Psychology Commons^™

Proof For The Power Of Prayer?, Thomas Schwartz

Thomas W Schwartz

Mindfulness meditation has been found in the research literature to promote a sense of well-being, quality of life, and even physical health among its practitioners. Does centering prayer have the same effects? A reflection.

心态决定国运 (Attitude Determines National Destiny), Shanghai, China: Oriental Morning Post, July 11, 2013., Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.

Revisiting The Multicultural Experience-Creativity Link: The Effects Of Cultural Distance And Comparison Mindset, Chi-Ying Cheng, Angela K.-Y. Leung

Ka Yee Angela LEUNG

A growing literature provides evidence for the multicultural experience-creativity link such that exposure to the juxtaposition of two cultures facilitates individual creativity. The underlying mechanisms for this relationship, however, are still far from being well explored. Drawing upon the novel perspective of motivated cognition, we hypothesize that two factors interact to affect creative outcomes: (a) perceived cultural distance between the two juxtaposed cultures, and (b) comparison mind-sets. Specifically, we argue that individuals’ creative performance will be increased only when a difference mind-set is employed to process the cultural stimuli that are sufficiently different from each other. In two studies, individuals …

Individual Differences That Moderate The Effectiveness Of Relational Reasons For Self-Improvement, Jonathan Gore

Jonathan Gore

Two studies tested the hypotheses that relationally-autonomous reasons (RARs) for goals predict attainment, and that this relationship is stronger among highly relational and agreeable people than others. Study 1 (n = 134) assessed participants’ self-construal and Agreeableness, and their tendency to pursue subgoals for RARs, relationally-controlled reasons (RCRs), and personally-controlled reasons (PARs). One month later, they indicated the number of subgoals they had attained. RARs were positively correlated with attainment, and this relationship was stronger among highly relational and agreeable people than others. In Study 2 (n = 74), self-construal and Agreeableness were assessed then participants generated possible outcomes of …

The Effects Of A Computer Malfunction On Subsequent Task Performance, Nicole Zimmerman, Everett Sambrook, Jonathan Gore

Jonathan Gore

Although previous research has examined the effects of computer malfunctions on employee frustration, to our knowledge no research has explored computer malfunction's effect on subsequent task performance. It was hypothesised that participants who experience a malfunction would perform worse on a subsequent task than those who experience no malfunction. Participants (n = 204) were randomly assigned to experience either a computer malfunction or not during the first task. Participants then completed a subsequent task. The results confirmed that the Malfunction group performed worse than the Control group on both tasks. Implications for workplace performance are discussed.

DOI: 10.1080/0144929X.2012.733412

Defining The Importance Of Mental Preparedness For Risk Communication And Residents Well-Prepared For Wildfire, Christine Eriksen, Timothy Prior

Christine Eriksen

Building on a recognised information-to-action gap in wildfire risk communication, this paper examines what being physically and mentally ‘well prepared’ actually means to wildfire agency staff and volunteers in charge of disseminating risk information. Using the results of an open-ended survey conducted in southeast Australia, we examine how a set of preparedness messages is interpreted. The paper demonstrates that the concept of wildfire preparedness is ambiguous, and that being ‘well prepared’ is a complex mix of practical and mental preparedness measures. Many of the individual interpretations of preparedness messages are found to not align with the official outlined intent. In …