Daily fluctuations in the affective states of dancers: A cross-situational test of basic needs theory

ObjectivesThis study tested the generalizability of basic needs theory (BNT; Deci & Ryan, 2000) across situations in which dancers learn and perform within vocational dance. Specifically, we examined the inter-relationships between daily and typical perceptions of autonomy support, basic psychological need satisfaction, and changes in affective states, across dance situations that were divergent in their learning and evaluative potential (dance classes, rehearsals, and performances). Genre differences were also examined.DesignA one-month diary study examined the inter-relationships between typical and daily perceptions of autonomy support, basic psychological need satisfaction and positive and negative affect among dancers studying three distinct genres and in three situations (classes, rehearsals, performances).MethodFifty-five dancers completed a series of scales tapping the variables of interest. Abbreviated versions of the scales were completed before (affective states) and after (affective states, basic needs and autonomy support) dance classes, rehearsals and performances over four weeks. Analyzes tested the BNT sequence across the learning and performance situations. Interactions between typical and state experiences were tested. Cross-genre comparisons were also made.ResultsResults partially supported the BNT sequence across classes, rehearsals and performances. There were situational differences in the salience of each need as a predictor of affective states. When comparing genres, some differences were also found in perceived autonomy support, basic need satisfaction and affective states.ConclusionsFindings point to the importance of promoting autonomy supportive dance teaching to facilitate dancers' day-to-day experiences of well-being.     

Changes in Perceived Supervisor Embeddedness: Effects on Employees’ Embeddedness,Organizational Trust,and Voice Behavior

Guided by social information processing theory, this study examines how perceived supervisor embeddedness relates to employees’ own affect toward, attachment to, and behavior within the firm. Data were collected from 338 employees at 3 points in time over a 10‐month period. The results supported the proposed model in 3 key ways. First, perceived supervisor embeddedness was directly related to employees’ own embeddedness over time. Second, organizational trust mediated the relationship between perceived supervisor embeddedness and employees’ own embeddedness over time. Third, organizational trust and employee embeddedness were both related to employees’ voice behavior over time.     

Impact of chronic illness: Differing perspectives of younger and older women

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the life experiences of six women with chronic illness who represent three differing life stages. The participants included two women who were in young adulthood, two who were between the ages of 40 and 60, and two women in their late 70s. The women were all diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, or a combination of these disorders. They were interviewed concerning the impact illness has had on their lives, the manner in which chronic illness has altered their self-perceptions, and the ways in which they have come to make meaning from the event. While the women had achieved varying levels of acceptance of their illness, it appeared that the ability to cope was dependent on numerous factors across several life circumstances. Distinctions were made regarding ability to either adjust to the illness or use the experience as a catalyst for personal growth.     

The alchemy of facilitation revealed through individual stories and collective narrative

Facilitation is a key ‘ingredient’ in the success and sustainability of communities of practice. Yet, little attention has been given to in situ experiences of facilitators of these communities. This paper takes up the challenge to explore these experiences using reflective stories written by seven TATAL (Talking about Teaching and Learning) facilitators (the authors) from different disciplines in five different Australian universities. The authors’ collaborative analysis of their experiences suggests reframing the role of facilitator to include the role of alchemist, a promoter of transformation. This reframing has the potential to change the way higher education community of practice facilitators think about and enact their role. The story-based reflective process used in this self-study could also be used by facilitators to investigate their own practice, as a component of facilitator education programmes or by academics and researchers in other contexts who seek a participatory, collaborative approach to evaluate their practice.     

Social Skills Mediate the Association of ADHD and Depression in Preadolescents

Childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a replicated risk factor for depression, but the explanatory factors underlying this association have not been reliably identified. Given that social skills (i.e., cooperation, assertion, responsibility, self-control) are sensitive to early ADHD and predict later depression, we tested whether individual differences in social skills individually and collectively mediated predictions of depressive symptoms from early ADHD symptoms. In an ethnically diverse (50 % non-Caucasian) sample of 232 children with (n = 124) and without ADHD (n = 108) followed prospectively for two years (aged 5–10 at Wave 1; 7–12 at Wave 2), we gathered multi-informant (i.e., parent, teacher) and multi-method (e.g., rating scale, structured interview) assessment of key constructs. Using a multiple mediation framework with bootstrapping and statistical control of sex, Wave 1 depression, Wave 1 oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), Wave 1 anxiety, and Wave 2 ADHD symptoms, an independent mediation effect emerged for parent-rated self-control in the prediction of Wave 2 depression (parent-rated) from Wave 1 ADHD symptoms (combined parent and teacher ratings). Teacher-rated social skills at Wave 1 also collectively mediated this association, with teacher-rated assertion emerging as a unique mediator. We discuss the role of social skills in emergent depression among youth with ADHD and consider implications for prevention and intervention.     

Endocrine and emotional response to exclusion among women and men; cortisol,salivary alpha amylase,and mood

Background and Objectives: Social exclusion is ubiquitous and painful. Evolutionary models indicate sex differences in coping with social stress. Recent empirical data suggest different sex patterns in hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) and sympathetic–adrenal–medullary (SAM) reactivity. The present study sought to test this hypothesis.

Design: We examined differences in endocrine and emotional response to exclusion by using a virtual ball tossing paradigm (Cyberball). Saliva samples and mood ratings were collected to reflect levels before, and repeatedly following, exclusion.

Methods: The sample included 21 women and 23 men. Cortisol and salivary alpha amylase (sAA), biomarkers of the HPA and SAM systems, respectively, were used as indices of two arms of stress response.

Results: Following exclusion, all participants experienced mood worsening followed by mood improvement, with men reporting less distress than women. Women evinced decline in cortisol following the Cyberball task, whereas men’s cortisol levels showed a non-significant rise, and then decline, following exclusion.

Conclusions: Our results concur with previous findings showing SAM reactivity to be gender-neutral and HPA reactivity to be gender-divergent. Additional studies are needed to examine sex-specific response to social exclusion. Implications for individual differences in recovery from stress are discussed.     

A three-phase model of retirement decision making

The present article organizes prominent theories about retirement decision making around three different types of thinking about retirement: imagining the possibility of retirement, assessing when it is time to let go of long-held jobs, and putting concrete plans for retirement into action at present. It also highlights important directions for future research on retirement decision making, including perceptions of declining person-environment fit, the role of personality traits, occupational norms regarding retirement, broader criteria for assessing older workers' job performance, couples' joint decision making about retirement, the impact of self-funded and self-guided pension plans on retirement decisions, bridge employment before total withdrawal from the work force, and retirement decisions that are neither entirely forced nor voluntary in nature.     

Worry in imagery and verbal form: effect on residual working memory capacity

Worry-prone individuals have less residual working memory capacity during worry compared to low-worriers (Hayes, Hirsch, & Mathews, 2008). People typically worry in verbal form, and the present study investigated whether verbal worry depletes working memory capacity more than worry in imagery-based form. High and low-worriers performed a working memory task, random interval generation, whilst thinking about a worry in verbal or imagery form. High (but not low) worriers had less available working memory capacity when worrying in verbal compared to imagery-based form. The findings could not be accounted for by general attentional control, amount of negatively-valenced thought, or appraisals participants made about worry topics. The findings indicate that the verbal nature of worry is implicated in the depletion of working memory resources during worry among high-worriers, and point to the potential value of imagery-based techniques in cognitive-behavioural treatments for problematic worry.     

Basic Information Processing Abilities at 11 years Account for Deficits in IQ Associated with Preterm Birth

Although it is well established that preterms as a group do poorly relative to their full-term peers on tests of global cognitive functioning, the basis for this relative deficiency is less understood. The present paper examines preterm deficits in core cognitive abilities and determines their role in mediating preterm/full-term differences in IQ. The performance of 11-year-old children born preterm (birth weight < 1750 g) and their full-term controls were compared on a large battery of 15 tasks, covering four basic cognitive domains — memory, attention, speed of processing and representational competence. The validity of these four domains was established using latent variables and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Preterms showed pervasive deficits within and across domains. Additionally, preterm deficits in IQ were completely mediated by these four cognitive domains in a structural equation model involving a cascade from elementary abilities (attention and speed), to more complex abilities (memory and representational competence), to IQ. The similarity of findings to those obtained with this cohort in infancy and toddlerhood suggests that preterm deficits persist — across time, across task, and from the non-verbal to the verbal period.