Introduction: The Meaning of Work

Abstract

The theme of this special issue is how cultural, societal, group, and individual factors shape what working has meant, means, and is going to mean in future societies. Concepts and empirical data from the Meaning of Working study (MOW, 1987), an eight-country comparison of work-related attitudes and values, and from complementary follow-up studies, serve as the “red thread” or empirical basis throughout the issue. The original MOW (1987) study and some of the follow-up studies reported in this issue are based on a heuristic model for the subjective meaning of work, which is briefly discussed in the first paper by Ruiz Quintanilla and Wilpert. However, as nearly all of the discussants point out, and Heller's paper tries to discuss specifically, there is still a lot of theoretical work to do. The studies reported in this issue provide some empirical data bases and point towards new and crucial questions that are raised by the results. On the other hand, this issue also wants to contribute to a focused discussion about alternative conceptions of the meaning of work and its central role in understanding the concept of work. Since the way we conceptualize a particular problem issue crucially determines the kind of answers and explanations we derive, as Brief points out in his discussant paper, a thorough and lively discussion about how we are to understand work (and “non-work”), what meaning it has in a person's life, what significance the meaning attributed to work has, and by what processes work attains its meaning for society in general, becomes of utmost importance. Moreover, in the light of European integration across cultures and the global internationalization of organizations, differences in cultural contexts for the meaning of work take on a particularly urgent problem for better understanding. Finally, Fineman in his discussant paper raises the crucial point, that the basic epistemological assumptions that guided both the basic conceptual framework and the methodology used in the MOW (1987) and the follow-up studies reported in this issue can be questioned. He argues that these assumptions allow only a rather restricted view of the meaning of work and forego many options in addressing more holistic perspectives of work and its meaning generating processes. Given the fact that meaning is in principle a product of subjective interpretation processes, the question about what social processes form the basis for the meaning of work and its consequences, as well as what epistemological assumptions make sense in trying to understand better the holistic nature of work and its meaning, must be finally addressed.

In this sense this issue attempts: (1) to contribute to the ongoing debate on the concept of meaning of work; as well as (2) to invite interested researchers and practitioners in W & 0 psychology to join in this debate. This journal strongly encourages such a debate and will publish quality rejoinders, commentaries, and critical alternatives to the problems raised in this special issue.     

Re‐Member MOVE: The Anatomy of a Reconciliation

On May 13, 1985, Philadelphia city officials authorized the dropping of a bomb on a house in a residential neighborhood, killing 11 people of the MOVE organization—including five children—destroying 61 homes and rendering nearly 250 residents homeless. The years leading up to this tragedy involved multiple instances of police brutality, one of which resulted in the more than 40‐year incarceration of nine MOVE members (commonly known as the MOVE 9). In this first‐person account, we review literature on reconciliation and apologies, explore the value of reconciliation in community psychology, and reflect on our involvement as a reconciliation strategist and a community psychologist in initiating, developing and facilitating a reconciliation process. A model of iterative reconciliation as a creative multilevel and multipurpose tool relevant for community psychology is proposed. The reconciliation process began in September 2018 between key players involved with the MOVE organization and Philadelphia officials and community members and family and involved multiple community gatherings and conversations with many stakeholders. Ultimately, through the extensive reconciliation process, the authors facilitated the issuing of an apology on May 13, 2020 by the Council of the City of Philadelphia.     

Re‐embedding Moral Agency

The connection between ethics and theological vision has become increasingly important for ethics as we better appreciate how the moral agent is embedded in a framework that affectively and intellectually shapes her moral reasoning. Moral reasoning is always reasoning within (that is, within a moral framework, a religious worldview, and/or a set of ideological commitments). A similar framing occurs in literature, which I refer to as its “horizon.” A literary text's horizon comprises the theological and metaphysical commitments that are implied by the text and that the reader relies on to make sense of it. I suggest that there is a parallel between how moral frameworks and literary horizons operate in that both shape moral judgment. I argue that in using literature as a resource for ethics, the same contemporary currents that have led us to appreciate the embeddedness of moral reasoning should also encourage us to give more careful attention to the theological or metaphysical vision implied by a text. Such a “theo‐ethical” reading of literature provides a richer understanding of particular moral goods and the interplay between those goods and ethical themes like agency, hope, and redemption. I substantiate this claim with a reading of William Blake's Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion.     

Belief,Re‐identification and Fineness of Grain

The so‐called ‘re‐identification condition’ (Kelly 2011) has played an important role in the most prominent argument for nonconceptualism, the argument from fineness of grain. A number of authors have recently argued that the condition should be modified or discarded altogether, with devastating implications for the nonconceptualist (see, e.g., Brewer 2005, Chuard 2006). The aim of this paper is to show that the situation is even more dire for nonconceptualists, for even if the re‐identification condition remains in its original form, the argument from fineness of grain still fails to make the case for nonconceptualism. The paper's central case rests on two claims: according to the first, if the re‐identification condition holds, then some beliefs will represent some properties nonconceptually; and according to the second, if some beliefs represent some properties nonconceptually, the argument from fineness of grain fails to make the case for nonconceptualism in any relevant sense. It follows that if the re‐identification condition holds, the argument from fineness of grain fails to make the case for nonconceptualism.     

Re‐construing politics: The dual impacts of abstraction on political ideology

The influence of construal level on political ideology is unclear. Some research says that abstraction polarizes political attitudes by making liberals more liberal and conservatives more conservative. Other research instead argues that an abstract construal causes people to exhibit similar political attitudes as each other. The current research presents two experiments in which abstraction polarizes political attitudes on issues of social inequality. However, abstraction also increases traditionalism, and so it increases a preference for maintaining the societal status quo, such as by increasing one's disagreement with or opposition to homosexuality. The dual impacts of abstraction parallel the two distinct dimensions of political ideology (i.e., acceptance of social inequality and preference for the status quo), both of which prior research on construal level has not yet considered. Overall, the current findings indicate that the effects of construal level and the dimensions underlying political ideology need to be teased apart to fully understand the exact relationship between the two.     

情绪对职业价值观的影响——意义建构的中介作用

为了考察情绪对于职业价值观的影响,本研究采用情绪量表、意义建构量表、职业价值观量表以及社交媒体依赖程度量表等,对938名员工数据进行检验,结果表明:(1)情绪对于职业价值观具有显著的正向影响;(2)意义建构在情绪与职业价值观之间起完全中介作用;(3)社交媒体依赖程度负向调节了情感与意义建构之间的关系。情绪通过意义建构的中介作用对职业价值观产生影响,并且社交依赖在路径的前半段起调节作用。探究情绪与职业价值观关系,对于科学树立合理的职业价值观具有重要意义。     

Re‐Presentations of Space in Hollywood Movies: An Event‐Indexing Analysis

Popular movies present chunk‐like events (scenes and subscenes) that promote episodic, serial updating of viewers’ representations of the ongoing narrative. Event‐indexing theory would suggest that the beginnings of new scenes trigger these updates, which in turn require more cognitive processing. Typically, a new movie event is signaled by an establishing shot, one providing more background information and a longer look than the average shot. Our analysis of 24 films reconfirms this. More important, we show that, when returning to a previously shown location, the re‐establishing shot reduces both context and duration while remaining greater than the average shot. In general, location shifts dominate character and time shifts in event segmentation of movies. In addition, over the last 70 years re‐establishing shots have become more like the noninitial shots of a scene. Establishing shots have also approached noninitial shot scales, but not their durations. Such results suggest that film form is evolving, perhaps to suit more rapid encoding of narrative events.     

Procrastination,Self‐Downing,Self‐Doubt,and Rational Beliefs: A Moderated Mediation Model

A cross‐sectional study tested the integrated effects of self‐downing, self‐doubt, and rational beliefs on procrastination in a sample of Turkish undergraduate students (N = 315). Results suggest that both self‐downing and rational beliefs have a direct and interactive effect on self‐doubt, and self‐doubt mediates the relationship between self‐downing and procrastination. Results suggest that the indirect effect of self‐downing on procrastination via the mediation of self‐doubt may vary depending on the level of rational beliefs. Implications for counselors and future research directions are discussed.     

Introduction: Meaning,measurement, and correlates of moral development

Morality has again become an important focus of research in different scientific disciplines: from biology (ethology), neuropsychology and evolutionary psychology to social psychology, business ethics, and political philosophy. One of the reasons for this renewed interest, no doubt, stems from the tragedies that human beings, individually or in groups, inflict upon the lives of one another and the world at large, e.g., (civil) war, the extinction of species and ecological destruction, climate change, and last but not least – the financial crisis. Moral destitution and collapse, a lack of respect for human dignity and worth, deficits in proper moral functioning at all levels of the world community often discounted or masked by transparent excuses and vacuous rationalizations, are viewed as a principal cause of the social, societal and ecological crises with which we are confronted today. The key to solving these crises must lie, at least partly, in a better understanding and active deployment of morality. However, morality is not only an important topic of study for its potential relationship with antisocial behaviour, but also for its relationship with prosocial behaviour (helping, sharing, etc.). Relationships of morality with both types of negative and positive conduct shed important insight on moral (dis)functioning. Developmental psychology is charged with the specific task of illuminating the growth and evolution of moral functioning in human beings.     

Re‐experiencing Evangelism in the City

The paper reflects on some of the exposure visits/city walks that were organized as part of the recent workshop on life‐giving evangelism in the city, held in Sydney, Australia. These exposure visits were designed to engage participants in reflection on evangelism and stimulate their own expressions of contextually relevant evangelistic practice. I suggest that the visits remind us of at least five key themes in evangelism – invitation, invaded space, serving the least and lost, the importance of the local, and the need for celebration in the midst of our multicultural world. In the second part of the paper, I reflect on the discussion that took place with my class at United Theological College, Sydney, on the theme of evangelism, particularly from the perspective of the three recent global statements on mission. Finally, I join in the call for joy to be the hallmark of our engagement in evangelism. We are to “glow with fervour” as people who have first received the joy of Christ.     

Re‐viewing Christian Theologies of Religious Diversity

While Christian theology of religions fundamentally revolves around the questions of revelation and salvation, as some scholars have shown, context also plays an important role in dialoguing/engaging with other religions. However, these context‐sensitive perspectives, which focus on common socio‐economic‐ecological concerns and multiple identities that cut across religious boundaries, generally seem to promote a pluralistic position (for commendable reasons). But this need not always be the case. In contexts (like that of rural Dalit Christianity) where communities are marginalized and threatened, it might be necessary and justifiable to make claims of exclusivism; although what is (verbally) professed could be quite different from what is actually practised. Reflecting on these observations, this essay suggests the need for theologians of religions and dialogists to be (self‐)aware of the critical and complex role that socio‐political contexts play in terms of influencing and determining (their) theological approaches toward other religions.     

Re‐Examining Machiavelli: A Three‐Dimensional Model of Machiavellianism in the Workplace

Machiavellianism has been studied extensively over the past 40 years as a personality characteristic that shares features with the manipulative leadership tactics Machiavelli advocated in The Prince. We introduce a new model of Machiavellianism based in organizational settings that is multidimensional, incorporating aspects not previously included in Machiavellianism scales. Our model consists of 3 factors: maintaining power, harsh management tactics, and manipulative behaviors. The results of 3 studies are summarized, discussing the development of these 3 factors and how they relate to individual‐difference and organizational variables.     

Students' Multi‐Modal Re‐Presentations of Scientific Knowledge and Creativity

The paper brings the results of a project that passed on to students the opportunity for re‐presenting their acquired knowledge via the construction of multi‐modal ‘learning resources’. These ‘learning resources’ substituted for lectures and books and became the official learning sources in the classroom. The rational for the project was multiple: a. It was expected that the process of re‐contextualizing the scientific concepts into students' lifeworlds, their metaphors and into their everyday language, would benefit both, the creators and the consumers, b. Students were expected to develop multiliteracies in addition to gaining authorship and c. The open and encouraging learning environment that enabled multiple and multimodal ways of presentation was expected to promote small c creativity to be expressed in the diversified natures of the constructed materials. The results indicate that the stimulating and encouraging environment did promote creative divergence in students' re‐presented products. This was found to be true for Relative Creativity (number of higher creativity products as compared to lower ones), and Diversified Creativity (changing the nature of the constructed product from semester to semester). These materials as learning resources were shown to be as effective as lectures and the construction period was shown to add to students' knowledge gains. An interesting effect of frontal lectures was found which is attributed to possible different ways of knowledge organization that are induced under different learning conditions.     

Re‐Operationalizing Established Groups in Brainstorming: Validating Osborn's Claims

Since the introduction of brainstorming as an idea‐generation technique to address organizational problems, researchers have struggled to replicate some of the claims around the technique. One major concern has been the differences in the number of ideas generated between established groups as found in industry versus the non‐established groups used in the laboratory. The impact of group establishment on idea quality has also been an area of interest. This study addresses these issues by using a more in‐depth induction to establish groups and testing some discrepancies in the relationship between idea quality and idea quantity using 42 three‐person brainstorming groups. Results indicate that brainstorming groups, given an adequate amount of time (10 weeks) to become established, did generate more ideas and higher quality ideas than non‐established groups. Also, a relationship between idea quality and idea quantity was found. Further discussion of results and implications follows.     

Kurosawa's Existential Masterpiece: A Mediation on the Meaning of Life

In the first part of the paper, I try to clarify the cluster of moods and questions we refer to generically as the problem of the meaning of life. I propose that the question of meaning emerges when we perform a spontaneous transcendental reduction on the phenomenon my life, a reduction that leaves us confronting an unjustified and unjustifiable curiosity. In Part 2, I turn to the film ikiru, Kurosawa's masterpiece of 1952, for an existentialist resolution of the problem.     

Compulsive buying behavior: Re‐evaluating its dimensions and screening

Despite the significant research in the consumer behavior literature on compulsive buying behavior (CBB), there is still no general agreement about the dimensionality or diagnostic screening of the disorder. Previous studies have identified two principal dimensions: compulsivity and impulsivity, although more recent strands of theory characterize CBB with reference to loss of self‐control and behavioral addiction. This study challenges the impulsive–compulsive paradigm by validating a new model with compulsive and self‐control impaired spending dimensions. The model more closely reflects the disorder's ego‐dystonic character, routed in an anxiety‐based reactive mechanism with uncontrollable buying and an inability to rationalize the behavior and its consequences. The study also develops and cross‐validates a new seven‐item CBB screening tool, using a comparative analysis with three existing screeners and an independent sample. The findings indicate that compulsive buying results from both compulsive and self‐control impaired impulsive elements, which are characteristic of behavioral addiction.