Training in Mindful Caregiving Transfers to Parent–Child Interactions

In an earlier study, we provided mindfulness training to three caregivers of individuals with profound multiple disabilities. We measured levels of happiness displayed by the individuals during the 8 weeks of mindfulness training of the caregivers, as well as during the 16 weeks following the termination of training. We found that happiness increased markedly when an individual interacted with a caregiver who had received training in mindfulness as opposed to a control caregiver who did not receive such training. In this study, we investigated whether the increased mindfulness of the three caregivers would transfer to interactions with their own children. The children’s non-compliance with their mother’s requests was used as an indirect index of the effects of training their mothers received in mindfulness. Although the ages of the children and their baseline levels of non-compliance were variable, the data showed a decrease in non-compliance during mindfulness training of the caregivers and further decreases following the completion of training. Our data provide preliminary evidence of transfer of mindfulness training from caregiving to parent–child interactions. We speculate as to why this may occur in mindfulness training.     

Leader responsiveness, equity sensitivity, and employee attitudes and behavior

This study investigated the relationships between leader responsiveness to employee requests and employee attitudes and behaviors in a sample of managers and their subordinates. Additionally, the study investigated the moderating effect of an individual difference variable (equity sensitivity), on the relationships between leader responsiveness and employee attitudes and behaviors. Leader responsiveness related significantly with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior. Furthermore, equity sensitivity moderated the relationships between leader responsiveness and job satisfaction. Entitleds reported lower job satisfaction when manager fulfillment of employee requests was low than did Benevolents, whereas differences were minimal when manager request fulfillment was high. Implications of the findings were discussed.     

Attitudinal Balance and Cause‐Related Marketing: An Empirical Application of Balance Theory

We examine the effects of pre‐existing organizational attitudes on consumer response to cause‐related marketing (CRM) alliances, using a Balance Theory framework. Two experiments demonstrate that balanced attitudes (either both positive or both negative) resulted in perceptions of appropriateness, but did not necessarily lead to positive affect. The positive balance scenario led to a synergistic attitudinal boost when both pre‐existing attitudes were positive. Attitudinal contamination was evident when either pre‐existing attitude was negative. Fit operated within the balance scenario to enhance perceptions of the strength of the CRM alliance, leading to more positive responses.     

Effects of a personified guide on adherence to an online program for alcohol abusers.

The quality of the therapeutic alliance has robust effects on the outcome of psychotherapy and psychopharmacologic interventions. Automated behavioral health programs that are being developed to increase access to mental health treatment are administered in the absence of direct human participation, thereby precluding the development of a traditional therapeutic relationship. The aim of this study was to develop a personified guide designed to stimulate reactions similar to those experienced in a therapeutic relationship, and evaluate the effect of the guide on adherence to and satisfaction with an online alcohol use evaluation program. After completing a battery of four standard questionnaires used to evaluate problem drinking, 288 subjects were randomized to receive feedback on their results in text form or via a multimedia condition involving a personified guide. Those who received feedback via the guide demonstrated greater levels of program adherence by completing more modules. Reported satisfactions levels did not differ between the two conditions. Encouraging the personification of an automated behavioral health intervention may lead to greater levels of engagement with the program.     

Equality: Putting the Theory into Action

We outline our central reasons for pursuing the project of equality studies and some of the thinking we have done within an equality studies framework. We try to show that a multi-dimensional conceptual framework, applied to a set of key social contexts and articulating the concerns of subordinate social groups, can be a fruitful way of putting the idea of equality into practice. Finally, we address some central questions about how to bring about egalitarian social change. Editors’ note. John Baker et al’s article below condenses the key themes and arguments of their book, Equality: From Theory to Action. In the next issue of Res Publica, four writers will respond to these arguments, and there will be a reply from the book’s authors. We are grateful to Jurgen De Wispelaere for organising the original workshop on which the article and replies are based, and for his work in putting together this symposium.     

What Proportion of Adult Hispanics Are Catholic? A Review of Survey Data and Methodology

The proportion of Hispanics who are Catholic remains unclear, partly because of varying survey methods and limited understanding of how these variations affect estimates of Hispanic religious identification. We compare 12 national surveys conducted since 1990. Language use strongly predicts religious identification among Hispanics—more strongly than other indicators of assimilation—and evidence suggests English-only interviewing inflates Protestant identification. Additionally, identifying Hispanics through ancestry questions may inflate Catholic identification. We also explore effects of sampling bias, noncoverage bias, and weighting on religious identification. Analyses suggest that poststratification weighting is advisable, particularly for language use. However, weighting cannot fully substitute for extensive coverage of subpopulations such as recent immigrants and Spanish-only speakers. We conclude that 70 percent or slightly more is a reasonable estimate of the proportion of adult Hispanics who are Catholic, and 20 percent a reasonable estimate of the proportion who are Protestant or other Christian.     

Judging Up the Corporate Ladder: Understanding the Social Conduct of Workers

The purpose of this research was to examine the social conduct of workers toward managers following a negative work event involving their managers. Three studies were conducted to examine the relationships among attributions, judgments of responsibility, anger and sympathy, and antisocial and prosocial behaviors. In Study 1, we manipulated ability and effort attributions with scenarios in order to examine the cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes of hypothetical workplace events. In Studies 2 and 3, we replicated these results using a retrospective, critical-incidents methodology and further explored the mediational relationships between cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. Findings from the 3 studies supported hypotheses derived from Weiner's (1995) theory of social conduct.