Personal values and prosocial behaviour in strategic interactions: Distinguishing value‐expressive from value‐ambivalent behaviours

Relying on the framework provided by Schwartz's theory of personal values, we investigated whether values can help explain prosocial behaviour. We first distinguished value‐expressive behaviours from value‐ambivalent behaviours. The former are compatible with primarily one value or with congruent values, the latter with mutually conflicting values. In Study 1, an analysis over all 41 (39 unpublished) samples in which we measured personal values and prosocial behaviour in monetarily incentivized strategic interactions (N = 1289; data collected between 2007 and 2010 in China, Finland, Germany, Israel, and the West Bank) supported our idea that personal values, universalism in particular, predict value‐expressive (prisoner's dilemma cooperation and trust game back‐transfers) but not value‐ambivalent behaviours (trust game transfers and ultimatum game proposals and responses). Study 2 (N = 56) focused on dictator game behaviours, which we expected and found to be strongly value‐expressive. The findings contribute to the ongoing discussion on whether and under which circumstances values shape behaviour. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do core self-evaluations and coping style influence the perception of job insecurity?

Over the last few decades, increased flexibility and lack of stability in employment has made job insecurity a work stressor that affects more and more employees. Since worrying about potential job loss (quantitative job insecurity) or possible loss of valued job features (qualitative job insecurity) constitutes a subjective perception, it has been claimed that personality factors may be decisive for job insecurity perceptions. Furthermore, the perception of a stressor, in this case job insecurity, could be argued to be dependent on appraisals of available coping resources. This study investigates whether core self-evaluations predict job insecurity perceptions, and whether coping mediates this relationship, in a two-wave data set from a Swedish sample of white-collar workers (N = 425). The results show that core self-evaluations had a negative total effect on both qualitative and quantitative job insecurity. Core self-evaluations were positively related to problem-focused coping but not to emotion-focused coping. However, there was no mediating effect of coping style on the association between core self-evaluations and job insecurity.     

Investigating the relationship between employability and self-efficacy: A cross-lagged analysis

The construct of employability has been conceptually related to self-efficacy in different ways. Employability has sometimes been regarded as an equivalent to self-efficacy, or as a distinct but related phenomenon. Since the relationship between the two phenomena has not been subjected to empirical scrutiny, the aim of the present study is to analyze whether self-efficacy and employability are two distinct but related constructs, and if they are, to investigate the direction of their relationship. The data (N = 1730) were collected through a two-wave longitudinal survey with one year between each data collection (2005 and 2006). The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that the measures of employability and self-efficacy were distinct from one another, within and over measurement points, indicating that these are related but separate constructs. The results of latent variable cross-lagged analysis showed that employability predicted subsequent self-efficacy, even after controlling for age, gender, educational level, and regional differences. Thus, employability is not an expression of efficacy beliefs, but rather, the strengthening of employability perceptions may have beneficial effects on more general efficacy beliefs.     

Daily Functioning, Health Status, and Happiness in Older Adults

The hypothesis that the degree to which disease disrupts daily functioning is inversely associated with happiness is widely accepted, yet existing literature offers little direct evidence in its support. This paper explores the hypothesized association in a community-based sample of 383 older adults. To assess the degree to which disease disrupts daily functioning we developed a measure—called the freedom-from-debility score—based on four Short Form-12 (SF-12) Health Survey questions explicitly designed to represent “limitations in physical activities because of health problems” and “limitations in usual role activities because of physical health problems.” The results were consistent with the hypothesis. When participants were divided into categories based on their freedom-from-debility score, median happiness scores were monotonically increasing across categories. Controlling for demographic and socio-economic factors as well as health status (measured both subjectively and objectively), a one-point increase in freedom-from-debility score (on a scale from 0 to 100) was associated with a three-percent reduction in the odds of lower-quartile happiness. The results support the contention that health status is one of the most influential predictors of happiness, that the association between health status and happiness depends greatly on the manner in which health status is measured, and that the degree to which disease disrupts daily functioning is inversely associated with happiness.     

Agonistic behavior and growth in newly emerged brown trout (Salmo trutta L) of sea‐ranched and wild origin

Selection experiments and game theory models have revealed that the changes in agonistic behavior following selection for rapid growth rate of fish depend on the access of food. If food is spatially restricted and in excess of demand, the intensity of agonistic behaviors will decrease. This prediction was tested in an experiment on wild and sea‐ranched brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) fry originating from a common stock. Agonistic behavior, activity, and specific growth rate were studied in tanks (56 × 56 cm) at high (159.4 fry/m²) and low (9.6 fry/m²) stocking densities given either a large or small food ration (3.0% and 1.5%, respectively, food per total body weight and day). Observations were done during 4 days in each trial. Generally, fry of sea‐ranched origin had a higher growth rate. No differences in activity were found. Intensity of agonistic behavior was higher among wild groups. There was a tendency for interaction between density and strain, e.g., wild fish were relatively more aggressive at higher densities. Food ration had no effect on level of agonistic behavior. These results indicate that the selection for rapid growth in hatcheries may indirectly select for reduced aggressiveness. Genetic integrity and diversity of wild populations may be threatened when interbreeding occurs between wild and hatchery fish. Aggr. Behav. 28:145–153, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Impacts of Home-Based Telework on Quality of Life for Employees and Their Partners. Quantitative and Qualitative Results From a European Survey

The study investigates the effects of home-based telework on quality of life (QoL). Four dimensions of QoL were analysed; overall satisfaction with life, sense of belonging, sense of becoming and sense of being. Through cross-national survey data (from 217 job holders and 112 partners) and by means of structural equation modeling, a positive association was found between home-based telework to a worker's sense of belonging (beta = 0.30, p < 0.001). On the other hand, a negative path was detected from the job holder's home-based telework to his or her partner's overall satisfaction with life (beta = –0.27, p < 0.05). After controlling for subdimensions of life quality, home-based work did not affect the job holder's overall life satisfaction. Moreover, the more concentration the job holder reported, the lower the sense of belonging was reported by his or her partner (beta = –0.28, p < 0.05). No simple explanation for the negative effects were found, but our interviews with the group of workers and their families leave us the impression that the problem of overworking and withdrawal was most relevant to the cases, in combination with negative spill-over effects and unclear boundary settings in the home.     

Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and Neuropsychological Functioning

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) is marked by impairments across social, emotional, and academic functioning, but few studies have examined the...