Job demands,job resources and innovative work behaviour: a European Union study

This study aims to investigate the relationship between several job design variables and innovative work behaviour (IWB). Guided by the Job Demands Resources model, the aim was to evaluate the relationship between work demands (time constraints), resources (autonomy and social support), and other work factors (task monotony, complexity, and dealing with unforeseen circumstances) with idea generation and idea implementation behaviours in a sample of 12,924 participants from the 27 European Union member states in 2010. We also wished to investigate if individual IWB, at the country level, is associated with country innovative performance (an aggregate of process/product and marketing/organizational innovation). We employed a multilevel generalized structural equation model to test our hypotheses. In our final model autonomy, manager encouragement and dealing with unforeseen problems showed the highest positive relationship with idea generation and idea implementation. Conversely, monotonous tasks and working at high speed were negatively related to IWB. Furthermore, we have found strong indications that country-level IWB positively relates to the odds of a country scoring higher on the aforementioned innovation indicators. Between-country unexplained variance in IWB was reduced from 17.1% in our initial model, to 1.9% in our final iteration. Limitations, implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Women’s everyday mobility: Frightening situations and their impacts on travel behaviour

This paper investigates frightening situations women face in their everyday mobility. The focus is not on serious criminal offences but rather on all situations causing fear such as harassment and the influence on the travel behaviour of women. Two surveys were conducted in Austria in 2012 and 2013 to assess whether and how many women are affected and to get insights in locations of the incidents and the circumstances. The personal security aspects of different modes of transport are investigated. The results show that women who experienced frightening situations tend to avoid certain destinations or routes and travel modes more than other women. The results also confirm that women in general have constrained travel behaviour because of fear about their personal security. When it is impossible to change route or travel time e.g. due to personal restraints, or when simply no other transport mode is available, women are captives to use unwanted transport options, even when they have to reckon with frightening situations. The conclusions summarize that women’s personal security plays an important role in terms of travel behaviour and increased attention should be paid by authorities as well as city- and transport planners striving for sustainable built environments. As the share of affected women is high and it can be assumed that women are more often imperilled than men the questions arises, if this can be assimilated to unequal mobility opportunities, finally resulting in a social deficiency for women.     

Investigation of drivers’ thresholds of a subjectively accepted driving performance with a focus on automated driving

Lately, the development and implementation of automated driving moved to the center of interest in the automotive industry. In this context, one of the central issues – the configuration of adequate trajectories – is mainly tackled using a technical approach. However, it appears that a technically ideal driving performance does not necessarily coincide with the drivers’ subjective preferences. This study strives to determine thresholds of a subjectively accepted driving performance regarding lateral vehicle control. A second objective is to analyze the influence of selected personal and situational factors on these thresholds. An empirical online survey with 161 participants rating video sequences of driving performances was conducted. The video sequences differed not only with regard to the lateral offset of the ego-vehicle but also concerning the weather (sun/rain) and traffic conditions (existence/driving behavior of oncoming traffic). Additionally, the participants’ driving experience and sensation seeking were considered in the data evaluation. To analyze the data, binary logistic regression analyses were calculated. They revealed that the subjective evaluation of driving performances varies primarily depending on the lateral offset of both the ego-vehicle and the oncoming traffic. The results indicate that regarding the lateral offset certain thresholds of subjectively accepted driving performances do exist. Regarding the development of automated driving systems, two issues need to be considered in order to ultimately guarantee user acceptance. First, the subjective thresholds need to be integrated into the systems’ trajectory planning. Second, the oncoming traffic’s driving behavior has to be considered.     

The driver behaviour questionnaire in South-East Europe countries: Bulgaria,Romania and Serbia

Using data from three samples and more than 1000 participants, this study have examined the psychometric properties of the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) in three countries from South-East Europe. Differences in driving behaviour between countries were also investigated. Exploratory factor analysis results supported the distinction between errors and violations in all three countries. Furthermore, the positive associations of both errors and violations with self-reported traffic accidents were also consistent in all three samples. In terms of differences in driving behaviour, Romanian drivers scored higher on many error and violation items in comparison to the other two countries. Also, speeding violations were the most common violations in all three countries. Overall, our results provide further support for using the DBQ to measure aberrant (i.e. errors and violations) driver behaviour.     

The effect of self‐identity alongside perceived importance within the theory of planned behaviour

Self‐identity often predicts behavioural intentions after standard theory of planned behaviour (TPB) components are accounted for. However, it has been claimed this is due to conceptual similarity between self‐identity and perceived importance of the behaviour. We examined this claim within the context of recycling food waste. Participants (N = 113) completed questionnaires assessing intentions, attitude, perceived behavioural control, perceived norms, perceived importance, self‐identity, and past behaviour. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that self‐identity and perceived importance were distinct constructs. Further, after accounting for TPB components and perceived importance, self‐identity explained a significant amount of additional variance in intentions. The present findings therefore do not support this particular argument against the predictive utility of self‐identity.     

Patient preference as a predictor of outcomes in a pilot trial of person-centred counselling versus low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy for persistent sub-threshold and mild depression

The aim of this analysis was to explore whether pre-treatment intervention preferences were related to outcomes for patients with persistent sub-threshold and mild depression who received one of two treatment types. Thirty-six patients took part in a two-arm, parallel group, pilot randomized controlled trial that compared short term (3 month and 6 month) outcomes of person-centred counselling (PCC) compared with low-intensity, CBT-based guided self-help (LICBT). Patient preferences for the two interventions were assessed at baseline assessment, and analysed as two independent linear variables (pro-PCC, pro-LICBT). Eight out of 30 interactions between baseline treatment preferences and treatment type were found to be significant at the p < .05 level. All were in the predicted direction, with patients who showed a stronger preference for a treatment achieving better outcomes in that treatment compared with the alternative. However, pro-LICBT was a stronger predictor of outcomes than pro-PCC. The findings provide preliminary support that treatment preferences should be taken into account when providing interventions for patients with persistent sub-threshold and mild depression. It is recommended that further research analyses preferences for different treatment types as independent variables, and examines preferences for format of treatment (e.g. guided self-help vs. face-to-face).     

Understanding the prevalence and correlates of implicit theories of weight in the United States: Insights from a nationally representative sample

Objectives: The primary aim of this research is to understand how mindsets about weight controllability in the United States relate to population health. We examined the distribution of people’s implicit theories of weight, from an incremental (controllable) to an entity (not controllable) mindset, in a nationally representative sample, as well as their relation to: sociodemographic factors, beliefs about behaviour and genetics as causes of obesity and engagement in weight management-relevant behaviours.

Methods: We report data from the National Cancer Institute’s Health Information National Trends Survey 4.

Results: A majority of respondents endorsed an incremental mindset of body weight, but endorsement of this mindset was stronger among younger, white respondents, and those with a higher income and more educational attainment. A stronger incremental mindset was related to stronger behaviour and weaker genetic causal beliefs about obesity, as well as a tendency to report increased engagement in weight management-relevant behaviours.

Conclusions: Our research provides evidence that although incremental mindsets are more common overall and associated with engagement in health behaviours that can contribute to or detract from population health, incremental mindsets are less common among individuals from more marginalised groups.     

Project STARS (Studies on Trajectories of Adolescent Relationships and Sexuality): A longitudinal,multi-domain study on sexual development of Dutch adolescents

This study gives an overview of Project STARS (Studies on Trajectories of Adolescent Relationships and Sexuality), a four-wave longitudinal study of 1297 Dutch adolescents. First, the sample, measures and four sub-projects are described. Second, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine how key variables from the individual domain (impulsivity), parent domain (parent–adolescent relationship quality), peer domain (involvement with peers) and media domain (time spent on social networking sites), and their interactions predict changes in the experience with sexual behaviour of adolescents across time. Results showed that higher levels of impulsivity, lower quality of relation with parents, more frequent involvement with peers and more time spent on social networking sites at baseline predicted increases in sexual experience of adolescents over a subsequent 1.5-year time period. No interaction effects among the domains were found. The findings highlight the significance of a multi-domain approach to the study of adolescent sexual development.     

Identification With All Humanity: The role of self‐definition and self‐investment

Identification With All Humanity (IWAH) relates to higher levels of concern and supportive behavior toward the disadvantaged, stronger endorsement of human rights, and stronger responses in favor of global harmony. So far, IWAH has been conceptualized as a one‐dimensional construct describing the degree with which one identifies with all humans as a superordinate ingroup. However, recent group identification models suggest a multi‐dimensional model to provide a more differentiated approach toward the understanding of the highest level of social identification. Using principal axis (Study 1) and confirmatory (Study 2) factor analyses, we suggest that IWAH sub‐divides into two dimensions—global self‐definition and global self‐investment. Study 2 revealed that global self‐investment was a stronger predictor for both convergent measures (e.g., social dominance orientation and authoritarianism) and behavioral intentions than global self‐definition. Finally, in Study 3, we manipulated IWAH to test its causal effect on donation behavior. Participants in the experimental condition, compared with the control condition, showed higher global self‐investment, which in turn predicted greater giving to global charity. These findings suggest that two dimensions with different behavioral outcomes underlie IWAH.     

Psycho-demographic correlates of behaviour towards seeking counselling intervention among workers in Lagos,Nigeria

This study sought to examine the impact which age, gender and psychological adjustment have on behaviour towards seeking professional counselling intervention. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select a total of three hundred workers across Lagos metropolis. The ex post facto research design was adopted for the study. Inventory of Attitudes towards Seeking Mental Health Services by Mackenzie, Knox, Gekoski, Macaulay and Hudson's Multi-Problem Screening Questionnaire were adapted for the study. The hypotheses were analysed using multiple regression. The results showed that the three independent variables made a joint contribution of 6.7% to the prediction of behaviour towards seeking of professional counselling intervention while each of the variables made significant contributions.