Ripple effects of hospital team faultlines on patient outcomes
Medical errors are rampant across healthcare settings, imposing a significant burden on patient safety. Here, we examined the ripple effects of diversity splits, or faultlines, within hospital teams on patient safety and care. Hospitals consist of hierarchical, mixed-gender, and multiracial units that are prone to conflict. Within a diverse unit, faultlines can occur when multiple attributes (e.g., gender and race) of unit members align and divide a unit into two or more homogeneous subgroups. Yet, little is known about how such faultlines influence patients. Hierarchical path modeling of data collected from 1,102 hospital employees and 4,138 patients across 38 hospital units illustrated that when strong faultlines formed through homogenous subgroups within hospital units resulted in decreased civility among staff. This incivility was related to higher rates of medical error and patient deaths. A 10% increase in unit incivility was linked to a maximum 8.87% increase in healthcare-associated infection rates and a maximum 10.59% increase in mortality rates. However, we found patients within units high on collaborative cultures for managing conflicts—that fostered mutual respect, active listening, and openness to differing opinions—experienced fewer medical errors and lower mortality rates, regardless of strong faultlines. These findings offer an evidence-based, culture-focused approach to reducing medical errors and improving the quality of patient care.
Sociocultural changes and adaptation: from mechanism to intervention
In the era of rapid urbanization, societies around the globe are experiencing profound shifts in societal and cultural dynamics. These transformations encompass diverse facets, from demographic changes to alterations in behavior patterns and psychological processes. Within this context, individuals are challenged to swiftly acquire new social norms, navigate cultural conflicts, and develop strategies for timely adaptation to evolving environments. The objective of this Research Topic was to understand the impact of these sociocultural changes on individuals and social groups. Within this Research Topic, Zhang et al. first introduced a three-stage social norm learning model, shedding light on the processes by which individuals adjust and adapt during sociocultural transformations. While gaining a deeper understanding of mechanisms at the individual level is valuable, Leng et al. validated the Cultural Tightness-Looseness Scale (CTLS) and General Tightness-Looseness Scale (GTLS), providing a reliable measure for cultures undergoing significant societal and cultural shifts, such as China. Furthermore, Lai et al. revisited the implications of urbanization in China, highlighting that higher education does not entirely postpone marriage, and the expansion of college enrollment can yield social and economic benefits. Finally, Zheng and Ishii examined the influence of distant and close social support on the psychological adaptation of Chinese international students, offering valuable insights into the complex interplay between cultural adaptation and social support in a population navigating urbanization.
Does job satisfaction rise and fall with the economy? Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental evidence that job satisfaction increases during recessions
While recessions have many adverse consequences for individuals and organizations, we propose that they have positive implications for job satisfaction. We argue that during bad economic times, people will be less attuned to other possible jobs, and more likely to see their own jobs favorably. We find support for these predictions across three studies. Study 1 (n = 23,335) utilizes a large cross-sectional survey of American adults collected over four decades and finds that job satisfaction increases during recessions and declines during booms. Study 2 (n = 12,859) replicates this result using a large longitudinal survey of British adults and finds that job satisfaction rises and falls with the unemployment rate even within the same people. Finally, Study 3 (n = 512) uses an experimental design and finds that the relationship between economic conditions and job satisfaction is mediated by the reduced salience of alternative jobs. While scholars have long recognized that job satisfaction is affected by situational features inside organizations, our findings suggest that conditions outside the workplace can also influence how people think about and evaluate their jobs.
Persuading republicans and democrats to comply with mask wearing: An intervention tournament
Many people practiced COVID-19-related safety measures in the first year of the pandemic, but Republicans were less likely to engage in behaviors such as wearing masks or face coverings than Democrats, suggesting radical disparities in health practices split along political fault lines. We developed an “intervention tournament” which aimed to identify the framings that would promote mask wearing among a representative sample of Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. from Oct 14, 2020, to Jan 14, 2021 (N = 4931). Seven different conditions reflecting different moral values and factors specific to COVID-19—including protection from harm (self), protection from harm (community), patriotic duty, purity, reviving the economy, threat, and scientific evidence—were implemented to identify which framings would “win” in terms of promoting mask wearing compared to a baseline condition. We found that Republicans had significantly more negative attitudes toward masks, lower intentions to wear them, and were less likely to sign or share pledges on social media than Democrats, which was partially mediated by Republicans, compared to Democrats, perceiving that the threat of COVID-19 was lower. None of our framing conditions significantly affected Republicans’ or Democrats’ attitudes, intentions, or behaviors compared to the baseline condition, illustrating the difficulty in overcoming the strength of political polarization during COVID-19.