Insecure attachment and career indecision: Mediating effects of anxiety and pessimism

The purpose of this study was to examine a theoretically-based model in which insecure attachment is related to career indecision through the mediation of negative emotions. Two hundred college students completed questionnaires measuring anxious and avoidant dimensions of insecure attachment, negative emotions (trait and career-choice anxiety, trait and career-choice pessimism), and career indecision. Path analysis indicated that anxious attachment was indirectly related to career indecision through a full mediation of career-choice anxiety and career-choice pessimism (but not through the trait emotions). Avoidant attachment was neither related to the negative emotions nor to career indecision. These findings contribute to the understanding of the linkage between internalized relationships with significant others and career planning and development, and highlight the important role that career-choice-related emotions play in the process of career decision making. In light of the findings, implications and recommendations regarding career development, career counseling interventions, and preventive measures aimed at reducing career indecision are presented.     

Sexual identity scale: A new self-assessment measure

An individual's subjective evaluation of sexual identity differs from objective evaluation by sex role researchers. This study reports initial validity and reliability data on a new measure of self-ascribed sexual identity: the Sexual Identity Scale (SIS). SIS considers four functional sex dimensions on the basis of components described in both sex and age role literature. SIS and two modified Bem Sex Role Inventory instruments—a Masculinity Trait Index (MTI) and a Femininity Trait Index (FTI)—were administered to an adult sample of 380 men and 380 women aged 20–80. Reliability, assessed with LISREL VI and Cronbach's alpha, was found to be high. LISREL VI findings provide construct validity, both convergent and divergent. The nature of association of biological sex and sex trait measures, high interitem SIS correlations, as well as divergence from the modified sex trait indices (MTI and FTI) also support validity. The study's results and implications are discussed.     

Two-year-old twins refuse to eat: A multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and treatment

This round table addresses the diagnosis and treatment of feeding disorders and failure to thrive. It describes a family-centered approach by a multidisciplinary feeding disorders team, beginning with the screening evaluation by the team coordinator at intake, through the evaluations by various team members, the team meeting with the parents, the development of a treatment plan, to a 1-year follow-up after treatment. Both twins refused to eat textured food and were found to have a posttraumatic feeding disorder secondary to repeated gagging and choking on cereal and lumpy baby food. However, only one twin was engaged in a battle with the parents over eating and developed infantile anorexia associated with failure to thrive. The differential diagnosis and the specific treatment plans of these two feeding disorders characterized by food refusal are discussed.     

Working memory training revisited: A multi-level meta-analysis of n-back training studies

The efficacy of working memory (WM) training has been a controversial and hotly debated issue during the past years. Despite a large number of training studies and several meta-analyses, the matter has not yet been solved. We conducted a multi-level meta-analysis on the cognitive transfer effects in healthy adults who have been administered WM updating training with n-back tasks, the most common experimental WM training paradigm. Thanks to this methodological approach that has not been employed in previous meta-analyses in this field, we were able to include effect sizes from all relevant tasks used in the original studies. Altogether 203 effect sizes were derived from 33 published, randomized, controlled trials. In contrast to earlier meta-analyses, we separated task-specific transfer (here untrained n-back tasks) from other WM transfer tasks. Two additional cognitive domains of transfer that we analyzed consisted of fluid intelligence (Gf) and cognitive control tasks. A medium-sized transfer effect was observed to untrained n-back tasks. For other WM tasks, Gf, and cognitive control, the effect sizes were of similar size and very small. Moderator analyses showed no effects of age, training dose, training type (single vs. dual), or WM and Gf transfer task contents (verbal vs. visuospatial). We conclude that a substantial part of transfer following WM training with the n-back task is task-specific and discuss the implications of the results to WM training research.     

Authentic leadership influences on organisational commitment in a South African state hospital

This study investigated the influence of authentic leadership (AL) on employee organisational commitment (OC) in a South African state hospital. A convenience sample of 222 employees (female = 81%; black = 82%) completed the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire on their perceptions of AL behaviours among their leaders; namely self-awareness, relational transparency, internalised moral perspective, and balanced processing. The employees also completed the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire to self-report on their own OC; namely affective, continuance, and normative commitment. Data were analysed utilising regression analysis to predict employees’ self-reported OC from perceived AL behaviours. Findings suggest AL scores to predict OC scores as well as the OC dimensions of continuance and normative commitment. AL scores did not predict affective commitment. Employees whose leaders apply AL may be able to retain employees through increased OC.     

Discrete emotion norms for nouns: Berlin affective word list (DENN–BAWL)

The Berlin Affective Word List (BAWL, Võ, Jacobs, &; Conrad, Behavior Research Methods, 35, 606-609, 2006) and the BAWL-R (Võ et al. in Behavior Research Methods 38, 606-609, 2009) are two commonly used lists to investigate affective properties of German words. The two-dimensional valence and arousal model of affect underlying the BAWL is traditionally contrasted with models describing affect in discrete emotional categories, which, however, are not currently incorporated in the BAWL. In order to allow future studies to investigate affective processing from both perspectives—or to directly compare them—in the present study, we collected data by assigning nouns taken from the BAWL-R to discrete emotion intensities, which in turn allowed the assignment to discrete emotion categories. In the study, we present Discrete Emotion Norms for Nouns–Berlin Affective Word List (DENN–BAWL). Using these ratings and the psycholinguistic indexes from the BAWL-R, the DENN–BAWL allows researchers to design experiments using highly controlled and reliable word material. Data have been archived at www.fu-berlin.de/allgpsy/DENN-BAWL     

The two meanings of a homophone

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Ss were presented with sentences whose main noun was either a homophone or not. Following each sentence, Ss were presented with a single noun and they had to indicate whether it was relevant to the sentence or not. More specifically, irrelevant probes following sentences containing homophones were either irrelevant with respect to both interpretations of the homophone or irrelevant with respect to the present interpretation of the homophone but relevant with respect to its other interpretation. The data suggest that people compare the main noun and the probe, and that in doing so they compute both entries of the homophone noun. No effect was found due to a variation in the delay between the presentation of the sentence and the presentation of the probe.     

Colour associates to semantic linear orders

Summary People were asked whether they had strong colour associates (rather than associations) for different linear orders. Eighteen informants responded that they associated colours with numbers, and ten that they associated colours with the days of the week. The colours associated with both linear orders were consistent between subjects and correlated with each other. The order of the associates correlated with the order noted in the anthropological linguistic typology of Berlin and Kay (1969). Together, the patterns noted indicate that the association of colours with linear orders is an orderly cognitive phenomenon. While no causal explanation of the phenomenon is given, some implications are suggested.