Workplace Perceptions of Veterans and Nonveterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs

Much has been written about veterans and their reintegration into civilian society, but little or no information is available about veterans’ workplace perceptions and how these might differ from those of nonveterans. The authors compared veterans’ and nonveterans’ attitudes about work (including job satisfaction aspects, perceptions of coworker interactions, supervisory support, and others) in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) based on responses to the organizational census, VA All Employee Survey (AES; N = 179,271). Based on differences in crude (unadjusted, but controlling for location) item odds ratios (range 0.65–1.08), compared to nonveterans, veterans scored modestly lower on most AES items. The authors show how controlling for demographics changes the relative size and, in some cases, the direction of the differences. This current study is 1 of only 2, to our knowledge, large-scale assessments of veterans’ workplace perceptions and the only 1 which controlled the results for demographic characteristics.     

Expectancy bias mediates the link between social anxiety and memory bias for social evaluation

Social anxiety (SA) involves a multitude of cognitive symptoms related to fear of evaluation, including expectancy and memory biases. We examined whether memory biases are influenced by expectancy biases for social feedback in SA. We hypothesised that, faced with a socially evaluative event, people with higher SA would show a negative expectancy bias for future feedback. Furthermore, we predicted that memory bias for feedback in SA would be mediated by expectancy bias. Ninety-four undergraduate students (55 women, mean age = 19.76 years) underwent a two-visit task that measured expectations about (Visit 1) and memory of (Visit 2) feedback from unknown peers. Results showed that higher levels of SA were associated with negative expectancy bias. An indirect relationship was found between SA and memory bias that was mediated by expectancy bias. The results suggest that expectancy biases are in the causal path from SA to negative memory biases for social evaluation.     

Hoody,goody or buddy? How travel mode affects social perceptions in urban neighbourhoods

When travelling through a new environment people can and do make very quick judgements about the local conditions. This paper explores the idea that such judgements are affected by the travel mode they use. We hypothesise that drivers generate a more superficial impression of the things they observe than those who walk because they are exposed to less information. This prediction is based on social psychological research that demonstrates that information that becomes available in “thin slices” affects superficial judgements. A survey study (n = 644) demonstrated that perceptions of a less affluent area are indeed negatively related to more driving and positively related to more walking, but only for those who do not live there. Perceptions of a neighbouring affluent area are positively related to more driving. Two experimental studies (n = 245 and n = 91) demonstrated that explicit (but not implicit) attitudes towards a group of young people in an ambiguous social situation are more negative when they are viewed from the perspective of a car user in particular in relation to a pedestrian perspective. These findings suggest that mode use may affect communities by influencing social judgements.     

Scaling Incentives: Determining Preference and Indifference in 8- to lO-Year-Old Girls

The present study adopted procedures similar to those used by Logan (1965) to determine choice behavior in children. The objective was to provide an improved methodology in delay-of-gratification studies, thus avoiding the problems associated with scaling different kinds of rewards, and to provide approximate functions relating a delay-of-token reward to choice behavior. Thus, 7 girls aged 8 to 10 years were exposed to a choice paradigm in which a larger reward (2 tokens) was pitted against a smaller reward (1 token); access to these rewards was delayed a certain period of time. The results of this experiment showed that as the delay of the larger reward increased, preference for the smaller reward increased in an orderly fashion. The finding that delay shifted preference from the larger to the smaller reward is discussed in relation to current theory. The results of this experiment also provide evidence for the utility of tokens in scaling incentives for choice studies.     

Temperament in early childhood and peer interactions in third grade: The role of teacher–child relationships in early elementary grades

Children's interactions with peers in early childhood have been consistently linked to their academic and social outcomes. Although both child and classroom characteristics have been implicated as contributors to children's success, there has been scant research linking child temperament, teacher–child relationship quality, and peer interactions in the same study. The purpose of this study is to examine children's early temperament, rated at preschool age, as a predictor of interactions with peers (i.e., aggression, relational aggression, victimization, and prosociality) in third grade while considering teacher–child relationship quality in kindergarten through second grades as a moderator and mediator of this association. The sample (N = 1364) was drawn from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Results from structural equation models indicated that teacher–child conflict in early elementary grades mediated links between children's temperament and later peer interactions. Findings underscore the importance of considering children's temperament traits and teacher–child relationship quality when examining the mechanisms of the development of peer interactions.     

Bullying in work groups: The impact of leadership

The aim of this study is to examine whether and how laissez‐faire, transformational, and authentic leadership styles are related to the occurrence of bullying in work groups. It is hypothesized that the investigated leadership styles have direct associations, as well as indirect associations through group cohesion and safety perceptions, with indicators of bullying among subordinates. Using a cross‐sectional survey design, the variables were assessed in a randomly selected sample comprising 594 seafarers from two Norwegian shipping companies. Laissez‐faire leadership was associated with an increased risk of exposure to bullying behavior, self‐labeled victimization from bullying, and perpetrated bullying. Transformational leadership and authentic leadership were related to decreased risk of exposure to bullying behavior. Authentic leadership contributed to the variance in bullying beyond laissez‐faire and transformational leadership. Analyses of indirect effects showed that the association between transformational leadership and bullying was fully mediated through safety perceptions, whereas a partial indirect association through safety perceptions was found for authentic leadership. This study makes a significant contribution to the literature by providing evidence for how leadership styles predict workplace bullying. The findings highlight the importance of recruiting, developing, and training leaders who promote both positive psychological capacities and positive perceptions among their subordinates.     

Children’s social cognition about proactive aggression

In this study, 6- and 9-year-old children (N = 258) observed two instances of proactive aggression (one relational and the other direct aggression) that were committed by members of a group toward out-group members. Participants were either members of the group or independent observers. Analyses of participants’ social cognition about the aggressor and the aggression (cause of aggression, moral judgment of aggression, attitudes toward the aggressor, and exclusion of the aggressor) indicated that, overall, group members were more positive toward aggressors than were independent observers. Although intergroup competition was perceived to be the cause of the aggression, participants disapproved of both types of aggression (especially direct aggression), disapproval increased with age, and girls disapproved of relational aggression more than did boys. Group members’ social cognition about the aggressor and the aggression comprised a coherent cognitive process for both types of aggression, but the observers’ process was simpler and differed by aggression type.     

Witness Vetting: What Determines Detectives' Perceptions of Witness Credibility?

During the course of a criminal investigation witness vetting, a detective's process of determining the credibility and weight of witness information, can lead to errors in an investigation that can go virtually unchallenged. Witness confidence, opportunity to view, and type of information proffered were examined in relation to detective inferences about witness reliability, accuracy, and probable cause to arrest. Experiment 1 involved 39 sworn law enforcement officers, and experiment 2 involved 43 sworn law enforcement officers and 86 mock detectives. Participants viewed a digital recording depicting a witness describing a gas station robbery (Experiment 1) or a campus mugging (Experiment 2). Witness confidence and detectives' inferences about culprit information influenced the vetting process and lent credibility to a confident witness whose accuracy was objectively unknown. Furthermore, the evidence indicates that sworn law enforcement are comparable with untrained observers in their use of social inference cues (i.e. confidence) in determining witness credibility; however, social inference can be assuaged by the rational, rule‐governed, decision framework established for witness vetting. Social inference processes inherent in the detective‐witness dyad is influenced by legal procedures in vetting witness information. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

家庭创新环境的特征及其与中学生日常创造性行为的关系：创造性人格的中介作用

以1117名中学生为被试,采用问卷法考察家庭创新环境的特点及其对日常创造性行为的影响机制。结果发现：（1）家庭创新环境体现在家庭情感氛围、父母创造性行为、父母教育理念和自主准予,可分为抑制型（17.3%）、一般型（41.9%）和创新型（40.8%）,创新型在日常创造性行为上得分显著高于抑制型;（2）家庭创新环境与创造性人格、日常创造性行为以及同伴提名得分相关显著;（3）创造性人格在家庭创新环境和同伴提名之间起完全中介作用,在家庭创新环境和日常创造性行为之间起部分中介作用。     

Perceptions of mental healthcare consumers regarding their conditions

Distress is experienced, understood and communicated differently across various cultures. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of culture, religion and spirituality in patients’ understanding of and coping with mental problems. A quantitative survey was done at a psychiatric institution. A questionnaire was designed to explore patients’ cultural and religious beliefs about mental illness, and how these beliefs and perceptions influenced their actions in search for recovery. Questionnaires were completed by 94 patients. The majority of participants were Christian (79.8%), followed by African traditionalists (17.0%). Seventy-two per cent believed that faith in God, and 34.4% that help from religious leaders, could contribute to mental wellness. Approximately a third (29.0%) believed that by keeping their ancestors happy, they would be protected from sickness and bad luck. Mental healthcare providers’ sensitivity to cultural and religious beliefs will translate into a more comprehensive management plan, ensuring a satisfying therapeutic relationship.