Tainted visions: the effect of visionary leader behaviors and leader categorization tendencies on the financial performance of ethnically diverse teams

Despite the increasing prevalence of ethnic diversity, findings regarding its effects on team performance remain contradictory. We suggest that past inconsistencies can be reconciled by examining the joint impact of leader behavior and leader categorization tendencies in ethnically diverse teams. We propose that leaders who exhibit high levels of visionary leader behavior and also have the tendency to categorize their team members into in- and out-groups will facilitate a negative effect of ethnic diversity on team communication and financial performance, whereas leaders who exhibit visionary behaviors but do not tend to categorize will lead ethnically diverse teams to positive outcomes. We find support for these ideas in a study of 100 retail outlets.     

Selection,Optimization, and Compensation in the Domain of Emotion Regulation: Applications to Adolescence,Older Age,and Major Depressive Disorder

Emotions often are well calibrated to the challenges and opportunities we face. When they are not, we may try to regulate our emotions. Interestingly, there seems to be considerable variation both in the strategies people use to regulate emotions and in the success of these emotion regulation efforts. The Selection, Optimization, and Compensation with Emotion Regulation framework suggests that variation in the resources required for particular emotion regulation strategies may be a crucial determinant of emotion regulation use and success within individuals across situations, between individuals, and between groups of individuals. In this review, we consider the ways in which two resources for emotion regulation (working memory and social support) might differ among three groups, namely adolescents, older adults, and adults with major depressive disorder. We link these between‐group differences in resources to differences in emotion regulation and make suggestions for future research.     

Symbolic Attachment Security and Eudemonic Well-Being in Older Adults

According to attachment theory, the appraisal that an attachment figure is available, caring, and responsive facilitates psychological and social adjustment. Although the theory is regarded as a lifespan theory of development, little research has addressed the correlates of attachment in late adulthood. Symbolic attachment figures such as God may be particularly important for older adults because they have often lost loved ones, including former attachment figures. This study tested whether secure attachment to God was associated with psychological flourishing in older adults. A community sample of 106 adults (mean age = 75) completed measures of attachment to God and psychological well-being. In regression analyses controlling for age, sex, education, and self-rated religiosity, secure (non-anxious) attachment to God predicted positive relationships with others, self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and personal growth. Avoidant attachment did not predict any of the well-being indices. Results are discussed in the context of attachment theory and positive psychology.     

Kunsttherapie

Art therapy uses all kinds of art media for psychotherapeutic purposes, such as painting, drawing, moulding, constructing, sculpturing and building. Therapeutically driven art therapies are aimed at the enhancement of personal resources, motivational and intentional improvement, coping and more adaptive interpersonal functioning. Every psychotherapeutic and psychiatric setting can integrate art therapy, and its use in different types of mental disorder has been extensively described. Neurobiological aspects of creativity and effects of the therapeutic relationship are discussed as being involved in the effectiveness of art therapy. There is growing evidence for its effectiveness. Art therapy can contribute to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. A comprehensive table of art therapy interventions which can be applied within a psychotherapeutic setting is presented.     

When They Come in Crowds: Charity Appeals and Moral Fatigue

Abstract

The present research examined the effect of exposure to multiple charity appeals on a range of variables that are strongly predictive of moral behavior in two lab experiments. Using videos (Experiment 1; N?=?75) and posters (Experiment 2, N?=?62) from charitable organizations, the present findings demonstrate that exposure to multiple charity appeals (but not few charity appeals or exposure to multiple commercials) lead to moral fatigue, expressed in a breakdown of empathic accuracy, moral regard, and prosocial intent. Implications of this finding are discussed.     

Predicting physical activity in adolescents: The role of compensatory health beliefs within the Health Action Process Approach

Objective: Compensatory health beliefs (CHBs), defined as beliefs that healthy behaviours can compensate for unhealthy behaviours, may be one possible factor hindering people in adopting a healthier lifestyle. This study examined the contribution of CHBs to the prediction of adolescents’ physical activity within the theoretical framework of the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA).

Design: The study followed a prospective survey design with assessments at baseline (T1) and two weeks later (T2).

Method: Questionnaire data on physical activity, HAPA variables and CHBs were obtained twice from 430 adolescents of four different Swiss schools. Multilevel modelling was applied.

Results: CHBs added significantly to the prediction of intentions and change in intentions, in that higher CHBs were associated with lower intentions to be physically active at T2 and a reduction in intentions from T1 to T2. No effect of CHBs emerged for the prediction of self-reported levels of physical activity at T2 and change in physical activity from T1 to T2.

Conclusion: Findings emphasise the relevance of examining CHBs in the context of an established health behaviour change model and suggest that CHBs are of particular importance in the process of intention formation.     

Anticipation boosts forgetting of voluntarily suppressed memories

The role of anticipatory mechanisms in human memory control is poorly understood. Addressing the issue we investigated whether the presence of an anticipatory phase can enhance effects of cognitive control, as they occur during voluntary suppression of episodic memories. Using the Think/No-Think task, participants first learned several face–word associations, and thereafter were asked to either recall (think) or suppress (no-think) the word when provided with the word's face cue. In the one condition participants performed the Think/No-Think task in the presence of an anticipatory phase, giving participants the chance to prepare for memory suppression. In the other condition participants performed the task without such an anticipatory phase. On the final cued recall test participants were asked to recall all of the previously studied words. The results showed stronger forgetting of to-be-suppressed items in the presence than absence of the anticipatory phase. The finding is first evidence for the effectiveness of anticipatory mechanisms in human memory suppression.     

Optimal and Most Exact Confidence Intervals for Person Parameters in Item Response Theory Models

The common way to calculate confidence intervals for item response theory models is to assume that the standardized maximum likelihood estimator for the person parameter θ is normally distributed. However, this approximation is often inadequate for short and medium test lengths. As a result, the coverage probabilities fall below the given level of significance in many cases; and, therefore, the corresponding intervals are no longer confidence intervals in terms of the actual definition. In the present work, confidence intervals are defined more precisely by utilizing the relationship between confidence intervals and hypothesis testing. Two approaches to confidence interval construction are explored that are optimal with respect to criteria of smallness and consistency with the standard approach.