Does a Federal Glass Ceiling Have Differential Effects on Female and Male Technology Entrepreneurs?

Glass ceilings are invisible organizational barriers encountered by underrepresented groups in large hierarchies. This chapter empirically investigates the existence and characteristics of an internal, government-wide glass ceiling for female employees using aggregate pay grade and demographic data on nearly 1.5 million U.S. Federal employees between 2001-2011. The external consequences for over 15,000 technology ventures seeking R&D funding from 12 federal agencies is explored. In this context, the researchers analyze over 50,000 grants and find that a unit increase in a novel, government-wide, glass ceiling measure is a meaningful and negative predictor of subsequent Phase II funding outcomes for Phase I grantees. More importantly, the negative external effects of the identified glass ceilings are significantly larger for women technology entrepreneurs when compared to their male counterparts.

Dark Triad, Counterproductive Work Behaviour and Job Performance

Dark personality traits are also known as the dark triad which is a multidimensional construct, made up of Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. They have recently become a major topic of interest in organizational psychology. The present research aims to demonstrate that the dark triad of personality is a significant negative predictor of job performance and studies the relationship between the dark triad and job performance, having as a mediator counterproductive work behavior. The sample of this study is represented by 137 participants from different organizations with different ages and different work experience ranging from one to 40 years, of which 34 men (24.82%) and 103 women (75.18%). The design adopted is cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational, nonexperimental. In this paper each construct of the triad was taken separately and measured in relation to the other two variables mentioned above, and the results varied depending on this aspect. Thus, only one of the two major hypotheses was supported.

The Effects of the Dark Triad Traits on the Five Pillars of Positive Psychology: The Moderation Effect of Gender

The current study investigated the effects of the Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) on mental health indicators from the viewpoint of positive psychology. Additionally, the moderation effect of gender was explored in the context of these relationships. The sample consisted of Hungarian adults from Serbia (439, 54% women). The participants completed the Short Dark Triad Scale (SD3) and the Mental Health Test (MHT), which is a new measure of mental health that can identify levels of well-being, savoring, creative and executing efficiency, self-regulation, and resilience. Results showed that narcissism positively predicted all mental health indicators, while psychopathy negatively predicted all indicators, except for resilience, with which it showed no significant relationship. Machiavellianism was a positive predictor of savoring, creative and executing efficiency, but a negative predictor of self-regulation and resilience and it had no significant effect on well-being. There was no significant moderation effect of gender.

Time Wasters?

The Dark Triad personality traits have previously been linked with dysfunctional types of procrastination (i.e., delaying certain tasks). From an evolutionary perspective, procrastination is recognized for facilitating a fast life history strategy. The present study investigated links between active and passive procrastination and the extended Dark Tetrad personality traits (psychopathy, Machiavellianism, narcissism, sadism). Participants ( N = 357) were invited via Prolific data collection platform and Survey Circle research sites to participate in an online survey exploring personality and procrastination. Path analyses revealed that all Dark Tetrad traits positively predicted several aspects of active procrastination only. Narcissism emerged as the only negative predictor of passive procrastination. Rather than linking these traits with dysfunctional procrastination types only, our results highlight the importance of considering the Dark Tetrad about functional forms of procrastination, which may be more beneficial for facilitating a fast life history strategy.

Cognitive Failures: Relationship with Perceived Emotions, Stress, and Resting Vagally-Mediated Heart Rate Variability

Cognitive failures represent everyday task failures that individuals are normally capable of completing. While cognitive failures measured with the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire can be considered a trait, the psychophysiological states associated with cognitive failures are yet to be fully understood. The aim of this paper was to investigate the extent to which the perception of experiencing cognitive failures in daily life is associated with both psychological (i.e., perceived emotional valence, emotional intensity, and stress), as well as physiological (i.e., vagally-mediated heart rate variability, vmHRV) variables. A total of 69 participants were involved in this study (47 male, 22 female; Mage = 22.4 years). Participants underwent a 5-min heart rate variability measurement and filled out the self-report psychological variables, before completing the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, providing scores for Distractibility, Forgetfulness, and False Triggering. When combining the predictors together into a hierarchical regression analysis, only the model related to the Distractibility subscale was found to be significant (unique significant negative predictor: resting vmHRV). Further research should investigate whether influencing resting vmHRV, with interventions such as slow-paced breathing, may decrease the perception of cognitive failures related to distractibility.

Lower Circulating Sertoli and Leydig Cell Hormone Levels During Puberty in Obese Boys: A Cross-sectional Study

Context Alterations in semen characteristics and circulating Sertoli and Leydig cell hormones have been described in obese male adults. Whether hormonal alterations occur before adulthood has not been fully evaluated. Objective We describe circulating Sertoli and Leydig cell hormone levels in overweight–obese (ow/ob) boys through childhood and adolescence in a cross-sectional study. Methods Monocentric study in the Pediatric Endocrinology Unit of Angers University Hospital. Three hundred and fifty-one obese and overweight boys aged 5-19 years underwent physical examination, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for body composition, oral glucose tolerance test on insulin and glucose, and measurements of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), inhibin B, testosterone, and estradiol. Hormonal levels were compared with normative data obtained from 652 healthy nonoverweight nonobese boys of similar age or Tanner stage. Results Median inhibin B and testosterone levels during puberty were significantly lower in ow/ob than in healthy boys (1) from age >12 years and thereafter for inhibin B, and (2) from age >14 years and thereafter for testosterone. At Tanner stages 4 and 5, 26%, 31%, and 18% of inhibin B, testosterone, and AMH values were below the 5th percentile in ow/ob subjects (P < .01). In multiple regression analyses, estradiol and total bone mineral density Z-score were negative predictors of inhibin B, fat mass percentage was a negative predictor of testosterone, and insulin was a negative predictor of AMH. Conclusion Lower Sertoli and Leydig cell hormone levels during puberty were observed in the ow/ob boys.

Effects of Insight With Obsessive Beliefs and Metacognition Appraisal On Symptoms’ Severity Among Patients With Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Background: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is among the top ten devastating mental disorders. Psychiatric nurses have significant roles in its diagnosis and management. Aim of the study: to investigate the effects of insight with obsessive beliefs and metacognition appraisal on the severity of symptoms among patients with OCD. Subjects and methods: This case-control study was conducted in the outpatient clinics at El Maamoura Mental Health Hospital. It included 69 OCD patients recruited from the setting, and 69 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. A self-administered questionnaire Yale Brown OCD Scale, Overvalued Ideas Scale (OVIS), and Metacognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30) was used in data collection. The fieldwork was from October 2020 to March 2021. Results: Most patients were diagnosed with OCD at <30 years age (78.3%), and 39.1% tried self-management. OCD patients’ scores of Yale Brown, OVIS, and MCQ-30 were significantly higher than controls (p<0.001). A significant positive correlation was found between Yale Brown severity and OVIS insight scores (r=0.459). The multivariate analysis revealed that OVIS score is the strongest independent positive predictor of the Yale Brown severity score, while good family relations is a negative predictor. As for the MCQ-30, the control thoughts score was a positive predictor, and the self-consciousness score a negative predictor. Conclusion and recommendations: OCD patients have poorer insight and more maladaptive metacognitive beliefs in comparison with healthy controls. Although poor insight has a significant negative impact on OCD severity, the effects of metacognition still need further research. The study recommends training programs to improve the insight of OCD patients. Further research addressing the role of metacognition in OCD is warranted.

Validation of the General and Personal Belief in a Just World scales in Iran and Their Relations to Perceived Threat of Kin Favoritism

People possess a pre-conscious need to believe in the existence of justice in the world. This belief in a just world (BJW) is usually measured with self-report scales. Dalbert et al. (1987) and Dalbert (1999) have developed the general belief in a just world (GBJW) and personal belief in a just world (PBJW) scales as psychometrically robust measures of just-world beliefs. We conducted three studies to demonstrate the validity of the Persian versions of belief in a just world scales and the importance of distinguishing between GBJW and PBJW. First, we confirmed the factor structure. reliability, convergent validity (self-esteem, life satisfaction, and religiosity), and divergent validity (big five personalityfactors and dark triad traits) of GBJW and PBJW using Iranian participants (N1 = 454). Second, the associations of GBJW and PBJW with perceived threat of unjust behavior directed to self or others were assessed using two scenario-based studies (N2 = 81, N3 = 71) in the context of kin favoritism. While GBJW negatively predicted perceived threat of kin favoritism directed to others, PBJW was a negative predictor of perceived threat of kin favoritism directed to self. Consistent with theoretical assumptions, perceived likelihood of punishment mediated these associations. In addition to providing further evidence for the differentiation between GBJW and PBJW, the findings of Study 2 and 3 also support the idea of an optimistic bias towards self by showing that people perceived less threat of kin favoritism when others, rather than themselves, were potential victims of injustice.

Deterring the Drunk Driver: An Examination of Conditional Deterrence and Self-Reported Drunk Driving

This project uses a representative U.S. population sample and Generalized Structural Equation Modeling (GSEM) to explore the deterrence of driving under the influence (DUI) and it’s moderation by the differential deterrability of problem and non-problem drinkers. As hypothesized, the results indicate that personal and vicarious experiences with punishment and punishment avoidance were significant predictors of punishment certainty and self-reported DUI. Significant heterogeneity in both the formulation of perceived certainty of punishment and the relationship between this perception and DUI also exists between problem and non-problem drinkers. Most notably, certainty of punishment was a more robust negative predictor of DUI offending for problem drinkers, and prior punishment appears to have little effect on perceptions of punishment certainty for problem drinkers.