Calls for Papers

Special Section: Dealing with Strain at the Workplace - A Just World Perspective

The goal of this special section is to test the hypothesis that the belief in a just world is a resource to deal with strain at the workplace. Studies so far investigated the association of the belief in a just world with well-being and coping, but did not account for strain at the workplace. Numerous studies have shown that perceiving justice at the workplace has various adaptive consequences as for example increasing job satisfaction and organizational commitment; this research however did not answer the question of why justice is so important. One possible answer is that people need to believe in a just world because it enables them to cope successfully with their job demands. In this view, justice at the workplace is important because it reinforces the belief in a just world.

Just world research has evidenced three functions of the belief in a just world:

• this belief enables people to trust in being treated fairly by others,
• it promotes the assimilation of injustices, and
• it implies the obligation for own fairness.

Thus, the belief in a just world serves important adaptive functions as for example investments in long term goals and it decreases worries about the unfairness of others. As a consequence, the belief in a just world supports mental health and well-being. Up to now, however, we know very little about the meaning of the belief in a just world for coping and well-being in the complex working world. Papers for this special section should address just world theory and should focus on empirical studies testing the impact of the belief in a just world for coping with strain at the workplace. This could be studies investigating all kinds of strain at the workplace and testing the impact of the belief in a just world on coping with this strain and/or on job-specific attitudes and well-being.

Submissions should be sent via e-mail to the Action Editor:

Claudia Dalbert

University of Halle, Germany

E-mail [email protected]

Please supply a brief outline of your paper as soon as possible. Papers would need to be received by March 9, 2007. All submissions will be peer-reviewed.

Special Section: Theory-Based Approaches of Stress and Coping

Despite recent advances in the field of stress and coping, there is still a major need for theory development and for the development of multidimensional theory based assessments. Also, in addition to the more classical measurement approaches, the field would benefit from implementing more innovative techniques such as measuring stress and coping under real life conditions. Bearing the above mentioned issues in mind, we are interested in state-of-the-art papers based on new research or critical reviews of issues related to experimental approaches, interventions, and prospective studies in stress and coping. Papers are encouraged to cover aspects such as workplace, health and illness, social factors (e.g., dyadic interactions), terrorism, emotion and personality, and are welcome to take into account a culture-, gender-, or age-specific perspective. Contributions discussing carry-over effects between basic and applied research as well as integrations across subfields would also be well received.

Submissions should be sent via e-mail to the Action Editors:

Jochen P. Ziegelmann and Sonia Lippke

Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

E-mail [email protected]

Please supply a brief outline or abstract of your paper by May 15, 2007. Full manuscripts would need to be received by October 1, 2007 (please see Advice for Authors either online at www.hhpub.com/journals/ep/ or in the Journal before submitting). All submissions will be peer-reviewed.