Stress and Student Job Design: Satisfaction, Well-Being, and Performance in University Students

It is imperative that the university environment be supportive and capable of nurturing optimal learning and performance in students. Using job design and work stress theories, the study assessed relationships between psychosocial work characteristics, well-being and satisfaction, and performance in a random sample survey of Australian university students (N = 176). Methodological improvements were a time lag between survey and performance measures, an objective measure of performance, and LISREL structural equation modeling. Results showed high levels of psychological distress and low levels of satisfaction, both linked to high demands combined with low control. In accord with the happy-productive student hypothesis, satisfaction mediated the impact of the work environment on performance. Reengineering the design of the student work environment may therefore improve performance outcomes (student grades) through enhancing satisfaction.     

The effects of gendered information in stories on preschool children’s development of gender stereotypes

Social-cognitive theory posits that children learn gender stereotypes through gendered information. The present study examined whether children learn new gender stereotypes from stories when unknown words are linked to a gendered protagonist or context information. In Experiment 1, 40 3- to 6-year-old preschoolers were read stories with either a gendered protagonist embedded within a non-gendered context, or a non-gendered protagonist embedded within a gendered context. In Experiment 2, the same sample of children were read stories with the protagonist and the context displaying congruent or incongruent gender information. Each story featured an unknown activity linked with the stereotypical content. Both experiments indicate that the children rated the activity according to both the gender of the context and of the protagonist; however, the effect of the latter was stronger. In addition, children showed higher interest in the unknown activity if the protagonist’s gender matched their own sex. Thus, gender information in stories influences how children perceive unknown words.     

The development and validation of an implicit measure of competence need satisfaction

Research on self-determination theory has typically relied on explicit measures when examining the concept of competence need satisfaction. As a result, we know relatively little about competence need satisfaction that arises under conditions of automaticity. Across four studies, we developed and validated implicit measures of competence need satisfaction by drawing on two tasks: a relational variant of the implicit association test (IAT; Study 1, 3, and 4) and the implicit relational assessment procedure (IRAP; Study 2–3). Results across these studies revealed that both implicit measures were either unrelated or moderately related to their explicit counterpart. They were also unrelated to one another. Unlike the IRAP, the IAT was found to be reliable, to display discriminant validity, and to yield meaningful but modest relations with constructs in a nomological network. Together, these results provide modest support for the usefulness of the competence need satisfaction IAT but not of the competence need satisfaction IRAP as an implicit measure of the need for competence. Future research examining the unique predictive value of this IAT is needed, together with research on possible explanations for the low reliability of the IRAP.     

Developmental coordination disorder and internalizing problems in children: The environmental stress hypothesis elaborated

There is a growing literature connecting poor motor coordination to physical and mental health outcomes in children and adolescents. These studies suggest that children with disorders such as developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are at greater risk for depression and anxiety, as well as obesity, and poor physical fitness. With regard to internalizing problems (symptoms of depression and anxiety), there is also evidence to suggest that the environment may play an important role in the etiology of psychological distress in this population. Cairney, Veldhuizen, & Szatmari, 2010 used the phrase “environmental stress hypothesis” to highlight the role that negative exposure to personal and interpersonal stressors might play in accounting for higher rates of internalizing symptoms in children with DCD. In this paper, we elaborate further on this basic premise, offering a model linking DCD to internalizing problems based on Pearlin’s stress process framework. In addition to stressors (risk) and protective factors, we incorporate both physical activity and obesity into our stress model. Next, we review the existing literature to see if there is evidence supporting specific components (pathways) of the model. In doing so, areas in need of further research are identified. Implications for intervention are also provided.     

The evolution of a concept: The relationship between state and religion in the thought of Vladimir Jabotinsky, 1919–1940

Jabotinsky’s ideological evolution underwent a considerable shift, caused by both internal Zionist concerns and external political processes throughout the 1930s. His assessment of Judaism was no exception, yet at the same time one cannot ignore the consistency of his earlier evaluation of Judaism. The usual interpretation, based on a presumption of Jabotinsky’s maintenance of a secular world view in his private life while adhering to the idea of a greater role for traditional Judaism in public, oversimplifies the complexity of his approach. One has to bear in mind that Jabotinsky’s opinions cannot be identified with those of Menahem Begin, despite Begin’s aspiration to present Jabotinsky as his teacher. While the usual designation of Jabotinsky as an extremist might serve the purposes of both the Zionist left and right, an academic discourse should not ignore certain similarities of Jabotinsky’s opinions to mainstream Zionist thought. His newly discovered emphasis on the “sublime notions” embodied in religion was an attempt to counterbalance the ideological influence of the radical Revisionist Zionist trends with which he came to be associated by the mid‐1930s.     

Two Kinds of Time-Consciousness and Three Kinds of Content

This paper explores the distinction between perceiving an object as extended in time, and experiencing a sequence of perceptions. I argue that this distinction cannot be adequately described by any present theory of time-consciousness and that in order to solve the puzzle, we need to consider perceptual content as having three distinct constituents: Explicit content, which has a particular phenomenal character, modal content, or the kind of content that is contributed by the psychological mode, and implicit content, which lacks phenomenal character. These notions are then further clarified and related to each other.     

The Story of the Self in the Aftermath of Crisis: A Case Study

Adopting a dialogical framework, a case study is presented that explores the story of the self in the aftermath of crisis. An analysis and interpretation of the case study leads to the hypothesis that integration and dialogue through promoters, coalitions, and cooperation are needed in the process of reconstructing the story and the self. A cultural narrative may facilitate such a process. It is proposed that during these developments a new core position may arise that has the capacity to unite and reconcile the self while promoting growth in the aftermath of crisis. Future research is encouraged that examines this hypothesis more broadly.     

Offsets and prioritizing the selection of new elements in search displays: More evidence for attentional capture in the preview effect

The preview effect refers to the finding that new elements in a search display are prioritized over old elements. Donk and Theeuwes (2001) suggest that this prioritization is due to bottom-up attentional capture, as new elements that abruptly appear with increases in luminance produce a preview effect whereas new elements that are equiluminant to the background do not. The present study extends this research by examining if new elements that appear from offsets, with and without luminance changes, yield similar findings to onsets. This was indeed the case, as equiluminant offsets did not produce a preview effect but offsets with corresponding increases or decreases in luminance did show the prioritization of new elements over old elements. These findings show that the prioritization of new elements is sensitive to changes in luminance but not to the direction of such changes.