Gayle Brewer

Cyberbullying, self-esteem, empathy and loneliness

Low self-esteem predicts greater cyberbullying victimisation and perpetration.Low empathy predicts higher levels of cyberbullying perpetration.Self-esteem or empathy based interventions are recommended to address cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a unique phenomenon, distinguished from traditional bullying by the speed at which information is distributed, permanence of material and availability of victims. There is however a paucity of research in this area, and few studies have examined the factors contributing to cyberbullying behaviour. The present study investigated the influence of self-esteem, empathy and loneliness on cyberbullying victimisation and perpetration. British adolescents (N=90) aged 16-18years were recruited from Further Education colleges. Participants completed the Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory (RCBI, Topcu & Erdur-Baker, 2010), the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Ferguson, 1978), Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ, Spreng, McKinnon, Mar, & Levine, 2009) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) online. Standard multiple regressions revealed that together, loneliness, empathy and self-esteem predicted levels of cyberbullying victimisation and perpetration. Self-esteem was a significant individual predictor of cyberbullying victimisation and perpetration, such that those with low self-esteem were most likely to report experience of cyberbullying. Empathy was a significant individual predictor of cyberbullying perpetration, such that as empathy decreases, likelihood of cyberbullying perpetration increases. These findings indicate that self-esteem and empathy oriented interventions may successfully address cyberbullying behaviour.

Machiavellianism, self-monitoring, self-promotion and relational aggression on Facebook

Machiavellian men and women engage in higher levels of self-monitoring.Machiavellian women are more dishonest in their self-promotion.Machiavellian women engage in relational aggression online.Machiavellian men engage in more online self-promotion. Machiavellianism is a personality trait characterized by cynicism, emotional detachment and a willingness to manipulate others. Research investigating the behavior of Machiavellian men and women has focused on its influence in offline relationships. The popularity of social networking sites suggests that it is also important to consider the interactions of Machiavellian men and women in this context as well. Men (N=54) and women (N=189) completed questionnaires assessing Machiavellianism, self-monitoring, self-promotion and relational aggression. Analyses revealed that women who were high in Machiavellianism engaged in more dishonest self-promotion and relational aggression towards a close friend on Facebook whilst males with high levels of Machiavellianism engaged in more self-promoting behavior. In addition, both men and women high in Machiavellianism engaged in more self-monitoring. The findings demonstrate the importance of considering the influence of personality on online behavior and associated gender differences.

Differences in Personality Attributions Toward Tattooed and Nontattooed Virtual Human Characters

Individuals with body modifications, such as tattoos, have been shown to differ from nonmodified individuals in sensation- seeking personality characteristics and sociosexuality. This study examined possible differences in peoples attributions of those char- acteristics toward virtual human characters varying in body modification. Some 287 participants rated tattooed and nontattooed bodies of avatars on aspects of sensation seeking and number of previous sexual partners. Tattooed stimuli were rated as more experience, thrill, and adventure seeking as well as more likely to have a high number of previous sexual partners and as less inhibited when compared to nontattooed stimuli, and this was particularly true for male stimuli. It was concluded that people with body modifications, such as tattoos, are perceived differently compared to nontattooed individuals in terms of sensation seeking and previous sexual partner number, this being particularly true for men. Findings are discussed with reference to the evolutionary model of human sexual selection.

Height, Relationship Satisfaction, Jealousy, and Mate Retention:

Male height is associated with high mate value. In particular, tall men are perceived as more attractive, dominant and of a higher status than shorter rivals, resulting in a greater lifetime reproductive success. Female infidelity and relationship dissolution may therefore present a greater risk to short men. It was predicted that tall men would report greater relationship satisfaction and lower jealousy and mate retention behavior than short men. Ninety eight heterosexual men in a current romantic relationship completed a questionnaire. Both linear and quadratic relationships were found between male height and relationship satisfaction, cognitive and behavioral jealousy. Tall men reported greater relationship satisfaction and lower levels of cognitive or behavioral jealousy than short men. In addition, linear and quadratic relationships were found between male height and a number of mate retention behaviors. Tall and short men engaged in different mate retention behaviors. These findings are consistent with previous research conducted in this area detailing the greater attractiveness of tall men.

Testicular Self-Examination in an Adult Community Sample

The study investigated the impact of relationship status on participants’ knowledge of testicular cancer and their current and planned testicular self-examination (TSE) behavior. Adult male civil servants (N = 188) were recruited in the northwest of the United Kingdom (mean age = 33.37 years, SD = 10.77). The survey instrument asked about current and intended TSE practice, knowledge of testicular cancer, as well as attitudes and beliefs toward testicular cancer and self-examination. Factor analysis identified five factors equating to the benefits of TSE, fear, perceived risk, knowledge, and fatality. In logistic regression models, the benefits of TSE, fear, and knowledge significantly predict current TSE behaviors, whereas the benefits of TSE and perceived risk predicted future TSE intentions. Models predicting TSE practice differed according to relationship status. The findings suggest that strategies designed to promote TSE should be sensitive to individual differences in the influences on a person’s motivation to engage in TSE.

Performance on the traditional and the touch screen, tablet versions of the Corsi Block and the Tower of Hanoi tasks

Psychologists routinely administer cognitive tasks to assess a range of mental abilities. In recent years, researchers and practitioners have employed new (i.e. digital) technologies to test cognitive performance, with tablet computer based tasks often replacing traditional versions. However, the extent to which findings from traditional and touch screen tablet based tasks are equivalent remains unclear. In the present study, sixty participants (18 men and 42 women) completed both the Tower of Hanoi and Corsi Block tasks in their traditional (wooden) form and using a touch screen tablet. Performance outcome measures (span length, number of moves, and time taken) were recorded alongside subjective workload for each task. Findings revealed that number of moves and span length do not significantly differ between the traditional and tablet based versions of each task. However, the computerized Tower of Hanoi task was completed more quickly than the traditional version. Differences were noted for subjective workload with higher physical demand reported for the traditional versions of each task. Participants also reported the traditional Tower of Hanoi task to be more enjoyable but more mentally demanding. In conclusion, the touch screen versions of the Tower of Hanoi and Corsi Block tasks appear largely equivalent to the traditional versions. Traditional and tablet based Tower of Hanoi and Corsi Block tasks were compared.Performance (i.e. number of moves and span length) did not differ between versions.The computerized Tower of Hanoi task was completed more quickly.Differences were identified for subjective workload and enjoyment.Traditional and tablet versions of the cognitive tasks are largely equivalent.

Machiavellianism in long-term relationships: Competition, mate retention and sexual coercion

Machiavellianism is characterized by a manipulative interpersonal style and willingness to exploit others (Christie & Geis, 1970). Though previous research has focused on the influence of Machiavellianism in short-term relationships, Machiavellianism may also influence behavior within long-term committed romantic relationships. Heterosexual men (N = 93) and women (N = 141) in current romantic relationships of at least 12 months duration were recruited online. Participants completed Machiavellianism, Intra-Sexual Competition, Mate Retention and Sexual Coercion scales. Regression analyses revealed that those with high levels of Machiavellianism were more likely to compete with same-sex rivals, directly guard a mate and employ inter-sexual or intra-sexual negative inducements as a form of mate retention than those with low levels of the personality trait. Gender did not moderate the influence of Machiavellianism on these behaviors. Findings highlight the influence of Machiavellianism within long-term committed romantic relationships.

Care assistant experiences of dementia care in long-term nursing and residential care environments:

Care assistants have a unique insight into the lives of service users and those factors which may impede or enhance the delivery of high quality dementia oriented care. To address the paucity of research in this area, the present study examined care assistant experiences of dementia care in British long-term residential and nursing environments. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight care assistants and transcripts were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Super-ordinate themes emerging from the data were psychological wellbeing of the care assistant, barriers to effective dementia care, the dementia reality and organisational issues within the care environment. The study revealed important deficiencies in understanding and varying levels of dementia training. Whilst person centred strategies were being implemented, task orientated care remained dominant. Furthermore, care assistants reported taking the perspectives of those with dementia into account, and actively using these to develop relationship centred care.

Workplace bullying and stress within the prison service

Purpose – Consequences of workplace bullying include increased stress, poor physical and psychological health and low job satisfaction. Workplace bullying is particularly prevalent in professions that may involve a degree of aggression. Despite this, little information exists about the nature of workplace bullying in a prison context. The current study aims to investigate the presence of workplace bullying at one British prison.Design/methodology/approach – Employees (n=72) were invited to complete the Work Harassment Scale and the Work Stress Symptom Scale.Findings – A standard multiple regression revealed that direct experience of bullying significantly predicted stress. Factor analyses identified four types of bullying experienced and three types of bullying witnessed by prison employees. Subsequent analyses revealed that experiencing one specific bullying behavior (i.e. dismissive of individual and their work) predicted physical, psychological and behavioral symptoms of stress. Witnessing one form of ...

The Influence of Religious Coping and Religious Social Support on Health Behaviour, Health Status and Health Attitudes in a British Christian Sample

Previous research has established a relationship between religion and health. However, the specific aspects of religion which may influence health are not fully understood. The present study investigates the effect of religious social support and religious coping on health behaviours, health status and attitudes to health whilst controlling for age and non-religious social support. The results indicate religious coping and religious social support positively impact on self-reported current health status, depression, health outlook and resistance susceptibility. However, negative religious coping was predictive of increased alcohol consumption. Overall congregational support and negative religious coping had the greatest impact on health.