A self-determination perspective of strengths use at work: Examining its determinant and performance implications

We investigate the role of strengths use in the workplace by drawing on self-determination theory (SDT) to propose that strengths use at work can yield performance benefits in terms of task performance and discretionary helping, and that the social context, in the form of leader autonomy support, can promote employees’ strengths use. Further, consistent with an interactional psychology perspective, we contend that the relationship between autonomy support and strengths use will be stronger among individuals with strong independent self-construal. We tested the model using matched data from 194 employees and their supervisors and found evidence for the relevance of strengths use at work, even after accounting for the role of intrinsic motivation. In addition to providing practical implications on developing employee strengths use and how to do so, this study advances theory and research on workplace strength use, SDT, and positive organizational behavior.     

Self-categorization,coping and psychological health among unemployed mid-career executives

The role of self-categorization as 'unemployed' in coping with unemployment was investigated in a sample of 148 males who had previously had a white collar career. Coping was considered in terms of psychological distress, locus of control, problem-solving style and perceived social support. Individuals who self-categorized as 'unemployed' exhibited greater psychological distress, as did those who had been previously unemployed, and those whose current unemployment extended more than one year. Self-categorization effects on social support, locus of control and problem-solving style were observed as a function of previous experience of unemployment.     

Verbal and Nonverbal Emotional Memory Following Unilateral Amygdala Damage

The amygdala is involved in the normal facilitation of memory by emotion, but the separate contributions of the left and right amygdala to memory for verbal or nonverbal emotional material have not been investigated. Fourteen patients with damage to the medial temporal lobe including the amygdala (seven left, seven right), 18 brain-damaged, and 36 normal controls were exposed to emotional and neutral pictures accompanied by verbal narratives. Memory for both narratives and pictures was assessed with a free recall test 24 h later. Subjects with left amygdala damage failed to show the normally robust enhancement of memory for verbal and nonverbal emotional stimuli. The group with right amygdala damage showed the normal pattern of facilitation of memory by emotion for both verbal and nonverbal stimuli despite an overall reduction in memory performance. Furthermore, subjects with left amygdala damage were disproportionately impaired on memory for emotional narratives as compared with memory for emotional pictures. The latter finding offers partial support for a lateralized and material-specific pattern of the amygdala's contribution to emotional memory.     

Reporting the Spiritual in Primary Schools

This paper is concerned with the Office for Standards in Education's (OFSTED's) reporting of the way in which primary schools promote pupils' spiritual development. A sample of reports on primary schools, written in 1999, was scrutinized for evidence of links between inspectors' judgements on each school's provision for pupils' spiritual development and their judgements on its provision for religious education, collective worship and the subjects of the National Curriculum. The analysis raises serious questions about the adherence of inspection teams to OFSTED's (1995) 'Guidance on the Inspection of Nursery and Primary Schools', the internal consistency of individual reports, and ultimately about the reliability of the evidence-base used by HMCI for his Annual Report. This paper is part of a doctoral study, being developed at King's College, London, into the conflict between the government's aims for primary education, as expressed through the curricular requirements of the 1988 Education Reform Act, and the way in which the implementation of those requirements is monitored.     

Monocular deprivation in adult mice alters visual acuity and single-unit activity

It has been discovered recently that monocular deprivation in young adult mice induces ocular dominance plasticity (ODP). This contradicts the traditional belief that ODP is restricted to a juvenile critical period. However, questions remain. ODP of young adults has been observed only using methods that are indirectly related to vision, and the plasticity of young adults appears diminished in comparison with juveniles. Therefore, we asked whether the newly discovered adult ODP broadly reflects plasticity of visual cortical function and whether it persists into full maturity. Single-unit activity is the standard physiological marker of visual cortical function. Using a more optimized protocol for recording single-units, we find evidence of adult ODP of single-units and show that it is most pronounced in deep cortical layers. Furthermore, using visual evoked potentials (VEP), we find that ODP is equally robust in young adults and mature adults and is observable after just one day of monocular deprivation. Finally, we find that monocular deprivation in adults changes spatial frequency thresholds of the VEP, decreasing the acuity of the deprived pathway and improving the acuity of the non-deprived pathway. Thus, in mice, the primary visual cortex is capable of remarkable adaptation throughout life.     

Does the Treatment of Cognitive Distortions Improve Clinical Outcomes for Problem Gambling?

Although dysfunctional beliefs about gambling outcomes among problem gamblers have been well-established, there is less known about whether specifically treating such beliefs is necessarily more effective than other therapeutic approaches. In the present study, brief, homogenous treatments for problem gambling (i.e., cognitive, behavioral, motivational, minimal intervention) were compared to each other. Each intervention was based on approaches empirically demonstrated to be clinically effective. The treatment sample consisted primarily of middle-aged, non-partnered, underemployed men recruited from the community via newspaper advertisements. The results showed that a cognitive approach did not yield superior outcomes than did treatments that did not explicitly address cognitive distortions. It is likely that there are several pathways to therapeutic change that may not necessarily require the modification of gambling-related psychopathology.     

Catechol-O-methyltransferase polymorphism modulates cognitive control in children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Dopamine plays a critical role in regulating neural activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC) and modulates cognition via a hypothesized inverse U function. We investigated PFC function in children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) in which one copy of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is deleted, thereby shifting them toward the lower end of dopamine turnover on the nonlinear function. A common polymorphism with valine to methionine substitution alters COMT activity that results in higher enzyme activity in the valine variant. Twenty-seven children with 22q11.2DS between 7 and 14 years old, and 21 age-matched typically developing children, performed a modified version of the Attention Network Test. Children with a single valine allele showed a reduction in response times when trials with incongruent flankers were repeated, whereas those who were hemizygous for the methionine allele did not show the same context-based response facilitation. Our results support that a single gene, COMT, could modulate PFC-dependent cognition.     

Can Anything Good Come Out of Premillennialism? A Response to Robert O. Smith

Abstract :  This review expresses great concern with so-called Christian Zionism. The author explains the confusing push-pull relation of Pentecostalism to Christian Zionism's underlying apocalyptic eschatology, premillennial dispensationalism. He agrees with the thrust of Smith's discussion from a Lutheran perspective of the complex historical, theological, and political dynamics involved in Christian Zionism's formation and development, but accents distinctions between a generally harmless conventional form and a particularly virile fundamentalist form that can be aggressive and possibly even dangerous. Of special concern is articulation of an erudite political ethic informed by the theology of a Christian pneumatic apocalyptic eschatology, faithful to the incoming reign of God taking seriously predictive prophecy. In conversation with Smith, this appreciative response suggests a possible paradigm for positive involvement in political and social aspects of the present world congruent with apocalyptic hope expressed in premillennialist terms.