Procedural justice and participation in task selection: The role of control in mediating justice judgments.

Two experiments on task-assignment procedures, one conducted in a laboratory and one conducted in a field setting, examined the effects of voice and choice on perceived control, perceived procedural justice, task commitment, and task performance. Three models of procedural justice—two positing control mediation of justice judgments and one positing covarying, but not mediating, effects of control—suggested that the procedural justice effect of voice beyond choice would be especially potent when the participation involved decisions about task selection procedures as opposed to decisions about specific task assignments. The models differed with respect to the causal relations they predicted. Both studies examined the effects of three modes of participation (choice?+?voice, choice only, or no participation) in either the selection of a specific task or the selection of a procedure to be used to assign a task. In the laboratory experiment, 72 students worked on a business simulation task; in the field experiment, 72 employees of a mail-order firm worked at taking telephone orders. In both experiments the hypothesized effects were found, and in both experiments LISREL VI analyses showed that the justice judgment effects were not mediated by perceived control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A closer look at the relationship between justice perceptions and union participation.

In this study, a series of nested models was tested to assess the extent to which the relationship between process-related justice and union participation is mediated by perceived union support and union commitment. Members of a steelworkers' local (N=615) participated in the study. Fit indices most strongly supported a fully mediated model. Unlike previous research, process-related justice was operationalized as 2 distinct variables: procedural and interactional justice. Interactional justice was found to have a substantially stronger relationship with support perceptions than procedural justice. Results also indicated union support accounted for a greater amount of unique variance in union commitment than perceived union instrumentality. The results are discussed in relation to trust theory and the generalization of organization science across different types of organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of computer surveillance on perceptions of privacy and procedural justice.

Electronic workplace surveillance is raising concerns about privacy and fairness. Integrating research on electronic performance monitoring, procedural justice, and organizational privacy, the author proposes a framework for understanding reactions to technologies used to monitor and control employees. To test the framework's plausibility, temporary workers performed computer/Web-based tasks under varying levels of computer surveillance. Results indicated that monitoring job-relevant activities (relevance) and affording those who were monitored input into the process (participation) reduced invasion of privacy and enhanced procedural justice. Moreover, invasion of privacy fully mediated the effect of relevance and partially mediated the effect of participation on procedural justice. The findings are encouraging for integrating theory and research on procedural justice and organizational privacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and citizenship behavior: The mediating role of job satisfaction.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 95(2) of Journal of Applied Psychology (see record 2010-04488-016). The path coefficients presented in the figures are slight overestimates. For example, in Figure 1 (p. 952), the paths from Agreeableness and Conscientiousness to Job Satisfaction should be .11 and .23 instead of .12 and .28, the direct effects from Agreeableness and Conscientiousness to Citizenship Behavior should be .10 and .16 instead of .11 and .18, and the paths from Job Satisfaction to Citizenship Behavior should be .28 (.22) instead of .34 (.26). The statistical significance of the path coefficients is correct, and so are the substantive conclusions based on the better fit of the partially mediated models relative to the fully mediated models. Also, the meta-analytic estimates presented in Table 1 (p. 949), Table 2 (p. 950), and Table 3 (p. 951) are correct.] Using meta-analytic path analysis, the authors tested several structural models linking agreeableness and conscientiousness to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Results showed that the 2 personality traits had both direct effects and indirect effects—through job satisfaction—on overall OCB. Meta-analytic moderator analyses that distinguished between individual- and organization-targeted citizenship behaviors (OCB-I and OCB-O) showed that agreeableness was more closely related with OCB-I and conscientiousness with OCB-O. Finally, the path analyses predicting OCB-I and OCB-O offered further support for the general hypothesis that these 2 constructs are distinct. That is, the results of these analyses revealed that agreeableness had both direct and indirect effects on OCB-I but only indirect effects on OCB-O, and that for conscientiousness the pattern of direct and indirect effects was exactly opposite (direct and indirect effects on OCB-O but only indirect effects on OCB-I). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and job satisfaction: The mediating role of job characteristics.

This study tested a model of the relationship between core self-evaluations, intrinsic job characteristics, and job satisfaction. Core self-evaluations was assumed to be a broad personality concept manifested in 4 specific traits: self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and low neuroticism. The model hypothesized that both subjective (perceived) job characteristics and job complexity mediate the relationship between core self-evaluations and job satisfaction. Two studies were conducted to test the model. Results from Study 1 supported the hypothesized model but also suggested that alternative models fit the data well. Results from Study 2 revealed that core self-evaluations measured in childhood and in early adulthood were linked to job satisfaction measured in middle adulthood. Furthermore, in Study 2 job complexity mediated part of the relationship between both assessments of core self-evaluations and job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and citizenship behavior: The mediating role of job satisfaction: Correction.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 95(3) of Journal of Applied Psychology (see record 2010-09357-015). The volume number of the original article was incorrectly identified. It should have been identified as Vol. 94.] Reports an error in Personality and citizenship behavior: The mediating role of job satisfaction by Remus Ilies, Ingrid Smithey Fulmer, Matthias Spitzmuller and Michael D. Johnson (Journal of Applied Psychology, 2009[Jul], Vol 94[4], 945-959). The path coefficients presented in the figures are slight overestimates. For example, in Figure 1 (p. 952), the paths from Agreeableness and Conscientiousness to Job Satisfaction should be .11 and .23 instead of .12 and .28, the direct effects from Agreeableness and Conscientiousness to Citizenship Behavior should be .10 and .16 instead of .11 and .18, and the paths from Job Satisfaction to Citizenship Behavior should be .28 (.22) instead of .34 (.26). The statistical significance of the path coefficients is correct, and so are the substantive conclusions based on the better fit of the partially mediated models relative to the fully mediated models. Also, the meta-analytic estimates presented in Table 1 (p. 949), Table 2 (p. 950), and Table 3 (p. 951) are correct. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-10167-018.) Using meta-analytic path analysis, the authors tested several structural models linking agreeableness and conscientiousness to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Results showed that the 2 personality traits had both direct effects and indirect effects—through job satisfaction—on overall OCB. Meta-analytic moderator analyses that distinguished between individual- and organization-targeted citizenship behaviors (OCB-I and OCB-O) showed that agreeableness was more closely related with OCB-I and conscientiousness with OCB-O. Finally, the path analyses predicting OCB-I and OCB-O offered further support for the general hypothesis that these 2 constructs are distinct. That is, the results of these analyses revealed that agreeableness had both direct and indirect effects on OCB-I but only indirect effects on OCB-O, and that for conscientiousness the pattern of direct and indirect effects was exactly opposite (direct and indirect effects on OCB-O but only indirect effects on OCB-I). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the heritability of job satisfaction: The mediating role of personality.

In this article the authors investigate the extent to which traits reflecting individual differences in personality and affectivity explain or mediate genetic influences on job satisfaction. Using estimates of the dispositional source of job satisfaction according to 2 dispositional frameworks--the five-factor model and positive affectivity-negative affectivity (PA-NA)--and behavioral-genetic estimates of the heritabilities of job satisfaction and the dispositional factors, the authors computed the proportion of genetic variance in job satisfaction that is explained by these trait frameworks. Results indicate that the affectivity model is a stronger mediator of genetic effects on job satisfaction than the five-factor model. PA and NA mediate about 45% of the genetic influences on job satisfaction, whereas the five-factor model mediates approximately 24% of these genetic effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuroticism and marital satisfaction: The mediating role played by the sexual relationship.

Why is Neuroticism so harmful to marriage and other intimate relationships? Given that such relationships generally involve a sexual component, the current longitudinal study explored whether the apparent negative impact of own and partner's Neuroticism on marriage could be explained by dissatisfaction with the sexual relationship. Just after their weddings, 72 couples reported their marital satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and Neuroticism. One year later, they again reported their marital and sexual satisfaction. Own Neuroticism predicted lower levels of concurrent marital and sexual satisfaction among husbands and wives, declines in sexual satisfaction among husbands and wives, and declines in marital satisfaction among wives. Partner's Neuroticism predicted lower levels of concurrent marital satisfaction among husbands and wives, lower levels of concurrent sexual satisfaction among husbands, and declines in sexual satisfaction among husbands. Consistent with predictions, sexual satisfaction mediated every effect of own and partner Neuroticism on marital satisfaction. Results highlight the prominent role played by the sexual relationship in accounting for marital outcomes and thus suggest specific processes through which Neuroticism may affect the marriage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The link between population density and welfare participation

This article explores a neglected topic in the social welfare, poverty, and demographic literatures--the link between population density and welfare participation in the United States. Longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics are used to meet two objectives: first, to test whether a relationship exists between population density and use of the food stamp program among eligible households; second, to explore the potential reasons for such a relationship. Our findings show that population density has a strong, positive impact on the likelihood of participating in the food stamp program. Low-income respondents in urban areas are significantly more likely to use food stamps in both an aggregate and a multivariate context. In analyzing the dynamic underlying such an effect, we find that those in urban areas are more likely to possess accurate eligibility information and to hold less adverse attitudes toward the use of welfare. These factors in turn increase the likelihood of food stamp participation.     

The role of participation and control in the effects of computer monitoring on fairness perceptions, task satisfaction, and performance.

Procedural justice and social facilitation theories were used to investigate effects of 2 kinds of process control on fairness perceptions, task satisfaction and performance of complex, computer-monitored tasks. A laboratory study manipulated participation (high or low voice) and monitoring approach (monitoring, control over monitoring, or no monitoring). High-voice participants perceived higher justice. Monitored participants reported higher satisfaction with high voice and lower satisfaction with low voice. Task performance was poorer for monitored participants unless they had control over monitoring. Among those with control, performance was not impaired for higher baseline performers. The 2 kinds of process control had different effects on the outcome variables. Results suggest the value of considering variations in the kinds of control provided and the justice principles that may apply in predicting effects of monitoring procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The missing link: the role of interhemispheric interaction in attentional processing

Although interhemispheric interaction via the callosum is most often conceived as a mechanism for transferring sensory information and coordinating processing between the hemispheres, it will be argued here that the callosum also plays an important role in attentional processing. Experiments will be presented that support this viewpoint, both when attention is conceptualized as a resource and when it is conceptualized as a selective mechanism for gating sensory information. Interhemispheric interaction is posited to aid attentional processing because it allows for a division of labor across the hemispheres, and allows for parallel processing so that operations performed in one hemisphere can be insulated from those executed in the other. Given this additional role for interhemispheric processing, it is suggested that the corpus callosum should be considered a component in the network of neural structures that underlie attentional control.     

Psychological models of the justice motive: Antecedents of distributive and procedural justice.

Two psychological theories consider why people care about justice. The social-exchange-based resource model argues that people want to maximize the resources they obtain from social interactions, a goal that they believe is facilitated by following rules of distributive and procedural justice; the identity-based relational model suggests that people attempt to maintain high status within groups and use the justice of their experiences to evaluate their group status. Two studies on reactions to experiences with authorities (legal and managerial) examine the influence of these motives on (1) people's evaluations of the distributive and procedural justice of their experiences and (2) affective and behavioral reactions to those experiences. Results support a model in which relational issues dominate definitions of justice. Whereas distributive justice judgments are shaped by both resource and relational judgments, procedural justice judgments are shaped by relational concerns. The findings suggest two distinct justice motives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body image and marital satisfaction: Evidence for the mediating role of sexual frequency and sexual satisfaction.

How does women’s body image shape their interpersonal relationships? Based on recent theories of risk regulation and empirical evidence that sex is an emotionally risky behavior, we predicted that women’s body image would predict increased sexual frequency and thus increased sexual and marital satisfaction for both members of established relationships. The current study of 53 recently married couples provided results consistent with this prediction. Specifically, wives’ perceptions of their sexual attractiveness were positively associated with both wives’ and husbands’ marital satisfaction, controlling for wives’ body mass index (BMI) wives’ global self-esteem, wives’ neuroticism, and reports of whether or not the couple was trying to get pregnant, and both of these associations were mediated by increased sexual frequency and higher sexual satisfaction. Notably, wives’ perceptions of their sexual attractiveness accounted for 6% of the variance in husbands’ marital satisfaction and 19% of the variance in wives’ marital satisfaction that was unique from BMI and the other controls. Accordingly, marital interventions may greatly benefit by addressing women’s body esteem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypnosis and creativity: The search for the missing link.

Considers the nature of a relation between hypnotizability and creativity, using theoretical argument, controlled research, and pilot studies. The results of several previously reported studies suggest that creativity and hypnotizability are related in student populations via their common reliance on nonvolitional fantasy processes cued by a task. The fantasy process is indexed in these studies by the degree of effortless experiencing of responses to tasks requiring imagination. Absorption in nonhypnotic experiences and, perhaps, a preference for right brain-hemisphere functioning are linked in a network of relations that support this hypothesis. The present paper reports pilot work with students and writers that studied the experience of storytelling and writing under hypnosis. The relationship between individual differences in styles of being creative and hypnotizability was explored. The review of these studies and others suggests that allowing the structure of a problem to affect associational processes without the interference of volitional selection strategies contributes to the discovery of creative solutions. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Event justice perceptions and employees' reactions: Perceptions of social entity justice as a moderator.

Building on 2 paradigms in organizational justice research and on fairness heuristic theory, the author argues that employees' perceptions about the fairness of social entities (their supervisor and their organization) moderate the relationship between their perceptions about the fairness of specific events and their reactions. A survey of 265 supervisor-employee pairs in 4 companies was conducted to test this argument. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed that when employees perceived their organization to be generally fair, this perception moderated the relationship between the perceived justice of a particular event and their reactions to the organization (organizational commitment and organization-directed citizenship behavior). In addition, employees' perceptions of the fairness of their supervisor were found to moderate the relationship between the perceived justice of a particular event and their supervisor-directed responses (trust in managers and supervisor-directed citizenship behavior) and their organization-directed responses. The results suggest that employee attitudes and behavior can be better understood when both event justice perceptions and social entity justice perceptions are considered together. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychology of procedural justice: A test of the group-value model.

Research on the psychology of procedural justice has been dominated by Thibaut and Walker's (1975) theory about the psychology of procedural preference. That theory suggests that people are concerned with their direct and indirect control over decisions. Lind and Tyler (1988) proposed a group-value theory that suggests that several noncontrol issues—the neutrality of the decision-making procedure, trust in the 3rd party, and the information the experience communicates about social standing—influence both procedural preferences and judgments of procedural justice. This study examines 3 issues. The first is whether judgments about neutrality, trust, and social standing have an independent impact on judgments of procedural justice. The results suggest that they do. The second is how Thibaut and Walker's control theory developed. The results suggest that control issues are central to the setting studied by Thibaut and Walker—disputes—but are less important in other situations. Finally, the implications of these findings for a group-value theory of procedural justice are examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distributive justice, procedural justice, and psychological distress: The moderating effect of coworker support and work autonomy.

Recent research has demonstrated that the perception of injustice at work may increase psychological health-related problems. The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of coworker support and work autonomy on the relationships between both distributive and procedural justice and psychological distress. Results, on the basis of responses to questionnaires given to 248 prison employees, show that coworker support moderates the relationships between both forms of justice and psychological distress. Specifically, these relationships are weakened when employees benefit from a high level of coworker support. Furthermore, work autonomy moderates the relationship between procedural justice and psychological distress but not the relationship between distributive justice and psychological distress. Thus, procedural injustice is less likely to increase psychological distress when the level of work autonomy is high. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organization structure as a moderator of the relationship between procedural justice, interactional justice, perceived organizational support, and supervisory trust.

Organizational justice researchers recognize the important role organization context plays in justice perceptions, yet few studies systematically examine contextual variables. This article examines how 1 aspect of context--organizational structure--affects the relationship between justice perceptions and 2 types of social exchange relationships, organizational and supervisory. The authors suggest that under different structural conditions, procedural and interactional justice will play differentially important roles in determining the quality of organizational social exchange (as evidenced by perceived organizational support [POS]) and supervisory social exchange (as evidenced by supervisory trust). In particular, the authors hypothesized that the relationship between procedural justice and POS would be stronger in mechanistic organizations and that the relationship between interactional justice and supervisory trust would be stronger in organic organizations. The authors' results support these hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of procedural and distributive justice on reactions to a selection system.

Procedural and distributive justice were examined in an employee selection situation. Along procedural justice dimensions, job relatedness of and explanation offered for the selection procedures were manipulated. Distributive justice was examined through manipulation of a selection decision and collection of a priori hiring expectations. Dependent measures included fairness reactions, recommendation intentions, self-efficacy, and actual work performance. Undergraduates (n?=?260) were selected/rejected for paid employment. Job relatedness influenced performance and interacted with selection decision on perceptions of distributive fairness and self-efficacy. Explanations influenced recommendations of rejected applicants. Interactions between hiring expectations and selection decision were observed on perceived fairness and recommendation intentions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)