Pathogen threat can translate into a willingness to distance oneself from others on a psychological level. Building on this notion, we predicted that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic can affect attitudes toward foreign nationalities. We explored the intergroup consequences of the current epidemiological situation in two studies involving a total of 652 participants. In correlational Study 1, we showed a positive relationship between media exposure in the United Kingdom (UK) and in Poland, and prejudice to four foreign nationalities. Study 2 showed that negative affect toward Italians (i.e., a nation struggling with the most severe COVID-19 outbreak at the time of the study) was indirectly predicted by exposure to news about coronavirus through the increase in anxiety, but this effect was not observed when a generalized measure of prejudice was considered. Overall, our studies revealed that prejudice and anxiety are sensitive to the current epidemiological situation, and our findings suggest that the outbreak of COVID-19 may translate into severe social consequences and increased psychological distancing to nations most affected by the pandemic.

Across the world, millions of couples get married each year. One of the strongest predictors of whether partners will remain in their relationship is their reported satisfaction. Marital satisfaction is commonly found to be a key predictor of both individual and relational well-being. Despite its importance in predicting relationship longevity, there are relatively few empirical research studies examining predictors of marital satisfaction outside of a Western context. To address this gap in the literature and complete the existing knowledge about global predictors of marital satisfaction, we used an open-access database of self-reported assessments of self-reported marital satisfaction with data from 7178 participants representing 33 different countries. The results showed that sex, age, religiosity, economic status, education, and cultural values were related, to various extents, to marital satisfaction across cultures. However, marriage duration, number of children, and gross domestic product (GDP) were not found to be predictors of marital satisfaction for countries represented in this sample. While 96% of the variance of marital satisfaction was attributed to individual factors, only 4% was associated with countries. Together, the results show that individual differences have a larger influence on marital satisfaction compared to the country of origin. Findings are discussed in terms of the advantages of conducting studies on large cross-cultural samples.

Global competition, the requirements of sustainable development, building an innovative economy or Industry 4.0 develop the need for changing or creating new legacy business models. Competencies adequate to new working possibilities play a significant role in these changes. The key role played here is the assessment of fit to work in the Industry 4.0. The purpose of the paper is to analyze fit to work in business models using the features and elements of Industry 4.0. There are specific antecedences identified for creating and changing business models in the aspect of implementing Industry 4.0, with particular attention paid to the meaning of competencies and their adaptation for the 4.0 requirements. Quantitative studies have been performed on a sample of 472 employees of Industry 4.0 in three countries: Germany, Poland and Slovakia. Theoretical and empirical considerations use the four-factor model differentiating the supplementary and complementary fit, organizational identification and satisfaction from work.

Industry 4.0 solutions have penetrated the healthcare sector, thus creating challenges that healthcare entities should meet. For this, a proper relationship between human resource management (HRM) within healthcare entities and Healthcare 4.0 is needed. In addition, organizations mainly focus on HRM practices, yet organizational issues are overlooked. In this context, the aim of the article was to analyze and evaluate the involvement and roles of key HRM actors, such as line managers and human resource (HR) specialists (HR departments) within strategic healthcare entities, namely hospitals. It was also important to identify the potential of hospitals to meet the requirements of Healthcare 4.0. A study was performed on a group of 285 Polish hospitals. Five respondents were recruited from each hospital. The total population amounted to 1425 interviewees. Due to the complexity of the research, it was outsourced. The results of the analysis identified that hospitals largely engage line managers in medical personnel management. However, a lack of managerial competence may become a major barrier in coping with challenges created by Healthcare 4.0. Organizational solutions do not support the strategic role of HR specialists; their anchoring in the organizational structures limits the possibility to support the changes required for the transformation towards Healthcare 4.0.

Advance in new technologies has created a new form of consuming television. Binge-watching can be highly entertaining behavior, but its excessive forms could lead to development of risk of addiction. The aim of the study was to identify psychological factors associated with symptoms of problematic binge-watching and to establish on what devices and platforms young people tend to binge-watch. The results of the study indicate that Polish university students usually binge-watch on laptops and smartphones by using the Internet—streaming platforms or other websites. Low Conscientiousness was the strongest variable related to symptoms of binge-watching from all the personality traits. Furthermore, results show that there is a significant relationship between low Agreeableness, low Emotional Stability, low Intellect and problematic binge-watching. Moreover, escape motivation was the strongest factor from all motivational variables.

This paper presents relationships between personality traits and stress levels in light of the transactional model of stress. The framework of the transactional model was applied to determine the significance of work with a robot for primary and secondary stress appraisal made by an individual. We decided to use the Big Five personality traits model as one which integrates the dimensions of personality and had been previously applied to research on stress. The participants in our three-wave study were 105 students doing an industrial robots programming course. Using Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) and Questionnaire for Primary and Secondary Appraisal (PASA) questionnaires, we gathered information about the students’ personality, the level of anticipated stress, and the stress experienced while working with a robot after 6 and 12 weeks. The obtained results prove that emotional stability is significant for secondary appraisal of anticipated stress. The results also show that openness to experience is a negative predictor, whereas conscientiousness is a positive predictor of primary stress appraisal. The ability to cope with stress after 12 weeks of work with a robot is appraised as higher by older, more conscientious, and introverted people. The obtained results are discussed from the psychological perspective of stress and personality, which complements earlier studies in technical sciences. The limitations of the study are also indicated.