Stress management at work: With whom,for whom and to what ends?

A critical overview is presented of workplace stress-management interventions. It is suggested that they have so far failed to deliver what they have promised. Evaluation studies fail to distinguish between the aims and objectives of primary prevention interventions, such as stress-management training, where potential benefits can only be assessed in terms of long-term outcomes, and secondary and tertiary interventions, such as counselling, where existing disorders are treated. Stress-management interventions are based on inadequate and oversimplistic theories which obscure the many conflicting interests of employees, employers and researchers, and ignore empirical evidence which suggests that individual well-being, attitudes to work, and work behaviours are minimally linked. It is suggested that alleviating the problems that people experience at work will remain elusive unless the conceptual problems in occupational stress are more fully acknowledged.     

Individual differences in young and older adults' spelling: do good spellers age better than poor spellers?

Young and older adults' ability to retrieve the spellings of high- and low-frequency words was assessed via tests of spelling recognition and production. One of the spelling production tests required participants to write down the correct spellings of auditorily presented words, and accuracy was used to categorize participants in both age groups as good or poor spellers. The results showed that individual spelling ability and word frequency contributed to age differences. Older adults who were poor spellers were less accurate in recognizing and producing correct spelling than young adults who were poor spellers. In contrast, no age differences occurred for good spellers. Furthermore, low-frequency words were especially difficult for young adults and poor spellers, relative to older adults and good spellers. These results indicate that aging alone is not detrimental to the processes underlying recognition or production of spelling but instead compounds existing problems caused by poor spelling.     

Are there gender differences in cognitive reflection? Invariance and differences related to mathematics

ABSTRACT

Cognitive reflection is recognized as an important skill, which is necessary for making advantageous decisions. Even though gender differences in the Cognitive Reflection test (CRT) appear to be robust across multiple studies, little research has examined the source of the gender gap in performance. In Study 1, we tested the invariance of the scale across genders. In Study 2, we investigated the role of math anxiety, mathematical reasoning, and gender in CRT performance. The results attested the measurement equivalence of the Cognitive Reflection Test – Long (CRT- L), when administered to male and female students. Additionally, the results of the mediation analysis showed an indirect effect of gender on CRT-L performance through mathematical reasoning and math anxiety. The direct effect of gender was no longer statistically significant after accounting for the other variables. The current findings suggest that cognitive reflection is affected by numerical skills and related feelings.     

Significant differences in quality-of-life factors and their correlates: A function of differences in career orientations or gender?

This study compared the differences in the three quality-of-life variables of job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and mental health, and their correlates, based on differences in career orientation vs gender differences. Eight correlates, theorized to have an influence on the three quality-of-life factors were used to investigate the issue. One hundred and sixty-six working couples in a variety of organizations in the midwest and west coast regions of the United States offered a sample of 220 professionals and 120 nonprofessionals with a good mix of both genders in the two groups. The findings of the study indicated that: (1) career orientations had a far greater influence on the perceived quality-of-life and other factors than gender differences; (2) there was no strong support that the predictors differentially predicted the variance in any of the quality-of-life factors based on gender, or on the career orientations for the entire population; and (3) among the subset of the women in the sample, the multiple-role stress experienced did make a significant difference in how job satisfaction was predicted for the professional as opposed to the nonprofessional women. Further research directions and future trends are suggested.     

Are there gender differences in verbal and visuospatial working-memory resources?

Whereas women generally outperform men in episodic-memory tasks, little is known as to how the genders compare with respect to basic working-memory operations. In reference to Baddeley's (1986) model, the present study searched for possible gender differences in terms of accuracy (but not speed) of working-memory processes. Men and women completed series of working-memory tasks respectively involving verbal and visuospatial information, as well as a double-span task involving both classes of information. Control measures included verbal fluency and mental rotation tasks in which gender differences are frequently obtained. In these tasks, the results showed several of the expected gender contrasts. However, men and women were not found to differ significantly in any type of working memory save in the double-span task where women surpassed men. The patterns of task intercorrelation were largely similar in both genders. Discussion emphasises the manifestation, based on the present exploration, of an almost identical working-memory architecture in men and women.     

Who victimizes whom and who defends whom? A multivariate social network analysis of victimization,aggression, and defending in early childhood

The aim of this research was to investigate the interplay between victim‐aggressor relationships and defending relationships in early childhood to test the proposition that young aggressors are less selective than older children in their choice of vulnerable targets. Cross‐sectional multivariate statistical social network analyses (Exponential Random Graph Models) for a sample of 177 preschoolers from seven classes, 5‐ to 7‐years‐old, revealed that boys were more aggressive than girls, toward both boys and girls, whereas defending relationships were most often same‐sex. There was significant reciprocity in aggression, indicating that it was more often bidirectional rather than unidirectional. In addition, aggressors clearly defended each other when they shared their targets of aggression, whereas a marginally significant trend appeared for defending between victims who were victimized by the same aggressors. Furthermore, teacher‐rated dominance was positively associated with children's involvement in both aggression and victimization, and teacher‐rated insecurity was associated with less aggression, but not with victimization. These findings suggest that those who are reported as being victimized may retaliate, or be aggressive themselves, and do not display some of the vulnerabilities reported among older groups of victims. The findings are in line with the proposition that young aggressors are less strategic than older children in targeting vulnerable victims. The network approach to peer victimization and defending contributes to understanding the social processes facilitating the development of aggression in early childhood.     

Psychoanalysis--with whom, for what, and how? Comparisons with psychotherapy

If psychoanalytic treatment is to survive in the era of evidence-based medicine and managed care systems, empirical evidence is needed to demonstrate its unique nature and effectiveness. To address this need, comprehensive analyses were conducted of data from the Menninger Psychotherapy Research Project (Wallerstein 1986). These analyses addressed three questions: (1) What are the differences in outcome between psychoanalysis (PSA) and supportive-expressive psychotherapy (SEP)? (2) With what types of patient, and in what ways, are these two psychodynamic treatments differentially effective? (3) Are these differences in outcome the consequence of possibly different mechanisms of therapeutic action? PSA was found to contribute significantly to the development of adaptive interpersonal capacities and to the reduction of maladaptive interpersonal tendencies, especially with more ruminative, self-reflective, introjective patients, possibly by extending their associative capacities. SEP, by contrast, was effective only in reducing maladaptive interpersonal tendencies and only with dependent, unreflective, more affectively labile anaclitic patients, possibly by containing or limiting their associative capacities.     

Responsible to whom? Responsible for what? Some ethical issues in community intervention

Conclusion Each ethical decision is a blend of general principles and contextual features. Many require compromises between competing values, must be made in the absence of perfect information, and require the courage to confront mistakes.In community intervention, we have seen that adopting a collaborative paradigm imposes the freedom to determine to whom we are responsible for our actions. A rationale was offered for giving priority to the most vulnerable group, even though this strategy leaves us with an accountability gap in which the group to whom we owe primary loyality is least likely to be able to call us to account.When we reject the professional-client paradigm in community psychology, we lose the formal contract as a device for setting the terms and limiting the scope of our responsibility. We do the best reconnaissance we can, but even with careful data-gathering we are condemned to act on the basis of imperfect information. We must follow through on unforseen consequences even when we have no formal role to mandate our perseverence.The community as a setting for psychological intervention faces us, then, with ethical challenges: we work for the well-being of groups too broad to give informed consent to our interventions; we act in collaboration with others, but collaborative action does not free us from professional obligation; we reconnoiter, but reconnaissance does not provide us with perfect information; we may advise while others act, but we cannot walk away from the consequences of their actions. Ethical decision making, in the community as elsewhere, is a creative act in which we invent our profession choice by choice. Editor's Note: The subject of ethics, in the specific context of Community Psychology, deserves our attention. This paper provided us with an opportunity for such attention. My own reactions to it were of sufficient range to lead me to invite commentary from individuals with a range of views. Thanks is extended to the eight authors whose comments immediately follow.The cases in this paper were first presented in talks given to the Canadian Psychological Association and the Ontario Psychological Association. On both occasions, Carole Sinclair made valuable comments on the material; Elaine Campbell and David Colquhoun also contributed to the present formulation of these issues. In the editorial process, three anonymous reviewers made many valuable suggestions. The paper was written while the author was Invited Professor at the University of Montreal.     

Gender and gender role differences in student–teachers’ commitment to teaching

Low commitment to teaching amongst teachers is a problem facing the teaching profession in many countries. Gender might be an important factor in explaining what kinds of prospective teachers are attracted to teaching. This empirical study examined the relationship between student–teachers’ gender, gender roles and commitment to teaching within the context of a large, university-based teacher education program in Tanzania. A self-report questionnaire was administered, comprising commitment to teaching items, gender as a demographic variable and items from Bem sex role inventory (BSRI). Cluster analysis on the masculine and feminine scale of the BSRI indicated three clusters: (1) highly androgynous students with high scores on both masculine and feminine scales, (2) medium androgynous students with relatively high scores on both masculine and feminine scales, and (3) low androgynous students with low scores in relation to the other two groups on both masculine and feminine scales of the BSRI. More female than male student–teachers reported to be highly androgynous. Covariance analysis showed that gender roles were significantly related to commitment to teaching and to intention to enter the teaching profession. Highly androgynous student–teachers reported significantly more commitment to teaching and higher intentions to enter the teaching profession compared to medium and low androgynous student–teachers. No significant relationships were found between gender, on the one hand, and commitment to teaching and the intention to enter the teaching profession, on the other hand. Findings are discussed in the context of teacher and teacher education in Tanzania.     

When, what, and whom to watch? Quantifying attention in ravens (Corvus corax) and jackdaws (Corvus monedula)

Complex social life requires monitoring of conspecifics. The amount and focus of attention toward others has been suggested to depend on the social relationships between individuals. Yet there are surprisingly few experiments that have tested these assumptions. This study compared attention patterns toward conspecifics in two corvid species, ravens (Corvus corax) and jackdaws (Corvus monedula). Birds were confronted with affiliated and non-affiliated conspecifics engaged in foraging and object manipulation. Visual access to the model bird was provided through two observation holes, which allowed measurement of exactly how often and for how long observers watched the other. Overall, ravens were more attentive to conspecifics than were jackdaws. Moreover, only ravens showed higher interest toward food-related than object-related behaviors of the model and toward close affiliates than non-affiliates by increasing the duration rather than the frequency of looks. These results are in accordance with predictions derived from the species' foraging biology and suggest that the facultative social, but highly manipulative, ravens use and value information from others differently than do the obligate social jackdaws.     

European values in bioethics: why,what, and how to be used?

Are there distinctly European values in bioethics, and if there are, what are they? Some Continental philosophers have argued that the principles of dignity, precaution, and solidarity reflect the European ethos better than the liberal concepts of autonomy, harm, and justice. These principles, so the argument goes, elevate prudence over hedonism, communality over individualism, and moral sense over pragmatism. Contrary to what their proponents often believe, however, dignity, precaution, and solidarity can be interpreted in many ways, and it is not clear which reading would, or should, be favored by popular opinion. It is therefore dangerous to think that any one understanding of "European", or any other, values could be legitimately imposed on those who have different ideas about morality in health care and related fields. Bioethical principles should be employed to promote discussion, not to suppress it.     

Propositional unity: what’s the problem, who has it and who solves it?

At least since Russell’s influential discussion in The Principles of Mathematics, many philosophers have held there is a problem that they call the problem of the unity of the proposition. In a recent paper, I argued that there is no single problem that alone deserves the epithet the problem of the unity of the proposition. I there distinguished three problems or questions, each of which had some right to be called a problem regarding the unity of the proposition; and I showed how the account of propositions formulated in my book The Nature and Structure of Content [2007 Oxford University Press] solves each of these problems. In the present paper, I take up two of these problems/questions yet again. For I want to consider other accounts of propositions and compare their solutions to these problems, or lack thereof, to mine. I argue that my account provides the best solutions to the unity problems.     

Individual differences in melancholy gender among women: does ambivalence matter?

This research offers an empirical investigation inspired by Butler's theory of melancholy gender (1995) and a revision of this theory (Jay 2007a). Psychoanalytic feminist theory is drawn on to suggest that melancholy and gender are more likely to be associated in female development than in male development, and Freud's theory of melancholy (1917) is taken to suggest that ambivalence predicts individual differences in melancholy gender among women. In a longitudinal study of women's adult development, an examination of femininity, depressive symptoms, and ambivalence in attachment was conducted in order to evaluate these claims. Findings show that depressive symptoms and femininity are significantly correlated within the sample, but that individual differences in melancholy gender exist. To understand these differences, an analysis was conducted to determine whether ambivalence in attachment accounts for the relation between depressive symptoms and femininity; complementary analyses examined whether low ambivalence in attachment attenuates, or lessens, the relation between femininity and depressive symptoms. Results from these analyses support the notion that it is not the loss and internalization of the same-sex object choice per se that results in melancholy gender in women, as Butler argues; rather, it is the internalization of a lost, ambivalent same-sex attachment that forges the link between melancholy and gender. Narrative material is presented to personify melancholy and unmelancholy gender.     

Gender differences in romantic relationship memories: who remembers? Who cares?

Two studies were conducted to assess patterns of gender differences in memory for romantic relationship events. Results suggested that people believe that women have better memory for romantic relationship events than men, that better relationship memory predicts higher levels of relationship well-being, and that the association between relationship memory and relationship well-being is somewhat stronger for women than for men. Women did tend to have somewhat better relationship memory than men, as assessed via subjective reports from both partners in mixed-sex relationships, and via the number of details partners provided when asked to recall a specific relationship event (i.e., their first date). Consistent with the lay theories, both own and partner’s better relationship memory predicted higher levels of relationship well-being; however, the association between better relationship memory and higher levels of relationship well-being was equally strong for both genders. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Child age, parent and child gender, and domain differences in parents’ attributions and responses to children’s outcomes

The influence of children’s age, and parents’ and children’s gender on parents’ attributions and emotional and behavioral responses to their children’s successful and unsuccessful social and academic outcomes, was investigated. Seventy-six dual-parent families (mothers and fathers) of fifth (n=28), eighth (n=23), and eleventh grade (n=25) children participated. The results of this study suggest that from fifth grade on, at least, the ways parents explain the causes of and respond to their children’s social behavior and academic outcomes involves a complex interaction of children’s age, children’s gender, parents’ gender, domain, and outcome. Results are discussed in terms of children’s socialization. This paper is based in part on a master’s thesis at Clark University by the first author. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Providence, RI, April 1994. The authors would like to thank the parents, teachers, and school administrators of Holden and Auburn, Massachusetts, who participated in this project. We would also like to thank Kristen Rotis and Leslie Edwards for their tireless help in revising and preparing the questionnaires, and for entering data for this project.     

Teachers as role models: Are there gender differences in microcomputer-based mathematics and science instruction?

This study examines whether male and female teachers differ in (a) their background or training for instructional uses of microcomputers and (b) their uses of microcomputers to teach mathematics and science. Research carried out in 60 classrooms, 49 schools, and 25 districts in California provided data on district and school microcomputer policies; classroom contexts; and teachers' characteristics, instructional decisions, and practices. A secondary analysis of these data indicated that district and school characteristics and classroom organization and composition did not differ, by and large, among male and female teachers. Furthermore, gender was unrelated to teachers' subject matter and computer knowledge, patterns of microcomputer-based instruction, and instructional decisions and practices. Both female and male teachers provide leadership in the microcomputer movement, have the relevant training and experience which contributes to microcomputer use, use microcomputers for instruction in a variety of ways, and present equally viable role models.Funded by the National Institute of Education (NIE), this study was restricted to California for budgetary reasons. Nevertheless, California appears to be representative of microcomputer use in other leading states (Chambers & Bork, 1980).