Archive for the ‘Science’ Category
PTSD Diagnosis, A New Tool – MEG
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Prolonged exposure to unremitting stress damages a person’s health. The research is unequivocal (read the science in our Research Library). Mental health impact begins with anxiety. In worst cases, trauma can result. The diagnosis can be elusive because of the strict definition in the DSM-IV-TR (the diagnostic bible) and the reluctance of clinicians to admit what Heinz Leymann knew back in the late 1980’s — work trauma is real. Now comes a potential new neuroscience tool to complement the diagnostic toolkit — MEG. MEG stands for magnetoencephalography. PTSD can be detected with 97% accuracy using this non-invasive, but still experimental, procedure.
(more…)
Tags: Georgopoulos, MEG, neuroscience, PTSD
Posted in Bullying Tutorials, Science | 1 Comment »
WBI Recommends Robert Sapolsky, Stress Expert
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
WBI loves his popularization of the neuroscience of prolonged stress and its impact on health. Adult targets of bullying at work should appreciate his insights. His book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases and Coping a veritable textbook for those of us not in medical school to which we refer in speeches and WBI University. Purchase his book.
Listen to two of his speeches at our Audio library.
Read one of his articles written for general audiences. [The influence of social hierarchy on primate health. Science, 2005, 308, 648-652.]
Tags: coping with stress, neuroscience, Sapolsky, stress, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
Posted in Bullying Tutorials, Science | Post a Comment »
A 2009 Nobel Prize, Stress and Bullying at Work
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Elizabeth Blackburn
The 2009 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine was won by Elizabeth Blackburn and two others for the discovery of “how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.” Telomere shortening makes humans age faster than they otherwise would. Blackburn, the 60-year old biochemist at the University of California, San Francisco , oversees diverse applications of the science from her lab. Read reporter Katherine Seligman’s profile of the scientist.
Tags: aging, Elissa Eppel, Elizabeth Blackburn, Katherine Seligman, oxidative stress, stress, telomerase, telomere
Posted in Bullying Tutorials, Science | 1 Comment »
Occupational Stress & Health Conference – November
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Sponsored by the American Psychological Association/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health /Society for Occupational Health PsychologySan Juan, Puerto Rico | The Conference Program | The Conference Website
WBI participation (more…)
Tags: APA, Fox, Namie, Neuman, NIOSH, Rospenda, Stallworth, Yamada
Posted in Conferences, Events, Science | Post a Comment »
Power and incompetence: The makings of an office bully
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
by Hans Villarica, Medill Wire Service, Oct. 22, 2009
Researchers Nathanael Fast of the University of Southern California and Serena Chen of the University of California, Berkeley, found in a series of studies that it is actually the combination of power and incompetence that can result in bad boss behavior. The paper will be published in the November issue of the journal Psychological Science. [FYI, the paper is also described in our article and can be requested from the WBI Research list - A7. ] (more…)
Tags: Adam Galinsky, aggression, bully boss, incompetence, Nathaniel Fast, Ruth McKay, Serena Chen, WBI
Posted in Bullying in the News, Science | 2 Comments »
Role of Incompetence of Aggressive Bully Bosses Confirmed
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
At WBI we have always said that the four principal characteristics of bullied targets (from our 2003 online study) posed a threat to bullies — the integrity of independence, possessing more technical skill, being well liked, and acting ethically and honestly. When personally threatened, people tend to get defensive. This seems true in bullying situations at the bully to target, interpersonal, level. Now there is some science to back the common-sense notion.
Tags: aggression, bully boss, incompetence, Nathaniel Fast, Serena Chen, UC Berkeley, USC
Posted in Bullying Tutorials, Employer Action/Inaction, Science | 1 Comment »
Special Issue of APA Journal on Workplace Bullying
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
The academic journal Consulting Psychology Journal published by the American Psychological Association dedicated its September 2009 issue to articles about the practicalities of employers addressing workplace bullying. Authors include Len Sperry, Pat Ferris, Suzy Fox & Lamont Stallworth, and Gary & Ruth Namie. Go here to download the articles.
Tags: APA, Consulting Psychology Journal, CPJ
Posted in Employer Action/Inaction, Science | 3 Comments »
Silly Headline: Recessions May Be Good for Your Health
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
Counterintuitive? You bet, but … U. of Michigan researcher Jose Tapia Granados analyzed correlations between economic indicators and personal health indices from years prior to, during, and after the Great Depression (1920-1940). The GD was good for health; economic expansion periods were not.
Tags: Great Depression, health, Jose Tapia Granados
Posted in Science | 1 Comment »
Bullying Impacts Sleep: Two Studies
Friday, September 11th, 2009
Workplace bullying is a known stressor. Depriving workers of control over their work day by incessant meddling, interference, humiliation, command-and-control managing, and intimidation generates stress to varying degrees in individuals. Stress is a physiological response that is a biological reality. Two studies show how bullying affects sleep.
Tags: bothered at work, Burgard, Niedhammer, sleep disruption
Posted in Bullying Tutorials, Science | Post a Comment »
Labor Day Bullying Survey Results
Sunday, September 6th, 2009
According to the WBI survey of 422 respondents, the proposition that bullies are being purged by employers during the recession [see WSJ column] is debunked. Bullies lose their jobs at a rate under 2%, while 44% of bullied targets lose their jobs. Retaliation is the most common consequence for targets. Bullies (still) abuse with impunity.
Tags: bullies, impunity, retaliation, targets
Posted in Bullying Tutorials, Science | Post a Comment »
Who We Are
WBI is the only United States organization dedicated to the eradication of workplace bullying that combines help for individuals, research, public education, consulting for employers, and legislative advocacy.