Journal of Psychology and Allied Disciplines

Can Artificial Intelligence pose any danger to human dignity and behavior? An ethical appraisal!

2024-12-27T12:30:47+00:00

The fear is obvious that artificial intelligence is on the march towards interfering and dictating in human affairs. Is this fear justified? Is this power, which the artificial intelligence is usurping, not a threat to human dignity, identity, and behavior? Is the human being still in charge of what makes them human – their dignity; or must the human being surrender their rationality and sense of responsibility to machines? Who exactly takes responsibility for the actions of these human-made machines referred to as artificial intelligence? Surely, there may be advantages; but to what extent should they dominate humanity? These are questions that beckon for ethical appraisal, which this paper seeks answers to. Our discussions shall proceed as follows:
Focal Points
° The dignity of the human person
° Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (RAI): What are they?
° Which ethical principles are needed in the development and application of RAI to guarantee the inviolability of human dignity?

Psychosocial workplace factors as predictors of health outcomes among Health workers

2024-12-27T12:53:36+00:00

This research examined psychosocial workplace factors (self-esteem, work autonomy, role overload and role conflict) as predictors of health outcomes (physical health, work-related mental health and general mental strain) in health workers in Ondo Medical Village, Ondo State, Nigeria. The study adopted correlational research design. One hundred and two participants, male (34) and female (68) health workers purposively sampled from five centres (Trauma, Mother and Child, Kidney Care Clinic, Ganni Fawehinmi Diagnostic, and Information) in Ondo Medical Village, Ondo State, Nigeria participated in the study. Data were collected from the respondents using seven validated scales with adequate psychometric properties. Three hypotheses were stated and tested using multiple regression analyses. The results of correlational analysis showed that, there was a significant relationship between sex and physical health (r = .29; p < .01) among the sampled participants. However, there was no significant correlation between sex and work-related mental health (r = .06; p > .05). Also, sex did not correlate significantly with general mental strain (r = -.14; p > .05). Furthermore, self-esteem, work autonomy, role overload, and role conflict jointly predicted general mental strain significantly [R²= .21, F (4, 97) = 6.34; p < .01]. This study concluded that, psychosocial workplace factors were significant predictors of health outcomes among the sampled health workers. It is recommended therefore, that, employers of labour and managers should take cognizance of these psychosocial workplace factors in their intervention programmes aimed at enhancing the health outcomes of their employees.

Perceived support and recall in statistics learning among undergraduates

2024-12-27T12:58:10+00:00

The study examined whether the association between perceived support and recall in statistics learning was affected by the undergraduates' constructivist learning. Participants were 112 undergraduate students (56 males and 56 females, Mean age = 22.22, SD = 2.86 years), drawn using a stratified random sampling technique from a tertiary institution in South-Eastern Nigeria. Measures for data collection were the Perceived Social Support Scale and the obtained recall in statistics grade. The Hayes PROCESS Macro for SPSS which has a regression-based path-analytical framework for analysing the data was employed. Results showed that perceived support had a positive association with recall in statistics learning; constructivist learning had a negative significant association with recall in statistics learning. Constructivist learning moderated the association between perceived support and recall in statistics learning. The findings suggest that learning with the constructivist method contributes to a higher recall of students’ statistics learning. The findings may help advance the recall in statistics learning of undergraduates in most institutions of higher learning.

Social loafing and teachers’ organizational commitment

2024-12-27T13:01:06+00:00

Organizational commitment is pivotal for achieving organizational goals. Committed teachers are likely to exhibit positive behavior towards their job and organizational goals. They are more likely to perform beyond the call of duty to meet the students need and the demands of the entire society. Our objective was to investigate whether perceived organizational support would moderate affective and continuance organizational commitment of teachers who have quitting intentions and consequently engages in social loafing. We sampled a total of 538 teachers comprising 129(24%) males and 409(76%) females (ages ranged 20-59 years, M = 40.45 years, SD = 8.68) selected from 21 public secondary schools within Enugu urban region, Nigeria. Three instruments were used for data collection. They include: Perceived Social Loafing Questionnaire (PSLQ), Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (SPOS) and Organizational Commitment Scale (OCS). The study found that there is a negative relationship between perceived social loafing and both affective and continuance organizational commitment. Negative correlations were also identified between perceived organizational support (POS) and affective and continuance organizational commitment. Furthermore, perceived organizational support (POS) was found to have a moderating effect on the relationship between perceived social loafing and affective/continuance organizational commitment. The findings of this study revealed that institutional support for the teachers ignites teaching passion for affective teaching commitment which reduces the extent of social loafing.

Knowledge of Job Insecurity Climate and Future Work Self

2024-12-27T13:06:13+00:00

The study examined the relationship between knowledge of job insecurity climate and future work self of young people. The study also explored the moderating effects of career adaptability, career optimism, and proactive personality in this relationship. A two-wave time lagged data were collected from undergraduate students (N = 531) of banking and finance from universities in Southeastern Nigeria. Results of the Structural Equation Modeling showed that knowledge of job insecurity climate related negatively to future work self. Career adaptability and career optimism were related positively to future work self. Proactive personality was not significantly related to future work self. The results also indicated that career adaptability and proactive personality moderated the relationship between knowledge of job insecurity climate and future work self, but career optimism did not have any moderating effect. These findings imply that perception of insecure work environment is important for career transition of young people.

Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation on the Relationship between Fear of Negative Evaluation, Thwarted Belongingness, Perceived Burdensomeness, and Suicidal Ideation

2024-12-27T13:10:43+00:00

Suicide prevention research is extensive, yet studies that specifically examine the role of emotion regulation as a mediator remain limited. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the mediating role of emotion regulation on the relationship among fear of negative evaluation (FNE), thwarted belongingness (TB), perceived burdensomeness (PB), and suicidal ideation. The study adopted a cross-sectional study design. The participants were 291 (148 males (50.86%) and 143 females (49.14%)) undergraduate students selected using a convenience sampling technique. Their ages ranged from 18-30 years (Mean age = 22.38, SD= 2.90). The Suicide Ideation Scale-Revised, the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire, the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Questionnaire, and the Brief Emotion Regulation Scale (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression subscales) were used for data collection. Data were analysed using Model 4 of the Hayes PROCESS Macro in SPSS version 25. The findings of the study showed that FNE, TB, PB, and expressive suppression were positively associated with suicidal ideation, while cognitive reappraisal was negatively associated with suicidal ideation. Expressive suppression partially mediated the relationship among FNE, TB, and suicidal ideation. Cognitive reappraisal partially mediated the relationship among FNE, PB, and suicidal ideation. The findings of the study have a strong implication for mental health providers and anti-suicide advocators, as they contribute to the understanding of factors that exacerbate suicidal ideation among undergraduate students. The study also highlights the need for familiarising students with more adaptive coping mechanisms to face the pressures of university life.