Psychological essentialism, implicit theories, and intergroup relations

Research on implicit person theories shows that beliefs about the malleability of human attributes have important implications for social cognition, interpersonal behavior, and intergroup relations. We argue that these implications can be understood within the framework of psychological essentialism, which extends work on implicit theories in promising directions. We review evidence that immutability beliefs covary with a broader set of essentialist beliefs, and that these essentialist beliefs are associated with stereotyping and prejudice. We then present recent studies indicating that associations between implicit person theories and stereotyping may be explained in terms of essentialist beliefs, implying a significant role for these beliefs in the psychology of group perception. Finally, we propose ways in which research and theory on essentialist beliefs might clarify and advance research on implicit person theories.

Psychological predictors of opportunistic snacking in the absence of hunger

Increased frequency of eating in the absence of homeostatic need, notably through snacking, is an important contributor to overconsumption and may be facilitated by increased availability of palatable food in the obesogenic environment. Opportunistic initiation of snacking is likely to be subject to individual differences, although these are infrequently studied in laboratory-based research paradigms. This study examined psychological factors associated with opportunistic initiation of snacking, and predictors of intake in the absence of homeostatic need. Fifty adults (mean age 34.5 years, mean BMI 23.9 kg/m2, 56% female) participated in a snack taste test in which they ate a chocolate snack to satiation, after which they were offered an unanticipated opportunity to initiate a second eating episode. Trait and behavioural measures of self control, sensitivity to reward, dietary restraint and disinhibited eating were taken. Results showed that, contrary to expectations, those who initiated snacking were better at inhibitory control compared with those who did not initiate. However, amongst participants who initiated snacking, intake (kcal) was predicted by higher food reward sensitivity, impulsivity and BMI. These findings suggest that snacking initiation in the absence of hunger is an important contributor to overconsumption. Consideration of the individual differences promoting initiation of eating may aid in reducing elevated eating frequency in at-risk individuals.

Responses to an in-basket activity: The role of work stress, behavioral control, and informational control

This study was undertaken to examine the main and interactive effects of work stress and work control on levels of adjustment. Work stress, behavioral control, and informational control were manipulated in an experimental setting in which participants (N = 192) completed an in-basket activity. Although minimal support was found for the main and interactive effects of objective work stress, behavioral control, and informational control on adjustment, analyses involving the subjective measures of these variables revealed strong support for the proposal that work stress, behavioral control, and informational control would exert main effects on adjustment. There was also evidence that subjective levels of behavioral control buffered the negative effects of subjective work stress on positive mood, subjective task performance, and task satisfaction.

Burnout and work engagement in occupational therapists

Introduction Work engagement, characterized by vigour, dedication, and absorption, is often perceived as the opposite of burnout. Occupational therapists with burnout feel exhausted and disengaged from their work. This study aims to investigate demographic and work-related psychosocial factors associated with burnout and work engagement. Method A cross-sectional postal survey of 951 occupational therapists was conducted. Findings Two models representing factors associated with burnout (F(15,871) = 28.01, p < .001) and work engagement (F(10,852) = 16.15, p < .001) accounted for 32.54% and 15.93% of the variance respectively. Burnout and work engagement were inversely associated (χ2(n = 941) = 55.16, p < .001). Conclusion Factors associated with burnout and work engagement were identified. The variables associated with burnout included: low psychological detachment from work during out-of-work hours, low income satisfaction, perceived work overload, difficulty saying ‘no’, < 10 years' experience, low frequency of having a ‘belly laugh’, and not having children. High levels of work engagement were reported by therapists with the following: low psychological detachment from work, high income satisfaction, postgraduate qualifications, > 40 hours work/week, high frequency of having a ‘belly laugh’, and having children. Understanding the factors associated with burnout and work engagement provides prerequisite information to inform strategies aimed at building healthy workforces.

Threat of resource loss: The role of self-regulation in adaptive task performance

Changes at work are often accompanied with the threat of, or actual, resource loss. Through an experiment, we investigated the detrimental effect of the threat of resource loss on adaptive task performance. Self-regulation (i.e., task focus and emotion control) was hypothesized to buffer the negative relationship between the threat of resource loss and adaptive task performance. Adaptation was conceptualized as relearning after a change in task execution rules. Threat of resource loss was manipulated for 100 participants undertaking an air traffic control task. Using discontinuous growth curve modeling, 2 kinds of adaptation—transition adaptation and reacquisition adaptation—were differentiated. The results showed that individuals who experienced the threat of resource loss had a stronger drop in performance (less transition adaptation) and a subsequent slower recovery (less reacquisition adaptation) compared with the control group who experienced no threat. Emotion control (but not task focus) moderated the relationship between the threat of resource loss and transition adaptation. In this respect, individuals who felt threatened but regulated their emotions performed better immediately after the task change (but not later on) compared with those individuals who felt threatened and did not regulate their emotions as well. However, later on, relearning (reacquisition adaptation) under the threat of resource loss was facilitated when individuals concentrated on the task at hand.

Main themes and missing elements in psychological research into child maltreatment in Africa

These 18 papers on aspects of violence against children add to a growing body of African literature that tends to focus on four major themes. The first three are generic to research worldwide, and include efforts to uncover the extent of adverse experiences during childhood, describe the effects on health and well-being, and examine professional practices, concepts and myths. The fourth theme is more particular to Africa, and is focused on understanding how to protect children within the context of poverty, some harmful traditional practices and community violence. Despite best efforts by researchers and child rights advocates, there are missing elements in the research to date, including scant focus on the problems of emotional abuse and neglect, and limited attention to evaluation of the effectiveness of prevention and care programs.

Workplace belongingness, psychological distress and resilience in emergency service workers

- Objective Ambulance personnel provide emergency medical services to the community, often attending to highly challenging and traumatic scenes in complex and chaotic circumstances. Currently the assessment of predictors of psychological well-being remains limited. The current study investigated whether workplace belongingness was significant in predicting psychological distress as well as the presence of resilience in ambulance personnel whilst controlling for more routinely examined factors. - Method Australian ambulance officers (N = 740) completed a survey battery including the Kessler 10 (Kessler & Mroczek, 1994), Brief Resilience Scale (Smith et al., 2008) and Psychological Sense of Organisational Membership (Cockshaw & Shochet, 2010) scale. - Results Controlling for more commonly examined factors such as severity of trauma exposure and length of service, hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that workplace belongingness was significantly associated with reduced distress levels and enhanced resilience levels. - Conclusions Results suggest that strategies to enhance a sense of workplace belongingness in emergency service organisations could promote the well-being of emergency workers despite routine exposure to potentially traumatic events.

Stress and Resilience in Combat-Related PTSD: Integration of Psychological Theory and Biological Mechanisms

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric disorder that has a major impact on the ability to function effectively in daily life. PTSD may develop as a response to exposure to an event or events perceived as potentially harmful or life-threatening. It has high prevalence rates in the community, especially among vulnerable groups such as military personnel or those in emergency services. Despite extensive research in this field, the underlying mechanisms of the disorder remain largely unknown. The identification of risk factors for PTSD has posed a particular challenge as there can be delays in onset of the disorder, and most people who are exposed to traumatic events will not meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD. With the advent of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM V), the classification for PTSD has changed from an anxiety disorder into the category of stress- and trauma-related disorders. This has the potential to refocus PTSD research on the nature of stress and the stress response relationship. This review focuses on some of the important findings from psychological and biological research based on early models of stress and resilience. Improving our understanding of PTSD by investigating both genetic and psychological risk and coping factors that influence stress response, as well as their interaction, may provide a basis for more effective and earlier intervention.

The moderating effects of job control and selection, optimization, and compensation strategies on the age-work ability relationship

Work ability describes employees' capability to carry out their work with respect to physical and psychological job demands. This study investigated direct and interactive effects of age, job control, and the use of successful aging strategies called selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) in predicting work ability. We assessed SOC strategies and job control by using employee self-reports, and we measured employees' work ability using supervisor ratings. Data collected from 173 health-care employees showed that job control was positively associated with work ability. Additionally, we found a three-way interaction effect of age, job control, and use of SOC strategies on work ability. Specifically, the negative relationship between age and work ability was weakest for employees with high job control and high use of SOC strategies. These results suggest that the use of successful aging strategies and enhanced control at work are conducive to maintaining the work ability of aging employees. We discuss theoretical and practical implications regarding the beneficial role of the use of SOC strategies utilized by older employees and enhanced contextual resources at work for aging employees.

A lifespan perspective on psychological contracts and their relations with organizational commitment

The current study investigated the influence of age-related constructs on the psychological contract and its relationships with continuance and normative commitment. It was proposed that as people age, their future time perspective (FTP) decreases. Consequently, it was expected that contract fulfilment would be positively related to continuance commitment for workers with short FTP, while it would be positively related to normative commitment for workers with long FTP. Conversely, it was argued that, with age, workers’ perceived work-related expertise increases, resulting in stronger reactions to obligation fulfilment on normative commitment. A study among 334 employees showed that FTP and work-related expertise indeed moderated the relationships between contract fulfilment and organizational commitment. The results showed that the influence of age on the relations between contract fulfilment with outcomes is dependent upon FTP and occupational expertise. The study shows the value of a lifespan perspective on psychological contracts and their relations with organizational commitment.

Reactions to changes in work control: Implications for self-determined and non-self-determined individuals

We investigate the extent to which individuals’ global motivation (self-determined and non-self-determined types) influences adjustment (anxiety, positive reappraisal) and engagement (intrinsic motivation, task performance) in reaction to changes to the level of work control available during a work simulation. Participants (N = 156) completed 2 trials of an inbox activity under conditions of low or high work control—with the ordering of these levels varied to create an increase, decrease, or no change in work control. In support of the hypotheses, results revealed that for more self-determined individuals, high work control led to the increased use of positive reappraisal. Follow-up moderated mediation analyses revealed that the increases in positive reappraisal observed for self-determined individuals in the conditions in which work control was high by Trial 2 consequently increased their intrinsic motivation toward the task. For more non-self-determined individuals, high work control (as well as changes in work control) led to elevated anxiety. Follow-up moderated mediation analyses revealed that the increases in anxiety observed for non-self-determined individuals in the high-to-high work control condition consequently reduced their task performance. It is concluded that adjustment to a demanding work task depends on a fit between individuals’ global motivation and the work control available, which has consequences for engagement with demanding work.

Constructive deviance as a driver for performance in retail

A growing body of research is concerned with deviance in the workplace. While much research has explored negative forms of deviance, we examine constructive deviance: behaviour that deviates from salient norms and benefits the reference group. We empirically explore manifestations, determinants and performance outcomes of constructive deviance in standardised work processes. We do this through a mixed-methods study in bakery trading departments of an Australian retailer. We illustrate that constructive deviance occurs in these settings and show that some manifestations of constructive deviance improve organisational performance and pave the way for applying constructive deviance as a strategic tool in retail.