Career Compromise and Adjustment Among Graduates in the Banking Industry

A study is reported which aimed to examine several factors associated with career compromise and adjustment among 100 graduates in a bank. Contrary to predictions derived from Gottfredson's theory, satisfaction with the sextype of their jobs did not relate to perceptions of compromise; satisfaction with prestige explained some unique variance in compromise perceptions, but satisfaction with outlets for interests and use of skills and abilities were more important. Case data were used to explore other factors involved in the perception of career compromise. Qualitative data collected in the interviews with graduates highlighted several ways in which employers, graduates and career advisers can ease the transition from university to work.     

Exploring goal taxonomies using the goal-based outcome tool in children and young people's mental health settings

Formulating goals in therapy may facilitate young people and parents/carers' engagement in mental health support settings. A number of goal taxonomies have been developed, which involve organising goals set at the outset of therapy into themes. Goal taxonomies are considered useful for service planning and outcome purposes. In order to build on the knowledge about what young people choose as goals, and to best support good practice, it is important to explore the links and differences between the existing goal taxonomies. A systematic review was conducted to identify goal taxonomies based on goals set using the goal-based outcome (GBO) tool. Framework analysis was conducted to investigate the extracted goal taxonomies. Overall, four core concepts were identified: “Goals targeting specific issues, symptoms, emotions, and behaviours,” “Return and engage in activities,” “Personal growth goals” and “Interpersonal goals.” Goals regarding specific issues, personal growth and interpersonal relationships were present in most studies. Using these overarching core concepts could be useful for practitioner-level, or service-level organisation of goal data, for activities such as service planning and delivery.     

Non-pharmacologic Interventions for CFS: A Randomized Trial

Non-pharmacological behavioral treatments for CFS have been suggested as promising. These trials have tested protocols composed of behavioral, cognitive and cognitive–behavioral interventions but there have been few efforts to differentially evaluate their outcomes. The primary purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of nurse delivered non-pharmacologic interventions. In the present study, 114 participants diagnosed with CFS were randomly assigned to four 6-month interventions. The interventions were: cognitive–behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, anaerobic activity, and a relaxation control group. The study found that these interventions led to increases in several areas of functioning, with more consistent changes occurring among those participants in the cognitive condition. For the 25 variables in this study, significant change occurred for 28%, 20%, 16%, and 12% of the variables for the cognitive, cognitive behavior therapy, anaerobic activity, and relaxation conditions, respectively. However, the majority of participants continued to be diagnosed with CFS following the treatment trial. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Personal Spiritual Values and Quality of Life: Evidence from Chinese College Students

Values are guiding principles in our life. While some studies found spiritual values to be “healthier,” Sagiv and Schwartz (Eur J Soc Psychol 30:177–198, 2000) showed that people holding non-spiritual values were higher on affective well-being. We examined the predictive power of these two types of values with a longitudinal data set collected from Chinese students mainly in Hong Kong. Structural equation modeling revealed that spiritual values (as well as family income) positively predicted quality of life a year later. Non-spiritual, self-enhancement values, did not show any association. Results suggest that developing spiritual values may promote well-being through enabling individuals to find meaning and purpose in life.     

The Genetic Counselor’s Role in Managing Ethical Dilemmas Arising in the Laboratory Setting

Ethical dilemmas are encountered commonly in the setting of the clinical genetic testing laboratory due to the complexity of genetic testing and the number of relevant stakeholders involved in the genetic testing process. Based on their clinical training and role within the laboratory, genetic counselors are uniquely equipped to identify and facilitate management of ethical dilemmas. This paper reviews the historical context of ethical theory and its application to the field of genetic counseling. Theoretical and applied ethics are explored in the context of dilemmas arising in the laboratory setting, with a focus on the role of the laboratory genetic counselor in managing ethical dilemmas. Two illustrative case examples are provided.     

The bonding effect of money in the workplace: priming money weakens the negative relationship between ostracism and prosocial behaviour

The feeling of being ostracized in the workplace has been associated with the withdrawal of prosocial and helping behaviours. We propose that reminders of money would moderate (weaken) this relationship. We conducted three studies with working adult participants. Results showed that activating thoughts of money, even unrelated to compensation, reduced the negative relationship between ostracism and prosocial intentions (Studies 1 and 3) and behaviour (Study 2) in the organization. Study 3 furthermore showed that this effect occurs by reinforcing organizational identification. Our research identifies a factor that is already present in the work setting that could buffer the negative psychological and behavioural outcomes associated with ostracism: cues of money. We discuss the implications for research on money, social threats, and organizational behaviour.     

Explaining the effects of a decision intervention on mammography intentions: The roles of worry,fear and perceived susceptibility to breast cancer

Objective: This study examines the effects of a mammography decision intervention on perceived susceptibility to breast cancer (PSBC) and emotion and investigates how these outcomes predict mammography intentions.

Design: Randomised between-subjects online experiment. Participants were stratified into two levels of risk. Within each stratum, conditions included a basic information condition and six decision intervention conditions that included personalised risk estimates and varied according to a 2 (amount of information: brief vs. extended) × 3 (format: expository vs. untailored exemplar vs. tailored exemplar) design. Participants included 2465 US women ages 35–49.

Main Outcome Measures: PSBC as a percentage, PSBC as a frequency, worry, fear and mammography intentions.

Results: The intervention resulted in significant reductions in PSBC as a percentage for women in both strata and significant increases in worry and fear for women in the upper risk stratum. Of the possible mediators examined, only PSBC as a percentage was a consistent mediator of the effect of the intervention on mammography intentions.

Conclusion: The results provide insight into the mechanism of action of the intervention by showing that PSBC mediated the effects of the intervention on mammography intentions.     

Too Tired to Focus on Others? Reminders of Money Promote Considerate Responses in the Face of Depletion

Purpose

Research has found that depletion of personal energy makes people self-centered. Thoughts of money also make people self-centered. We propose that reminding depleted individuals of money would in fact make them less self-centered and more other-oriented. We draw on evidence that money has potential to produce feelings of energy and that greater energy predicts more considerate behavior. We tested whether reminders (thoughts) of money reduce or counteract the selfish effects of depletion, promoting considerate responses.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data were obtained through experiments conducted via the internet with working adult participants recruited in the USA and Hong Kong.

Findings

Depletion positively predicted self-centeredness, replicating previous research. As we hypothesized, thoughts of money (vs. money-neutral object) reduced or eliminated this effect. The mediating process was bolstered feelings of energy.

Implications

Organizational research has focused on showing how money in the form of compensation affects behavior. We provide a more nuanced understanding of the role of money in employee behavior. Reminders of money help employees feel energized in the face of depletion and in turn rein in selfish impulses. Our findings imply that when employees are drained, thoughts of money in general, even beyond the form of compensation, can provide strength to care about others besides the self.