The relationship between attachment, personality and antisocial tendencies in a prison sample: a pilot study

This study examined the role of adult attachment and personality in relation to antisocial tendencies (i.e. convictions for violence and interpersonal problems in romantic relationships) in Norwegian prison inmates (N=92). Attachment styles and personality were measured using self-report questionnaires (RSQ; Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994; and NEO-FFI, Costa & McCrae, 1992a). The prison inmates scored higher on avoidant than on anxious attachment style. While age and agreeableness (negatively associated) emerged as significant predictors of violence, anxious attachment explained most of the variances in aggression in intimate relationships. The study suggests that different types of antisocial tendencies could have different attachment and general personality correlates.     

Measuring Employee Engagement During a Financial Downturn: Business Imperative or Nuisance?

In this article, we emphasize that measuring workforce attitudes is a business imperative—including during an economic downturn or crisis. After reviewing the concept of employee engagement we draw upon recent real-world examples and data across a variety of organizations and argue for the business value of an engaged workforce. We offer practical applications for HR managers, including providing guidance on the types of questions that should be asked in an employee survey and focusing on those that result in the most actionable feedback. We conclude the paper by laying out an agenda for future research aimed at helping bridge the academic-practitioner divide.     

Rejected and excluded forevermore, but even more devoted: irrevocable ostracism intensifies loyalty to the group among identity-fused persons

When people are ostrasized (i.e., rejected and excluded) by either an outgroup or an ingroup, they may either withdraw or engage in compensatory activities designed to reaffirm their social identity as a group member. The authors proposed here that individual differences in identity fusion (an index of familial orientation toward the group) would moderate the tendency for people to display such compensatory activity. Consistent with this reasoning, the results of four experiments showed that irrevocable ostracism increased endorsement of extreme, pro-group actions (fighting and dying for the ingroup) among fused persons but not among nonfused persons. This effect emerged when an outgroup ostracized fused individuals due either to their nationality (Experiment 1) or their personal preferences (Experiment 2). Similarly, ostracism by the ingroup amplified the tendency for fused persons to both endorse extreme pro-group actions, refuse to leave the group (Experiment 3), and donate money to an ingroup member (Experiment 4). Finally, compensatory activities emerged even when ostracism was based on being "too good" for the group, suggesting that a desire for self-enhancement does not mediate such activities (Experiment 4).     

Physical Attractiveness and Candidate Evaluation: A Model of Correction

Voters typically evaluate an attractive candidate more favorably than an (otherwise equivalent) unattractive candidate. However, some voters “correct” for the biasing influence of physical appearance. This reduces, eliminates, or even reverses the physical attractiveness effect. Correction occurs when political experts evaluate a political candidate under nondistracting conditions. Under these “high cognitive capacity” conditions, voters primarily correct for physical unattractiveness. However, correction fails to occur when voters possess low levels of expertise or are distracted. Thus, in most circumstances, attractive candidates are evaluated more favorably than unattractive candidates. Two experiments provide support for this model of appearance‐based candidate evaluation.     

The imprecise impermissivist’s dilemma

Synthese - Impermissivists hold that an agent with a given body of evidence has at most one rationally permitted attitude that she should adopt towards any particular proposition. Permissivists...     

Strengthening and Expanding Child Services in Low Resource Communities: The Role of Task‐Shifting and Just‐in‐Time Training

In the United States, the demand for child mental health services is increasing, while the supply is limited by workforce shortages. These shortages are unlikely to be corrected without significant structural changes in how mental health services are provided. One strategy for bridging this gap is task‐shifting, defined as a process by which services that are typically delivered by professionals are moved to individuals with less extensive qualifications or training. Although task‐shifting can increase the size of the workforce, there are challenges related to training new workers. In this paper, we propose Just‐In‐Time Training (JITT) as one strategy for improving task‐shifting efforts. We define JITT as on‐demand training experiences that only include what is necessary, when it is necessary, to promote competent service delivery. We offer a proof of concept from our own work shifting counseling and academic support tasks from school mental health professionals to pre‐baccalaureate mentors, citing lessons learned during our iterative process of JITT development. We conclude with a series of key considerations for scaling up the pairing of task‐shifting and JITT, including expanding the science of JITT and anticipating how task‐shifting and JITT would work within the context of dynamic mental health service systems.     

Terraforming Mars and Marsforming Terra: Discovery Doctrine in Space

Harvard’s E.O. Wilson answered a millennia-old question by stating “ET is out there.” We are not alone in the cosmos. Humankind is devastating Earth ecologically, threatening her survival and that of all living beings—including themselves. Humans harm their own communities through economic, ethnic, and gender inequalities. Would humankind think and act similarly on other worlds? The Discovery Doctrine used by Europe to colonize indigenous lands seems resurrected. If humanity appears a pathogen in the cosmos community, how might ETI respond? Prior to colonizing Mars, humankind should alter its consciousness and conduct on Earth, and conserve its planet home.