Language and interpersonal cognition: causal effects of variations in pronoun usage on perceptions of closeness

Four studies examined the hypothesis that subtle language variations can have a causal impact on perceptions of relationships. In interpersonal interactions, language can function implicitly to reflect, perpetuate, and communicate relationship perceptions. Previous research has shown that interpersonal closeness and plural pronoun use are correlated; the current research demonstrates that manipulating pronoun use can lead people to perceive their own and other relationships as closer and higher in quality. In Study 1, participants who read about a relationship that was described using the pronoun we versus she and I perceived the relationship to be closer and of higher quality. Study 2 showed that pronoun variations similarly affected perceptions of participants' own ongoing relationships; Study 3 showed similar effects for perceptions of an actual interpersonal interaction. Study 4 examined potential mechanisms of this effect.     

Pentecostal education

At the start of the 20^th century, as denominational resources were accumulated, Pentecostals provided basic bible training for their ministers and missionaries. The narrative shows how simple training schemes blossomed in some cultures into universities and colleges and, in others, into accredited institutions attached to secular bodies or, in the developing world, into more innovative schemes, some of which were church‐based. The current challenge is for Pentecostalism to remain true to itself while incorporating mainstream scholarship.     

Tempting fate or inviting happiness?: unrealistic idealization prevents the decline of marital satisfaction

This article examines whether unrealistically viewing a romantic partner as resembling one's ideal partner accelerates or slows declines in marital satisfaction among newlyweds. A longitudinal study linked unrealistic idealization at the time of marriage to changes in satisfaction over the first 3 years of marriage. Overall, satisfaction declined markedly, a finding that is consistent with past research. However, seeing a less-than-ideal partner as a reflection of one's ideals predicted a certain level of protection against the corrosive effects of time: People who initially idealized their partner the most experienced no decline in satisfaction. The benefits of idealization remained in analyses that controlled separately for the positivity of partner perceptions and the possibility that better adjusted people might be in better relationships.     

Hardy personality and psychological capital: the positive personal variables and the processes of exhaustion and vigor

The research examined the effects of personal variables, psychological capital and Hardy Personality (HP), using exhaustion and vigor as criterion variables, reviewing two studies, one of 427 nurses (Spain) and another of 253 teachers (Perú). The results showed significant direct and moderating effects of personal variables on exhaustion and vigor, with a greater effect on vigor. The commitment variable (HP) is the only one that had significant effects on both samples. The discussion emphasizes the importance of positive personal variables to explain exhaustion and vigor, particularly the latter.     

The accuracy of meta-metacognitive judgments: regulating the realism of confidence

Can people improve the realism of their confidence judgments about the correctness of their episodic memory reports by deselecting the least realistic judgments? An assumption of Koriat and Goldsmith's (Psychol Rev 103:490-517, 1996) model is that confidence judgments regulate the reporting of memory reports. We tested whether this assumption generalizes to the regulation of the realism (accuracy) of confidence judgments. In two experiments, 270 adults in separate conditions answered 50 recognition and recall questions about the contents of a just-seen video. After each answer, they made confidence judgments about the answer's correctness. In Experiment 1, the participants in the recognition conditions significantly increased their absolute bias when they excluded 15 questions. In Experiment 2, the participants in the recall condition significantly improved their calibration. The results indicate that recall, more than recognition, offers valid cues for participants to increase the realism of their report. However, the effects were small with only weak support for the conclusion that people have some ability to regulate the realism in their confidence judgments.     

Orphan Sunday: Narratives of Salvation in Transnational Adoption

Abstract : The article is a critical analysis of public narratives about transnational adoption that equate adoption with the salvation of “orphans.” The stories I weave together from in‐depth interviews, social science and humanities research, law and policy, and public dialogues make visible the scaffolding of power that shapes families’ lives. I tell a specific story about Korean American adoption that speaks to the power inequalities shaping the transnational transfer of children from developing countries all over the world. These stories reframe the circumstances of adoptees’ births and relinquishments as issues of social inequality rather than as individual choice.     

The child parent drop-in center: Community based primary prevention

A community supported child-parent drop-in program that provides services to families with few financial resources or to those who may not seek help from other service agencies is described. Services are provided free or at a minimal cost. The family oriented program provides short-term, respite care for children from birth to kindergarten age, educational programs and social opportunities for parents, short-term crisis counseling, referral to other community resources, and volunteer opportunities and training. Three centers are housed in facilities that donate the space. The centers recruit, train and actively involve parents, students, senior citizens and other volunteers to work in the program. Service groups and businesses aid in fund-raising and human service agencies provide consultation, act as referral resources and help with program operation. Each center is individualized to meet the needs of the community it serves.     

Management style and its effect on prison officers’ stress

This study investigates the impact of the work environment on the level of perceived job stress in prison officers. Two models of prison administration were assessed in an attempt to identify the organizational structures and processes which were related to level of occupational stress. To identify the impact of occupational stress on prison officers, the bureaucratic and unit management models of prison administration are compared with respect to officer job characteristics and management processes. The Occupational Role Questionnaire and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were administered to 112 prison officers. A multivariate analysis identified a significant main effect for prison management type. On all measures, prison officers from the bureaucratic management model (Pentridge Prison) scored higher than officers from a unit management model (Barwon Prison). Role boundary, physical environment, and trait anxiety were the most salient discriminators between officers from Pentridge and Barwon. Private Practice.     

Focus on opportunities as a mediator of the relationships between age, job complexity, and work performance

Focus on opportunities is a cognitive-motivational facet of occupational future time perspective that describes how many new goals, options, and possibilities individuals expect to have in their personal work-related futures. This study examined focus on opportunities as a mediator of the relationships between age and work performance and between job complexity and work performance. In addition, it was expected that job complexity buffers the negative relationship between age and focus on opportunities and weakens the negative indirect effect of age on work performance. Results of mediation, moderation, and moderated mediation analyses with data collected from 168 employees in 41 organizations (mean age = 40.22 years, SD = 10.43, range = 19–64 years) as well as 168 peers providing work performance ratings supported the assumptions. The findings suggest that future studies on the role of age for work design and performance should take employees’ focus on opportunities into account.