A review and meta-analysis of the nomological network of trainee reactions.

A review and meta-analysis of studies assessing trainee reactions are presented. Results suggest reactions primarily capture characteristics of the training course, but trainee characteristics (e.g., anxiety and pretraining motivation) and organizational support also have a moderate effect on reactions. Instructional style (ρ = .66) followed by human interaction (ρ = .56) were the best predictors of reactions. Reactions predicted pre-to-post changes in motivation (β = .51) and self-efficacy (β = .24) and were more sensitive than affective and cognitive learning outcomes to trainees' perceptions of characteristics of the training course. Moderator analyses revealed reactions- outcomes correlations tended to be stronger in courses that utilized a high level rather than a low level of technology, and affective and utility reactions did not differ in their relationships with learning outcomes. The current study clarifies the nomological network of reactions and specifies outcomes that are theoretically related to reactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adaptation in very old age: Exploring the role of resources, beliefs, and attitudes for centenarians' happiness.

When individuals reach very old age, accumulating negative conditions represent a serious challenge to their capacity to adapt and are likely to reduce the quality of life. By examining happiness and its determinants in centenarians, this study investigated the proposal that psychological resilience may come to an end in extremely old age. Data from the population-based Heidelberg Centenarian Study indicated high levels of happiness. Basic resources (i.e., job training, cognition, health, social network, extraversion) explained a substantial proportion of variance in happiness, but some resource effects were mediated through self-referent beliefs (e.g., self-efficacy) and attitudes toward life (e.g., optimistic outlook). Results challenge the view that psychological resilience reaches a critical limit or that the self-regulatory adaptation system loses its efficiency in very advanced age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived self-efficacy, outcome-efficacy and feedback: Their effects on professors' teaching development motivation.

Examined the effects of perceived (1) self-efficacy, (2) outcome- efficacy, and (3) feedback on motivation to improve university teaching through teaching development workshops. The authors also examined the relationships between aspects of feedback. 74 university professors (aged 28–67 yrs) from the Faculties of Social Sciences and Management at the University of Calgary completed a survey to assess their perceptions of self-efficacy, outcome- efficacy, and feedback they received from their most recent student-based course evaluations. The data were analyzed separately for the 2 faculties. Measures of outcome-efficacy were positively related to motivation for both groups. For Ss in the Faculty of Social Sciences, self-efficacy was positively related to motivation. All relationships between aspects of feedback (e.g., valence with accuracy and accuracy and timeliness with effectiveness) were found to be positive. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Criterion measures for youth-work training programs: The development of relevant performance dimensions.

An empirical approach to criterion development was applied to outcome measures for work-training programs serving disadvantaged adolescents (mean age 17.9 yrs). Performance criteria at program completion ( n = 32) and 40 measures obtained 6 mo following training were factor analyzed to define their relevance within a dimensional structure. Four program completion (proximal) factors were readily interpretable (e.g., training program adjustment, work motivation, social-personal adjustment), as were 5 postprogram (distal) dimensions (e.g., job success and satisfaction, job search motivation). Relevance of the proximal criteria was also determined from their predictive relationships with the distal measures. Uses of the multidimensional aspects of a criterion domain as a basis for setting priorities in selecting criterion variables are discussed. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rational self-interest and other orientation in organizational behavior: A critical appraisal and extension of Meglino and Korsgaard (2004).

B. M. Meglino and M. A. Korsgaard (2004; see record 2004-21169-004). argued that rational self-interest varies across individuals and negatively relates to other orientation (OO). OO moderates effects of job characteristics on attitudes, motivation, and helping. Viewing organizations as social dilemmas in which employees face a mixture of competitive and cooperative incentives, the author argues in this article that strength of self-interest links to self-concern (SC), which should be distinguished from OO. SC and OO are orthogonal and unipolar. Implications are that some propositions by Meglino and Korsgaard need to be rewritten in terms of SC or OO, and that SC is predicted to moderate effects of self-related variables (e.g., job characteristics), whereas OO might moderate effects of social variables (e.g., team climate) on satisfaction, motivation, and helping. This also implies that when both SC and OO are strong (weak), individual- and group-level constructs are both (in)valid predictors of satisfaction, motivation, and helping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of job insecurity on employee safety outcomes: Cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations.

Job insecurity research has focused primarily on attitudinal (e.g., job satisfaction), behavioral (e.g., employee turnover), and health outcomes. Moreover, research in the area of workplace safety has largely focused on ergonomic factors and personnel selection and training as primary antecedents of safety. Two cross-sectional structural equational modeling analyses and 1 longitudinal regression analysis of 237 food-processing plant employees unite these 2 disparate areas of research by exploring the relatively uncharted relationship between job insecurity and safety outcomes. Results indicate that employees who report high perceptions of job insecurity exhibit decreased safety motivation and compliance, which in turn are related to higher levels of workplace injuries and accidents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived sources of change in trainees’ self-efficacy beliefs.

Thought-listing procedures were used to examine the perceived incidence, size, direction, and bases of change in the session-level self-efficacy of therapists in training. Ninety-eight Master’s-level trainees completed a cognitive assessment task immediately after each session with a client in their first practicum. Participants typically reported modest-sized, positive changes in their therapeutic self-efficacy at each session. Seven perceived sources of change in self-efficacy were identified. Some of these sources (e.g., trainees’ performance evaluations, affective reactions) were consistent with general self-efficacy theory; others reflected the interpersonal performance context of therapy (e.g., perceptions of the therapeutic relationship and client behavior). Implications of the findings for training and future research on therapist development are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culture predicts Mexican Americans' college self-efficacy and college performance.

In hopes of promoting college success among Mexican Americans, researchers have identified factors related to their academic performance. A gap in the literature exists between the interactive role of acculturation, enculturation, and generation status in predicting college self-efficacy and college performance (grade-point average, or GPA). To fill this void, this study investigated the relation of demographic variables (e.g., age, gender, socioeconomic status) and cultural variables (e.g., acculturation, enculturation, generation status) on academic outcomes (e.g., college self-efficacy, college performance) among 408 Mexican-American college students. Results of a series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated socioeconomic status, generation status, enculturation, and acculturation had significant positive effects on college self-efficacy; socioeconomic status and the interaction of higher enculturation and first-generation status were positively and significantly related to GPA. Post-hoc analyses indicated college self-efficacy predicted college performance for students who were second generation and beyond. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal field investigation of the moderating and mediating effects of self-efficacy on the relationship between training and newcomer adjustment.

A longitudinal field study examined the moderating and mediating effects of self-efficacy on the relationship between training and the adjustment of newcomers during their 1st year of employment. The results provided some support for the hypothesis that initial self-efficacy moderates the relationship between training and adjustment. Training was more strongly related to posttraining self-efficacy, ability to cope, job performance, and intention to quit the profession for newcomers with low levels of initial self-efficacy. Some support was also found for the hypothesis that posttraining self-efficacy mediates the relationship between training and adjustment; however, evidence of complete mediation was found only for ability to cope. Posttraining self-efficacy partially mediated the relationships between training and job satisfaction, organizational and professional commitment, and intention to quit the organization and the profession. Research and practical implications of these findings for the training and the socialization of newcomers are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pretraining context effects: Training assignment as feedback.

This study examined the effects of framing training program assignments on training outcomes. A model was developed that suggests that the framing of training assignments can provide feedback regarding past performance and result in different attitudinal and motivational levels going into training. Participants were randomly assigned to 2 differently framed training programs (remedial vs. advanced). Attributions regarding past performance were found to interact with training assignments to affect pretraining self-efficacy. Both perceptions of past performance and expected assignment were found to moderate the relationship between training assignment and fairness perceptions. Also, motivation to learn was a key variable linking pretraining characteristics and training outcomes. Implications for training effectiveness research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of positive affect on the components of expectancy motivation.

The influence of positive affect on expectancy motivation was investigated in 2 studies. The results of Study 1 indicated that positive affect improved people's performance and affected their perceptions of expectancy and valence. In Study 1, in which outcomes depended on chance, positive affect did not influence people's perceptions of instrumentality. In Study 2, in which the link between performance and outcomes was specified, positive affect influenced all 3 components of expectancy motivation. Together, the results of Studies 1 and 2 indicated that positive affect interacts with task conditions in influencing motivation and that its influence on motivation occurs not through general effects, such as response bias or general activation, but rather through its influence on the cognitive processes involved in motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Climate perceptions matter: A meta-analytic path analysis relating molar climate, cognitive and affective states, and individual level work outcomes.

Although workplace climate has been extensively studied, the research has not led to firm conclusions as to its relationship with individual level work outcomes. The authors used C. Ostroffs (1993) taxonomy to organize dimensions labeled as workplace climate and then used meta-analytic techniques to test a path analytic model. The model posited that climate affects individual level outcomes through its impact on underlying cognitive and affective states. An extensive literature search yielded 51 empirical studies with 70 samples. The results suggest that the 3 higher order facets of climate (affective, cognitive, and instrumental) affected individual level outcomes of job performance, psychological well-being, and withdrawal through their impact on organizational commitment and job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative effects of personal and situational influences on job outcomes of new professionals.

We investigated the relative and combined effects of personal and situational variables on job outcomes of new professionals. The personal variables were cognitive ability, socioeconomic status, and career goals; the situational variables were job feedback, autonomy, and job context. Data were collected at two times from 280 newly hired, entry-level accountants at "Big Eight" firms. Both personal and situational variables predict job outcomes, but their relative influence depends on the outcome measure. Situational variables account for the most variance in job performance, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment; personal variables account for the most variance in promotability, internal work motivation, and turnover. The findings indicate that job performance does not take care of itself by selecting bright people, but requires constant vigilance and effective systems. The results also suggest that a given result can be achieved through a variety of behavioral science interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental test of the valence-instrumentality relationship in job performance.

Tested expectancy-valence models of work motivation which postulate an interactive relationship between valence of outcomes and performance-outcome instrumentality. Ss were 60 college-age respondents to an ad for part-time clerical work. Valence of job outcomes was set at 2 levels (high and low) by establishing 2 different pay rates; performance-outcome instrumentality was determined by paying wages hourly (low instrumentality) or by the piece (high instrumentality). It was hypothesized that these variables would combine interactively to affect task performance and effort. While main effects for both performance-outcome instrumentality and valence of job outcomes were observed, the predicted interaction did not appear. Results suggest that the typical conceptualization of valence as the importance an individual attaches to an outcome may be inappropriate. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social cognitive variables in the prediction of client motivation and attrition.

Applied A. Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory to the prediction of client motivation and attrition from counseling. 139 university counseling center clients completed a measure of self-efficacy regarding their ability to negotiate counseling tasks, along with measures of counseling-related outcome expectations, perceived motivation, problem distress level, state anxiety, and self-esteem. Results indicated that (1) self-efficacy and outcome expectations each explained unique variation in motivation, beyond client and counselor background variables; (2) self-efficacy and motivation each contributed to the prediction of client return status after an intake interview; and (3) self-efficacy did not relate to global self-esteem or to state anxiety at the intake session. These results suggest that social cognitive theory may help illuminate the process whereby clients commit to counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships of age and seniority with career variables of engineers and scientists.

Studied changing career experiences of professional engineers and scientists in 1967 (n = 290) and 1969 (n = 90). Both age and seniority were related to (a) amount of various needs, (b) aspirations for needs, (c) importance of needs, (d) satisfaction with needs, (e) self-image, (f) organizational climate, (g) job challenge, (h) job involvement, (i) intrinsic motivation, (j) perceived performance, and (k) perceived effort. Ss completed objective measures of these variables, including the Porter Need Satisfaction Questionnaire. On the basis of these correlations, 1-way analyses of variance between each variable and the different age groups, and rank orders for different age groups, it is concluded that career stages (early, middle, and late) did exist with different variables characterizing different stages. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-management training for increasing job attendance: A follow-up and a replication.

Determined the long-term effects of self-management training given to 20 unionized state government employees to increase their job attendance in a 6-month follow-up study. A repeated measures analysis of variance revealed that enhanced self-efficacy and increased job attendance were effectively maintained over time. Perceived self-efficacy at the end of training predicted subsequent job attendance. The control group (n?=?20) was then given the same training in self-management by a different trainer. Three months later, this group showed the same positive improvement as the original training group with regard to increased self-efficacy and job attendance. These findings lend support to a self-efficacy based theory of job attendance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Avoidance coping strategies moderate the relationship between self-efficacy and 5-year alcohol treatment outcomes.

Both self-efficacy and coping strategies are important determinants of functioning for substance use disorder patients, yet little is known about their interrelationship. This study examined the relationship between abstinence self-efficacy and cognitive components of coping (positive reappraisal, cognitive avoidance) for male participants (n = 2,596) from 15 residential substance use disorder treatment programs who were assessed at treatment entry, discharge, and 5-year follow-up. Cognitive avoidance coping moderated the effects of self-efficacy on alcohol use at 5 years, whereas positive reappraisal coping was largely unrelated to outcomes. Specifically, for patients with low self-efficacy, reliance on avoidance coping strategies was associated with poorer alcohol use outcomes, but as self-efficacy increased, the negative influence of avoidance coping strategies diminished. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thirty years of research on race differences in cognitive ability.

The culture-only (0% genetic-100% environmental) and the hereditarian (50% genetic-50% environmental) models of the causes of mean Black-White differences in cognitive ability are compared and contrasted across 10 categories of evidence: the worldwide distribution of test scores, g factor of mental ability, heritability, brain size and cognitive ability, transracial adoption, racial admixture, regression, related life-history traits, human origins research, and hypothesized environmental variables. The new evidence reviewed here points to some genetic component in Black-White differences in mean IQ. The implication for public policy is that the discrimination model (i.e., Black-White differences in socially valued outcomes will be equal barring discrimination) must be tempered by a distributional model (i.e., Black-White outcomes reflect underlying group characteristics). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)