Multiple Dimensions of Organizational Identification and Commitment as Predictors of Turnover Intentions and Psychological Well-Being.

Although it is recognized that identification and commitment are closely related aspects of employees' psychological attachment to the organization, there has been no analysis of the overlap between multiple dimensions of each construct. In this study, three-component models of organizational identification and commitment were investigated as predictors of turnover intentions and psychological well-being (self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and self-efficacy) among employees (N = 60) of a small organization. Highly identified employees tended to be committed ones, but different dimensions of each construct were specifically linked to various criteria. Affective components of both identification and commitment were negatively associated with turnover intentions, and positive in-group affect (i.e., feelings derived from being a member of the organization) predicted perceptions of self-efficacy. Continuance commitment was distinct from the other predictors, and was negatively related to self-esteem and self-efficacy. The results warrant further efforts to integrate the perspectives of social identity theory and organizational psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The team identification–social psychological health model: Sport fans gaining connections to others via sport team identification.

Previous work has consistently found positive relationships between levels of sport team identification and social psychological well-being. According to the Team Identification–Social Psychological Health Model, these effects result from the increased social connections fans generate through their interest in the team. The current pair of investigations was designed to test the hypotheses that (1) team identification is positively related to social well-being and (2) team identification is positively related to social connections. In addition, the interrelationships among the variables were investigated (i.e., tests for mediation and moderation). In Study 1, a sample of 161 college students completed a questionnaire assessing demographics, identification with a local team, connections gained by following the team, and social well-being. Results indicated that, as expected, team identification was positively related to both well-being and social connections. Subsequent analyses failed to find evidence that social connections mediated or moderated the relationship between team identification and social psychological health. Study 2 (N = 199 students from the same university as Study 1) replicated the results of the initial study using a more general measure of social connections (i.e., the Campus Connectedness Scale). Discussion includes the implications for the Team Identification–Social Psychological Health Model and the directionality between identification and social connections. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of long-term racial environmental composition on subjective well-being in African Americans.

Two studies (N=126, N=114) of African Americans supported a model predicting that more racially segregated life contexts are associated with feelings of acceptance by other in-group members and, to a lesser extent, rejection by outgroup members. In-group acceptance and out-group rejection in turn influenced identification with the in-group, which was a strong predictor of psychological well-being. Alternative models were not supported. Results suggest that environments that are segregated offer in-group support and acceptance, thereby protecting self-esteem against possible perils of rejection by a powerful out-group. Findings suggest that the improvement of intergroup relations should not be at the expense of intragroup relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial outcomes in later life: A multivariate model.

A conceptual model was developed to identify developmental self-regulatory pathways to optimal psychosocial outcomes in adulthood. The model delineates influences among age, possible selves, developmental processes (i.e., coping, control), and well-being. Results showed age effects on all constructs except selective control. Three consistently common predictors of well-being (i.e., goal pursuit, goal adjustment, and optimization) emerged. The effects of age on well-being were differentially mediated by developmental processes. Specifically, negative age-related changes in offensive processes (i.e., goal attainment) were offset by positive influences of defensive processes (i.e., goal adjustment), which had the net effect of preserving well-being. The model demonstrates a more optimistic pattern of aging in which gains offset losses leading to positive outcomes and highlights the importance of examining both independent and combined influences of age, self, and developmental processes on psychosocial outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diversity in in-group bias: Structural factors, situational features, and social functions.

Four experiments addressed the different forms and functions of in-group bias in different contexts. The authors proposed 2 functions: an identity-expressive function and an instrumental function (or promotion of positive social change). The authors manipulated status differentials, the stability of these differences, and the communication context (intra- vs. intergroup) and measured in-group bias and both functions. As predicted, identity expression via in-group bias on symbolic measures was most important for stable, high-status groups. By contrast, material in-group bias for instrumental motives was most prevalent in unstable, low-status groups but only when communicating with in-group members. This latter effect illustrates the strategic adaptation of group behavior to audience (i.e., displaying in-group bias may provoke the out-group and be counterproductive in instrumental terms). Stable, low-status groups displayed more extreme forms of in-group bias for instrumental reasons regardless of communication context (i.e., they had nothing to lose). Results are discussed in terms of a contextual-functional approach to in-group bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Roles of perceived sexist events and perceived social support in the mental health of women seeking counseling.

The authors of the present study contribute to research on the role of sexist events in women's mental health by examining the sexism-distress relation (a) with a sample of women who are seeking mental health services and (b) in the context of the additional roles of perceived social support in positive self-appraisal (i.e., empowerment and self-esteem) and psychological distress. A path analysis was conducted with data from 157 women who were seeking counseling services. Results supported the generalizability of previously observed links between the frequency of perceived sexist events and psychological distress. Results also indicated that the sexism-distress link was significant in the context of an additional significant indirect relation of perceived social support with psychological distress, which was mediated through empowerment but not through self-esteem. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role quality, multiple role involvement, and psychological well-being in midlife women.

Examined women's occupancy of the social roles of paid worker, wife, and mother, and the quality of their experience in these 3 roles in relation to psychological well-being. Data were from a disproportionate (i.e., women from high-prestige occupations) random sample of 23 White women (aged 35–55 yrs). Well-being was measured by indices of self-esteem, depression, and pleasure; pleasure was assessed by a scale consisting of single-item measures of happiness, satisfaction, and optimism. Role quality was measured by scales developed for this study that assessed the balance between the positive and negative attributes women perceived in their roles. Hierarchical regression analyses controlling for age, education, and income indicated that role occupancy was unrelated to well-being with one exception: Occupying the role of paid worker significantly predicted self-esteem. In contrast, the 3 role-quality variables were significant predictors of the well-being indices, except that quality of experience in the role of mother did not predict pleasure. Findings suggest the importance of qualitative rather than quantitative aspects of role involvement and the need to examine different dimensions of well-being in relation to social roles. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sticking together or falling apart: In-group identification as a psychological determinant of group commitment versus individual mobility.

Two experiments investigated how in-group identification, manipulated with a bogus pipeline technique affects group members' desire for individual mobility to another group. In the first experiment (N?=?88), the in-group had low status, and group boundaries were either permeable or impermeable. Low identifiers perceived the group as less homogeneous, were less committed to their group, and more strongly desired individual mobility to a higher status group than did high identifiers. The structural possibility of mobility afforded by permeable group boundaries had no comparable effect. The second experiment (N?=?51) investigated whether in-group identification can produce similar effects when relative group status is unknown. Even in the absence of an identity threat, low identifiers were less likely to see the groups as homogeneous, felt less committed to their group, and more strongly desired individual mobility than did high identifiers. Results are discussed with reference to social identity and self-categorization theories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are Normal Narcissists Psychologically Healthy?: Self-Esteem Matters.

Five studies established that normal narcissism is correlated with good psychological health. Specifically, narcissism is (a) inversely related to daily sadness and dispositional depression, (b) inversely related to daily and dispositional loneliness, (c) positively related to daily and dispositional subjective well-being as well as couple well-being, (d) inversely related to daily anxiety, and (e) inversely related to dispositional neuroticism. More important, self-esteem fully accounted for the relation between narcissism and psychological health. Thus, narcissism is beneficial for psychological health only insofar as it is associated with high self-esteem. Explanations of the main and mediational findings in terms of response or social desirability biases (e.g., defensiveness, repression, impression management) were ruled out. Supplementary analysis showed that the links among narcissism, self-esteem, and psychological health were preponderantly linear. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding the positive social psychological benefits of sport team identification: The team identification-social psychological health model.

This article presents a theoretical model designed to account for the positive relationship between identification with a local sport team and social psychological health. This model, labeled the Team Identification-Social Psychological Health Model, predicts that team identification facilitates well-being by increasing social connections for the fan. Two forms of social connections are developed through team identification: enduring and temporary. Although the enduring and temporary social connections are expected to result in improved well-being, it is predicted that this relationship will be moderated by threats to social identity and efforts to cope with the threats. The social connections resulting from team identification are expected to impact both state (via increases in temporary social connections) and trait well-being (via enduring connections). Finally, because research indicates that group and team identification are more closely related to social well-being than personal well-being, temporary and enduring social connections are predicted to have their greatest impact on social psychological health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived intragroup homogeneity in minority-majority contexts.

Examined how the factors relative in-group size and relative outgroup size (i.e., minority vs. nonminority) affect the perception of in-group and out-group homogeneity. On the basis of social identity theory, we hypothesized that (a) members of minorities would perceive the in-group as more homogeneous than the out-group, whereas members of nonminorities would perceive the reverse; (b) this effect would be strongest on dimensions most strongly correlated with the social categorization; and (c) members of minorities would identify more strongly with their in-group than would members of nonminorities. 192 13–15 yr olds participated in the experiment. On the presumed basis of a perceptual task, approximately half were randomly allocated to minimal social categories, which differed in perceived size relative to an out-group (which also differed in perceived size). They were asked to estimate the homogeneity of the two groups on a number of dimensional attributes. The remaining (control) subjects gave similar estimates under identical conditions, except that they were not allocated to a category. The data confirmed all but the second hypothesis, which was only partially supported. The results were interpreted in terms of social identification processed. Results tend to rule out alternative explanations in terms of an inverse relation between group size and perceived group homogeneity, rating extremity, and in-group favoritism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Possible selves and delinquency.

The relationship between possible selves and delinquency is explored. In this study, 238 youths between the ages of 13–16 who varied in the degree of their delinquency were asked to describe their possible selves. Although many similarities were found among their hoped-for selves, the groups of youth differed markedly in the nature of their expected and feared selves. The balance between expected possible selves and feared possible selves was the particular focus. Balance is hypothesized to occur when expected possible selves are offset by countervailing feared selves in the same domain (e.g., expecting a job, but fearing being unemployed). It was found that the officially nondelinquent youths were quite likely to display balance between their expectations and fears, unlike the most delinquent youth. In contrast, a conventional measure of self-esteem that indicates how people feel about themselves currently did not predict degree of delinquency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivations to identify with social groups: A look at their positive and negative consequences.

Social identity is considered a key social psychological variable to understanding intergroup behaviors. Given that social identity has been associated with both positive (e.g., well-being, helping behaviors) and negative consequences (e.g., ingroup bias, nationalism), it remains to be explained which dimensions of social identification yield these divergent consequences. To this aim, these studies apply self-determination theory to understanding the reasons why group members identify with their ingroup. We hypothesized that when group members identify with their ingroup for self-determined reasons, this should predict more positive consequences. In contrast, identifying with one's ingroup for non–self-determined reasons should predict more negative consequences. Three studies tested these hypotheses among members of different social groups, namely, University of Queensland students (n = 272), residents of Québec (n = 196), and members of an online community (n = 278). Controlling for degree of identification, these hypotheses were supported when predicting the positive consequences, and mostly supported for the negative consequences. Results are interpreted in light of social identity theory and self-determination theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Valence focus and self-esteem lability: Reacting to hedonic cues in the social environment.

Individuals differ in the extent to which they emphasize feelings of pleasure or displeasure in their verbal reports of emotional experience, termed valence focus (VF). Two event-contingent, experience-sampling studies examined the relationship between VF and sensitivity to pleasant and unpleasant social cues. It was predicted, and found, that individuals with greater VF (i.e., who emphasized feelings of pleasure/displeasure in reports of emotional experience) demonstrated greater self-esteem lability (i.e., larger changes in self-esteem) to pleasant and unpleasant information contained in social interactions than did those lower in VF. These effects held even after statistically controlling for possible confounding variables (neuroticism, affect intensity). Implications for understanding the psychological impact of valenced interpersonal events are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-Esteem and Favoritism Toward Novel In-Groups: The Self as an Evaluative Base.

The self-as-evaluative base (SEB) hypothesis proposes that self-evaluation extends automatically via an amotivated consistency process to affect evaluation of novel in-groups. Four minimal group studies support SEB. Personal trait self-esteem (PSE) predicted increased favoritism toward a novel in-group that, objectively, was equivalent to the out-group (Study 1). This association was independent of information-processing effects (Study 1), collective self-esteem, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), and narcissism (Studies 2 and 3). A self-affirmation manipulation attenuated the association between in-group favoritism and an individual difference associated with motivated social identity concerns (RWA) but did not alter the PSE effect (Study 3). Finally, the association between PSE and in-group favoritism remained positive even when the in-group was objectively less favorable than the out-group (Study 4). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being.

Reigning measures of psychological well-being have little theoretical grounding, despite an extensive literature on the contours of positive functioning. Aspects of well-being derived from this literature (i.e., self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth) were operationalized. Three hundred and twenty-one men and women, divided among young, middle-aged, and older adults, rated themselves on these measures along with six instruments prominent in earlier studies (i.e., affect balance, life satisfaction, self-esteem, morale, locus of control, depression). Results revealed that positive relations with others, autonomy, purpose in life, and personal growth were not strongly tied to prior assessment indexes, thereby supporting the claim that key aspects of positive functioning have not been represented in the empirical arena. Furthermore, age profiles revealed a more differentiated pattern of well-being than is evident in prior research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective Reactions to Cross-Functional Teams: The Impact of Size, Relative Performance, and Common In-Group Identity.

This study examined the extent to which (a) the formation of a common in-group identity mitigated the negative effects of functional heterogeneity and (b) group size and relative group performance influenced the formation of a common in-group identity once cross-functional teams are formed. Results of a laboratory experiment with 79 student groups indicate that relative group performance did influence the formation of a common in-group identity and that the in-group identity served to improve affective reactions (i.e., satisfaction and preference to work with the group). Findings are discussed in terms of the impact on cross-functional teams. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender identity: A multidimensional analysis with implications for psychosocial adjustment.

This study examined the relations between components of gender identity and psychosocial adjustment. The aspects of gender identity assessed were (a) feelings of psychological compatibility with one's gender (i.e., feeling one is a typical member of one's sex and feeling content with one's biological sex), (b) feelings of pressure from parents, peers, and self for conformity to gender stereotypes, and (c) the sentiment that one's own sex is superior to the other (intergroup bias). Adjustment was assessed in terms of self-esteem and peer acceptance. Participants were 182 children in Grades 4 through 8. Felt gender compatibility (when operationalized as either self-perceived gender typicality or feelings of contentment with one's biological sex) was positively related to adjustment, whereas felt pressure and intergroup bias were negatively associated with adjustment. The results provide new insights into the role of gender identity in children's well-being, help identify sources of confusion in previous work, and suggest directions for future inquiry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Collective self-esteem as a coping resource for male-to-female transsexuals.

The fear of experiencing discrimination often provokes symptoms of psychological distress. One coping resource is positive identification with one's social group--known as collective self-esteem. This preliminary study investigated whether collective self-esteem was related to fears regarding a transsexual identity and psychological distress among 53 self-identified male-to-female transsexuals (mean age = 50.79 years). Participants were recruited from transgender events held in Arizona and California. The majority (81%) reported living full-time as women (mean length of time living as a woman = 6.33 years). Negative feelings about the transsexual community and fears regarding the impact of a transsexual identity were positively related to psychological distress. A regression model revealed that the fear of how a transsexual identity would affect one's life was the best predictor of the severity of psychological distress. These results are consistent with findings from other historically marginalized groups, whereby the stress of being stigmatized by society adversely affects mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)