Effect of negative emotion on visual attention: Automatic capture by fear‐related stimuli1

Abstract: In this study, we examined the effect of threatening pictures (e.g., snakes and spiders) on control of spatial attention using a probe detection task. In addition to attentional capture by the threatening stimuli (Unpredictable task), the effects of affective valence of the pictures on the voluntary control of attention were explored (Predictable task). Results showed that reaction time (RT) was facilitated to the probe that appeared at the location of threatening stimuli when it occurred in the right visual field (but not in the left visual field), indicating that attention was captured automatically, at least in this visual field. However, when participants were able to predict the probe location, the attentional gains increased similarly for all the conditions (composed of visual field by picture type combinations) relative to those of Unpredictable task, with no indication of deferred deployment of attention to threatening stimuli. The results of this study suggested that the emotional valence, particularly negative valence, affected the automatic control of attention. This effect differed between the two visual fields in which emotional stimuli occurred.     

An experimental investigation of the automatic/voluntary dissociation in limb apraxia

The ability of apraxic patients to perform gestures in everyday life is a controversial issue. In this paper, we aimed to evaluate the automatic/voluntary dissociation (AVD) in four patients affected by clinically relevant limb apraxia. For this purpose, we sampled different kinds of gestures belonging to patients' motor repertoire and then assessed their production in a testing session. Our experimental procedure consisted of two steps: in the first phase, we recorded gestures produced by patients in two natural conditions; in the second phase, we assessed production of correctly produced tool-actions, and of spontaneous non tool-actions and meaningless conversational (cohesive and beats) gestures under different modalities. AVD was observed for all types of gestures, albeit to different degree in single patients. The present findings demonstrate that the context provides strong bottom-up cues for the retrieval of motor patterns, while artificial testing conditions impose an additional cognitive load.     

Service with style and smile. How and why employees are performing emotional labour?

IntroductionThree main emotion regulation strategies (naturally felt emotions, reappraisal and emotion suppression) have been identified among customer service agents. Each has an important impact on employees’ attitudes. Yet, employees are likely to combine these strategies in what we call emotion regulation styles.ObjectivesTwo studies aimed at identifying the emotion regulation styles used by customer service employees and at linking these styles to organizational consequences and motivation to perform emotional labour.MethodTwo studies (n₁ = 147 and n₂ = 195) evaluated the use of these strategies. Measures of job attitudes (satisfaction, affective commitment and intention to quit) were taken, as well as measures of motivation to perform emotional labour.ResultsSix styles were identified; four were common to both studies. Globally, employees classified as suppressors (use of emotion suppression only) or as non-regulators (no strategy used) reported lower levels of job satisfaction and affective commitment toward their organization compared to employees who used a flexible style (use of all three strategies) or an authentic style (use of reappraisal and expression of the naturally felt emotions). Employees adopting an acting style (use of emotion suppression and reappraisal) or a reappraising style (marked by preferential use of reappraisal) obtained results located between the non-regulating and the suppressing styles on one hand, and the authentic and the flexible styles on the other hand. Employees adopting a suppressing or a non-regulating style also manifested lower levels of motivation to regulate their emotions.ConclusionResults suggest that employees use a dynamic range of styles, which differ in their associated consequences.     

Generalized Trust Through Civic Engagement? Evidence from Five National Panel Studies

According to a popular version of social capital theory, civic engagement should produce generalized trust among citizens. We put this theory to the test by examining the causal connection between civic engagement and generalized trust using multiple methods and multiple (prospective) panel datasets. We found participants to be more trusting. This was mostly likely caused by selection effects: the causal effects of civic engagement on trust were very small or nonsignificant. In the cases where small causal effects were found, they turned out not to last. We found no differences across types of organizations and only minor variations across countries.     

Patriotism's Impact on Cooperation with the State: An Experimental Study on Tax Compliance

Although it seems reasonable to assume that activating patriotism might motivate citizens to cooperate with the state in reaching societal goals, the empirical evidence supporting this contention is based mostly on correlational rather than experimental studies. In addition, little is known on whether patriotism can be manipulated without simultaneously triggering nationalism and on the psychological processes which determine the patriotism‐cooperation relation. This current article reports results of one survey and three experiments that manipulate patriotism by displaying either a national flag or national landscapes or by priming national achievements. The outcomes indicate that reported and manipulated patriotism indirectly increase tax compliance, although the national flag also increases nationalism. National achievements, on the other hand, seemingly increases trust in national public institutions and the voluntary motivation to cooperate, whereas national landscapes only increase the voluntary motivation to cooperate. Hence, it is possible to increase social capital in the form of trust and cooperation through patriotism without fostering nationalism as well.     

Older English churchgoing women as voluntary providers of welfare

The contribution of UK Christian churches to the provision of welfare projects, relying largely on a pool of volunteer labour, has long been recognised by a number of commentators. What is also now recognised is that it is women who have made up and still make up the majority of these volunteers but they are a largely ageing – and declining – population, hence the question arises as to whether most churches in Britain can continue to provide the same levels of support for much longer. This article considers the factors which have made women longstanding and committed individuals in both their churches and their civic communities, and argues that the same conditions do not pertain for their children. Unless more volunteers are forthcoming from secular organisations, we are likely to be seeing a significant gap in voluntary welfare provision at precisely the time when state funding for welfare is being drastically cut and more volunteers are needed, not fewer.     

Care Versus Control: The Identity Dilemmas of UK Homelessness Professionals Working in a Contract Culture

UK voluntary and community sector organizations (VCOs) play a key role in caring for homeless people. However, there are widespread concerns about the impact of increasing government contracting on the quality of their services. This paper examines understandings of homelessness and identities as homelessness professionals, as expressed by VCO professionals. By so doing, it considers how ‘partnership working’ enables or undermines their capacities to care. The paper uses 24 in‐depth interviews and four focus groups with London‐based homelessness professionals. Professionals expressed deep tensions in their experience of their role. On one hand, they reported a deep ethical commitment to care and to develop quality supporting relationships to respond to their clients' complex needs. On the other, their capacity to care was undermined by their dependence on statutory resources and the controls this involved over the way VCOs delivered care. Professionals had to adjust to statutory monitoring frameworks and hard performance targets, which detached them from the human and intimate encounter with their clients and constrained their person‐centred caring interventions. The findings highlight the contradictory nature of contemporary systems of ‘joined up’ welfare that neglect the very human and complex nature of the issues that they were originally created to address. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sex comparisons of the bilateral deficit in proximal and distal upper body limb muscles

Bilateral deficit (BLD) describes a phenomenon that the force produced during maximal simultaneous bilateral contraction is lower than the sum of those produced unilaterally. The aim of this study was to examine the potential sex-related differences in BLD in upper body proximal and distal limb muscles. Ten men and eight women performed single-joint maximal contractions with their elbow flexors and index finger abductors at separate laboratory visits, during which the maximal isometric voluntary contractions (MVICs) were performed unilaterally and bilaterally with a randomized order in the designated muscle group. Surface electromyographic (EMG) signals were recorded from the prime movers of the designated muscle groups (biceps brachii and first dorsal interosseous) during the maximal contractions. Both men and women demonstrated BLD in their elbow flexors (deficit: men = −11.0 ± 6.3%; women = −10.2 ± 5.0%). Accompanied by this force deficit was the reduced EMG amplitude from the dominant biceps brachii (collapsed across sex: p = 0.045). For the index finger abductors, only men (deficit = −13.7 ± 6.1%), but not women showed BLD. Our results suggested that the BLD in the proximal muscle group is likely induced by the decreased maximal muscle activity from the dominant prime mover. The absence of BLD in women’s index finger muscle is largely due to the inter-subject variability possibly related to the sex hormone flux and unique levels of interhemispheric inhibition.     

Working for free: A fundamental value of counselling

This paper challenges two myths about voluntary sector counselling, namely (a) that volunteer counsellors and voluntary sector counselling are the same thing, and (b) that standards of practice in the voluntary sector are significantly different from those elsewhere. The paper also argues that voluntary sector counselling nurtures a deeply felt commitment to respond to human need without monetary recompense. Drawing on evidence from a study of voluntary sector counselling in Scotland, we show that a substantial proportion of voluntary sector counselling is undertaken by paid workers, and that many counsellors who volunteer in one setting undertake paid counselling work in another setting. We demonstrate that the majority of voluntary sector counselling agencies in Scotland work within ethical frameworks developed by the professional bodies for counselling, and we argue that these agencies have been at the forefront of efforts to enhance the quality and safety of counselling services available to the public. We identify and illustrate three overlapping reasons why large numbers of highly qualified counsellors give their time and expertise for free: because of their desire to support the work of agencies through which the accessibility of counselling is extended; because volunteer counselling constitutes personally rewarding and meaningful work; and as an expression of their commitment to give freely of themselves. In conclusion we argue that voluntarism is central to counselling, but that parts of the counselling world are at risk of forgetting this core value.     

Involuntary and voluntary demotion: employee reactions and outcomes

ABSTRACT

Demotion has received little attention from scholars and practitioners alike. The purpose of this study was to assess empirically the reaction to, and outcomes of, both involuntary and voluntary demotion. Drawing on 49 semi-structured in-depth interviews with 28 involuntarily demoted workers and 21 voluntarily demoted workers, we develop a conceptual model using organizational justice theory and person-job fit of the reaction to and outcomes of demotion. We show that involuntarily demoted individuals might react by expressing turnover intentions and lower motivation and commitment, indicating that the demotee’s reaction is related to perceptions of fairness. Voluntary demotion is related to a better work-life balance, greater satisfaction, less stress and burnout and is perceived to be a viable phased retirement option by older workers. In addition, the findings highlight the role of demotion-related stigma, status loss, identity threat, and age in the way employees react to the experience of demotion.