On the Relation Between Job Characteristics and Depression: A Longitudinal Study

The current study assumes that workers actively influence the characteristics of their work environment. Not only will one's work environment (job characteristics) affect personal characteristics, such as feelings of depression; depression in turn is expected to affect the characteristics of one's work environment as well. Using a sample of 593 young Dutch workers, a longitudinal model relating feelings of depression and job characteristics to each other was tested using structural equation modeling. The results largely supported our expectations. Depressive workers were less likely to experience a job transition than non-depressive workers. If depressive workers did experience a job transition, work outcomes were less positive than for nondepressive workers. Thus, it appears that the relation between job characteristics and depression can be construed as a reciprocal relation. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.     

Authoritarianism and job preference

The hypothesis tested was that authoritarian personalities prefer the natural sciences (specifically biology and chemistry) and nonauthoritarian personalities choose the social sciences and humanities (specifically, psychology and philosophy). The results strongly supported the hypothesis. Since the study was conducted on freshmen students in Israel who select their department at the time they apply for admission to the university, the results were interpreted as indicating that authoritarians choose professions different from nonauthoritarians.     

Effects of cued-set spatial arrangement and target-background similarity in the partial-report paradigm

Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics - In previous studies of selective attention using the Sperling partial-report paradigm, the selection criterion has been confounded with the spatial...     

Interactive insight problem solving

Insight problem solving was investigated with the matchstick algebra problems developed by Knoblich, Ohlsson, Haider, and Rhenius (1999 Knoblich, G., Ohlsson, S., Haider, H. and Rhenius, D. 1999. Constraint relaxation and chunk decomposition in insight problem solving. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 25: 1534–1555. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). These problems are false equations expressed with Roman numerals that can be made true bymoving one matchstick. In a first group participants examined a static two-dimensional representation of the false algebraic expression and told the experimenter which matchstick should be moved. In a second group, participants interacted with a three-dimensional representation of the false equation. Success rates in the static group for different problem types replicated the pattern of data reported in Knoblich et al. (1999 Knoblich, G., Ohlsson, S., Haider, H. and Rhenius, D. 1999. Constraint relaxation and chunk decomposition in insight problem solving. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 25: 1534–1555. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). However, participants in the interactive group were significantly more likely to achieve insight. Problem-solving success in the static group was best predicted by performance on a test of numeracy, whereas in the interactive group it was best predicted by performance on a test of visuo-spatial reasoning. Implications for process models of problem solving are discussed.     

Effect of ingroup membership on organizational meta-representation

The present study considers the importance of analyzing what very powerful or influential people think about their employees. We assumed that belonging to a specific category has a differential effect on the perception of others' thoughts in the organization ("meta-representation"). Therefore, experts in organization and human resources from diverse organizations and institutions assessed seven dimensions which structure the organizational image (context, structure, organizational processes, working climate, culture, satisfaction and efficacy). The results showed that belonging to a group (managers or leaders, academicians, consultants, technicians or employees' representatives) modulated the meta-representation, as the experts' opinion about what they think that the employees consider important was related to their group. This was specifically the case for the managers' and leaders' representations, which differed from the other groups and especially from that of the technicians and employees' representatives. The implications of the present findings are discussed.     

Competence in Coping with Future-Related Stress in Adolescents from France,Italy, Great Britain,and Germany

The present study investigated how European adolescents cope with perceived future-related stress. Altogether 3,154 adolescents (mean age of 15 years) from four countries (n = 1,071 Italians, n = 1,433 Germans, n = 308 French, and n = 341 British) participated in the study. They completed the Problem Questionnaire, which assesses future-related stress, and the CASQ, which assesses how three coping styles (active coping, internal coping, and withdrawal) are used to deal with future-related stress. German and British adolescents showed low levels of stress, whereas French and Italian adolescents had high levels. All adolescents anticipated future-related problems but did not portray their futures negatively. In addition, they dealt with future-related stress actively and showed high levels of coping competence. Adolescents used active coping strategies most frequently, followed by thinking about possible solutions. Dysfunctional coping strategies (e.g., withdrawal) were used much less often. The effects of age, gender, and family variables on stress perception and coping style were negligible. Overall, our findings highlight the tenets of positive psychology by revealing that adolescents are concerned about their futures and that they show high agency in dealing with future-related problems. Further, the findings are relevant for positive youth development programs, especially those which endorse positive orientation to the future and coping competence.     

Models of developmental regulation in emerging adulthood and links to symptomatology

This contribution deals with theoretical conceptualizations and empirical research analyzing young adults' activity in reaching normative developmental goals in emerging adulthood. It explores whether establishing a stable relationship, starting a career, and achieving residential independence are still important developmental goals now as compared to earlier decades, and how emerging adults strive to achieve them. Findings, based on a longitudinal study of 146 German emerging adults, support the model of adjustment, with developmental goals being adjusted to changes in attainment. Finally, our findings indicate that focusing, selecting, and sequencing of developmental goals during emerging adulthood is adaptive for a healthy transition.     

Single‐limit interval estimates as reference points

People often describe uncertain quantities by suggesting a lower or upper limit of an uncertainty interval, rather than the complete range. Five studies are reported, which demonstrate how interval limits function as provisional reference points (PRP), conferring evaluative meanings to the target objects, by suggesting downward or upward comparisons. Thus, a price above X appears expensive, whereas a price below Y appears cheap, even when Y > X. This can give rise to framing effects: a purchase can appear to be recommended or advised against, and a seller can appear as optimistic or pessimistic, and, more generally, an estimate can indicate abundance or scarcity, depending upon which boundary (upper or lower) that is selected. Furthermore, inclusive lower bounds (minimum, at least) and upper bounds (maximum, at most) differ from exclusive lower (more than, above) and upper bounds (less than, below), by suggesting possible (likely) rather than implausible (unlikely) values. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.