The moderating role of subordinate political skill on supervisors' impressions of subordinate ingratiation and ratings of subordinate interpersonal facilitation.

Nearly 2 decades ago, social influence theorists called for a new stream of research that would investigate why and how influence tactics are effective. The present study proposed that political skill affects the style of execution of influence attempts. It utilized balance theory to explain the moderating effect of employee political skill on the relationships between self- and supervisor-reported ingratiation. Additionally, supervisor reports of subordinate ingratiation were hypothesized to be negatively related to supervisor ratings of subordinate interpersonal facilitation. Results from a combined sample of 2 retail service organizations provided evidence that subordinates with high political skill were less likely than those low in political skill to have their demonstrated ingratiation behavior perceived by targets as a manipulative influence attempt. Also, when subordinates were perceived by their supervisors to engage in more ingratiation behavior, the subordinates were rated lower on interpersonal facilitation. Implications of these findings, limitations, and future research directions are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A relationship between leader intelligence and leader rated effectiveness.

Conceptualizes intelligence as the leader's ability to integrate his experience and thus provide him with skills to deal effectively with the technical aspects of tasks and interpersonal relationships. In 4 studies, 55 sergeants in charge of field artillery sections, 55 navy petty officers, 58 unit commanders, and 52 sergeants in charge of army mess units completed the least preferred co-worker scale (LPC), a group atmosphere scale, a shortened version of the Henmon-Nelson Tests of Mental Ability, and ratings of situational favorableness on 3 dimensions (leader-member relations, task structure, and position power). Ratings of leader performance were completed by 2-3 superiors. Results indicate that the relationship between leader intelligence and performance depended on the leader's motivational style (LPC), his experience, and the leader-member relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of leader warmth and directiveness on subordinate performance on a subsequent task.

56 college students took the role of a subordinate and interacted with a leader as they completed a task. The leader was either directive or nondirective and nonverbally either conveyed warmth or coldness toward the S. Ss with the warm/directive leader were most motivated to complete a subsequent task, and Ss with the warm/nondirective leader were the least productive. Ss within the warm condition found the leader helpful, were willing to work again and to meet the leader socially, and were satisfied with their relationship with the leader compared to those with a cold leader. Results support the general finding that high-structure, high-consideration leaders facilitate productivity and satisfaction and suggest how leaders might be both oriented toward production and toward people. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships between leader behavior and subordinate satisfaction and performance: A test of some situational moderators.

Examined the effects of 4 situational moderators on the relationships between (a) leader behavior and subordinate satisfaction and (b) leader behavior and subordinate performance, in a social services organization. Respondents--54 Black counselors and people-helping workers--described their job satisfaction, role clarity, and the behavior of their leaders ( n = 19), while the leaders evaluated the respondents' job performance. Using subgroup moderator analyses, the effect of work unit size was significant, with leader structure related to satisfaction in larger units and consideration related to satisfaction in smaller units. Results confirm earlier findings that in low-stress jobs consideration enhances satisfaction and performance but that in high-stress jobs, structure is helpful. Also confirmed were results of previous studies showing that high structure had dysfunctional effects only when accompanied by low consideration. Finally, role clarity did not moderate the relationship between leader behavior and subordinate satisfaction and performance. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating role of goal orientation in the workload-frustration relationship.

Goal orientation was hypothesized to moderate the relationship between quantitative workload and frustration. Based on data from 460 graduate students, two forms of goal orientation moderated this relationship. Specifically, it was found that workload was positively related to frustration for people with high levels of avoiding goal orientation, but not for those with low levels of avoiding goal orientation. In addition, it was found that the positive effect of workload on frustration was weaker for people with high levels of mastery goal orientation than for those with low levels of mastery goal orientation. Both theoretical and practical implications of the current findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of leader behaviors on subordinate performance and satisfaction: A laboratory experiment with student employees.

Four groups of 12 participants were hired to code videotaped group interactions using the Bales coding system (R. F. Bales, 1950). Each of the 4 groups experienced different leader behaviors of either high or low consideration in conjunction with either high or low initiating structure. Results indicate that subordinates did not perceive the leader manipulations as different but that these manipulations caused differences in quantity and quality of work. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do inclusive leaders help to reduce turnover in diverse groups? The moderating role of leader–member exchange in the diversity to turnover relationship.

This research examines leader–member exchange (LMX) at the group level as a moderator of the relationships between demographic (i.e., race, age, gender) and tenure diversity and group turnover. Drawing primarily from LMX, social categorization, and expectation states theories, we hypothesized that through the pattern of LMX relationships that they develop with followers, group managers influence inclusion and status differentials within groups such that the positive relationship between diversity and group turnover will be weaker when the group mean on LMX is high or when group differentiation on LMX is low. Results from a sample of supermarket departments (N = 348) yielded general support for the study hypotheses. We also found evidence for a 3-way interaction involving demographic diversity, LMX mean, and LMX differentiation such that the interaction between demographic diversity and LMX differentiation was only significant when LMX mean was high. These findings highlight the important role that leaders play in influencing the relationship between diversity and turnover through the patterns of inclusion that they create in their units. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cooperation structure and the relationship of leader and member ability to group performance.

48 3-S groups of undergraduates with varying levels of creative ability among leaders and subordinates were required to carry out a creative verbal task while working under one form of cooperation structure. Each structure varied in the amount of 2 types of cooperation—collaboration and coordination. Collaboration reflects the degree to which group members have to work simultaneously with one another on each subtask. Coordination depends on the degree to which subtasks are arranged in an order of precedence. Both the form of cooperation and the level of group ability had a significant effect on group creativity. Groups with high ability leaders or subordinates were more productive than groups with low ability Ss; coordinated groups were superior to coacting groups, with collaborative groups being the least productive. There was a significant Leader Ability?×?Collaboration interaction because leader ability did not affect productivity in collaborative groups. Results are discussed in terms of the constraints placed on a leader's effectiveness by different group structures. Results also provide further evidence of the importance of group structure in determining productivity. (25) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderators of the influence of supervisor–subordinate similarity on subordinate outcomes.

Gender, racial, and ethnic similarity were examined for 2,883 subordinate–supervisor dyads in a military setting. All forms of demographic similarity were weakly associated with satisfaction with one's supervisor and continued membership in the Army. White subordinates under the supervision of non-Whites expressed the lowest level of satisfaction with supervision. Two moderators were examined: supervisory support of equal opportunity and the length of time worked with a supervisor. Results underscore the value of fine-grained analyses in the area of relational demography and the value of studying temporal dynamics associated with relational demography. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating effects of performance ambiguity on the relationship between self-efficacy and performance.

Recent research (e.g., Vancouver & Kendall, 2006; Vancouver, Thompson, Tischner, & Putka, 2002; Vancouver, Thompson, & Williams, 2001) has challenged the conventional view of self-efficacy as a positive influence on performance, finding a negative within-person relationship between self-efficacy and performance. In the current study, performance ambiguity is examined as a potential boundary condition for this negative self-efficacy effect. As hypothesized, self-efficacy was negatively related to subsequent performance under conditions of high ambiguity but was positively related to performance when performance ambiguity was low. Additionally, the study evaluates key mediating processes underlying the relationship between self-efficacy and performance, finding support for the role of performance perceptions and effort allocation. The results of this study help to establish the scope of the phenomenon and suggest potential means of inhibiting the negative self-efficacy effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating roles of self-esteem and neuroticism in the relationship between group and individual undermining behavior.

The authors developed and tested a multilevel interactive model of the relationship between group undermining and individual undermining behavior in 2 multiwave studies of group members. Integrating the literature on group influences on individual behavior with the individual difference literature, the authors predicted a 3-way Group Undermining × Self-Esteem × Neuroticism interaction, such that the relationship between group and individual undermining would be strongest among those simultaneously high in self-esteem and neuroticism. The 3-way interaction was supported in Study 1 (457 participants in 103 groups) and replicated in Study 2 (415 participants in 93 groups) with additional controls and alternative measures of key constructs. The authors discuss the implications of the research and identify future research directions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of subordinate characteristics on trust and use of participative decision strategies in a management simulation.

Examined the influence of subordinate characteristics on use of participative decision strategies by administering a decision exercise to 148 business students. Ss evaluated the extent to which participative decision-making strategies were appropriate for work groups of varying job status and minority composition. Results indicate that willingness to use participative approaches is lower when subordinates are lower in job status or are predominately from a minority group. Potential organizational consequences of this tendency are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Support behavior and relationship satisfaction in couples dealing with diabetes: Main and moderating effects.

This study examined associations between support behavior, i.e. active engagement and protective buffering, and relationship satisfaction in both patients with diabetes and their partners. Active engagement refers to supportive behavior characterized by involving one's partner in discussions, asking how the other feels, and problem solving strategies. Protective buffering refers to less supportive behavior characterized by denying fears and worries, and by pretending everything is fine. Furthermore, we examined whether there were interactive effects of these two support behaviors on patients' and partners' relationship satisfaction. At baseline (T1), 205 couples rated to which degree they received active engagement and protective buffering from their partners, and completed a measure of relationship satisfaction. At three follow-up assessments, couples were asked to fill out the same measures. Using dyadic data analytic approaches, we found relationship satisfaction to be positively associated with active engagement, and negatively with protective buffering, in both patients and partners. Moreover, we found a moderating effect, in that the negative association between protective buffering and relationship satisfaction was only present when levels of active engagement were relatively low. Again, these results were found for patients as well as their partners. We were able to replicate the T1 results at the other three assessment points. Our findings illustrate the need to consider adequate and less adequate support behaviors simultaneously, and to study the effects on both patients and partners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived trustworthiness of knowledge sources: The moderating impact of relationship length.

Prior meta-analytic evidence has indicated no association between relationship length and perceived trustworthiness. Viewing trustors as information processors, the authors propose a model in which relationship length, although having no direct effect on perceived trustworthiness, moderates the association between perceived trustworthiness and the basis on which people decide to trust each other. Specifically, as trustors learn about others, they base their trust on different kinds of information (demographic similarity, trustworthy behavior, and shared perspective). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses of a field survey of supervisors and subordinates from 3 companies (N = 88) provide evidence consistent with this prediction: Perceived trustworthiness is associated with demographic similarity in newer relationships, with trustworthy behavior in relationships that are neither brand new nor old but in-between, and with shared perspective in older relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating effects of task complexity on the relationship between regulatory foci and safety and production performance.

Regulatory foci of promotion and prevention have been shown to relate differentially to occupational safety and production. This research proposes that task complexity can help explain the differences reported between these 2 self-regulatory processes and safety and productivity performance. Results revealed that promotion is positively related to production and prevention is positively related to safety regardless of task complexity. However, when task complexity is high, promotion negatively relates to safety and prevention negatively relates production. Implications for work motivation theory and research, as well as avenues for future research, are discussed. Practical implications for managerial interventions to optimize both safety and productivity are also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent modeling of parent substance use: The moderating effect of the relationship with the parent.

This study examined a hypothesis derived from social learning theory, that adolescents would be more likely to model the substance use of each parent if they had a relatively good relationship with the parent than if their relationship with that parent was relatively poor. Data from 657 adolescents (51% female; 11 to 15 years of age at the 1st assessment), 357 fathers, and 633 mothers across a 6-year assessment period were used for these analyses. As hypothesized, all adolescents modeled mother's cigarette use and father's marijuana use, older adolescents modeled mother's marijuana use and younger girls and older boys modeled father's alcohol use if they had a relatively good or moderate relationship with that parent but did not model their parent's use if the relationship with that parent was relatively poor. Caution is noted in assuming that relatively good relationships with a parent are always protective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Projection in group counseling: The relationship between members' interpersonal problems and their perception of the group leader.

Explored projection in group counseling by examining the relationship between the group members' interpersonal problems and their perception of the group leader. Before participation, 118 personal-growth group members filled out the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems by L. M. Horowitz et al (see record 1989-10599-001) and after each session they filled out the Trainer Behavior Scale (L. Bolman, 1971). A latent variable analysis revealed that during the 1st 10 group sessions, overly dominant group members perceived the group leaders as more dominant and overly cold group members perceived the group leaders as less affiliative. There was less relationship between group members' interpersonal problems and ratings for group leaders over time. Implications of these results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)