Aggression among university employees

Harassment among university employees (n = 338; 162 males, 176 females) was investigated by help of the Work Harassment Scale (WHS), developed for the study. Nineteen cases of severe victimization by harassment were interviewed. Subjectively experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety were estimated with two subscales form SCL-90 [Derogatis LR, Lipman RS, Covi L (1973): Psychopharmacology Bulletin 9: 13-28] and aggressiveness was measured with the Buss-Durkee Inventory [Buss A, Durkee A (1957): Journal of Consulting Psychology 21: 343–349]. Females experienced themselves as significantly more harassed than men. Position was related to harassment: individuals in superior positions harassed more often than individuals in subordinate positions. Less victimization by harassment was experienced among individuals involved in research and teaching than among individuals involved in administration and service. The experienced reasons for harassment were predominantly envy and competition about jobs and status. In 25% of cases, victims felt that their sex might be a reason. Victims of harassment experienced higher levels of depression, anxiety, and aggression than others. The interviewed cases showed evidence of symptoms reminiscent of the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The Relational Value of Empathy

ABSTRACT

Philosophers and scholars from other disciplines have long discussed the role of empathy in our moral lives. The distinct relational value of empathy, however, has been largely overlooked. This article aims to specify empathy’s distinct relational value: Empathy is both intrinsically and extrinsically valuable in virtue of the pleasant experiences we share with others, the harmony and meaning that empathy provides, the recognition, self-esteem, and self-trust it enhances, as well as trust in others, attachment, and affection it fosters. Once we better understand in what ways empathy is a uniquely relational phenomenon, we can unveil its relevance to morality, which avoids the strictures of both partiality and impartiality. On the one hand, it is the relational value of empathy that grounds defeasible reasons to empathize insofar as empathy is morally called for by a particular relationship (or if we have defeasible reasons to establish a relationship by empathy). On the other hand, it is precisely empathy’s relational value that allows us to show that it can be kept within bounds. To realize empathy’s relational value, we are not constantly required to empathize. Instead, once we properly appreciate empathy’s distinct relational value, we can show that this leaves us room to respond to impartialist concerns.     

Androstadienone in motor reactions of men and women toward angry faces

The endogenous compound androstadienone modulating the evaluation of others and activating the human fear system was hypothesized in terms of processing socially relevant cues by regulating responses to angry faces. Androstadienone was investigated in association with arm movements of 62 participants (30 women) in response to happy and angry facial expressions. Volunteers pushed away or pulled toward them a joystick as fast as possible on seeing either an angry or a happy cartoon face on a computer screen. This task was repeated twice: once during exposure to androstadienone masked with clove oil and once to clove oil only. In the former condition participants' reaction speed was accelerated, especially when reacting to angry faces. This observation may indicate an androstadienone-related activation of the fear system leading to faster responses to threat signals, assuming an enhanced allocation of attentional resources toward threat-related social cues.     

Association Learning with Own‐ and Other‐race Faces in three‐ and six‐month old infants – A longitudinal study

This longitudinal study assessed 133 Caucasian German infants at 3 and 6 months of age to investigate the influence of own‐race and other‐race faces as visual stimuli on association learning in the visual expectation paradigm (VExP). The study is related to the findings on the other‐race‐effect (ORE) which is said to emerge at 6 months of age. Caucasian faces were used as stimuli of a familiar ethnic category, whereas African faces were used as stimuli of an unfamiliar ethnic category. There was no significant difference between the two stimulus classes in infants' reaction time (RT) to stimulus shifts at 3 months. At 6 months of age, infants' RT decreased significantly in the Caucasian faces condition but not in the African faces condition. These results indicate that the processing of other‐race versus own‐race faces by the age of 6 months, which is also the relevant age for the onset of the ORE, has an important influence on the performance on the VExP. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Infant Contingency Learning in Different Cultural Contexts

Three‐month‐old Cameroonian Nso farmer and German middle‐class infants were compared regarding learning and retention in a computerized mobile task. Infants achieving a preset learning criterion during reinforcement were tested for immediate and long‐term retention measured in terms of an increased response rate after reinforcement and after a 24‐h delay compared with baseline. It was hypothesized that infants from both cultural communities would acquire the contingency between own motion and mobile movement, as they similarly experience contingent responses in social interactions. Nso infants were assumed to show a higher learning rate related to their advanced gross motor development, whereas German infants were expected to show a higher baseline because of culture‐typical motor handling promoting a high level of activity (i.e. lying supine). Results showed immediate and long‐term retention in infants from both cultural contexts, as well as a higher baseline for German infants. Although the learning rate was higher for Cameroonian infants, logistic regression revealed that learning was not related to gross motor development but depended on the level of baseline response. Thus, contingency learning was shown in different cultural environments, and the level of baseline activity coined by culture‐specific motor handling turned out to influence learning within the mobile task. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Effect of High-Anxiety Situations on Conspiracy Thinking

The aim of the present studies was to examine a possible relationship between anxiety and conspiracy thinking about ethnic and national groups. Two hundred university student volunteers participated in 3 studies. Study One (N?=?87; mixed male and female sample) found that state-anxiety and trait-anxiety, measured with the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), were positively correlated with conspiracy thinking about Jewish people, Germans and Arabs. Study Two (N?=?46; male sample) and Study Three (N?=?67; female sample) were designed to check whether a high-anxiety situation (connected with waiting for an examination) would increase conspiracy thinking. Findings from Studies Two and Three showed that the pre-exam (high-anxiety) situation increased conspiracy thinking about Jewish people. This effect was not mediated by state-anxiety. Hence, further research should focus on searching for possible mediators of the relationship between a pre-exam situation and conspiracy thinking. The obtained results are consistent with previous findings showing that conspiracy thinking about Jewish people is sensitive to situational factors and with findings on links between anxiety and processing information about threat-related stimuli.     

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis: Understanding What Parents Plan to Tell Their Children About Their Conception

Over 10,000 babies have been born by PGD and PGS worldwide (Simpson, Prenatal Diagnosis 30(7): 682–695 2010). The experience of parents who have undergone this procedure and their children’s well-being are documented, but no research to date has explored whether parents intend to tell their children how they were conceived and whether this raises special issues for them. PGD practitioners recommend research in this area as parents of children born by PGD increasingly ask questions pertaining to disclosure. We conducted 30 in-depth interviews with couples who have had a baby conceived by PGD. We explored what couples plan to tell their children about how they were conceived, when they plan to do this, and issues they anticipate may arise. The couples had a family history of a monogenic disorder or chromosome rearrangement. Six themes emerged which highlight key issues: (1) To tell or not to tell? (2) Primary reason for undergoing PGD, (3) The ideal time to tell, (4) Situations which may warrant earlier disclosure, (5) Words which parents might choose, and (6) Issues which parents anticipate may arise. We conclude that parents are likely to inform their children about PGD because there is an affected sibling or relative about whom they ask questions, and/or their children are carriers of a condition their parents feel obliged to tell them about. Parents felt they would benefit from access to a genetic counsellor at the time of disclosure and are optimistic about the future of reproductive technology for their children.