Can Being Gay Provide a Boost in the Hiring Process? Maybe If the Boss is Female

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether men and women differentially prefer hiring gay and lesbian job applicants relative to equally qualified heterosexual job applicants.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data were collected from two samples of non-student participants. Each participant evaluated the perceived hirability of an ostensibly real job applicant by reviewing the applicant’s resume. In reality, all participants were randomly assigned to evaluate the same fictitious resume that differed only in the gender and sexual orientation of the applicant.

Findings

We find that men perceived gay and lesbian job applicants as less hirable, while women perceived gay and lesbian job applicants as more hirable than heterosexual job applicants. Additionally, we show perceptions of hirability are mediated by perceptions of gay and lesbian job applicants’ competence.

Implications

These results show that bias against gays and lesbians is much more nuanced than previous work suggests. One implication is that placing more women in selection roles within organizations could be a catalyst for the inclusion of gay and lesbian employees. Additionally, these results could influence when and how gays and lesbians disclose their gay identities at work.

Originality/Value

These studies are the first to identify a positive bias in favor of gay and lesbian job applicants. As attitudes toward gays and lesbians become more positive, results like these are important to document as they signal a shift in intergroup relations. These results will also help managers and organizations design selection processes to minimize bias toward applicants.

     

Designing EEG Neurofeedback Procedures to Enhance Open-ended versus Closed-ended Creative Potentials

Recent empirical evidence demonstrated that open-ended creativity (which refers to creativity measures that require various and numerous responses, such as divergent thinking) correlated with alpha brain wave activation, whereas closed-ended creativity (which refers to creativity measures that ask for one final correct answer, such as insight problem solving) was related to larger variability in electroencephalogram (EEG) differences between alpha and beta waves. This study designed two EEG neurofeedback procedures to examine their training effects on open- versus closed-ended creative potentials. In the alpha-enhancement condition, participants were reinforced to elevate only their alpha frequencies by auditory feedback for 10 sessions. In the alpha-transformation condition, enhancement and suppression of the signal tone (and hence, the appearance and disappearance of alpha waves) were both practiced. Pre- and posttest comparisons indicated that, compared to the active contrast condition, the alpha-enhancement practice improved only open-ended creativity performance. The alpha-transformation training enhanced closed-ended creativity performance, which was first demonstrated in the literature, and simultaneously facilitated open-ended creativity performances. In addition, changes in brain wave patterns by training positively correlated with change in predicted creativity performances. All of these results were of medium to large effect sizes. The effectiveness of these EEG neurofeedback procedures for creativity training was implied and discussed.     

Effects of different packages on food product contagion: The moderating roles of mood states and product‐related information

Across two experiments conducted for this research, it is evident that different moderators do play a role in the influence of food product contagion effects. This research focuses on how mood states or product‐related information moderate contagion prime and package type. Existing studies indicate that unsealed packages can enhance the extent of the contagion effects more than sealed packages. Study 1 showed that happy people experienced stronger positive contagion effects than sad or neutral ones and that they also demonstrated stronger effects on unsealed packages compared with sealed packages. Conversely, sad people significantly enhanced the extent of negative contagion effects and experienced stronger effects on unsealed packages. Study 2, however, revealed that people receiving positive product‐related information experienced stronger positive contagion effects on unsealed packages, whereas people receiving negative product‐related information showed stronger negative contagion effects on unsealed packages. This is the first study to discuss the chosen moderators on the contagion effect. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Everyday executive function in focal onset pediatric epilepsy on the parent-report BRIEF2

Executive function (EF) difficulties are a core neuropsychological feature of pediatric epilepsy, and parent-report measures of EF concerns are an important complement to task-based EF measures. The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) has shown sensitivity to parent-reported EF concerns in epilepsy and other pediatric populations. We compared profiles of parent-reported EF concerns using the BRIEF and its revision, the BRIEF2, in 117 pediatric patients with focal onset epilepsy to examine the clinical utility of the revised scale. We then compared BRIEF2 profiles between patients and age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Among patients, profiles on the BRIEF did not globally differ from the BRIEF2, and agreement was very good across scales. Patients and controls differed significantly on the BRIEF2, with patients showing higher EF difficulties reported by parents across most scales. High rates of clinical elevation among patients emerged on the Task Monitor, Plan/Organize, Working Memory, and Shift scales. Younger age of epilepsy onset, chronic epilepsy, and right hemisphere seizure focus were associated with higher parent-reported EF concerns. Findings suggest that the BRIEF2 demonstrates similar performance to the BRIEF among pediatric patients with focal onset epilepsy who are most at risk in the areas of task monitoring, working memory, planning and organization, and flexibility. These findings are informative when comparing literature across versions and provide additional insight into the nature of parent-reported EF difficulties among children with focal onset epilepsy.     

Factors of Early Suicide after Discharge: A National Linkage Study for Suicide Victims in Taiwan

Patients recently discharged from psychiatric inpatient care have a higher suicide rate. The study aimed to identify the characteristics associated with early suicide of those patients discharged from psychiatric wards in Taiwan. The results indicated that among 672 suicide victims who died within one year post‐discharge from psychiatric wards in Taiwan between 2000 and 2004, diagnosis of schizophrenia, shorter disease duration, and co‐morbidity with cancer were all significantly associated with suicide occurring within one month of discharge. Clinical diagnosis of psychiatric disorders, recent psychiatric diagnosis, and co‐morbidity with severe physical illnesses should receive special monitoring for potential suicide after discharge.