Better Days – A randomized controlled trial of an internet-based positive psychology intervention

The internet seems promising for delivering interventions to enhance well-being in a normal population. The aim of this study was to test the effects of an internet-based positive psychology intervention targeting gratitude, pleasant activities, strengths, mastery, acts of kindness, optimism, flow, attributions, and mindfulness. One-hundred and twelve participants were randomized to the intervention and 94 to the control group, and data were collected at baseline, one, two, and six months after intervention onset. The balance of positive to negative affect increased over time among participants in the intervention group (unstandardized beta coefficient [B]?=?0.07, p?<?0.01), as compared to the controls (B?=?0.02, p?=?010). The intervention worked equally well regardless of participants’ gender, age, or education. However, optimism did not mediate the effect of the intervention on affect balance. In conclusion, the intervention had a small, but significant effect on affect balance among healthy adults.     

The Fluency Amplification Model: Fluent stimuli show more intense but not evidently more positive evaluations

Processing fluency plays a large role in forming judgments, as research repeatedly shows. According to the Hedonic Fluency Model, more fluently processed stimuli are rated more affectively positive than less fluently processed stimuli. Most research documenting such findings uses neutral or positive stimuli with low complexity, thus any potential impact of initial stimulus valence cannot be tested. In the present study, 60 IAPS stimuli ranging from very negative to very positive valence were rated on liking by participants. Processing fluency was manipulated through perceptual priming (7 ms). Results of Experiment 1 (N = 35) support the prediction of the Hedonic Fluency Model, but only for stimuli with an initially positive valence. However, when negative stimuli were processed more fluently, they were rated as more negative than when processed less fluently. Experiment 2 (N = 39) showed that enhancing the accessibility of the stimulus content (via prolonging the prime duration to 100 ms) cannot account for the results of Experiment 1, since Experiment 2 failed to replicate the findings obtained in Experiment 1. Potential factors influencing affective evaluation of negative stimuli are discussed. A model is offered for the reinterpretation of processing fluency as an amplifying factor for evaluative judgment.     

A Path of Counselor Self‐Awareness

This article explores self‐reflection and self‐awareness from an ethical standpoint, proposing that counselors have a responsibility to themselves, their clients, and the profession to engage in these practices. The authors propose a path to counselor self‐awareness and a 2nd process that assumes counselor mastery.     

Sexist Behavior Undermines Women’s Performance in a Job Application Situation

Can sexist behavior in a job application context threaten women and cause them to underperform on a subsequent cognitive ability test? In a simulated job interview, 46 women and 46 men -- undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Heidelberg, Germany -- were confronted with either sexist (dominant and physically close) behavior by a male interviewer or non-sexist (friendly and neutral) behavior by the same confederate. Participants then solved math items and language-related items from a German standard intelligence test. In accordance with our hypothesis, the results indicated that female participants in the sexist condition performed significantly worse on the mathematical test than female participants in the control condition. The performance of female participants on the language-related test and male participants on both the math and language-related tests did not differ by experimental condition. After the sexist job interview, women’s impaired performance, occurring on the math items only (i.e., specific to the domain in which women are negatively stereotyped), suggests an influence of psychological and interpersonal processes on seemingly objective test outcomes.     

Inertia of negative emotions at work: Correlates of inflexible emotion dynamics in the workplace*

Emotional inertia is a central feature of emotion dynamics and it refers to the degree to which emotional states are self-predictive and linger over time, describing their resistance to change. It is related to several indicators of maladjustment, yet there is limited research on its correlates in the workplace, where it may be particularly relevant as emotional experiences deeply influence organizational life. In two experience-sampling studies, we studied temporal dependency of negative emotional states at work in terms of emotional inertia. In a first study (n = 128), we investigated the association between exhaustion, the core dimension of burnout, with inertia of negative emotions. In a second study (n = 116), we aimed to replicate findings from the first study and additionally examined the moderating role of inertia of negative emotions in the relationship between negative emotions at work and counterproductive work behaviour. The findings show that exhaustion is consistently associated with inertia of negative emotions, and that inertia of negative emotions aggravates the relation between negative emotions and workers' counterproductive work behaviour.     

Numeracy skills in young children as predictors of mathematical competence

As mathematical competence is linked to educational success, professional achievement, and even a country's economic growth, researchers have been interested in early predictors for quite some time. Although there have been numerous studies on domain-specific numerical abilities predicting later mathematical competence in preschool children, research in toddlers is scarce, especially regarding additional influential aspects, such as domain-general cognitive abilities and the children's social background. Using a large-scale dataset, the present study examined predictive effects of numeracy skills in 17-month-olds for later mathematical achievement. We found small, positive effects, even when controlling for child-related variables (i.e., age and sex) and the children's social background (i.e., maternal education and household language). Additionally, we compared results with a domain-general categorization task and found no distinct effect on mathematical competence. The present results are discussed with regard to the specificities of the dataset, as well as implications for future studies on predictors of mathematical competence.     

Action-effect binding by observational learning

The acquisition of bidirectional action–effect associations plays a central role in the ability to intentionally control actions. Humans learn about actions not only through active experience, but also through observing the actions of others. In Experiment 1, we examined whether action–effect associations can be acquired by observational learning. To this end, participants observed how a model repeatedly pressed two buttons during an observation phase. Each of the buttonpresses led to a specific tone (action effect). In a subsequent test phase, the tones served as target stimuli to which the participants had to respond with buttonpresses. Reaction times were shorter if the stimulus–response mapping in the test phase was compatible with the action–effect association in the observation phase. Experiment 2 excluded the possibility that the impact of perceived action effects on own actions was driven merely by an association of spatial features with the particular tones. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the presence of an agent is necessary to acquire novel action–effect associations through observation. Altogether, the study provides evidence for the claim that bidirectional action–effect associations can be acquired by observational learning. Our findings are discussed in the context of the idea that the acquisition of action–effect associations through observation is an important cognitive mechanism subserving the human ability for social learning.     

Crossover of job demands and emotional exhaustion within teams: a longitudinal multilevel study

This study investigated the crossover of job demands and emotional exhaustion among team members and the moderating effect of cohesiveness and social support on this process. Participants were 310 employees of an employment agency in the Netherlands, working in one of 100 teams. Multilevel analysis using a longitudinal design did not reveal a main effect of crossover. However, consistent with the study's hypotheses, the results showed a moderating effect of team cohesiveness and social support. We detected crossover of job demands and emotional exhaustion across time from the group to individual team members only in teams characterized by high levels of cohesiveness and social support. Teams characterized by low levels of cohesiveness and social support showed no crossover of job demands and exhaustion. The findings demonstrate that team-level moderators play an important role in crossover processes. Moreover, social support and cohesiveness may not always be positive.     

Effects of Parental Soothing Behavior on Stress Levels of 2–8 Year Old Children During Voiding Cystourethrograms by Phase of Procedure

Using the example of a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG), a painful radiological procedure, this study investigated whether parental soothing behavior (reassuring comments like “it’s almost over” or “You’re O.K.” and soothing by “sh, sh”) in one phase of the procedure influenced the child’s distress in the following phase. The sample was comprised of 68 2–8 year-old children and the accompanying parent(s). Child and parental behavior during the VCUG was coded using a standardized rating scale (CAMPIS-R). Parental reassurance during the anticipatory phase significantly increased the child’s distress of the following phase, while parental “sh, sh” significantly reduced it. Both parental behaviors showed no significant effect on the child’s distress of the following phase when applied during the procedure itself. Results underline the importance of differentiating between anticipatory and procedural phases of the VCUG. Counselling methods for parents on more appropriate strategies to assist their children during procedural phases of the VCUG are necessary.     

Careful calculation or a leap of faith? A field study of the translation of CBCA ratings to final credibility judgements

This field experiment investigated the influence of Criteria‐Based Content Analysis (CBCA) ratings on ultimate decision accuracy regarding the credibility of children's statements of sexual abuse. Following a selection procedure, based on case facts independent of statement quality, 21 truthful accounts and 10 fabricated accounts of 6‐ to 17‐year olds were analysed. Two experts rated the presence of the CBCA criteria and made overall credibility judgements for each statement. Rater one achieved an overall hit rate of 84% (95% for truthful statements and 60% for fabricated statements) and rater two a hit rate of 81% (81% for both truthful and fabricated statements) but the raters did not always agree. The CBCA criteria appeared more often in the truthful statements compared to the fabricated statements. Additional factors that influenced raters' credibility judgements, besides CBCA scores, are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.