Attention allocation under varied workload and effort perception in rowers

ObjectivesTenenbaum's effort-related model has proposed that as physical workload increases, attention allocation shifts from dissociation to association. Owing to equivocal research results regarding gender and experience differences in attention and perceived exertion reports, this study was designed to examine whether attention allocation varied as a function of perceived effort manipulated by physical workload, and whether gender and experience differences would emerge in regards to attention use.DesignA within-subjects study design was employed using measures of attention, perceived exertion, heart rate, and power output.MethodsSixty high school and collegiate rowers were recruited, and were divided into 30 experienced (15 men and 15 women) and 30 novice rowers (15 men and 15 women). After establishing a maximal power output value for each rower using the rowing ergometer, participants were asked to row at 30%, 50%, and 75% relative workload intensities for 10 min in a counterbalanced order. At each minute, measures of heart rate, attention, and perceived exertion were taken. Participants also recorded their thoughts during the session after each task.ResultsResults demonstrated that attention significantly (p<.01) shifted from dissociation to association as workload increased. The workload increase also resulted in elevated perceived exertion and heart rate. Similarly, thought classifications validated attention shift as workload increased. Experience and gender were not found to be discriminatory factors for attention allocation.ConclusionsAttention shifted from dissociation to association as workload increased; as environmental demands increase, physiological sensations dominate the individual's attention. Attention is forced to shift internally and narrow (i.e., associative) to adapt to these demands. During low or moderate workload, attention can be more flexible and voluntarily shift between associative and dissociative modes because the task demands are not overwhelming.     

Three Books that are a Goldmine for Quality-of-Life Therapists

This is a review of three books related to quality-of-life therapy and coaching. The books are: (1) The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky, published by The Penguin Press, 2008; (2) Quality of Life Therapy by Michael Frisch, published by Wiley, 2006; and (3) Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman, published by the Free Press, 2002.     

The Relationship among Group Process Perceptions,Goal Commitment and Turnover Intention in Small Committee Groups

In this study a series of hierarchical regression analyses were run to test a model examining the impact of perceived loafing, group potency and cohesion on goal commitment and turnover intention in small committee groups. Seventy-one full-time university faculty participated in the study. Results of this study suggest that an individual’s perception of their group plays an important role with respect to the level of commitment they have to their group goals and their intention to leave a group. The practical and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.     

Organizational and client commitment among contracted employees: A replication and extension with temporary workers

This study replicates and extends Coyle-Shapiro and Morrow’s study (Coyle-Shapiro, J.A.-M., & Morrow, P.C. 2006. Organizational and client commitment among contracted employees. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 28, 416-431) of organizational and client commitment among contracted employees. Our study focuses on temporary workers rather than long-term contracted employees, and also finds that perceived organizational support (POS) from a client organization indeed relates to affective organizational commitment towards the client. However, this study further suggests that client POS also relates to continuance commitment towards the client as well as affective and continuance commitment towards the temporary agency. Finally, temporary workers’ desire to pursue temporary work relates to affective commitment towards the temporary agency, but continuance commitment to the temporary agency is related to a preference for permanent employment.     

Perceived threat: exploring its association with worry and its hypothesized antecedents

Two studies with college student participants (n's=262, 239) examined the relation between perceptions of threat (i.e., perceptions of the probabilities and costs of future undesirable outcomes) and: (a) worry; and (b) hypothesized antecedents of perceived threat. In both studies, higher levels of worrying were associated with higher perceived probability and cost. In Study 2, the association between perceived threat and worrying remained even when taking into account maladaptive worry beliefs and the desire for predictability; in fact, the relation between worrying and worry beliefs and desire for predictability were moderated by perceptions of threat. Higher levels of perceived probability were associated with perceiving oneself and others less favorably, whereas higher levels of perceived cost were associated with higher standards.     

Predictors of Cancer Worry in Unaffected Women from High Risk Breast Cancer Families: Risk Perception is not the Primary Issue

Some women at increased familial risk of breast cancer experience elevated levels of cancer-specific worry, which can possibly act as a barrier to screening, and may be a significant factor in decisions regarding risk-reducing surgery. The aim of this study was to comprehensively examine predictors of cancer-specific worry in high risk women and to test a model which proposes that perceived breast cancer risk mediates the impact of other factors on worry. 1,437 unaffected women from high risk breast cancer families completed questionnaires and interviews. Path analysis was used to test the model of potential predictors of cancer worry, including familial, personal and psychological variables, mediated via perceived cancer risk. Levels of cancer-specific worry were generally low despite an average perceived risk of 50.3%. The goodness-of-fit of the proposed model was poor, explaining only 9% of the variance for perceived risk and 10% of the variance for cancer specific worry. An alternative model of a direct relationship between all of the predictor variables and cancer worry, explained 24% of the variation in cancer worry. General anxiety, perceived risk, the stressful impact of recent cancer related events, a relative risk greater than 10, being closer in age to the youngest breast cancer diagnosis in family, and knowledge of personal mutation status, all independently contributed to cancer worry. Addressing general affective responses, experiences of recent cancer related events, in addition to education about personal risk, should be considered in counselling women with elevated cancer worry. Risk perception appears to act independently of other factors in its formulation and impact on cancer worry. Further research on the way in which women come to perceive their risk is indicated. The kConFab Psychosocial Group are (in alphabetical order of institution): Brain and Mind Institute, University of Sydney, Australia (I Hickie) Department of Haematology and Medical Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia (K-A Phillips) Department of Medical Oncology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Australia (B Bennett, B Meiser, K Tucker) Department of Oncology, St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia (S-A MaLachlan) Department of Psychological Medicine, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, Australia (C Tennant); Medical Psychology Research Unit, University of Sydney, Australia (P Butow, M Price).     

Leadership perceptions,gender, and dominant personality: The role of normality evaluations

Individuals with dominant personality tend to be perceived as leaders, but theory suggests the dominance advantage for leadership might depend upon gender. Role congruity theory (Eagly & Karau, 2002) holds that gender role-incongruence (i.e., dominant personality traits among women) can be a liability, which we propose produces a dominance-gender interaction effect on leadership perceptions. We extend this theory by proposing and testing a novel conceptual mediator of the role congruity effect—perceived normality. Results show dominance predicts perceived transformational leadership, but only for men. This role congruity interaction effect is then explained by perceived normality (mediated moderation). The conditional indirect effect of dominance on leadership through perceived normality is positive for men, but negative for women—consistent with role congruity theory.     

He is smarter when he looks smart in front of many versus a few others: Impact of audience size on target appraisals in a cross-cultural context

Will a person be seen as more superior if he or she receives an award in front of a large audience in comparison with a small audience? We predicted that this would hold true for East Asians, whose cultural logic of face asserts that a person's worth can only be conferred by collective others, but would not hold true for European Americans, whose cultural logic of dignity promotes the judgement of a person's worth based on their own perspective. This study found an audience-size effect for East Asians, in which participants gave higher appraisals to a target when they imagined the target's high performance to have been seen by 10 other people (vs. one other person) even when the target's performance level remained constant. In contrast, Westerners were not affected by the size of the audience witnessing the target's performance. In addition, perceived social reputation was found to mediate the audience-size effect; the participants imagining the target performing well in front of 10 others (vs. one other) perceived others as thinking more highly of the target; this in turn led participants to give higher appraisals to the target. As expected, this mediation effect was only found for East Asians.