Working adults’ well‐being: An online self‐help goal‐based intervention

An online self‐help goal‐setting and planning (GAP) intervention to improve working adults’ well‐being was tested using a longitudinal, randomized crossover design. The study sought to (1) test the effectiveness of the intervention relative to wait‐list controls; and (2) test the stability of effects over a 3‐month follow‐up period. Participants were recruited from the UK Civil Service and were randomized to either a GAP intervention or a wait‐list control condition. Wait‐list participants then crossed‐over to receive GAP. Relative to wait‐list controls (N = 149), GAP participants (N = 158) reported significantly higher levels of positive affect (PA) and flourishing, but similar levels of negative affect (NA) and life satisfaction immediately after the intervention. Longitudinal data were analysed for the whole sample (N = 307). Compared to the start of the intervention, participants reported an increase in PA and flourishing directly after the intervention and 3 months later. NA and life satisfaction showed no change by the end of the intervention, but had improved by 3‐month follow‐up. Completing more modules predicted post‐intervention improvements in well‐being, accounting for pre‐intervention well‐being levels. The online self‐help format allowed the intervention to be offered with minimal therapeutic support, enabling convenient access by a large group of employees. The study provides an example of a successful adaptation of a clinically proven well‐being intervention to make it accessible to working adults.

Practitioner points

• Well‐being interventions proven in clinical settings can be effectively adapted for use in workplace settings with only minor alterations.
• Brief, online self‐help interventions can improve working adults’ well‐being.
• Goal‐based interventions can improve working adults’ well‐being when focused towards goals that are aligned with personal values and have been chosen by the individual.

     

Effects of divided attention in the word-fragment completion task with unique and multiple solutions

A study with 114 young adults investigated the correlations of intelligence factors and working-memory capacity with reaction time (RT) tasks. Within two sets of four-choice RT tasks, stimulus–response compatibility was varied over three levels: compatible, incompatible, and arbitrary mappings. Two satisfactory measurement models for the RTs could be established: A general factor model without constraints on the loadings and a nested model with two correlated factors, distinguishing compatible from arbitrary mappings, with constraints on the loadings. Structural models additionally including factors for working memory and intelligence showed that the nested model with correlated factors is superior in fit. Working-memory capacity and fluid intelligence were correlated strongly with the nested factor for the RT tasks with arbitrary mappings, and less with the general RT factor. The results support the hypothesis that working memory is needed to maintain arbitrary bindings between stimulus representations and response representations, and this could explain the correlation of working-memory capacity with speed in choice RT tasks.     

Different pathways, same effects: Autonomous goal regulation is associated with subjective well-being during the post-school transition

Using self-determination theory as a theoretical framework, this study examines the associations between autonomous goal regulation and subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, self-esteem) during the post-school transition. The sample consisted of 2,284 academic track students (62 % female) in Germany who answered a questionnaire at the end of high school and again 2 years later, allowing us to differentiate three post-school trajectories (university, vocational training, not in education). Structural equation modeling showed that autonomous goal regulation measured at Time 1 positively predicted Time 2 life satisfaction, positive affect, self-esteem, and autonomous goal regulation and negatively predicted negative affect, controlling for construct stability. However, subjective well-being indicators at Time 1 did not predict autonomous goal regulation at Time 2. Multigroup analyses indicated comparable associations between goal regulation and subjective well-being across groups, highlighting the strength and generalizability of the effect of autonomous goal regulation on subjective well-being during the post-school transition.     

Adults' Acquisition of Novel Dimension Words: Creating a Semantic Congruity Effect

The semantic congruity effect is exhibited when adults are asked to compare pairs of items from a series, and their response is faster when the direction of the comparison coincides with the location of the stimuli in the series. For example, people are faster at picking the bigger of 2 big items than the littler of 2 big items. In the 4 experiments presented, adults were taught new dimensional adjectives (mal/ler and borg/er). Characteristics of the learning situation, such as the nature of the stimulus series and the relative frequency of labeling, were varied. Results revealed that the participants who learned the relative meaning of the artificial dimensional adjectives also formed categories and developed a semantic congruity effect regardless of the characteristics of training. These findings have important implications for our understanding of adult acquisition of novel relational words, the relationship between learning such words and categorization, and the explanations of the semantic congruity effect.     

The Internal/External Frame of Reference Model Revisited: Incorporating General Cognitive Ability and General Academic Self-Concept

An integrative model of the determinants of overall job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and precursors to voluntary turnover was proposed. Job satisfaction and organizational commitment were proposed to arise from overlapping sets of work environment perceptions. A nonrecursive relationship was hypothesized between commitment and satisfaction. Affect (satisfaction and commitment) was proposed to mediate the effects of work environment perceptions on precursors to voluntary turnover. The model was evaluated using data obtained from 1,870 employees of a U.S. telecommunications firm. Hypotheses relating to determinants of commitment and turnover cognitions were largely supported. An asymmetric reciprocal relation was supported between overall job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Future research needs discussed include specification of different causal models for different forms of employee turnover.     

Context-Dependent Emotion Regulation: Suppression and Reappraisal at the Burning Man Festival

Two studies investigated the combined effects of cultural practices, ancestry, and phenotype on ethnic categorization and the distribution of resources to minorities. Perceivers formed impressions of Latino internship candidates who varied in Spanish language fluency, White/European ancestry, and skin color. Spanish fluency influenced the distribution of minority resources to all targets, but only influenced the Latino categorization of targets who had White/European ancestry. The effect of Spanish fluency on minority resource distribution was explained by the White/European target's Latino categorization and perceived commitment to minority communities. We discuss why factors beyond racial/ethnic categorization may matter in minority resource distribution decisions.     

Reaching for the (Product) Stars: Measuring Recognition and Approach Speed to Get Insights Into Consumer Choice

In three studies, an easy-to-apply response time task that differentiates between recognition and approach speed was applied. The results indicate that individuals recognized and approached positive stimuli faster than negative stimuli (Pilot Study). But, when the choice options differed less in valence, approach movement time was a better predictor of consumer choice and willingness to pay than recognition time (Study 1) and a better predictor of consumer choice than self-reports when the choice was made with an affective compared to a cognitive focus (Study 2). Moreover, approach movement time, but not recognition time correlated with other implicit measures.