Empati är en viktig del av bemötande inom människovårdande yrken som tandvård och vård. Det finns teorier om att stress påverkar empati negativt genom att det bland annat leder till håglöshet och ökad cynism samt att återhämtning kan minska stress vilket indirekt kan påverka empatisk förmåga i bemötandet i positiv riktning.  Syftet med studien var att utforska om det fanns skillnader i självskattad empati, stress och återhämtning bland personer med olika lång yrkeserfarenhet, utbildning och utbildningsnivå. Utöver detta testades också om det fanns samvariationer mellan självskattningarna i empati, stress och återhämtning. Dessutom gjordes försök att mäta bemötande med hjälp av fiktiva fallexempel från vård och tandvård. Försöksdeltagare i studien utgjordes av 40 personer, till yrket undersköterskor, sjuksköterskor, blivande specialistsjuksköterskor och blivande tandhygienister. Pearsons korrelationsanalyser har använts för att beräkna korrelationer och envägs variansanalyser, ANOVA, för att beräkna skillnader mellan grupper.  I föreliggande studies resultat förefaller det som om yngre personer med mindre yrkeserfarenhet är mer stressande och mer empatiska medan äldre personer med fler arbetade år är mindre stressade och mindre empatiska medan utbildningstyp och utbildningsnivå inte verkar spela någon som helst roll.  Frågorna innehållande fiktiva fall konstateras behöva ytterligare utveckling. Inga som helst signifikanta skillnader avseende olik grupptillhörighet som yrke; blivande specialistsjuksköterskor, blivande tandhygienister, undersköterskor; eller utbildningsnivå; gymnasienivå, kandidatexamensnivå, magisterexamen eller högre kunde ses i studien. Studien inspirerar till fortsatt forskning inom området bemötande och empatisk autencitet. / Empathy is an important issue in people-oriented work such as dental care and care. There are theories that stress affects empathy in a negative way by causing lethargy and cynicism and that recovery can reduce the stress which indirectly could affect the ability to give empathic treatment which means treat other persons well when working with people.  The purpose of this study was to see if there were differences in self-reported empathy, stress and recovery among persons with different length of professional experience, type of education and educational level. In addition, correlations between self-reports of empathy, stress and recovery were tested. Also tests to measure empathic treatment among fictive cases both from health care and dental care situations were done. There were 40 participants in the study, which worked as assistant nurses or nurses or were under education for nursing specialists or dental hygienists.  Pearson’s correlation analysis and one way analysis of variance, ANOVA, were used for the statistical analysis.  In this study it seemed like younger persons with fewer years of experience were both more stressed and more empathic than older persons with longer experience which seem to be less stressed but also less empathic, while education type or level seemed to not matter. The fictive cases should be developed more. No differences between educational groups at different levels were found in this study, nor could any differences be seen among different professions. This study could inspire further research in the field of empathic treatment and authenticity.

Research suggests a correlation between high levels of stress and burnout, and low levels of self- efficacy, in school and habilitation professionals. These findings are also prominent in practitioners in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) such as teachers, psychologists and Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs). This current study aimed to examine the levels in self-reported stress, burnout, and self-efficacy reported in the Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale (OSTES), in a Swedish-speaking sample consisting of sixty-seven participants based in school settings, and twenty-five participants based in habilitation settings. All participants were divided into two subgroups: one group who have stated participation in formal post-graduate ABA-training (n = 31), and a group without formal ABA training (n = 61). The hypotheses formulated from previous research were: 1) Teacher Efficacy levels are higher in professionals with ABA-training; 2) Stress-levels are lower in professionals with ABA- training; 3) Burnout levels are lower in professionals with ABA-training; 4) Stress-levels are lower in professionals working in habilitation settings; 5) Burnout levels are lower in professionals working in habilitation settings. Analyzes showed that stress correlated highly positive with burnout, and that teacher efficacy had a negative correlation with stress and burnout. Furthermore, no differences in stress and burnout levels were found between participants from school and habilitation, but the levels in Self-reported Stress and Self-reported Burnout were lower in the ABA group, which therefore confirmed the predictions. Reported OSTES-levels were higher in the ABA-group, but at non- significant levels (except in the sub-item “Efficacy for instructional strategies” where significant levels were found). The conclusion was that educators high in teacher efficacy may be less likely to suffer from stress and burnout, than low-efficacy educators. To address the growing problem of stress-related diseases among Swedish school and habilitation staff, the current teacher efficacy-levels in these occupations must be further highlighted. / Forskning tyder på en korrelation mellan höga nivåer av stress och utbrändhet, och låga nivåer av self- efficacy hos personal i skola och habilitering. Dessa forskningsresultat är också framträdande gällande utövare av tillämpad beteendeanalys (TBA), såsom lärare, psykologer och certifierade beteendeanalytiker (BCBA). Den aktuella studien syftade till att undersöka nivåerna i självrapporterad stress, utbrändhet och self-efficacy baserat på Teacher efficacy-skalan Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale (OSTES), gällande ett urval av svensktalande deltagare bestående av sextiosju personer som arbetar inom skolan och tjugofem personer som arbetar inom habiliteringen. Samtliga deltagare delades in i två undergrupper: en grupp som tidigare genomfört en formell TBA-utbildning (n = 31) och en grupp utan formell TBA-utbildning (n = 61). Hypoteserna utifrån tidigare forskning var: 1) Teacher efficacy-nivåerna är högre hos yrkesverksamma med TBA-utbildning; 2) Stressnivåerna är lägre hos professionella med TBA-utbildning; 3) Utbrändhetsnivåerna är lägre hos professionella med TBA-utbildning; 4) Stressnivåerna är lägre hos yrkesverksamma som arbetar inom habiliteringsyrken; 5) Utbrändhetsnivåerna är lägre hos professionella som arbetar inom habiliteringsyrken. Analyserna visade att stress korrelerade mycket positivt med utbrändhet och att Teacher efficacy-nivåerna hade en negativ korrelation med stress och utbrändhet. Vidare hittades inga skillnader i stress- och utbrändhetsnivåerna mellan deltagare från skola och habilitering, men nivåerna i självrapporterad stress och självrapporterad utbrändhet var lägre i TBA-gruppen, vilket därför bekräftade denna förutsägelse. Nivåerna erhållna i OSTES-skalan var högre i TBA-gruppen, men på icke-signifikanta nivåer (förutom i underkategorin “Efficacy for instructional strategies” där signifikanta nivåer hittades). Slutsatsen var att lärare med hög Teacher efficacy kan vara mindre benägna att drabbas av stress och utbrändhet än lärare med låg Teacher efficacy. För att ta itu med det växande problemet med stressrelaterade sjukdomar bland svensk skol- och habiliteringspersonal måste de aktuella nivåerna av Teacher efficacy i dessa yrken belysas ytterligare.

Inledning: Anknytningssystemet har en beprövad inverkan på hur vi söker stöd i pressade situationer och kan reglera stress. Studien syftar till att belysa anknytningens betydelse för ledar-och medarbetarskap och upplevelser av arbete och hälsa.  Frågeställningar: 1. Har otrygg anknytningsstil (avfärdande/upptagen/rädd) samband med mer negativa upplevelser av arbete och hälsa? 2. Har medarbetare till chefer med trygg anknytningsstil mer positiva upplevelser av arbete och hälsa? Metod: 432 tjänstemän i svenska företag besvarade ett frågeformulär bestående av Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), Salutogenic Health Indicator (SHIS), Work Experience Scale (WEMS).  Resultat: Medarbetare med upptagen eller rädd anknytningsstil hade sämre upplevelser av vissa aspekter av arbete. Tryggt anknutna medarbetare upplever arbetet mer positivt. Chefens anknytningsstil påverkar medarbetarens uppfattning av vissa aspekter av arbete och hälsa.  Diskussion: Otrygg anknytning hos medarbetaren medför en mer negativ upplevelse av arbete vilket kan tolkas som en konsekvens av mindre effektiv stressreduktion. Fysiska aspekter av hälsa, självbestämmande och uppfattning om ledarskap påverkas negativt hos medarbetare med otryggt anknutna chefer vilket kan ses som en följd av ledarens brist på stöd till följd av dennes anknytningsstil. Betydelsen av struktur och trygghet, som arbetsrättslig lagstiftning medför, bör fortsatt diskuteras. / Introduction: The attachment system has proven influence on both how we seek security and safety and on the HPA-axis, the stress regulation system. The study aims to investigate the influence of attachment style among leaders and employees and on their experiences of work and health. Research question: 1. Does insecure attachment (dismissive/preoccupied/fearful) have a negative influence on experiences of work and health? 2. Do employees of managers with secure attachment have more positive experiences of work and health? Method: 432 officials in Swedish companies answered a web form consisting of the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), Salutogenic Health Indicator (SHIS), Work Experience Scale (WEMS). Results: Employees with preoccupied or fearful attachment had worse experiences of some aspects of work. Employees with secure attachment experienced work more positively. The managers´ attachment style did affect the subordinates´ perception of some aspects of work and health.  Discussion: Insecure attachment has a negative correlation with work experience which could indicate less effective stress regulation. Negative experiences among subordinates concerning physical health, self-determination and leadership are associated with insecure attached managers and could be a consequence of ineffective caring orientation of these managers. The importance of structure and security, which Swedish labor law provides, should be further discussed.

Den här studien har undersökt huruvida det föreligger något samband mellan prokrastinering, self-compassion och livstillfredsställelse. Det har även undersökts om studenter prokrastinerar i högre grad än de som arbetar. Studien har genomförts med en enkät som delats på internet och som till största delen spridits i Facebook-grupper. Det var 96 respondenter som svarade på enkäten och av dessa arbetade 61 personer och 35 studerade. Genom histogram framkom att underlaget för prokrastinering och livstillfredsställelse inte var normalfördelat. För att testa huruvida det föreligger någon signifikant skillnad mellan de som arbetar och de som studerar avseende prokrastinering, har det icke-parametriska testet Mann Whitney U använts. Resultatet visade att en signifikant skillnad föreligger och det är studenterna som i genomsnitt prokrastinerar i högst grad. Även skillnaden i grupperna avseende livstillfredsställelse testades med Mann Whitney U och en signifikant skillnad återfanns även här. Self-compassion jämfördes mellan studenter och arbetande med ett oberoende t-test, men någon signifikant skillnad förelåg inte. Vidare genomfördes korrelationsundersökningar, vilka testades med Spearman´s rho. Resultatet visade att det förelåg signifikanta korrelationer mellan prokrastinering och self-compassion samt self-compassion och livstillfredsställelse, men korrelationerna var relativt svaga. Slutsatsen blev således att studenterna prokrastinerade i högre grad än de som arbetade och att det fanns en signifikant negativ korrelation mellan prokrastinering och self-compassion samt en signifikant positiv korrelation mellan self-compassion och livstillfredsställelse. / The present study has examined whether there is any correlation between procrastination, self-compassion and life satisfaction and also whether students procrastinate to a greater extent than those who work. The study was conducted with a survey that was shared on the internet and was mainly distributed in Facebook groups. There were 96 respondents who answered the questionnaire and of these 61 worked and 35 studied. Histograms showed that the substrate for procrastination and life satisfaction was not normally distributed. To test whether there is any significant difference between those working and those studying when it comes to procrastination, the non-parametric Mann Whitney U test has been used. The results showed that there is a significant difference and it is the students who, on average, procrastinate most. The difference in life satisfaction groups was also tested with Mann Whitney U and a significant difference was also found here. The results from the self-compassion scale were tested with an independent t-test, and no statistically significant result was found. Correlation studies were also conducted, which were tested with Spearman´s rho. The results showed that there were significant correlations between procrastination and self-compassion as well as self-compassion and life satisfaction, but the correlations were relatively weak. The conclusion was that the students procrastinated to a greater extent than those who worked, and there was a significant negative correlation between procrastination and self-compassion and a significant positive correlation between self-compassion and life satisfaction.

<p>Cognitive control is accomplished by a set of higher-order cognitive processes that are recruited to aid in the completion of various tasks. A popular proposed mechanism is the Dual Mechanisms of Control (Braver, Gray, & Burgess, 2007), proposing proactive and reactive mechanisms. While neuroscience studies provide evidence that these are two distinct processes, it remains unclear whether the processes are competing, or whether they can be used together. That is, are the two processes able to both be enacted to some degree? Further, whether these mechanisms can be titrated to produce a gradient-like use of control on a trial-level basis is unknown. These are the two primary pursuits of this dissertation. Experiment 1 shows the titrated pattern of control use, indicating (a) sensitivity to task demands, and (b) dynamic use of proactive and reactive control at the trial level, in a new task. Further, a novel contribution is the observation of ability to titrate the use of control. Additional experiments relate performance on this task to working memory (Experiment 2), replicate the findings in an online format (Experiment 3), and differentiate performance from distance effects commonly seen in relative judgment tasks (Experiment 4). This work has implications for the understanding of how cognitive control functions and how dynamically the use of these mechanisms can be adjusted.</p>

Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder (DDD) is a dissociative syndrome characterized by a sense of disconnectedness from one’s own self and the world around. People suffering from the condition report feeling like external observers, cut off from their own bodies, emotions and thoughts; their surroundings are perceived as unreal. The present thesis analyses DDD by sustaining the view that its phenomenology can be understood through Metzinger’s notion of phenomenal transparency. This idea is not entirely new: recent contributions (Ciaunica et al., 2020; Ciaunica et al., 2021; Seth et al., 2012) have framed the dramatic experiences of depersonalization and derealization as instances of highly opaque mental states. However, more detailed discussions of phenomenal transparency are sparse. My contribution wishes to partially fill in this gap. To elucidate the concept of transparency, I will first highlight the distinction between the classical representationalist notion of transparency and the metzingerian, phenomenal account of it. I will then argue that phenomenal transparency adequately describes the associated depersonalized phenomenology. Finally, I will attempt to present and dissipate ambiguities contained in the concept and address potential criticism regarding the redundancy of transparency as an explanatory tool for dissociative phenomena. / Depersonalisations- och Derealisationssyndrom (DDD) är ett dissociativt syndrom som kännetecknas av en känsla av att vara frånkopplad från ens eget jag och omvärlden. Människor som lider av tillståndet rapporterar att de känner sig som externa observatörer, avskurna från sina egna kroppar, känslor och tankar; deras omgivning upplevs som overklig. Denna avhandling analyserar DDD genom att stödja uppfattningen att dess fenomenologi kan förstås genom Metzingers föreställning om fenomenal transparens. Denna idé är inte helt ny: senaste bidrag (Ciaunica et al., 2020; Ciaunica et al., 2021; Seth et al., 2012) har ramat in de dramatiska upplevelserna av depersonalisering och derealisering som förekomster av mycket ogenomskinliga mentala tillstånd. Mer detaljerade diskussioner om fenomenal transparens är dock sparsamma. Mitt bidrag vill delvis fylla denna lucka. För att belysa begreppet transparens kommer jag först att lyfta fram distinktionen mellan den klassiska representationalistiska föreställningen om transparens och den metzingerska, fenomenala redogörelsen för den. Jag kommer då att hävda att fenomenal transparens på ett adekvat sätt beskriver den associerade depersonaliserade fenomenologin. Slutligen kommer jag att försöka presentera och skingra oklarheter som finns i konceptet och ta upp potentiell kritik angående transparensens redundans som ett förklarande verktyg för dissociativa fenomen.

Episodic memory (EM) displays the most prominent age-related decline. However, this decline could possibly be minimized by engaging in a physically active and cognitively stimulating lifestyle. A way to measure the self-perceived ability to engage in such a lifestyle is with subjective health estimations, which have been associated with objective health. The Subjective Health Horizon Questionnaire (SHH-Q) measures estimated individual maximum age to engage in activities in relation to four lifestyle dimensions: Novelty, Body, Work and Life Goals. Among these, Novelty is suggested to be associated with EM performance. Thus, in this study, the first aim is to corroborate that the SHH-Q items align according to the hypothesized dimensions. The second aim is to assess whether any of the dimensions are associated with EM. In this cross-sectional study 129 Swedish participants, aged 69-73, were evaluated with the SHH-Q and three EM tests. Statistical analyses included Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for aim 1 along with a correlation- and linear regression analysis for aim 2. The results showed that the SHH-Q items aligned with the four dimensions as expected, but that the linear regression model with the SHH-Q in relation to EM was not significant. However, a significant positive zero-order correlation between Novelty and EM (r(90) = .19, p = .04) was found. The association between Novelty and EM highlights the possibility that engaging in novelty-oriented exploration, such as new experiences and environments, may be associated with preserved EM performance at older ages. Future research should investigate the neural correlates of this association. / Episodminnet har visat en stark åldersrelaterad försämring. Denna nedgång skulle möjligen kunna minimeras med en fysiskt aktiv och kognitivt stimulerande livsstil. Ett sätt att mäta den självupplevda förmågan att engagera sig i en sådan livsstil är med subjektiva hälsomått, som även har associerats med objektiv hälsa. Subjective Health Horizon Questionnaire (SHH-Q) mäter uppskattad individuell maxålder för engagemang i aktiviteter i relation till fyra dimensioner av livsstil: Novelty, Body, Work och Life Goals. Bland dessa föreslås Novelty vara associerad med episodminnesprestation. Det första målet med denna studie är att korroborera att frågorna i SHH-Q kan delas in i de tidigare föreslagna dimensionerna. Det andra målet är att bedöma om någon av dimensionerna är förknippade med episodminnet. I denna tvärsnittsstudie utvärderades 129 svenska deltagare i åldern 69-73, med SHH-Q och tre EM-tester. Statistiska analyser inkluderar principiell komponentanalys för mål 1 tillsammans med en korrelations- och linjär regressionsanalys för mål 2. Resultatet visade att SHH-Q frågorna kan delas in i de fyra dimensionerna som förväntat, men den linjära regressionsmodellen med SHH-Q i relation till episodminne var inte signifikant. Däremot fanns en signifikant positiv korrelation mellan Novelty och episodminne (r(90) = .19, p = .04). Associationen mellan Novelty och episodminne betonar möjligheten att engagemang i novelty-orienterat utforskande, såsom nya erfarenheter och miljöer, kan vara associerat med bevarad episodminnesprestation vid högre ålder. Framtida forskning bör utforska de neurala korrelaten av denna association.

Autonomous vehicles are regularly predicted to be on the verge of broad integration into regular traffic. A crucial aspect of successful traffic interactions is one agent’s ability to adequately understand other agents’ capabilities and limitations. Within the current state of the art concerning self-driving cars, there is a discrepancy between what people tend to believe the capabilities of self-driving cars are, and what those capabilities actually are. The aim of this study was to investigate whether people attribute the capacity of object permanence to self-driving cars roughly in the same manner as they would to a human driver. The study was conducted with online participants (N = 105). The results showed that the participants did not attribute object permanence differently between a self-driven car and a human driver. This indicates that people attribute object permanence similarly to self-driving cars as they do toward human drivers. Furthermore, the results indicate no connection between participants’ tendency to anthropomorphize and whether they attributed object permanence or not. The findings provide evidence for the issues connected to the perceptual belief problem in human-robot interaction, where people attribute capabilities to autonomous vehicles that are not there. The results highlight the importance of understanding which mechanisms underlie these attributions as well as when they happen, in order to mitigate unrealistic expectations.

Antimicrobial resistance is a major global health challenge. It threatens the achievement of multiple SDGs with disproportionately negative consequences for LMICs. AMR is associated with the misuse of antibiotics, which is especially dominant in livestock farming. On-farm biosecurity has been identified as an effective way to prevent diseases. This requires a change in the daily behaviours of farmers. While the application of social-psychological models gained immense popularity in veterinary and agricultural research, these models lack predictive and explanatory character, leading to the so-called intention-action gap. The emerging field of behavioural sciences likely offers a better explanation of human behaviour, however, studies published often lack use of an explicit theoretical framework. Therefore, this exploratory study aims to address this gap by using Kahneman’s Dual-Process Theory as a theoretical framework for behaviour science studies. To this end, a qualitative study with 15 smallholder poultry farmers in rural Ghana was conducted. The findings suggested the presence of cognitive biases and heuristics that hinder farmers’ uptake of biosecurity measures, such as temporal discounting, social cues, cognitive overload, psychological inertia and habits. However, all factors must be considered, including knowledge gaps, as well as practical and economic constraints. It is clear from the study that farmers are not a homogenous group and that any promotion of biosecurity is destined to fail if they do not take farmers' psychological and contextual reality into consideration. Therefore, this thesis concludes that additional insights and hypotheses can be generated using behavioural science and that it offers a better and more holistic theoretical framework than currently used behavioural change models. Suggestions for further work include more empirical study in farmer decision-making related to on-farm biosecurity from a behavioural lens. Specifically, the use of quantitative and experimental methods to investigate and confirm the hypotheses that emerged from this study.

Föräldrablivandet är en process som startar redan under graviditeten, då förälderns emotionella band till sitt ofödda barn – den prenatala bindningen – har visat sig ha en betydande inverkan på barnets framtida utveckling och hälsa. Denna prenatala bindning är ett område som har tenderat att förbli ouppmärksammat i den kliniska verksamheten och delvis även inom forskningen, trots att brister i bindning har lyfts fram som bland det allvarligaste inom området. Syftet med föreliggande intervjustudie var därför att undersöka och således erhålla en ökad förståelse för psykologers upplevelse och erfarenhet av arbetet med prenatal bindning. Åtta intervjuer med åtta yrkesverksamma psykologer vid mödra- och barnhälsovårdsenheter genomfördes och analyserades med tematisk analys. Det sammantagna resultatet av analysen påvisade att det finns en samstämmighet i deltagarnas upplevelser och erfarenheter. Deltagarna uppmärksammar en brist på nationella riktlinjer för arbetet med prenatal bindning, vilket skapar en viss osäkerhet i yrkesutövandet. Denna grundas främst på ett svårtillgängligt och otillräckligt kunskapsunderlag samt att det är ett relativt okänt och oanvänt begrepp. Däremot lyfts behovet av att på ett enklare sätt kunna kommunicera kring graviditetens relationella aspekter, där begreppet prenatal bindning blir centralt. Resultaten indikerar ett behov av att på ett tydligare och mer nationellt jämlikt sätt lyfta det psykologiska perspektivet inom mödra- och barnhälsovården, där psykologprofessionen har ett viktigt bidrag utifrån sin expertis. / Becoming a parent is a process that starts during pregnancy, where the parent's emotional bond to their unborn child – the prenatal bond – has been shown to have a significant impact on the child's future development and health. Prenatal bonding is an area that has tended to remain inattentive, in clinical practice and partly also in scientific research, even though insufficient bonding has been highlighted as among the most severe in the field. The purpose of the present interview study was therefore to investigate and thus gain an increased understanding of psychologists' experience of working with prenatal bonding. Eight interviews with eight psychologists at different Maternal Health Care units were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis. The result showed that there is a consistency in the participants' experiences. They draw attention to a lack of national guidelines for the work with prenatal bonding, which creates an amount of uncertainty in the health practice. This is mainly since it is a relatively unknown and unused concept, with a difficult-to-access and insufficient knowledge base. The need to be able to communicate in a simpler way about the relational aspects of pregnancy is emphasized, where the concept of prenatal bonding becomes central. The results indicate a need to raise the psychological perspective within Maternal Health Care units in a clearer and more nationally equal way, where psychologists as a profession have an important contribution based on their expertise.