Formal dominance: the emperor's new clothes?

I previously argued that formal dominance requires the ability to attribute knowledge to other individuals (D. Maestripieri, 1996). Formal dominance is otherwise indistinguishable from the way dominance has previously been conceptualized. For example, the notion that nonhuman primates have social relationships and that 2 individuals express their knowledge about the state of their relationship with signals of dominance and submission is intrinsic to the concept of dominance and not peculiar to formal dominance. Moreover, the claims made by formal dominance supporters that macaque signals such as the bared-teeth display are always displayed unidirectionally to other group members and never directed to predators are incorrect. If the mentalistic terms used to describe formal dominance must not be taken literally, then the interpretation of submissive signals such as the bared-teeth display from a formal dominance perspective remains unclear.     

The new IOC and IAAF policies on female eligibility: old Emperor,new clothes?

The Caster Semenya debacle touched off by the 2009 Berlin World Athletics Championships resulted finally in IOC and IAAF abandonment of sex testing, which gave way to procedures that make female competition eligibility dependent upon the level of serum testosterone, which must be below the male range or instrumentally countered by androgen resistance. We argue that the new policy is unsustainable because (i) the testosterone-performance connection it posits is uncompelling; (ii) testosterone-induced female advantage is not ipso facto unfair advantage; (iii) the new policy reflects the gender policing impulses endemic to sport as well as the broader cultural impulses to monstrify women and to doctor women who have nothing wrong with them; (iv) female–male performance disparities are not the only reason for sex-segregated sport, but co-exist with respectable cultural and practical reasons, which (v) provide a powerful case for allowing athletes to compete in the sex category congruent with their gender identity.     

Response to intervention: are the Emperor's clothes really new?

With the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 2004, Response to Intervention (RTI) was officially introduced. Unlike the discrepancy model, which determines eligibility in special education with a discrepancy between achievement and ability, RTI was designed to provide intensive instruction to students in the general classroom as soon as difficulties in acquiring requisite reading skills are detected. The proposed goals of RTI include the improvement of reading achievement and the identification of students with learning disabilities (LD). Although RTI holds promise for the former goal when certain conditions are met, the latter goal is more elusive. The Component Model of Reading (CMR) is described in the current paper as an alternative to the discrepancy model and RTI. CMR, which consists of three domains, evaluates a poor reader's performance multidimensionally, so the most appropriate instruction for the reader can be designed to ensure reading success. Empirical evidence of CMR is presented.     

The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory?

In 1974, Baddeley and Hitch proposed a three-component model of working memory. Over the years, this has been successful in giving an integrated account not only of data from normal adults, but also neuropsychological, developmental and neuroimaging data. There are, however, a number of phenomena that are not readily captured by the original model. These are outlined here and a fourth component to the model, the episodic buffer, is proposed. It comprises a limited capacity system that provides temporary storage of information held in a multimodal code, which is capable of binding information from the subsidiary systems, and from long-term memory, into a unitary episodic representation. Conscious awareness is assumed to be the principal mode of retrieval from the buffer. The revised model differs from the old principally in focussing attention on the processes of integrating information, rather than on the isolation of the subsystems. In doing so, it provides a better basis for tackling the more complex aspects of executive control in working memory.     

Sports participation at work: An aid to stress management?

This study examined the effects of sport participation on mood, including stress, arousal, and psychological reversals. The subjects (N = 42) of the study were enrolled in an international MBA program which included, in addition to a range of academic courses, a course in physical education for which attendance was voluntary. Subjects, 26 sport participants and 16 nonparticipants, completed mood measures on five occasions throughout a typical working day, including just before and just after a sport session. Significant differences on some mood measure items and a number of pre- to post-sport significant effects (seriousmindedness and stress) were found between the sport and non-sport group, as well as reversals in psychological state. These results suggest that sport may well act as a modulator of mood and/or an inducing agent for reversal and therefore may play an important role in stress management intervention programs at work.     

The homophily and centrality of LGBQ youth: A new story?

Social Psychology of Education - The social acceptance of LGBQ individuals changed dramatically over the past several decades, which calls into question extant research suggesting that LGBQ youth...     

The Dark Side of Helping: Does Returning the Favor from Coworkers Hurt Employee Work Engagement?

This study investigated the potential "dark side" of helping behavior at work -- operationalized as provision of social support to coworkers. Drawing from the emotional contagion literature and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, we proposed and tested a moderated mediational model to examine the mechanisms by which social support received from one's coworkers contribute to the support recipient's work engagement. Employing data from a 12-week-long weekly diary among 142 acute care nurses, we did not find support for the proposed negative relationship between providing social support to coworkers and support providers' work engagement, nor for the overall mediational effect of the relationship between received coworker support and work engagement through support provision. However, we found that some work contextual factors (i.e., stable social support climates from coworkers and supervisors) moderated the weekly processes through which nurses' repaying social support received from coworkers predicts their subsequent work engagement. Specifically, providing support to coworkers had stronger beneficial effects on providers' engagement when coworker/supervisor support climates were relatively low; support received from coworkers had stronger indirect beneficial effects on nurses' engagement when coworker/supervisor support climates were relatively low. Our study findings highlight the complexity of the relationship between social support dynamics and work engagement, and that emotional contagion and COR theory may be insufficient, on their own, to explain social support dynamics between coworkers. We also discuss implications of the findings for managerial practices related to support dynamics at work.     

The latent structure of posttraumatic stress disorder: Different models or different populations?

Factor analytic studies of the structure of self-reported posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms have consistently supported two 4-factor models; the "Dysphoria" and the "Emotional Numbing" model. The fit of both models has been satisfactory; however, it has been difficult to unequivocally determine which model is best. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that there is no single "correct" model, but rather that the models represent different subpopulations. A confirmatory factor 2-class mixture model was specified with the Dysphoria model in one class and the Emotional Numbing model in the other. This model was tested using data from participants from 4 trauma groups. This model fitted the data better than 1 and 2-class models of the Dysphoria, Emotional Numbing, and cross-factor loading model. It was concluded that the search for the "correct" model of PTSD based on the assumption of a single homogenous population may not be a worthwhile research endeavor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

The use of impression management tactics in structured interviews: a function of question type?

This study investigated impression management tactic use during structured interviews containing both experience-based and situational questions. Specifically, the authors examined whether applicants' use of impression management tactics depended on question type. Results from 119 structured interviews indicated that almost all of the applicants used some form of impression management. Significantly more assertive than defensive impression management tactics were used, and among assertive tactics, applicants tended to use self-promotion rather than ingratiation. However, different question types prompted the use of different impression management tactics. Ingratiation tactics were used significantly more when applicants answered situational questions, whereas self-promotion tactics were used significantly more when applicants answered experience-based questions. Furthermore, the use of self-promotion and ingratiation tactics was positively related to interviewer evaluations.     

The philosophy of simulation: hot new issues or same old stew?

Computer simulations are an exciting tool that plays important roles in many scientific disciplines. This has attracted the attention of a number of philosophers of science. The main tenor in this literature is that computer simulations not only constitute interesting and powerful new science, but that they also raise a host of new philosophical issues. The protagonists in this debate claim no less than that simulations call into question our philosophical understanding of scientific ontology, the epistemology and semantics of models and theories, and the relation between experimentation and theorising, and submit that simulations demand a fundamentally new philosophy of science in many respects. The aim of this paper is to critically evaluate these claims. Our conclusion will be sober. We argue that these claims are overblown and that simulations, far from demanding a new metaphysics, epistemology, semantics and methodology, raise few if any new philosophical problems. The philosophical problems that do come up in connection with simulations are not specific to simulations and most of them are variants of problems that have been discussed in other contexts before. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Strategies of professional assistance after traumatic deaths: Empowerment or disempowerment?

Dyregrov, K. (2004). Strategies of professional assistance after traumatic deaths: Empowerment or disempowerment? Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 45, 181–189. Referring to research and theory in the field, this discussion paper addresses the more overarching question of current strategies for professional assistance to populations bereaved by traumatic death. The issues and controversies that have long surrounded the “medicalization” of mental health arise anew with respect to the medicalization and professionalization of psychosocial help for people who have been traumatically bereaved. Who should provide what help and how? To what extent should the bereaved be expected to help themselves, receive help and support from friends and family, or even the wider community; and to what extent should the bereaved be able to access appropriate professional help when they are in crisis? Recent studies have indicated that bereaved parents want to receive help from mainstream crisis psychology, and this is not always available. Families experiencing traumatic bereavement are not able to access appropriate services along the same lines as those suffering similar levels of somatic complaints. It is argued that the main factors contributing to this situation are the lack of knowledge and inadequate organization of services; the fact that somatic issues take priority over psychosocial difficulties and dysfunction, and curative services over prophylactic intervention; and particularly the de‐medicalization ideology. By not listening to the needs of user groups, the de‐medicalization movement disempowers rather than empowers users – the very opposite of the desired effect.     

Employee Eldercare Responsibilities: Should Organizations Care?

The question "Should organizations be concerned with the eldercare responsibilities of their employees?" was addressed from several perspectives: (1) prevalence of need, (2) the relationships among eldercare responsibilities, satisfaction with eldercare arrangements, and workplace attitudes and outcomes, and (3) support for organizational eldercare programs. Our sample was predominately female and we defined eldercare responsibilities broadly; however, only 5 of 885 employees reported eldercare responsibilities. The majority relied on family arrangements and reported dissatisfaction with these arrangements. Dissatisfaction was related to interruptions at work, leaving early, and intent to quit. Eldercare-givers did not differ from other groups on job satisfaction and organizational commitment, but were absent from work significantly more often. There was strong employee support for employer-sponsored eldercare programs.     

The relation between evil and transcendence: new possibilities?

Evil has always been a main interest in the field of philosophy and, lately, in the field of ethics – in both continental and analytic traditions – the idea of evil seems to be making a comeback. The propensity in philosophy is to understand evil in radical immanent terms. Lars Svendsen, in A Philosophy of Evil, argues for example that evil is about inter-human relationships, not about a transcendent, supernatural force. Emmanuel Levinas, on the other hand, describes evil as something that cannot be integrated into the world, something that is always on the outside: the radical Other. Furthermore, evil appears to us as something chaotic, defying comprehension. Does this mean evil is something transcendent? In this article I will analyse the concept of evil in terms of the typology of transcendence that was developed by Wessel Stoker. I will argue that there are, within the (post-) modern discourse, and due to new developments in the understanding of transcendence, new nuanced possibilities of thinking about evil and its relation to transcendence – especially to ‘transcendence as alterity’. Traces of this kind of understanding of evil will be indicated in Paul Ricoeur's view of evil. This notion of evil may enhance our ethical responsibility towards it.     

The effect of message framing on self-management of chronic pain: A new perspective on intervention?

This study examines framed messages as a novel approach to promote self-management of chronic pain. Primary care patients reporting chronic pain (pain rated?≥?4 on 0–10 NRS-I for ≥3 months) were randomly assigned to receive a gain- or loss-framed message promoting self-management of pain. Impact of the framed message on behavioural self-management (including communicating with providers, relaxation, activity pacing, pleasant activities and healthy lifestyle) was assessed. Post-message, individuals in the loss-frame condition reported significantly greater interest in and more knowledge gained from the information presented in the message (p?≤?0.03). Loss-frame participants were significantly more likely to express confidence that they would practice relaxation (p?≤?0.03). Pain readiness to change, pain self-efficacy and message frame independently influenced motivation to engage in relaxation as a self-management strategy. Across all behaviours assessed, there were no observed interactions between message frame and either pain self-efficacy or pain readiness to change (p?>?0.05). Framing may be useful to promote pain self-management; larger trials are needed to fully evaluate its potential and to further assess the applicability of framed communication to impact a broader range of chronic conditions.     

The effect of message framing on self-management of chronic pain: a new perspective on intervention?

This study examines framed messages as a novel approach to promote self-management of chronic pain. Primary care patients reporting chronic pain (pain rated ≥?4 on 0-10 NRS-I for ≥3 months) were randomly assigned to receive a gain- or loss-framed message promoting self-management of pain. Impact of the framed message on behavioural self-management (including communicating with providers, relaxation, activity pacing, pleasant activities and healthy lifestyle) was assessed. Post-message, individuals in the loss-frame condition reported significantly greater interest in and more knowledge gained from the information presented in the message (p≤0.03). Loss-frame participants were significantly more likely to express confidence that they would practice relaxation (p≤0.03). Pain readiness to change, pain self-efficacy and message frame independently influenced motivation to engage in relaxation as a self-management strategy. Across all behaviours assessed, there were no observed interactions between message frame and either pain self-efficacy or pain readiness to change (p>0.05). Framing may be useful to promote pain self-management; larger trials are needed to fully evaluate its potential and to further assess the applicability of framed communication to impact a broader range of chronic conditions.     

The Invisible Eye? Electronic Performance Monitoring and Employee Job Performance

To enhance employee performance, many organizations are increasingly using electronic performance monitoring (EPM). The relationship between the frequency of EPM use and employee performance is examined in 2 field studies. In Study 1, which uses a unique longitudinal data set, results reveal that shorter time lags between 2 consecutive employee performance assessments are related to better task performance as indicated by call quality metrics. A second field study using matched supervisor–employee and EPM system data is conducted in 2 call centers to extend these results and to focus more directly on the supervisors’ use of EPM and its relationship with additional performance criteria: counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs) and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Results indicate that more frequent supervisory use of EPM is associated with better task performance and OCB. However, supervisory use of EPM was not significantly related to CWB.