Behavioral consequences of job-related stress among resident physicians: the mediating role of psychological strain

This study examined the correlations among stressors, psychological strain, and behavioral reactions in a national sample of 1785 resident physicians, 27 to 33 years old. Consistent with previous studies of resident physicians, analysis showed that those experiencing high job-related stressors experienced high psychological strain in both their personal and professional lives. Stressors were also correlated with behavioral reactions. Hierarchical regression suggested that psychological strain mediated the relations between two of the stressors and behavioral reactions to some extent. This was consistent with recent research suggesting that psychological reactions may mediate the relations between stressors and outcomes. Further research on both medical residency and the stressing process was suggested.     

The Pastor's role with job-related problems

Summary In the vocational realm a pastor can help a client resolve his problems in a variety of ways. Realizing he has a sympathetic and understanding listener, the client can get a feeling of relief by talking out his problems and expressing his feelings about them. As a less biased observer, the pastor shows him the reality of his situation, and suggests other resources or new plans of possible action. The pastoral counselor might also suggest appropriate religious principles that should improve attitudes and help make smoother relationships with people on his job and elsewhere. Through this kind of counseling help, the client might be led to see his own solution.     

Classroom applications of self-determined reinforcement

Self-determined, experimenter-determined, and chance-determined token reinforcement treatments were compared with a no-token treatment, in terms of effect on the learning of history and geography material in the classroom. Each treatment was assigned to one of four heterogeneous classes of Grade nine girls. An initial baseline period preceded the differential reinforcement period, and a token withdrawal period followed. Subsequently, the self-determined treatment was employed in all three token reinforcement classes, before a final baseline period occurred. Findings included a similarity of initial baseline performance for all classes, an equal superiority of self-determined and experimenter-determined treatments to chance-determined and no-token treatments, and significant improvement from initial baseline to final baseline for self-determined and experimenter-determined treatments, but not chance-determined and no-token treatments. Differential token reinforcement experience was found to influence subsequent rate of self-determined token reinforcement.     

Four-quadrant investigation of job-related affects and behaviours

Emphasizing differences in activation as well as valence, six studies across a range of situations examined relations between types of job-related core affect and 13 self-reported work behaviours. A theory-based measure of affect was developed, and its four-quadrant structure was found to be supported across studies. Also consistent with hypotheses, high-activation pleasant affect was more strongly correlated with positive behaviours than were low-activation pleasant feelings, and those associations tended to be greatest for discretionary behaviours in contrast to routine task proficiency. Additionally as predicted, unpleasant job-related affects that had low rather than high activation were more strongly linked to the negative work behaviours examined. Theory and practice would benefit from greater differentiation between affects and between behaviours.     

The links between self-determined motivations and behavioral automaticity in a variety of real-life behaviors

The different motivations postulated by the Self-Determination Theory have proved to be meaningful to predict the level of engagement in a wide variety of life domains. The present research examines the relation between the different forms of self-determined motivation and behavioral automaticity of 12 behaviors associated with different life domains. Following 1743 measurements of self-determination (using a short version of the situational motivational scale, SIMS8), behavioral automaticity (using the self-reported behavioral automaticity index, SRBAI), and behavioral frequency (self-reported number of executions in a unit of time) for 12 various common behaviors collected on 315 young adults (M_age = 20.60?±?2.87 years) through an online survey, the results of crossed linear mixed models indicated that self-determined motivations are more associated with behavioral automaticity than non-self-determined motivations (intrinsic motivation: β?=?0.13, p?<?.001, identified extrinsic motivation: β?=?0.13, p?<?.001; external extrinsic motivation : β?=?0.08, p?<?.001; amotivation: β?=?0.02, p?=?.433). Furthermore, self-determination played a moderating role between the repetition of behaviors and behavioral automaticity (β?=?0.06, p?<?.002) suggesting that self-determination facilitated automatization, as high level of behavioral automaticity was achieved with less frequent behaviors when behaviors were performed for highly self-determined (β?=?0.41, p?<?.001) than weakly self-determined reasons (β?=?0.29, p?<?.001). The applications of these findings for learning and habit formation are discussed.     

The impact of self-determined motivation on volunteer role identities: A cross-lagged panel study

Volunteer role identity is regarded the direct and proximal cause of sustained volunteerism. Self-determination theory suggests that the quality of motivation greatly affects performance and well-being in various contexts. Therefore, this study investigated cross-lagged effects (over a time period of 16 months) between self-determined and controlled motivation, on the one hand, and two types of volunteer role identities, on the other hand: general role identity (GRI) and organization-specific role identity (OSRI). Analyses confirmed positive time-lagged effects of self-determined motivation on both GRI and OSRI. Time-lagged effects in opposite direction were significantly weaker; only OSRI showed a positive impact on subsequent self-determined motivation. OSRI (but not GRI) also had a positive lagged effect on controlled motivation. Overall, this study supported the idea that self-determined motivation represents a causal antecedent of volunteer role identities.     

The consequences of a nurse's negative evaluation of a blood pressure reading. Implications for the etiology of white-coat hypertension

The aim of this study was to show how a nurses negative evaluation of a blood pressure (BP) reading can cause an increase in BP in the following reading. Twenty-five subjects with normal pressure who had been informed that they were to participate in an epidemiological BP study took part and they were divided into two groups. After taking the first BP reading, participants from the experimental group were informed that their pressure was normal but high for their age, whereas those in the control group were told that their pressure was normal for their age. The results showed that this comment caused a significant increase in the diastolic BP of the experimental group. The theoretical and clinical implications of this reaction are discussed in relation to the phenomenon known as White-Coat Hypertension from the perspective of the theory of incubation.     

Passion and burnout in elite junior soccer players: The mediating role of self-determined motivation

Objectives

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between forms of passion (harmonious and obsessive; Vallerand et al., 2003) and athlete burnout, and whether these relationships are mediated by self-determined motivation. The proposed model posited that because harmonious passion originates from an authentic self, it will be positively associated with self-determined regulation. Conversely, because obsessive passion originates from ego-invested structures within the self, it will be negatively associated with self-determined regulation. In turn, consistent with research examining the relationship between motivation regulation and athlete burnout, self-determined regulation was expected to be negatively associated with athlete burnout.

Design

Cross-sectional survey.

Method

This model was tested in 149 (M age = 16.2, s = 2.0, range = 12–21) male junior athletes who attended soccer academies in the UK. Participants completed the Passion Scale (Vallerand et al., 2003), the Sport Motivation Scale (Pelletier et al., 1995), and the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (Raedeke & Smith, 2001).

Results

Harmonious passion was negatively related to a latent athlete burnout factor, whereas obsessive passion was unrelated to a latent athlete burnout factor. The relationship between harmonious passion and burnout was fully mediated by self-determined regulation.

Conclusions

The results suggest that harmonious passion may offer some protection from burnout for athletes due to higher levels of self-determined motivation.     

The protective role of self-determined prejudice regulation in the relationship between intergroup threat and prejudice

Although plenty of evidence supports the link between intergroup threat and prejudice, few intrapersonal moderators of this association have been investigated. One potentially important moderator is the source of motivation underlying prejudice regulation. In Study 1, we examined whether self-determined prejudice regulation reduces the impact of intergroup threat on various outgroup attitude variables (e.g., modern racism, outgroup affect, etc.). Results suggest that being self-determined in one??s motivation to regulate prejudice buffers the impact of intergroup threat on prejudice, whereas regulating prejudice primarily for non-self-determined reasons serves to exacerbate the threat-prejudice effect. In Study 2, a cross-sectional corroboration of this interaction was obtained using structural equation modeling, revealing that the threat-prejudice link differed significantly across groups of prejudice regulators. The role of self-determination in reducing the harmful effects of intergroup threat is discussed, and implications for prejudice reduction and diversity education are identified.     

使命感的影响效果

使命感(calling)作为一个前沿主题, 近年来受到理论界和实务界的广泛关注。根据PRISMA申明推荐的文献搜索流程, 保留国内外使命感的影响效果相关文献, 对这些文献进行系统梳理和分析, 总结出使命感影响效果的三种变量类型：职业心理与状态、职业技能与能力以及职业过程与产出。未来研究应进一步探索使命感消极影响, 关注双刃剑效应; 分析使命感文化差异, 探讨跨文化比较效应; 构建使命感团队模型, 延伸研究层次; 追踪使命感变化, 构建动态模型。     

The importance of job autonomy, cognitive ability, and job-related skill for predicting role breadth and job performance

Role theory suggests and empirical research has found that there is considerable variation in how broadly individuals define their jobs. We investigated the theoretically meaningful yet infrequently studied relationships between incumbent job autonomy, cognitive ability, job-related skill, role breadth, and job performance. Using multiple data sources and multiple measurement occasions in a field setting, we found that job autonomy, cognitive ability, and job-related skill were positively related to role breadth, accounting for 23% of the variance in role breadth. In addition, role breadth was positively related to job performance and was found to mediate the relationship between job autonomy, cognitive ability, job-related skill, and job performance. These results add to our understanding of the factors that predict role breadth, as well as having implications for how job aspects and individual characteristics are translated into performance outcomes and the treatment of variability in incumbent reports of job tasks.     

The consequences of abortion legislation

This article examines the consequences of the 1973 US Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion as well as potential implications of proposed legilation aimed at nullifying this decision. In addition to giving women the right to determine their own reproduction, legal abortion had had beneficial health effects for both mothers and infants. The partial reversal of abortion gains due to restrictions on public funding and limitations on how and where abortions can be performed has produced a slight increase in abortion mortality, but the impact has not been dramatic. Moreover, each year since 1973, women have been obtaining abortions earlier in pregnancy. Abortion may be experienced as a loss by the mother, but there is no evidence of serious psychological sequelae. In contrast, a large body of evidence supports the physical, psychological, and social benefits of legal abortion to women, children, and families. However, proponents of the proposed Human Life Amendment place protection of the rights of the fetus over all other considerations. Their antiabortion actions have challenged the medical tradition of privacy and the confidentiality of the doctor-patient relationship. Most supporters of legal abortion would prefer that there be fewer abortions; such a decrease is more likely as a result of better education and contraceptive methods rather than coercion.     

The consequences of uncontrolled epilepsy

The consequences of epilepsy can be quite severe and include shortened lifespan, excessive bodily injury, neuropsychological and psychiatric impairment, and social disability. There is evidence that seizures cause brain injury, including neuronal death and physiological dysfunction. Mortality rates are 4-7 times higher in people with medically refractory seizures, and injury rates are substantial, ranging from one per 20 person-years to as much as one per 3 person-years. Quality of life is impaired in epilepsy, and relates to seizure control. Psychosocial disabilities, including lower social interaction with reduced marriage rates and reduced employment levels, are more common in people with refractory seizures. Complete seizure control is desirable, since seizures potentially constitute a serious threat to health and well-being. Therefore, satisfactory seizure control should be defined as having no seizures. Treatment should be directed to preventing seizures whenever possible and achieving control early in the course of illness. The risks of uncontrolled seizures outweigh the risks of aggressive medical or surgical therapy.     

Disaster rescue work: The consequences for the family

This paper reports on the findings of a pilot study investigating the impact of disaster relief work on the wives and family members of the relief workers. The study revealed that the wives did experience stress, although the nature of the problems identifed changed with each phase of disaster involvement. Children may also be affected. The age of the child may be an important determinant of the nature and severity of their problems. Interventions that could be adopted to deal with these concerns are outlined.     

The causes and consequences of an avoidance-focus for interracial interactions

The current work examined the causes and consequences of non-Black people's desire to avoid interracial interactions (an avoidance-focus). Expecting to respond with racial bias in inter-racial interactions was argued to result in an avoidance-focus for such interactions, which was hypothesized to have negative implications for the quality of interracial interactions. Across three studies, feedback indicating that non-Black participants would respond with racial bias in interactions with Black people resulted in anxiety and the desire to avoid the interaction. In addition, when participants with an avoidance-focus interacted with a Black confederate (Study 2), they had shorter interactions that were rated as less pleasant by the confederate and participant as compared to those without an avoidance-focus. Avoidance-focused participants were less interested in future interactions and came across as more avoidant and biased to their partner than less avoidance-focused participants. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for racial relations.