Effects of sitting and standing, reach distance, and arm orientation on isokinetic pull strengths in the horizontal plane

In recent years, isokinetic strengths (dynamic strength exertions at constant speed) have almost replaced isometric (static) strengths in laboratory studies as measures of a person's strength exertion capabilities. Many industries are also showing a keen interest in replacing static strength usage with dynamic strength usage. The increasing acceptance of isokinetic strengths as a more valid and accurate measure of people's strength exertion capability has necessitated the development of isokinetic strength databases. This paper presents one-arm isokinetic pull strength profiles of males, engaged in infrequent exertion in a horizontal plane, as a function of posture (sitting and standing), reach distance (25, 40, and 55 cm for the sitting posture; 45, 65, and 85 cm for the standing posture), and angle of the preferred (stronger) arm from the frontal plane (0—frontal plane, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 deg). Twenty-five males participated in the study. The results indicated that more strength is exerted while standing. The strength also increases with the reach distance. The strength exertion becomes stronger as the angle of the arm increases to 90° from the frontal plane (i.e., the arm moves to the sagittal plane) and then weakens.     

When openness to experience and conscientiousness are related to creative behavior: An interactional approach.

This study adopted an interactional approach to understanding how 2 of the Five-Factor traits, openness to experience and conscientiousness, are related to creative behavior in the workplace. Openness to experience is theorized to result in high levels of creative behavior and conscientiousness is theorized to result in low levels of creative behavior when the situation allows for the manifestation of the trait influences. More specifically, the authors hypothesized that openness to experience would result in high levels of creative behavior if feedback valence were positive and job holders were presented with a heuristic task that allowed them to be creative. The authors also hypothesized that conscientiousness would result in low levels of creative behavior if supervisors engaged in close monitoring and coworkers were unsupportive. The authors tested their hypotheses in a sample of office workers, and 5 out of the 6 hypotheses were supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A threat-appraisal perspective on employees' fears about antisocial workplace behavior.

This article uses a threat-appraisal model to examine the antecedents and consequences of antisocial behavior in an urban public school system. Teachers (compared with nonteachers) and middle and high school employees (compared with elementary school employees) reported higher levels of exposure to and fears about antisocial behavior. A path analysis demonstrated that threat appraisals partially mediate the relationship between antisocial behavior and job satisfaction and indirectly affect turnover intentions. These effects were consistent across high- and low-contact job types and across elementary, middle, and high school employees. The authors used the threat-appraisal model to describe the consequences of different interventions and found empirical evidence for employee voice and security measures as intervening variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial predictors of supervisor-, peer-, subordinate-, and service-provider-targeted aggression.

The authors investigate whether known person predictors (trait anger, trait aggression) and situational predictors (perceived interpersonal mistreatment, perceived organizational sanctions against aggression) of supervisor-targeted aggression also predict employee's aggression toward other workplace targets, namely peers, subordinates, and customers' aggression toward service providers. The authors also investigate the moderating impact of situational factors on the relationship between person factors and aggression. Participants (N = 308) were asked whether they had a conflict with their supervisor, a subordinate, a work peer, and/or a service provider in the past 6 months. Different patterns of main and interaction effects emerged across the 4 targets, suggesting the importance of accounting for the target of aggression in workplace aggression research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Meritocracy and opposition to affirmative action: Making concessions in the face of discrimination.

Typically, people who strongly endorse the merit principle and believe that outcomes should be given to those most deserving oppose affirmative action (AA) programs that violate this principle. However, how do they respond to AA when faced with a great deal of workplace discrimination? The authors hypothesized that people who care strongly about merit should be motivated to combat discrimination because it biases the assessment of merit. Consequently, these individuals should make concessions for AA. The authors found support for their hypothesis when investigating (a) participants' preexisting perceptions of workplace discrimination and (b) experimentally induced perceptions of discrimination. They discuss the implications of these results for the psychology of meritocracy and for resistance to AA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identifying correlates of breaks in occupational sitting: a cross-sectional study

Office workers are commonly targeted in interventions to modify their sitting behaviour, yet there is limited evidence of the correlates of breaks in sitting to inform intervention development. This study identifies the individual, workplace and spatial configuration correlates of the frequency of breaks in sitting (number/hour) in office workers (n?=?5531) stratified by office type (private-enclosed, shared, open plan). All behaviours and potential correlates were measured via self-report using an online cross-sectional survey. Regression analyses revealed age was the only socio-demographic characteristic associated with frequency of breaks in sitting in all office types. Greater job autonomy and local connectivity were positively associated with frequency of breaks in sitting in shared and open-plan offices. In open-plan offices co-worker proximity was negatively associated with frequency of breaks in sitting. Co-worker visibility was positively associated with frequency of breaks in sitting in all office types. This study demonstrates that individual, workplace and spatial configuration factors are all associated with the frequency of breaks in sitting and that these relationships differ by office type. These observations extend prior studies that have only examined correlates at a single level (e.g. the individual). This evidence could be useful to guide future interventions in the design of workplaces to increase breaks in sitting and workers’ physical activity.     

Discrimination in the 21st century: Are science and the law aligned?

Although scholars agree that traditional forms of discrimination have generally been supplanted by subtler interpersonal manifestations of discrimination, it is yet unknown whether targets of these behaviors or the American judicial branch recognize such negative behaviors as violations of extant law. Extending research and theory, we propose that denigrating messages toward women and ethnic minorities (i.e., microaggressions) emerge in workplace interactions and are sometimes interpreted as discrimination. Specifically, this research explores the presence, severity, and frequency of microaggressions that appear in a random sample of race and gender discrimination cases in federal court dockets since the year 2000. The results suggest that microinsults, microinvalidations, and microassaults are reported in a variety of discrimination claims. However, only overt and intentional forms of microaggressions (microassaults) increased the likelihood that decisions favored plaintiffs. Thus, there may be a disconnect between forms of discrimination perceived by claimants and how those forms are evaluated by the legal system that protects victims of discrimination. This potential misalignment of science and practice is discussed, as are directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal Mistreatment in the Workplace: The Interface and Impact of General Incivility and Sexual Harassment.

This article examined the relationships and outcomes of behaviors falling at the interface of general and sexual forms of interpersonal mistreatment in the workplace. Data were collected with surveys of two different female populations (Ns=833 and 1,425) working within a large public-sector organization. Findings revealed that general incivility and sexual harassment were related constructs, with gender harassment bridging the two. Moreover, these behaviors tended to co-occur in organizations, and employee well-being declined with the addition of each type of mistreatment to the workplace experience. This behavior type (or behavior combination) effect remained significant even after controlling for behavior frequency. The findings are interpreted from perspectives on sexual aggression, social power, and multiple victimization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Promoting Forgiveness Among Co-Workers Following a Workplace Transgression: The Effects of Social Motivation Training.

Forgiveness is one construct that is beginning to demonstrate promise as a health and relationship promoter within the workplace. The primary aim of this research was to examine the effects of one psychological intervention (social motivational training) that was developed to promote forgiveness among co-workers. In the first of two studies, workers were randomly assigned to one of two intervention conditions (i.e., job satisfaction training, social motivational training). Participants read a vignette in which they were to imagine themselves as victims of a co-worker transgression. Judgments of responsibility and co-worker forgiveness were then measured at two intervals: before and after training. In Study 2, workers recounted an actual critical incident involving a co-worker transgression, completed a pretraining questionnaire measuring judgments of responsibility, self-image, and forgiveness, received either a one-on-one job satisfaction training or social motivational training session, and completed a post-training questionnaire. Results from both studies indicated that social motivational training enhanced participants' forgiveness of a hypothetical and actual co-worker. In addition, Study 2 showed an increase in workers' self-image following social motivational training, suggesting affirmation of the self as a possible mechanism for the effects of social motivational training on forgiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)