Volume 2 Issue 3
Emotion Regulation in Bank Employees-Regulation, Antecedents and Mediators, and Impact on Well-Being
Authors: Cristina Galli; Giulia Gallinari; Vanda Lucia Zammuner
Abstract: This study tested to what extent Italian bank employees - working as consultants or at-the-counter - regulate their emotions (Emotional Labor, EL) so as to bring them in line with job requirements, and the frequency, nature, and effects of EL on their well-being. Employees answered questions on personal, work-related and psychological variables. The results showed that EL is a salient aspect of such jobs. Workers performed both Surface Acting and Deep Acting, and frequently reported Emotional Consonance too. SA and EC were negatively related. SA was more likely the higher the number of interactions with clients per day- itself negatively related to interaction duration. EC was more likely the higher the Involvement in the present job role - itself highly negatively related with number of client-interactions. Life Satisfaction was related negatively to SA, and positively related to EC. Emotional labor correlated with reported level of one or more Burnout components; Exhausted and Depersonalized employees reported less Life Satisfaction, and more frequent Negative emotions; Positive emotions were felt more often by Involved employees, and by those who felt Realized in their job. The study confirmed the hypothesis that emotion regulation is significantly associated to various aspects of well-being in bank employees.
Keywords: Emotion Regulation;Emotion Labor;Well-Being;Burnout;Affect;Job Involvement;Service Jobs;Bank Employees
Authors: Antonio Lieto; Marcello Frixione
Abstract: Concept representation is still an open problem in the field of ontology engineering and, more generally, of knowledge representation. In particular, the issue of representing “non classical” concepts, i.e. concepts that cannot be defined in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions, remains unresolved. In this paper we review empirical evidence from cognitive psychology, according to which concept representation is not a unitary phenomenon. On this basis, we sketch some proposals for concept representation, taking into account suggestions from psychological research. In particular, it seems that human beings employ both prototype-based and exemplar-based representations in order to represent non classical concepts. We suggest that a similar, hybrid prototype-exemplar based approach could also prove useful in the field of knowledge representation technology. Finally, we propose conceptual spaces as a suitable framework for developing some aspects of this proposal.
Keywords: Concept Representation; Psychological Theories of Concepts; Formal Ontologies; Conceptual Spaces
Authors: Arnulf Kolstad
Abstract: This article deals with some fundamental epistemological problems in psychology; especially connected to how the relationship between biology, psychology and culture may be described and explained. Theories explaining human development have to reflect the biological, psychological and cultural reality and specify the functional relationships between the various aspects during lifespan. The relationships between person and environment and between mind and brain have been recurrent questions in psychological epistemology. In recent years different proposals have been introduced to overcome the epistemological problems concerning these relationships and there are more models that integrate the contradictory positions. Some of the alternatives are presented in the article.
Keywords: Mind; Brain; Culture; Systems Theory; Emergence
Authors: Sarah Neuburger; Vera Ruthsatz; Petra Jansen; Martin Heil; Claudia Quaiser-Pohl
Abstract: Previous research has demonstrated that both real-world and fictional role models can influence gender stereotypes, performance, and self-concept in adults and children. The current study investigated such modeling processes in the domain of spatial skills by examining how fourth-grade boys and girls respond to a spatially skilled fictional role model, who was either male or female. The study had an experimental pre-post design, in which 263 children were examined in three intervention groups (female role model, male role model, no role model). Results showed that model acceptance and model gender ratings were more strongly influenced by the model’s sex than by her or his male-stereotyped spatial skills. Model acceptance differed between boys and girls only for the female model, who was accepted to a greater degree by girls, while the male model was accepted to the same degree by boys and girls. Furthermore, there was a gender-specific effect of the stories on girls’ general self-esteem, which slightly increased in the female-model group and slightly decreased in the male-model group and the control group. However, the hypothesized gender-specific effects of the story interventions were not found with regard to gender stereotypes, spatial performance, and spatial self-concept; instead, there was an intervention-independent decrease in girls’ gender stereotypes and spatial self-concept. These results are discussed with regard to the influence of spatial experience on the gender effect in spatial performance, the effectiveness of fictional versus real-world models, and the problem of upward comparison with highly skilled role models.
Keywords: Role Models; Spatial Cognition; Narratives; Gender Stereotypes; Elementary-School Children
Authors: Daniel Kehinde; Oluyinka Ojedokun; Adepeju Ogungbamila
Abstract: The research investigated the extent to which the tendency to perpetrate aggressive behaviour (measured by the Aggressive Questionnaire) among some secondary students in Nigeria is influenced by parental bonding (measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument). Cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from a total of 250 randomly selected respondents aged 15-19 years. They comprised of males 140 (56%) and females 110 (44%). It was found that parental bonding had significant influence on the tendency to perpetrate aggressive behaviour (F = 71.361, df = 3,249, p < 0.01). This finding suggests that students who perceived their parents as caring reported fewer tendencies to perpetrate aggressive acts. Therefore, psychologists need to provide suitable psychological interventions that are targeted towards both parents and children in order to reduce incidence of aggression among adolescent learners. It is recommended that interventions that incorporate social cognitive theory (SCT) components that focus on helping parents to deter their children’s involvement in aggression are vital.
Keywords: Parental Bonding; Aggression; Aggressive Behaviour; Students
Authors: Alen Hajnal; Attila J. Farkas
Abstract: We compared custom-made headphones (designed to capitalize on the directional filtering capability of the external ear) with standard consumer headphones in a loudness threshold task, and had shown that the location of the speakers was essential to auditory perception. The results revealed that the equal loudness contour profiles were significantly changed using the customized headphones. Furthermore it was discovered that an everyday noisy acoustic environment as compared to a sound-proof room does not diminish the advantage of the customized headphones in an auditory threshold task. Future investigation of the filtering process that the external ear provides could lead to more ergonomic acoustic equipment and hearing aid design.
Keywords: Loudness Threshold; Circum-aural Headphones; Noise