Managing organizational stress: A field experiment.

79 public agency employees (mean age 39 yrs) were randomly assigned to stress-management training or control conditions. The training program consisted of 16 hrs of group exposure over 8 wks. Using procedures based on those developed by D. H. Meichenbaum (1975), treatment Ss were taught to recognize and alter their cognitive interpretations to stressful events at work. Ss were also taught progressive relaxation techniques to supplement this process. Dependent variables were epinephrine and norepinephrine excretion at work, anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), depression, irritation, and somatic complaints, all measured at 3 times (pretest, posttest, and 4 mo after treatment). Treatment Ss exhibited significantly lower epinephrine and depression levels than did controls at posttest, and 4-mo follow-up levels did not regress to pretest levels. However, treatment effects were not replicated in a subsequent intervention on the original control group. The general adoption of such stress management programs is not recommended. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An experience sampling study of emotional reactions to music: Listener, music, and situation.

The Experience Sampling Method was used to explore emotions to music as they naturally occurred in everyday life, with a focus on the prevalence of different musical emotions and how such emotions are related to various factors in the listener, the music, and the situation. Thirty-two college students, 20 to 31 years old, carried a palmtop that emitted a sound signal seven times per day at random intervals for 2 weeks. When signaled, participants were required to complete a questionnaire on the palmtop. Results showed that music occurred in 37% of the episodes, and in 64% of the music episodes, the participants reported that the music affected how they felt. Comparisons showed that happiness-elation and nostalgia-longing were more frequent in episodes with musical emotions, whereas anger-irritation, boredom-indifference, and anxiety-fear were more frequent in episodes with nonmusical emotions. The prevalence of specific musical emotions correlated with personality measures and also varied depending on the situation (e.g., current activity, other people present), thus highlighting the need to use representative samples of situations to obtain valid estimates of prevalence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of organizational values on leaders' use of informational power to affect performance in China.

The traditional idea that power is limited was hypothesized to induce managers to develop a competitive relationship with and withhold their resources from employees. Results of an experiment conducted in China with 60 male and 60 female students indicated that participants used their information power to provide assistance and encouraged their subordinates when their organization valued expandable power compared with limited power and when they believed the others were unable rather than unmotivated. Results were interpreted as suggesting that even in high power distance societies such as China, organizational valuing of expandable power and the development of cooperative goals contribute importantly to the constructive use of information power. Results have implications both for the general theory of cooperation and competition and for our understanding of power in China. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender, self confidence, and social influence strategies: An organizational simulation.

Investigated whether men and women in positions of equal power differ in the strategies they use to influence subordinates. 24 male and 24 female undergraduates were placed into a supervisory role in a simulated organizational setting and were compared on the frequency, range, and types of influence strategies they used to direct the work of 3 bogus subordinates. Although gender differences consistent with general sex-role stereotypes were found, most differences were weak and only of marginal significance. Relative to males, females made fewer influence attempts, used a more limited range of influence strategies, used fewer rewarding strategies, particularly promises of pay increases, and used more coercive strategies, especially pay deductions. Females displayed lower levels of self-confidence than did males, and sex-linked differences in self-confidence explained much of the gender difference observed in the frequency with which influence attempts were made and the extent to which coercive strategies were used. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of the CPA code of ethics in planning field research: An organizational case.

Demonstrates the proactive use of the Canadian Psychological Association's (CPA's) code of ethics in planning field research by delineating the ethical implications of a research example (R. I. Sutton; see record 1989-31541-001) drawn from the organizational psychology literature. Seven steps describe how the CPA code was used to analyze Sutton's ethical dilemma. It is argued that the decision-making processes advocated by the CPA code of ethics is an effective means of identifying issues that would otherwise be neglected. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implementing computerized technology: An organizational analysis.

Why do some organizations succeed and others fail in implementing the innovations they adopt? To begin to answer this question, the authors studied the implementation of manufacturing resource, planning, an advanced computerized manufacturing technology, in 39 manufacturing plants (number of individual respondents?=?1,219). The results of the plant-level analyses suggest that financial resource availability and management support for technology implementation engender high-quality implementation policies and practices and a strong climate for implementation, which in turn foster implementation effectiveness—that is, consistent and skilled technology use. Further research is needed to replicate and extend the findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between satisfaction, attitudes, and performance: An organizational level analysis.

Previous research has consistently shown little relationship between job satisfaction, job attitudes, and performance for individuals, but little work has investigated these relationships at the organizational level of analysis. This study investigated the relationship between employee satisfaction, other job-related attitudes (commitment, adjustment, and psychological stress), and organizational performance. Organizational performance data were collected for 298 schools; employee satisfaction and attitude data were collected from 13,808 teachers within these schools. Correlation and regression analyses supported the expected relationships between employee satisfaction/attitudes and organizational performance. Implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of organizational citizenship behavior on performance judgments: A field study and a laboratory experiment.

The process linking organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) with performance judgments was investigated in a field and a laboratory study. In the field study, managers rated the task performance and OCB of 148 subordinates. In the laboratory research, 136 students viewed and rated videotaped segments of teaching performance that demonstrated either high or low task performance and high or low OCB. In both studies, liking and perceived affective commitment mediated the relationship between OCB and overall evaluation. Liking also mediated the relationship between OCB and reward recommendations. Further, the field study indicated that the causal motive attributed by the manager for the employee's OCB mediated the relationship between OCB and overall evaluation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An experimental study of the effectiveness of brainstorming.

In the study of conditions favorable to creativity 2 different ways of conducting brainstorming groups were compared. 3 groups each composed of 7 university students were given instructions to uncritically invent names for 3 kinds of articles; 3 other groups of students each composed of 7 persons were given instructions to also invent names for the same articles only to do so critically. 150 different students rated the invented names of both groups for quality. "For each product, the noncritical condition produced a greater number or responses than the critical condition… . If it is the purpose of problem solving to produce a specific number of ideas of highest possible quality, these best ideas will tend to be of higher or equal quality when the noncritical method is used." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2HD45W. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Turnover functionality versus turnover frequency: A note on work attitudes and organizational effectiveness.

Tested whether work attitudes, widely praised as predictors of turnover frequency (i.e., the number of separations), are also useful predictors of turnover functionality (i.e., the nature of separations). Measures on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job involvement, motivation to turnover, and turnover frequency and functionality were obtained from 112 retail salespersons. Results indicate that (a) the traditional measure of turnover frequency overstates the detrimental effects of turnover on organizational effectiveness, in that 53% of the turnover was functional and (b) turnover functionality, which emphasizes the performance levels of stayers and leavers, is unrelated to work attitudes. Findings suggest that organizations should not devote resources to programs designed to improve employee attitudes, based solely on the expectation that decreasing turnover frequency will result in beneficial consequences. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The ethical reasoning process in an organizational consulting situation.

Focused on scenarios in which ethical considerations could affect an organizational consultant's decision whether to provide services. 5 factors were systematically varied in the basic scenario: deception, coercion, risk, invasion of privacy, and probability of success. Ss were 19 faculty and doctoral students. In policy-capturing analysis of the ethical reasoning process, we found moderate agreement on whether to work on the hypothetical project but considerable individual differences in the reasons behind the decisions. Older Ss and/or those in faculty positions were more cautious and used more complex reasoning than younger, student Ss. Findings suggest that education in ethics should include ethical reasoning processes and that policy capturing be used as a training tool. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Specialty designation: An industrial/organizational perspective.

Agrees with the J. Service et al (see record 1994-35137-001) argument that Canadian psychology should have a system of specialties, and addresses the issue of how minimal standards of professionalism can be ensured for psychologists who work in nonacademic settings. The twin issues of program accreditation and professional certification are central to specialty designation. Examples are taken from the Canadian Psychological Association's Section for Industrial/Organizational Psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reducing organizational conflict: An incompatible response approach.

186 undergraduates played the role of executives and discussed important organizational issues with a confederate, who disagreed strongly with each S's views. Disagreement was expressed in a calm and reasonable manner or in an arrogant and condescending fashion. Ss were then exposed to 1 of 3 treatment conditions (sympathy, gratitude, or amusement) designed to induce positive states incompatible with anger or to a no-treatment control condition. Results show that relative to the control condition the 3 treatment conditions improved Ss' moods, enhanced their impressions of the confederate, and increased their preference for constructive as opposed to destructive modes of dealing with conflict. Disagreement expressed in a condescending manner produced significantly more negative effects on all dependent measures than disagreement expressed in a reasonable fashion. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spirituality, religion, and health: An emerging research field.

The investigation of spiritual/religious factors in health is clearly warranted and clinically relevant. This special section explores the persistent predictive relationship between religious variables and health, and its implications for future research and practice. The section reviews epidemiological evidence linking religiousness to morbidity and mortality, possible biological pathways linking spirituality/religiousness to health, and advances in the assessment of spiritual/religious variables in research and practice. This introduction provides an overview of this field of research and addresses 3 related methodological issues: definitions of terms, approaches to statistical control, and criteria used to judge the level of supporting evidence for specific hypotheses. The study of spirituality and health is a true frontier for psychology and one with high public interest. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Industrial/organizational psychology in Canada: An introduction.

The objective in this Special Issue is to provide colleagues and students with an introduction to current research and professional issues in industrial/organizational psychology in Canada. The authors provide a historical context for that current work and offer some suggestions for future directions. The authors include a cross-section of industrial/organizational psychologists at work in Canada today, reflecting regional, language and gender differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Power reduces the press of the situation: Implications for creativity, conformity, and dissonance.

Although power is often conceptualized as the capacity to influence others, the current research explores whether power psychologically protects people from influence. In contrast to classic social psychological research demonstrating the strength of the situation in directing attitudes, expressions, and intentions, 5 experiments (using experiential primes, semantic primes, and role manipulations of power) demonstrate that the powerful (a) generate creative ideas that are less influenced by salient examples, (b) express attitudes that conform less to the expressed opinions of others, (c) are more influenced by their own social value orientation relative to the reputation of a negotiating opponent, and (d) perceive greater choice in making counterattitudinal statements. This last experiment illustrates that power is not always psychologically liberating; it can create internal conflict, arousing dissonance, and thereby lead to attitude change. Across the experiments, high-power participants were immune to the typical press of situations, with intrapsychic processes having greater sway than situational or interpersonal ones on their creative and attitudinal expressions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating potential officer effectiveness in a training situation.

A situational performance test was developed for evaluating potential Air Force officer effectiveness during the officer training program. For the 480 members of an AF Candidate School graduating class reliability of scoring (examiner-observer agreements on a behavior check list) was .75. Correlations between the total test score and Officer Candidate School evaluation measures were in the range .21—.25. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instrumental values of organizational citizenship behavior for promotion: A field quasi-experiment.

The present study examined the relationship between promotion, perceived instrumentality of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) for promotion, and employees' OCB before and after promotion. A field quasi-experiment involving 293 tellers of a multinational bank was conducted. Both supervisors and employees provided OCB ratings 3 months before and 3 months after the promotion decision was announced. The authors found employees who perceived OCB as instrumental to their promotion and who were promoted were more likely to decline in their OCB after the promotion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How executive coaching can change leader behavior and improve meeting effectiveness: An exploratory study.

Business meetings are the focus of extensive executive time and effort. Research has shown that poor leadership during meetings results in negative outcomes; however, few studies have explored effective leader behaviors during team meetings. From “expert leader” observations, the author hypothesized that more effective meeting leaders ask questions, summarize, and test for consensus more frequently, and they disagree, attack, and give information less frequently. Executive behaviors were observed and tallied into these categories during team meetings before and after executive coaching. Three cases illustrate how coaching was done using these measures of meeting leadership behaviors. After coaching, study participants (20 men, 1 woman) exhibited significant behavioral changes. Implications for practice include the utility of new methodological tools and the efficacy of coaching on meeting leadership effectiveness. Research seems warranted on the measures themselves and on team and organizational outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The quest for executive effectiveness: Consultants bridge the gap between psychological research and organizational application.

However we picture success for ourselves as consulting psychologists or for the executives and clients with whom we work, the role as pathfinder and mapmaker identifies those who "make a diference." Effectiveness for both consultant and executive calls for competencies in dealing with individual, group, and organizational-level issues. Critical competencies are discussed under the headings vision, motivation, and action. The ability to conceptualize, or to envision, relies on updated mental processes and stagnates without motivational astuteness. Key to motivation is emotional wisdom, the management of vital sign emotions: curiosity, anxiety, and anger. Finally, the invitational leadership approach (ILA) is presented as a synthesis of leadership research to assist a consultant or an executive in execution of the action competencies that get an organization moving in a coordinated, constructive direction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)