Influencing organizational commitment through office redesign

Prior research on the effects of office redesign on work-related outcomes has been largely atheoretical and yielded mixed and conflicting findings. Expanding on individual reactions to office design changes as specified by social interference theory, we propose that office redesign affects organizational commitment and this relationship is mediated by employee perceptions of the broader work environment. This conceptual model is tested using 121 financial services employees who experience office redesign and 136 who do not. Results indicate that perceptions of innovation and collaboration mediate the effects of office redesign over and above negative personal reactions such that affective organizational commitment is enhanced among those experiencing reconfigured offices. Findings provide support for an expanded rendition of social interference theory that provides for favorable (as well as unfavorable) employee reactions to office redesign. Such a theoretical explanation is asserted to increase understanding of how the physical environment influences employee attitudes.     

Motivational interviewing and smoking behaviors: a critical appraisal and literature review of selected cessation initiatives

The present paper systematically reviewed and critically appraised three different dimensions of motivational interviewing currently utilized in smoking cessation initiatives: social support, motivation, and tailored interventions. A review of four databases generated 57 primary articles, 17 of which met the inclusion criteria of an intervention study utilizing at least one dimension of motivational interviewing, adults between 18 and 64 years, no comorbidities, and a follow-up period of at least 6 weeks. More than 11,600 participants are represented in this review. The implementation of social support, motivation, and tailored interventions yielded mixed results. Furthermore, threats to validity emerged, including self-report, follow-up period, sample sizes, a priori differences in groups, and web-based and text-based interventions. Further research must ascertain the efficacy of the three dimensions of motivational interviewing indicated by the mixed results reported in terms of statistical significance of cessation rates. More empirically rigorous designs with evaluations based on stringent replicable criteria are needed.     

Advancing paternal age and simplex autism

De novo events appear more common in female and simplex autism spectrum disorder (ASD) cases and may underlie greater ASD risk in older fathers' offspring. This study examined whether advancing paternal age predicts an increase in simplex (n = 90) versus multiplex ASD cases (n = 587) in 677 participants (340 families). Whether or not controlling for maternal age, results support a significant interaction of linear paternal age and sex of the child on simplex family type. Female ASD cases were significantly more likely to be simplex as paternal age increased, but the increase for males was not significant. Findings suggest that ASD arising from non-familial, de novo events may be far less prominent in males than in females, even if more prevalent in males, due to the substantially larger number of male cases attributable to other, more strongly male-biased risk factors.     

Predispositional Engagement,Activity Engagement,and Cognition among Older Adults

ABSTRACT

We investigated interrelationships between the predisposition toward approaching experiences in a mindful and creative way, participation in specific activities, and cognition among older adults. Participants were administered a battery measuring cognition (i.e., working memory, processing speed, divergent thinking, inductive reasoning, visuo-spatial processing), activity level, and the predisposition towards mental engagement (Need for Cognition, Mindfulness, and Openness to Experience). Results indicated that predispositional engagement and activity engagement are distinct constructs that independently contribute to different aspects of fluid ability, highlighting the importance of considering both the predisposition toward mental engagement as well as the habitual tendency to participate in activities when exploring principles of cognitive optimization.     

Young Freud's linkage with Persia

Abstract

Sigmund Freud's hands helped to mutilate a volume containing a series of “colored plates” like the one replicated in Figure 1 in the text. As a young adult, his personal library included a fairytale whose German text was entitled Die Träumleiter: Ein Marchen. No one has yet been able to authenticate the author's identity beyond the following imprint: “S. Andreas (1832).” The poetic play centers upon a celestial meeting featuring Shakespeare, Goethe, and Dschami. It has been translated into English (The dream ladder: A fairy tale), but still awaits a psychoanalytically informed exegesis.     

Initial job analysis of military embedded behavioral health services: Tasks and essential competencies

Utilization of mental health personnel assigned to operational military units is an area of growth for the US military. What activities they perform, how requirements may differ from working in clinical settings, and how to select and train for these types of positions is still poorly understood. A job analysis was conducted of Air Force mental health providers and enlisted technicians embedded in special operations, intelligence, and high-risk training units. Participants rated 27 tasks on frequency, importance, difficulty, and risks, as well as the importance of 37 knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), with differentiation between KSAs that may be trained versus those that must be present to be assigned to the embedded position. Tasks reflected 4 areas of activity: unit embedding/engagement, behavioral health consultation and support, performance optimization activities, and operational mission tasks. Tasks varied by professional training (psychologist, social worker, enlisted technician) and unit type. The KSAs rated as most important were ethical judgment and ability to manage complex relationships and boundaries while working outside of a clinic, strong interpersonal skills with appropriate assertiveness to advocate for safe, effective courses of action, and understanding of unit missions and organizational dynamics. Results have implications for job design, selection criteria, professional disciplines with KSAs necessary to unit-specific tasks, and training of personnel for integrated operational support positions.     

Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Childhood and Adolescence: Precursors, Outcomes, Processes, Experiences, and Measurement

ABSTRACT. This paper reviews and critiques the growing literature on the distinction between reactive and proactive aggression in children and adolescents. Empirical findings suggest that the subtypes of aggression are (a) preceded by different familial precursors, (b) associated with different behavioral outcomes, (c) driven by different social–cognitive and emotional processes, and (d) related to different social experiences. Because measurement difficulties have been a prominent concern in the study of reactive and proactive aggression, a discussion of various assessment approaches is included. Suggestions are made for future research directions, including a greater use of observational and laboratory-based methods, more longitudinal designs, and a greater focus on the careful assessment of the subtypes of aggression.     

Cyclical Role-Playing and Stigma: Exploring the Challenges of Stereotype Performance among Exotic Dancers

This article maintains that there is a cycle existent between common stereotypes about strippers and the images that strippers themselves put forth at work. Each of these elements reinforces the other. For some strippers, this cycle involves role-playing at work in order to put forth a profitable image, coupled with either additional role-playing outside of the club in the avoidance of stigmatization or the endurance of social maltreatment. The stigmatization that comes with common stereotypes is yet another form of disempowerment stemming from this profession.