Evaluation of research on expectancy theory predictions of employee performance.

Summarizes formulations of expectancy theory proposed by L. W. Porter and E. E. Lawler in 1968 and by V. H. Vroom in 1964. 9 field studies testing expectancy theory hypotheses using various measures of employee performance as the dependent variable are reviewed. Finally, the studies are evaluated in terms of the number of independent variables used, the measurement of these variables, and the statistical analysis performed. It is shown that the research has generally been inadequate in all 3 respects. Generally, results also show that valence, instrumentality, and role perceptions are significantly related to performance, while ability is not. Suggestions for improvement in expectancy theory research are made. (40 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hardiness: A review of theory and research.

Addresses fundamental issues in hardiness research, comparing and evaluating available hardiness scales. Information addressing the dimensionality of hardiness is examined. The most common way of categorizing Ss as high or low in hardiness is evaluated, and alternatives are presented. Research on causal pathways between hardiness and illness is reviewed and evaluated, and studies examining the neuroticism confound are considered, along with ways to approach this confound. It is concluded that in their effort to test hardiness theory, researchers should adopt a standard hardiness measure. The use of multiple scale and nonstandard scales has created a body of research that is difficult to research. For the immediate future, researchers may wish to use the 45-item Dispositional Resilience Scale because it has several advantages over alternative scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancy theory predictions of academic effort and performance.

Used expectancy theory models to predict the academic effort and performance of 60 male undergraduates. Rating scales completed by Ss support the theory that effort is related to the degree to which the behavior (or job) is seen as leading to various outcomes weighted (multiplicatively) by the evaluation of these outcomes. The predictability of effort increased when extensions of the effort model were included by adding others' expectations and perceived influence. Ss' self-reports of effort and GPA and college entrance exam records were used to test the job performance model, which suggests that effort and ability combine to predict performance. Neither the additive nor the multiplicative models found support in this setting. The extensions and modifications of the theory are discussed in detail. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational climate: A review of theory and research.

Previous organizational climate research, definitions, and measurement approaches are reviewed and differentiated into 3 categories: a multiple measurement-organizational attribute approach, a perceptual measurement-organizational attribute approach, and a perceptual measurement-individual attribute approach. Similarities and differences between these approaches are discussed in an attempt to address a number of theoretical and psychometric concerns. A major focus is the extent to which organizational climate duplicates other organizational and individual domains. Recommendations for future research include a rationale for differentiating between organizational climate and psychological or individual climate, and an emphasis upon the distinction between level of measurement and level of explanation as related to future definitions of climate. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of valence, instrumentality, and expectancy on effort and performance.

Used survey methodology to test an expectancy-valence model of work motivation with 70 male and 76 female Post Office employees in a training program to sort mail. The model predicted self-reported effort fairly well, but correlations with supervisory ratings of effort and performance were lower. Of the 3 components of the model, valence of job outcomes was by far the best single predictor. Support was given to 1 of the 2 multiplicative relationships posited by the model. Implications for future testing of expectancy-valence models with survey methodology are discussed, especially for the measurement of instrumentality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Utility of expectancy theory in predicting occupational choices in college students.

Introductory psychology students responded to measures of Expectancy and Valence with respect to 6 male-dominated and 6 female-dominated careers. Likelihood of choosing each of the 12 occupations was used as an indicator of force of behavior in V. H. Vroom's (1964) expectancy model. Results indicated that the Expectancy?×?Valence interaction for an occupation accounted for from 12% to 41% of the variance in tendency to choose that occupation, although expectancy alone was as good a predictor as the product. Gender differences were marked and consistent across expectancy, valence, and likelihood of choosing each occupation, varying in accordance with the traditionality of the occupation. Limitations of the study and implications for both further research and for career counseling are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A note on the measurement of valence perceptions in expectancy theory research.

Recently, students of expectancy theory have begun to urge that the theory be tested as a within-person behavioral choice model. In these discussions, and in the research thus far conducted, it has been assumed that single measures of valence perceptions are adequate, presumably because these perceptions are not expected to vary much (if at all) across behavioral alternatives. This presumption was tested by examining the valence given by 702 male senior US Naval officers to 25 outcomes in 2 contexts: continuing in the active duty role and leaving the Navy to assume an anticipated retirement role. Results show that for most outcomes the ratings of valence perceptions differed across the 2 roles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Color vision research and trichromatic theory: A historical review.

"After more than a century of scientific research in color vision the trichromatic theory continues to face theoretical contradictions and unexplained facts. Trichromatic theories everywhere should rigorously examine the theory's basic assumptions, provide much more experimental data on the basic visual functions, and honestly ask themselves the question: should the theory be subject to drastic revision or should it be replaced by some other theory?" (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of information reliability in predicting task performance using ability and effort.

Past research concluded that predictions of performance are a multiplicative function of ability and effort, although these studies were not designed to test between the averaging and multiplying models. The present study with 65 undergraduates competitively tested these models by manipulating the reliability of information about effort and ability. Results show that the greater the reliability of the ability information, the greater was its effect on judged performance. Similarly, the greater the reliability of the effort information, the greater was its effect on judged performance; in addition, the greater the reliability of 1 type of information, the less the effect of the other type of information. Findings are inconsistent with a multiplying model, but they are consistent with an averaging model in which the reliability of information influences its weight. Individual differences in weighting of effort and ability information were also found, and these differences were predictable from self-reports of the relative importance of the variables. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The syntagmatic-paradigmatic shift revisited: A review of research and theory.

Discusses 4 classes of theories about the significance of the syntagmatic-paradigmatic shift in children's word associations: (a) associative strength, (b) syntactic, (c) semantic, and (d) cognitive theories. Qualifications regarding the generality of the phenomenon are pointed out. It is suggested that both a shift in conceptual organization and a change in children's interpretation of the task may account for the data. (71 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Manipulating subjective expectancy through feedback: A laboratory study of the expectancy–performance relationship.

Investigated the form of the expectancy–performance relationship in a laboratory study of the performance of 132 undergraduates on a simple clerical task. As feedback after each of 8 trials, Ss were told that their performance was better, worse, or borderline. Ss recorded their subjective expectancies before each trial. Over all Ss, feedback condition had no impact on performance; but when 39 Ss whose reported expectancy did not match their assigned feedback were eliminated, a strong expectancy–performance relationship emerged. Ss having intermediate expectancy outperformed those whose expectancy was low or high. Examination of the nonbelievers supported the mediating role of cognitive variables in deciding how hard to work at this task. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The generation of visual images: A review of neuropsychological research and theory.

Since the advent of the view that mental imagery is a subdividable process, claims have been made that the generation of images is the domain of the left posterior hemisphere. This article examines theory and data about the neuropsychology of image generation by focusing on the main contributors to the debate. An attempt is made to make the theory and beliefs associated with each of the key figures explicit, because these have influenced the structure of research and the development of new theories. Support is found for the involvement of the left hemisphere, although many researchers claim that the posterior regions of both hemispheres contribute to image generation but that they do so in different ways. The nature of this difference remains the subject of ongoing research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age, variability, and speed: Between-subjects diversity.

Two independent data sets were selected to examine the interrelations among reaction time (RT), between-subject variability or diversity (SD), and age. In both data sets, a strong correlation between RT and SD was obtained. This strong correlation was not affected when age was controlled in a partial correlation analysis. On the other hand, a weaker but significant correlation was obtained between age and SD. This correlation was eliminated when RT was controlled in a partial correlation analysis. Our analyses of the two data sets also indicated that the relation between RT and SD is identical for both young and elderly groups. Thus, the greater diversity often observed in performances of older groups is a direct consequence of slowing, rather than an independent effect of advancing age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patient-therapist boundary issues: An integrative review of theory and research.

Boundary issues, which regularly arise in therapy, can present difficult dilemmas for clinicians. The purpose of this article is to help clinicians resolve these dilemmas by integrating some of the theoretical positions with empirical evidence reported in the literature on boundary issues in counseling and psychotherapy. The authors review the concept of treatment boundaries and the ethical principles that underpin them. They also review common boundary violations and provide recommendations to attenuate harm done to clients when such boundary violations occur in therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Studies of aversive conditioning for alcoholics: A critical review of theory and research methodology.

Reviews studies of the applications of aversive conditioning procedures to alcoholics. The review is divided into sections on electrical and chemical aversive stimulation and is organized according to the level of research design used. While many positive outcomes are reported, inconsistent theoretical underpinnings of the research are also reported. The lack of systematic investigation of relationships between therapist, patient, and technique characteristics indicate the need for further investigation. The ethics of using the techniques reviewed with human Ss are discussed. (62 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance expectancy as a determinant of actual performance: A partial replication.

Astudy by Aronson and Carlsmith (1962) indicated that Ss preferred to fail in order to confirm a failure expectancy than to be successful and disconfirm the expectancy. The present study was a partial replication of the Aronson and Carlsmith study. E demands were minimized, and it was expected that the results should have paralleled those of Aronson and Carlsmith if E demands in the latter study had not confounded the dependent variable. 40 1st-year, female nursing students were used. The results indicated that Aronson and Carlsmith's findings might be accounted for by E demands. Ss of the present study behaved as though they preferred to succeed rather than to confirm a failure expectancy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit personality theory: A review.

A review of the literature on implicit personality theory reveals that there has been considerable concentration on various techniques for measuring the theory. While such measures do have considerable overlap they also vary in a variety of ways. The major theoretical questions have involved personality correlates of individual implicit personality theory, relationship of the theory to linguistic structure, and whether it reflects the actual distribution of traits in other people. Questions are raised about whether traits are the most appropriate units of person cognition and whether perceivers see traits as distributed across situations as well as stimulus persons. (91 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnicity and MMPI performance: A review.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) performance as a function of ethnic group membership was reviewed in Asian Americans, Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. There did not appear to be a simple relation between ethnic group membership and MMPI performance, either within or between such populations as normal individuals, psychiatric patients, prisoners, or substance abuse patients. Moderator variables, such as social class, education, and type of setting, seem to play an important role in determining the specific pattern of scores that are found. There is a paucity of studies that have investigated whether there are any empirical correlates of the obtained differences when two ethnic groups are compared on the MMPI, that is, investigations of the external validity of the MMPI in various ethnic groups. It seems premature to conclude that new norms for the MMPI are needed for specific ethnic groups without additional research that examines the issues raised in this review. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)