Construction and initial validation of the Work Context Inventory

Although the importance of taking the work context into account is now a given when attempting to better understand behavior at work and career development, it is not always effectively considered, and a consensus regarding this context is difficult to reach. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the present study developed the Work Context Inventory, composed of 36 items drawn from analyses of work situations. The inventory describes 9 dimensions related to empowerment, relationships with others at work, and performance requirements. The study discusses this theoretical and empirical model by comparing it with other models that were based on different conceptual and methodological approaches. Finally, we present the practical implications of using this model, such as to support career mobility or skill development.     

Manualized Group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety in At-Risk Mental State and First Episode Psychosis: A Pilot Study of Feasibility and Outcomes

Social anxiety has received scant attention in studies of schizophrenia and related psychoses. However, some data suggest it may be an obstacle to vocational and functional outcome. This pilot study investigated the feasibility of a group-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBGT) to reduce social anxiety in those at risk for developing psychosis or in the early phase. Twenty-nine patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) or at ultra high risk for developing psychosis or often referred to as at-risk mental state (ARMS) with comorbid social anxiety attended a CBGT intervention weekly for 14 weeks in 90-minute sessions. Baseline, post-treatment, and follow-up ratings of social anxiety were measured using the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, the Social Phobia Inventory, and the Brief Social Phobia Scale. Psychotic symptoms and general psychopathology were also measured before and after the intervention. Results suggest that the proposed CBGT is feasible and beneficial for socially anxious patients at risk, or with experience of, psychosis. Participants significantly improved on three outcome measures of social anxiety after completing this intervention (all p’s < .002). Participants who completed treatment also showed a significant reduction on measures of depression and negative symptoms. Future research should examine the relative efficacy of this brief manualized CBGT intervention for the treatment of social anxiety and psychotic symptoms in a larger randomized controlled trial.     

THE FUNDAMENTALIST MINDSET: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON RELIGION, VIOLENCE, AND HISTORY. Edited by Charles B. Strozier, David M. Terman, and James W. Jones, with Katharine A. Boyd. Foreword by Martin E. Marty. 274?pp. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. $19.95

The following review essay explores the nature and characteristics of the fundamentalist mindset. The editors note that the fundamentalist mindset, wherever if occurs, is composed of distinct traits such as dualistic thinking, paranoia, and rage in a group context; an apocalyptic orientation that incorporates distinct perspectives on time, death, and violence; a relationship to charismatic leadership; and a totalized conversion experience. The review essay will explore these characteristics in brief, underscoring the major themes found in the authors?? exploration of fundamentalism and the psychological and historical underpinning of the pervading mindset.     

The perception of concurrent sound objects in harmonic complexes impairs gap detection

Since the introduction of the concept of auditory scene analysis, there has been a paucity of work focusing on the theoretical explanation of how attention is allocated within a complex auditory scene. Here we examined signal detection in situations that promote either the fusion of tonal elements into a single sound object or the segregation of a mistuned element (i.e., harmonic) that "popped out" as a separate individuated auditory object and yielded the perception of concurrent sound objects. On each trial, participants indicated whether the incoming complex sound contained a brief gap or not. The gap (i.e., signal) was always inserted in the middle of one of the tonal elements. Our findings were consistent with an object-based account in which perception of two simultaneous auditory objects interfered with signal detection. This effect was observed for a wide range of gap durations and was greater when the mistuned harmonic was perceived as a separate object. These results suggest that attention may be initially shared among concurrent sound objects thereby reducing listeners' ability to process acoustic details belonging to a particular sound object. These findings provide new theoretical insight for our understanding of auditory attention and auditory scene analysis.     

Are Reaching Movements Planned to be Straight and Invariant in the Extrinsic Space? Kinematic Comparison Between Compliant and Unconstrained Motions

Two main questions were addressed in the present study. First, does the existence of kinematic regularities in the extrinsic space represent a general rule? Second, can the existence of extrinsic regularities be related to specific experimental situations implying, for instance, the generation of compliant motion (i.e. a motion constrained by external contact)? To address these two questions we studied the spatio-temporal characteristics of unconstrained and compliant movements. Five major differences were observed between these two types of movement: (1) the movement latency and movement duration were significantly longer in the compliant than in the unconstrained condition; (2) whereas the hand path was curved and variable according to movement direction for the unconstrained movements, it was straight and invariant for the compliant movements; (3) whereas the movement end-point distribution was roughly circular for the unconstrained movements, it was consistently elongated and typically oriented in the movement direction for the compliant movements; (4) whereas constant errors varied as a function of target eccentricity for the unconstrained movements, they were independent of this factor for the compliant movements; (5) the instruction to move the final effector along a straight line path influenced the characteristics of the unconstrained movements but not the characteristics of the compliant movements. When considered together, the previous observations suggest that compliant and unconstrained movements involve different planning strategies. Our data support the hypothesis that unconstrained motions, unlike compliant motions, are not programmed to follow a straight line path in the extrinsic space. This observation provides a theoretical frame of reference within which some apparently contradictory results reported in the movement generation literature may be explained.     

On the temporal stability of self-determined work motivation profiles: a latent transition analysis

ABSTRACT

This study extends the research and theory on work motivation by examining temporal stability and change in employees’ self-determined work motivation profiles and their differential relations to various predictors and outcomes. We gathered data at two time points over a 24-month period from a sample of 438 newly registered public health care nurses. Results of latent profile and latent transition analyses revealed four distinct profiles (strongly, moderately, self-determined, and poorly motivated), estimated from the position of global and specific behavioural regulations on the motivation continuum proposed by self-determination theory. These profiles were entirely stable at the within-sample level, although within-person changes in profile membership occurred for 30–40% of employees. Of particular interest, perceptions of job resources were consistently associated with greater likelihood of membership in the strongly and moderately motivated profiles. These profiles were also consistently associated with lower emotional exhaustion and intentions to leave the occupation and the organization and with higher in-role performance compared to the self-determined and poorly motivated profiles.