Antecedents and consequences of psychological and team empowerment in organizations: A meta-analytic review.

This paper provides meta-analytic support for an integrated model specifying the antecedents and consequences of psychological and team empowerment. Results indicate that contextual antecedent constructs representing perceived high-performance managerial practices, socio-political support, leadership, and work characteristics are each strongly related to psychological empowerment. Positive self-evaluation traits are related to psychological empowerment and are as strongly related as the contextual factors. Psychological empowerment is in turn positively associated with a broad range of employee outcomes, including job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and task and contextual performance, and is negatively associated with employee strain and turnover intentions. Team empowerment is positively related to team performance. Further, the magnitude of parallel antecedent and outcome relationships at the individual and team levels is statistically indistinguishable, demonstrating the generalizability of empowerment theory across these 2 levels of analysis. A series of analyses also demonstrates the validity of psychological empowerment as a unitary second-order construct. Implications and future directions for empowerment research and theory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

What makes a good team player? Personality and team effectiveness.

Good team players are often defined in trait terms; that is, they are described as dependable, flexible, or cooperative. Our goal is to examine the relationship between team member personality traits and team effectiveness. However, to understand the effects of personality on team performance requires greater specificity in how personality is described and in how team effectiveness is described. A hierarchical model of team member personality is presented that defines higher-level personality traits and specific facets relevant to team performance. Next, a classification of the core teamwork dimensions underlying effective team performance is presented. Finally, predictions are derived linking team member personality facets to specific teamwork requirements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The motivational bases of attitude change.

In describing the motivational forces which determine attitude formation and change, the authors focus upon three basic variables: reward and punishment, reality testing, and ego defensiveness. Methodological approaches which seem to lead to appropriate tests of hypotheses generated by the discussion are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on the stability of team performance.

Yearly winning percentages of 23 professional basketball teams over a 10-year period were used to evaluate the stability of team performance. The intercorrelation matrix produced by these data is characterized by strong, positive correlations in adjacent time periods. As the number of intervening time periods increased, however, the observed correlations systematically decreased and ultimately became negative. Significant negative correlations of earlier performance with later performance are almost never observed with typical time-related performance data. Possible explanations and boundary conditions for these atypical results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empowerment and team effectiveness: An empirical test of an integrated model.

The authors developed a model of team empowerment as an emergent state linking inputs (I) with processes (P) and, thereby, with outcomes (O) in the context of an expanded team IPO framework. Using survey responses from 452 members of 121 empowered service technician teams, along with archival quantitative performance and customer satisfaction criteria, the authors tested the model using structural equation modeling techniques. The model was generally supported, although areas for improvement were evident. Specifically, empowerment partially mediated the influences of various inputs on team processes, whereas team processes fully mediated the influence of empowerment on outcomes. Directions for future research and application are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fear and attitude change.

To explore attitude change under high-fear conditions, an experimental group of student nurses was tested 3 times during a 6-wk. TB affiliation. This group showed significantly greater attitude change than a control group. In the experimental group, anticipatory-fear and fear-decrease scores were positively correlated with favorable attitude-change scores. High fear apparently facilitated attitude change in this group. The relationship between fear and attitude change in the high fear experimental group was monotonic with no decrease in attitude change at the highest fear levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work-group versus individual differences in attitude.

To determine the relative magnitude of group and individual differences in job attitudes, responses to a 20-item Likert-type attitude scale were obtained from 190 employees, sampled from 38 work groups in 3 manufacturing plants. The hypothesis that the work groups did not differ in job attitudes was tested by an analysis of variance. The observed work-group differences in attitudes were not significant, and the lowest and highest work-group means in each of the 3 plants were not significantly far apart. In these 3 plants, at least, the more appropriate unit for administrative action or for research study on employee attitudes seems to be the individual, not the work group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding team innovation: The role of team processes and structures.

The present study focused on innovation of teams, examining the contributions of team interaction processes (exchanging information, learning, motivating, and negotiating) and structures (functional heterogeneity and frequency of meetings) to innovation. Specifically, it was hypothesized that (a) team structures will be positively related to team innovation, (b) team heterogeneity will be positively related to team interaction processes, (c) team interaction processes will be positively related to team innovation, and (d) team interaction processes will mediate the relationship between team heterogeneity and team innovation. Results from a sample of 48 intact teams in elementary and secondary schools supported the main hypotheses. These results imply that the development of mutual interaction processes is a crucial mechanism for translating team heterogeneity into innovation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of logistical resources on prereferral team acceptability.

This study investigated the impact of logistical resources on the acceptability of student assistance team consultation to school staff. Elementary and middle school staff (N = 113) completed a measure of the acceptability of prereferral intervention team procedures while also rating the importance of five logistical supports for effective team functioning. A multiple regression analysis showed that the team process was more acceptable to staff who perceived these teams to be effective for helping students and to those who identified three supports for effective teaming: sufficient staff training in team procedures, adequate numbers of staff, and ample time. Results are discussed in the context of prior investigations, directions for future research, and implications for school practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Management team learning orientation and business unit performance.

Although research has suggested that teams can differ in the extent to which they encourage proactive learning and competence development among their members (a team learning orientation), the performance consequences of these differences are not well understood. Drawing from research on goal orientation and team learning, this article suggests that, although a team learning orientation can encourage adaptive behaviors that lead to improved performance, it is also possible for teams to compromise performance in the near term by overemphasizing learning, particularly when they have been performing well. A test of this proposition in a sample of business unit management teams provides strong support. The results confirm that an appropriate emphasis on learning can have positive consequences for team effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring team knowledge: A window to the cognitive underpinnings of team performance.

The authors report an effort aimed at developing and evaluating measures of taskwork and teamwork team knowledge for teams in which members differ in knowledge backgrounds. These measures were used in a study with 36 teams to explore the cognitive underpinnings of team performance variations due to cross-training regime. The authors demonstrate that these measures are valid and provide team performance information that complements outcome and behavioral measures. Teams exposed to full cross-training acquired more taskwork and teamwork knowledge than control teams or teams exposed to a conceptual version of cross-training. Measures of team knowledge provide information regarding team task performance critical for system design and training programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding team adaptation: A conceptual analysis and model.

This endeavor provides a multidisciplinary, multilevel, and multiphasic conceptualization of team adaptation with theoretical roots in the cognitive, human factors, and industrial-organizational psychology literature. Team adaptation and the emergent nature of adaptive team performance are defined from a multilevel, theoretical standpoint. An input-throughput-output model is advanced to illustrate a series of phases unfolding over time that constitute the core processes and emergent states underlying adaptive team performance and contributing to team adaptation. The cross-level mixed-determinants model highlights team adaptation in a nomological network of lawful relations. Testable propositions, practical implications, and directions for further research in this area are also advanced. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Does reward increase or decrease creativity?": Correction to Eisenberger and Selbst.

Reports an error in "Does reward increase or decrease creativity" by Robert Eisenberger and Michael Selbst (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1994[Jun], Vol 66[6], 1116-1127). In the aforementioned article, Figures 1 and 2 were interchanged. The figures appear with their correct captions in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1994-40652-001.) Two studies involving 504 school children investigated why behaviorists and cognitively oriented investigators have come to opposite conclusions about reward's effects on creativity. A monetary reward for a high degree of divergent thought in 1 task (word construction) increased children's subsequent originality in a different task (picture drawing). The same reward, made contingent on a low degree of divergent thought, reduced this generalized originality. These effects were eliminated by using a large reward and were restored by keeping the large reward out of the children's sight. The results suggest that reward training increases generalized creativity when (1) a high degree of divergent thought is required and (2) the reward is presented in not too salient a fashion. The findings are consistent with a 2-factor interpretation of rewarded creativity effects that incorporates learned industriousness and selective attention. [A correction concerning this article appears in Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 1994(Jul), Vol 67(1), 125. Figures 1 and 2 were interchanged.] (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unpacking attitude certainty: Attitude clarity and attitude correctness.

Attitude certainty has been the subject of considerable attention in the attitudes and persuasion literature. The present research identifies 2 aspects of attitude certainty and provides evidence for the distinctness of the constructs. Specifically, it is proposed that attitude certainty can be conceptualized, and empirically separated, in terms of attitude clarity (the subjective sense that one knows what one's attitude is) and attitude correctness (the subjective sense that one's attitude is correct or valid). Experiment 1 uses factor analysis and correlational data to provide evidence for viewing attitude clarity and attitude correctness as separate constructs. Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrate that attitude clarity and attitude correctness can have distinct antecedents (repeated expression and consensus feedback, respectively). Experiment 4 reveals that these constructs each play an independent role in persuasion and resistance situations. As clarity and correctness increase, attitudes become more resistant to counterattitudinal persuasive messages. These findings are discussed in relation to the existing attitude strength literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Task conflict and team creativity: A question of how much and when.

Bridging the task conflict, team creativity, and project team development literatures, we present a contingency model in which the relationship between task conflict and team creativity depends on the level of conflict and when it occurs in the life cycle of a project team. In a study of 71 information technology project teams in the greater China region, we found that task conflict had a curvilinear effect on team creativity, such that creativity was highest at moderate levels of task conflict. Additionally, we found this relationship to be moderated by team phase, such that the curvilinear effect was strongest at an early phase. In contrast, at later phases of the team life cycle, task conflict was found to be unrelated to team creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents of team potency and team effectiveness: An examination of goal and process clarity and servant leadership.

Integrating theories of self-regulation with team and leadership literatures, this study investigated goal and process clarity and servant leadership as 3 antecedents of team potency and subsequent team effectiveness, operationalized as team performance and organizational citizenship behavior. Our sample of 304 employees represented 71 teams in 5 banks. Results showed that team-level goal and process clarity as well as team servant leadership served as 3 antecedents of team potency and subsequent team performance and team organizational citizenship behavior. Furthermore, we found that servant leadership moderated the relationships between both goal and process clarity and team potency, such that the positive relationships between both goal and process clarity and team potency were stronger in the presence of servant leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance patterns of high, medium, and low performers during and following a reward versus non-reward contingency phase.

Three contingency conditions were applied to the math performance of 4th and 5th graders: bonus credit for accurately solving math problems, bonus credit for completing math problems, and no bonus credit for accurately answering or completing math problems. Mixed ANOVAs were used in tracking the performance of high, medium, and low performers during the experimental phase across a mandatory follow-up phase and a choice follow-up phase. The two reward contingencies produced generally higher performance than the non-reward contingency (control condition) in the experimental phase, but all performance levels did better in the mandatory follow-up phase after the non-reward condition than after either reward contingency. Plus, high performers did substantially better in the choice phase following a non-reward contingency than following either reward contingency, most especially following the accuracy contingency. The pattern of results generally points to an over-justification effect for contingent bonus credit, with this effect more attributable to a perception of control than a perception of competency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Growth of brain stimulation reward as a function of duration and stimulation strength.

The strength of a train of rewarding brain stimulation required to support a criterion level of operant performance declines hyperbolically as the duration is increased. This finding has been attributed to a process of leaky integration. However, the rate at which integration approaches asymptote has been shown to depend on stimulation strength, a finding that differs from the behavior of a simple leaky integrator. The authors replicate both findings and show that they are both well described by a new model that incorporates a hyperbolic strength-duration function, a logistic function mapping stimulation frequency onto reward intensity, and another logistic function mapping reward intensity onto performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of social reward and punishment on dependent and dependency-anxious schizophrenics.

Several recent studies have reported mild social punishment to be more effective than social reward for motivating schizophrenics' learning. However, theoretical formulations of schizophrenia, as well as learning studies with normals, suggest that the relative effectiveness of positive and negative reinforcement varies with the individual's dependency needs and conflicts. This study was therefore designed to determine whether social rewards and social punishments would have differential effects upon the learning performance of highly dependent (HD) and highly dependency-anxious (HD-A) schizophrenics. In accord with theoretical expectations, the dependent Ss performed better under rewards than under punishment, while the dependency-anxious Ss performed better under punishment than under rewards. However, these differential reactions extinguished within a surprisingly short period. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)