How clinical decision tasks modulate emotional related EEG responses in nursing students.

Healthcare professionals play a vital role in conveying sensitive information as patients undergo stressful, demanding situations. However, the underlying neurocognitive dynamics in routine clinical tasks remain underexplored, creating gaps in healthcare research and social cognition models. Here, we examined whether the type of clinical task may differentially affect the emotional processing of nursing students in response to the emotional reactions of patients. In a within-subjects design, 40 nursing students read clinical cases prompting them to make procedural decisions or to respond to a patient with a proper communicative decision. Afterward, participants read sentences about patients' emotional states; some semantically consistent and others inconsistent along with filler sentences. EEG recordings toward critical words (emotional stimuli) were used to capture ERP indices of emotional salience (EPN), attentional engagement (LPP) and semantic integration (N400). Results showed that the procedural decision task elicited larger EPN amplitudes, reflecting pre-attentive categorization of emotional stimuli. The communicative decision task elicited larger LPP components associated with later elaborative processing. Additionally, the classical N400 effect elicited by semantically inconsistent sentences was found. The psychophysiological measures were tied by self-report measures indexing the difficulty of the task. These results suggest that the requirements of clinical tasks modulate emotional-related EEG responses.

"Superheroes? No, thanks." Accepting vulnerability in healthcare professionals.

In this commentary, we develop a conceptual proposal aimed to explain why a discourse of praise and admiration for healthcare professionals´ limitless dedication can trigger a general indifference to the burnout and suffering they experience. Ultimately, this can lead to the justification of the lack of resources dedicated to preventing these problems. We first start by pointing out the stigmatisation of healthcare professionals suffering from burnout and showing their vulnerability, highlighting the complex interactions that occur in the healthcare context and that increase the risk of perpetuating their suffering. Then, we appeal to the recognition of one's own vulnerability as a key element towards the creation of a culture more focused on the duty of care for those who care for others. We conclude with several proposals for action to cope with burnout-related stigma, trying to change the superhuman image of health personnel and incorporating the vulnerability inherent to human beings.

What is the Link Between Different Components of Empathy and Burnout in Healthcare Professionals? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Research on healthcare shows that the relationship between empathy and burnout is complex. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to clarify the link between different empathic components and burnout components in healthcare professionals. A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidance. The search strategy was applied in PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, and Medline, from January 1990 to January 2021. Population included nurses and doctors. Key inclusion criteria were articles addressing the relationship between different components of empathy and professional performance and wellbeing or burn out, or studies using burnout and empathy measures with validity support from commonly accepted sources of evidence. Risk of bias was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. From 1159 references identified, 22 studies were included in the systematic review, and 5 studies in the meta-analysis. Empathic Concern was significantly correlated with Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment. Moreover, the links between Perspective Taking, Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment were statistically significant. In conclusion, exploring and understanding the complex links between empathy and burnout could help healthcare professionals as well as institutions to reduce the risk of suffering burnout.

Virtual Reality and Simulation Videos as Effective Training Tools for Creating Safe and Inclusive Environments for Transgender People.

BACKGROUND: University education is undergoing a paradigm shift towards active methodologies, such as virtual reality and training videos, which have proven to be valuable resources, especially in the health sciences. The scarcity of existing research on the topic prompted us to conduct this study, which seeks to measure the knowledge gained from the aforementioned tools by users, their level of satisfaction with them, and their perceived utility. METHODS: This is a quasi-experimental intervention study analysing the impact of virtual objects as learning resources for undergraduate nursing students. RESULTS: Fifty-four participants completed the training, yielding highly significant differences between their mean scores, with a high statistical power and a large effect size. A total of 85.46% of participants confirmed that the virtual resources helped them considerably to empathise with the experiences of trans people in healthcare settings. Students were comfortable using the virtual resources, very satisfied with the methodology employed, and would recommend the training received. CONCLUSIONS: University teaching must adapt to meet the current legislations and changing health needs of society, and teaching staff must be prepared to implement new active teaching methodologies that make learning a more dynamic process. Considering these results, our study serves as a guide for other nursing educators who seek to promote inclusive healthcare regarding gender diversity. This study is not registered.

Dehumanization as a Response to Uncivil and Immoral Behaviors.

Theoretical approaches to dehumanization consider civility to be an attribute of human uniqueness (HU). However, studies that explore the links between civility and humanness are scarce. More precisely, the present research tests whether there is a consistent relationship between civility and HU. Method and results: The first study (N = 192; Mage = 19.91; SD = 2.70; 69% women) shows that individuals infer more HU traits in the agents of civil behaviors compared to agents of other positive behaviors that are not related to civility. The second study (N = 328; Mage = 19.69; SD = 3.65; 77% women) reveals that uncivil and immoral behaviors displayed a similar pattern of inference of HU traits; however, moral behaviors were more associated with human nature than civil behaviors. Conclusions: Overall, results confirmed that civil behaviors facilitate the inference of humanness, specifically of HU traits, and that civil and moral behaviors are not equivalent in terms of the human inferences to which they lead.

The link between authentic leadership, organizational dehumanization and stress at work / La relación entre el liderazgo auténtico, la deshumanización organizacional y el estrés en el trabajo

Organizational dehumanization has detrimental consequences for workers' well-being. Previous research has focused on organizational factors that trigger workers' dehumanization or stress at work. However, less is known about the factors that can protect workers against the detrimental effects of dehumanization. In the present research, we performed a correlational study (N = 930) and a direct replication of it (N = 913) to analyze 1) the mediation role of organizational dehumanization in the relationship between authentic leadership and stress at work, and 2) the possible moderation of organizational identification and the frequency of leader-follower interactions. The results indicated that higher authentic leadership predicted lower organizational dehumanization and stress at work. Moreover, organizational dehumanization mediates the relationship between authentic leadership and stress at work (AU)

La deshumanización organizacional tiene efectos muy perjudiciales para el bienestar profesional. Estudios previos se han centrado en identificar factores organizacionales que desencadenan la deshumanización de los trabajadores o el estrés en el contexto laboral. Sin embargo, se conoce muy poco sobre los factores que pueden proteger a los trabajadores de los efectos negativos de la deshumanización. En esta investigación llevamos a cabo un estudio correlacional (N = 930) y una replicación directa (N = 913) para analizar 1) el papel mediador de la deshumanización organizacional en la relación entre liderazgo organizacional y estrés en el trabajo y 2) la posible moderación de la identificación con la organización y la frecuencia de la interacción líder-seguidores. Los resultados mostraron que un mayor nivel de liderazgo auténtico predecía un menor nivel de deshumanización organizacional y de estrés en el trabajo. Además, la deshumanización organizacional media en la relación entre liderazgo auténtico y estrés en el trabajo (AU)

Prostitution Policies and Attitudes Toward Prostitutes.

The present study examined whether regulatory attitudes toward prostitution are related to agency attributed to prostitutes and moral outrage. A Spanish sample (N = 391, aged 18-53 years old) completed a questionnaire that included two separate parts. In the first part, participants answered a scale on regulatory attitudes toward prostitution; in the second part, after reading one of two scenarios, participants answered questions about agency and moral outrage. Results showed a different pattern in the link between regulatory attitudes and social perception when participants perceived prostitutes as victims of sexual slavery (Scenario 1) or as women who freely choose to sell sexual services (Scenario 2). This study provides empirical evidence of how some regulatory attitudes toward prostitution are linked to mind attributions and negative feelings toward sex workers, and how it depends on the type of prostitute who practices it. These findings contribute to our knowledge of attitudes toward prostitution, which could inform future policy-making.

Humanness Is Not Always Positive: Automatic Associations between Incivilities and Human Symbols.

Uncivil behavior involves an attack on social norms related to the protection of public property and respect for community life. However, at the same time, the low-frequency and relatively low-intensity damage caused by most of these behaviors could lead to incivilities being considered a typically human action. The purpose of this set of studies is to examine the automatic associations that people establish between humanness and both civic and uncivil behaviors. Across three studies, uncivil behaviors were more strongly associated with human pictures than animal pictures (study 1) and with human-related words than animal-related words (study 2). We replicated study 2 with uncivil behaviors that do not prime graphically human beings (study 3). Overall, our results showed that uncivil behaviors and civic behaviors were clearly associated with human concepts. Our findings have direct implications for the conceptualization of humanness and its denial.

Understanding the Links between Inferring Mental States, Empathy, and Burnout in Medical Contexts.

It is generally accepted that empathy should be the basis of patient care. However, this ideal may be unrealistic if healthcare professionals suffer adverse effects when engaging in empathy. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of inferring mental states and different components of empathy (perspective-taking; empathic concern; personal distress) in burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion; depersonalization; personal accomplishment). A total of 184 healthcare professionals participated in the study (23% male, Mage = 44.60; SD = 10.46). We measured participants' empathy, the inference of mental states of patients, and burnout. Correlation analyses showed that inferring mental states was positively associated with perspective-taking and with empathic concern, but uncorrelated with personal distress. Furthermore, emotional exhaustion was related to greater levels of personal distress and greater levels of inferences of mental states. Depersonalization was associated with greater levels of personal distress and lower levels of empathic concern. Personal accomplishment was associated with the inference of mental states in patients, lower levels of personal distress, and perspective-taking. These results provide a better understanding of how different components of empathy and mental state inferences may preserve or promote healthcare professionals' burnout.

Exploring the relationship between contextual performance and burnout in healthcare professionals / La exploración de la relación entre el desempeño contextual y el agotamiento emocional en los profesionales de la salud

Contextual performance is assumed to be related to professionals" quality of working life and health. This research aims to compare the levels of contextual performance at work in different hospital units, and to analyse the relationship between contextual performance and burnout syndrome. A total sample of 222 participants from a tertiary hospital took part in the study. Scores on contextual performance and burnout in five different hospital units were compared. The results showed that contextual performance is closely related with burnout. Also, results showed statistically significant differences in the degree of contextual performance at work by hospital unit. Overall, these results are significant for the development of health management strategies that promote contextual performance at work, thus improving the health and quality of work of health-care professionals

Se considera que el desempeño contextual puede estar relacionado con la calidad de la vida laboral y la salud de los profesionales. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo comparar los niveles de desempeño contextual en el trabajo en diferentes unidades hospitalarias y analizar la relación entre el desempeño contextual y el síndrome de burnout. Un total de 222 participantes de un hospital terciario participaron en el estudio. Se compararon las puntuaciones en el rendimiento contextual y el agotamiento en cinco unidades hospitalarias diferentes. Los resultados mostraron que el rendimiento contextual está estrechamente relacionado con el agotamiento. Además, mostraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en el grado de desempeño contextual en el trabajo por unidad hospitalaria. En general, estos resultados son significativos para el desarrollo de estrategias de gestión de la salud que promueven el desempeño contextual en el trabajo, mejorando así la salud y la calidad del trabajo de los profesionales de la salud

Gender Identity: The Human Right of Depathologization.

Background: Transgender people have a gender identity different from the one allocated to them at birth. In many countries, transsexualism and transgenderism are considered mental illnesses under the diagnosis of gender dysphoria. This pathologization impacts on human rights. Maincontent: The United Nations (UN) has denounced violations against trans-people, including attacks, forced medical treatments, lack of legal gender recognition, and discrimination in the areas of education, employment, access to healthcare, and justice. The UN has linked these violations directly with discriminatory diagnostic classifications that pathologize gender diversity. Trans-people have been pathologized by psycho-medical classification and laws all around the world, with a different impact depending on countries. This paper argues that pathologization infringes infringes upon a wide range of human rights such as; civil, economic, social cultural and also the access to medical care. Conclusions: The current situation for trans-people with respect to legal healthcare matters, depends on the country. Human rights are universal, not a question for cultural interpretation. They are the minimum that every human being must have assured only by the fact of being human. Countries must protect these rights by regulating trans-pathologization with special attention dedicated to intersex people and their specific needs.

Intergroup trust and anxiety: The two sides of stigma towards people with Down syndrome / Confianza y ansiedad intergrupal: los dos lados del estigma hacia las personas con síndrome de Down

People with Down syndrome experience a type of ambivalent stigmatisation, which combines stereotypes, emotional reactions, and both positive and negative attitudes. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between ambivalent attitudes towards people with Down syndrome, and the levels of intergroup trust and anxiety felt towards them. A total of 144 university students completed a questionnaire on their social perception of people with Down syndrome, indicating the extent to which they anticipate an interaction with this group based on trust or anxiety. The results show that responses to people with Down syndrome are ambivalent. Moreover, while intergroup trust is associated with high levels of admiration and competence, intergroup anxiety is associated with high levels of aversion, compassion and low admiration. We discuss the implications of these results, taking into account how to enhance the social perception of people with Down syndrome, as well as the complex role of compassion in the assessment of stigmatised groups (AU)

Las personas con síndrome de Down sufren un tipo de estigmatización ambivalente, que combina estereotipos, reacciones emocionales y actitudes positivas y negativas. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar la relación que existe entre las actitudes ambivalentes hacia las personas con síndrome de Down, y los niveles de confianza y ansiedad intergrupal que se mantienen hacia ellas. Un total de 144 estudiantes universitarios respondieron a un cuestionario sobre la percepción social que mantienen hacia este colectivo, e indicaron en qué medida anticipan una interacción con personas con síndrome de Down basada en la confianza o en ansiedad intergrupal. Los resultados indican que se producen respuestas ambivalentes hacia las personas con síndrome de Down. Además, mientras que la confianza intergrupal está relacionada con altos niveles de admiración y competencia, la ansiedad intergrupal está relacionada con niveles altos de aversión, compasión y baja admiración. Se discuten las implicaciones de estos resultados alcanzados de cara a mejorar la percepción social de las personas con síndrome de Down, así como el complejo papel que juega la compasión en la valoración de grupos estigmatizados (AU)

Perception of mind and dehumanization: Human, animal, or machine?

Dehumanization is reached through several approaches, including the attribute-based model of mind perception and the metaphor-based model of dehumanization. We performed two studies to find different (de)humanized images for three targets: Professional people, Evil people, and Lowest of the low. In Study 1, we examined dimensions of mind, expecting the last two categories to be dehumanized through denial of agency (Lowest of the low) or experience (Evil people), compared with humanized targets (Professional people). Study 2 aimed to distinguish these targets using metaphors. We predicted that Evil and Lowest of the low targets would suffer mechanistic and animalistic dehumanization, respectively; our predictions were confirmed, but the metaphor-based model nuanced these results: animalistic and mechanistic dehumanization were shown as overlapping rather than independent. Evil persons were perceived as "killing machines" and "predators." Finally, Lowest of the low were not animalized but considered human beings. We discuss possible interpretations.

The impact of helping behavior on outgroup infrahumanization.

Infrahumanization research has verified that in intergroup contexts, there is a strong tendency to attribute secondary emotions, which are uniquely human, to the ingroup, while limiting that attribution in outgroups. Experiments have shown it to be as common as ingroup bias. However, it is not yet known what characteristics may mitigate this trend. This paper presents two studies. The first analyzes the impact of helping behavior on attributions of human traits to two fictitious groups. The second study's objective was to determine if members of the Spanish ingroup would infrahumanize an Ethiopian outgroup less when that outgroup performs prosocial behavior towards another group. Infrahumanization was determined by a lexical decision task, using the names of ingroup and outgroup members as priming. The results demonstrate that describing a fictitious group in altruistic terms increases their human profile (experiment one) and reduces infrahumanization (experiment two).

The impact of helping behavior on outgroup infrahumanization

Infrahumanization research has verified that in intergroup contexts, there is a strong tendency to attribute secondary emotions, which are uniquely human, to the ingroup, while limiting that attribution in outgroups. Experiments have shown it to be as common as ingroup bias. However, it is not yet known what characteristics may mitigate this trend. This paper presents two studies. The first analyzes the impact of helping behavior on attributions of human traits to two fictitious groups. The second study’s objective was to determine if members of the Spanish ingroup would infrahumanize an Ethiopian outgroup less when that outgroup performs prosocial behavior towards another group. Infrahumanization was determined by a lexical decision task, using the names of ingroup and outgroup members as priming. The results demonstrate that describing a fictitious group in altruistic terms increases their human profile (experiment one) and reduces infrahumanization (experiment two) (AU)

Los estudios sobre infrahumanización han confirmado que hay una sólida tendencia en los escenarios intergrupales a atribuir al endogrupo la capacidad de experimentar sentimientos, una emoción exclusivamente humana, a la vez que se restringe esa posibilidad a los exogrupos. Aunque se trata de un fenómeno tan común como el favoritismo endogrupal, aún se sabe muy poco sobre las características que pueden atenuar esta tendencia. En este artículo se presentan dos investigaciones. En la primera se estudia el impacto de la conducta de ayuda en la atribución de rasgos humanos a dos grupos ficticios. El objetivo de la segunda fue determinar si hay una menor infrahumanización del exogrupo etíope, frente al endogrupo españoles cuando aquel lleva a cabo una conducta prosocial respecto a otro grupo. La infrahumanización se determinó mediante una tarea de decisión léxica empleando como priming nombres de miembros del endogrupo y del exogrupo. Los resultados muestran que describir en términos altruistas a un grupo ficticio incrementa su perfil humano (experimento uno) y reduce su infrahumanización (experimento dos) (AU)

Amenaza al endogrupo y nivel de infrahumanización del exogrupo / When is the infrahumanization to a threatening outgroup higher? Effects of the ambiguity of situation and the empathy with ingroup

¿Cuándo se infrahumaniza más al exogrupo que nos amenaza? Efectos de la ambigüedad de la situación y de la empatía con el endogrupo. Los estudios sobre infrahumanización han comprobado que las personas atribuyen a su grupo ciertas características típicamente humanas, como la capacidad de experimentar sentimientos. Este sesgo les lleva a privar al exogrupo de dicha capacidad y, en consecuencia, a infrahumanizarlo. Sin embargo, debe haber condiciones en las que la infrahumanización del exogrupo se intensifique. El objetivo de este estudio es determinar si algunas características de una situación de amenaza influyen en el grado en que el endogrupo infrahumaniza al exogrupo. Para ello se construyeron dos historias en las que el exogrupo cometía una acción violenta contra el endogrupo y en las que se manipulaba tanto el grado de certeza sobre la autoría del hecho como el nivel de empatía hacia la víctima. Los resultados muestran que cuando hay empatía con la víctima y existe cierta ambigüedad sobre la autoría, el grado de infrahumanización del exogrupo es mayor

Infrahumanization researchs have shown that people attribute their ingroup exclusively human features, for example, the ability to experience secondary emotions. This bias lead people to deny this ability to outgroup and, consequently, to infrahumanize them. However, it would have conditions in which the infrahumanization is intensified. The aim of this study is to determine if there are characteristics in a threatening situation that influence in the level in which ingroup infrahumanize the outgroup. Two histories were constructed; in them, the outgroup committed a violent action against the ingroup, and asthe degree of certainty about the perpetration as the level of empathy with the victim were manipulated. The results show that when there are empathy with the victim and ambiguity about the perpetration, the infrahumanization to outgroup is higher

[When is the infrahumanization to a threatening outgroup higher? Effects of the ambiguity of situation and the empathy with ingroup]. / Amenaza al endogrupo y nivel de infrahumanización del exogrupo.

Infrahumanization researchs have shown that people attribute their ingroup exclusively human features, for example, the ability to experience secondary emotions. This bias lead people to deny this ability to outgroup and, consequently, to infrahumanize them. However, it would have conditions in which the infrahumanization is intensified. The aim of this study is to determine if there are characteristics in a threatening situation that influence in the level in which ingroup infrahumanize the outgroup. Two histories were constructed; in them, the outgroup committed a violent action against the ingroup, and as the degree of certainty about the perpetration, so the level of empathy with the victim were manipulated. The results show that when there are empathy with the victim and ambiguity about the perpetration, the infrahumanization to outgroup is higher.

El efecto de las identidades nacionales con distintos niveles de inclusividad en el prejuicio hacia exogrupos / The efffects of identities with different levels of inclusion in prejudice towards outgroups

En la presente investigación se estudia el efecto que tienen las identidades con distinto nivel de inclusividad en la actitud de rechazo hacia exogrupos relevantes. Para ello se parte de dos supuestos principales, primero, que las personas tienen múltiples identidades que pueden estructurarse de manera jerárquica y, segundo, que éstas tienen una fuerte dependencia contextual. Las dos investigaciones realizadas muestran, en consonancia con las hipótesis de partida, que las categorías altamente inclusivas(p. ej., europeo) van asociadas a niveles más bajos de prejuicio hacia el exogrupo que las categorías menos inclusivas (p. ej., español). Los resultados se discuten a la luz de las teorías de la categorización (AU)

The effects of identities with different levels of inclusion in prejudice towards out groups. In this paper we study the effects that identities with different levels of inclusion have on attitudes towards relevants out groups. We start from two main assumptions. First, people have multiple identities, which can be structured hierarchically. Second, identities have a context–dependent nature. The two studies carried out showed, in support of our hypothesis, that more inclusive categories (e. g., European) are associated with less prejudice towards out groups than less inclusive categories (e. g., Spanish). The results are discussed in the light of several categorization theories (AU)