Interactive effects of emotional dissonance and self-control demands on burnout, anxiety, and absenteeism

Two specific sources of stress at work have recently received increasing attention in organizational stress research: emotional dissonance (ED) and self-control demands (SCDs). Both theoretical arguments and experimental findings in basic research strongly suggest that ED and different SCDs draw on a common limited regulatory resource. Consequently, both kinds of stressors should exert interactive effects on indicators of job strain and well-being. Drawing on two German samples (total N = 586), we tested this prediction by examining the interaction effects of ED and different dimensions of SCDs on burnout, anxiety, and absence behavior. Latent moderated structural equation modeling provided support for the hypothesized interactive effects of ED and dimensions of SCDs in predicting burnout, anxiety, and absence behavior. More specifically, with each pair of stressors the effects of one stressor were found to be amplified by the other. Finally, we discuss theoretical and practical implications of our results.     

Prescribed spatial prepositions influence how we think about time

Prepositions combine with nouns flexibly when describing concrete locative relations (e.g. at/on/in the school) but are rigidly prescribed when paired with abstract concepts (e.g. at risk; on Wednesday; in trouble). In the former case they do linguistic work based on their discrete semantic qualities, and in the latter they appear to serve a primarily grammatical function. We used the abstract concept of time as a test case to see if specific grammatically prescribed prepositions retain semantic content. Using ambiguous questions designed to interrogate one’s meaningful representation of temporal relations, we found that the semantics of prescribed prepositions modulate how we think about time. Although prescribed preposition use is unlikely to be based on a core representational organization shared between space and time, results demonstrate that the semantics of particular locative prepositions do constrain how we think about paired temporal concepts.     

Force Increase in a Repetitive Motor Task Inducing Motor Fatigue

To evaluate task induced motor fatigue in a well-established finger tapping task, we analyzed tapping parameters and included the time course of measures of force. We hypothesized that a decline in tapping force would reflect task induced motor fatigue, defined by a lengthening of inter-tap intervals (ITI). A secondary aim was to investigate the reliability of tapping data acquisition with the force sensor. Results show that, as expected, tapping speed decreased linearly over time, due to both an increase of ITI and tap duration. In contrast, tapping force increased non-linearly over time and was uncorrelated to changes in tapping speed. Force data could serve as a measure to characterize task induced motor fatigue. Force sensors can assess a decline in tapping speed as well as an independent increase of tapping force. We argue that the increase of force reflects central compensation, i.e. perception of fatigue, due to an increase in task effort and difficulty.     

A Qualitative Multiple Case Study of the Division of Labor across the Transition to Parenthood in South-Brazilian Families

Sex Roles - Family roles tend to become more traditional across the transition to parenthood, which may affect satisfaction with the division of labor and the well-being and relationships of new...     

Can Basic Individual Differences Shed Light on the Construct Meaning of Assessment Center Evaluations?

The construct meaning of assessment center evaluations is an important unresolved issue in I/O psychology. This study hypothesized that Cognitive Ability and personality traits are primary correlates of evaluators’ overall assessment ratings (OARs). Meta–analysis results based on 65 correlations indicate the following mean construct–level correlations with OARs: .67 for Cognitive Ability, .50 for Extraversion, .35 for Emotional Stability, .25 for Openness, and .17 for Agreeableness; yielding a multiple R of .84. These findings support our hypothesis and cast light on the construct meaning of assessment center evaluations.     

Expressive and receptive language skills of temperamentally shy preschoolers

Although shy children speak less in social situations, the extent to which their language skills fall behind those of their more outgoing peers remains unclear. We selected 22 temperamentally shy and 22 non‐shy children from a larger group of 400 4‐year‐old children who were prescreened for temperamental shyness by maternal report, using the Colorado Childhood Temperament Inventory (CCTI). We then compared the two groups on widely used measures that index expressive and receptive language skills. We found that, although the temperamentally shy children scored lower on both expressive and receptive language skills compared with their non‐shy counterparts, they were nonetheless performing at their age equivalency. The non‐shy children, however, were performing significantly above their age level on expressive and receptive language skills. These findings suggest that the development of normal language skills is not compromised in temperamentally shy preschoolers. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interactive effects of cumulative lifetime traumatic brain injuries and combat exposure on posttraumatic stress among deployed military personnel

Growing research links Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) with greater posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Much of this research has focused on the influence of the presence or severity of a single TBI while neglecting the potential cumulative effects of multiple TBIs incurred across an individual’s lifetime on combat-related PTSD. The present study addressed this gap using a sample of 157 military service members and 4 civilian contractors who underwent structured TBI interviews at a military hospital in Iraq and completed the Combat Experiences Scale (CES) and Posttraumatic Checklist – Military (PCL-M). Results indicated that a greater number of lifetime TBIs were associated with greater PTSD symptoms when accounting for the presence and severity of a recent, deployment-related TBI. Additionally, a significant interaction of number of lifetime TBIs and combat exposure emerged, indicating that exposure to combat yielded greater PTSD symptoms among those with multiple lifetime TBIs compared to those with one or zero lifetime TBIs. These data suggest that incurring multiple TBIs may amplify the link between combat exposure and PTSD and underscore the need to screen for lifetime TBI history.     

Prospective evaluation of the etiology of anxiety sensitivity: test of a scar model

A large body of research has suggested that anxiety sensitivity (AS) acts as a specific vulnerability factor in the development of anxiety pathology. More recently, attention has turned to the etiology of AS per se. The present study represents a specific test of a Scar model of AS. A Scar model posits that the experience of distress will affect the vulnerability factor. We were specifically interested in evaluating the effects of a specific stressor (spontaneous panic) as well as general distress on changes in AS over time. A large nonclinical sample of young adults (N = 1296) was prospectively followed over a five week highly stressful period of time (i.e. military basic training). Findings were consistent with the Scar model and suggested that the specific stressor of experiencing a panic attack as well as general stressors creating significant anxiety symptoms uniquely contributed to increased levels of AS (regardless of prior history of panic). Moreover, the experience of spontaneous panic in the context of generally low levels of distress (both anxiety and depression) appeared to be particularly pernicious in terms of resulting in greater increases in AS. In sum, anxiety-related stressors appear to have the potential to 'scar' individuals in regard to this cognitive vulnerability factor.