Fairness Perceptions of Video Resumes among Ethnically Diverse Applicants

This study investigated ethnic majority and minority applicants' fairness perceptions (N = 445) of video resumes, compared with paper resumes. Additionally, the moderating effect of minorities' ethnic identity and language proficiency on fairness perceptions of video/paper resumes was studied. Despite discriminatory concerns, ethnic minority applicants perceived the fairness of video resumes equally or more positively when compared with ethnic majority applicants, and when compared with paper resumes. Minorities' ethnic identity was positively related to fairness perceptions of resumes. Furthermore, language proficiency was a significant moderator: Higher proficiency was related to higher fairness perceptions of paper resumes. The implication is suggested that ethnic minority applicants may prefer a more personalized way of applying (video resume), instead of less personalized ways.     

Understanding the Role of Everyday Practices of Privilege in the Perpetuation of Inequalities

To explain the interrelated effects of material and psychosocial inequalities, we suggest a move beyond research focused on deprived communities to include their broader social situation. Bourdieu's theory of practice explains how social and material disadvantages are interconnected, and struggles for power are enacted in everyday practice. In this paper, we draw on data from a qualitative study of two neighbourhoods to provide examples of everyday practice as people work to perpetuate or overcome inequalities in one field: education of their children. These examples show that those with more resources are actively working to retain and improve their children's social advantage, which rests on the disadvantage of others. In conclusion, we suggest that many current interventions to improve material and social conditions within disadvantaged communities ignore the damaging effects of social inequalities between social groups. Work towards understanding the nature of power struggles in daily life and the everyday actions of the privileged will help us understand and address the damaging effects of inequalities. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is pain-related fear a predictor of somatosensory hypervigilance in chronic low back pain patients?

Pain-related fear has been found to be associated with increased disability and increased pain perception in patients with chronic low back pain. A possible mechanism by which pain-related fear could lead to increased pain perception is heightened attention to somatosensory sensations. In the present study, chronic pain patients reporting either a high or low level of pain related fear and control participants performed an auditory reaction time task, while occasionally non-painful electrical stimuli--accompanied by threatening instructions--were given to the arm or back. In the primary task condition, participants had to perform the auditory task while ignoring the electrical stimuli. Next, the task was presented under dual task conditions in which participants had to respond both to tones as well as to detection of electrical stimuli. It was hypothesized that for the primary task, high fearful patients would show greater disruption of performance on the auditory task than low fearful patients and controls when stimuli were presented to the back. For the dual task, slower reaction times for the auditory task, in combination with faster detection of electrical stimuli was expected. The hypotheses were not confirmed but patients scoring high on pain-related fear did show an overall increase in reaction time for all conditions of the primary task, with or without simultaneous stimulation. Regression analyses demonstrated that high pain-related fear was associated with increased reaction time to tones both in patients and healthy controls, and that within patients pain-related fear was a better predictor of reaction time to tones than present pain intensity. The findings may be interpreted as showing that patients with elevated levels of pain-related fear habitually attend to somatic sensations, giving less priority to other attention-demanding tasks.     

Decision-related action orientation predicts police officers' shooting performance under pressure

Background and Objectives: We aimed to test whether police officers’ trait self-control strength decreases negative effects of high pressure (HP) on state anxiety, shooting behavior, and shooting performance. Design and Methods: Forty-two officers performed a shooting test under both high and low-pressure (LP) conditions. Self-control strength was assessed with the decision-related action orientation (AOD) scale of the Action Control Scale (ACS-90). Effects of AOD on perceived anxiety, heart rate, shooting time, and shot accuracy were estimated and controlled for those of other individual difference measures (i.e. age, police working experience, trait anxiety, and threat-related action orientation). Results: After controlling for baseline values in the LP condition as well as the other individual difference measures, AOD significantly predicted shot accuracy in the HP condition. Conclusions: Results suggest that trait self-control strength in the form of AOD helps officers cope with anxiety and maintain perceptual-motor performance under HP.     

Test anxiety and the validity of cognitive tests: A confirmatory factor analysis perspective and some empirical findings

The validity of cognitive ability tests is often interpreted solely as a function of the cognitive abilities that these tests are supposed to measure, but other factors may be at play. The effects of test anxiety on the criterion related validity (CRV) of tests was the topic of a recent study by Reeve, Heggestad, and Lievens (2009) (Reeve, C. L., Heggestad, E. D., & Lievens, F. (2009). Modeling the impact of test anxiety and test familiarity on the criterion-related validity of cognitive ability tests. Intelligence, 37, 34?41.). They proposed a model on the basis of classical test theory, and concluded on the basis of data simulations that test anxiety typically decreases the CRV. In this paper, we view the effects of test anxiety on cognitive ability test scores and its implications for validity coefficients from the perspective of confirmatory factor analysis. We argue that CRV will be increased above the effect of targeted constructs if test anxiety affects both predictor and criterion performance. This prediction is tested empirically by considering convergent validity of subtests in five experimental studies of the effect of stereotype threat on test performance. Results show that the effects of test anxiety on cognitive test performance may actually enhance the validity of tests.