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.     

Personality traits, perceived risk, and risk-reduction behaviors: a further study of smoking and radon.

Personality traits and risk perceptions were examined as predictors of changes in smoking behavior. Participants (N = 697) were part of a randomized controlled trial of interventions to reduce exposure to the combined hazard of radon and cigarette smoke. Participants with higher perceived risk at baseline for the combination of smoking and radon were more likely to have a more restrictive household smoking ban in place at 12-month follow-up (p < .05). Risk perceptions also predicted reductions in the total number of cigarettes smoked in the home for participants in the video intervention who had high or moderate levels of extraversion (p < .01). Greater perceived risk predicted whether highly or moderately conscientious women quit smoking (p < .05). The moderating effects of personality traits should be considered when evaluating risk-reduction interventions.     

COUNSELEES' RATINGS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE COUNSELORS AND PROSPECTIVE HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELORS

The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences exist between Employment Service counselors and prospective high school counselors in the following areas: perceptions of counselor as a person, perceptions of assistance received by the counselees in educational planning, vocational guidance, personal and social matters, and the use of tests in counseling. This study was designed also to find out whether NYC and HS background, sex of the counselees, and number of sessions attended by the counseled affected their ratings of counselor effectiveness.     

Black Church Leaders’ Attitudes About Mental Health Services: Role of Racial Discrimination

Black church leaders are often first responders to mental health issues in the Black community, yet few researchers have examined their attitudes about seeking outside mental health services. In order to fill this gap, we surveyed 112 church leaders in a northeastern urban Baptist Black mega-church (22 associate pastors, 34 deacons, and 56 congregation care givers) using The National Survey of American Life. Findings suggest church leaders more often relied on the church community and alternative health services, leaders who attended church more often tended to report not receiving any outside mental health treatment, the closer church leaders felt to all Black people, the less satisfied they were with help received from formal mental health services, and leaders who experienced more racial discrimination tended to report worse overall mental and physical health. Clinical providers and Black churches should develop collaborative partnerships to better meet the needs of this community.     

Knowledge and Attitudes About Later Life Sexuality: What Clinicians Need To Know About Helping the Elderly

In the family therapy field we have often overlooked the elderly and in particular addressing sexual concerns within the context of couples therapy with the elderly (Van Amburg, Barber, & Zimmerman, 1996). The projected life-span of the elderly has increased due to improvements in medical technology and due to a better quality of life which promotes longevity. Included in this paper are the specific age-related physical, emotional, and sexual changes common in later life as well as a clinical case vignette of an elderly couple presenting with a sexual issue. Current sexuality education programs for the elderly are reviewed as well as clinical implications for therapists who treat the elderly.     

Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) and enacted PSC for workplace bullying and psychological health problem reduction

Bullying at work has profound effects on both the individual and organization. We aimed to determine if organizational psychosocial safety climate (PSC; a climate specific to worker psychological health) could reduce workplace bullying and associated psychological health problems (i.e., distress, emotional exhaustion, depression) if specific procedures were implemented (PSC enactment). We theorized that the PSC enactment mechanism works via psychosocial processes such as bullying mistreatment climate (anti-bullying procedures), work design (procedures reduce stress through work redesign), and conflict resolution (procedures to resolve conflict). We used two-wave national longitudinal interview data from 1,062 Australian employees (Australian Workplace Barometer project) and structural equation modelling to explore relationships over 4 years. PSC Time 1 predicted enacted PSC and reduced bullying 4 years later. PSC Time 1 was indirectly negatively related to poor psychological health Time 2 through enacted PSC and bullying. Bullying Time 1 also gave rise to procedures which in turn reduced bullying Time 2. Our findings suggest a multi-component approach to prevent or reduce bullying. Procedures (to reduce psychosocial hazards) that emerge in a high PSC context are more comprehensive than those triggered by bullying (reactive procedures), and can therefore be more effective in reducing worker mistreatment. Building PSC and a strong climate for psychological health, and enacting PSC is fundamental to bullying prevention.     

The effect of leader moral development on ethical climate and employee attitudes

This study examines the effect of leader moral development on the organization’s ethical climate and employee attitudes. Results indicate that the relationship between leader moral development and ethical climate is moderated by two factors: the extent to which the leader utilizes his or her cognitive moral development (i.e., capacity for ethical reasoning), and the age of the organization. Specifically, the influence of the leader’s moral development was stronger for high utilizing leaders, those whose moral actions were consistent with their moral reasoning. Additionally, the influence of the leader’s moral development was stronger in younger organizations. Finally, as predicted, congruence between the leader’s moral development and the employee’s moral development was positively associated with job satisfaction and organizational commitment and negatively associated with turnover intentions.     

On the positive aspects of customers: Customer‐initiated support and affective crossover in employee–customer dyads

This study examines psychological resources for service employees and their customers, which enhance the service experiences of both parties during service conversations. We investigate whether customer behaviour (customer‐initiated support) positively impacts on employees’ affect. We also examine the crossover of employees’ affect on customers’ affect. State positive affect (PA) was assessed in 82 employees of car dealerships and 421 customers on 2 occasions (before and after the conversation). Multi‐level analyses showed the hypothesized positive impact of customer behaviour on employees’ PA and in turn of employees’ PA on customers’ PA. Results are integrated in an overall process model whereby customers’ PA leads to customer‐initiated support, which increases employees’ PA and in turn enhances customers’ PA. Results suggest direct and indirect crossover effects. This study extends research on customer behaviour offering a positive slant on customer behaviour and suggests to actively involve customers in the service process in order to promote their positive behaviour towards employees.     

Is scent‐enhanced memory immune to retroactive interference?

Research shows that scent enhances memory for associated information. Current debate centers around scent's immunity to “retroactive interference,” i.e., reduced memory for earlier-learned information after exposure to additional, subsequently-learned information. This paper demonstrates that scent-enhanced memory is indeed prone to retroactive interference, but that some of the information lost is restored using a scent-based retrieval cue. Two process explanations for interference effects are proposed, with the evidence providing more support for an inhibition rather than a response competition explanation. The results enhance our understanding of the encoding and retrieval of olfactory information from long-term memory, and reasons why interference occurs.