Physiological Desensitization and Judgments About Female Victims of Violence

Earlier published studies have indicated that exposure to filmed violence against women leads to decreased perceptions of violence, systematic reductions in emotional reactions, reduction in self-reported physiological arousal to the violence in the films, and a tendency for subjects exposed to the violence to judge a victim of a sexual assault presented in a more realistic context more harshly. The present study was designed to measure physiological desensitizatian (heart rate) and to investigate the relationships between this measure and other cognitive, affective, and attitudinal components of the desensitization process. Subjects were either exposed to a two-hour videotape portraying violence against women or to exciting, nonviolent material (i.e., auto races, nonviolent sex). Following this, all subjects were exposed to two brief clips of violence perpetrated by a man against a women. During these clips, all subjects’ heart rates were monitored. Afterwards mood reactions and perceptions of the perpetrators and victims depicted in the dependent measure clips were measured. The results indicated that heart rates for subjects exposed to the violent videotape were lower during the final 90 seconds of each violent dependent measure film clip than controls. Although the violence-viewing subjects experienced no change in moods, control subjects experienced significant increases in hostility, anxiety, and depression during the dependent measure clips. Subjects in the violence-viewing condition attributed less injury to the victims but greater responsibility to the perpetrators in the dependent measure clips, compared to control subjects. There was no apparent relationship between physiological desensitization and later victim/perpetrator judgments.     

Happiness and Pleasure1

This paper argues against hedonistic theories of happiness. First, hedonism is too inclusive: many pleasures cannot plausibly be construed as constitutive of happiness. Second, any credible theory must count either attitudes of life satisfaction, affective states such as mood, or both as constituents of happiness; yet neither sort of state reduces to pleasure. Hedonism errs in its attempt to reduce happiness, which is at least partly dispositional, to purely episodic experiential states. the dispositionality of happiness also undermines weakened nonreductive forms of hedonism, as some happiness‐constitutive states are not pleasures in any sense. Moreover, these states can apparently fail to exhibit the usual hedonic properties; sadness, for instance, can sometimes be pleasant. Finally, the nonhedonistic accounts are adequate if not superior on grounds of practical and theoretical utility, quite apart from their superior conformity to the folk notion of happiness. “And does his philosophy make you happy?” “I have never searched for happiness. Who wants happiness? I have searched for pleasure.” Oscar Wilde, the Picture of Dorian Gray (p. 209)     

A Model of the Perceived Competence of Conflict Strategies

This study examines how strategic communication is linked to specific relational features. We hypothesize that perceptions of a communicator's competence mediate the effects of conflict strategies on the relational outcomes measured by trust, control mutuality, intimacy, and satisfaction. The components of competence were specific and general appropriateness, effectiveness, and global competence; these were included in LISREL analyses to investigate How the variables conflict, competence, and relational outcomes were linked. Participants reported on their partners’ conflict strategies, their own perceptions of the partner's competence, and relational variables. The results reveal that integrative strategies were positively linked to competence, whereas distributive and avoidant strategies were negatively linked to competence. The results support the view that competence perceptions mediate the link between conflict messages and relational outcomes.     

STATE COURT DISPARITY ON EMPLOYMENT AT-WILL

State courts have produced three major exceptions to the employment at-will doctrine: (1) violation of public policy, (2) breach of an implied contract (including written policies, oral promises, and implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing), and (3) commitment of a tort of emotional distress, defamation, or third-party interference with a contractual relationship. We analyzed state appellate court decisions to identify judicial philosophies and to determine which states have accepted or rejected the various exceptions to employment at-will. Our results show that the states vary considerably. The most commonly accepted arguments against employment at-will are violations of public policy, breaches of implied contracts in employee handbooks, and torts of outrageous emotional distress. Overall, this research highlights the need for statewide consistency with regard to the at-will issue.     

Individual Reactions to Interviewer Behaviors

This study suggests that interviewer behaviors do not have a consistently strong impact on applicants' attitudes toward organizations or willingness to accept job offers.     

Resistance to Consultation: A Synthesis for Counselor-Consultants

The authors list and describe a number of types of consultee resistance that commonly occur during consultation and discuss methods and techniques for dealing with each. The article concludes with suggestions for empirical research to determine the effectiveness of various strategies for dealing with consultee resistance.     

LOWER BACK DISABILITY IN OCCUPATIONAL SETTINGS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE FROM A HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT VIEW

Lower back disability (LBD) is a widespread phenomenon that has dramatic impacts on individuals' lives, as well as employers' costs. Despite this fact, specialists in the area of human resources have paid little attention to this critical, work-related outcome. The need for human resource professionals to learn more about LBD has become even more urgent due to the recent passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Although the treatment of lower back pain falls within the domain of physicians, this paper adopts a bio-psycho-social approach and reviews the existing empirical literature on variables related to LBD at the preventative and rehabilitation stages. We identify five avenues (job design, selection, training, compensation, and organizational climate) through which human resource researchers and practitioners can influence lower back disability.     

APPLICANT PERSONALITY, ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE, AND ORGANIZATION ATTRACTION

This study examined the dispositional basis of job seekers' organizational culture preferences and how these preferences interact with recruiting organizations' cultures in their relation to organization attraction. Data were collected from 182 business, engineering, and industrial relations students who were seeking positions at the time of the study. Results obtained from multiple sources suggested that the Big Five personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) generally were related to hypothesized dimensions of culture preferences. Results also suggested that both objective person-organization fit (congruence between applicant culture preferences and recruiting organization's reputed culture) and subjective fit (applicant's direct perception of fit) were related to organization attraction. Further, subjective fit mediated the relationship between objective fit and organization attraction.     

Reflections Relative to Death,Dying, and Grieving Workshops

Death, dying, and grieving are frequent counseling themes. Developmental workshops and courses, such as described in this article, address the crucial existential aspects related to living and dying.