The Regulatory Function of Empathy, Shame and Guilt Proneness in Moral Judgement in Organizational Life

Moral judgment and moral dilemmas are a pervasive part of organizational life and every decision-maker can and will encounter them at some point. Whether people make the utilitarian decision (preferring to maximize overall welfare) or the deontological one (choosing to adhere to moral rules), depends both on the contextual aspects, as well as on individual traits such as empathy and so-called moral emotions - guilt and shame.  This paper aims to study the differences between the utilitarian and the deontologists employees in relation with empathy, guilt and shame proneness. In order to discriminate the two categories (utilitarian and deontologist), the well-established “Trolley problem” was used. In the Switch version, the task can be accomplished by using a lever to switch the train track, such that the train only kills one person. On the other hand, in the Footbridge version, pushing a very fat man off a bridge, using his body to stop the train, can save the five. The following questionnaires were used on a sample of 61 participants (47 females and 14 males, aged between M=20,88, AS=1,81): Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and The Guilt and Shame Proneness scale. Results showed a significant difference between the utilitarian and deontologist on the fantasy and empathic-concern scales for the Switch version. However, no significant differences were observed for guilt or shame proneness. As for the Bridge version, the differences were identified only on the empathic-concern scale and on the Guilt‐Negative‐Behavior‐Evaluation scale of GAS

An Exploratory Study Regarding the Relations between Time Perspective, Achievement Motivation and Self-Regulation

Research conducted so far has emphasized the link between specific time orientations (mainly future) and a series of behaviors associated with health, risk-taking or academic achievement. Although time perspective was investigated as a cognitive-motivational concept with important implications on learning outcomes and behavior, there is little or no evidence concerning the effects of time perspective on work related achievement motivation. Similarly, albeit time perspective was studied in relation with other individual variables that might provide insights for a better understanding of its volitional nature (such as, locus of control, optimism/pessimism or self-determination), self-regulation is one such variable, which has not yet been considered. The present study sought to investigate the possible associations between different time perspectives, self-regulation and achievement motivation. The study was conducted using a survey method on a convenience sample of 67 MA students. Results show positive associations between future time perspective and self-regulation, and negative associations between present fatalistic perspective and self-regulation, respectively past negative perspective and self-regulation. Likewise, achievement motivation seems to be positively related to future time perspective, and negatively related to past negative and present fatalistic. The present findings suggest taking into account the way in which individuals assign the personal and social experiences to time frames, which help them confer order, coherence and meaning to their experiences in work settings. Concurrently, since time perspective is associated with problematic behaviors, it could be included in the study of work-related behaviors (counterproductive or organizational citizenship behaviors) along with self-regulation

The Influence of Values on the Leadership Style

The study of values has been an issue of interest for several subjects, such as philosophy, social sciences, ethics, axiology etc. Despite the fact that psychologists acknowledge the importance of values as orientation tools for every individual in their environment, generating attitudes which translate into behaviours, the empirical research on this topic has been rather scarce, given the complexity of the field, as well as the lack of a sensitive and valid tool able to allow the measurement of values. The academic research, however, cannot avoid an emphasis of (the) values in the study of leadership. Based on the complete leadership model (Bass & Avolio, 1997), the empirical research we propose aims at studying the influence of values on the informal leadership style. The lot of respondents is made up of students, master degree candidates and prisoners from Târgsor, Prahova county prison - totalling 135 persons, divided in 15 groups with one informal leader for each group. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Avolio & Bass), Schwartz Value Inventory and the socio-metric techniques for identifying the informal leaders have been applied to all of them. The proposed hypotheses approach the congruence between the leader's fundamental values and those of the group's members, the way the values influence the leadership in the educational environment (students, master degree candidates) as opposed to the prison environment and, in perspective, the interactions of the members within and outside the group, determined by the degree of identification with the others' values

Giving Voice to Non-traditional Students “Walking” the Narative Mediation Path. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

The growing phenomenon of disadvantaged and non-traditional students increases the risk of educational underachievement and drop-out in universities in Europe. Within the European funded project INSTALL (Innovative Solutions to Acquire Learning to Learn) researchers developed a qualitative methodology — Narrative Mediation Path (NMP) — consisting of a group training process targeted to disadvantaged students. NMP, based on the psychological concept of ‘mentalization’‚ also known as ‘reflexive competence’, combines into one methodology four discursive modules: Metaphoric, Iconographic, Written and Bodily. In this chapter, we present the findings from an evaluative study about how participating students experienced the NMP training process, how NMP is able to support non-traditional students and the implications for policy makers. The results suggest that the use of different discursive modules supports the students in developing their reflexive competence during a formative experience which enables them to better adjust to the university context. Several propositions are made as to how NMP methodology can be integrated in various institutional contexts, and some key issues about policies and practice in supporting non-traditional students are made available for policy makers

The Influence of Values on the Leadership Style

The study of values has been an issue of interest for several subjects, such as philosophy, social sciences, ethics, axiology etc. Despite the fact that psychologists acknowledge the importance of values as orientation tools for every individual in their environment, generating attitudes which translate into behaviours, the empirical research on this topic has been rather scarce, given the complexity of the field, as well as the lack of a sensitive and valid tool able to allow the measurement of values. The academic research, however, cannot avoid an emphasis of (the) values in the study of leadership. Based on the complete leadership model (Bass &amp; Avolio, 1997), the empirical research we propose aims at studying the influence of values on the informal leadership style. The lot of respondents is made up of students, master degree candidates and prisoners from Târgsor, Prahova county prison - totalling 135 persons, divided in 15 groups with one informal leader for each group. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Avolio &amp; Bass), Schwartz Value Inventory and the socio-metric techniques for identifying the informal leaders have been applied to all of them. The proposed hypotheses approach the congruence between the leader's fundamental values and those of the group's members, the way the values influence the leadership in the educational environment (students, master degree candidates) as opposed to the prison environment and, in perspective, the interactions of the members within and outside the group, determined by the degree of identification with the others' values.</em

Allergic Contact Cell-Mediated Hypersensitivity in Psoriasis: A Narrative Minireview

The dysfunctionality of the protective skin barrier in psoriasis allows easier cutaneous penetration of various contact haptens; thus, such patients can develop allergic contact hypersensitivity as a comorbidity. Both skin conditions involve T-cell-mediated mechanisms. Dermatologists and allergists should consider assessing allergic contact cell-mediated hypersensitivity in selected psoriasis patients, especially those with palmoplantar psoriasis and who are refractory to topical treatments, and in patients with psoriasis, with or without arthritis, treated with biologics that present skin lesions clinically suggestive of contact dermatitis

Reflexivity in Higher Education - Research and Models of Intervention for Underachieving Students

There is a rapidly increasing demand to implement formative methods in university contexts to promote reflexive competences. Underachieving university students often evince reflexive impairments when dealing with specific university–related events and relationships, or specific developmental milestones (transition to university, fundamental exams, etc.). Fostering reflexivity can be conducive for them to improving their active participation and inclusion to university contexts. The book aims at contributing to the debate on reflexive process as well as on the role that narrative devices can play to foster it. It also aims at discussing the difficult conditions of many university students, the need of promoting key competences and to test novel formative methods in order to improve students’ academic performance. Many contributors by different European scholars will be presented. Much of them are aimed at discussing the European Project INSTALL (Innovative Solutions to Acquire Learning to Learn) founded in 2011 within the Erasmus Multilateral Project. INSTALL adopts an innovative narrative and multimodal methodology, the Narrative Mediation Path (NMP), i.e. a narrative formative method devised and tested with underachieving university students lagging behind with their studies