PUERTO RICO - GATEWAY TO COLONIZATION

In June of 2022 I was able to attend my first research conference in person since the pandemic began.  It was of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, held in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  I flew there two days early so I could do some sightseeing before the conference began.  This journal is in the form of a daily diary of what I experienced and learned, so readers can travel with me, after a brief history of the island and its importance as a gateway to the colonization of the Americas.  Photo numbers refer to 42 pictures that I have posted at https://sanjuanpuertorico2022.shutterfly.com/pictures/8 among the 860 I took on the trip of sightseeing and conference presentations. (The link works on Firefox, Chrome, and Microsoft Edge, but not Safari on my computers).  To enlarge the photos, click on a photo, then use the arrows to scroll through the photos. I enjoyed the trip very much, which increased my desire to travel that had been dampened by the pandemic.  As usual, the best part of the trip was the people that I met!

BRIEF HISTORY OF PUERTO RICO

         Puerto Rico (which means Rich Port) is in the southeast of the Caribbean, about 1000 miles from Miami, Florida, and about 5000 miles from Europe, as shown on a map in one of the forts that I visited (Photo 1).  It is the Caribbean island closest to Europe that had fresh water and an excellent harbor, and hence was considered a gateway to the Americas.   Christopher Columbus claimed Puerto Rico for Spain when he landed there on his second voyage in 1493, after "discovering" the Americas in 1492 by landing in the Bahamas (which are northwest of Puerto Rico closer to Florida).  [The Americas were already known to Vikings who occupied a site in Newfoundland, Canada, in 1021 CE, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58996186].  Columbus was an Italian explorer who was sent by Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Spain, to discover a western route to India, so he called the indigenous people Indios (Indians) thinking he was in India.  His name in Spanish is Cristobál Colón, which ironically happens to be the root word in colonization.  

         Over the next three centuries, other European powers tried to invade Puerto Rico, as they colonized other islands in the Caribbean (Photo 1 Legend).  To fight them off, the Spanish built two forts called castles in San Juan, which I visited while sightseeing.  In 1898, the United States took control over Puerto Rico in the Spanish American War.  According to a booklet that I bought in one of the forts, The Spanish-American War: America Emerges as a World Power (edited by Robinson, M.A.B, 1998), interest in entering the war was stirred up by sensationalist reporting by William Randolph Hearst of the New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World, who were competing to sell newspapers.  They played up atrocities by Spanish General Valeriano Weyler, whom the press called "The Butcher," who was putting down a fight for independence in Cuba using a "scorched earth policy" patterned after General Sherman in the US Civil War.  This was called "yellow journalism" after a cartoon that had a character wearing yellow.

         Hearst blamed the Spanish navy for an explosion that destroyed the USS Maine in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, which may have been caused by spontaneous combustion in an unventilated coal bunker, since other ships fueled with coal had blown up the same way and the Spanish navy helped save American sailors from the water.  In response to the rallying cry "Remember the Maine" the US Congress declared war on Spain, and President McKinley called for volunteers.  But the US army was unprepared to clothe, feed, house, and transport the 200,000 volunteers. During the war, yellow fever was rampant, and about 80% of those who died in the war died of disease and poor medical treatment.

         According to another booklet I bought in one of the forts, Slavery in the United States: A Brief Narrative History (by Sutton, R., Latschar, J. & Beard, R., 2013), slavery was known in ancient times. The Code of Hammurabi from the 18th century BCE included laws to protect slave owners, by specifying execution for those who helped slaves that escaped.  Slaves were often prisoners of war.  The English word "slave" is based on Slavs who were captured in Eastern Europe.  The nature of slavery changed after Crusaders brought back sugar from the Middle East after 1000 AD.  Sugar plantations were set up in Cyprus, and slaves were brought from Africa across the Mediterranean.  In the 1400s, the Portuguese began trading for slaves on the West Coast of Africa.  In 1510 King Ferdinand authorized the importation of slaves to the colonies to work on plantations there, since they were not successful enslaving the indigenous peoples who were dying in conflict and especially from diseases brought from Europe. 

         In 1494 Pope Alexander VI had divided the world into zones for Spain and Portugal to influence, in order to avoid conflict between them, as illustrated in a video in the Museo de las Americas that I visited (Photo 2).  That is why Brazil was colonized by Portugal, and the rest of Latin America was colonized by Spain. 

         Slaves were brought from Africa to work on sugar plantations in Puerto Rico, like those depicted in a diorama at the Museo de las Americas (Photo 3).  The Spanish National Assembly abolished slavery in Puerto Rico in 1873, eight years after it was legally abolished in the US in 1865 after the Civil War.  Since 1898, Puerto Rico has been a territory of the US.  In 1917, Puerto Ricans became US citizens, which means that they can immigrate to the US legally, and many have, especially to New York and Florida.  But in Puerto Rico they cannot vote for Congress or the US President.  A major political issue in Puerto Rico is whether or not to become a state of the US.  A recent referendum found that about half of Puerto Ricans desire statehood (https://abcnews.go.com/US/puerto-rico-votes-favor-statehood-island/story?id=74055630) while others prefer the status quo or becoming an independent country.  

         While in Puerto Rico, I learned that some feel that three centuries of colonization by Spain were replaced by a century of colonization by the US.  They would like to create their own trade agreements, and resent the fact that goods must come to Puerto Rico on US ships.  This was a problem when other countries were sending help during recovery from Hurricane Maria in 2017.  Even before the devastation of the hurricane, poverty was widespread, with 6 out of 10 on federal assistance (https://time.com/a-land-they-no-longer-recognize).  I only gained a glimpse of the complex political and economic issues concerning statehood, which must be approved by the US Congress.

TUESDAY JUNE 21

I took a 10:40 AM flight from Los Angeles to Dallas-Fort Worth, then a flight from there to San Juan, Puerto Rico.  I was originally planning to take an 8:30 AM flight to Miami and transfer there, but last Saturday when I was typing up my itinerary, I discovered that the flight to Miami had been rescheduled to leave at 6:30 AM, and there was no way that I was going to be at LAX two hours early for that flight.  Fortunately, by calling American Airlines I was able to change flights at no cost and obtain exit row seats for my long legs.

The flight from LAX to DFW was pleasant sitting in an exit row with about five feet of space in front of me.  I sat next to a college student and her high school cousin who went to DFW to transfer to a flight to Missouri to visit his mother for his brother's birthday.  I read part of a book on my Kindle.  But the flight was half an hour late leaving, which meant I had to rush to change terminals via the sky train at DFW to get on my second flight while it was still loading. 

The flight from DFW to San Juan on was more crowded.  The exit row just had one foot of extra legroom.  I had to be in the middle seat, and the seat wasn’t very comfortable.  I sat next to a man who spends half of his time in Dallas and half in San Juan for tax purposes, and a woman who was visiting her daughter in San Juan, and read more on my Kindle, which were pleasant distractions from the uncomfortable seat.

I felt chilly on both flights, since I had dressed for Puerto Rico wearing shorts and a silk shirt, and hadn’t put a sweatshirt in my daypack like I often do.  I wasn't thinking about the fact that it can be chilly on the plane.  I had a light jacket in my small suitcase, which I had planned to take on the plane, since it allowed me to avoid the one-hour wait in line to check it in at LAX.  But at the gate they offered to check bags free with no waiting, so I had checked it all the way to San Juan to avoid dragging it among terminals at DFW.

I arrived in San Juan at 11 PM, which was 8 PM Los Angeles time, and took a taxi to the Royal Sonesta hotel (Photo 4), which is where I will be attending a conference Friday through Sunday.  The taxi cost $22 since it was at night, even though the hotel was only about 2 miles from the airport.  I have a nice room on the tenth floor overlooking palm trees, the swimming pool, and the beach (Photo 5).  I was tired enough to go to sleep at 1 AM San Juan time which was 10 PM LA time.   The staff at the hotel were friendly and helpful throughout my stay.

WENDESDAY JUNE 22

          I slept in the next morning, since I had the day to myself for sightseeing.  I took a taxi to Old San Juan, which was only 6 miles, but cost $25 fixed rate based on travel zones, plus a tip.  I went to the Travel office to get the Que Pasa? (what’s happening) guide, which they were out of, and a map of Old San Juan, which was the same as the one I had downloaded from the web, and already marked sights in which I was interested.  But the woman was able to tell me where I could buy inexpensive clothes about 6 blocks away.  When I had showered in the morning, I discovered that I had forgotten to pack any underwear, even though I had checked that off on my packing list.  Fortunately, I was able to find what I needed at a Marshall’s store. 

         Down the street, I discovered that Mason’s Sandwich shop had breakfast items, so I had a great omelet with ham and cheese and vegetables, and toast that was pressed flat and crisp which was very good (Photo 6).  I then walked down to see the San Juan Gate in the fortification wall around Old San Juan (Photo 7), the only gate that still had the original wood doors.   Nearby was La Casa del Libro (House of the Book) museum, which had wall hangings depicting pages of ancient books (Photo 8), but only one of its many books on display (Photo 9).  Also nearby was the Parque de las Palomas (Park of the Pigeons) which was popular with young children (Photo).  I walked through a gate to look up at the north wall (Photo 11), then walked back up and along the wall toward the fort called Castillo San Felipe El Morro (Castle Saint Philip Promontory).

         Between the city buildings and the fort is a quarter-mile of lawn (to see enemies coming), with no shade (Photo 12).  So I stopped and bought a bottle of water and an ice cream cone before heading out in the hot sun.  Fortunately, there was a breeze, so it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  Among the city buildings there often is shade on one side of the road.  

         In the top level of the fort there is a parade ground surrounded by rooms that now have exhibits (Photo 13).  I walked through a tunnel and down the stairs (Photo 14), to the level where there had been canons (Photo 15), and decided not to walk all the way down to sea level (Photo 16) and back up again in the heat.  I learned that the fort had been built by the Spanish 500 years ago to defend the island from attacks by other European powers.  After the island was taken by US in 1898 in the Spanish-America war, the US put anti-artillery weapons and military troops at the fort during World War II.

         When I walked back across the lawn, it was only a block to the Museo de las Americas.  It had a series of galleries that were very impressive. I spent more than two hours there and took 150 photos.   Most interesting was a history of slavery.  As I noted above, the Portuguese explored the west coast of Africa in the mid-15^th century. They traded goods from Europe for goods from Africa, including prisoners of war who were sold as slaves instead of being executed as they had been in the past.  Then other European nations joined the slave trade as well, expanding trade routes from many places in West Africa to colonies in the Americas (Photo 17).

         I walked to the Iglesia de San Jose (Church of Saint Joseph), but it was closed, then bought pastry with cheese in a plaza next to the church.  I then walked to the Catedral de San Juan (Cathedral of St. John) which was open (Photo 18).  It had a tomb with a glass side that held a ceramic statue holding a relic (an urn with blood that had turned to ash) of a Christian soldier that had been killed by Romans, which was a gift to Puerto Rico from a Pope in Rome (Photo 19).  I had seen tombs with a glass side holding bodies in Rome.

         I walked back to the Tourist office, and bought a slice of pizza from a roadside truck across the street, then walked farther along the street to a taxi stand to take a taxi back to my hotel.  The taxi driver commented on how few tourists there were this time of year.  The most popular months are November and December when it is cold on the upper East Coast of the US and in Europe.  He said that Europeans stay longer since they come farther.  

         I asked him why some in Puerto Rico were opposed to becoming a state of the US, while others were in favor.  I understood that Puerto Ricans now have US citizenship, which makes it easier to migrate to the US, but they have no representatives in Congress and cannot vote for the President.  Becoming a state would give them representation.  But he said that many Puerto Ricans want to be independent of the US since US government policies have hurt Puerto Ricans economically, and that 48% of those on the island are in poverty.  This was my first glimpse of the statehood issues that I mentioned above.

         Back in my hotel room, I looked down at the pool, and decided to go for a swim.   The pool was warm, and the sun was setting below low clouds, so it felt wonderful!  I then wrote up this journal entry and responded to my email on my 12-inch laptop computer that I take with me when I travel.

THURSDAY JUNE 23

         I slept from 11 PM to 6 AM, so I had adjusted quickly to the 3-hour time shift.  But I lay in bed thinking for an hour, as I usually do, since that is when I do my most insightful thinking.  I keep a notepad by my bed to jot down ideas so I don’t forget them while showering then reading newspapers during breakfast.  Sometimes I put on a robe and start typing at the computer before showering.  That is how I did my best wordsmithing, figuring out how to say something clearly and cleverly, often with alliteration (repeating sounds in words, like cl and ly in this sentence), when I wrote my two books, Intimate Relationships Across Cultures: A Comparative Study and Prejudice, Identity and Well-Being: Voices of Diversity Among College Students.

         I was in no rush to get ready this morning, as was true Wednesday, since the museums and other sites I am interested in don’t open until 9AM.  They typically close at 4 PM.  I decided to eat breakfast at the coffee shop in the hotel lobby, and had egg, ham, and cheese in a bun that was toasted and crisp, plus orange juice.

         I then took a taxi to the Castillo de San Cristobál (Castle of Saint Christopher) in Old San Juan (Photos 20 & 21).  It is on the eastern side, while El Morro fort is on the western side.  Although it was built on the coast, it was primarily to stop attackers from the land, after two previous attacks that they had fought hard to repel.  The parade ground flies three flags, the military flag of Spain, the flag of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the US flag (Photo 22).  The casemates around the parade ground had originally been used as a kitchen and barracks (Photo 23), but now have many panels about history, where I learned about the many attacks by other European powers and changes in the types of cannons and other defense over the centuries (Photo 24).  The Puerto Ricans felt that they received older and fewer war materials from Spain than they needed.  Other Europeans were able to capture other islands in the Caribbean, as shown in Photo 1 above.  One casemate had a gift shop where I bought the book about the Spanish-American war and the book about the history of slavery mentioned above.

        During World War II the US added a sentry box (Photo 25) that was different from the sentry boxes that were built on the forts and city walls of Old San Juan (Photo 26).  While exploring the fort through archways (Photo 27) and tunnels (Photo 28), I found some old graffiti of sailing ships on plaster that was peeling (Photo 29).

         When I left the fort, I walked west along the north wall, overlooking the area of houses built outside the wall called La Perla (Photo 30).  When I reached the Museo of San Juan (Photo 31) I saw some great paintings, but the museum didn’t allow photographs.  Some were religious paintings about 50 years ago by a Dutch painter named Maas who had come to San Juan.  His paintings had the images split with lines like a modern glass window, which made them very interesting. 

         As I walked further along the wall I spotted a food truck selling piña colada drinks without alcohol, just pineapple juice and coconut milk, smoothed with ice in a blender.  It tasted wonderful!  I decided to buy a hamburger too, even though it wasn't lunch time yet.  Sometimes you eat what you can when you can as you are traveling, if you don’t know what or when you will be able to eat again in the future on a tight schedule.  On both flights to San Juan they served only pretzels or a biscuit along with drinks, and I didn’t have time to buy lunch in DFW, so I had a granola bar and trail mix on each flight instead.  That’s why it is a good ideal to carry snacks when you are traveling.

         This time the Church of San Jose was open, so I explored it (Photo 32).  It had some stained-glass pictures that I liked (Photo 33), which reminded me of the paintings by Maas in the Museo de San Juan.  It also had a statue of Mary and baby Jesus in which both figures were Black, and a statue of adult Jesus with light skin and black hair.  Most statues and paintings of Jesus portray him with light skin, light brown hair, and blue eyes, like northern Europeans.  In fact, Jesus was born in Palestine of Jewish parents, so he very likely would have had olive-brown skin, dark hair, and brown eyes like others born there at that time (Taylor, J. E., What Did Jesus Look Like? 2018).

         I walked back down the hill (Photo) to the area across from the Tourist Office, which had a row of food trucks, but only a couple were open. I had a shaved ice with grape syrup, which tasted really good in the heat.  I then walked farther along the street to the taxi stand, and took a taxi to the University of San Juan in a sector of the city to the southeast.  I wanted to see its Museum of History, Anthropology, and Arte (Photo 35).  Based on the description in tourist guides, I assumed I would probably spend two hours there, so I told the taxi driver to expect a call then.  But I ended up calling him about 15 minutes later, and had to wait longer for him to return than I had spent in the museum.

         The museum only had three rooms of posters protesting US colonization of Puerto Rico over the years, plus a room with two mummies from Egypt and three skeletons from another area in Puerto Rico.  One poster protested a century of colonization by the US (Photo 36).  Another (saying Puerto Rico Speaks Spanish) protested that that when the US took over, the US Director of Education dictated that all schools in Puerto Rico would be taught in English, after having been taught in Spanish, to change the culture of the island (Photo 37). The protests finally led to schools being allowed to resume teaching in Spanish, and Spanish became an official language of the island alongside English. That reminded me of Native Americans kids being taught English in boarding schools in the US and not allowed to speak their tribal languages.  Yet it was Native American languages that were used by Code Talkers to send secret messages on the battlefield during World War II (https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/american-indian-code-talkers).

         I decided to go back to my hotel earlier than I expected.  After reading my email, it was time for early registration for the conference that was beginning on Friday.  When I checked in, I began chatting with two student volunteers who will be taking Social Psychology next year!  I told them about my research on the Boston Couples Study with Zick Rubin and Anne Peplau, and my cross-cultural research on intimate relationships in collaboration with colleagues around the world.

         I then went swimming, after buying some flip flops in the hotel gift shop.  When I went swimming Wednesday, my socks were wet even after drying my feet with a hotel beach towel.  After rising off in my room today, I dressed and went back down by the pool to eat dinner at the outdoor restaurant between the pool area and the beach.  I had two grilled shrimp tacos with coconut sauce, which tasted wonderful! (Photo 38) It unexpectedly came with French fries that were crisp instead of limp like they often are, but I couldn’t eat all of them because I had ordered a bowl of fresh strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries that came with a little coconut sauce and coconut sprinkles, which was very good, and piña colada with no alcohol.

         After eating, I sat in a lounge chair by the pool to listen to a DJ (Photo 39).  A flyer had been put under my room door saying that there would be DJs tonight in celebration of San Juan's Eve, the night before the Feast Day of San Juan Bautista (Saint John the Baptist).  I listened to the DJ for an hour, moving my foot and arm to the beat.  When I went back to my room, I could still hear the DJ through the window.  I was concerned about being able to sleep, since four DJs were supposed to perform until 2 AM, so I put in my earplugs like I always do when I sleep.

FRIDAY JUNE 24

The conference of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues began with a Welcome Breakfast in the hotel on buffet tables on both sides of two rows of posters displaying research by conference participants.  I read posters, met presenters, and discussed research.  One that I read was about gossip used to stigmatize persons with HIV, which can be mitigated by staying healthy, accepting oneself, and becoming educated about HIV.  Another found that higher levels of ethnic identity among Latinx are associated with better health. A third was about Black adolescents coping with race-related stress, emphasizing the importance of messaging about race by parents.  A fourth was about "hard" conversations between parents and their adopted adolescents, which are often prompted by current events; among families of color, parents want to be honest, yet don't want to frighten their kids.  A fifth was about weight stigma in romantic relationships, finding that men's weight criticism of wives is associated with less relationship satisfaction for both husbands and wives.  I have references for the many findings that I summarize, if any reader is interested in having them.

         Except for keynote addresses and poster sessions, the rest of the conference there usually were several sessions occurring at the same time.  After breakfast, I attended a symposium with four oral presentations about the impact of online experiences on Black and Latinx youth. (1)  Centrality of racial identity protects against online discrimination and is associated with better psychological well-being.  (2) Social media can be used to connect community and encourage engagement in social activism.  (3) Private regard refers to how positively one feels about being Black, while public regard is how positively one feels the public views Black identity.  (4) The internet can be a risky place for Black and Latinx youth, with both challenging experiences and opportunities for identity exploration, connection, and community. 

         This was followed by two 15-minute talks.  One found that women who were less satisfied with their physical appearance were less interested in mathematics.  Another talk was about the inclusion of trans women, which found that the majority of female athletes support the inclusion of transgender women, but they underestimate the support among other women.

         I bought a sandwich at the coffee shop in the hotel lobby for lunch, and looked for a table with an umbrella for shade on the patio, and saw a friend who had collaborated with Zick Rubin when we were both his graduate students in the PhD program in Social Psychology at Harvard!  

         After lunch, I attended three 15-minute talks on identity development. The first noted that ethnic-racial labels can be based on where born, language, cultural values, or racial identifiers such as skin color.  The second explored children's endorsement of gender and racial status hierarchies, finding that greater status distinctions were made as children became older from 4 to 12.  The third involved evaluations of urban neighborhood on various dimensions.  The fourth discussed barriers to mental health treatment for young adults considering suicide, noting that suicide is the second leading cause of death among 10-34-year-olds across all racial groups, with rates higher for minority students than for White students.  The fourth explored the effectiveness of messages for behavior change, reporting that messages about behavior intentions (I will do it) are more effective that attitudinal messages (I agree with doing it). 

         Buffet tables for dinner were on both sides of two rows of posters.  One that I read displayed Motivational Interviewing for reducing COVID-19 Vaccine hesitancy, recommending: asking about their understanding of a topic, providing information while emphasizing personal choice, asking them to reflect on the information, and exploring the pros and cons while restating their concerns. Another explored identity concealment among psychology trainees, finding that feeling that one is not accepted as belonging can lead to burnout.  A third discussed Afro Latina identities, in which bi-cultural persons may face lack of acceptance in Black communities and in Latinx communities, similar to bi-racial persons.  A fourth varied the race of bullies and those bullied in bullying scenarios, measuring intention to cause harm.  A fifth found that Black/White biracial persons identified more with Black people when they were familiar with Black celebrities presented, than when they were less familiar and feeling "out of the loop" from that racial group.  

         I also met a professor from the college where my daughter did her undergraduate work, and saw a friend that I had met at a conference in South Africa a decade ago!   I was tired so I went to my room, wrote today's diary entries, caught up with my email, and read before going to sleep.

SATURDAY JUNE 25

         Breakfast was served again on buffet tables on both sides of two rows of posters.  One that I read found that a non-binary gender identity protects against some concerns about body image conforming to societal pressures.  Another defined Neoliberal beliefs as favoring free choice and competition without government intervention, finding that women higher in those beliefs were less supportive of COVID-19 financial relief and anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination law. A third found that Latinx sexual minority youth are disproportionately bullied, and that the effect of bullying on depression depends upon parental acceptance.  A fourth found that inter-racial contact increased feelings of belonging on campus.  And a fifth explored ways in which various Asian American groups have been dehumanized in the COVID-19 pandemic. 

         Three 15-minute presentations that I attended explored responses to bias.  The first found that humor can be used to reduce dehumanization of groups.  Believing that the author of a message was just joking or meant to entertain can lead to Message Discounting.  It reminded me that joking and teasing can be friendly, affirming identities and relationships, or it can be hostile, rejecting others.  The second demonstrated that racial profiling of a young Black man can be countered by wearing a sweatshirt that indicates a college affiliation.  The third found that ableism is countered more effectively by having people do an accessibility evaluation rather than by participating in a simulation of having a disability.  A fourth found that describing racist incidents using euphemisms for racism minimizes racism's harm, and leads to beliefs that racism is not as pervasive.

         The next session of 15-minute presentations included my presentation, titled "Giving voice to diverse identities, prejudice, and well-being."  I described my Diverse Identities class, my Multiple Identities Questionnaire, and the book I wrote which has data analyses of the MIQ interspersed with quotes from Self-Identity papers in my Diverse Identities class.  The second presentation defined power as control and influence, and noted that the agency and capability of "the powerless" are rarely considered.  It redefined power as the real or potential ability of a group of people to achieve wellness and meet their survival needs.  Groups may be empowered through satisfying specific needs, which may ironically hamper resistance movements.

         For lunch, I decided to explore the street outside the hotel, and found a Burger King two blocks away, which had signs in a mixture of Spanish and English (Photo 40).  I am used to seeing signs in Spanish and in other languages in the Los Angeles area.  I have some ability to read Spanish, even though my speaking is limited, from having studied Spanish in high school many years ago and seeing it often.  

         Due to the long line to place my order, I was a little late returning to the conference for the first of the next 15-minute papers I attended. It was about reasons for immigration, including work, family, escape, and education.  It reported that unemployment rates among immigrants were lower for women than men, higher in Africa and Asia, and lower for Europeans who often had work visas.  The second presentation was on dehumanization of Syrian refugees in Turkey, viewing them as cowards for not staying and fighting in the war, and other negative views.  The third described a sense of belonging among immigrants as involving diversity, shared emotional connections, fulfillment of needs, and mutual influence.

         Next was a keynote address that described Uncertainty-Identity Theory as follows: (1) people are motivated to reduce uncertainty especially about the self, (2) sources of self-uncertainty include fit with the group, and (3) group identification reduces uncertainty - providing identity, prescribing behavior, regulating interactions, and validating the self and worldview.  Under self-uncertainty, people identify most strongly with distinctive groups and identities, which can be "extremist" groups with powerful leaders, intolerant of internal dissent and diversity, with an ideological and orthodox belief system.

         The first 15-minute paper in another session defined Essentialism as believing that members of a particular social category have a fixed underlying nature or essence, while Universal-Diverse Orientation focuses more on what people have in common while accepting that they are different in many ways, called "inclusive yet differentiating."  The second paper measured positive contact and negative contact frequency between groups, and found  that the former lead to more positive attitudes while the latter lead to more negative, consistent with previous findings. The third analyzed support for Puerto Rican statehood among US Americans.  It identified Dual Colonial Ideologies - (a) Historical Negation - believing historical injustices in the colonial era are irrelevant in contemporary society, and (b) Symbolic Exclusion - believing that colonial subjects' culture is irrelevant in modern national identity.  This ideology leads to support for Puerto Rico statehood without support for material-based reparations.  I realized that these Dual Colonial Ideologies apply to attitudes about many minorities groups in the US, as reflected in their lack of representation in history and in the media. 

         The Presidential Address was next, emphasizing transdisciplinary approaches.  To address "Wicked Problems" we need to be "boundary spanners" working with others across disciplines, to narrow the gap between research and action.  This is increasingly called for by funders, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, and Foundations.

         Dinner was served by the hotel swimming pool as part of a Bomba Dance Performance and Networking Reception. A band played music while two dancers performed (Photo 41), then we were invited to dance (Photo 42).

SUNDAY JUNE 26

         Again, breakfast was served on buffet tables on both sides of two rows of posters.  One poster explored the impact of racial-ethnic identity, psychological evaluation, and religious conversion or secular lifestyle change, on parole board decisions, calling for training of parole board members regarding these influences.   Another explored News Fatigue, noting that repeated exposure to racial violence can increase race-related stress and decrease mental health, especially for targeted groups like African Americans.  I realized that any negative news can lead to News Fatigue, especially if it is repetitive.  A third recommended having "Thought-Diverse" friends for better intergroup relations.  A fourth created a Social Class Disclosure Scale, which reminded me that people are least willing to report income on surveys, so we use broad income categories.  A fifth found that negative parental messages about sex have harmful effects on adult sex guilt equivalent to those of sexual abuse.  

         In a symposium, the first paper identified a Triangle of Domination including Supremacism, Colonialism, and Capitalism that reinforce each other.  Supremacism includes White, Male, and Human supremacy. Colonialism has involved erasure/genocide of indigenous people and knowledge, binary sexism and heterosexism, and exploitation of land and bodies for profit. Capitalism has involved restrictions on access to building personal wealth, reflecting who is considered worthy of food, shelter, sex, pleasure.  The second explored the experiences of Black counselors in non-academic, predominantly White, Mental Health settings, using the Listening Guide (which involves listening for a voice, attention to the logic of responses, and avoiding binary coding). The third added a First Nations (Canadian term for Native American) perspective to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, adding two levels above Self-Actualization: Community Actualization and Cultural Perpetuity.  Also insightful was a quadrant of needs classified as physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual (including Life Purpose).  

         In another symposium, the first paper explored Maya Chorti identity in Guatemala and Honduras, among peasants who were severely exploited during the colonial era through land dispossession and unjust land distribution, and whose poverty was worsened by the Guatemala Civil War and sporadic episodes of genocide.  Their spiritual traditions were attacked by Catholics and Protestants, and they were made ashamed to speak the language in villages.  The second documented kidney disease among farm workers in Central America caused by heavy use of agrochemicals, with 95 ingredients of which 56 are banned in the European Union, compounded by unsafe levels of arsenic in drinking water.  The third discussed effects of climate change, and explored environmentalism concerns in terms of preservation of the environment, lifestyle changes, collective action, and environmental justice (addressing greater effects on racial minorities and the poor).  The fourth explored understandings of environmentalism among students in Guatemala, ranked as one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.  It noted effects caused by local practices, corruption and impunity, ignorance and lack of awareness, resulting in bleak views of the future.

         The final keynote address defined colonization as more than a matter of land acquisition and political control. It is a complex process that involves colonizing the psychological and social worlds of the colonial subjects. Tools of the oppressor include violence, political exclusion, economic exploitation, control of sexuality, cultural control, and fragmentation. Decolonization requires listening, dialog, participation, communication, humility and respect, critique, reflection, and action, in collaboration with and among the oppressed.

         I had a late lunch in the outdoor restaurant between the pool and the beach.  The fish tacos with coconut sauce were very good, although I liked the shrimp tacos more.   Since museums close at 4 PM, I decided that there wasn't much time to do more sightseeing given the time spent in taxis, so I relaxed and read by the pool, then went swimming. I had dinner on the patio of the hotel, which was the best chicken and cheese quesadillas I had ever eaten!

SUNDAY JUNE 27

         My flight from San Juan to Miami was delayed because the plane was late arriving in San Juan.  When we arrived in Miami, I rushed from gate 22 to gate 42 on the long concourse that didn't have moving walkways.  When I arrived, the gate was already closed and the agents refused to let me and four others onto the flight, even though it wasn't yet time to depart. In fact, my wife told me later that that FlightTracker indicated that the flight left 5 minutes early.  After waiting with dozens of others at the desk that reschedules flights, I was able to get on a flight two hours later.  It was the last seat, which wasn't an exit row, so I had to spread my legs wide since there wasn't enough legroom to keep them straight.  Needless to say, it was a miserable flight. I will try to avoid American Airlines on future flights, especially any transfers in Miami.

         In spite of that, I really enjoyed my trip to Puerto Rico, learning about its history and the many research findings at the conference, and meeting people on the trip.