Being a Social Worker as an Existential Commitment: From Vulnerability to Meaningful Purpose

One's personal and professional dimensions complement each other in the practice of social work. In plying their trade, social workers construct a personal narrative that gives a sense of meaning to their commitment to clients who face suffering and distress. The study is based on in-depth interviews of twenty-five experienced female social workers. Two themes were identified: The first theme focuses on the construction of an existential vulnerability in the family-of-origin, which drives the choice of a helping profession. The interviewees perceived these difficulties as contributing to their sensitivity toward the suffering and turmoil of others, connecting them with clients, and giving them a sense of purpose, commitment, and meaning in their work. The second theme relates to the special meaning assigned to social values, such as giving and committing to others, in the family-of-origin and the profound effect of this socialization process on professional choices and practice. The discussion of the findings is from an existential perspective and has implications for the professional development of social workers and other helping professionals.     

Affective Commitment to Congregations

This study identified four multidimensional factors that significantly influence affective commitment of church members to their congregations. The sample (N = 382) consisted of members of three congregations: Unitarian Universalist (UU), United Methodist (UMC), and Evangelical Free Church (EFC). Stepwise multiple regression—with affective commitment to the congregation treated as the dependent variable—revealed that committed members in all three congregations valued their churches as sources of spiritual experiences, but they wanted these experiences delivered to them efficiently. The importance attached to programs and services offered by their congregations appeared as a significant factor in only one congregation (UMC). Suggestions for additional research are offered.     

Commitment

Recently there has been a re-emphasis by both educators and counselors of the concept of commitment. Can this concept bear scrutiny or is it only a popular slogan? It is argued that this concept can find meaning only in a moral absolute. The author points out that relativism is itself a moral absolute. If then we take this concept seriously we are faced with certain difficulties. If this concept is valid for education and counseling then we must either re-examine the issue of religion in the schools or be content with engendering a moral vacuum. It is maintained that the former is the only valid alternative and the author argues for the moral absolute of loving one's neighbor as himself rather than the more prevalent moral absolute of relativism.     

Commitment

SUMMARY

This article addresses the issue of commitment and its importance in developing and sustaining an enriching relationship. The author describes commitment, its dynamics, and its implications for treating couples in conflict. The author also describes the conditions in which the issue of commitment is addressed in therapy and treatment interventions that can be used to help couples resolve their differences.     

Sunk Cost and Commitment to Medical Treatment

The influence of prior, irretrievable, investment (sunk cost) on commitment to medical treatment was investigated. Three studies were run investigating the influence of sunk cost in the form of money, time, and effort. A total of 637 participants (314 male) with a mean age of 19.58 years were recruited from an undergraduate population. A computer program simulated the process of arranging a course of physiotherapy. Participants invested one of three amounts of sunk cost (under budget, on budget, or over budget) into arranging sessions with a chiropractor. Participants then decided how much time they wished to commit to these chiropractor sessions or to an alternative treatment with a better chance of success. Results revealed a significant effect of invested money, a significant effect of invested effort, but no effect of invested time. Invested money produced a sunk cost effect, while invested effort appeared to exert influence via cognitive dissonance. The implications for healthcare decision-making are discussed.     

Commitment to change from locomotion motivation during deliberation

The factors that motivate commitment to behavioral change (e.g., quitting smoking) are important in understanding self-regulation processes. The current research examines how an individual??s motivational orientation during deliberation affects the likelihood that they will commit to change. Building on the insights of regulatory mode theory (Higgins et al. in Advances in experimental social psychology. Academic Press, New York, vol 35, pp 293?C344, 2003), we propose that increased commitment to change can result from increased locomotion motivation in the deliberation phase. Three studies provide evidence that increased commitment to change is related to locomotion motivation arising either from a chronic orientation or from a movement-focused deliberation tactic that intensifies that orientation. Although locomotion motivation is typically associated with goal pursuit, the current work highlights the impact that locomotion motivation can have on commitment to change in the initial deliberation phase.     

Commitment,ego-involvement,and resistance to attack

Subjects with initially extreme or moderate positions (based on a median split) recorded a consonant speech under public, private, or no commitment and later received a strong, mild, or no attack on their position. Extremes were more ego-involved in terms of wider latitudes of rejection, narrower latitudes of non-commitment, and greater resistance to attack, relative to moderates. Commitment had no effect for extremes, suggesting a ceiling effect on changes in the latitudes and resistance to attack for initially high levels of ego-involvement. For moderates, commitment resulted in narrower latitudes of noncommitment, wider latitudes of rejection (greater rejection of discrepant positions), and greater resistance to attack, suggesting that commitment may elevate ego-involvement with the issue. Commitment and ego-involvement may increase the salience of one's attitude position in later situations, thereby increasing the probability of attitudeconsistent behavior.     

Sunk Cost and Commitment to Dates Arranged Online

The influence of prior, irretrievable, investment (sunk cost) on commitment to a date arranged online was investigated. Participants were recruited from an undergraduate population. There were 145 participants (86 female) with a mean age of 19.42 years. Participants took part in a computer simulation of the process of arranging a date online. Participants invested one of five amounts of sunk cost into this process. Participants were then presented with the choice of attending the date arranged online or attending a (superior) blind date. Participants chose how much time that they wanted to commit to the (inferior) date arranged online. Results revealed a significant sunk cost effect (p = 0.003). The implications of the sunk cost effect having an influence over human relationships are discussed.     

Personality Correlates of Student Commitment to Social Action

Student commitment to social action during a student confrontation was evaluated in terms of perceived locus of control, interpersonal trust, and need for social approval. Results showed that position, pro or con, regarding the free speech issue was not related to personality measures. Need for social approval was strongly related to commitment; Ss low in need approval indicated most commitment. Internals, relative to externals, showed only a tendency toward greater commitment. Internals low in need for approval expressed most commitment to social action, while externals high in need for approval showed least commitment. Contrary to expectations, interpersonal trust did not interact with locus of control, nor was it directly related to level of commitment to social action.     

Forced compliance: Commitment to compliance and commitment to activity

It is argued that the standard manipulation of free choice in a forced compliance situation has fostered confusion between the two different types of choices offered to subjects, namely commitment or non-commitment to compliance with the experimenter and choice of counter-attitudinal activity per se. From a theoretical viewpoint, the two choices have very different implications. The former is a prerequisite to dissonance arousal; the latter may bring about consonant cognitions which reduce the dissonance ratio. Two experiments which separated these two choices confirmed the above predictions, derived from a radical conception of the dissonance theory (Beauvois and Joule, 1981, 1994). The results are inconsistent with the reinterpretation of dissonance effects in self-perception terms.     

Commitment to Nested Collectives in Special Operations Forces

Contemporary investigations of workplace commitment include research on commitment components and commitment to multiple, and sometimes nested, work units. Research on commitment within the hierarchical military structure may be particularly reflective of these perspectives. Affective commitment to 2 nested organizational units (Special Operations Forces and the military) was hypothesized to be distinguishable from each another and from military continuance commitment. Further, a model portraying the hypothesized relations between satisfaction and affective commitment for the 2 organizational units and career intentions was examined. Special Operations personnel (n = 3,968) from 3 service branches completed satisfaction and career intentions items in addition to modified versions (Gade, Tiggle, & Schumm, 2003 Gade, P. A., Tiggle, R., & Schumm, W. R. (2003/this issue). The measurement and consequences of military organizational commitment in soldiers and spouses. Military Psychology, 15, 191–207.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]/this issue) of the Meyer and Allen (1984) Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1984). Testing the “side-bet theory” of organizational commitment: Some methodological considerations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69, 372–378.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] commitment scales. Results of the research supported the distinction between the commitment scales and provided support for the model. Implications for operational environments and future research are discussed.     

Commitment: A behavioral approach to job involvement

This study views job involvement and commitment as interchangeable labels for the same job behavior. Work commitment behaviors were defined as a special class of socially acceptable work behaviors that exceed formal and/or normative expectations relevant to work. The main purpose of this study was the development of a measure of work commitment based on this definition. A daily record measured the amount of personal time that each subject devoted to work-related activities beyond the required working day. For a sample of 54 female elementary school teachers, the work commitment measure demonstrated moderate correlations with two attitudinal measures of job involvement and a job satisfaction scale. The feasibility and usefulness of defining and measuring involvement behaviorally were demonstrated.     

The Multidimensional Nature of Continuance Commitment: Commitment Owing to Economic Exchanges Versus Lack of Employment Alternatives

Purpose  

The purpose of this investigation was to develop a multidimensional measure of continuance organizational commitment, specifying dimensions for continuance commitment based on the perception of beneficial economic exchanges versus the perception of low job alternatives.     

Consequentialism and Commitment

Abstract: It is sometimes claimed that a consequentialist theory such as utilitarianism has problems accommodating the importance of personal commitments to other people. However, by emphasizing the distinction between criteria of rightness and decision procedures, a consequentialist can allow for non-consequentialist decision procedures, such as acting directly on the promptings of natural affection. Furthermore, such non-consequentialist motivational structures can co-exist happily with a commitment to consequentialism. It is possible to be a self-reflective consequentialist who has genuine commitments to individuals and to moral principles, without engaging in self-deception.