Title: Investigating the Wartime Positivity Effect in Ukrainians’ Future Thinking

Team:

Marius Boeltzig, University of Münster

Karine Malysheva, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Project Summary:

In a first study, we found that surprisingly, Ukrainians were more positive about the future of their country than German and Polish controls. Additionally, they perceived more agency to shape their collective future. In this project, we aim to investigate the reasons for this Wartime Positivity Effect, testing explanations involving emotion regulation, difficulty imagining a negative war outcome, and the perception of the war as a window of opportunity for societal change.

In addition to the general population, we will also assess future thinking in a sample of LGBTQ+ Ukrainians. Alongside the burden of the war, this group also faces continued legal discrimination. In consequence, the Wartime Positivitiy Effect might be reduced in this group, but it could also be enhanced due to the feeling of opportunity to shape the future for the better.

Title: Remembered narratives and forgiveness in indirect victims of violence in Colombia

Team:

Gabriela Fernandez-Miranda, Duke University

Juan Diego Rodriguez, Universidad Javeriana

Felipe De Brigard, Duke University

Pablo Abitbol, Universidad Tecnologica de Bolivar

Santiago Amaya, Rice University

Project Summary:

This project examines how remembered narratives of violence shape forgiveness and reconciliation attitudes among indirect victims of Colombia’s armed conflict. Although the 2016 peace agreement formally ended more than five decades of war, national reconciliation remains fragile. Beyond direct victims, many Colombians who did not personally experience violence nevertheless developed strong moral and political attitudes through sustained exposure to conflict-related narratives. These indirect victims played a decisive role in the rejection of the initial peace agreement and continue to influence democratic support for restorative justice.

The project includes two behavioral studies. Study 1 tests whether narrative perspective (first-person survivor testimony vs. third-person journalistic accounts) and explicit information about a survivor’s forgiveness affect indirect victims’ willingness to forgive, support reconciliation, and endorse the peace process. Study 2 investigates how persistent misinformation about perpetrators of well-known violent crimes shapes memory, forgiveness attitudes, and plebiscite voting behavior.

Together, the studies clarify how narrative framing and memory accuracy influence moral judgment and political attitudes in post-conflict Colombia.

Title: ‘Socially’-Shared Memory Effects in Human versus AI Partners

Team:

Julia Soares, New Mexico State University 

Louis Klein, Macquarie University

Tori Peña, Stony Brook University

Project Summary:

People can influence the memories of others through conversation. Just listening to another person attempting to remember details about an event or story can determine not only what a listener remembers, but also what they forget (Cuc et al., 2007). As large language models like ChatGPT grow in popularity, it is possible that interacting with such models (also commonly referred to as Artificial Intelligence [AI]) could similarly influence memory except at a larger scale. The proposed project investigates this possibility. Specifically, we will compare the effects of watching an AI chatbot versus a human partner retrieve a subset of studied information on memory for all studied information. This work will reveal how remembering with AI may differ from remembering with humans. Moreover, this work will investigate the mechanisms and boundary conditions of social memory effects.

Title: Cross-cultural differences in metacognition and memory

Team:

Laura Stevens, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

Rumandeep Hayre, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

Jang-Han Lee, Chung-Ang University, South Korea

Sangyeon Yoon, Korean National Police University, South Korea

Project Summary:

To evaluate when we have remembered something correctly or not is a complex and vital skill. Metacognition is a higher-order skill which enables us to monitor and control our behaviour. For instance, if we have low confidence in our memory recall, we may choose to withhold our response to a question. By harnessing this information, this could contribute towards the assessment and validity of eyewitness testimony. However, the cross-cultural differences in metacognition and eyewitness memory are scarcely understood.

Researchers from the UK and South Korea, who are part of the UK-KO Eyewitness Memory Network, were awarded the SARMAC CoDI Grant to investigate cross-cultural differences in metacognition and eyewitness memory. This important research will diversify our knowledge towards eyewitness memory assessment procedures.

Title: Functions of National Collective Memories in Nations in that Differ in the Consensus of Their National Identity

Team:

Sharda Umanath, Claremont McKenna College, United States

Yui Fukushima, Waseda University, Japan

Maryanne Garry, University of Waikato, New Zealand

Project Summary:

To historians and sociologists, collective memories serve crucial functions in shaping national identities (Anderson, 1991). But cognitive psychologists know relatively little about the functions of collective memory. We do have some evidence that collective memories serve an “identity” function. Among Americans, collective memories—much like their autobiographical counterparts—serve identity functions, but also social and directive functions (Burnell, Umanath, & Garry, 2023). However, there are reasons to expect the pattern of national collective memories in the US is not particularly representative of national collective memories in other countries more generally. We propose work that will connect to our prior work, as well as to broader literature in history and sociology (see also Assmann & Czaplicka, 1995; Hirst et al., 2018; Wertsch & Roediger, 2008). Our aim is to determine the extent to which national collective memories serve identity, social, and directive functions in nations that differ in the consensus of their national identities. We will accomplish this goal by focusing on the US and Japan. The first step in our proposed project is to establish the nationally important collective memories for Japan. Then, using the most frequently nominated events, we will follow the methodology of Burnell et al. (2023, Experiment 2) to examine the degree to which Japanese participants believe that these nationally important events serve identity, social, and directive functions as captured by the Collective TALE.

Title: Trauma and Testimony: Examining How Victim Demeanor Shapes Credibility Judgments in Sexual Assault Investigations

Team:

Kirk Luther, Carleton University, Canada

Deidre Brown, University of Otago, New Zealand

Heather L. Price, Thompson Rivers University, Canada

Project Summary:

The effectiveness of sexual assault investigations often hinges on the nuanced understanding of trauma’s complex and diverse effects on victim behavior. Traditional investigative practices frequently place undue emphasis on the victim’s credibility, which is largely judged through their behaviour in investigative interviews and their ability to recount the incident in detail. Our discussions with investigators across Canada, the USA, New Zealand, and the UK further highlight the challenges inherent in eliciting testimony from trauma victims. These insights underscore an urgent requirement for the development and implementation of trauma-informed interviewing guidelines.

Our proposed research aims to investigate how victim demeanor and behavior during interviews affect their perceived credibility. We will recruit participants through Prolific Academic to complete a Qualtrics survey. Participants will be randomly assigned to observe one of three simulated victim interviews, each characterized by differing victim behaviors: Atypical Behaviours (e.g., victim laughs throughout the interview), Neutral Behaviours (e.g., no distinct outward behavioural signs), and Typical Behaviours (e.g., victim cries during the interview). Credibility of each victim will be measured using the Witness Credibility Scale. We hypothesize that victims displaying typical trauma-associated behaviors will be perceived as more credible than those displaying atypical and neutral behaviours.

With our research, we aim to advance practical understanding of the impact of victim behaviour on credibility assessments, paving the way for significant reforms in the justice system’s treatment of sexual assault cases.

THIS CALL IS NOW CLOSED - THIS CALL IS NOW CLOSED - THIS CALL IS NOW CLOSED

The SARMAC Committee on Diversity and Inclusion is pleased to open a call for proposals for the inaugural SARMAC Collaborative Grants.

SARMAC is committed to fostering the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion within our community. We are also dedicated to removing barriers that have been historically encountered and that are currently experienced by some members of our society. We are therefore excited to announce that we will be offering a number of grants designed to promote international collaborations within the SARMAC community and to support the work of researchers from underrepresented backgrounds and geographic locations.

The awards will fund up to $2000 USD in research expenses to support a new collaboration between two researchers from different institutions. We welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous peoples, racialised persons, visible minorities, women, persons with disabilities, sexual and gender minorities, researchers from countries in which SARMAC is underrepresented, and members of all underrepresented groups who lack funding opportunities to support their research.

The grants can be used to fund costs associated with a joint research project (e.g., participant payments, equipment, travel for the purposes of collecting data). The grants can also be used as seed funding to enable pilot data collection or preliminary work to support a larger grant application. 

To apply, you will need to submit a short proposal (1-3 pages) including:

• A description of the proposed research project (background, methods, expected results, & significance)

• A proposed budget

• A rough project timeline

• A statement explaining how the project will help foster diversity and inclusion within SARMAC and/or support international collaboration.

Applications are due December 1st, 2023 by the end of the day (11.59pm) anywhere on earth.

To apply, complete the application form HERE. This call is now CLOSED.

Questions: Contact the SARMAC Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (codi@sarmac.org).