Differential effects of rude coworkers and patients on nurses' safety performance: an emotional labor perspective

PurposeThis paper examines how nurses differentially respond, both emotionally and behaviorally, to incivility from coworkers (i.e. other healthcare staff) and from their patients. Specifically, the authors explore how coworker and patient incivility distinctly influence the extent to which nurses engage in emotional labor, which in turn, may impact nurses' safety performance. The authors further examine how nurses' hostile attribution biases exacerbate and mitigate these effects.Design/methodology/approachA three-week longitudinal study was conducted with 187 nurses in which they reported their experiences with incivility, surface and deep acting, hostile attribution biases and safety performance (i.e. safety compliance and participation).FindingsPatient incivility led to more surface acting across all nurses. Further, the effects of coworker incivility on emotional labor strategies were conditional on nurses' hostile attribution biases (HAB). Specifically, coworker incivility led to more surface acting among nurses higher on HAB, and coworker incivility led to less deep acting among those lower on HAB. Finally, surface acting was associated with reduced safety participation, and deep acting was associated with greater safety compliance and safety participation.Originality/valueThe nursing context allowed the current research to extend understanding about how incivility affects an unexplored outcome—safety performance. The current research also offers a rare examination of the effects of incivility from multiple sources (i.e. coworkers and patients) and demonstrates the different processes through which incivility from these different sources impacts nurses' ability to perform safely.

Hostile Attribution Biases in Vulnerable Narcissists Depends on the Socio-Relational Context

Narcissism, especially the vulnerable kind, is associated with anger and hostility. In a sample of outpatients, group psychotherapy ( N = 74) and community members ( N = 153), we replicated and extended previous work linking vulnerable, but not grandiose, narcissism to hostile attributions across different socio-relational contexts. We also examined if the level of ambiguity of social situations, assessed from the other-referent position, influences the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and attributing hostile intentionality, and whether narcissistic individuals distinguish hostile interpretations, depending on the level of ambiguity of the scene. In ambiguous vignettes, assessed from the self-referent position, higher levels of vulnerable narcissism were associated with a greater tendency to infer more attributions of hostile intentions with people with whom there was no close relationship (except for authority in the patient group). In the case of visual scenes, the positive relationship between vulnerable narcissism and attributed hostile intentionality appeared in accidental scenes, but not in hostile and ambiguous ones. In addition, the higher the vulnerable narcissism the lower the ability to differentiate between contextual nuances (e.g., the level of ambiguity). We replicated previous research indicating a relationship between vulnerable narcissism and hostile attribution bias, but shed new light on the phenomenon of this bias in that it appears to depend on the socio-relational context and the level of ambiguity of the situation.

Narrow Specificity of Pessimistic Attribution Style and other Attribution Styles in Clinically Diagnosed Anxiety Disorders: A Systematic Review

Objective: Research has established that cognitive vulnerability has a role in mood disorder. Researchers have taken a keen interest in exploring the role of pessimistic attribution style (PAS) found in depression, expecting that it can also explain comorbid disorders to depression. The objectives of this systematic review are to explore the narrow specificity of PAS, and to search for other attribution style, if any, in anxiety disorders. Method: PubMed, Research4Life and APA PsycArticles® databases were searched for relevant articles recorded up to May 18, 2021. All published empirical articles, systematic review or meta-analysis, which included at least any of the anxiety disorders diagnosed using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM, APA) or International Classification of Disease (ICD, WHO) in the context of attribution bias, were included. Title, abstract and methodology of the publications were screened for potential selection. Risk of bias in the reviewed articles was assessed using the GRADE system. Result: Total 628 records were screened, out of which 19 were found eligible for inclusion. Result suggests narrow specificity of PAS has limited evidence and studies lack a rigorous methodology to establish it. Conclusion: There is indication that various attribution biases can be present in different anxiety disorders including those reported in depression.

By chance or by choice? Biased attribution of others’ outcomes when social preferences matter

Decision makers in positions of power often make unobserved choices under risk and uncertainty. In many cases, they face a trade-off between maximizing their own payoff and those of other individuals. What inferences are made in such instances about their choices when only outcomes are observable? We conduct two experiments that investigate whether outcomes are attributed to luck or choices. Decision makers choose between two investment options, where the more costly option has a higher chance of delivering a good outcome (that is, a higher payoff) for the group. We show that attribution biases exist in the evaluation of good outcomes. On average, good outcomes of decision makers are attributed more to luck as compared to bad outcomes. This asymmetry implies that decision makers get too little credit for their successes. The biases are exhibited by those individuals who make or would make the less prosocial choice for the group as decision makers, suggesting that a consensus effect may be shaping both the belief formation and updating processes.

Stress reactivity and social cognition in pure and co-occurring early childhood relational bullying and victimization

This study tested the independent effects and interactions of sympathetic nervous system reactivity and hostile attribution biases (HAB) in predicting change in pure and co-occurring relational bullying and victimization experiences over one year. Co-occurring and pure relational bullying and victimization experiences were measured using a dimensional bifactor model, aiming to address methodological limitations of categorical approaches, using data from 300 preschoolers (Mage = 44.70 months, SD = 4.38). Factor scores were then saved and used in nested path analyses with a subset of participants (n = 81) to test main study hypotheses regarding effects of HAB and skin conductance level reactivity (SCL-R). Bifactor models provided good fit to the data at two independent time points. HAB and SCL-R interacted to predict increases in co-occurring relational bullying/victimization with evidence for over- and underarousal pathways.

Experimentation with Self-Serving Attribution Biases

We study an experimentation problem in a situation where the outcomes depend on the decision-maker’s intrinsic ability and on an external variable. We analyze the mistakes made by individuals who hold inaccurate prior beliefs about their ability. Overconfident individuals take too much credit for their successes and excessively blame external factors if they fail. They are too easily dissatisfied with their environment, which leads them to experiment in variable environments and revise their self-confidence over time. In contrast, underconfident individuals might be trapped in low-quality environments and incur perpetual utility losses. (JEL D11, D83, D91)

Facial width-to-height (fWHR) revisited

To investigate peoples' trait attribution biases, we asked participants to generate faces of "bad guys" and "good guys" using three methods: free drawings, photo-editing, and feature assembly. In referring to research linking facial width (relative to height, fWHR) with aggressive and dominant personality traits in males, we compared fWHR displayed in the generated portraits between the two character types . We found that participants modelled emotional expressions (in particular, expression of anger and fear/friendliness), but not fWHR per se, to portray character trait. When emotional expressions were statistically controlled for, no difference in fWHR between "bad guys" and "good guys" remained. We conclude that emotion overgeneralization is a strong confound in research on fWHR.

Are Older Adults’ Leisure Patterns Consistent with the Active Ageing Model? The Influence of the Ageist Stereotypes

More and more studies indicate that leisure plays a fundamental role in active ageing. Our study describes the current leisure patterns of older adults, comparing them with other age groups. Consequently, 445 adults, stratified by age (young, middle-aged and older adults), were selected and subsequently administered a set of tests. The results indicate that older people claim having more time for their leisure activities; however, the diversity of activities performed is lower, showing a negative gradient based on age. The leisure patterns of older people reflect a predominance of passive leisure, little cultural leisure time and moderate levels of social and physical leisure activities. Older people’s leisure seems to be influenced by ageist stereotypes and attribution biases. Our findings imply that these results could be used to design and implement programs aimed at promoting leisure styles that contribute to increase active ageing.

Employee representations of customer harassment and its causes in self-reported tales

In this paper we explore the potential qualities of the processing and sharing of instances of verbal and behavioural harassment experienced by employees in their interactions with customers. The data originates from a study of an internet forum where employees from customer-oriented job functions share their experiences of troublesome interactions with customers. 1859 tales and 2932 responses have been analysed using content analysis and descriptive statistics. The study focused on mapping 1) the character of the incidents experienced, 2) the employees’ perceptions and representations of possible causes of the incidents, 3) the content and character of the solutions presented, 4) the emotions displayed, and 5) the received responses. In this article we limit our focus to the findings relating to the character of the experienced incidents and the representation of possible causes of the incidents and use these findings to discuss the potential qualities of the experience processing. We argue that the experience processing displays both positive and negative qualities. Among the positive qualities are; a potential for authenticity stemming from the events being self-experienced, continuity, equal access, reflexivity and diminishing of self-blame. Among the negative qualities are; some conditioning by gender socialization, traces of narrowmindedness and individualization founded in attribution biases, some problematic stereotyping and rare instances of self-blame.