La justice organisationnelle comme levier pour promouvoir la qualité de vie au travail

The goal of this study is to show the relevance of organizational justice principles in interventions to prevent psychosocial risks. Following an introduction identifying organizational justice as a predictor of health and quality of work life, we illustrate its application to a diagnosis and an intervention for hospital staff. The responses of 685 employees to a questionnaire identified a lack of support and justice by managers; thus, sensitivity to organizational justice was incorporated into a training program on management and psychosocial risks. A quasi-experiment in which hospital staff participated revealed a beneficial effect of the manager training on justice perceptions of the staff, confirming in part our hypotheses. The illustration in our study of the benefits of using justice principles in manager training offers new perspectives for promoting quality of life at work and reducing psychosocial risks.     

The Spanish validation of the Short Health Anxiety Inventory: Psychometric properties and clinical utility

Background/ObjectiveThe Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) is a widely used self-report instrument to evaluate health anxiety. To assess the SHAI's factor structure, psychometric properties, and accuracy in differentiating Spanish non-clinical individuals from patients with severe health anxiety or hypochondriasis.MethodA total of 342 community participants (61.6% women; M_age = 34.60, SD = 14.91) and 31 hypochondriacal patients (51.6% women; M_age = 32.74, SD = 9.69) completed the SHAI and other self-reports assessing symptoms of hypochondriasis, depression, anxiety sensitivity, worry, and obsessive-compulsive.ResultsThe original two-factor structure was selected as the best structure, based on its parsimony and empirical support (Factor 1: Illness likelihood; Factor 2: Negative consequences of illness). Moreover, the Spanish version of the SHAI demonstrated good construct and concurrent and discriminant validity, and internal consistency. A cutoff of 40.5 (total score) accurately distinguished non-clinical individuals from patients with severe health anxiety or hypochondriasis.ConclusionsThe SHAI is an adequate screening instrument to measure health anxiety in Spanish-speaking community adults.     

The effects of distance between interactants and subject anxiety on conjugate lateral eye movements

Ehrlichman and Weinberger (1978, Psychological Bulletin 85, 1080-1101) have suggested that the distance between participants during face-to-face interviewing may be a significant determinant of directional patterns of conjugate lateral eye movements (CLEMS). As predicted, at the longer, social distance CLEMS were dependent on the verbal or spatial nature of questions; when interactants were at a closer, personal distance CLEMS became more consistent in direction, regardless of problem type. Distance manipulation also differentially altered CLEM patterns for the two sexes.     

Towards consensus in conceptualizing and operationalizing physical activity maintenance

Recognized challenges in promoting long-term physical activity maintenance may be due to inconsistencies in the conceptualization and operationalization of behavior maintenance terminology in physical activity research. The overall goal of this paper is to propose a framework and agenda for the development of a common set of terms, definitions, and measures for physical activity maintenance concepts that can be widely tested and evaluated. To initiate this effort, this paper (1) provides an overview of conceptual and operational definitions of physical activity maintenance used in the empirical literature, (2) evaluates whether behavior maintenance terms used in addiction science can be translated to physical activity, (3) recommends research directions for developing consensus definitions of physical activity maintenance, and (4) proposes a conceptual model of physical activity maintenance with inflection points that require operational definitions to be decided upon through consensus efforts in the field. Consensus over the conceptualization and operationalization of physical activity maintenance is needed to draw conclusions regarding which policies and programs are best able to promote long-term behavior change.     

Genetic and experiential influences on behavior: Twins reunited at seventy-eight years

Twins living in different countries offer opportunities to explore associations between observed differences and experiential effects. This report compared the life histories, cognitive abilities, personality traits, psychomotor skills, medical characteristics, job satisfaction, social support and social relations of dizygotic (DZ) female twins reunited at 78, the world’s longest separated set. The twins’ advanced age also enabled a study of how co-twin differences in aging may be associated with current behavioral and social differences. Consistent with previous studies, these dizygotic reared apart (DZA) twins showed discordance across some, but not all, traits. Their different rearing situations and life histories may explain current differences in their responses to meeting their twin. This case highlights the importance of both genetic and rearing factors on behavior, but does not allow firm conclusions regarding the extent to which these sources explain individual developmental differences. However, such data contribute to the growing number of cross-culturally separated twins, generating novel hypotheses that may be assessed using larger samples.     

The Holland Code of Members of the National Organization for Human Services: A Preliminary Study of Human Services Professionals

This study determined the Holland code of members of the National Organization for Human Services. The authors used the O*NET Interest Profiler–Short Form to find that a sample of 355 human services professionals had a Holland code of Social Artistic, with Investigative, Enterprising, and Conventional codes significantly lower than Artisitc. Demographic differences were not found based on gender, whether participants identified human services as their primary field, or whether they had formal education in human services. Slight differences based on age were noted. Results will be used to advocate for inclusion of “human services professional” in the Standard Occupational Classification system.     

Moral sentiment predicts desire for Scottish independence

Scottish independence has been a topic of considerable political debate for some time, with the 2014 referendum concerning whether Scotland should remain a part of the United Kingdom testament to this fact. Numerous economic and political factors have been noted as determinants of the referendum vote. However, the role of psychological factors as a predictor of the desire for independence has not been well explored despite much work demonstrating the importance of specific traits and values on a range of socio-political attitudes. In the current study, using a sample of Scottish adults (n = 271), we sought to examine how two core constructs capturing moral sentiment – binding (reflecting concern for group cohesion and norms) and individualizing (reflecting concern over individual rights) – predicted the desire for independence during the build-up to the referendum. Results indicated that lower binding and higher individualizing predicted a desire for independence, with evidence for mediation via Scottish identification. These findings are consistent with the notion that the Scottish independence movement can be viewed as a broadly left-wing phenomenon. More generally, these results provide novel evidence in a charged political debate that moral sentiments concerning how individual and group life should be structured play a significant role in explaining individual differences in political sentiment.     

Comparing natural and abstract categories: A case study from computer science

In order to address the issue of whether abstract and concrete objects are categorized similarly, this paper looks at how computer scientists categorize the common concepts of their field. Using the methodology of Rosch, Mervis, Gray, Johnson, and Boyes-Braem (1976) and of Rosch and Mervis (1975) to identify the categorizations used by computer scientists, this study found that the categorization phenomena reported for concrete objects are quite general, operating over a wider range than was previously thought.     

Online Information and Communication Systems to Enhance Health Outcomes Through Communication Convergence

The growing use of digital health communication channels has produced dramatic changes, providing broad access to information for making health decisions and addressing users' emotional needs. Digital health communication channels combine mass and interpersonal communication in different ways. Type 1 convergence occurs sequentially: Individuals obtain health information online that they discuss interpersonally with health providers. Type 2 convergence involves discussions occurring via online health information systems. The effectiveness of these systems depends upon seven communication design and implementation strategies. Emerging interactive health information systems provide customized responses tailored to individuals' specific needs and situations. All these forms of media convergence can improve health education, health promotion, and health behavior change.