Required high effort increases subsequent persistence and reduces cheating.

Two experiments examined the effect of the degree of effort required in preliminary tasks on the persistence and cheating in subsequent tasks. Undergraduates (N?=?276) were administered mathematics problems and perceptual identifications requiring high effort for one group and low effort for another group. A control group received neither of these tasks. All Ss then received an anagram task in which success depended on persistence with no opportunity to cheat (Exp I) or success was improbable and depended on cheating (Exp II). In Exp I, increasing the degree of effort required in the preliminary tasks increased the number of anagrams subsequently solved and increased the duration spent on unsolved anagrams. In Exp II, requiring high effort in the preliminary tasks decreased how often Ss falsified their performances. Results suggest that honesty may be increased by generalized effects of rewarded high efforts. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Protestant work ethic moderates social loafing.

Prior research on social loafing has emphasized situational factors and has largely neglected personality influences. The current study attempted to close this gap by exploring the potential for Protestant work ethic (PWE) to reduce or eliminate social loafing. Individuals who had been pretested on PWE were asked to work either coactively or collectively on an idea generation task. As predicted, PWE moderated the effects of work condition on individual effort such that PWE scores were negatively associated with social loafing. These results highlight the potential importance of personality influences on group motivation and suggest that individuals with a strong personal work ethic are unlikely to engage in social loafing. Implications for theory and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

One view of the Japanese work ethic

Elbow joint disorders were studied in relation to vibration exposure and age in 74 male stone quarry workers who operated mainly chipping hammers and sometimes rock drills. They were examined for range of active motion in elbow extension and flexion, and by means of radiographs of the elbow joint. Effects of age and vibratory tool operation on the elbow joint were statistically estimated using multiple regression analysis. In the analysis of all subjects, including those aged over 60 years, age was significantly related to the range of motion in extension and to radiographic changes in both elbows, and the duration of vibratory tool operation was associated with the range of right elbow flexion. Among subjects under the age of 60 years, duration of vibratory tool operation showed a significant dose-effect relationship to the range of flexion and radiographic changes in the right elbow, but there was no significant relationship with age. The present results suggest that the operation of chipping hammers and rock drills contributes to elbow joint disorders or osteoarthrosis, even when the effect of age is taken into account. Besides vibration exposure, it may be necessary to consider various loads on the elbow joint such as firmly grasping and pressing the tool against stones with the arm bent at about 90 degrees, and carrying stones.     

How do feelings influence effort? An empirical study of entrepreneurs’ affect and venture effort.

How do feelings influence the effort of entrepreneurs? To obtain data on this issue, the authors implemented experience sampling methodology in which 46 entrepreneurs used cell phones to provide reports on their affect, future temporal focus, and venture effort twice daily for 24 days. Drawing on the affect-as-information theory, the study found that entrepreneurs’ negative affect directly predicts entrepreneurs’ effort toward tasks that are required immediately. Results were consistent for within-day and next-day time lags. Extending the theory, the study found that positive affect predicts venture effort beyond what is immediately required and that this relationship is mediated by future temporal focus. The mediating effects were significant only for next-day outcomes. Implications of findings on the nature of the affect–effort relationship for different time lags are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Violence at work: Personal and organizational outcomes.

To date, little empirical research has examined the personal and organizational outcomes associated with exposure to workplace violence. On the basis of data from 194 bank tellers, the authors evaluated, and supported, a model suggesting that fear of future violence mediates the relationships between exposure to workplace violence and negative outcomes. Specifically, exposure to workplace violence predicted fear of future violence that, in turn, predicted psychological well-being, somatic symptoms, and intent to leave the organization. These effects emerged after controlling for self-report bias. The mediating role of fear was supported, and implications for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Protestant ethic endorsement and attitudes toward commuting to work among mass transit riders.

273 suburban adult commuters completed a survey assessing attitudes toward commuting to and from work by train, behavior while commuting, and endorsement of the Protestant work ethic. It was found that Protestant ethic endorsement was positively correlated with perceiving the commute as being part of the work day, engaging in work-related behavior while in transit, and a stronger preference for working than for commuting. However, endorsement of the Protestant ethic was uncorrelated with the frequency with which respondents' jobs provided them with differential opportunities to actually do work while commuting. Findings suggest that work values can account for behavior and attitudes that extend beyond the work place. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating clinical training programs: A formative effort.

Describes a formative evaluation program that has evolved over a 5-yr period in a psychology training clinic. The context and objectives of training evaluation are also described. Measures of training process and outcome and some illustrative results are presented. Special design and measurement problems are considered, and strategies for enhancing the relevance and utilization of training evaluation are examined. Persistent obstacles to meaningful training evaluation are reviewed, and several solutions are offered. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Would you work if you won the lottery? Tracking changes in the American work ethic.

Although many social scientists and political commentators have speculated that the American work ethic is in decline, the last longitudinal study of this issue was conducted by Vecchio (1980) on data collected over 30 years ago. Vecchio examined whether workers would wish to continue working even if it were not financially necessary (i.e., the so-called lottery question from the National Opinion Research Center survey) and concluded that there had been a significant decline in work ethic since the 1950s. In the current study, the authors used an updated data set that included data from 1980 through 2006 and found evidence for a declining trend since Vecchio’s study, although the decline seems to be leveling out. Demographic characteristics do not account for this apparent decline in shared sentiments about the importance of work for a productive life. The authors caution against drawing definitive conclusions, given the limitations of the lottery item as a measure of work ethic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Protestant work ethic and reactions to negative performance evaluations on a laboratory task.

Conducted 2 experiments in which male college students scoring high on the Protestant Ethic (PE) Scale performed better on repetitive, digit-copying tasks than those scoring low. In Exp I, 84 Ss told by the experimenter that they were doing well improved their performance regardless of their PE endorsement; when told that they were doing poorly, the performance of high PEs improved and low PEs declined. In Exp II, 72 Ss were told that their performance level was lower than their co-workers', but that their co-workers' superiority would bring them an unearned reward. High PE Ss performed at a high level and felt neutral about the task; low PE Ss performed poorly and liked the task, suggesting that they welcomed the unearned reward. Findings indicate that reactions to negative performance evaluations are moderated by endorsement of the Protestant work ethic. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal therapy in the training of psychologists.

Surveyed 185 clinical and counseling psychologists in British Columbia about their opinions on personal therapy as a component of professional training, and about the circumstances under which personal therapy had been provided to them while they were in graduate school. Ss identified potential benefits and risks of personal therapy. 88% saw at least 1 benefit for the experience, and 83% saw at least 1 risk. 41% of Ss had undergone therapy as part of their clinical training, and in many cases this experience was provided in a manner inconsistent with ethical guidelines. Of those receiving personal therapy, 46% reported that therapy was required rather than optional. Ethical issues concerning therapeutic interventions in the training of psychotherapists are discussed. A French summary of the article is also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology doctoral training in work and health.

Psychology as a profession has an opportunity and obligation to advocate for and develop healthy work environments. This will require the design and conduct of doctoral-level training in occupational health psychology. A model for training might well be based on the assumptions that there is a viable role for occupational health psychologists trained at the doctoral level for both academic and applied work settings, and that doctoral training would be based on the integration of health psychology and public health. Issues remaining to be addressed in the development of doctoral training programs include appropriate predoctoral training, academic standards, the interdisciplinary nature of faculties, and appropriate settings for training. Future directions in establishing doctoral training in occupational health psychology will best be taken in dialogue with several other professions and institutions that share a common interest in reducing leading work-related disease and injuries and promoting public health in the workplace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal therapy in the training of behavior therapists.

Describes a program of personal intervention that was required as one of the components of advanced clinical course and practicum work in behavior therapy and illustrates it with the experiences of 4 24–32 yr old male clinical graduate students. Ss were instructed to select a behavior, habit, cognition, or emotional response that they wished to modify. The object was to learn how to apply the diverse facts, skills, and concepts of clinical behavior therapy to a problem of some importance to the S. The project involved giving Ss an extensive reading list, demonstrating several of the more prominent self-assessment and self-management procedures, identifying a target problem, planning a self-recording strategy, undertaking an intervention, and evaluating the progress made at the end of the quarter. Ss chose such behaviors as increasing their level of exercise, decreasing caloric intake, and decreasing nailbiting. Results indicate that, under supervision, Ss were able to apply behavioral self-management principles to modify a personal problem of some importance. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pregnancy planning and the impact on work climate, psychological well-being, and work effort in the military.

This study examined the joint effects of demographics and pregnancy planning and timing on work climate, psychological well-being, and work effort among 345 pregnant U.S. military women from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. Rank predicted both pregnancy planning and career timing. Pregnancy planning was positively associated with support from coworkers and supervisors and with enhanced work effort and psychological well-being. Pregnancy timing was positively associated with support from supervisors, reduced harassment, and increased psychological well-being. Rank interacted with the planning and timing measures. Junior officers and enlisted participants reported reduced command and pregnancy support and increased harassment in conjunction with poorly timed pregnancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The rehabilitation ethic and ethics.

A set of evolving ethical models is presented to illuminate key issues and provide decision-making guidance to rehabilitation staff regarding admission and termination of rehabilitation treatment. Roles, goals, and guiding principles are outlined for the paternalistic, contractual, and educational models and a deliberative model is offered as an alternative for use in preventing and resolving ethical dilemmas. This model redefines the rehabilitation process in terms of patients and providers acting in community. Recent observations have reemphasized the importance of empathy and communal interests in facilitating human development. Emphasizing these principles, which are fundamental to therapeutic relationships, may prove instrumental in resolving ethical dilemmas that arise in rehabilitation. Recommendations for training in therapeutic principles and ethical models throughout the psychologist's career are also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal and workgroup incivility: Impact on work and health outcomes.

This article develops a theoretical model of the impact of workplace incivility on employees' occupational and psychological well-being. In Study 1, the authors tested the model on 1,158 employees, finding that satisfaction with work and supervisors, as well as mental health, partially mediated effects of personal incivility on turnover intentions and physical health; this process did not vary by gender. Study 2 cross-validated and extended these results on an independent sample of 271 employees, showing negative effects of workgroup incivility that emerged over and above the impact of personal incivility. In both studies, all results held while controlling for general job stress. Implications for organizational science and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation and cheating during early adolescence.

The relations of motivational variables to self-reported cheating behaviors and beliefs in science were examined in a sample of early adolescents. It was hypothesized that cheating and beliefs in the acceptability of cheating would be more likely when students perceived an emphasis on performance and extrinsic incentives rather than on mastery and improvement. Results indicated that students who reported cheating in science perceived their classrooms as being extrinsically focused and perceived their schools as being focused on performance and ability. Students who believed in the acceptability of cheating also reported personal extrinsic goals and a perceived emphasis on extrinsic factors in class. Students who reported cheating also worried about school. The reported use of deep cognitive strategies was related negatively and the use of self-handicapping strategies was related positively to cheating beliefs and behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in student cheating.

The incidence and causes of cheating were investigated using a questionnaire, consisting of 21 cheating behaviors, which was distributed to students at an English university. Respondents were asked to indicate, confidentially, which of the behaviors they had engaged in. Reported cheating was widespread and some types of cheating (e.g., on coursework) were more common than others. Reported cheating was more common in men than women; more common with less able students than more able ones; more common in younger students than mature ones; and more common in science and technology students than those in other disciplines. It is suggested that students' motivation, in particular whether they are studying to learn rather than simply to obtain good grades, is a major factor in explaining these differences. The results also indicate that cheating consists of a number of different types of behavior rather than being a unitary concept. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of success and failure on cheating behavior.

Studied the relationship between cheating and previous success-failure experiences in 32 college students. Ss were informed that if they performed above average on a free-recall task they would receive bonus credit. Half of them were told their performance on a 1st test was poor and half were told that their initial performance was good. During a subsequent test, half of the words were left "carelessly" exposed so that Ss could copy them if they wished. Significant cheating occurred in the success but not in the failure condition, suggesting that failure following initial success may be more repugnant than failure following initial failure. Cheating elevated the number of recorded exposed words, while attention factors and/or arousal reduced recall of stored unexposed words. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)