Work social supports, role stressors, and work-family conflict: The moderating effect of age

The current study examined whether important distinctions are masked if participant age is ignored when modeling relationships among constructs associated with the work-family interface. An initial omnibus model of social support, work role stressors, and work-family conflict was tested. Multiple groups analyses were then conducted to investigate possible age differences in the patterns of relationships among these constructs for three age groups (28 and under, 29-45, and 46 and older). Several constructs in the model, including role stressors, social support, and work-family conflict, demonstrated mean level differences across the three age groups. Of greater significance, the relationships of some sources of social support and work-family conflict with other constructs in the model differed as a function of age group. Results suggest that conclusions drawn from the omnibus model take on a slightly different and more complicated meaning in the multiple groups analysis. These results have implications for how future research on the work-family interface should be conducted.     

Age and burnout syndrome in nursing professionals: moderating role of emotion-focused coping

This study examined whether the association between age and the three burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment) depend on the extent of nursing professionals’ use of emotion-focused coping strategy. Participants were 283 nurses (Mage = 35 years, SD = 8.17, Range = 23–66 years) from a tertiary healthcare institution in south-eastern Nigeria. They completed self-report measures of relevant variables in paper and pencil form. Increased age was associated with reduced personal accomplishment for nurses with high emotion-focused coping, but not for those who were low or moderate in use of emotion-focused coping. Such moderation effects were not found for emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Findings clarify the conditions under which age may be associated with reduced sense of achievement at work among nursing professionals. The study adds to knowledge in combating burnout in nursing and could guide health managers in developing strategies that might prevent or ameliorate nurses’ burnout.     

One-year stability in life story chapters and memories among emerging,middle-aged,and older adults

We examined 1-year stability of life story chapters and memories. In addition, we examined age differences in stability. At baseline and 1 year later, 70 emerging, 60 middle-aged, and 59 older participants described up to 10 chapters and 10 memories (in counterbalanced order). Participants self-rated chapters/memories on emotional tone, self-change connections, and self-stability connections. Chapters/memories were content coded for stability between time 1 and 2 and for emotional tone. Chapters were significantly more stable than memories. However, there were no significant differences between chapters and memories regarding stability of associated emotional tone, self-change connections, and self-stability connections. We found few age differences in stability. The results suggest that chapters may play a central role in the stability of narrative identity.     

The effect of infant-like characteristics on empathic concern for adults in need

Three experiments tested the hypothesis that empathic concern for adults in need is enhanced by the degree of target infant-like characteristics. Participants reported feeling more empathic concern for an adult target with a more infant-like face than for an adult with a more adult-like face in a Spanish sample (Experiment 1) and in an American sample (Experiment 2). A similar effect was found when participants were presented with either an adult with a more infant-like voice or an adult with a more adult-like voice in a second American sample (Experiment 3). Additional analyses suggest that the infant-like characteristic effect on empathic concern is not mediated by observer perceptions of target attractiveness, target age or youthfulness, target vulnerability, or observer similarity to the target. These results support the proposition that infant-like cues enhance empathic concern in human observers and that the phenomenon generalizes across stimulus modality, gender, and nationality.

Do we only dream in colour? A comparison of reported dream colour in younger and older adults with different experiences of black and white media

This study aimed to find out whether differences in the reported colour of dreams can be attributed to the influence of black and white media or to methodological issues. Two age groups, with different media experience, were compared on questionnaire and diary measures of dream colour. Analysis revealed that people who had access to black and white media before colour media experienced more greyscale dreams than people with no such exposure, and there were no differences between diary and questionnaire measures of dream colour. Moreover, there were inter-group differences in the recall quality of colour and black and white dreams that point to the possibility that true greyscale dreams occur only in people with black and white media experience.     

Protean and boundaryless careers: A study on potential motivators

This paper conceptually links hypothesized scales of the Motivation Questionnaire (SHL (1992). Motivation questionnaire: Manual and users’ guide. Thames Ditton: SHL) to the underlying dimensions of the protean (values-driven and self-directedness) and boundaryless career (physical and psychological mobility) attitudes. Results of regression-analyses (N = 13,000) confirmed most of the hypotheses in terms of the influence of gender, age, education, and managerial experience on motivators linked to the underlying dimensions. A cluster analysis that was conducted to explore how many profiles can be observed when matching work motives to the protean and boundaryless careers, resulted in four motivational groups (Protean career architects, Trapped/lost, Hired/hired hand, and Curious/wanderer). The clusters are discussed in light of the current career literature and provide empirical support for the latest theorizing about the protean and boundaryless career models. Managerial implications and directions for future research are offered.     

The advice of the wise

The demand for happiness advice is vast and many different thinkers have offered their views. This special issue presents a cross section of happiness counseling through the ages and considers the advice by classic Chinese philosophers, Epicurus, Schopenhauer, as well as contemporary New Age thinkers and self-help authors. The papers follow three leading questions: 1) What is recommended for leading a happy life? 2) How does this advice fit in the worldview of the author and into a social, cultural and historical context? 3) Are the recommendations in line with what is known about the conditions of happiness? There are common themes in advice for a happy life but also much contradiction, and some honoured philosophers offer advice that can harm happiness if it is taken to heart by present day readers.     

Social mobbing calls in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus): effects of experience and associated cortisol levels

We compared the mobbing response to model snakes of two groups of captive-born common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) differing in genetic relatedness, age and past experience. Mobbing vocalisations (tsik calls), other mobbing behaviour and attention to the stimulus were recorded for 2 min. intervals pre-exposure, during exposure to various stimuli and post-exposure. Marmosets in one group were vocally reactive to all stimuli, although more so to one particular stimulus resembling rearing snakes and modified images of it, whereas the marmosets in a younger and genetically unrelated group attended to the stimuli but made very few mobbing calls. The parent stock of the first group had suffered stress in early life and had developed a phobic response to a specific stimulus, which they had transmitted to their offspring. A third group, matching the older group in age range but genetically unrelated, was also found to be unresponsive to the stimulus that elicited the strongest response in the first group. Cortisol levels in samples of hair were assayed and a significant negative correlation was found between the number of tsik calls made during presentation of the stimuli and the cortisol level, showing that mobbing behaviour/behavioural reactivity is associated with low levels of physiological stress.     

Age,Emotion Regulation Strategies,Temperament, Creative Drama,and Preschoolers' Creativity

Based on Yeh's (2004) Ecological Systems Model of Creativity Development, this study investigated the effects that age, the use of emotion regulation strategies, temperament, and exposure to creative drama instruction have on the development of creativity among preschool children. Participants were 1164‐ to 6‐year‐old preschool children. This study categorized the emotion regulation strategies used by preschool children and developed a creativity test which includes the measurement of usefulness, an indicator of creativity that has, until now, been ignored. The main findings are that (a) 6‐year‐olds outperform 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds in terms of creativity; (b) emotion regulation strategies as well as a positive temperament have positive effects on children's creativity; (c) creative drama instruction contributes to children's creativity; and (d) age group, emotion regulation strategies, temperament, and creative drama instruction can collectively predict children's creativity.     

论雅斯贝尔斯“轴心时代”观念的中国思想来源

雅斯贝尔斯对“轴心时代”文明之梳理,在很大程度上是考察在人类历史上中国、印度和希腊三种文明是以何种方式达到“统摄”（das Umgreifende）的。而孔子和老子的思想在达至终极真理的方式方面,给予了雅斯贝尔斯以极大的启发。本文考察了中国资源在雅斯贝尔斯“轴心时代”观念形成过程中所起的作用,并进而指出,如果没有中国思想参与的话,“轴心时代”这一概念会不会出现,都是值得考虑的。反过来,正是借助于作为存在哲学大师的雅斯贝尔斯的复述,孔子和老子的思想变得鲜活起来,从而更符合时代的要求。实际上,中国只是雅斯贝尔斯寻求世界文明历史发展进程的一个重要组成部分,他希望通过对世界不同文明发展进程的探寻,来思考和揭示人性存在的现状,进一步发现共同的起源和未来,从而为他的世界哲学理念提供一个更加广泛的基础。