Dispositional variables and work–family conflict: A meta-analysis

Meta-analysis was used to comprehensively summarize the relationship between dispositional variables and both directions of work–family conflict. The largest effects detected were those associated with negative affect, neuroticism, and self-efficacy; all were in expected directions. In general, negative trait-based variables (e.g., negative affect and neuroticism) appear to make individuals more vulnerable to work–family conflict, while positive trait-based variables (e.g., positive affect and self-efficacy) appear to protect individuals from work–family conflict. In addition, the different dimensions of work–family conflict (time, strain, and behavior) exhibited different patterns of relationships with several of the dispositional variables. No moderating effects were found for sex, parental status, or marital status. Results support the notion that dispositions are important predictors of work–family conflict.     

What we say and what we do: the relationship between real and hypothetical moral choices

Moral ideals are strongly ingrained within society and individuals alike, but actual moral choices are profoundly influenced by tangible rewards and consequences. Across two studies we show that real moral decisions can dramatically contradict moral choices made in hypothetical scenarios (Study 1). However, by systematically enhancing the contextual information available to subjects when addressing a hypothetical moral problem-thereby reducing the opportunity for mental simulation-we were able to incrementally bring subjects' responses in line with their moral behaviour in real situations (Study 2). These results imply that previous work relying mainly on decontextualized hypothetical scenarios may not accurately reflect moral decisions in everyday life. The findings also shed light on contextual factors that can alter how moral decisions are made, such as the salience of a personal gain.     

The Limits of Secularization? The Resurgence of Orthodoxy in Post‐Soviet Russia

The collapse of the Soviet Union ended a long period of state repression of religion, facilitating a possible religious revival in Russia. Despite evidence of increasing levels of Russian Orthodox identification in the 1990s, however, the debate over whether post‐Soviet Russia is an exception to secularization trends elsewhere continues. We address this debate by examining trends in Orthodox identification and church attendance and their impact on conservative moral values, as well as the basis of religiosity in age cohorts, using a seven‐wave national, stratified random sample survey covering 1993–2007. The analysis indicates continued growth in Orthodox self‐identification, increased church attendance, and an increasingly strong association between religiosity and conservative morality over this time period. Moreover, signs of religious revival are most pronounced among the cohort of people who came to maturity after communism ended. The resurgence of Orthodoxy in Russia provides a robust exception to secularization trends in Western Europe.     

The 2 × 2 Model of Goal Orientation and Burnout: The Role of Approach–Avoidance Dimensions in Predicting Burnout

Burnout is typically viewed as resulting from situational factors (e.g., workload). However, as burnout is partly a reaction to frustrated goal striving, dispositional goal orientation may also be important. We used Hobfoll's ( 1989 ) conservation of resources model to develop hypotheses for relationships between goal orientation and 3 dimensions of burnout. Self‐report questionnaire measures of the 2 × 2 model of goal orientation (Elliot & McGregor, 2001 ) and burnout were administered to undergraduate students. Structural equation modeling revealed that all 4 dimensions of goal orientation were related to burnout. Avoidance‐related dimensions were positively associated and approach‐related dimensions were negatively associated with burnout. The findings suggest the importance of considering the role of motivational dispositions in development, prediction, and prevention of burnout.     

End state copying by humans (Homo sapiens): implications for a comparative perspective on cumulative culture

It has been proposed that the uniqueness of human cumulative culture may be attributable to humans' greater orientation toward copying the process of behavior (imitation), as compared with the products (emulation), resulting in particularly high fidelity transmission. Following from previous work indicating that adult human participants can exhibit cumulative learning on the basis of product copying alone, we now investigate whether such learning involves high fidelity transmission. Eighty adult human (Homo sapiens) participants were presented with a task previously shown to elicit cumulative learning under experimental conditions, which involved building a tower from spaghetti and modeling clay. Each participant was shown two completed towers, ostensibly built by previous participants, but actually built to prespecified designs by the experimenter. This end state information was provided either in the form of photographs, or the presence of actual towers. High fidelity matching to these end states was apparent in both demonstration conditions, even for a design that was demonstrably suboptimal with regard to the goal of the task (maximizing tower height). We conclude that, although high fidelity transmission is likely to be implicated in cumulative culture, action copying is not always necessary for this to occur. Furthermore, since chimpanzees apparently copy behavioral processes and well as products, and also transmit behavior with high fidelity, the stark absence of unequivocal examples of cumulative culture in nonhumans may be attributable to factors other than imitative ability.     

Increasing accurate preference assessment implementation through pyramidal training

Preference assessments directly evaluate items that may serve as reinforcers, and their implementation is an important skill for individuals who work with children. This study examined the effectiveness of pyramidal training on teachers' implementation of preference assessments. During Experiment 1, 3 special education teachers taught 6 trainees to conduct paired-choice, multiple-stimulus without replacement, and free-operant preference assessments. All trainees acquired skills necessary to implement preference assessments with 90% or greater accuracy during the training sessions and demonstrated generalization of skills to their classrooms or clinic. During Experiment 2, 5 teachers who served as trainees in Experiment 1 trained 18 preschool teachers. All preschool teachers met the mastery criterion following training. Training teachers to implement preference assessments may increase teachers' acceptance and use of behavior-analytic procedures in school settings.     

Racism leads to pushups: How racial discrimination threatens subordinate men's masculinity

Two studies explored the gendered nature of racial discrimination for Black men, focusing on the relationship between race, discrimination, and masculinity threat. Specifically, we hypothesized that racial discrimination may also represent a threat to Black, but not White, men's masculinity. Both studies examined the target's perspective (i.e. Black and White men's perspectives) on the experience of racism and threat. Black men who experienced discrimination reported greater endorsement of male gender norms and were more vigilant to masculinity threat cues than were those who did not experience discrimination. Additionally, Black men engaged in masculine-typed behaviors–for our purposes, completing more pushups–in proportion to their experience of masculinity threat. Conversely, White men disengaged from the pushup task after experiencing discrimination. Study 2 suggests that White men's disengagement is mediated by affirming their social status. Our data suggest the importance of considering the gendered consequences of racial discrimination toward subordinate-group men.     

"That's so gay!" Priming the general negative usage of the word gay increases implicit anti-gay bias

One of the most recent uses of the term gay is to refer to things as negative in general, detached from explicit reference to gay individuals. Research has shown that exposure to explicitly homonegative speech can increase anti-gay bias; however, the effect of more ambivalent homonegative speech on implicit attitudes has not yet been explored. Despite the conscious disassociation between both meanings of the word, given previous studies on priming and automaticity, an association was expected at an automatic level. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of priming the general negative usage of gay on participants' implicit attitudes towards gay individuals, as measured by the Implicit Association Test. Results revealed that exposure to the general negative usage of gay increased implicit anti-gay bias.     

“Play it Again”: a new method for testing metacognition in animals

Putative metacognition data in animals may be explained by non-metacognition models (e.g., stimulus generalization). The primary objective of the present study was to develop a new method for testing metacognition in animals that may yield data that can be explained by metacognition but not by non-metacognition models. Next, we used the new method with rats. Rats were first presented with a brief noise duration which they would subsequently classify as short or long. Rats were sometimes forced to take an immediate duration test, forced to repeat the same duration, or had the choice to take the test or repeat the duration. Metacognition, but not an alternative non-metacognition model, predicts that accuracy on difficult durations is higher when subjects are forced to repeat the stimulus compared to trials in which the subject chose to repeat the stimulus, a pattern observed in our data. Simulation of a non-metacognition model suggests that this part of the data from rats is consistent with metacognition, but other aspects of the data are not consistent with metacognition. The current results call into question previous findings suggesting that rats have metacognitive abilities. Although a mixed pattern of data does not support metacognition in rats, we believe the introduction of the method may be valuable for testing with other species to help evaluate the comparative case for metacognition.     

When trying is not enough: Emotion regulation and the effort-success gap in bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD) is presumed to involve difficulties in emotion regulation. Little is known, however, about the specific emotion regulation profile associated with this disorder. The present study examined the use of specific emotion regulation strategies among individuals with BD (n = 37) and healthy controls (n = 38). Participants' spontaneous use of reappraisal and suppression, as well as their associated effort and success at regulating their emotions, was measured in the context of three emotionally evocative films (neutral, happy, sad). Results indicated that the BD participants made greater use of spontaneous suppression and reappraisal across all films compared to the control group. BD participants also reported greater effort, but less success, when spontaneously regulating emotions. These findings suggest that bipolar disorder is associated with less success when regulating emotions despite a widespread engagement of regulatory efforts. Discussion focuses on the disjunction between troubled emotion functioning in bipolar disorder and sustained efforts to modify intense emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).