An integrating approach to the study of burnout in university professors

The aim of this paper is to use an integrative approach to identify the main correlates and/or predictors at different levels (personal, psychosocial, occupational and outside the workplace) of the burnout dimensions. The sample consists of 813 university professors. Results from statistical analyses show that there are, indeed, both common and specific predictors for the different facets of the syndrome. Specifically, while social support and optimism are selected to confirm all manifestations of burnout, other factors (work hours per week, time in the profession, hardiness, Type A behavioural pattern, life events, daily hassles) do increase the emergence of differential profiles. Lastly, findings are discussed and the main conclusions are presented.     

Backward blocking: the role of within-compound associations and interference between cues trained apart

Most theoretical accounts of backward blocking place heavy stress on the necessity of the target cue having been trained in compound with the competing cue to produce a decrement in responding. Yet, other evidence suggests that a similar reduction in responding to the target cue can be observed when the outcome is later paired with a novel cue never trained in compound with the target cue (interference between cues trained apart). The present experiment shows that pairing another nonassociated cue with the same outcome may be sufficient to produce a decremental effect on the target cue, but the presence of a within-compound association between the target and the competing cue adds to this effect. Thus, both interference between cues trained apart and within-compound associations independently contribute to backward blocking.     

Female degus (Octodon degus) monitor their environment while foraging socially

Vigilance or scanning involves interruptions in foraging behavior when individuals lift their heads and conduct visual monitoring of the environment. Theoretical considerations assume that foraging with the "head down", and scanning ("head up") are mutually exclusive activities, such that foraging precludes vigilance. We tested this generalization in a socially foraging, small mammal model, the diurnal Chilean degu (Octodon degus). We studied spontaneous bouts of scanning of captive degus when foraging in pairs of female sibs and non-sibs. We examined the extent to which foraging (head down postures) and scanning (head up postures) were mutually exclusive in subjects exposed to none, partial, and complete lateral visual obstruction of their partners. In addition, we monitored the orientation of their bodies to examine the target of attention while foraging and scanning. Lastly, we examined the temporal occurrence of scanning events to assess the extent of scanning coordination, and whether this coordination is kin-biased. Visual obstruction had a significant influence on degu vigilance. Focal degus increased their quadrupedal and semi-erect scanning when foraging under a partially obstructed view of their partners. Degus oriented their bodies toward partners when foraging and scanning. Despite this, degus did not coordinate scanning bouts; instead, they scanned independently from one another. Relatedness among cage mates did not influence any aspect of degu behavior. Contrary to theoretical expectations, these results indicate that foraging and vigilance are not mutually exclusive, and that kinship per se does not influence scanning behavior and coordination.     

Broadcasting of violence on Spanish television: a quantitative panorama

A quantitative analysis of broadcasted violence by the main television (TV) channels transmitting for Madrid (Spain) was carried out using a novel method that randomly selects fragments of delimited duration from TV broadcasts. The device selects acts of aggression shown in those TV extracts, and classifies them according to their type. There was a high incidence of aggressive acts, especially physical (particularly leading to death), in TV fiction: films, serials and promos. The device also allowed examination of the prominence of aggression in children's programs, as well as showing minimal variation in the number of aggressive acts over screened time intervals. The pattern of the collected data suggests that the broadcasting of violence on TV emphasizes the conflicting elements of social reality, reproducing it in fiction, news reports and children's shows. Aggr. Behav. 32:137–145. 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The consequences of a nurse's negative evaluation of a blood pressure reading. Implications for the etiology of white-coat hypertension

The aim of this study was to show how a nurses negative evaluation of a blood pressure (BP) reading can cause an increase in BP in the following reading. Twenty-five subjects with normal pressure who had been informed that they were to participate in an epidemiological BP study took part and they were divided into two groups. After taking the first BP reading, participants from the experimental group were informed that their pressure was normal but high for their age, whereas those in the control group were told that their pressure was normal for their age. The results showed that this comment caused a significant increase in the diastolic BP of the experimental group. The theoretical and clinical implications of this reaction are discussed in relation to the phenomenon known as White-Coat Hypertension from the perspective of the theory of incubation.     

A Meta-Analysis of the Distinction between Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Children and Adolescents

The present meta-analytic review aimed to clarify divergent findings concerning the relation between reactive and proactive aggression in children and adolescents. Fifty-one studies with 17,965 participants were included in the analysis. A significant correlation between reactive and proactive aggression was found. The strength of this relation varied considerably between studies, from -.10 to .89. Observational assessment and tilt/noise tasks were associated with smaller correlations than questionnaires. Within the large group of questionnaire studies, studies disentangling the form and function of aggression found lower correlations than studies that did not disentangle form and function. Among questionnaire studies, higher reliability was associated with larger correlations. Effect size did not depend on other study characteristics such as sample type, age, and informant type. It is concluded that reactive and proactive aggression are most clearly distinguished with behavioral observations and questionnaires that unravel form and functions of aggression.     

Choice, experience, and the generalized matching law

Five pigeons were exposed to different pairs of concurrent variable-interval, variable-interval schedules on nine experimental conditions of 30 sessions each. For every session, the parameters of the generalized matching equation were computed for the first five, six, seven, eight, and nine experimental conditions. The exponent a, both for response and time distribution, tended to decrease with increases in number of experimental conditions and to increase with number of sessions per condition, but values of k (bias) varied unsystematically. When the subjects were exposed to five new pairs of schedules, with 55 sessions per condition, the findings were confirmed. Data from the literature on the generalized matching law suggest that the variability of exponent values may be explained in part by the use of naive or experienced subjects in different investigations and by the variability in number of experimental conditions and in number of sessions per condition.     

Psychosocial correlates of condom use and their relationship with worry about STI and HIV in native and immigrant adolescents in Spain

The goal of this study was to analyze how worry about sexually-transmitted infections (STI) and HIV influences attitudes and self-efficacy towards condom use, HIV-related knowledge, HIV-perceived susceptibility and HIV-misconceptions in a multicultural sample in Spain. The sample was composed of 3,051 adolescents aged between 14 and 19 years old who lived in Spain. Of these, 67.7% were native Spaniards and the remaining 32.3% were Latin American immigrants. Results showed that worry about STI and HIV has a direct influence on condom use self-efficacy and HIV-knowledge and HIV-perceived susceptibility. Native Spanish adolescents showed higher positive attitudes towards condom use, greater HIV-knowledge and HIV-perceived susceptibility, and lower negative attitudes towards condoms use and HIV-misconceptions than Latin American adolescents. In the discussion, the importance of worry about STI and HIV is highlighted as a mediator variable that can predict risky sexual behavior and is related to cultural origin.     

The incremental validity of the MMPI-2: when does therapist access not enhance treatment outcome?

The present study examined whether therapist access to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) predicted favorable treatment outcome, above and beyond other assessment measures. A manipulated assessment design was used, in which patients were randomly assigned either to a group in which therapists had access to their MMPI-2 data or to a group without therapist access to such information. Illness severity, improvement ratings, number of sessions attended, and premature termination were indicators of therapy outcome. Results indicated that therapist access to the MMPI-2 data did not add to the prediction of positive treatment outcome beyond that predicted by other measures in this setting. Findings from this initial study suggest that, compared with other resources, perhaps in clinical settings with an emphasis on diagnosis-based and evidence-based treatment, the MMPI-2 may not provide incrementally valid information. However, these effects warrant replication across different settings and samples. Guidelines for future studies are discussed.