Burnout and connectedness among Australian volunteers: A test of the Job Demands-Resources model

This study used the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, developed in the context of occupational well-being in the paid workforce, to examine the antecedents of burnout and connectedness in the formal volunteer rural ambulance officer vocation (N = 487). Structural equation modeling using self-reports provide strong evidence for the central assumptions of the JD-R model. The findings confirm that burnout fully mediates the relationship between job demands and health problems (Hypothesis 1), and between job demands and determination to continue (Hypothesis 2). In addition, results show that connectedness fully mediates the relationship between job resources and determination to continue (Hypothesis 3). These findings have important practical implications because of the increasing problem of volunteer recruitment and retention.     

Responses of dairy heifers to the visual cliff formed by a herringbone milking pit: evidence of fear of heights in cows (Bos taurus)

The ability of cows (Bos taurus) to perceive depth has never been experimentally investigated. If cows can perceive depth, the milking pit in commercial milking facilities may be fear provoking for dairy cows, as past research has shown that most land-dwelling species possess an instinctive fear of heights. In the current study, 12 dairy heifers (1-year-old cows) were exposed to a milking pit (depth-exposed group) and 13 heifers (control group) were exposed to a standard change in the environment while they moved through a milking facility over a 5-day treatment period. Heifers in the depth-exposed group showed a higher heart rate (p < .05) and stopped more often (p < .05) than did those in the control group; persistence of heart rate but not of behavioral responses on repeated exposures indicated that some habituation to the depth stimulus had occurred. Depth exposure had no effect on cortisol concentrations or on ease of handling. These results indicate that heifers responded differently to a change in depth than they did to a standard change in the environment and provide evidence of both depth perception and acute fear of heights in cows.     

Does work engagement increase person–job fit? The role of job crafting and job insecurity

Drawing on the expanded model of person–environment fit and job crafting theory, this study investigates the underlying processes of the relationship between work engagement and changes in person–job fit. A two-wave longitudinal study was conducted among 246 Chinese employees of a high technology company. As hypothesized, the results show that work engagement is positively related to changes in demands–abilities fit through changes in physical job crafting and positively related to changes in needs–supplies fit through changes in relational job crafting. As predicted, the positive relationship between work engagement and changes in relational job crafting (however, not changes in physical job crafting) is strengthened under conditions of high (vs. low) job insecurity. Our findings indicate that engaged employees craft their work in physical and relational ways, which creates a better person–job fit. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

The Evolutionary Significance of the Primary Process—The Freudian Concept and Its Revision

Freud’s Lamarckian beliefs contributed to his theory of instincts, as well as his concepts regarding the unconscious primary process. Freud’s theory of the primary and secondary process is fundamentally biological, as he placed it within an evolutionary context and hypothesized that the two systems were distinguished by free and bound psychic energy. Freud’s distinction between the primary and secondary process is one of the few psychoanalytic theories that has been confirmed by science. We believe that Freud was correct in maintaining that the primary process is of earlier evolutionary origin than the secondary process. But Freud failed to recognize the distinction between primary-process thinking that occurs in dreams and that which occurs in the waking state. In the waking state, the primary process is not wish fulfilling, as Freud believed, but functions as an inference making tool utilizing metaphor and metonymy. As such, rapid, unconscious primary process thinking is at the heart of our survival.     

Investigating Maternal Touch and Infants' Self‐Regulatory Behaviours during a Modified Face‐to‐Face Still‐Face with Touch Procedure

Maternal touch and infants' self‐regulatory behaviours were examined during a modified Still‐Face with Touch (SF + T) procedure. Mothers and their 5½‐month‐old infants participated in one period of Normal interaction followed by three SF + T periods. Maternal functions of touch, and infants' self‐regulatory behaviour, affect, and attention were evaluated. Contrary to a typical SF procedure, the amount of smiling remained high while fretting remained low. High levels of maternal touching and variations in the functions of maternal touch were observed across periods. Playful touch remained high while there was an increase in nurturing touch and a decrease in attention‐getting touch from the Normal to all SF + T periods. Similar amounts of self‐regulatory behaviours were observed across periods with the exception of a decrease in bidirectional exchanges during the SF + T periods. Finally, across periods, maternal touch and infants' self‐regulatory behaviours were found to be temporally organized with infants' affect and attention. Examining how mothers use touch when other forms of communication are absent increased our understanding of the role of touch in infants' emotion regulation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Moderation of Stimulus Material on the Prediction of IQ with Infants' Performance in the Visual Expectation Paradigm: Do Greebles Make the Task More Challenging?

The objective of this study was to examine the role of the stimulus material for the prediction of later IQ by early learning measures in the Visual Expectation Paradigm (VExP). The VExP was assessed at 9 months using two types of stimuli, Greebles and human faces. Greebles were assumed to be associated with a higher load on working memory in comparison to human faces. IQ was assessed at 3 years and 4 months of age. Sixty‐four children participated at both assessments in this longitudinal study. The results show a moderation of the stimulus material on the prediction of IQ. With Greebles as stimulus material, a significant relationship between infants' learning and IQ was found. There was no relation when infants' learned in the VExP using human faces. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“The Terrorism of Suffering”—The Clinical Diary of Sandor Ferenczi Revisited

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

The role of workaholism in the job demands-resources model

Background and Objectives: The present study tries to gain more insight in workaholism by investigating its antecedents and consequences using the job demands-resources model. Design: We hypothesized that job demands would be positively related to workaholism, particularly when job resources are low. In addition, we hypothesized that workaholism would be positively related to negative outcomes in three important life domains: health, family, and work. Methods: The research involved 617 Italian workers (employees and self-employed). To test the hypotheses we applied structural equation modeling (SEM) and moderated structural equation modeling (MSEM) using Mplus 6. Results: The results of SEM showed a good model where workload, cognitive demands, emotional demands, and customer-related social stressors were positively related to workaholism and work–family conflict (WFC) (partial mediation). Additionally, workaholism was indirectly related to exhaustion and intentions to change jobs through WFC. Moreover, MSEM analyses confirmed that job resources (job security and opportunities for development) buffered the relationship between job demands and workaholism. Particularly, the interaction effects were statistically significant in five out of eight combinations. Conclusions: These findings suggest that workaholism is a function of a suboptimal work environment and predicts unfavorable employee outcomes. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.