Job control and job strain: A test of three models.

Examined the relationship between job control and job strain. Three models of that relationship provide a framework for the study hypotheses: (H1) Control is inversely related to job strain, (H2) job demands interact with job control such that job strain will be highest when job demands are high and job control is low, and (H3) strain increases as the discrepancy between actual and desired levels of job control increases. Study participants (N?=?316) were health care workers in 2 hospitals in the northeastern US. Objective measures of job control and job demands were obtained through supervisor evaluations of incumbents' job characteristics, and perceptual measures were obtained through incumbents' self-reports. Results provide support for Hypotheses 1 and 3; little support was found for an interaction between job control and job demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Employee stock ownership and employee attitudes: A test of three models.

Results of a test of three alternative models of the conditions necessary for employee ownership to positively influence employee attitudes are reported. Based on a study of 37 employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) companies (N of individuals?=?2,804), results support hypotheses for the extrinsic and instrumental satisfaction models. Average company ESOP satisfaction and organizational commitment are high and average company turnover intention is low when the ESOP provides substantial financial benefits to employees, when management is highly committed to employee ownership, and when the company maintains an extensive ESOP communications program. In contrast, the results provide no support for the intrinsic satisfaction model of ESOP effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of anxiety on analogical reasoning: A test of three theoretical models.

Three mediational theories of anxiety and performance, namely, J. A. Easterbrook's (see record 1961-03074-001) cue utilization theory, G. Mandler and S. B. Sarason's (see record 1953-02743-001) attentional theory, and M. W. Eysenck's (1979) working memory capacity theory, were compared for their efficacy in explaining anxiety-induced performance decrements on a task of analogical reasoning. 102 undergraduates who varied in their trait and state anxiety levels completed 100 geometric analogies under either relaxed (reassurance, non-time-limited) or stress (ego-threat, time-limited) conditions. Response time and error rate data for 9 levels of task complexity (1-, 2-, and 3-element analogies with 0, 1, or 2 transformations for each element) were analyzed by means of multivariate analysis of variance. Results in the relaxed condition support attentional theory in that more anxious Ss were both slower and less accurate than were less anxious Ss. In the stressed condition, none of the 3 anxiety-performance theories was supported. More anxious Ss were faster but made more errors than did less anxious Ss. Thus, in the stressed condition, performance differences suggested differences in speed–accuracy trade-off strategies rather than differences in processing abilities. The limitations of attentional theory and the need to study the effects of anxiety and time stress on information processing are discussed. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bias in prediction: A test of three models with elementary school children.

Studied 2 competing conceptualizations of test bias in educational settings and compared each to the traditional regression model. The bias model proposed by T. A. Cleary and that proposed by R. L. Thorndike (see record 1971-31520-001) were each employed, along with the traditional regression model, on data obtained from 95 male and 101 5th graders to determine the extent of sex bias in selection resulting from each of the 3 models. Results show that the Cleary procedure produced substantial bias in both selection and accuracy of selection in favor of the female subgroup. The traditional prediction model resulted in pronounced selection bias in favor of the male subgroup and a slight bias in accuracy of selection in favor of the same subgroup. The Thorndike procedure, by definition, results in no selection bias but did produce slight bias in the accuracy of selection favoring the female subgroup. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Asymmetrical social influence in freely interacting groups: A test of three models.

Using freely interacting mock juries, this study tested the predictions of 3 different models of social influence: social impact theory, the other–total ratio, and the social influence model. All 3 models use faction size as the basis for their predictions. On the basis of the predeliberation verdict preferences of 879 female students, groups were composed using all possible nonunanimous verdict compositions (e.g., 5 members for "guilty," 1 for "not guilty," etc.) for 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-person groups. Each group deliberated and reached a group verdict for an attempted murder case, and postdeliberation verdict and probability-of-guilt judgments were obtained from the individual group members. The results showed that faction size affected the relative amount of both majority and minority influence. However, faction size effects differed substantially depending on the verdict supported by the particular faction. Thus, the predictions of even the most accurate model could presumably be improved by modifications allowing for additional interpersonal factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adding versus averaging models revisited: A test of a path-analytic integration model.

Evidence in support of the averaging model of information integration over the adding model is based on the assumption of independence among the items of information being integrated. When nonindependence is introduced in a manner relating to path analysis, the resulting path-analytic integration (PAI) model is shown to account for both crossover interaction and the decelerating set-size effect. The PAI model also makes a prediction contrary to the averaging model: When the set of correlations among 2 items of information and the overall judgment has a negative product, the crossover interaction is predicted to be the opposite of that previously reported. Results supporting the PAI model over the averaging model are obtained in an experiment in which 120 university students were asked to make judgments about the overall attractiveness of a product based on information given about its price and/or quality. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal attraction and the polarity of similar attitudes: A test of three balance models.

In a variation of D. Byrne's (1965, 1971) anonymous-stranger technique, a PDP-11 computer was used to provide feedback on 5 attitude issues for each of the cells of a design created by 3 levels of the p-x variable (–2, 0, +2) and 3 levels of the o-x variable (–2, 0, +2). Measurements of p-o sentiment were used to test the adequacy of 3 models for the quantification of balance: the equal-weights tetrahedron model, the unequal-weights tetrahedron model, and the Feather model. Correlations of obtained and predicted measures for the 3 models were .48, .51, and .52, respectively, with various problems noted for each model. Results show a predicted shift in the polarity of similar attitudes, but a predicted difference between ambivalent and indifferent neutral attitudes was not supported. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contextual contrast in evaluative judgments: A test of pre- versus postintegration models of contrast.

Two experiments examined at what stage contrast effects occur within the impression-formation process. University students rated the likability of persons described by 5 trait adjectives, with the distribution of trait adjectives manipulated between Ss. Theoretically, contextual stimuli may affect the valuation of component traits before integration, a preintegration model, or they may affect the valuation of the composite impression after the components have been integrated, a postintegration model. Context was manipulated so that the preintegration model predicted an interaction between context and target, but the postintegration model did not. The predicted interaction was replicated several times, supporting preintegration processing of contextual information. However, when subjects were divided into fast and slow judges (on the basis of judgment latencies), the pattern of results supported preintegration contrast for fast judges and postintegration contrast for slow judges. These results support the conclusion that contrast effects may operate at different levels in impression formation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of the context dependency of three causal models of halo rater error.

C. E. Lance et al (see record 1994-17452-001) tested 3 different causal models of halo rater error (general impression [GI], salient dimension [SD], and inadequate discrimination [ID] models) and found that the GI model better accounted for observed halo rating error than did the SD or ID models. It was also suggested that the type of halo rater error that occurs might vary as a function of rating context. The purpose of this study was to determine whether rating contexts could be manipulated that favored the operation of each of these 3 halo-error models. Results indicate, however, that GI halo error occurred in spite of experimental conditions designed specifically to induce other forms of halo rater error. This suggests that halo rater error is a unitary phenomenon that should be defined as the influence of a rater's general impression on ratings of specific ratee qualities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The delay-reduction hypothesis: Extension to three-alternative choice.

Choice was assessed for 2 and 3 VI schedules arranged in the terminal links of concurrent-chains schedules (Exps I–IV) and simple concurrent schedules (Exp IV). Ss were 14 male White King pigeons. When the 3rd VI schedule provided a relatively high rate of reinforcement, its addition resulted in a divergence of the distribution of responses between the 2 other schedules (Exps I and II). When the 3rd VI schedule provided a sufficiently low rate of reinforcement, its addition resulted in a convergence of the distribution of responses between the other schedules. Both sets of results are consistent with the delay-reduction hypothesis but not the constant-ratio rule. In Exp IV, the 3rd VI schedule was selected so that the delay-reduction hypothesis required no change in the distribution of responses between the other 2 schedules. This experiment also assessed the effects of adding a 3rd VI schedule in a simple concurrent schedule. In both cases the distribution of responses between the other 2 schedules was not affected systematically. Results support an extension of the delay-reduction hypothesis to 3-alternative choice. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and conditioning: A test of four models.

Four experiments were conducted to test hypotheses derived from 4 alternative models of individual differences in instrumental conditioning. A standard go–no-go discrimination learning task was used in each of the 4 experiments. The results indicate that individual differences in performance of this discrimination are more consistently and strongly associated with impulsivity and anxiety than with extraversion and neuroticism. In each of the experiments, high anxiety hindered the learning of a go–no-go discrimination more among high-impulsive Ss than among low impulsive Ss, and in 2 of the experiments high anxiety actually facilitated learning among low impulsive Ss. These findings are incompatible with H. J. Eysenck's (1967) and J. A. Gray's (1982) hypotheses regarding extraversion but are not inconsistent with the hypotheses of J. P. Newman et al (see record 1985-22847-001). Aspects of these results do support J. T. Spence and K. W. Spence's (1966) and Gray's models of anxiety and instrumental conditioning. However, both of these models were contradicted by other trends in the data. A modification of Gray's model of impulsivity and anxiety that emphasizes the role of expectancies was proposed to fit these data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Third-party intervention: A field experiment comparing three different models.

A field experiment was conducted at a community mediation center to test the impact on behavior in mediation of three models of third-party intervention. Third parties and disputants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) straight mediation; (b) mediation/arbitration (same), or med/arb(same); or (c) mediation/arbitration (different), or med/arb(diff). These models differ in what happens if agreement between the disputants is not reached. In straight mediation, the hearing simply ends; in med/arb(same), the third party arbitrates; in med/arb(diff), a fourth party not present at the mediation hearing arbitrates. Results indicated that disputants in med/arb(same) engaged in more problem solving and were less hostile and competitive than were disputants in straight mediation, with med/arb(diff) intermediate on these dimensions. Third parties in med/arb(diff) were less involved throughout the session than were third parties in the other two conditions. Results are discussed in terms of motivational influences induced by the three conditions that have impact on tactics used by disputants and third parties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Choice behavior of pigeons on progressive and multiple schedules: A test of optimal foraging theory.

16 pigeons were trained on a depleting progressive schedule and on a multiple schedule that produced food at 1 of 4 constant rates. Ss were then allowed to choose between the schedules presented concurrently to see if they switched from the progressive schedule to an alternate fixed component of the multiple schedule in a manner that maximized the benefit/cost ratio. The time of access to the food/number of pecks required to earn food (T/N) ratio was varied in 2 mathematically equivalent but procedurally different ways. Results reveal that the ratio group was more sensitive to the different T/N values than was the time group. For both groups, the number of reinforcers earned on the progressive schedule during choice tests was a decreasing function of the T/N value of the alternative fixed schedule. Predictions based on optimal foraging theory better approximated actual choice behavior than did those based on performance under the individual schedules. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test of models of personality disorder configuration.

In this study, the authors examined the degrees to which various models of personality disorder (PD) configuration are consistent with the primary data sets from clinical and community samples reported in the recent literature. Factor analyses were conducted on PD intercorrelation matrices, and the loading matrices were rotated to maximum possible fit with target matrices representing the PD configuration models. There was little support for the interpersonal circle or other circular orderings of PDs, or for T. Millon's (1990, 1996) biosocial learning theory. There was moderate support for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) dimensions, for C. R. Cloninger's (1987) tridimensional theory, and for S. Torgersen and R. Alnaes's (1989) decision tree. There was consistent, stronger support for the 5-factor model (T. A. Widiger, T. J. Trull, J. F. Clarkin, C. Sanderson, & P. T. Costa, 1994) and for an empirically derived 7-factor model by C. R. Cloninger and D. M. Svrakic (1994). However, a focus on just 4 factors seems preferable and sufficient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job enrichment versus social cues: A comparison and competitive test.

41 part-time student employees were randomly assigned in a 2–2 factorial design (2 types of social cues and 2 levels of job enrichment) to investigate the effects of the independent variables on perceptions of job enrichment, job ambiguity, job satisfaction, and productivity. All Ss worked in a simulated organizational setting involving a routine clerical task. Results show that both the cues given by co-workers as well as the physical properties of the task had an effect on employee perceptions of job enrichment and job ambiguity. In addition, Ss receiving positive social cues from co-workers were more satisfied and more productive than Ss receiving negative social cues from co-workers. Results are discussed in terms of their relevance for current theories of job motivation. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some effects of "suspicious" versus 'trusting" training schedules.

The structure of child training was translated into the paradigm of learning in a human engineering situation. The parent is conceived as having a role for the trainee (the child) to learn and employs a schedule of reinforcement. The "suspicious" training schedule involved the trainer always assuming an incorrect response has been given, and uses punitive action (electric shock); "trusting" schedule assumes a correct response, reward being a green light to proceed. Ss were college students; the task involved deciding which of 2 statements reflected greater psychopathology. S had the choice of revealing his selection or not. The hypothesis was that the S exposed to the "suspicious" routine would be more inclined to bring his response to the attention of the evaluater to correct the impression of being wrong, and to more readily learn to adopt trainers' frame of reference. In general, the results support the hypotheses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beck's cognitive triad: One versus three factors.

Examined the factorial validity of the cognitive triad (view of self, world, and future) hypothesized by A. T. Beck (1987) to be a key depression-related variable. A nonclinical sample of 641 university undergraduates completed the Cognitive Triad Inventory (CTI). Although an initial confirmatory factor analysis failed to support a 3-factor model for the CTI drawn from Beck's paradigm, a principal components analysis yielded a single factor which was labeled, "Self-Relevant Negative Attitude." Additional analyses confirmed the viability of the 1-factor solution and showed that the CTI was still a reliable scale with 12 as opposed to the original 30 items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of stressful life events and depression: A test of attributional models.

Tested the attributional models of depression proposed by L. Y. Abramson et al (see record 1979-00305-001), using 278 undergraduates who had recently experienced a stressful event and 51 55–79 yr old adults who sought treatment for problems with depression. Three questions were addressed: (a) the validity of the hypothesized independent and direction relation between each of the dimensions of internality, stability, controllability, intentionality, and globality and depression; (b) the causal relation between attributions and depression in a 2-mo prospective study; and (c) evaluation of the model on the 2 disparate samples. Ss were administered a battery of depression measures; students completed an attribution questionnaire, while adults completed a measure of life stress attributions. Causal modeling statistical procedures were applied to both the question of concurrent relations and causal relations between cognitions and depression. Results suggest minimal support for the attributional model: The dimensions were not each independently and directly associated with depression in the manner predicted, and the model that best fit the data was generally congruent for both the normal and clinical samples. In terms of direction of causality, the data were more consistent in indicating that depression causes cognitions than in indicating the reverse. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generalized social phobia versus avoidant personality disorder: A commentary on three studies.

The findings of J. D. Herbert et al (see record 1992-27377-001), C. S. Holt et al (see record 1992-27380-001), and S. M. Turner et al (see record 1992-27401-001) are largely consistent. Avoidant personality disorder and generalized social phobia appear to be overlapping constructs that have only minor differences with respect to severity of dysfunction. This commentary addresses the implications of the findings with respect to the validity of the categorical distinction in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III—Revised (DSM-III—R) between avoidant personality and generalized social phobia, revisions of their respective diagnostic criteria, and their reclassification as either an anxiety or a personality disorder. Methodological and substantive suggestions for future research are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)