Sanna Malinen

The effects of emotional stimuli on target detection: Indirect and direct resource costs

The present study was designed to explore the performance costs of negative emotional stimuli in a vigilance task. Forty participants (20 women) performed a vigilance task in two conditions: one with task-irrelevant negative-arousing pictures and one with task-irrelevant neutral pictures. In addition to performance, we measured subjective state (energetic arousal, tense arousal, task-related and task-unrelated thoughts) and frontal cerebral activity with near infrared spectroscopy. Overall performance in the negative picture condition was lower than in the neutral picture condition and the negative picture condition had elevated levels of energetic arousal, tense arousal and task-related thoughts. Moreover, there was a significant relationship between the impact of the negative pictures on tense arousal and task-related thoughts and the impact of the negative pictures on performance (in comparison to the neutral picture stimuli task). These results provide support for indirect cost models of negative emotional stimuli on target detection performance.

Workplace Ageism: Discovering Hidden Bias

Background/Study Context: Research largely shows no performance differences between older and younger employees, or that older workers even outperform younger employees, yet negative attitudes towards older workers can underpin discrimination. Unfortunately, traditional “explicit” techniques for assessing attitudes (i.e., self-report measures) have serious drawbacks. Therefore, using an approach that is novel to organizational contexts, the authors supplemented explicit with implicit (indirect) measures of attitudes towards older workers, and examined the malleability of both. Methods: This research consists of two studies. The authors measured self-report (explicit) attitudes towards older and younger workers with a survey, and implicit attitudes with a reaction-time-based measure of implicit associations. In addition, to test whether attitudes were malleable, the authors measured attitudes before and after a mental imagery intervention, where the authors asked participants in the experimental group to imagine respected and valued older workers from their surroundings. Results: Negative, stable implicit attitudes towards older workers emerged in two studies. Conversely, explicit attitudes showed no age bias and were more susceptible to change intervention, such that attitudes became more positive towards older workers following the experimental manipulation. Conclusion: This research demonstrates the unconscious nature of bias against older workers, and highlights the utility of implicit attitude measures in the context of the workplace. In the current era of aging workforce and skill shortages, implicit measures may be necessary to illuminate hidden workplace ageism.

Demographic Differences in Public Attitudes Towards Sex Offenders

Emotionally fueled public responses to news of released sex offenders have the potential to jeopardize the re-entry process, for example, hindering access to stable housing and employment opportunities. Influencing change in public attitudes towards sex offenders so that they are conducive to successful community re-entry is important in efforts to prevent recidivism. Maximizing the effectiveness of attempts to change public attitudes first requires identifying whether specific demographic groups are more prone to negative attitudes, so that attempts to change attitudes can be appropriately targeted. In the present study, 401 community members completed an online questionnaire designed to assess the affective, cognitive and behavioral dimensions of attitudes towards sex offenders. Differences in attitudes towards sex offenders based on respondent sex, age, educational attainment, occupation, parental status and familiarity with victims and perpetrators of sexual assault were investigated. Females demonstrated more-negative attitudes on affective and behavioral measures compared with males, and respondents with low levels of educational attainment demonstrated more-negative attitudes than respondents with higher levels of educational attainment on cognitive and behavioral measures; however, all groups demonstrated negative attitudes towards sex offenders to some extent. Implications for community-level interventions that promote effective re-entry, and hence reduce the likelihood of sexual reoffending are discussed.

Investigating the structure of autobiographical memory using reaction times.

The study investigated the structure of autobiographical memory using reaction time measures. A total of 18 participants took photographs over their summer holidays and then reacted to pairs of these photographs displayed via a computer. They also subsequently sorted their photographs according to the autobiographical themes and events with which they were associated. When photographic sequence and the physical similarities in the photographs were controlled for by considering the results of “stranger” participants who were unfamiliar with the photographs, reaction times were significantly faster to pairs of photographs from the same theme or event. The results are consistent with currently held assumptions about the structure of autobiographical memory. Furthermore, the results suggest that reaction time measures may provide a valuable means by which aspects of autobiographical memory can be explored.

What drives organisational engagement?: A case study on trust, justice perceptions and withdrawal attitudes

Purpose - Past research has found meaningful differences between job and organisational engagement. However, research to date has mainly focused on job engagement, whereas the construct of organisational engagement has been largely neglected. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antecedents of organisational engagement and its influence on withdrawal attitudes. Design/methodology/approach - Using an on-line survey, the authors investigated employees’ perceptions of fairness and trust in senior management, 12 months prior to the measurement of organisational engagement and withdrawal attitudes. The study was conducted in a professional services public organisation, characterised by frequent change and uncertainty. Findings - The authors showed that perceptions of procedural justice and trust in senior management predicted organisational engagement 12 months later. In addition, organisational engagement partially mediated the relationship between procedural justice perceptions, trust in senior management, and withdrawal attitudes. Practical implications - The authors’ research suggests that monitoring and influencing employees’ levels of engagement can benefit organisations, and that leaders in particular can influence employees’ level of engagement. Indeed, the present research showed that employees who had trust in senior management and felt that they had a voice in the organisation showed higher levels of engagement and lower intentions to exit the organisation. Originality/value - This research contributes to our understanding of the drivers of engagement, and demonstrates the importance of organisational-level, in addition to job-level engagement.

Post-disaster depression and vigilance: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

The present study was designed to explore the relationships between post-disaster self-reports of depression, vigilance task performance, and frontal cerebral oxygenation. Forty participants (20 women) performed vigilance tasks following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. In addition to performance, we measured self-reports of depression, anxiety, and stress anchored to the initial earthquake event, and frontal cerebral activity with functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Among the participants, one case may have been an outlier with extremely elevated levels of self-reported depressivity. Excluding the extreme case, there was a correlation between change in response time (response slowing) and depressivity. Including the case there was a correlation between depressivity and right hemisphere oxygenation. These results provide some support for a relationship between moderate depressivity and sustained attention difficulties.

The academic achievement of students in a New Zealand university: Does it pay to work?

There is growing concern about the detrimental effect of term-time employment on university students’ academic success. We report results from an online survey of 1837 students of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, whose responses were later matched to their academic records for a semester. The majority of employed students reported working out of financial necessity. There was no difference in grades between employed and non-employed students, but hours worked had a direct negative linear effect on the grades of employed students. Subsequent analysis suggested that employed students might have had significantly higher grades than the non-employed subsample if they had not worked. Mediating and moderating effects on the relationship between hours worked and academic performance were identified, and a model of the work–achievement relationship developed. Universities could do more to accommodate the reality of part-time work by their students.

Employee Wellbeing: Evaluating a Wellbeing Intervention in Two Settings

This research presents two studies conducted to evaluate the Wellbeing Game in two different contexts: In a student sample and in an organizational setting. Study 1 investigated the efficacy of the Wellbeing Game, in terms of its effect of wellbeing, stress, and an image valence test, among 60 university students. The results showed that after playing the Wellbeing Game, students reported a significant positive change in wellbeing compared to those who did not play the Wellbeing Game, but there was no decrease in stress or any change in classification of image valence. Study 2 evaluated the Wellbeing Game in an organizational context. Employees (n = 52) in a financial organization played the Wellbeing Game for 4 weeks and answered survey questions about wellbeing and stress at the beginning and end of this period. The results showed that after playing the Wellbeing Game, employees reported lower stress levels, and higher wellbeing levels for those who felt that it had helped them connect more with colleagues. The results from the two studies provide preliminary support that the Wellbeing Game may be an effective wellbeing intervention tool in both an organization and a non-organizational context.

Employee resilience: Directions for resilience development.

Resilience in organizations denotes system agility and robustness, essential to survival and thriving in increasingly challenging contexts. Contemporary scholarship has acknowledged the relationship between employee resilience and organizational resilience. Yet interventions aimed at developing employee resilience tend to use stress and well-being as proxy resilience indicators, focusing primarily on individual rehabilitation or the development of personal resources. We argue that these interventions should also consider the development of organizational resources that ensure both the inherent and adaptive resilience of employees. This article introduces employee resilience as behavioral capability, signaled by adaptive, learning, and network-leveraging behaviors, and it discusses ways in which supportive organizational contexts enable the development and enactment of these behaviors. The article proposes a series of resilience-building initiatives, embedded in everyday practice, and elucidates how leading and organizing for the development of employee resilience contributes to improved well-being and performance.

Finnish Firefighters’ Barriers to Volunteering:

Although the need for emergency service volunteers is increasing internationally, it is challenging to attract and retain firefighters, who are highly trained and from whom sustained and potentially heavy time investment is required. To recruit and retain fire service volunteers, it is important to understand the barriers these volunteers face, and how these barriers relate to their attitudes and behavioral intentions. We surveyed 762 volunteer firefighters throughout Finland on these issues. Lack of time, conflict with work/school, and other work-related challenges were the most frequently reported barriers, and they were also rated as some of the most severe barriers. The number and severity of barriers were positively related to the volunteers’ absence and turnover intentions, and conflicts with family commitments. A higher number of reported barriers was also negatively related to volunteer satisfaction. No differences in barriers were found between rural and urban areas, or between gender and age groups. We discuss the findings in regard to relevant literature from other countries and conclude with practical implications.