Critical factor analysis: An exploratory general model for understanding diverse systems

Critical Factor Analysis (CFA) is presented as an exploratory general model for uniting the sciences and the humanities through identification and use of critical factors common to both. Two primary and eight subordinate critical factors, with corresponding principles, are identified and placed in a model that can be used for prediction, analysis, and design of systems. Use of CFA could conceivably raise system IQ, reduce unnecessary variety, and assist with the general acceptance of systems science.     

Searching for emotion or race: Task-irrelevant facial cues have asymmetrical effects

Facial cues of threat such as anger and other race membership are detected preferentially in visual search tasks. However, it remains unclear whether these facial cues interact in visual search. If both cues equally facilitate search, a symmetrical interaction would be predicted; anger cues should facilitate detection of other race faces and cues of other race membership should facilitate detection of anger. Past research investigating this race by emotional expression interaction in categorisation tasks revealed an asymmetrical interaction. This suggests that cues of other race membership may facilitate the detection of angry faces but not vice versa. Utilising the same stimuli and procedures across two search tasks, participants were asked to search for targets defined by either race or emotional expression. Contrary to the results revealed in the categorisation paradigm, cues of anger facilitated detection of other race faces whereas differences in race did not differentially influence detection of emotion targets.     

The Straight Path to Healing: Using Motivational Interviewing to Address Spiritual Bypass

Spiritual bypass is the avoidance of underlying emotional issues by focusing solely on spiritual beliefs, practices, and experiences. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a client‐centered, compassionate approach to effectively addressing resistance among those who present with spiritual bypass. In this article, the authors provide background information on spiritual bypass and a rationale for adopting an MI approach to working with these clients. A case presentation illustrates 1 example of using MI with spiritual bypass.     

The Moderating Effect of Machiavellianism on the Psychological Contract Breach–Organizational Identification/Disidentification Relationships

Purpose

We explore whether Machiavellianism—a personality trait which describes the extent to which individuals ignore values and ethical considerations when the ends justify the means—will influence their responses to their employing organizations’ failure to fulfil promised obligations (psychological contracts). Specifically, we draw on psychological contracts theory and the group value model to argue that Machiavellianism will moderate the relationships between psychological contract breach and (1) organizational identification; and (2) organizational disidentification.

Design/Methodology/Approach

We tested our hypotheses in a study of 262 employees from various organizations at two points in time.

Findings

We found that psychological contract breach was negatively related to organizational identification and positively related to organizational disidentification. Furthermore, employees with higher levels of Machiavellianism tended to disidentify with their organizations to a greater extent (at Time 2) in response to psychological contract breach (at Time 1) than did employees with low levels of Machiavellianism. Machiavellianism did not moderate the relationship between psychological contract breach and organizational identification.

Implications

Our study contributes to extant research exploring the importance of Machiavellianism in the workplace. Specifically, we show that employees with high levels of Machiavellianism are more likely to disidentify in response to psychological contract breach but do not tend to identify to a lesser degree.

Originality/Value

This study builds on the extant research exploring individual differences in the psychological contract dynamics by considering Machiavellianism as a moderator of the breach–outcome relationship.     

The Effects of Recent Sleep Duration,Sleep Quality,and Current Sleepiness on Eyewitness Memory

This study examined whether three sleep‐related variables (current sleepiness, the duration of the previous night's sleep and the quality of that sleep) were predictors of an eyewitness's ability to remember central and peripheral details from a crime. Participants first completed a self‐report questionnaire assessing their current sleepiness, then watched a video of a bank robbery, next completed a self‐report questionnaire about their previous night's sleep, and then had their memory of the crime tested. It was found that as the eyewitnesses' sleep quality decreased and their sleepiness increased, their ability to accurately recollect peripheral details from the crime was compromised. This is the first demonstration that variations in sleep prior to witnessing a crime, and sleepiness at the time of a crime, can predict eyewitness memory. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Life Meaning Following Combat Among Air Force Security Forces Personnel

An active duty Air Force ground combat unit (n = 189) completed surveys about trauma and combat exposure, mood symptoms, and meaning in life. Two dimensions of deployment-related traumas were assessed: combat (e.g., firing weapons, being fired upon) and aftermath (e.g., seeing dead bodies, injury). Results of regression analyses indicated that Airmen who experienced more intense combat reported less presence of meaning in life, although the significant interaction with gender suggested declines in meaning in life were especially pronounced among males with higher combat intensity. In contrast, more intense aftermath exposure was associated with slightly stronger meaning in life, with no differences by gender. Intensity of combat exposure might differentially affect perceived meaning in life for male versus female combatants.     

Sir Isaac Newton,Alchemist

Contrary to the view of Sir Isaac Newton as a key perpetrator of mechanistic scientism, this paper describes Newton's alchemical research from a depth psychological perspective, offers an overview of some of his chymical experiments, and emphasizes Newton's belief in an animated cosmos not explainable only in terms of linear laws.     

Alexithymia and Cardiovascular Risk in Older Adults: Psychosocial,Psychophysiological, and Biomedical Correlates

Psychosocial correlates of alexithymia were examined in 102 healthy, older adults (ages 53-83; 76% male). Alexithymic ( n = 26) and non-alexithymic ( n = 30) groups, defined by top ( S 70) and bottom ( h 54) quartiles of the distribution of Toronto Alexithymia Scale (26-item) scores, were compared with respect to psychosocial, psychophysiological, and biomedical risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Both categorical ratings and continuous scores of alexithymia were associated with significantly greater levels of trait anxiety, anger-in, neuroticism, hostility, perceived stress, depression, and lower levels of social support. Compared to non-alexithymics, alexithymics displayed significantly greater blood pressure responses to anger provocation and tended to have a greater percent body fat. The groups did not differ in resting cardiovascular parameters, heart rate reactivity, fasting glucose and lipoprotein lipids, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, social desirability, or trait anger. These findings suggest several psychosocial and psychophysiological pathways by which alexithymia may confer risk for cardiovascular disease among older adults.     

The Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA): Internal Consistency (Q1 vs. Q2 and Q3 vs. Q4) in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

The internal consistency of the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) was examined in a cohort of 6- to 12-year-old children (N = 63) strictly diagnosed with ADHD. The internal consistency of errors of omission (OMM), errors of commission (COM), response time (RT), and response time variability (RTV) of different test conditions (stimulus infrequent condition [Q₁ vs. Q₂] and stimulus frequent condition [Q₃ vs. Q₄]) was assessed via correlation analyses. All TOVA index scores under investigation assessing its internal consistency exhibited statistically significant correlations. All correlations fell in the moderate-high range.