Interdependence of formal reasoning.

Administered a concept attainment task, a logic test, and an identity status interview to female undergraduates. Performance on the 2 reasoning measures was unrelated, and identity crisis Ss did not perform better than noncrisis Ss. Results support Piaget's (1972) speculation that formal reasoning may be used selectively rather than being all-pervasive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in locus of control as a function of life crisis resolution.

Examined Rotter's Internal-External (I-E) scale in relation to life crisis and crisis resolution. It was hypothesized that crisis patients (N = 30), overwhelmed by external forces in their lives, would initially be more externally oriented on the I-E scale than a similar group of noncrisis outpatients (N = 30), but would show a significant shift toward the internal end of the dimension following a 6-wk crisis resolution period, while the noncrisis patients would show no significant I-E shift. Results are consistent with this hypothesis, but do not support a prediction that magnitude of I-E change would be negatively related to age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The essential tension between leadership and power: When leaders sacrifice group goals for the sake of self-interest.

Throughout human history, leaders have been responsible for helping groups attain important goals. Ideally, leaders use their power to steer groups toward desired outcomes. However, leaders can also use their power in the service of self-interest rather than effective leadership. Five experiments identified factors within both the person and the social context that determine whether leaders wield their power to promote group goals versus self-interest. In most cases, leaders behaved in a manner consistent with group goals. However, when their power was tenuous due to instability within the hierarchy, leaders high (but not low) in dominance motivation prioritized their own power over group goals: They withheld valuable information from the group, excluded a highly skilled group member, and prevented a proficient group member from having any influence over a group task. These self-interested actions were eliminated when the group was competing against a rival outgroup. Findings provide important insight into factors that influence the way leaders navigate the essential tension between leadership and power. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of the power of the paired samples t test to that of Wilcoxon's signed-ranks test under various population shapes.

Used Monte Carlo methods to assess the relative power of the paired-samples t test and Wilcoxon's signed-ranks test (WSR) under 10 population shapes. Results indicate that each statistic was more powerful than the other in given situations; power advantages of the t under normal theory were small; in nonnormal situations, the t test never attained more than modest advantages. The WSR was more often the more powerful test, and the magnitude of the WSR's power advantage often increased with sample size. It is concluded that the claim that parametric tests are more powerful than nonparametric tests is not justified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wit, creativity, and sarcasm.

A study was conducted using 156 airmen at their base to test the hypotheses that wit and creativity are positively correlated; that defensiveness and creativity are negatively correlated; and that wits are effective leaders. The effect of sarcastic versus nonsarcastic wit were explored. The 1st 2 hypotheses were supported. Wits were not effective leaders but were associated with less defensiveness and more effective group problem-solving. Most of the positive relationships with wit were found, more specifically, to be associated with sarcastic wit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Locus of control, sex role orientation, and self-concept in Black and White third- and sixth-grade male and female leaders in a rural community.

Examined locus of control among 43 Black boys, 36 White boys, 35 Black girls, and 47 White girls from the 3rd and 6th grades. Ss had been selected as class leaders by their peers. Ss completed the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, the Who Should Test, and the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire. White female leaders were more internally controlled than were Black leaders and attributed good outcomes to personal attributes more often than did Black leaders. White female leaders were also more willing to accept responsibility for bad outcomes than were Black female leaders. Self-concept data and sex-role orientation data were not helpful in interpreting the findings but did serve to suggest several avenues for future research in the area of locus of control. Results do not support the findings of other researchers who found that girls attributed their success to luck or to luck and effort while boys attributed their success to effort. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A situational approach to leadership effectiveness.

F. E. Fiedler's contingency model suggests that task-oriented leaders are more effective where the leadership situation is either very favorable or very unfavorable and that relations-oriented leaders are more effective in situations of intermediate favorability. This model was tested among supervisors in both interacting (N = 54) and coacting (N = 48) groups in 2 organizations. Results in the hypothesized direction were attained although they were not generally significant. (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)     

Advancements in radiotherapy and improved outcomes in prostate cancer

Alcohol use, binge drinking, and substance abuse-related consequences among students with varying levels of participation in intercollegiate athletics were examined. Between October 1994 and May 1996, 51,483 students at 125 institutions answered questions about their involvement in athletics, ranging from noninvolvement to participant to leadership positions, on the long form of the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey. In comparisons with nonathletes, both male and female athletes consumed significantly more alcohol per week, engaged in binge drinking more often, and suffered more adverse consequences from their substance use. No support was found for the hypothesis that athletic leaders were more responsible than other team participants in using alcohol. Male team leaders appeared to be at significantly greater risk than female team leaders; they also consumed more alcohol, binged more often, and suffered more consequences than other team members.     

Perceptions of Counselor Characteristics: Contributions of Counselor Sex, Experience, and Disclosure Level.

Strong proposed that expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness may enhance the counselor's ability to influence clients. In a counseling analogue the present study assessed the effects of counselor sex (male or female), experience (expert or nonexpert), and self-disclosure level (high or low) on perceived expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness. Results indicated that (a) expert counselors were rated more expert than nonexpert; (b) female experts were rated more expert than female nonexperts, but male experts and nonexperts were not different from one another; (c) high-disclosing counselors were perceived as more attractive than low-disclosing counselors; (d) expert and nonexpert high-disclosing counselors were more attractive than expert low-disclosing counselors; (e) low-disclosing counselors were rated more trustworthy than high-disclosing counselors; and (f) low-disclosing female counselors were rated more trustworthy than high-disclosing female counselors, but male high- and low-disclosing counselors were not different from one another. Additional findings are presented, and implications of the results concerning counselor sex are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physicians'' experiences and beliefs regarding informal consultation

CONTEXT: Efforts to control medical expenses by emphasizing primary care and limiting specialty care may influence how physicians use informal or "curbside" consultation. OBJECTIVE: To understand physicians' use of and beliefs about informal consultation. DESIGN: Survey mailed in July 1997. PARTICIPANTS: Of a random sample of Massachusetts general internists, pediatricians, cardiologists, orthopedic surgeons (n=300 each), and infectious disease specialists (n=200) surveyed, 1225 were eligible and 705 (58%) responded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported use of and beliefs about informal consultation. RESULTS: Generalist physicians requested more informal consultations than specialists (median, 3 vs 1 per week; P<.001) and were asked to provide fewer (2 vs 5 per week; P<.001). In multivariate analyses, physicians in a health maintenance organization, multispecialty group, or single-specialty group requested more informal consultations than those in solo practice (82%, 40%, and 28% more, respectively; all P<.001) and were more often asked to provide them (43%, 63%, and 14% more, respectively; all P<.05). Physicians with at least 30% of their income from capitation requested 38% more and were asked to provide 46% more informal consultations than those with little or no income from capitation (both P<.001). Generalists' overall approval of informal consultation was greater than specialists' (mean 5.9 vs 5.1 on a 7-point Likert scale; P<.001), and approval was strongly associated with beliefs about how informal consultation affects quality of care (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Use of informal consultation is common, varies by specialty, practice setting, and capitation, and therefore may increase with current trends toward group practice and managed care. Because overall approval of informal consultation is strongly associated with beliefs about how it affects quality of care, this issue should be carefully considered by physicians who participate in informal consultation.     

Counselor power base, influence attempt, and behavior change in counseling.

Gave a 30-min individual interview to 48 college males, all of whom described themselves as "procrastinators." The interview explored current and historical difficulties stemming from Ss' procrastination, and ended with an interviewer attempt to influence Ss to take some specific action on the procrastination issue of greatest current concern. 8 experimental conditions were defined by (a) the 2 interviews, (b) "expert" or "referent" roles, and (c) delivery of influence attempt in a manner congruent with the "expert" or "referent" power base. Results show that (a) Ss perceived interviewers as intended, (b) Ss were induced to perform important behaviors outside the interview situation, (c) the expert and referent power bases were not differentially effective in inducing S compliance, and (d) the frequency of differential conformity in the power-congruent vs power-incongruent conditions approached statistical significance. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leader Self-Sacrifice and Leadership Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Leader Prototypicality.

Self-sacrificing behavior of the leader and the extent to which the leader is representative of the group (i.e., group prototypical) are proposed to interact to influence leadership effectiveness. The authors expected self-sacrificing leaders to be considered more effective and to be able to push subordinates to a higher performance level than non-self-sacrificing leaders, and these effects were expected to be more pronounced for less prototypical leaders than for more prototypical leaders. The results of a laboratory experiment showed that, as expected, productivity levels, effectiveness ratings, and perceived leader group-orientedness and charisma were positively affected by leader self-sacrifice, especially when leader prototypicality was low. The main results were replicated in a scenario experiment and 2 surveys. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Paediatric rectal prolapse in Rwanda

During the 1994 crisis in Rwanda, a high incidence of full-thickness rectal prolapse was noted among the refugee children in the south-west of the country. The prolapses arose as a result of acute diarrhoeal illness superimposed on malnutrition and worm infestation. We used a modification of the Thiersch wire technique in 40 of these cases during two months working in a refugee camp. A catgut pursestring was tied around the anal margin under local, regional or general anaesthesia. This was effective in achieving short-term control of full-thickness prolapse until the underlying illness was corrected. Under the circumstances, no formal follow-up could be arranged; however, no complications were reported and only one patient presented with recurrence.     

Direction of effect in socialization: A comparison of the parent's versus the child's behavior as determinants of disciplinary techniques.

40 mothers of 4-5 and 7-8 yr olds described the discipline they would use with their children in situations involving 12 misdemeanors. The situations were more likely to elicit the same discipline techniques from different Ss than was a given S to be consistent across the 12 situations. An S's reported discipline appeared to be determined more by what the child did than by some consistent child-rearing approach on the S's part. Two situations involving psychological harm to others elicited reasoning, whereas other kinds of misdemeanors were more likely to elicit some form of power assertion. Ss frequently said they would use multiple techniques in dealing with a misdemeanor, often power assertion in combination with reasoning, with the latter being more likely to follow the former. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mobbing and bullying: The influence of individual, work group, and organizational dynamics on abusive workplace behavior.

Mobbing, bullying, and other abusive behaviors are workplace circumstances that consulting psychologists and other organizational consultants may be asked to address. This article argues that effective consultation requires a comprehensive understanding of how individual, work group, and organizational dynamics influence such workplace abusiveness. A 3-level model (individual, group, and organizational) is presented that provides a framework for assessing, conceptualizing, and planning effective consultation interventions when dealing with workplace abusiveness. A case example illustrates the application of the model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Taking the reins: The effects of new leader status and leadership style on team performance.

New leaders face a challenging task when they take charge of their teams. They have to determine how best to guide the work process, and they must understand how their behaviors will affect the members of their team. This research examines how a newly assigned team leader's status moderates subordinates' reactions to different leadership styles to affect assessments of the leader's self-confidence and effectiveness, and how this impacts team performance. Across 2 experimental studies, results demonstrate that low-status leaders are rated as more effective when they use a directive style, whereas high-status leaders are viewed as more effective when they use a participative style, and this relationship is mediated by perceptions of self-confidence. In addition, teams whose leaders are viewed more favorably perform better on a complex group task. These findings imply that low-status individuals are able to enhance their level of personal power by drawing on whatever positional power they hold, whereas high-status individuals are better off relying solely on their personal power to influence others. This research also provides a clear demonstration that assessments of new leaders' behaviors are subject to an appraisal that is clouded by observers' status perceptions and attributions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes, beliefs, and practices regarding smoking and smoking cessation among African-American physicians and dentists

African-American physicians and dentists in metropolitan Atlanta were surveyed to assess smoking cessation practices and perceptions. Questionnaires were mailed to 373 physicians and 90 dentists. A total of 154 questionnaires were returned, for an overall response rate of 33.3%. More physicians than dentists considered smoking a "very serious" threat to patients' health, and physicians were more likely to document smoking status in charts and to counsel smokers to quit. Physicians also were approached more frequently by patients seeking cessation advice. Both types of practitioners considered the nicotine patch, formal cessation programs, and behavior modification/psychotherapy to be among the most effective cessation methods, and nicotine gum and acupuncture to be among the least effective. These results indicate African-American physicians are much more involved than dentists in promoting smoking cessation among patients. Advice of health professionals generally is viewed as a powerful influence for African-American patients. Further work is needed to utilize fully the power of health care providers, especially dentists, in the fight against tobacco-related morbidity and mortality.     

Antecedents of coworker trust: Leaders' blessings.

Although employee trust in leaders has garnered substantial empirical research, trust between coworkers has been virtually ignored. Extending the work of D. L. Ferrin, K. T. Dirks, and P. P. Shah (2006), the authors examined the role of group leaders, an influential third party in the workplace, on coworker trust formation. The correlates of the extent to which coworkers trust one another were examined in an investigation of 146 members of 32 work groups representing 4 diverse organizations. In this study, which utilized full network data, coworker trust was operationalized as in-degree centrality in the trust network. Controlling for relational demography and coworker helping behaviors, the authors found, as hypothesized, that coworkers tended to place more trust in fellow coworkers who were also trusted by the teams' formal leaders than in coworkers who were less trusted by leaders. In addition, consistent with the social information processing theory, support was found for the hypothesis that the relationship between leaders' trust and coworker trust is stronger when group performance is poor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)