Being in one's chosen job determines pre‐training attitudes and training outcomes

The present study introduces a new important variable into a model of training motivation, namely that of being in one's chosen job. Evidence exists that having some control and choice over aspects of training have positive effects on training motivation. We propose that being in one's chosen job will also have such an effect, as it provides trainees with greater autonomy regarding their career progression (e.g., Gagné & Deci, 2005 ) and aligns their training activity closely with their personal goals (e.g., Locke & Latham, 2002 ). Pre‐ and post‐training surveys were completed by 232 instructors who were themselves on a military training course. Results confirmed the positive effects of being in one's chosen job on the pre‐training attitudes of self‐efficacy and training motivation with further direct effects on motivation to transfer, and indirect effects on knowledge acquisition and post‐training self‐efficacy. Findings have both theoretical and practical ramifications. Being in one's chosen job should be incorporated into models of training motivation and, whenever possible, employees being re‐deployed should be granted their job preference because this is associated with important positive effects on pre‐training attitudes and motivation to transfer new skills to the work environment.     

Stress,appraisal and work routine in wartime: do men and women differ?

Past research has devoted little attention to the role of work routine (i.e., adherence to a consistent pattern of attending work in a regular, predictable manner) in civilians' lives during wartime. The current study offers competing theoretical arguments on how work routine and gender combine to moderate the association between primary appraisal and war-related stress among civilians during the second Lebanon war (July–August 2006). Data were collected using telephone interviews (based on a structured questionnaire) with 2072 civilians. The sample was obtained using a within-strata random-sampling method. Our results suggest that negative affect (a symptom of stress) is associated with more negative primary appraisal of the war situation (i.e., higher threat appraisal). The association between negative affect and appraisal was attenuated among individuals engaging in regular work routine and among men. Moreover, the positive relationship between work routine and appraisal was stronger among women than among men. This study provides insight into the role of the workplace in the lives of civilians exposed to continuing in unsafe situations. In light of the past research suggesting that women are more vulnerable to war-related stress than men, this study proposes that regular work routine may be particularly beneficial for women.     

Anger In Or Out,Which Is Healthier? An Attempt To Reconcile Inconsistent Findings

Abstract

A survey of the literature concerning the relationship between style of anger expression and health disorders does not lead to a clear-cut conclusion. Some studies suggest that the outward expression of anger (anger-out) contributes to health problems of various types, while others present evidence suggesting that it is the suppression of anger (anger-in) which contributes to health problems. The present study examined three conceivable explanations for the contradictory evidence produced in this research area: (1) different aspects of anger expression are differentially related to the individual's health; (2) the pattern of anger expression is related differentially to health disorders of different types; (3) the degree of matching between the individual's style of anger expression and social desirability accounts for the inconsistency in the empirical findings. A sample of 134 men underwent comprehensive medical examinations and also filled in several anger expression questionnaires. The results supported the first hypothesis, namely that intensity of anger expression was negatively correlated with ill health while frequency of anger expression was positively correlated with ill health. No support was found for the hypothesis that anger expression relates differentially to health disorders of different types. However, the matching hypothesis was confirmed in part. It was found that individuals low on both intensity of anger expression and social desirability reported the highest frequency of health problems. The theoretical significance of these findings and their practical implications are discussed.     

framing of prenatal screening test results and women's health-illness orientations as determinants of perceptions of fetal health and approval of amniocentesis

Abstract

Framing effects of medical test results and interactions of these effects with personal perspectives were investigated in the context of prenatal screening. Hundred and Thirty-three pregnant women undergoing the ‘triple-test’ were assessed as having health or illness orientations, and were randomly presented with reassuring/moderate/severe diagnoses framed in normal/abnormal terms, forming a 2 × 3 × 2 between subjects design. Evaluations of fetus' health and recommendations to perform amniocentesis were assessed. Findings showed healthier evaluations of the fetus and weaker recommendations to perform amniocentesis in normal versus abnormal framings. An interaction was found between framing, diagnosis, and personal orientations: women with health orientations receiving a moderate diagnosis framed in abnormal terms were significantly more inclined to recommend amniocentesis than illness-oriented women given the same diagnosis; the normal/abnormal framing of severe diagnoses yielded opposite effects on health-oriented versus illness-oriented women. The influences of framing effects and health/ illness orientations on health perceptions and behavioral intentions were discussed.     

Profits and halos: The role of firm profitability information in consumer inference

Three experiments investigated the consequences of the presence of information that a manufacturing firm is profitable on consumers' judgments of the firm and the consequences for perceptions of advertising, products, and choice intention. When profitability is present in the advertising context, consumers form more favorable advertiser judgments, which drive perceptions of greater advertisement credibility, which lead to more favorable product inferences, and ultimately stronger purchase intentions. The third experiment additionally shows that profitability information interacts with a warranty to drive judgments and choice. The implication of our findings is that firms should consider highlighting their profitability to enhance advertising effectiveness.     

Living with terrorism or withdrawing in terror: Perceived control and consumer avoidance

Terror attacks targeting civilians are becoming more frequent and affecting more places around the globe. Given the increasing intensity of terrorism and the threat of terrorism, consumer behavioral manifestations may occur. We conducted three studies with diverse methodologies and populations to explore how concerns with terrorism affect individuals' behavior. Two studies were conducted in Israel, a Western country that in the last decade experienced frequent terror attacks targeted at civilians. Results show that concerns with frequent terrorism increase people's desire for control and may lead to avoidant behaviors. The extent of the avoidance response depends on consumers' perceptions of whether they have some control over the odds of becoming a casualty should a terror attack occur. When individuals perceive their control to be low (but not high), they exhibit more avoidant behavior, changing their preferences and consumptions. We further find that individuals' general desire for control increases when they are primed with terrorist activities compared with general mortality. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the Positive Side of Avoidance Motivation: An Increase in Avoidance Motivation Reduces Procrastination among Students

People who procrastinate often pay a heavy price in terms of illness, stress, and poor performance. Because procrastination has harmful consequences, we predicted that avoidance motivation, a self‐regulation system that protects people from harm, would also protect them against procrastination. We hypothesised that avoidance motivation reduces procrastination, despite the known destructive effects avoidance motivation has on thriving. In Study 1, students high in chronic‐avoidance motivation had the lowest dropout rates from a bonus‐granting longitudinal study. In Study 2, avoidance motivation was negatively related to delay in submitting a term paper, when controlling for chronic procrastination, self‐efficacy, impulsiveness, and age. In Study 3, an experimental manipulation of avoidance motivation reduced procrastination three times, but only once significantly. In Study 4, manipulations of both avoidance motivation and approach motivation, relative to a control motivation, using a within‐subjects design, indicated that the avoidance manipulation reduced procrastination in submitting subsequent reading reports, whereas the approach manipulation did not. We subjected all our results to a meta‐analysis that indicated that avoidance motivation had a significant preventive effect on procrastination. We conclude that avoidance motivation can reduce procrastination, and suggest that our avoidance‐manipulation techniques could be applied across a variety of organisational and educational settings.     

Mental movements without magnitude? A study of spatial biases in symbolic arithmetic

McCrink (McCrink, Dehaene, & Dehaene-Lambertz (2007). Moving along the number line: Operational momentum in nonsymbolic arithmetic. Perception and Psychophysics, 69(8), 1324-1333) documented an “Operational Momentum” (OM) effect - overestimation of addition and underestimation of subtraction outcomes in non-symbolic (dot pattern) arithmetic. We investigated whether OM also occurs with Arabic number symbols. Participants pointed to number locations (1-9) on a visually given number line after computing them from addition or subtraction problems. Pointing was biased leftward after subtracting and rightward after adding, especially when the second operand was zero. The findings generalize OM to the spatial domain and to symbolic number processing. Alternative interpretations of our results are discussed.     

A double dissociation between action and perception in the context of visual illusions: opposite effects of real and illusory size

The idea that there are two distinct cortical visual pathways, a dorsal action stream and a ventral perception stream, is supported by neuroimaging and neuropsychological evidence. Yet there is an ongoing debate as to whether or not the action system is resistant to pictorial illusions in healthy participants. In the present study, we disentangled the effects of real and illusory object size on action and perception by pitting real size against illusory size. In our task, two objects that differed slightly in length were placed within a version of the Ponzo illusion. Even though participants erroneously perceived the physically longer object as the shorter one (or vice versa), their grasping was remarkably tuned to the real size difference between the objects. These results provide the first demonstration of a double dissociation between action and perception in the context of visual illusions and together with previous findings converge on the idea that visually guided action and visual perception make use of different metrics and frames of reference.     

Unilateral Stability and Visual Feedback Body Control Improves After Three-Month Resistance Training in Overweight Individuals

The authors evaluated the effect of 3 months of resistance and aerobic training (3 sessions/week) on body balance in a group of 25 overweight and obese individuals. Prior to and after the training, they performed static and task-oriented balance tests under various conditions. Mean center of pressure (CoP) velocity and mean trace length of the CoP in the y-axis registered during a one-legged stance significantly decreased after the resistance training (19.1%, p = .024; 29.3%, p = .009). Mean trace length of the CoP in the y-axis decreased significantly also during a bipedal stance on a foam surface with eyes open and closed (10.9%, p = .040; 18.2%, p = .027). In addition, mean CoP distance and mean squared CoP distance in the anteroposterior direction during a visually guided center of mass (CoM) tracking task significantly improved (14.7%, p = .033; 28.2%, p = .016). However, only mean trace length of the CoP in the y-axis during a bipedal stance on a foam surface with eyes open and closed significantly decreased after the aerobic training (10.3%, p = .047; 16.5%, p = .029). It may be concluded that resistance training is more efficient for the improvement of the anteroposterior unilateral stability and the accuracy of the regulation of the CoM anteroposterior position than aerobic training in overweight and obese individuals.