The Structure of Grandparental Role Meaning

The present study explored the viability of Kivnick's 5-factor model of grandparental meaning (Kivnick, 1983), wherein this model was tested and subsequently refined on a sample of traditional grandparents (N = 102), and then cross-validated using a sample of custodial grandparents (N = 101). The data suggested that Kivnick's model of grandparental meaning was untenable in both grandparent samples. Instead, a single-factor model was supported in both samples. This suggests that grandparental meaning is best understood without regard to Kivnick's distinctions (Kivnick, 1983). This may reflect a cohort effect in the meaning of grandparenting, as evidenced in the diversity of roles into which grandparents are thrust, increased role confusion, as well as the idiosyncratic manner in which grandparents are often forced to define their roles in today's society.     

Conscious and unconscious proportion effects in masked priming

The global neuronal workspace theory [Dehaene, S., & Naccache, L. (2001). Towards a cognitive neuroscience of consciousness: basic evidence and a workspace framework. Cognition, 79, 1–37.] proposes that it is impossible for an unconscious stimulus to be used strategically to enhance task performance (bottom–up effect), while a fully consciously perceived stimulus can be used to improve task performance (top–down effect). Two experiments were designed to investigate these hypotheses. In a first experiment we investigated whether a manipulation of the proportion of Arabic/number word targets had a top–down effect. Since the subjects were fully aware of the target, we expected that this manipulation could be used to enhance task performance. In a second experiment we determined whether a manipulation of the proportion of Arabic/number word primes had a bottom–up effect. Since the subjects were unaware of the prime, we hypothesized that they would be unable to use the manipulation to enhance task performance and therefore the manipulation would have no effect. Both hypotheses were largely confirmed.     

The Ethics of Smart Stadia: A Stakeholder Analysis of the Croke Park Project

Science and Engineering Ethics - The development of “smart stadia”, i.e. the use of “smart technologies” in the way sports stadia are designed and managed, promises to...     

Should supervisors communicate goals or visions? The moderating role of subordinates' psychological distance

There is an ongoing debate about how supervisors should communicate desired end‐states to subordinates, that is, whether they should set concrete goals (according to goal setting theory) or communicate abstract visions (according to transformational leadership theory). In this paper, we draw on construal level theory (CLT) to reconcile both views and develop a model of when supervisors communicating concrete goals versus abstract visions are seen as more effective. According to CLT, being psychologically removed from (vs. near to) an event or object makes people construe the event or object in a more abstract (vs. concrete) way, which, in turn, leads people to process abstract (vs. concrete) information more fluently and thus evaluate the sender of this information more favorably. Accordingly, supervisor effectiveness may be higher in conditions where communication and psychological distance to the supervisor converge (vision/far and goals/close) rather than diverge (vision/close and goals/far). We tested this hypothesis in two experiments, using different operationalizations of psychological distance. In these studies, we found supervisor effectiveness to be higher when vision was communicated at a far versus near distance and goals were communicated at a near versus far distance.     

Applicant Selection Expectations: Validating a multidimensional measure in the military

Research has suggested the importance of applicants' expectations of forthcoming selection procedures in predicting how applicants react to selection procedures. Validated measures of selection expectations are still scarce, however. This study reports on the validation of the Applicant Expectation Survey (AES), intended to measure applicants' expectations of forthcoming selection procedures. The AES was validated using three military applicant samples and showed sound psychometric properties (i.e., reliability, measurement invariance, discriminant validity) for a five‐factorial oblique structure consisting of 26 items. The five factors (i.e., Warmth/respect, Chance to demonstrate potential, Difficulty of faking, Unbiased assessment, Feedback) were positively related to several organizational outcome measures and to applicants' perceptions of the selection procedure, providing evidence for the predictive validity of the AES.     

Selection Test Anxiety: Investigating applicants' self‐ vs other‐referenced anxiety in a real selection setting

Test anxiety has received limited attention in personnel selection research, although it may impair the test performance of applicants. This paper describes the development and validation of a new two‐dimensional measure of applicants' test anxiety, namely the Self‐ versus Other‐Referenced Anxiety Questionnaire (SOAQ), that embeds worrisome cognitions of anxious applicants in the social evaluative context of ‘self’ (Self‐Referenced Anxiety) and ‘significant others’ (Other‐Referenced Anxiety). An exploratory factor analysis (calibration sample), followed by a confirmatory factor analysis (validation sample) and correlations with several proximal and distal theoretical constructs indicated satisfactory psychometric properties and construct validity for both SOAQ scales. Structural equation modeling further showed a differential impact of Self‐ and Other‐Referenced Anxiety on applicants' test performance within a real personnel selection context. The scientific and practical relevance of these findings are discussed.     

Task control and cognitive abilities of self and spouse in collaboration in middle-aged and older couples

Collaborative problem solving may be used by older couples to optimize cognitive functioning, with some suggestion that older couples exhibit greater collaborative expertise. The study explored age differences in 2 aspects of collaborative expertise: spouses' knowledge of their own and their spouse's cognitive abilities and the ability to fit task control to these cognitive abilities. The participants were 300 middle-aged and older couples who completed a hypothetical errand task. The interactions were coded for control asserted by husbands and wives. Fluid intelligence was assessed, and spouses rated their own and their spouse's cognitive abilities. The results revealed no age differences in couple expertise, either in the ability to predict their own and their spouse's cognitive abilities or in the ability to fit task control to abilities. However, gender differences were found. Women fit task control to their own and their spouse's cognitive abilities; men only fit task control to their spouse's cognitive abilities. For women only, the fit between control and abilities was associated with better performance. The results indicate no age differences in couple expertise but point to gender as a factor in optimal collaboration.     

On feeling in control: a biological theory for individual differences in control perception

This review aims to create a cross-disciplinary framework for understanding the perception of control. Although, the personality trait locus of control, the most common measure of control perception, has traditionally been regarded as a product of social learning, it may have biological antecedents as well. It is suggested that control perception follows from the brain's capacity for self regulation, leading to flexible and goal directed behaviours. To this account, a model is presented which spans several levels of analyses. On a behavioural level, control perception may be a corollary of emotion regulation, executive functions, and social cognition. On a neural level, these self-regulatory functions are substantiated in part by the dorsolateral and ventral prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex. In addition, a possible role of subcortical-cortical dopamine pathways underlying control perception is discussed.     

Aging and cardiovascular reactivity to stress: longitudinal evidence for changes in stress reactivity

Although age differences in cardiovascular function are well documented, little research has provided longitudinal evidence for age-related changes in cardiovascular reactivity to stress. In this study, the authors report such data from a follow-up of their prior work (B. N. Uchino, D. Uno, J. Holt-Lunstad, & J. B. Flinders, 1999) with participants between the ages of 30 to 70 (n=108, mean follow-up=10 months, range=7 to 16 months). Results revealed longitudinal evidence for an age-related increase in systolic blood-pressure reactivity and parasympathetic withdrawal to acute stress. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of the increased cardiovascular disease risk with age, as well as the links between aging, emotions, and physiology.