conceptual underpinnings, particularly John Dewey's accounts of aesthetic experience and of inquiry. After reviewing this body of work, we argue that these foundations could be usefully extended to also include Dewey's approach to ethics as an empirical, situated act of moral imagination. In addition, we look to other researchers for perspectives that complement and extend Deweyan experiential pragmatics. In particular, we look to the ways in which Susan Leigh Star's account of socio-technical infrastructures and dialogical approaches to human relations together can provide important insights into the experience-in-use of today's digital infrastructure and can critically highlight issues of boundaries and privacy. We also offer pragmatic and methodological concepts that may be of value to the field of responsible software design and engineering.
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    Agency, power and confrontation: the role for socially engaged art in CSCW with rurban communities in support of inclusion
    (Springer Nature Ltd., 2023-10-07) Murray, Maria; Pantidi, Nadia; McCarthy, John; Munster Technological University
    Rapidly expanding rural communities (often termed ‘rurban’) face complex social challenges around inclusion of newcomers and resulting changes to long-established community identity. Although participatory CSCW provides resources to support rurban social inclusion, complementary approaches may be needed to facilitate potentially uncomfortable creative and political responses to questions of agency, power, inclusion and confrontation. We suggest that socially engaged art (SEA) has the appropriate qualities and track record to complement better known CSCW approaches in these settings. SEA offers a specifically experiential and dialogical approach to community participation in design, where the kinds of interactions made available by SEA can provide a space for a more dissensual participation. As well as introducing SEA and explaining its potential contribution to participatory CSCW, the paper presents a focus group study undertaken in an Irish rurban community, and considers the implications of insights from that study in future SEA-informed CSCW with this community. The focus group analysis highlighted supportive organised community action, queried social encounters in public space, examined misperceptions and poor communication, and problematised the role of powerful organisations in fostering inclusion. SEA-informed design considerations in support of social inclusion in this community include: supporting volunteerism; examining the evolution of community institutions; reimagining interactions in public place; and dispelling misconceptions through building mutual understanding. We propose that the dialogical aesthetic of SEA complements other CSCW approaches by drawing attention to tacit, visceral and emotional experiences; dialogue and conflict in collaborative processes; and increasing participant (including emerging community) agency in enacting alternative possibilities.
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    Understanding the needs of institutional stakeholders in participatory cultural heritage and social innovation projects
    (University of Leicester Open Journals, 2023) Giglitto, Danilo; Ciolfi, Luigina; Lockley , Eleanor; Cesaroni, Francesca; Horizon 2020
    This article investigates the current practices and needs of institutional actors operating at the intersection of cultural heritage and social innovation. Through a mixed-methods approach that includes a survey and in-depth interviews, responses have been collected from GLAMs (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums), social enterprises, public administration, cultural and artistic associations, and educational institutes. A key focus is given to exploring cultural-based participatory practices aimed at engaging disadvantaged communities. The article explores problems and barriers hindering quality engagement, beneficial participation, and impactful outputs, as well as collecting instances of good practice, suggestions, and lessons learnt. The overall goal of this work is to outline the lessons learnt from fields of action to develop guidelines and recommendations for facilitating participatory, collaborative, and inclusive cultural heritage initiatives, including when planning for the use and adoption of digital tools and technologies.