Worker estimation of ability requirements of their jobs

A modified version of the Minnesota Job Requirements Questionnaire (MJRQ), representing the GATB aptitudes, was used by workers in 11 selected jobs to rate the ability requirements of their jobs. Worker MJRQ ratings were compared with supervisor MJRQ ratings. Modified Occupational Ability Patterns (OAPs) derived from worker ratings were compared with OAPs based on supervisor ratings, OAPs from expert ratings in the DOT, and OAPs from the empirical GATB approach. Reliability of worker MJRQ ratings was comparable to that of supervisor ratings. Comparisons of mean ratings and variability of ratings of workers in a job category with workers in other jobs, and with supervisors rating the same job, showed construct validity for worker MJRQ ratings, as did intercorrelations of the worker ratings. OAPs derived from worker MJRQ ratings compared favorably with OAPs derived from supervisor MJRQ ratings, from the DOT, and from the GATB. Differences among workers on variables such as satisfaction, age and tenure did not significantly affect their MJRQ ratings. Implications of the worker MJRQ ratings are discussed.     

Application of pavlovian concepts to anxiety and forearm blood flow

Forearm blood flow is presented as an objective index of anxiety. The mechanism by which increase in muscle blood flow occurs as part of a co-ordinated response to “fight or flight” in animals and in man is discussed. An increased forearm blood flow may indicate a considerable degree of internal agitation, although a patient may appear outwardly calm, and this is thought to be evidence of schizokinesis. Patients with anxiety often experience panic attacks with considerable physiological arousal and this may lead to one-trial conditioning. Autokinesis may result in the development of further symptoms, and the Effect of Person on the cardiovascular system in animals and man is considered. Conditionability of anxious patients was investigated and the acquisition and extinction rates of conditional eyelid responses were found to be similar in a group of patients with anxiety, a variety of psychoneurotic disorders, and normal controls. The use of forearm blood flow to monitor reduction in anxiety brought about by medication, desensitization and psychotherapy has been found to be a valuable addition to the objective methods of assessment in psychiatry.     

Observations on the behaviour of patients in a state mental hospital and a general hospital psychiatric unit: A comparative study

The study sought to compare the naturally occurring behaviour of psychiatric patients within a traditional mental hospital ward and a general hospital psychiatric unit. Direct behavioural observations were undertaken to determine the pattern of behaviour exhibited by patients, the amount of time spent in interaction, with whom interaction took place and the content of that interaction. Data were reliably collected by trained observers, using a 10 category behaviour scale. Within each setting 10 psychotic patients, matched for age, sex and diagnosis, were the subjects and 30 min of behaviour was recorded for each subject. Observations revealed that patients in the mental hospital exhibited more disturbed behaviour, and spent less time in interaction, than did those in the general hospital unit. However, the amount of time patients spent interacting with staff was comparable in the two settings, despite marked differences in staffing levels. Analysis of the content of interaction that did occur indicated that the manner in which staff responded to patients' behaviour was not consistent with the application of a behavioural engineering approach to the modification of abnormal behaviour. While staff in both settings were indiscriminate in the way in which they responded to appropriate and inappropriate patient behaviour, a rather more punitive style of interaction was observed in the mental hospital environment. It is concluded that, from a behavioural perspective, neither setting achieved an optimum therapeutic environment.     

The rapid-smoking technique: Therapeutic effectiveness

The study examined the effectiveness of the rapid-smoking technique in terms of two measures of outcome—post-treatment abstinence rate and reduction in smoking achieved by non-abstinent subjects. A total of 75 volunteers (40 men and 35 women) participated in treatment and were randomly allocated to one of four conditions—rapid-smoking alone; rapid-smoking and relaxation training; rapid-smoking, relaxation and contingency contracting; or contingent rapid-smoking. No significant differences between treatment conditions were obtained. For the total sample, abstinence was achieved by 64% of the subjects immediately post-treatment but the probability of remaining abstinent 12 months later was only 0.33. Immediately post-treatment the non-abstinent subjects reduced their rate of cigarette consumption to 34.2% (SD = 29.3) of baseline smoking but by 12 months average consumption had increased to 82.4% (SD = 28.3) of baseline. It is concluded that rapid-smoking gives rise to substantial short-term changes in smoking behaviour but these effects are not sustained.     

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.     

Individual differences in stress and fatigue in two field studies of driving

This paper reports the findings of two field studies of Australian drivers in which individual differences in stress and fatigue were investigated. In the first study, 58 professional drivers completed measures of mood, fatigue and other subjective stress state measures, before and after performing a prolonged driving trip. The results indicated that the scales were sensitive to increased fatigue following the driving trip, and correlated appropriately with Fatigue Proneness, a driver stress trait. In the second study, 104 non-professional drivers completed identical subjective stress state measures as the professional drivers, before and after performing a driving trip. Drivers completed a measure of driving-related stress traits, the Driver Stress Inventory (DSI), and a measure of coping, the Driving Coping Questionnaire (DCQ). Both measures were predictive of state response to driving, and the association between Fatigue Proneness and post-drive fatigue found in the first study was replicated. Findings from these studies suggest that fatigue and stress reactions to driving are psychometrically distinct, but may have some common antecedents, such as use of emotion-focused coping. The studies confirm the importance of fatigue and stress as potential safety problems, but also highlight the role of individual differences in response to the demands of driving.     

A Voice and So Much More: The Neglect and Representation of Language in Social Psychology

Linguistic diversity is an irreducible characteristic of the world we live in today, yet the study of language remains relatively neglected in mainstream and critical social psychologies alike. In order to argue for a renewed confrontation between language and critical social psychology, this study presents an overview of both the absence of language from mainstream, experimental social psychology and of the emergence, since the 1970s, of the social psychology of language as a distinctive subfield in the discipline. It is argued that although the social psychology of language made the subject perceptible as a speaking and above all accented subject, foregrounding language as an index of class, ethnicity and race, it achieved this perceptibility without challenging the basic ideological coordinates according to which experimental social psychology conceptualises the world and subjects in relation to language. For this reason, the social psychology of language, despite its important contributions, reproduces an essentially national and monolingual imagination of language related phenomena and linguistic subjectivities. The task for a critical social psychology of language, it is argued, is to 'demythologise' and 'disinvent' language and language ideologies in the discipline.     

Perceived Meeting Effectiveness: The Role of Design Characteristics

Purpose  The aim of this investigation was to test hypotheses about meeting design characteristics (punctuality, chairperson, etc.) in relation to attendees’ perceptions of meeting effectiveness. Design/Methodology/Approach  Two studies were conducted: Study 1 investigated meetings attended in a typical week (N = 958), whereas Study 2 examined the last meeting attended on a particular day (N = 292). Findings   A number of design characteristics (in particular agenda use and quality of facilities) were found to be important in predicting perceived effectiveness. Attendee involvement served as a key mediator variable in the observed relationships. Neither meeting type nor size was found to affect the relationships of the design characteristics and involvement with effectiveness. Meeting size, however, was negatively related to attendee involvement. Implications  The findings help us to better understand relationships between design characteristics and attendees’ perceptions of meeting effectiveness. Meeting organizers can use the findings to guide administration of meetings, with potential to enhance the quality of meetings. Originality/Value   Meetings are a common organizational activity but are rarely the focus of empirical research. The use of two complementary studies, to our knowledge, provides a unique account of the contribution of design characteristics to perceptions of meeting effectiveness. Received and reviewed by former editor, George Neuman.     

Intention to consent to living organ donation: an exploratory study

Living organ donation, that is the removal and transplantation of whole organs or segments of organs that a volunteering donor can live without, has been proposed as an effective and sustainable source of transplantable organs to mitigate the deficit in supply from the traditional cadaveric donor pool. In 2006, the Irish government deemed the development of a national Living Transplant Programme a service priority. The current study aimed to investigate the efficacy of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) in the context of living organ donation intentions in an Irish sample. One hundred and thirty five undergraduate students (75 females, 60 males; mean age 20.6 years, SD 3.76) completed a self-report questionnaire assessing TPB variables while imagining themselves in a potential living liver donation scenario. In general, attitudes towards living donation were favourable. TPB components explained 44.8% of the variance in intentions. Attitude towards living donation emerged as the strongest predictor of intention. Self-reported levels of knowledge regarding living donation were generally poor. In light of recent EU Communications proposing the expansion of the use of living donors greater understanding of the determinants, psychological implications and ethical considerations in living donation decisions is necessary.