Culture,Burnout, and Engagement: A Meta-Analysis on National Cultural Values as Moderators in JD-R Theory

Despite prominence and increasing application of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory across national contexts, the role of culture has not yet been systematically explored. We conducted a meta-analysis of 132 independent samples from 120 studies across 5 global regions (total N = 101,073) to fill this void. Our paper responds to long-standing concerns around neglecting differences in the relationships of workplace factors with burnout and engagement across national cultures by testing for a moderating role within JD-R theory. Results suggest strong support for the direct job demands-burnout and job resources-engagement pathways. Regarding the role of culture, our study reveals moderating roles for five out of six cultural dimensions using Hofstede’s framework. Interestingly, these cultural dimensions present a moderating impact towards relationships with either job demands or job resources, yet not both. Our findings offer a valuable starting point for further theoretical developments that can impact international business and global mobility. While these insights suggest a role of national cultural context in JD-R studies, sensitivity analyses showed that the findings were only partly stable.     

Effects of age on searching for and enumerating targets that cannot be detected efficiently

We investigated the effects of old age on search, subitizing, and counting of difficult-to-find targets. In Experiment 1, young and older adults enumerated targets (Os) with and without distractors (Qs). Without distractors, the usual subitization-counting function occurred in both groups, with the same subitization span of 3.3 items. Subitization disappeared with distractors; older adults were slowed more overall by their presence but enumeration rates were not slowed by ageing either with or without distractors. In contrast, search rates for a single target (O among Qs) were twice as slow for older as for young adults. Experiment 2 tested and ruled out one account of age-equivalent serial enumeration based on the need to subvocalize numbers as items are enumerated. Alternative explanations based on the specific task differences between detecting and enumerating stimuli are discussed.     

How does episodic memory develop in adolescence?

Key areas of the episodic memory (EM) network demonstrate changing structure and volume during adolescence. EM is multifaceted and yet studies of EM thus far have largely examined single components, used different methods and have unsurprisingly yielded inconsistent results. The Treasure Hunt task is a single paradigm that allows parallel investigation of memory content, associative structure, and the impact of different retrieval support. Combining the cognitive and neurobiological accounts, we hypothesized that some elements of EM performance may decline in late adolescence owing to considerable restructuring of the hippocampus at this time. Using the Treasure Hunt task, we examined EM performance in 80 participants aged 10–17 yr. Results demonstrated a cubic trajectory with youngest and oldest participants performing worst. This was emphasized in associative memory, which aligns well with existing literature indicating hippocampal restructuring in later adolescence. It is proposed that memory development may follow a nonlinear path as children approach adulthood, but that future work is required to confirm and extend the trends demonstrated in this study.

Episodic memory (EM) describes the ability to encode, store, and retrieve representations of previously experienced episodes and their temporal-spatial context (Tulving 1972). EM development continues well into the third decade of life (Ruggiero et al. 2016); however, its developmental trajectory after the preschool years remains controversial, with some studies suggesting linear improvements (Ofen et al. 2007) and others no improvement (Picard et al. 2012) or a nonlinear pattern (Tulving 1985; Keresztes et al. 2017). While there has been some debate as to the “defining features” of EM (Cheke and Clayton 2013, 2015) most theorists agree that it is not a unitary ability, instead reflecting the combination of a number of contributing features. Given that many of these studies used different methods for testing EM, and that different tests may emphasize different features (Cheke and Clayton 2013, 2015), it is likely that empirical differences reflect the fact that different features of memory may develop differently during later childhood and adolescence (Picard et al. 2012).The importance of understanding the developmental trajectory of EM in adolescence is highlighted in the close association between EM and other cognitive processes. EM is thought to support decision-making, particularly in the incorporation of memories into task- and goal-relevant responses (Murty et al. 2016); thus, immaturity of EM may influence the high levels of risk taking observed in adolescence. Adolescence also represents a period of vulnerability to the development of mental illness (Kessler et al. 2007). Evidence that deficits in EM have been linked to a number of mental health disorders such as depression (Goodwin 1997) and anxiety (Airaksinen et al. 2005) raises the possibility that individual differences in memory development during this period may influence this vulnerability. Finally, adolescence is a demanding time academically: During these school years, large quantities of knowledge must be acquired to be successful in exams, which have long-term impacts on individuals’ academic and professional future. It is therefore important to understand factors that may contribute to individual differences and challenges in learning and memory during this period.Memory development in adolescence has attracted considerable research attention in recent years, with the majority of work conducted on developmental trajectories of brain areas within the memory network. EM relies on a distributed network of brain areas, including the medial temporal and superior parietal lobes and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) (Simons and Spiers 2003). Each area within the network, as well as the network itself, shows protracted maturation across adolescence.     

Examining the components of children's peer liking as antecedents of school adjustment

Children's social interactions with their peers influence their psychosocial adjustment; consequently, the relationship between class‐wide peer liking, same‐gender peer liking, and school adjustment was explored in two age groups. Peer liking was analysed using the social relations model (SRM). In Study 1, 205 children (103 female and 102 male, M_age= 7.15, SD= 7 months) completed measures of peer liking and school adjustment, and teachers completed the Short‐Form Teacher Rating Scale of School Adjustment (Short‐Form TRSSA). In Study 2, 197 children (98 female and 90 male, M_age= 9.87, SD= 5.9 months) completed measures of peer liking and school adjustment. Both studies yielded evidence of reciprocal liking and individual differences in the ratings of liking awarded to, and elicited from, both peer groups. Multigroup path analysis, with groups created according to gender, revealed that elements of liking predicted different aspects of school adjustment with some variation according to age and gender. Together, these findings suggest that the SRM can be used to examine peer liking and underscore the importance of children's peers for school adjustment.     

Queer ethics and fostering positive mindsets toward non-binary gender,genderqueer, and gender ambiguity

Abstract

Background: Alongside the growth in visibility of gender identities and presentations such as genderqueer, non-binary and gender neutral, there is ridicule and backlash in wider culture, as well as more subtle invisibility and misgendering. While there exists social psychology research about negative and positive attitudes to trans people, this is restricted to those whose gender identity is at odds with their sex assigned at birth, and who identify with binary gender. Social psychology has extended to the more subtle workings of transphobia, but there is little consideration of the distinctiveness of attitudes and responses to those whose genders cannot be attributed in binary ways, and thus how these may be challenged.

Methods: In keeping with the methods of social theory, this article brings together a diverse and complementary range of conceptual fields in new ways to diagnose a novel cause and solution to these negative attitudes. Using queer theory, feminist ethics, and empirical studies in post-tolerance sociology and social psychology, it argues that negative social responses to genderqueerness stem not only from overt prejudice in the form of transphobia but from binary genderism, the conviction that there are only two genders.

Results and conclusion: This article proposes fostering greater diversity-literacy and empathy for difference as a more effective approach than minority identity-based ‘prejudice reduction’ approaches. A norm-critical approach to deconstructing gender norms is proposed, thus fostering positive attitudes to genderqueerness. It is therefore demonstrated how best to foster enabling social contexts for genderqueerness, with positive implications for the physical and social health and wellbeing of gender variant people. This approach can be applied in organizations, institutions, and by service providers who interact with genderqueer individuals, in that it can inform a shift to approaching diversity positively in ways that are not restricted to pre-determined and binary identity categories.     

Background Papers to The National Suicide Prevention Conference: An Overview and Perspective

T he recognition of suicide as a serious public health problem and the advocacy of Americans who have experienced the loss of someone to suicide together have galvanized action to create a national strategy to prevent the loss of life and the suffering that suicide causes. The process began in 1993, when the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) convened the first Interregional Expert Meeting on the Formulation of National Strategies for the Prevention of Suicide in Calgary and Banff, Alberta, Canada. Building on a document emanating from these deliberations, Prevention of Suicide: Guidelines for the Formation and Implementation of National Strategies ( UN, 1996 ), a public/private partnership has begun national strategy development for the United States. The articles in this special supplement represent one significant achievement of that collaborative effort and a foundation for ongoing work in developing a comprehensive National Suicide Prevention Strategy.     

Centrality in children's best friend networks: The role of social behaviour

Centrality is an indicator of an individual's relative importance within a social group. Predictors of centrality in best friendship networks were examined in 146 children (70 boys and 76 girls, M_age = 9.95). Children completed measures of social confidence, social desirability, friendship quality, school liking, and loneliness and nominated their best friends from within their class at two time points, 3 months apart. Multigroup path analysis revealed gender differences in the antecedents of centrality. Social confidence, social desirability, and friendship quality predicted changes in the indicators of centrality in best friend networks over time. Boys' social behaviour positively predicted changes in centrality, whereas girls' social behaviour negatively predicted changes in centrality. Together, these findings suggest that some aspects of social behaviour are influential for centrality in best friend groups.