Problem Variables that Promote Incubation Effects

Three studies sought to determine whether incubation effects could be reliably generated in a problem‐solving task. Experimental variables manipulated were the duration of the interval between two problem‐solving opportunities and the activity performed by the problem solvers during the interval. A multi‐solution anagram task was used which required problem solvers to generate five‐letter words from the letters in a ten‐letter “starter” word until they could produce no more words. After a break (the incubation period) the problem solvers returned to the anagram task anew. Some participants also engaged in an activity related to the anagram task during the break which was expected to prime potential solutions that would emerge during the second problem‐solving attempt. In all conditions problem solvers were able to generate new responses after the break, thus demonstrating a reliable incubation effect. The optimal incubation period was between 15 and 30 min long. The priming task increased the number of solutions to the anagram task on the second attempt, suggesting that exposure to solution ideas during the incubation period may facilitate an incubation effect during problem solving.     

Psychodynamic assessment of changes in children with autism under psychoanalytic treatment

In this article the authors report insights into autism developed through their extensive experience of psychoanalytic therapy with children with autism. The fi rst stages of body psychic development are seriously disrupted by this pathology, resulting in primitive anxieties of falling and of being liquefi ed. These anxieties are connected to the fragile development of body ego and of its related spatiotemporal organisation. The changes in children observed by the authors during the therapeutic process lead them to offer a psychodynamic assessment tool, which revolves principally around the development of body ego. After the initial state of 'severe autism', the authors describe three stages: the stage of 'recovery of the skin' (Bick); the established 'symbiotic phase', subdivided into 'vertical then horizontal splitting of the body ego'; and fi nally the stage of 'individuation'. First, the authors describe the principal psychoanalytic approaches to autism and refl ect on the links possible with nonpsychoanalytic work.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HR PRACTICES AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: EXAMINING CAUSAL ORDER

Significant research attention has been devoted to examining the relationship between HR practices and firm performance, and research support has assumed HR as the causal variable. Using data from 45 business units (with 62 data points), this study examines how measures of HR practices correlate with past, concurrent, and future operational performance measures. The results indicate that correlations with performance measures at all 3 times are both high and invariant, and that controlling for past or concurrent performance virtually eliminates the correlation of HR practices with future performance. Implications are discussed.     

SUSANNA AND THE PRE‐CHRISTIAN BOOK OF DANIEL: STRUCTURE AND MEANING1

The structure of the pre‐Christian book of Daniel as newly edited in Palestine in the first century B.C. is coherent, often symmetrical, and meaningful and was the version used by Jesus and the early Christians. Origen's and Jerome's reordering of the fourteen‐chapter book in conformity with the extant Hebrew, however, vitiated that structure. Susanna's account opened the pre‐Christian Palestinian version. That account inaugurates the themes of wisdom and judgment and provides the restoration of right order within the community in exile, a restoration essential for what transpires thereafter. Her experience is the first of four holy ordeals placed symmetrically in the first half of the book and framing the book as a whole. Significantly, the two chapters of Daniel most quoted in the Gospels are the ones that open the two halves of the book: Susanna, and the first vision of Daniel. Those two chapters are linked thematically and by diction, including the pair of unique phrases ‘[one grown] ancient of evil days' and ‘Ancient of Days’. Susanna exemplifies the experiences of the saints – suffering and then vindicated – and also, for the writers of the synoptic Gospels – the experiences of Jesus in his passion.     

Artists' vulnerability to psychopathology: Towards an integrative cognitive perspective

A relationship is commonly reported between high levels of artistic creativity and mental health problems (e.g., depression or psychosis), and it is now becoming clearer that the divergent cognitive style associated with creativity has commonalities with some of the processes involved in the development and maintenance of some psychological difficulties. Our aim was to investigate the nature of this cognitive style. More specifically, we considered the profile of probabilistic reasoning and associated problem solving abilities, as both of these mechanisms have been found to be integral to major forms of clinical dysfunction. We assessed levels of creative potential, mood, probabilistic reasoning, and problem solving abilities in 66 arts and 85 science undergraduate volunteers. As predicted, art students showed higher levels of creative potential and experienced lower levels of mood than their science peers. Differences in probabilistic reasoning were observed which are in keeping with the pattern reported to be present in those suffering with psychosis in that they tended to ‘jump to conclusions’. Art students also displayed both poorer problem solving abilities and self‐appraisal of their problem solving skills. Our results extend previous findings associated with the mediating role of cognitive processes in the relationship between creativity and some forms of psychopathology. Implications for the prevention and treatment of psychological difficulties in the creative are highlighted.     

Adverse work experiences and marital outcomes in middle years: Role of self‐esteem

This study assesses the decade‐long influence of adverse work experiences on husbands' and wives' problem‐solving behaviors and marital quality through self‐esteem using structural equation modeling with a sample of 308 dual‐earning couples. Analyses controlled for earlier marital quality, allowing for assessment of the residual change in marital quality over 10 years. Adverse work experiences directly affected marital quality and indirectly affected decreases in marital quality through lower self‐esteem; lastly, individuals' self‐esteem was positively related to increased problem‐solving behaviors. In addition, there was a crossover association, with wives' and husbands' self‐esteem influencing one another's problem‐solving behaviors. These results contribute to a deeper understanding about the processes responsible for the detrimental impact of adverse work experiences.     

THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATION,EMPOWERMENT, AND SKILL‐ENHANCING PRACTICES ON AGGREGATE VOLUNTARY TURNOVER: THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF COLLECTIVE AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT

This study advances research on macro human resource management by examining collective commitment as a mediator of motivation, empowerment, and skill‐enhancing practices and aggregate voluntary turnover. Findings from 20 top HR managers and 1,748 employees in 93 different job groups suggest collective affective commitment independently mediates the negative relationships between motivation and empowerment‐enhancing practices and aggregate voluntary turnover. Human resource practices functioning to enhance the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the workforce are positively associated with voluntary turnover but are not mediated by collective affective commitment. Functionally, this paper resolves the divergent thinking of 4 streams of research regarding HR practices, collective commitment and aggregate turnover. The implications for macro‐HRM theory and practice are discussed.