Die Bedeutung sozialer Kompetenz für die Bewältigung interpersoneller Stress-Situationen am Arbeitsplatz

Sozial kompetente Personen sind in der Lage, zwischenmenschliche Interaktionen zu analysieren und zielorientiert zu agieren, während sie gleichzeitig die Interessen ihrer Interaktionspartner berücksichtigen. Sozial kompetente Personen verfügen demnach über perzeptive Fähigkeiten sowie behaviorale Fertigkeiten. Diese auf Thorndike (1920) zurückgehende Definition weist Soziale Kompetenz als leistungsbezogene Persönlichkeitsvariable aus. Förderlich sollte sie sich insbesondere im Umgang mit interpersonellen Stressoren auswirken: Sozial kompetenten Personen sollte es per definitionem gelingen, den Verlauf interpersoneller Konflikte konstruktiv zu beeinflussen. Tatsache ist, dass soziale Konflikte zudem selbst-regulatorische Fähigkeiten verlangen, da nicht nur die negativen Emotionen der Konfliktpartner, sondern auch persönliche aversive Gefühle bewältigt werden müssen. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde untersucht, ob Soziale Kompetenz implizit auch selbstregulative Kompetenzen im Umgang mit negativen Emotionen umfasst. Diese Fragestellung wurde an N = 124 Arbeitnehmern verschiedener Branchen untersucht. Nach einer performanzorientierten Diagnose Sozialer Kompetenz mit Hilfe eines computergestützten Multimedia-Tests (lnteraktives System zur Identifikation Sozialer Kompetenzen, ISIS 2.0; Runde, Bastians, Kluge & Wübbelmann, 1999) sowie der Erhebung von Selbstkonzept- und habitueller Affektivitäts-Variablen per Fragebogen protokollierten die Teilnehmer in einer anschließenden vierwöchigen Untersuchungsphase jeweils am Ende einer Arbeitswoche, wie viele interpersonelle Spannungssituationen sie in den vergangenen Tagen mit Vorgesetzten, Kollegen und/oder Mitarbeitern erlebt und auf welche Weise sie die für sie belastendste Situation bewältigt hatten. Wider Erwarten stand Soziale Kompetenz in positivem Zusammenhang mit defensivem Konfliktverhalten, das durch das Unterdrücken negativer Emotionen, nicht deren Bewältigung gekennzeichnet war. lntegratives Konfliktverhalten, der Prototyp sozial kompetenten Konfliktmanagements, stand hingegen in positivem Zusammenhang mit nicht-leistungsbezogenen Persönlichkeitsvariablen wie statebezogener Positiver Affektivität und Allgemeiner Selbstwirksamkeit. Performanzorientiert gemessene Soziale Kompetenz umfasst demnach die Fähigkeit zur Regulation des Verhaltens, nicht die Fähigkeit zur Regulation eigener Emotionen. Bezüge dieser Ergebnisse zur Emotionsarbeit, insbesondere zu den Auswirkungen emotionaler Dissonanz, werden diskutiert

When (not) to empathize:The differential effects of combined emotion recognition and empathic concern on client satisfaction across professions

Previous research found inconsistent associations between individuals’ emotion recognition ability and their work-related outcomes. This research project focuses on client satisfaction as a core work-related outcome. We argue that service settings differentially affect clients’ emotional goals, activating either socio-affective goals or goals targeting cognitive clarity. In service settings activating clients’ socio-affective goals, clients are expected to respond favorably if service providers combine emotion recognition with high empathic concern; in service settings activating clients’ cognitive clarity goals, clients are expected to respond more favorably if service providers combine emotion recognition with low empathic concern. Study 1 confirmed that service settings differentially affect clients’ emotional goals, with hairdressing settings activating socio-affective goals and psychotherapy settings triggering cognitive clarity goals. Accordingly, hairdressing clients were more satisfied if service providers combined emotion-recognition ability with high trait empathic concern (Study 2). Conversely, in the context of psychotherapy, clients were more satisfied if therapists’ combined emotion-recognition ability with low trait empathic concern (Study 3). Thus, service contexts moderate the effect of affective responses to clients’ emotional signals in a predictable manner

Evaluating the Public Climate School, a multi-component school-based program to promote climate awareness and action in students: A cluster-controlled pilot study

Introduction: Despite the potential of school-based programs targeting climate awareness and action to support students in addressing the climate crisis and to improve their mental health and well-being, there is limited evidence for their effectiveness. In preparation for a cluster-randomized controlled trial, we assessed the feasibility of evaluating the Public Climate School (PCS), a one-week school program in Germany, and its effects on theory-based behavioral and psychological outcomes. Material and methods: We enrolled 158 students from 11 classes (grades 7–13) into a cluster-controlled pilot study. Four classes were allocated to the waitlist control group and 7 to the intervention group participating in the PCS in November 2021. Using online surveys, we assessed theory-based behavioral and psychological outcomes at baseline and follow-up. Two-level models were used to investigate changes in outcomes. Results: 125 students completed the baseline and follow-up survey (dropout rate: 21 %). For most outcomes we observed no between-group differences, except for pro-environmental communication and engagement (e.g., posting on social media; p=.040) and perceptions of environmental norms (p=.001) in the anticipated direction. Conclusion: This study confirmed the feasibility of evaluating the PCS and provides parameter estimates to guide sample size calculations and study design decisions for future research. Together with recent work on the association between collective action and mental health, the effect of the PCS on pro-environmental communication and engagement highlights the value of examining effects of education for sustainable development programs on student health and linking them to collective action in future work

Anxiety in response to the climate and environmental crises: validation of the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale in Germany

Background: As the climate and environmental crises unfold, eco-anxiety, defined as anxiety about the crises’ devastating consequences for life on earth, affects mental health worldwide. Despite its importance, research on eco-anxiety is currently limited by a lack of validated assessment instruments available in different languages. Recently, Hogg and colleagues proposed a multidimensional approach to assess eco-anxiety. Here, we aim to translate the original English Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS) into German and to assess its reliability and validity in a German sample. Methods: Following the TRAPD (translation, review, adjudication, pre-test, documentation) approach, we translated the original English scale into German. In total, 486 participants completed the German HEAS. We used Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess whether the four-factorial model of the original English version could be replicated in the German sample. Furthermore, associations with a variety of emotional reactions towards the climate crisis, general depression, anxiety, and stress were investigated. Results: The German HEAS was internally consistent (Cronbach’s alphas 0.71–0.86) and the Bayesian CFA showed that model fit was best for the four-factorial model, comparable to the factorial structure of the original English scale (affective symptoms, rumination, behavioral symptoms, anxiety about personal impact). Weak to moderate associations were found with negative emotional reactions towards the climate crisis and with general depression, anxiety, and stress. Discussion: Our results support the original four-factorial model of the scale and indicate that the German HEAS is a reliable and valid scale to assess eco-anxiety in German speaking populations

Anxiety in response to the climate and environmental crises: validation of the Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale in Germany

Background: As the climate and environmental crises unfold, eco-anxiety, defined as anxiety about the crises’ devastating consequences for life on earth, affects mental health worldwide. Despite its importance, research on eco-anxiety is currently limited by a lack of validated assessment instruments available in different languages. Recently, Hogg and colleagues proposed a multidimensional approach to assess eco-anxiety. Here, we aim to translate the original English Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS) into German and to assess its reliability and validity in a German sample. Methods: Following the TRAPD (translation, review, adjudication, pre-test, documentation) approach, we translated the original English scale into German. In total, 486 participants completed the German HEAS. We used Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess whether the four-factorial model of the original English version could be replicated in the German sample. Furthermore, associations with a variety of emotional reactions towards the climate crisis, general depression, anxiety, and stress were investigated. Results: The German HEAS was internally consistent (Cronbach’s alphas 0.71–0.86) and the Bayesian CFA showed that model fit was best for the four-factorial model, comparable to the factorial structure of the original English scale (affective symptoms, rumination, behavioral symptoms, anxiety about personal impact). Weak to moderate associations were found with negative emotional reactions towards the climate crisis and with general depression, anxiety, and stress. Discussion: Our results support the original four-factorial model of the scale and indicate that the German HEAS is a reliable and valid scale to assess eco-anxiety in German speaking populations

Contributing to the Great EI Debate

Our research study investigates the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership behavior

Playful self versus self-report self one of a kind or worlds apart?

As digital traces and freely available online data increase transparency about job candidates’ attributes, companies may include unprecedented amounts of data into their personnel selection decisions. Besides the evaluation of social media profiles, video games in particular have recently gained trajectory as a promising alternative to personality self-report measures in job candidate assessment. Our study with 1,106 players of League of Legends analyzes convergent validity of players’ risk-taking behavior with established self-report measures and behavioral tests of risk propensity. Controlling for age, gender and individual performance we found weak associations of within-game risk-taking with self-report measures of risk propensity and no correlations with behavioral tests. The results suggest that behavioral data from a commercial video game do not substitute for established tests of risk-taking

All impostors aren’t alike – differentiating the impostor phenomenon

Following up on earlier investigations, the present paper analyzes construct validity of the impostor phenomenon. It examines the question whether the impostor phenomenon is a homogeneous construct or whether different types of persons with impostor self-concept can be distinguished on the basis of related characteristics. The study was conducted with professionals in leadership positions exhibiting a pronounced impostor self-concept (n = 183). Cluster-analytic procedures indicated the existence of two different types: one group which, in line with the literature (e.g., Clance, 1985), possessed traits classified as fairly unfavorable (“true impostors”) and another group which can be described as largely unencumbered (“strategic impostors”). The present study suggests two types of impostorism: “True” impostors characterized by the negative self-views associated with the construct definition, and more “strategic” impostors who seem to be less encumbered by self-doubt. It is assumed that “strategic impostors” are characterized by a form of deliberate self-presentation. Therefore, the impostor self-concept cannot principally be viewed as a dysfunctional personality style. This distinction should be more carefully considered in further research and in therapeutic interventions

Validation of the impostor phenomenon among managers

Following up on earlier investigations, the present research aims at validating the construct impostor phenomenon by taking other personality correlates into account and to examine whether the impostor phenomenon is a construct in its own right. In addition, gender effects as well as associations with dispositional working styles and strain are examined. In an online study we surveyed a sample of N = 242 individuals occupying leadership positions in different sectors. Confirmatory factor analyses provide empirical evidence for the discriminant validity of the impostor phenomenon. In accord with earlier studies we show that the impostor phenomenon is accompanied by higher levels of anxiety, dysphoric moods, emotional instability, a generally negative self-evaluation, and perfectionism. The study does not reveal any gender differences concerning the impostor phenomenon. With respect to working styles, persons with an impostor self-concept tend to show perfectionist as well as procrastinating behaviors. Moreover, they report being more stressed and strained by their work. In sum, the findings show that the impostor phenomenon constitutes a dysfunctional personality style. Practical implications are discussed