Transparency and trust as antecedents to perceptions of commitment to stated diversity goals.

Student perceptions of their university's commitment to its stated diversity goals impact important outcomes on campus. Perceptions that the university is committed to its stated diversity goals decreases perceptions of racial tensions on campus, while perceptions that the university is not committed to its stated diversity goals causes a host of negative outcomes for students, including higher perceptions of hostility and discrimination. Using a sample of 360 students at a small university, the current study addresses the relationships between trust, breach of obligations, transparency, and perceptions of the university's commitment to stated diversity goals. Results indicate that transparency and trust are important to building and maintaining the perception that the university is committed to its stated diversity goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of the antecedents and moderator influences of climate strength.

The authors tested 3 hypotheses regarding the antecedents and moderator influences of climate strength (CS; the degree of within-unit agreement of climate perceptions). The sample consisted of 197 work units. Social interaction among unit members showed positive, statistically significant correlations with CS in goals orientation and innovation climate. Work-unit leaders' informing behavior was positively correlated with CS in the 3 climate facets measured (i.e., support, goals orientation, and innovation). CS in innovation moderated the impact of work units' innovation climate on average satisfaction and commitment. CS in goals orientation moderated the influence of work units' goal orientation on average commitment. The moderator influences showed the expected direction: CS fostered the influence of work units' climate on the criterion variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An empirical examination of Weiner's critique of attribution research.

Evaluates 3 of the allegations of error made by B. Weiner (see record 1983-32685-001) about methodological pitfalls in attributional research. The present authors (see record 1985-15804-001) contend that failure to confirm Weiner's predictions occurred because of theoretical shortcomings inherent in his model rather than because of procedural limitations in testing it. The path analysis of the cognitive model of achievement motivation study of the present authors (see record 1981-01260-001) was replicated using undergraduates dissatisfied by their midterm examinations. The time interval for retest was lengthened from 2 days to 3 wks. Results show that disconfirmation of Weiner's prediction occurred irrespective of which expectancy measure (expectancy or expectancy change) or which behavioral criterion was employed. Expansion of the cognitive model to include additional affective variables (humiliation, guilt, and shame reactions) were useful in understanding the role of effort cognitions in eliciting failure-induced affect. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The content validity of juvenile psychopathy: An empirical examination.

This study examined the content validity of a juvenile psychopathy measure, the Childhood Psychopathy Scale (CPS; D. R. Lynam, 1997), based on a downward translation of an adult instrument, the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991). The CPS was compared with two other indices of juvenile psychopathy: (a) an index derived from expert ratings and (b) an empirical index based on correlations with adult psychopathy. The 100 items of the Common Language Q-Sort (CLQ; A. Caspi et al., 1992) provided a common metric for the comparison. Psychopathy and personality were assessed at age 13 years with the mother-reported CPS and the CLQ. Psychopathy was assessed at age 24 years with the interviewer-rated Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995). Data from over 250 participants of the middle sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study were used to examine these relations. Item content analyses demonstrated considerable overlap among the three indices, indicating that the downward translation utilizes criteria similar to those of experts and the empirically-derived measure. In addition, these indices, even after removing overlapping items, demonstrated considerable convergence, also supporting the content validity of the downward translation. These results suggest that the downward translation method is adequate for understanding the juvenile psychopathy construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of organizational and team commitment in a self-directed team environment.

A model hypothesizing differential relationships among predictor variables and individual commitment to the organization and work team was tested. Data from 485 members of sewing teams supported the existence of differential relationships between predictors and organizational and team commitment. In particular, intersender conflict and satisfaction with coworkers were more strongly related to team commitment than to organizational commitment. Resource-related conflict and satisfaction with supervision were more strongly related to organizational commitment than to team commitment. Perceived task interdependence was strongly related to both commitment foci. Contrary to prediction, the relationships between perceived task interdependence and the 2 commitment foci were not significantly different. Relationships with antecedent variables help explain how differential levels of commitment to the 2 foci may be formed. Indirect effects of exogenous variables are reported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of the role of perceived support and employee commitment in employee-customer encounters.

The authors examined the relationships between perceived organizational support, organizational commitment, commitment to customers, and service quality in a fast-food firm. The research design matched customer responses with individual employees' attitudes, making this study a true test of the service provider-customer encounter. On the basis of a sample of matched employee-customer data (N = 133), hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that perceived organizational support had both a unit-level and an employee-level effect on 1 dimension of service quality: helping behavior. Contrary to affective organizational commitment, affective commitment to customers enhanced service quality. The 2 subdimensions of continuance commitment to the organization--perceived high sacrifice and perceived lack of alternatives--exerted effects opposite in sign: The former fostered service quality, whereas the latter reduced it. The implications of these findings are discussed within the context of research on employee-customer encounters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An empirical examination of self-reported work stress among U.S. managers.

This study proposes that self-reported work stress among U.S. managers is differentially related (positively and negatively) to work outcomes depending on the stressors that are being evaluated. Specific hypotheses were derived from this general proposition and tested using a sample of 1,886 U.S. managers and longitudinal data. Regression results indicate that challenge-related self-reported stress is positively related to job satisfaction and negatively related to job search. In contrast, hindrance-related self-reported stress is negatively related to job satisfaction and positively related to job search and turnover. Future research directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal analysis of achievement goals: From affective antecedents to emotional effects and achievement outcomes.

Affect and emotions are frequently seen as outcomes of mastery and performance goals, but affective experiences may also predict goal adoption. In a predictive study (N = 669 first-year college students), the authors used structural equation modeling to estimate relationships from 2 initial affective experiences to mastery and performance-approach goals, from goals to discrete emotions, and from discrete emotions to final grades in a university course while controlling for prior achievement. Representing initial affective experiences, hopefulness positively predicted mastery and performance goals, whereas helplessness negatively predicted mastery goals. Mastery goals positively predicted enjoyment, which in turn positively predicted achievement, and negatively predicted boredom, which in turn negatively predicted achievement. Anxiety was negatively predicted by mastery goals, positively predicted by performance goals, and exerted a negative predictive influence on achievement. The findings suggest that predictive relationships between goals and achievement are mediated by students’ emotions. Results are discussed with regard to the importance of affect and emotions for achievement goal theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thematic Apperception Test: An empirical examination of some indices of homosexuality.

2studies were done to explore the effectiveness of some TAT signs of homosexual tendencies. "Although these indices of homosexuality have functioned more effectively than equivalent indices for other variables, there still seems ground for serious doubt concerning their utility. Not only does the general clinical rating appear to function more effectively, but also the nature of the indices implies that they could easily be subjected to voluntary distortion or inhibition, thus minimizing their usefulness in many diagnostic settings." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Safety climate and injuries: An examination of theoretical and empirical relationships.

Our purpose in this study was to meta-analytically address several theoretical and empirical issues regarding the relationships between safety climate and injuries. First, we distinguished between extant safety climate→injury and injury→safety climate relationships for both organizational and psychological safety climates. Second, we examined several potential moderators of these relationships. Meta-analyses revealed that injuries were more predictive of organizational safety climate than safety climate was predictive of injuries. Additionally, the injury→safety climate relationship was stronger for organizational climate than for psychological climate. Moderator analyses revealed that the degree of content contamination in safety climate measures inflated effects, whereas measurement deficiency attenuated effects. Additionally, moderator analyses showed that as the time period over which injuries were assessed lengthened, the safety climate→injury relationship was attenuated. Supplemental meta-analyses of specific safety climate dimensions also revealed that perceived management commitment to safety is the most robust predictor of occupational injuries. Contrary to expectations, the operationalization of injuries did not meaningfully moderate safety climate–injury relationships. Implications and recommendations for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A review and meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of organizational commitment.

In this article, we summarize previous empirical studies that examined antecedents, correlates, and/or consequences of organizational commitment using meta-analysis. In total, 48 meta-analyses were conducted, including 26 variables classified as antecedents, 8 as consequences, and 14 as correlates. Statistical artifacts were found to account for the variance between studies in only one meta-analysis that used attendance. Type of organizational commitment (attitudinal vs. calculative) was proposed as a moderator variable and was found to account for significant between-study variance in 9 of 18 comparisons. Theoretical and methodological issues pertaining to the measurement of various forms of organizational commitment, its interrelations with other forms of attachments, and its role in causal models of behavior in organizations are reviewed. Directions for future research are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interaction model of anxiety: An empirical test in an examination situation.

Tested the interaction model of anxiety in an examination situation. 56 undergraduates completed the self-report Behavioral Reactions Questionnaire (BRQ), a measure of A-state, and measured their pulse rates prior to an important psychology exam. Under nonstressful conditions 2 wks later, Ss again completed the BRQ and measured their pulse rate. In addition they completed the S–R Inventory of General Trait Anxiousness (S–R GTA), a measure of A-trait. The differential hypothesis of the interaction model of anxiety predicted a significant interaction between interpersonal (ego-threatening) A-trait (high vs low) and the ego-threatening situation (exam), in affecting A-state arousal, but no significant interaction between the other facets of A-trait (physical danger, ambiguous, and innocuous) and the threatening exam situation. When pulse rate was used as the dependent variable, the congruent Interpersonal A-Trait?×?ego-stress exam situation interaction was significant. None of the remaining 6 noncongruent person-by-situation interactions was significant except for the Physical Danger A-Trait?×?Situation interaction for BRQ scores. The pulse rates results confirmed the differential predictions of the interaction model of anxiety. Ss responded differentially to the 4 situations of the GTA, and in general the results provide confirmation for the multidimensionality of A-trait. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An attributional analysis of commitment.

C. A. Kiesler (1971) suggested that commitment to an act can be equated with feelings of self-responsibility for that act. This analysis implies that factors affecting attribution of self-responsibility for an act should also affect commitment. Two studies with a total of 93 male undergraduates supported the notion that attribution of self-responsibility for an act increases commitment to that act. Increasing self-focus (Exp I) increased commitment, and increasing the number of plausible causes present (Exp II) decreased commitment to a chosen act. Furthermore, in an effort to determine the role that perceived choice plays in the attributional process leading to commitment, perceived choice was also manipulated. Results indicate that choice clearly affected attribution to self and thus commitment, but choice did not appear to be absolutely essential to that process. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudinal antecedents of rape myth acceptance: A theoretical and empirical reexamination.

M. R. Burt (1980) concluded that acceptance of rape myths was strongly related to adversarial sexual beliefs, tolerance of interpersonal violence, and gender role stereotyping. However, the scales designed to assess these variables appear to share an emphasis on hostile attitudes toward women. Using alternative measures and 3 samples of undergraduates (N?=?429; 199 men and 230 women), the authors demonstrated that hostility toward women can partially account for the relation of the various Burt constructs with rape myth acceptance. In addition, a direct measure of hostility toward women exhibits considerably more predictive power among men than women, suggesting that rape myths may function differently for men and women and that there is significant utility in exploring a more broadly defined construct of misogyny for understanding the acceptance of sexual violence toward women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An empirical examination of the mechanisms mediating between high-performance work systems and the performance of Japanese organizations.

The resource-based view of the firm and social exchange perspectives are invoked to hypothesize linkages among high-performance work systems, collective human capital, the degree of social exchange in an establishment, and establishment performance. The authors argue that high-performance work systems generate a high level of collective human capital and encourage a high degree of social exchange within an organization, and that these are positively related to the organization's overall performance. On the basis of a sample of Japanese establishments, the results provide support for the existence of these mediating mechanisms through which high-performance work systems affect overall establishment performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A first examination of the relationships between primed subconscious goals, assigned conscious goals, and task performance.

The authors conducted 2 studies of subconscious goal motivation. First, the authors ran a pilot study to establish the effects of priming of subconscious goals on a performance task frequently used in goal setting research. Second, the authors conducted the main study in which the authors examined the effects of both priming of subconscious goals and assigned conscious goals on the same performance task. The authors found significant main effects of both manipulations and a significant interaction between subconscious and conscious goals. The effects of conscious difficult and do-best goals were enhanced by subconscious goals, although conscious easy goals were not affected. All effects from the main study still held after 1 day. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goal commitment and the goal-setting process: Conceptual clarification and empirical synthesis.

Goals are central to current treatments of work motivation, and goal commitment is a critical construct in understanding the relationship between goals and task performance. Despite this importance, there is confusion about the role of goal commitment and only recently has this key construct received the empirical attention it warrants. This meta-analysis, based on 83 independent samples, updates the goal commitment literature by summarizing the accumulated evidence on the antecedents and consequences of goal commitment. Using this aggregate empirical evidence, the role of goal commitment in the goal-setting process is clarified and key areas for future research are identified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of dispositional and situational antecedents in prosocial organizational behavior: An examination of the intended beneficiaries of prosocial behavior.

Research has not adequately separated the factors responsible for prosocial behaviors intended to benefit specific individuals from those intended to benefit an organization. Antecedents of the behavior of 100 secretaries were examined as a function of the beneficiary of the behavior. The value of concern for others and empathy explained significant variance in prosocial behaviors directed only at specific individuals (prosocial individual behavior). Perceptions of reward equity and recognition explained significant variance in behaviors directed only at the organization (prosocial organizational behavior). With these effects removed, the relationship between job satisfaction and prosocial organizational behavior was no longer significant, whereas the relationship between job satisfaction and prosocial individual behavior remained significant. Results suggest that the psychological processes that underlie prosocial behavior are different depending on the beneficiary of the behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An empirical approach to studying psychoanalytic process.

This study was a pilot attempt to investigate psychoanalytic process from an empirical perspective. We randomly selected early and late sessions from an audiotaped psychoanalysis (N = 324 sessions) and scored them using a modified form of the Gill-Hoffman (1982) system. We analyzed these scores via Markov models and comparative probability tests. The coding scheme was reliable, although the percentage of interrater agreement for ratings of patient insight was low. Despite this measurement error, the study yielded interesting findings concerning early and late hours. Across early and late sessions, interpretations facilitated patient transference insight, compared to other interventions within the same hours. The patient was somewhat more likely to follow one insight with a second during late hours. There were several other suggestions of longitudinal change toward greater patient mastery. We also explored the interrelationship between type of interpretation and patient productivity of transference insight. The findings indicated that the piloted method represents a useful way to pinpoint theoretically important interactions for empirical investigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Theoretical and empirical examination of cognitive resource theory.

Two assumptions and seven hypotheses defining F. E. Fiedler and J. E. Garcia's (1987) cognitive resource theory are critiqued and examined with data from 48 four-man groups. Information for leaders and subordinates was available on the dimensions of IQ, directiveness, group atmosphere, rank, and group performance on seven tasks. Results yielded support for Hypothesis 2 of the theory (i.e., leader intelligence was more strongly correlated with group performance for highly directive leaders, relative to nondirective leaders). Problems with the theory associated with (a) the definition of intelligence, (b) the undervalued importance of specific task demands and the combinations of tasks, and (c) the role of stress are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)