The perceptions of social context (PoSC): Introducing the PoSC scale

IntroductionThe Perception of Social Context refers to the perceptions that workers have of (1) the immediate supervisor, (2) the colleagues, and (3) top management of their organization.ObjectiveThe purpose of the present paper is to introduce the Perceptions of Social Context (PoSC) scale, an instrument for assessing workers’ perception of their social context.MethodWe used three studies (N total = 960) to test the internal, external, convergent, and predictive validity of the PoSC, as well as its reliability.ResultsIn Study 1, the hypothesized three-factor structure was empirically tested and supported by means of exploratory structural equation modeling. Study 2 provided further support for the factorial structure of the scale and evidence for its convergent and external validity in relation to important organizational variables. Study 3 provided evidence for the predictive validity with respect to job satisfaction and performance.ConclusionEstablished validity allows the PoSC scale to be used to specifically detect behaviors enacted by key social constituents and thus to plan specific and therefore more effective interventions.     

Testing the conditional independence and monotonicity assumptions of item response theory

When item characteristic curves are nondecreasing functions of a latent variable, the conditional or local independence of item responses given the latent variable implies nonnegative conditional covariances between all monotone increasing functions of a set of item responses given any function of the remaining item responses. This general result provides a basis for testing the conditional independence assumption without first specifying a parametric form for the nondecreasing item characteristic curves. The proposed tests are simple, have known asymptotic null distributions, and possess certain optimal properties. In an example, the conditional independence hypothesis is rejected for all possible forms of monotone item characteristic curves.The author acknowledges Paul W. Holland for valuable conversations on the subject of this paper; Henry Braun and Fred Lord for comments at a presentation on this subject which led to improvements in the paper; Carl H. Haag for permission to use the data in §4; Bruce Kaplan for assistance with computing; and two referees for helpful suggestions. Requests for reprints should be sent to Paul R. Rosenbaum     

The determinants of Portuguese preference for vehicle automation: A descriptive and explanatory study

During the last century, innovation of automated vehicles (AVs) technologies are successively maturing while progressively excluding the human intervention in vehicle driving. The objective of this paper was to analyze the determinants of Portuguese drivers’ decision to adopt AVs technologies, in an under explored context, where the driver of contemporary vehicles does all or part of the dynamic driving task (DDT) in comparison to vehicles equipped with Automated Driving systems (ADS) where the driver can become a passenger temporarily or permanently. In addition, willingness-to-pay for ADS estimates were also investigated. This study data was collected through a survey designed and deployed in Portugal. A mixed logit model was estimated, and the results obtained are in line with the literature of AVs in a number of determinants, but also highlights differences that can be explained by the Portuguese cultural, social and economic context. Overall, 83.7% of the Portuguese drivers favor contemporary vehicles, today, and among those who prefer vehicles with ADS, highly educated drivers’ are willing to pay, on average, 65,671 € for Conditional AVs, 31,185 € for Highly AVs, and about 28,622 € for Full AVs.     

Comparing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Systemic Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder: Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial (SOPHO-CBT/ST)

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed to pilot the newly developed manualized and monitored systemic therapy (ST) for social anxiety disorder (SAD), as compared to manualized and monitored cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). We conducted a prospective multicenter, assessor-blind pilot RCT on 38 outpatients (ICD F40.1; Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID); Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, LSAS-SR >30). The primary outcome was level of social anxiety (LSAS-SR) at the end of treatment. A total of 252 persons were screened, and 38 patients were randomized and started therapy (CBT: 20 patients; ST: 18 patients; age: M = 36 years, SD = 14). Within-group, simple-effect intent-to-treat analyses (ITT) showed significant reduction in LSAS-SR (CBT:d = 1.04; ST:d = 1.67), while ITT mixed-design ANOVA demonstrated the advantage of ST (d = 0.81). Per-protocol analyses supported these results. Remission based on reliable change indices also demonstrated significant difference (LSAS-SR: 15% in CBT; 39% in ST;h: 0.550), supported by blind diagnosticians’ ratings of those who completed therapy (SCID; 45% in CBT, 78% in ST,p = .083). No adverse events were reported. CBT and ST both reduced social anxiety, supporting patient improvement with the newly developed ST for SAD; this has yet to be verified in a subsequent confirmatory RCT.     

Business Faculty Perceptions and Actions Regarding Ethics Education

This paper examines faculty perceptions regarding ethical behavior among colleagues and students, and faculty practices with regard to teaching ethics in three institutions over a 4-year period. Faculty reported an uneven pattern of unethical behavior among colleagues over the period. A majority of business courses included ethics, however as both a specific topic on the syllabus and within course discussions. The percentage of courses with ethics discussions increased in 2006, however, the time allocated to these discussions decreased. These results suggest that faculty are approaching ethics instruction less formally, raising concerns over the success of curriculum integration.     

Indigenizing and Decolonizing the Teaching of Psychology: Reflections on the Role of the Non‐Indigenous Ally

Canada's 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission published 94 Calls to Action including direction to post‐secondary institutions “to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms” as well as to “build student capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect.” In response, Canadian universities have rushed to “Indigenize” and are now competing to hire Indigenous faculty, from a limited pool of applicants. However, it is missing the true spirit of reconciliation for non‐Indigenous faculty to continue with the status quo while assigning the sole responsibility of Indigenizing curriculum to these new hires. How can non‐Indigenous psychology professors change their teaching to ensure that all students acquire an appreciation of traditional Indigenous knowledge about holistic health and healing practices, as well as an understanding of Canada's history of racist colonization practices and its intergenerational effects? Community psychologists, particularly those who have established relationships with Indigenous communities, have an important role to play. In this article, I survey the existing literature on Indigenizing and decolonizing psychological curriculum and share ways in which I have integrated Indigenous content into my psychology courses. I also reflect upon the successes, questions, and ongoing challenges that have emerged as I worked in collaboration with first Anisinaabek First Nations and then Mi'kmaw/L'nu First Nations.     

Teaching and Truthfulness

Some tendencies in modern education—the stress on ‘performativity’, for instance, and ‘celebration of difference’—threaten the value traditionally placed on truthful teaching. In this paper, truthfulness is mainly understood, following Bernard Williams, as a disposition to ‘Accuracy’ and ‘Sincerity’—hence as a virtue. It is to be distinguished from truth (a property of beliefs), and current debates about the nature of truth are not relevant to the issue of the value of truthfulness. This issue devolves into the question of whether truthfulness is a distinctive virtue of teachers, which they have a special obligation to exercise in the face of competing aims. This paper defends the idea of distinctive professional duties and considers two conceptions of teaching which ascribe a central place to truthfulness. The first conceives of teaching as a personal relationship within which trust, and hence, it is claimed, truthfulness, are paramount. This claim is challenged, and the paper concludes by sympathetically considering a second conception of teaching, articulated by Oakeshott and Heidegger. In this conception, teaching is a ‘releasement’ from ‘the daily flux’ of pupils’ lives through a truthful initiation into the alternatives to this ‘daily flux’ found within ‘the civilized inheritance of mankind’.     

Derrida on teaching: The economy of erasure

This article explores Derrida's claim that teaching is a deconstructive process. In order to explore this claim, the Derridean concept of "erasure" is explored. Using the concept of erasure, this article examines two important aspects of teaching: the name that teachers establish for themselves, and, teaching against social power from a Derridean (erasure-oriented) perspective. Ultimately, the paper confirms Derrida's claim that teaching is indeed a deconstructive practice.

Children's,adolescents’, and adults’ judgments and reasoning about different methods of teaching values

This study investigated children's, adolescents’, and young adults’ judgments and reasoning about teaching two values (racial equality and patriotism) using methods that varied in provision for children's rational autonomy, active involvement, and choice. Ninety-six participants (7–8-, 10–11-, and 13–14-year-olds, and college students) evaluated four methods of teaching values in schools (Inculcation, Direct Teaching, Behavioral, and Discussion) for agents of two ages (3rd and 8th grade students), and in two contexts (student- vs. teacher-implemented methods). Older participants were more likely than younger participants (7–8-year-olds) to distinguish value education methods that stimulated children's rational thought processes and active involvement, and to coordinate factors such as the age of agents and the context of implementation in their judgments and reasoning.