The use of lie scales has a fairly long history in psychometrics, with the intention of identifying and correcting for socially desirable answers. This represents one type of common method variance (bias introduced when both predictors and predicted variables are gathered from the same source), which may lead to spurious associations in self-reports. Within traffic safety research, where self-report methods are used abundantly, it is uncommon to control for social desirability artifacts, or reporting associations between lie scales, crashes and driver behaviour scales. In the present study, it was shown that self-reports of traffic accidents were negatively associated with a lie scale for driving, while recorded ones were not, as could be expected if the scale was valid and a self-report bias existed. We conclude that whenever self-reported crashes are used as an outcome variable and predicted by other self-report measures, a lie scale should be included and used for correcting the associations. However, the only existing lie scale for traffic safety is not likely to catch all socially desirable responding, because traffic safety may not be desirable for all demographic groups. New lie scales should be developed specifically for driver behaviour questionnaires, to counter potential bias and artifactual results. Alternatively, the use of a single source of data should be discontinued.

Problem

Various indicators of health have been shown to be associated with traffic crash involvement. As general health is also related to absence from work, the latter variable may be more strongly related to crashes, especially for professional drivers.

Method

Bus driver absence from work was analyzed in association with their crash records. Two British samples and one Swedish sample were used.

Results

One of the British samples yielded fair correlations between crash record and absence, while for the other the effect was restricted to the first three months of driving. The Swedish data had effects in the expected direction but these were not significant.

Discussion

The use of an indirect, overall measurement of health, may be a viable method for predicting the traffic crash involvement for professional drivers, although replications are needed in larger samples and other populations.

Impact on industry

The use of absence records for the identification of at risk drivers would seem to be a simple and useful method for companies with major fleets, and it also shows the importance of promoting employee health and well being at work as a potential method of reducing the cost, not only of absenteeism, but also of crashes in company vehicles.

Introduction: It is often implicitly or explicitly assumed in traffic accident research that drivers with accidents designated as non-culpable are a random sample from the population. However, this assumption is dependent upon differences in the criterion used for culpability. If drivers are erroneously categorized by assuming randomness, results could be grossly misleading. Method: The assumption of randomness leads to two predictions: first, no correlation should exist between culpable and non-culpable crashes; and second, the accident groups should differ on the variables known to be associated with accidents, such as amount of driving experience. These predictions were tested in two samples of bus drivers. Results: It was found that in a sample with a harsh criterion (70% culpable accidents) for crash responsibility, the drivers with non-culpable accidents had the features expected, namely, they were more experienced for example, while in a sample with a lenient criterion (50 % culpable), this was not so. Discussion: It was concluded that similar studies to the present one would need to be undertaken to establish exactly what percentage of drivers in a given population should be assigned culpable accidents, and construct a criterion that yields this ratio. Otherwise, the theoretical assumptions of randomness and non-responsibility will probably be violated to some degree. Impact on Industry: Many estimates of risk of crash involvement may have been wrong. Given the potential for erroneous criteria, a number of studies may make invalid assumptions from their data.

Problem: Studies on individual differences in traffic safety report differently on their methodologies, and use different statistics, and these are therefore difficult to compare and meta-analyze. Method: Based upon a previous, extensive review and meta-analysis of the traffic safety literature, several recommendations are made about what features of the methodology of studies on individual differences (including evaluations) in safety need to be reported to facilitate interpretation and meta-analysis. Similarly, some basic types of statistical values are recommended. Impact on Industry: The accumulation of knowledge about individual differences in traffic safety would be facilitated if scientific authors and journals adhered to these guidelines.

Predictions about effects of aggregating driver celeration data were tested in a set of data where bus drivers' behavior had been measured repeatedly over three years in a city environment. For drivers with many measurements, this data was correlated with the drivers' accident record at various levels of aggregation over measurements. A single measurement (one sample) was seldom a significant predictor, but for each drive added to a mean, the variation explained in accident record was increased by about 1%. Also, correlations between measurements increased when these were aggregated, and the association with number of passengers (a proxy for traffic density) decreased somewhat, all as predicted. These results show that although driver celeration behavior is only semi-stable across time and environments, aggregating measurements increases both stability and predictive power versus accidents considerably. The celeration variable is therefore promising as a tool for identifying dangerous drivers, if these can be measured repeatedly, or, even better, continuously.

Low-speed accidents with buses in public transport in the city of Uppsala during the years 1986–2000 are coded in 17 variables concerning mainly physical properties of the accident. The taxonomy uses classifications from existing schemes, but some are altered and some new are added to capture common features of reports of bus accidents in this population. It is found that side contacts and singles are the most common accidents, and that more than a quarter of all accident involvements occurs at bus stops. Inter-rater reliability calculations for the categories show that all except one have reliabilities above 80%. The level of internal validity, calculated as agreement of frequencies between time periods, is acceptable, despite many possible sources of change and bias. It is argued that the validity of this database far exceeds that of the, for research purposes normally used, non-company self-reports, state- and police-archives, due to more extensive reporting and corroborating evidence. The practical usefulness of these results and accident taxonomies in general is discussed.

Problem: Driver celeration (speed change) behavior of bus drivers has previously been found to predict their traffic incident involvement, but it has also been ascertained that the level of celeration is influenced by the number of passengers carried as well as other traffic density variables. This means that the individual level of celeration is not as well estimated as could be the case. Another hypothesized influence of the number of passengers is that of differential quality of measurements, where high passenger density cirrcumstances are supposed to yield better estimates of the individual driver component of celeration behavior. Method: Comparisons were made between different variants of the celeration as predictor of traffic incidents of bus drivers. The number of bus passengers was held constant, and cases identified by their number of passengers per kilometer during measurement were excluded (in 12 samples of repeated measurements). Results: After holding passengers constant, the correlations between celeration behavior and incident record increased very slightly. Also, the selective prediction of incident record of those drivers who had had many passengers when measured increased the correlations even more. Conclusions: The influence of traffic density variables like the number of passengers have little direct influence on the predictive power of celeration behavior, despite the impact upon absolute celeration level. Selective prediction on the other hand increased correlations substantially. This unusual effect was probably due to how the individual propensity for high or low celeration driving was affected by the number of stops made and general traffic density; differences between drivers in this respect were probably enhanced by the denser traffic, thus creating a better estimate of the theoretical celeration behavior parameter C. The new concept of selective prediction was discussed in terms of making estimates of the systematic differences in quality of the individual driver data.

Celeration (speed change) behaviour of drivers has been posited to be the best predictor of their traffic accident involvement. The origins of this behaviour, however, have not been specified. A model is therefore introduced, where celeration is partly due to the individual disposition of the driver (i.e., driving style), and partly to the environment (road layout, rules and traffic density). Three measurement problems for celeration were studied; the effect of traffic density, of regular versus irregular routes, and weight of the vehicle (loaded/unloaded) on celeration behaviour. Two small samples of truck drivers in Sweden were measured for several months each. There was a strong effect of vehicle load, with behaviour being more cautious with increased weight. Driving on different roads also yielded differences in behaviour, although the design used did not permit conclusions about what caused these. Traffic volume was not found to have any reliable effect on celeration.

The influences of heat and rain upon accident risk of city buses in a Swedish town were studied for a 10-year time period, but no reliable effects found, despite the fact that the temperature might be as high as 30 degrees C outside the vehicles. As the use of single accidents with buses bypasses many of the methodological problems inherent in the study of weather effects on accident rates, for example changes in general traffic density, the present study was a rather strict test of the hypothesis of increased accident risk due to these factors. It was therefore concluded that rain and high temperatures do not increase the risk of accident for low-speed buses in Sweden. However, there could still be an effect of hot weather on bus accidents at higher temperatures than those normally found in Sweden.

Driver celeration (speed change) behavior of bus drivers measured a number of times was used to predict their culpable accidents over increasing time periods. It was found that predictive power was considerable (>.30 correlation) over 5 years of time with aggregated celeration (mean of repeated measurements) as independent variables, and there were also indications that power reached even further, although too low Ns made these results unreliable. Similarly, there were indications of even stronger correlations with increased aggregation of celeration values. The results were discussed in terms of the methodology needed to bring out such results, and the stability of accident-causing behavior over time.

To investigate whether there is a difference in accident risk for differently sized truck configurations, a meta-analysis was undertaken of all available research. It was found that most studies had been made in the US, and that several methodological problems have plagued this area of investigation, mainly the lack of good exposure data. As larger trucks tend to drive on bigger, and therefore safer, roads, this needs to be taken into account. Some researchers have also suspected that there are systematic differences between drivers of different trucks, but the present analysis showed that this is probably a weak effect. Furthermore, it has been shown that the effects of accidents increase with increasing weight, at least up to a certain point, which makes the comparisons of accident risk sensitive to what type of accident has been investigated. Mean values of the risk ratios between long and short truck configurations were calculated from more than 20 studies, in the categories All, Injuries and Fatal. Also, separate values were computed for studies that had held the influence of road type constant in some way, and those that had not. Given that larger trucks replace a higher number of smaller ones on the roads, the differences in all categories of accidents would seem to indicate that, as a population, heavier trucks have fewer accidents, although the difference is small for Fatal. Unexpectedly, this positive traffic safety effect was more pronounced for the studies that had held road type constant. Furthermore, it was evident from the literature that although the overall effects were positive regarding truck size, larger vehicles have specific problems, which probably put them more at risk in certain environments, like towns.

Introduction: Offending drivers are often re-educated, but these courses have seldom been shown to have any safety effects. Method: An on-line improvement course for offending drivers below the age of 25 was evaluated with several driver inventories. Results: The drivers reported higher levels of aggression, stress, sensation seeking, drunk driving, and driving violations, six months after the course than before. However, these levels were lower than those of controls, indicating that the initially low levels for the education group were due to socially desirable responding, as measured by a lie scale, an effect that waned after the course. Discussion: The results can be interpreted as a positive effect of the education, although this conclusion is tentative and not in agreement with all effects in the data. Impact on industry: The results are in disagreement with previous evaluation studies using the same or similar instruments, and show the need to include controls for social desirability in self-report studies.

Problem: It has been claimed that exposure to risk of road traffic accidents (usually conceptualized as mileage) is curvilinearly associated with crashes (i.e., the increase in number of crashes decreases with increased mileage). However, this effect has been criticized as mainly an artifact of self-reported data. Method: To test the proposition that self-reported accidents create part of the curvilinearity in data by under-reporting by high-accident drivers, self-reported and recorded collisions were plotted against hours of driving for bus drivers. Results: It was found that the recorded data differed from self-reported information at the high end of exposure, and had a more linear association with the exposure measure as compared to the self-reported data, thus supporting the hypothesis. Discussion: Part of the previously reported curvilinearity between accidents and exposure is apparently due to biased methods. Also, the interpretation of curvilinearity as an effect of exposure upon accidents was criticized as unfounded, as the causality may just as well go the other way. Impact on industry: The question of how exposure associates with crash involvement is far from resolved, and everyone who uses an exposure metric (mileage, time, induced) should be careful to investigate the exact properties of their variable before using it.

Three approaches to risk perception (RP), the psychometric, the Basic Risk Perception Model, and the social amplification of risk, are evaluated using four common criteria for scientific theories. All approaches are found to meet the criterion of describing a large set of data, and for the psychometric approach and the Basic Risk Perception Model, the criterion of parsimony is fulfilled. The criteria of falsifiability and generating testable hypotheses are not met by any of these approaches. It is concluded that there is not as much theory available in RP research as could be expected at face value, if theory is defined as statements about causal mechanisms generating testable hypotheses. These three approaches instead qualifies as models (here defined as mathematical descriptions of data).

Studien har syftat till att undersöka huruvida det går att identifiera narcissistiska drag i ett personligt brev. Detta har gjorts genom att extrahera narcissistiska drag i det personliga brevet med en språkanalys, för att sedan jämföra resultatet mot den nivå av narcissism som uppvisas genom ett personlighetstest. För att undersöka rekryteringsprocessen ytterligare har även en variabel i form av expertbedömning adderats. Studiens hypotes var att det går att identifiera narcissistiska drag i det personliga brevet, samt att det finns ett signifikant samband mellan självskattad, expertbedömd och datorgenererad narcissism. Studien resulterade i ett svagt samband (r = .180) mellan datorgenererad narcissism och självskattad narcissism, respektive ett svagt samband mellan expertbedömning och självskattad narcissism (r = .307). Detta tros ha sin orsak i de olika mätmetoderna i form av såväl en självskattad personbedömning som expertbedömning, i jämförelse med en datorbaserad metod i textanalysen. Verktyget som språkanalysen använder sig av är fortfarande i utvecklingsstadiet vilket är varför det skulle krävas ytterligare forskning inom området för att öka tillförlitligheten. 

A potential source of information about spatial layout, surface slant, and self-motion is provided by transformations of the optic flow field. Theoretical analyses have demonstrated that such flow fields can be decomposed into translation, rotation, expa

Intrusive memories have been proposed as a target symptom for novel science-based interventions. One way to monitor the number of intrusive memories after a traumatic event is a daily intrusion diary which has been used in several studies. A further exploration of e.g., feasibility of the intrusion diary is necessary to conclude the usefulness of the measure for trauma research. The aim of this exploratory study is to assess the intrusion diary in regards of feasibility, psychometric properties and relevance. The intrusion diary was examined across 34 studies, laboratory and clinical. Data on feasibility (e.g., diary return rates, self-reported accuracy and compliance), similarities and differences of intrusion data between samples (e.g. number of intrusions and percentage of participants with zero intrusion), associations with other clinically-relevant intrusion measuress (e.g. IES-R) and relevance (e.g. percentage of intrusions described in the diary that could be matched to analogue trauma) are presented descriptively and visually as well as synthesized across studies. The results indicate high feasibility of the diary across laboratory and clinical studies (i.e., high diary return rates and accuracy/compliance ratings). The mean number of intrusions were similar between the 28 laboratory studies while the percentage of participants with no intrusions varied. Converging measures like the IES-R showed significant correlations with the diary measure and a high percentage of intrusions could be matched to the analogue trauma. With results from across 34 studies, the intrusion diary appears to be a feasible measure that can be used to monitor a clinically relevant symptom. 

Background: Many healthcare workers (HCWs) endured psychologically traumatic events at work during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. For some, these events are re-experienced as unwanted, recurrent, and distressing intrusive memories. Simple psychological support measures are needed to reduce such symptoms of post-traumatic stress in this population. A novel intervention to target intrusive memories, called an imagery-competing task intervention (ICTI), has been developed from the laboratory. The intervention includes a brief memory reminder cue, then a visuospatial task (Tetris (R) gameplay using mental rotation instructions for approximately 20 min) thought to interfere with the traumatic memory image and reduce its intrusiveness. The intervention has been adapted and evaluated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with Swedish HCWs (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04460014).

Objective: We aimed to explore how HCWs who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced the use of a brief intervention to reduce their intrusive memories of work-related trauma.

Method: Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used for in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of HCWs who used the intervention. Seven participants from the RCT were interviewed by an independent researcher without prior knowledge of the intervention. Interviews were conducted via telephone and transcribed verbatim.

Results: Four general themes were generated: 'Triggers and troublesome images', 'Five Ws regarding support - what, when, why, by/with who, for whom', 'Receiving it, believing it, and doing it' and 'The intervention - a different kind of help'; the last two included two subthemes each. The results reflect participants' similarities and differences in their lived experiences of intrusive memories, support measures, and intervention impressions and effects.Conclusion: HCWs' experiences of the novel ICTI reflect a promising appraisal of the intervention as a potential help measure for reducing intrusive memories after trauma, and gives us a detailed understanding of HCWs' needs, with suggestions for its adaption for future implementation.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04460014. Many healthcare workers experience images or 'flashbacks' of traumatic experiences from their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.To ensure that individual needs are met, there is a need to tailor and refine current psychological support measures and their use for healthcare workers.The imagery-competing task intervention was perceived as acceptable, indicating its potential utility as a help measure to reduce intrusive memories after trauma. Antecedentes: Los trabajadores de la salud (HCW, por sus siglas en ingles) sufrieron eventos psicologicamente traumaticos en el trabajo durante la pandemia por COVID-19. Para algunos, estos acontecimientos se vuelven a experimentar como recuerdos intrusivos no deseados, recurrentes y angustiosos. Se necesitan medidas simples de apoyo psicologico para reducir estos sintomas de estres postraumatico en esta poblacion. En el laboratorio se ha desarrollado una nueva intervencion para abordar los recuerdos intrusivos, conocida como Intervencion de Tareas Competitivas de Imagenes (ICTI, por sus siglas en ingles). La intervencion incluye una breve senal de recordatorio de la memoria, luego una tarea visoespacial (juego de Tetris (R) que utiliza instrucciones de rotacion mental durante aproximadamente 20 minutos) que se cree que interfiere con la imagen de la memoria traumatica y reduce su intrusion. La intervencion se ha adaptado y evaluado recientemente en un ECA (ensayo controlado aleatorizado) con trabajadores sanitarios suecos (identificador de ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04460014). Aqui nuestro objetivo es explorar como los participantes del ECA experimentaron la nueva intervencion.Objetivo: Explorar como los trabajadores sanitarios que trabajaron durante la pandemia por COVID-19 experimentaron el uso de una intervencion breve para reducir sus recuerdos intrusivos del trauma relacionado con el trabajo.Metodo: Se utilizo un analisis fenomenologico interpretativo para comprender en profundidad las experiencias vividas por los trabajadores sanitarios que utilizaron la intervencion. Siete participantes del ECA fueron entrevistados por un investigador independiente sin conocimiento previo de la intervencion. Las entrevistas se realizaron por telefono y se transcribieron palabra por palabra.Resultados: Se generaron cuatro temas generales, 'Desencadenantes e imagenes problematicas', 'Cinco preguntas sobre el apoyo: que, cuando, por que, por/con quien, para quien', 'Recibirlo, creerlo y hacerlo' y 'La intervencion. - una ayuda diferente', los dos ultimos incluian dos subtemas cada uno. Los resultados reflejan similitudes y diferencias de los participantes en sus experiencias vividas de recuerdos intrusivos, medidas de apoyo e impresiones y efectos de la intervencion.

Conclusion: Las experiencias de los trabajadores sanitarios con el nuevo ICTI reflejan una evaluacion prometedora de la intervencion como una posible medida de ayuda para reducir los recuerdos intrusivos despues del trauma, y nos brinda una comprension detallada de las necesidades de los trabajadores sanitarios, con sugerencias sobre como adaptarse para una implementacion futura.

Stress på arbetsplatsen är ett vanligt förekommande fenomen och arbetsrelaterad stress kan definieras som en individs reaktion till  jobbfaktorer och indikerar en dålig relation mellan en individs förmåga att hantera arbetet, arbetsuppgifter samt arbetsmiljön. Tidigare forskning visar att den fysiska arbetsmiljön kan påverka individer positivt och negativt beroende på hur den är utformad. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka sambandet mellan arbetsplatsens fysiska miljö och upplevelsen av stress, krav, kontroll och stöd. För att undersöka detta skickades ett enkätunderlag ut via våra sociala medier, bestående av självskattningsskalorna Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Demand-Control-Support, Questionnaire (DCSQ) och frågor gällande den fysiska arbetsmiljöns utformning. I enkäten ingick det även demografiska frågor som deltagarna fick svara på. Totalt 124 yrkesverksamma besvarade enkäten. Studien avser åtta stycken envägs-ANOVA, och resultatet visade att det fanns en signifikant skillnad mellan grupperna avseende graden kontroll och öppet kontorslandskap eller eget kontor, F(1,104.1) = 13.1859, p <.001. Det fanns även en signifikant skillnad mellan grupperna kontroll och distansarbete, F(1,121.0) = 11.380, p  <.001, samt stöd och distansarbete F(1,122.0) = 9.585, p = .002. Inga signifikanta resultat hittades avseende stress, öppet eller stängt kontorslandskap eller distansarbeten. Vidare visar resultatet från analysen att det inte fanns någon signifikant skillnad mellan någon av grupperna och upplevd nivå av krav och även att det inte fanns en signifikant skillnad mellan grupperna avseende stöd, mellan öppet kontorslandskap eller eget kontor. Inte heller hittades det någon signifikant skillnad mellan grupperna avseende krav och distansarbeten. Resultatet tyder på att kontorsmiljön påverkar graden av kontroll och stöd, men inte stressnivåerna eller kraven på arbete.

Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a common condition, characterized by somatic distress upon exposure to odors. As in other idiopathic environmental intolerances, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Contrary to the expectations it was recently found that persons with MCS activate the odor-processing brain regions less than controls, while their activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is increased. The present follow-up study was designed to test the hypotheses that MCS subjects have increased harm avoidance and deviations in the serotonin system, which could render them intolerant to environmental odors. Twelve MCS and 11 control subjects, age 22–44, all working or studying females, were included in a PET study where 5-HT_1A receptor binding potential (BP) was assessed after bolus injection of [¹¹C]WAY100635. Psychological profiles were assessed by the Temperament and Character Inventory and the Swedish universities Scales of Personality. All MCS and 12 control subjects were also tested for emotional startle modulation in an acoustic startle test. MCS subjects exhibited significantly increased harm avoidance, and anxiety compared to controls. They also had a reduced 5-HT_1A receptor BP in amygdala (p = 0.029), ACC (p = 0.005) (planned comparisons, significance level 0.05), and insular cortex (p = 0.003; significance level p<0.005 with Bonferroni correction), and showed an inverse correlation between degree of anxiety and the BP in the amygdala (planned comparison). No group by emotional category difference was found in the startle test. Increased harm avoidance and the observed changes in the 5-HT_1A receptor BP in the regions processing harm avoidance provides a plausible pathophysiological ground for the symptoms described in MCS, and yields valuable information for our general understanding of idiopathic environmental intolerances.

The amygdala plays a central role in processing facial affect, responding to diverse expressions and features shared between expressions. Although speculation exists regarding the nature of relationships between expression- and feature-specific amygdala reactivity, this matter has not been fully explored. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and principal component analysis (PCA) in a sample of 300 young adults, to investigate patterns related to expression- and feature-specific amygdala reactivity to faces displaying neutral, fearful, angry or surprised expressions. The PCA revealed a two-dimensional correlation structure that distinguished emotional categories. The first principal component separated neutral and surprised from fearful and angry expressions, whereas the second principal component separated neutral and angry from fearful and surprised expressions. This two-dimensional correlation structure of amygdala reactivity may represent specific feature-based cues conserved across discrete expressions. To delineate which feature-based cues characterized this pattern, face stimuli were averaged and then subtracted according to their principal component loadings. The first principal component corresponded to displacement of the eyebrows, whereas the second principal component corresponded to increased exposure of eye whites together with movement of the brow. Our results suggest a convergent representation of facial affect in the amygdala reflecting feature-based processing of discrete expressions.

Identifying brain systems that regulate or modulate autonomic nervous system functions may identify pathways through which psychosocial factors can influence health and disease. Reduced high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) characterizes anxiety disordered patients and is predictive of adverse myocardial events. Sex differences in the prevalence of anxiety disorders and cardiac diseases implicate the possibility of sex specific neural regulation of HF-HRV. We investigated the correlation between HF-HRV and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in 28 subjects (15 women) with social phobia undergoing a stressful public speaking task. Regional CBF was measured with [(15)O] water positron emission tomography. Stress induced rCBF correlated positively with HF-HRV in the right supra genual anterior cingulate cortex Brodmann's area (BA) 32, the right head of the caudate nucleus and bilaterally in the medial prefrontal cortex (BA10), extending into the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA46) in the left hemisphere. Men showed larger positive co-variation in the caudate than women. These findings underscore the importance of the emotional division of the anterior cingulate cortex, the prefrontal cortex and the striatum in cardiovagal activity. The study replicates and extends results from published functional neuroimaging studies on cardioregulatory or modulatory areas in healthy subjects to men and women with social phobia. Moreover, caudate functions, possibly related to dopaminergic neurotransmission, have sexually dimorphic effects on vagal modulation of the heart.

Studies in rodents have shown that enhanced extinction memory storage of context fear can be achieved by novel exploration. This effect relies on behavioral tagging, a memory mechanism that explains how weak events that normally are forgotten can become long-lasting memories. This study aimed to investigate the effect of novel expliration on the consolidation of context fear extinction learning in humans. Fifty-eight participants attended a context fear conditioning paradigm in virtual reality. They were randomly assigned to perform a novel exploration task (experimental group) or a visual attention task (control group) one hour before extinction. The analyses of skin conductance responses indicated no effect ot the novel exploration task designed for this study. We conclude that a novel exploration task ought to include a violation of expectations to function as a strong event in human studies. 

There is now a consensus in the literature that future improvements in outcomes obtained from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for chronic pain will require research to identify patient and treatment variables that help explain outcomes. The first aim of this study was to assess whether pre-treatment scores on measures of psychological (in)flexibility, acceptance, committed action, cognitive (de)fusion, and values-based action predict outcomes in a multidisciplinary, multicomponent, group-based CBT program for adults with chronic pain. The second aim was to assess whether change scores on these same measures mediate outcomes in the treatment program. Participants were 232 people attending treatment for chronic pain. Of the psychological flexibility measures, only pre-treatment scores on the psychological inflexibility scale predicted outcomes; higher scores on this measure were associated with worse outcomes. However, change scores on each of the psychological flexibility measures separately mediated outcomes. The efficacy of CBT for chronic pain may be improved with a greater focus on methods that increase psychological flexibility.

Barn utvecklas kognitivt, socialt och emotionellt vilket är en nödvändighet för skolmognad och framtida skolgång. I Sverige vill riksdagen öka deltagandet i förskolan för att främja jämlikhet, hälsa, öka kunskapsnivån och förbättra lärande. Tidigare forskning visar att barns lek, kvalitet på barnomsorgen och interaktionen med jämnåriga påverkar barns kognitiva och sociala utveckling positivt. Förskolan är idag frivillig. Men hur ser kunskapen och synen ut bland föräldrar kring förskolans funktion? Studien ämnar undersöka föräldrarnas anledningar till att placera sitt barn i förskolan men också hur förskolan som verksamhet kan bidra till barns sociala och kognitiva utveckling samt vilka utvecklingsområden som finns för att förskolan ska bli mer attraktiv. Studien baseras på en kvalitativ forskning där data samlas in i form av intervjuer med föräldrar vars barn som ska, går eller har gått på förskolan. Resultatet visar att föräldrar främst placerar sina barn i förskolan på grund praktiska skäl men också för att öka barnets sociala interaktion med andra jämnåriga. Författarna menar att den kognitiva utvecklingen inte är föräldrars förstnämnda orsak till att placera sitt barn på förskolan, snarare är social utveckling mer populärt, och det som bör utvecklas i förskolan är bland annat personaltätheten. 

In Study 1, stereotypic knowledge about the social category immigrants and its subcategories was examined and related to participants’ degree of explicit prejudice. Study 2 examined differences in implicit prejudice (negative evaluations of outgroups) as

In Study 1, we examined the knowledge of cultural stereotypes of immigrants and the national/ethnic categories associated with immigrants among high- and low-prejudice participants (N = 230). Stereotype priming occurs when a stereotypical word (e.g., lazy

Is there a relationship between people’s personalities and their degree of prejudice? This issue was studies using a variable-centered (the most often used method) and a person-centered statistical approach (not so often applied). The variable-centered ap

In two studies we develop and validate a Classical-overt or direct-and a Modern-covert or subtle-Racial Prejudice Scale, concerning attitudes toward immigrants, for a Swedish (Scandinavian) context. Further, we examine whether these two forms of prejudice

Abstract: In two studies, aimed to examine the concept of generalized prejudice and the relationship between personality and prejudice, we found that attitudes toward various national and ethnic groups including a fictitious, an unknown, and a well-known group were significantly correlated (Study 1, N = 113). In Study 2 (N = 861), we found significant intercorrelations between four types of prejudice. More important, we made a theoretical and a statistical distinction between an abstract and a group-specific component of prejudice and found that personality variables explained a substantial proportion of the variance of the abstract part but a very small share of the group-specific component. The findings support the existence of a generalized prejudice tendency and a substantial relationship between personality and prejudice, and show that personality is related to prejudice at an abstract rather than specific level. The outcome is discussed in the light of the personality and social psychological explanations of prejudice.

Three main theoretical approaches to the study of the causation of prejudice can be distinguished within psychological research. The cognitive approach suggests that prejudice is a function of cognitive processes where stereotypic information about social groups, stored in memory, is automatically activated and affects people’s judgements and behavior toward members of the target group. The personality approach suggests that prejudice is a function of people’s personality characteristics. Finally, the social psychological approach emphasizes people’s group membership and group identification as the as major source of causation.

Previous research has almost entirely focused on only one approach of causation at a time. The focus has also shifted periodically – with attention paid to one approach at each period of time. The present thesis is an attempt to integrate these approaches and suggests an integrative model where the relative contribution of each approach could be assessed. The underlying assumption is that all three approaches are meaningful and that prejudice is a complex phenomenon that is best explained by taking into account all approaches jointly.

Examining the cognitive approach, Paper I revealed that people are knowledgeable of the cultural stereotypes and that stereotypic information is automatically activated and affects people’s judgments. Paper II (and Paper III) supported the personality approach and revealed that prejudice is highly related to primary personality characteristics and, in line with a central idea in this approach, different types of prejudice (ethnic prejudice, sexism, homophobia, and prejudice toward disabled people) are highly correlated. The results of Paper III revealed the importance of group membership and group identification, supporting the social psychology approach.

The findings are discussed in relation to previous research and the necessity to integrate various approaches and disciplines to explain psychological phenomena in general and prejudice in particular. Also, implications of the findings for prejudice prevention are discussed.

In Study 1 (N = 230), we found that the participants’ explicit prejudice was not related to their knowledge of cultural stereotypes of immigrants in Sweden, and that they associated the social category immigrants with the same national/ethnic categories. In Study 2 (N = 88), employing the category and stereotype words obtained in Study 1 as primes, we examined whether participants with varying degrees of explicit prejudice differed in their automatic stereotyping and implicit prejudice when primed with category or stereotypical words. In accord with our hypothesis, and contrary to previous findings, the results showed that people’s explicit prejudice did not affect their automatic stereotyping and implicit prejudice, neither in the category nor stereotype activation condition. Study 3 (N = 62), employing category priming using facial photographs of Swedes and Immigrants as primes, showed that participants’ implicit prejudice was not moderated by their explicit prejudice. The outcome is discussed in relation to previous research, the distinction between category and stereotype activation, and in terms of the associative strength between a social category and its related stereotypes.

Previous research has, almost only, examined prejudice from either a personality or a social psychology perspective with results favoring the one or the other. In five correlational or experimental studies (N = 379, 182, 80, 139, and 148, respectively), the present paper integrates these perspectives. Specifically, we examine whether personality (Big-Five factors, social dominance orientation, and right-wing authoritarianism), or social psychology (group membership, group identification, and contextual factors), or an integration of both is the best way of explaining prejudice. Results from causal modeling and multiple regression analyses showed that a joint personality and social psychology model outperformed the personality-only and the social-psychology-only models. The findings emphasize the importance of integrating various approaches and disciplines to explain psychological phenomena in general and prejudice in particular.

In the present study (N = 156) we examined the relation between participants’ responses and response latencies to the Big Five personality inventory. Extending previous research, we examined whether the relation between participants’ response latencies (regarded as self-schema indicators) for items of a specific personality trait and their position on that trait is characterised by a linear or curvilinear (quadratic, cubic) trend. Polynomial regression analyses showed consistent support for a quadratic (curvilinear) relation between participants’ positions on the personality traits and their response latencies. Participants scoring high or low on a trait responded faster than those scoring around the mean. This pattern of results lends support to the notion that the relation between personality trait levels and response latencies is characterised by an inverted-U effect. The results are discussed in the light of previous research employing other approaches to examining the self-schema evidence. Further, the potential of using response latency (self-schema) data to improve precision in personality assessment and prediction is discussed.

The present paper focuses on the personality and the social psychology approaches to explaining prejudice. In Study 1, examining the relation between Big-Five basic personality and generalised prejudice (a factor based on ethnic prejudice, sexism, homophobia, and negative attitudes to mentally disabled people), we found Openness to experience and Agreeableness to be the only basic personality variables to be related to generalised prejudice. In Study 2, in addition to basic personality and generalised prejudice we included Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and examined various causal models of the relationships among these variables. The best-fitting causal model showed that basic personality had no direct effect on generalised prejudice but an indirect effect transmitted through RWA and SDO. Study 3 examined whether prejudice (sexism) is better explained by personality variables (Big-Five, SDO, and RWA) or social group membership (gender). Based on the outcome of Study 2, causal models were proposed and tested. The results showed that the best causal model to explain prejudice was the one that included the personality as well as social group membership variables. This outcome, also supported by multiple regression analyses, suggests that an integration of the personality and the social psychology approaches to explaining prejudicial beliefs would be the best option. The findings in the three studies are discussed against the background of recent research based on the personality and social psychology approaches to the study of prejudice.

This paper focuses on the personality and social psychology approaches to explaining prejudice. We examined whether prejudice (sexism) is better explained by personality (Big-Five factors, Social dominance orientation, and Right-wing authoritarianism) or social group membership (gender). Based on our previous research, alternative causal models were compared. The results showed that the best-fitting causal model to explain prejudice was the one that included the personality as well as social group membership variables. This outcome, also supported by multiple regression analyses, suggests that an integration of the personality and the social psychology approaches to explaining prejudicial beliefs would be the best option.

Extending previous research on the relation of Big-Five personality with right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation, we examined the relationships of Big Five facet scores rather than factor scores. The results (N = 332) of stepwise regression analyses showed that Openness to Experience was the only significant predictor of RWA on factor level, whereas Values and Ideas were significant predictors on facet level. A similar analysis of SDO showed that Agreeableness and Openness to Experience contributed significantly to the prediction on factor level, whereas Tender-Mindedness and Values were the best significant predictors on facet level. The prediction based on facet scores showed to be more accurate that the prediction based on factor scores. A random split of the sample confirmed the robustness of the findings. The results are discussed against the background of the personality and the social psychology approaches to explaining individual differences in prejudice.

In Study 1 (N = 230), we found that the participants' explicit prejudice was not related to their knowledge of cultural stereotypes of immigrants in Sweden, and that they associated the social category immigrants with the same national/ethnic categories. In Study 2 (N= 88), employing the category and stereotype words obtained in Study 1 as primes, we examined whether participants with varying degrees of explicit prejudice differed in their automatic stereotyping and implicit prejudice when primed with category or stereotypical words. In accord with our hypothesis, and contrary to previous findings, the results showed that people's explicit prejudice did not affect their automatic stereotyping and implicit prejudice, neither in the category nor stereotype priming condition. Study 3 (N = 62), employing category priming using facial photographs of Swedes and immigrants as primes, showed that participants' implicit prejudice was not moderated by their explicit prejudice. The outcome is discussed in relation to the distinction between category and stereotype priming and in terms of the associative strength between a social category and its related stereotypes.