BrainMap

Laurentiu Paul Maricutoiu

Associate Professor - UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA

Researcher

ResearcherID: B-6875-2011

Curriculum Vitae (06/05/2016)

Expertise & keywords

Applications of the theories of self-control in reducing occupational burnout Call name: Projects for Young Research Teams - RUTE -2014 call
PN-II-RU-TE-2014-4-0398 2015 - 2017

Role in this project: Project coordinator

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA (RO)

Project website: http://socpers.psihologietm.ro/grantTE_0398.html

Abstract:

Occupational burnout is a problem with serious consequences and few solutions. Because interventions aimed at reducing burnout are not effective, the objective of the present research grant is to develop new types of interventions. Because the job can demand high levels of self control (e.g. not to be distracted by irrelevant activities), the employee will invest attentional resources to maintain focus on the important activities. Once these attentional resources are depleted, the employee experiences burnout. We suggest that self-control improvement can be an effective method to reduce occupational burnout, and intend to develop methods for self-control enhancement. There are two main novelties in the present proposal: the focus on self-control enhancement for reducing burnout, and the introduction of dual process models of behavior in occupational psychology. Using evaluative conditioning techniques that showed promissing results in health behavior research, we intend to increase the level of self-control of our participants. The activities include a review of the literature on self-control enhancement, a pilot controlled trial and a cross-validation controlled trial. The project team consists of one Principal Investigator, 2 Post-doctoral researchers and 2 Doctoral researchers, all employed part-time for the entire duration of the project. The overall budget is 549.892 lei.

A new Internet-delivered transdiagnostic intervention for anxiety and mood disorders Call name: Joint Applied Research Projects - PCCA 2013 - call
PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-1820 2014 - 2017

Role in this project: Key expert

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA (RO); PRO CODER DEV S.R.L. (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA (RO)

Project website: http://www.e-cbt.info/

Abstract:

Transdiagnostic interventions represent a relatively new area of research with a high potential for the dissemination of parsimonious evidence-based programs. These interventions target core higher order factors such as negative affectivity and emotion dysregulation, using common intervention techniques applicable across disorders. It was recently establish that rumination and perfectionism significantly account for the development and maintenance of anxiety and mood disorders. However, there is no transdiagnostic program that included these factors, and the efficacy of such an intervention has never been tested. Epidemiological studies show that anxiety and depression are highly prevalent, impairing the lives of many individuals. Based on European data, we estimated that over one million Romanians are affected by anxiety and/or mood disorder.
The project’s main aim is to develop an innovative mental health service by proposing and testing a new transdiagnostic intervention program for anxiety and mood disorders. Developing a single program that could effectively reduce anxiety and depression has the potential to significantly impact public health, and to increase the international visibility of the Romanian research. Because internet-delivered interventions represent an effective way to disseminate evidence-based programs, we decided to present our intervention online. The online dimension contributes to the uniqueness of the present proposal, the integrated smartphone application further improving the technological innovation.
The contributions of this project can be analyzed at three distinct levels. At the theoretical level we will investigate whether addressing another couple of higher-order factors would significantly contribute to the decreasing of anxiety and depression. The role of both explicit and implicit cognitions in generating and maintaining psychopathology will also be investigated. At the practical-applicative level, the transdiagnostic intervention manual represents a useful and practical product. At the methodological level the web-platform has the potential to lower many of the barriers that currently hinder access to mental health services: the small number of competent psychotherapists, geographical distances, high cost of face-to-face therapy etc.
Within this joint project, two expert groups combine their efforts to develop and implement an innovative set of products, which could not be fully developed by either partner alone. The mental-health specialists are responsible for developing and testing the transdiagnostic intervention, for developing a new set of assessment measures, for delivering the online intervention, and for disseminating the program’s results. The IT specialists are mainly responsible for creating a new and integrated psychotherapy platform.
The project’s work plan is divided into three time-blocks: initial developments including the alpha versions of the transdiagnostic intervention, assessment measures, and integrated web-platform; effectiveness testing including the online delivery of the beta version of the intervention as a randomized control trial and dissemination including one press conference, preparing manuscripts, training mental-health practitioners. As activities associated with each of the three time-blocks follow a logical sequence, they facilitate the attainment of the project’s main objectives.
The project results will be disseminated to scientist in the academic community, to mental-health practitioners, and to the people who could directly benefit from the treatment. Considering our previous experience with a similar disorder-specific online intervention we expect a favorable commercial reception. Moreover, giving the ease of expanding our repertoire of interventions, the psychotherapy web-platform represents a valuable infrastructure for testing, delivering and selling various programs, with a high potential of future commercialization, beyond the project duration

Causal mechanisms for attitudes formation and attitudes change based on evaluative conditioning Call name: Exploratory Research Projects - PCE-2012 call
PN-II-ID-PCE-2012-4-0621 2013 - 2016

Role in this project: Key expert

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA (RO)

Project website: http://socpers.psihologietm.ro/grantIDEI.html

Abstract:

This project is focused on a particular manner in which our preferences (likes and dislikes) can be learned or changed, namely the evaluative conditioning (EC). While previous studies have showed that the EC effect is reliable, we aim to uncover the mechanisms of change responsible for such effects. We will focus both on attitude formation and attitude change, addressing the causal mechanisms involved in three different EC paradigms: classical, surveillance, and alternate sequential. Two competitive mechanisms of change will be tested (contingency awareness and implicit misattribution), which are considered the most plausible in terms of theoretical accounts and previous empirical results.
We will run a series of carefully controlled experiments in the tradition of social cognition research, while testing the necessary criteria for identifying valid causal mechanisms according to the evidence based approach. We will measure the EC effects using both explicit (e.g. Likert-type questions) and implicit measures of preference change (e.g. IAT, AMP).
By addressing these issues, both theoretical advances and practical implications are sought. From a theoretical point of view, the causal mechanism will help advancing the field of studies focusing on deliberate vs. automatic attitudes. From a practical perspective the discovery of mechanisms of change will help optimizing any EC procedure and will encourage the expansion of a wide area of applicative studies (e.g. marketing, health).

Investigation of strategies for enhancing predictive validity in personality assessment Call name: Postdoctoral Research Projects - PD-2012 call
PN-II-RU-PD-2012-3-0161 2013 - 2015

Role in this project: Project coordinator

Coordinating institution: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA

Project partners: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA (RO)

Affiliation: UNIVERSITATEA DE VEST TIMISOARA (RO)

Project website: http://socpers.psihologietm.ro/grantPD.html

Abstract:

The present proposal starts from the observation that the indices of predictive validity have very low values (up to .35) in the case of personality assessment. Therefore, the project aims at analysing three methods used for improvement of predictive validity in personality research: traitness, self-schemata and measures of implicit association (IATs). The first objective of this project is to review previous literature on improvement of predictive validity using methods specific to meta-analysis. Starting from the matrices of estimated true score correlations, we will use structural equations models for testing various types of relations between self-reported personality measures, behavioral criteria and the methods used for increasing predictive validity. The second objective of this project is to analyze the independence or the common variance of these three methods, using a multi-method multi-matrix approach. Reports of these two investigations will be published in ISI journals with an impact factor higher than 1.5. The project duration is 24 months, and the overall budget is 287760 lei (66920.93 EUR).

FILE DESCRIPTION	DOCUMENT
List of research grants as project coordinator	Download (13.99 kb) 06/05/2016
List of research grants as partner team leader
List of research grants as project coordinator or partner team leader
Significant R&D projects for enterprises, as project manager
R&D activities in enterprises
Peer-review activity for international programs/projects