Technical aspects of the article
The authors of the article under consideration are Gerald Delelis and Caroline Desombre, and the article under consideration is entitles as “Inter-group interactions and coping: Similar processes. A similar base”. The primary strong point of the article under analysis is the transparence of the title that creates a favorable ground for the formulation and assessment of the main argument offered by the authors of the article. As the title suggests and the introductory part of the article proves, the researchers claim that there is direct connection between emotions, emotional situations and coping with the emotions experienced by people and inter-group relations (Delelis & Desombre, 2005, p. 73).
In the first place, the present article critique will tackle general requirements, purely technical demands set for the analysis of scientific article before it proceeds to analyze the argument, the manner of presentation of the material, the article’s compliance with the principle of logical presentation of the material, the topicality of the study and accuracy of the presentation of the material, etc. Thus, the primary or surface analysis of the article under study suggests that the language used in the article meets the requirements set for scientific publications: though the authors are non-native English speakers (since they are French), psychological terminology is operated by them accordingly and the presentation of ideas is logical and accurate. However, there are some purely technical shortcomings in the article like cases of tautology and wrong word order is some sentences, for instance, “DC offers numerous other advantages” (Delelis & Desombre, 2005, p. 76). Since the source the publication comes from The Swiss Journal of Psychology that is published by the Swill Psychological Society, a rightful member of the International Union of Psychological Science, the target audience of the analyzed article consists of the people dealing with different aspects of psychological science in terms of professional relation. Thus, the format of the article meets the demands of the target audience. Finally, considering technical aspects of the article, its form should be tackled. The whole text is presented in the form of short subsections that accurately follows the flow of the argument presented by the authors.
Considering the article under analysis, it is necessary to state that it presents the review of literature on inter-group relations and coping (Delelis & Desombre, 2005, p. 73). The total number of the sources that have created the basis for the study is one hundred twenty three with the sources covering second part of the twentieth century as well as the sources reflecting psychological idea of the time when the study of literature was conducted and the article created.
The above mentioned argument proposed by Delelis and Desombre (2005) has proved to be topical for the time of the article publication taking into account the novelty of the argument advanced, as “only a few authors focus on the fact that inter-group contact … may cause emotions which in turn may require coping responses” (p. 73).
The analysis of the argument and the manner of its presentation
The main scientific method of investigation utilized by the researchers in the analyzed article is the method of deduction that is the flow of scientific idea from general premises to concrete conclusions. Considering this, the article starts with the account of the phenomenon of emotion and the definition the authors accept as the working definition can be considered to be apt: “it is a multidimensional process, located at the intersection of human organisms and their (physical and social) environment, determined by the interrelation of three core components physiological, cognitive, and expressive” (Delelis & Desombre, 2005, p. 73). This very section establishes the connection between the emotion and the activity of coping with it as its natural consequence (Delelis & Desombre, 2005, p. 74). Continuing the study of the phenomenon of coping, the subsequent section offers the idea of the necessity of social support that assists people in problem solving (Delelis & Desombre, 2005, p. 74).
However, the subsection on forms of coping opens the list of the article’s shortcomings. Entitles as “Forms of Coping”, it in fact offers an account of the functions of coping, thus making either the subtitle or the content of the subsection irrelevant. In order to present the forms of coping, the researchers should have resorted to the sources presenting the forms of coping, such as, for instance, three approaches to coping by Craighead and Nemeroff (2002) or problem-focused and emotion-focused forms of coping which Folkman and Lazarus (1988) associate with changes in emotions (p. 474). The latter forms of coping are also mentioned by Huffman (1991) as the means of reappraising the situation and putting problem-solving skills to work (p. 400-401).
One of the strong points of the article under critique is the involvement of the theories dealing with inter-group relations: realistic group conflict theory, social identity theory, and self-categorization theory that create theoretical basis for the argument. The theories mentioned present valuable ideas pertaining to inter-group situations, such as the idea that inter-group relations depend on the situation, not on individuals involved (Delelis & Desombre, 2005, p. 76). As the opening subsection define emotions as multidimensional phenomena, the authors strive for appropriate coverage of the phenomenon, employing the explanation of the differences between emotions in interpersonal and inter-group contexts and the emotions within and between groups (Delelis & Desombre, 2005, p. 77-78).
However, all the above mentioned sections create an impression of the preliminary work and synthesis of information for the presentation of the subsection on the similarities between inter-group relations and coping that is the focus of the present study. In this section, the practical application of the above analyzed downward social comparisons (DCs) and upward social comparisons (UCs) in the inter-group situations can be found. The authors analyze derogation of others as downward social comparison inside a group and the same idea has been offered by Cadinu and Reggiori (2002). A reasonable parallel is drawn by the authors’ vision of outgroup favoritism as the means of intergroup coping in regard to powerful group members as well as less motivated ones.
The suggestions for further research
One more limitation of the article is the subsection on emotions as the cornerstone of group-to-group relations (Delelis & Desombre, 2005, p. 81). This section seems superfluous as it demonstrates no direct connection with the argument advanced. This subsection seems more relevant for the further research focusing on emotions in group-to-group relations and this can be considered as an indirect merit of the article in considered from this point of view. In fact, the article poses several issues for further analysis and this awakening and stimulation of the scientific idea contributes to its strong points. The authors claim that conflict management can operate as interventions based on cognitive-behavioral practices, and, in the further research, it is necessary to be guided by the idea that “it is easier to change the attitudes and behaviors of a … group of individuals that to change those of an isolated individual” and this is the most probable result of the application of cognitive-behavioral interventions (Delelis & Desombre, 2005, p. 82). Finally, the concluding subsection offers possible tests for assessment of emotion- inter-group behaviors relation in the forms of a questionnaire or an experiment aimed at the assessment of influence of inter-group situations on perceived control (Delelis & Desombre, 2005, p. 82). Thus, the article can be considered a proposal for the experimental study to conduct in the future. Considering this, it creates a sufficient theoretical basis for an experimental study.
Drawing a conclusion, it is possible to state that the analyzed article has both merits and limitations. However, the merits of the article, such as the novelty and topicality of the argument, impressive theoretical material studied, considerable theoretical ground for analysis, the formulated further directions for the research compensate such limitations as language barrier of the researchers and superfluous subsections in the article. The only subsection that seems incorrectly entitled is the one about forms of coping. In general, the researchers have coped with the task set: to identify similarity between inter-group interactions and coping.
References
Cadinu, M., & Reggiori, C. (2002). Discrimination of low-status outgroup: The role of ingroup threat. European Journal of Social Psychology, 32, 501-515.
Craighead, W.E., & Nemeroff, C.B. (2002). The Corsini Encycopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Volume 1. USA: John Willey and Sons.
Delelis, G., & Desombre, C. (2005). Inter-group Interactions and Coping: Similar Processes. A Similar Base? Swiss Journal of Psychology, 64(2), 73-86.
Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R.S. Coping as a mediator of emotion. (1988). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(3), 466-475.
Huffman, K. (1991). Psychology in Action. USA: Willey.