Search

The potential stressfulness of an event may depend on how it is appraised by the individual, although up to now there have been no longitudinal studies on the relationship between lay beliefs concerning work stress and perceived strain. This longitudinal study examines how lay theories of work stress at baseline were related to perceived mental strain at follow up. The present paper builds on an earlier study ( Furnham, 1997 ), using a longitudinal design and a much larger population of the British workforce ( N =2270). Lay beliefs were assessed by a scale consisting of 36 items. Factor analysis gave a solution with five factors on perceived causes and four factors of perceived alleviation of work stress. Linear multiple regression analysis revealed significant relations between lay beliefs of work stress at baseline and perceived mental strain as well as job stress 14 months later. The effect sizes were small but of a similar magnitude to those that have been found, for example, in occupational stress-reducing interventions. A problem with the factor analytic approach was the discrepancies between the factor solutions and the relative importance of the perceived causes of work stress. The results from the study suggest that subjective beliefs about work stress merits further analysis as potentially mediating between 'objective' working conditions and stress outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines state-of-the-art in current psychology using data from 200 academic psychologists in 30 nations. Collection of biographical information; Conservatism and optimism of respondents in their values; Specific dimensions underlying attitude statements.

Presents information on a study which evaluated the implications for assessing the social status of mainstreamed children with learning difficulties. Description and evaluation of the three techniques for collecting sociometric data; Description of a range of methods that may be used in coding and classifying the sociometric data that has been collected; Conclusions.

This article reports on 2 studies, both concerned with the validity of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). The first study, replicated over 3 samples, concerned the validity of the measure as determined by self-ratings. Results indicated that participants were able to predict their extraversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism scores with reasonable accuracy, but agreeableness and openness-to-experience less so. In addition, participants were not very reliable in predicting others' test scores, although they believed themselves to have scores moderately similar to the other, self-nominated person. The second study showed that the NEO-FFI was highly susceptible to faking, although the all-important fake good versus control comparisons were significant only for agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. The implications of these studies for applied personality measurement are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a comparative study involving approximately 900 UK and German adults, an attempt was made to explore the strength of the relationships between diverse but related work attitudes and to examine national differences in work attitudes, which may be related to economic growth. The UK sample preferred business-oriented occupations, rather than the professions— medicine, social work and teaching—(jobs in which Germans expressed higher interest) and was characterized by higher scores on work ethic, achievement motivation, competitiveness, and achievement/conformity, but lower scores on positive attitudes to savings. No significant difference was observed in terms of financial beliefs (valuation of money) or mastery. Work attitude and occupational interest were intimately interrelated, although the relationship was significantly moderated by gender. Socio-historical economic and political origins of these similarities and differences are discussed, along with the theoretical and methodological implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doctors in different specialities differ in personality, attitudinal and other measures. These differences might be the result of self-selection, or an effect of socialization in undergraduate and postgraduate training or of specialist selection. In two studies we assessed the association between personality and other measures in applicants to medical school, since associations at that stage must reflect self-selection, rather than the effects of training. In study 1, preferences for 11 medical specialities were assessed in 509 medical school applicants being interviewed at University College London Medical School in 1989–1990. A large range of demographic, biographical and personality measures was also obtained in these individuals. Canonical correlation suggested five independent dimensions that linked career preferences with background measures. An exploratory stepwise multiple regression was used to find the most significant predictors for each career speciality and a number of strong patterns emerged, many of which made intuitive sense in terms of conventional stereotypes of doctors in those specialities. Study 2 was a direct a priori test of the significance of the important variables identified in study 1. Five hundred and sixty-three interviewees at UCLSM during 1991–1992 completed identical questionnaires to those used in Study 1 and the validity of the predictors found in Study 1 was assessed by fitting the same regression equations as had previously been identified. For 10 of the 11 careers the variables produced a highly significant prediction of preference. It is concluded that personality differences between doctors in different specialities are in part the result of self-selection, and not just the result of training or selection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]