Power at work: Linking objective power to psychological power

Experimental research conducted with student participants has documented that feeling powerful or powerless (psychological power) affects outcomes with high practical relevance for organizations. However, it is unclear how results from these studies can be generalized to organizational settings in which individuals have various roles that imply more or less objective power. To address this gap, we present a theoretical framework to aid in the understanding of how objective power in organizations affects psychological power. We assume that stable differences in organizational rank (i.e., structural power) determine the likelihood of interactions with superiors, subordinates, or peers. These interactions give rise to within-person variation in situational power which should lead to dynamic fluctuations of psychological power and eventually its outcomes. Results of a preregistered experiment (n = 190 participants) and a preregistered experience sampling study (n = 129 participants) conducted with working adults support our key predictions: Structural power was associated with the likelihood of being in a high power versus low power situation. Within-person differences in situational power were related to feelings of power such as judgments about (1) one's own ability to influence others in a given social situation (i.e., interpersonal power) and (2) one's own competence, agency, autonomy, and independence (i.e., personal power).     

Between the Supernatural and the Natural: Ockham on Evident Judgements

Topoi - Ockham defines intuition as the kind of cognition on the basis of which it is not only possible to evidently judge that a thing exists when it exists, but also that a thing does not exist...     

Differential Relationships of Light and Darker Forms of Humor with Mindfulness

This study proposes two links between facets of mindfulness and different forms of humor: First, the common benevolence should link mindfulness positively to light forms of humor and negatively to darker forms of humor. Second, similar cognitive mechanisms should underlie both mindfulness and humor ability (humor detection, comprehension, and production). Third, both are malleable, and we hypothesize that fostering humor and mindfulness may mutually influence each other, leading to innovative and practical interventions for settings such as the workplace. In three studies, the relationship of humor and mindfulness as outlined in the Humor Mindfulness Relationship Model was investigated. In Studies 1 and 2, the relationship of different forms of humor and mindfulness was investigated in a sample of health care professionals and a broad online sample. In Study 3, the effect of a mindfulness intervention on humor as a character strength was investigated, giving preliminary insights into the mutual malleability of both. Results confirmed the positive relationship among light forms of humor and mindfulness as well as negative relationships of darker forms of humor with mindfulness. The mindfulness intervention fostered humor as a character strength. These results indicate that humor and mindfulness may be fruitfully combined in positive interventions as well as in the vocational setting. Moreover, the results suggest initial evidence for the Humor Mindfulness Relationship Model.

     

Clients' experiences of online therapy in the early stages of a COVID-19 world: A scoping review

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 forced an abrupt shift in the modality through which psychotherapy was delivered and online therapy became the only viable option for clients. Research regarding experiences of online therapy during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic is minimal, however, and has largely focussed on therapists' experiences of delivering online treatment, as opposed to clients' experiences of receiving it. A scoping review was undertaken to establish what is known from the existing literature about clients' experiences of online therapy during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and identify gaps in the current knowledge. Searches were conducted across four academic databases: Scopus, EBSCO CINAHL Complete, EBSCO MEDLINE and OVID PsycInfo; the literature was excluded based on established PICOS criteria. Data were summarised through data charting and synthesised by way of inductive content analysis. A total of five articles were identified. All articles focussed on online therapy using video or audio conferencing, and four of the five studies examined clients with eating disorders. Inductive content analysis identified seven categories, as follows: preference for face-to-face therapy; appreciation of accessibility and convenience; online format hindered connection; positive experience of online therapy; individual client differences impacted experience; strong therapeutic alliance indicative of positive experience; and gratitude for continuation of treatment. Future research could explore clients' experiences of online therapy in a “post-pandemic” world and include a broader range of client populations and online therapy approaches in the COVID-19 context.     

The costs and benefits of writing, talking, and thinking about life's triumphs and defeats

Three studies considered the consequences of writing, talking, and thinking about significant events. In Studies 1 and 2, students wrote, talked into a tape recorder, or thought privately about their worst (N = 96) or happiest experience (N = 111) for 15 min each during 3 consecutive days. In Study 3 (N = 112), students wrote or thought about their happiest day; half systematically analyzed, and half repetitively replayed this day. Well-being and health measures were administered before each study's manipulation and 4 weeks after. As predicted, in Study 1, participants who processed a negative experience through writing or talking reported improved life satisfaction and enhanced mental and physical health relative to those who thought about it. The reverse effect for life satisfaction was observed in Study 2, which focused on positive experiences. Study 3 examined possible mechanisms underlying these effects. Students who wrote about their happiest moments--especially when analyzing them--experienced reduced well-being and physical health relative to those who replayed these moments. Results are discussed in light of current understanding of the effects of processing life events.     

Intrahippocampal wortmannin infusion enhances long-term spatial and contextual memories

The transition from short- to long-term memory involves several biochemical cascades, some of which act in an antagonistic manner. Post-training intrahippocampal administration of wortmannin, a pharmacological inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, had no effect on memory tested 3 h later, but improved long-term memory tested 48 h following the completion of training. This effect was seen in two hippocampus-dependent tasks: the Morris water maze, using both massed and distributed training paradigms, and contextual fear conditioning. The improvement of long-term memory appears to be the result of enhanced consolidation, as wortmannin had no effect on memory recall. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that memory consolidation involves competing processes, and that blockade of an inhibitory constraint facilitates the consolidation process.     

Two meanings of "if"? Individual differences in the interpretation of conditionals

This work investigates the nature of two distinct response patterns in a probabilistic truth table evaluation task, in which people estimate the probability of a conditional on the basis of frequencies of the truth table cases. The conditional-probability pattern reflects an interpretation of conditionals as expressing a conditional probability. The conjunctive pattern suggests that some people treat conditionals as conjunctions, in line with a prediction of the mental-model theory. Experiments 1 and 2 rule out two alternative explanations of the conjunctive pattern. It does not arise from people believing that at least one case matching the conjunction of antecedent and consequent must exist for a conditional to be true, and it does not arise from people adding the converse to the given conditional. Experiment 3 establishes that people's response patterns in the probabilistic truth table task are very consistent across different conditionals, and that the two response patterns generalize to conditionals with negated antecedents and consequents. Individual differences in rating the probability of a conditional were loosely correlated with corresponding response patterns in a classical truth table evaluation task, but there was little association with people's evaluation of deductive inferences from conditionals as premises. A theoretical framework is proposed that integrates elements from the conditional-probability view with the theory of mental models.     

Direct and Indirect Assessment of Gender Role Identification

Differences in gender role identification exist among both men and women. Earlier researchers have developed several instruments to measure the degree to which individuals identify with the masculine or feminine gender role. In the present study we examined a number of these measurement procedures. Undergraduate students (N?=?45) were administered three direct and two indirect measures of gender role identification. In addition, participants were exposed to a psychological stress test that was relatively masculine. Findings reveal that direct and indirect instruments tap different underlying constructs of gender role identification that are nevertheless positively correlated. Furthermore, results suggest that one of the indirect measures, the Gender Implicit Association Test (GIAT), is a promising instrument to provide an estimate of gender role identification. Of all gender role identification measures the GIAT was (a) most sensitive to sex differences and (b) the only significant predictor of systolic blood pressure responses during and after the relatively masculine stress task.     

Immigrant children's peer acceptance and victimization in kindergarten: The role of local language competence

The study investigates peer acceptance and victimization of immigrant and Swiss children in kindergarten classes. Our first aim is to compare peer acceptance and victimization of Swiss and immigrant children. Secondly, we explore the role of their local language competences (LLCs). The sample was drawn from kindergartens in communities in the German‐speaking part of Switzerland. A representative sample of 568 boys and 522 girls (mean age 5.8 years) took part in the research. Teachers completed questionnaires on children's victimization, bullying, and LLC. The nationality background of parents was indicated by teachers and parents. To assess peer acceptance, a peer nomination method was used. Immigrant children showed less acceptance by peers and were more often victimized than their Swiss peers. There was a significant interaction effect for LLC and national background of mothers, showing that LLC was positively associated with peer acceptance for children of an immigrant background but not for Swiss children. Furthermore, peer acceptance mediated the effect of national background of mothers on victimization. Results are discussed in terms of the need to improve immigrant children's LLC.