THE FRIENDSHIP NETWORKS OF FOREIGN STUDENTS: A REPLICATION AND EXTENSION OF THE FUNCTIONAL MODEL*

The aim of this study was to replicate and extend the study of Bochner et al. (1977) which presented a functional model for the development of overseas student friendship patterns. Whereas Bochner et al. (1977) used only 30 Far Eastern foreign students and 6 host nationals in his Hawaian study, this study used 140 foreign students from each continent. Subjects were asked to specify various aspects (including nationality) of their three best friends, and also their preferred companion for each of a range of everyday situations. The friendship network data revealed a strong preference for co-national friends first, other nationals second and host nationals third, while the preferred companion data showed co-nationals first, then host nationals and finally ‘other’ nationals. The results closely match the results of Bochner et al. (1977) and provide further evidence for the functional model.     

STRUCTURES OF THE SCHEDULES OF RACIST AND SEXIST EVENTS: CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN'S RESPONSES

Use of the Schedule of Racist Events (SRE; Landrine & Klonoff, 1996 ) and the Schedule of Sexist Events (SSE; Klonoff & Landrine, 1995 ) has advanced research on experiences of perceived racism and sexism. The present study responds to calls for further investigation of the structural properties of data from these instruments and is the first study to do so using (a) responses of African American/Black women ( N = 246) and (b) confirmatory factor analysis. Regarding the SRE, results supported the unidimensional structures reported by Klonoff and Landrine (1999) for SRE Lifetime, SRE Recent, and SRE Appraisal data. Regarding the SSE, results supported the two-factor structures for SSE Lifetime and SSE Appraisal data and the three-factor structure for SSE Recent data derived by Matteson and Moradi (2005) . Thus, the present results support the structural stability of SRE and SSE data with African American/Black women and can inform future use of these measures with this population.     

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT INTERVIEWS: REPLICATION AND EXTENSION1

Eight performance review interview characteristics were related to 7 interview outcomes. Several of these individual variables had been examined in previous research. Two hundred seventy nursing personnel described their last review interview. Five of the interview characteristics were related to most of the outcomes, replicating earlier research as well as adding new findings. Implications for improving the conduct of appraisal interviews in organizations are offered.     

THE DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE OF CHILDREN'S PERCEPTIONS OF TELEVISION CHARACTERS: A REPLICATION

This study was an attempt to replicate and extend the findings of previous research which explored the cognitive dimensions used by children to differentiate television characters. Results indicate that humor remains the primary attribute that children use to differentiate television characters, although this characteristic does not seem to be important in children's modeling decisions. Attractiveness and activity remain secondary attributes but also discriminate between male and female children in predicting identification with the characters. These findings are similar to those of the original study. Sex represents an additional important attribute for both sexes in differentiating the characters but is important only for female decisions about which characters are appropriate role models.     

RELATIONS BETWEEN WORK TEAM CHARACTERISTICS AND EFFECTIVENESS: A REPLICATION AND EXTENSION

Previous research has demonstrated that work team characteristics can be related to effectiveness (Campion, Medsker, & Higgs, 1993). This study provides a replication with professional knowledge worker jobs, different measures of effectiveness, and work units that varied in the degree to which members identified as a team. Data were collected from 357 employees, 93 managers, and archival records for 60 teams in a financial services organization. Team characteristics were measured with questionnaires completed by employees and managers. Effectiveness measures included immediate manager judgments at two points in time, senior and peer manager judgments, employee judgments, and archival records of employee satisfaction and performance appraisals. Results were similar to previous findings in that most team characteristics were related to most effectiveness criteria. Relationships were strongest for process characteristics, followed by job design, context, interdependence, and other characteristics. Further, work units higher on single-team identity were higher on many team characteristics and effectiveness measures.     

TRAINING INTERACTIONAL BEHAVIORS OF ADULTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: A SYSTEMATIC REPLICATION AND EXTENSION

This study was a replication and extension of research by Foxx, McMorrow, Bittle, and Ness (1986) that assessed generalization effects of a social skills training program on the interactional behavior of adults with developmental disabilities. Target skills were a verbal action or reaction in six skill areas that specifically addressed the participants' skill deficits. In the present study, we trained 5 adult residents of a group home across these six skill areas using the “Sorry” game format and the scoring criteria described by Foxx et al. We extended the results of Foxx et al. by (a) using pretreatment assessment procedures to identify participants' specific skill deficits, (b) training all residents in the natural environment, (c) training participant—participant interactions, (d) training participants to respond to four of the six skill areas through the use of a role-play procedure, and (e) omitting rewards, criterion levels, and self-monitoring. Additionally, the trainer in the present study modeled correct responses only as an error correction procedure during training. Similar to those of Foxx et al., our results indicated that all participants increased their use of the trained interactional behaviors during the generalization assessments in the presence of other trained peers.     

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AMONG EMPLOYEES,MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION STYLE,AND EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION: REPLICATION AND EXTENSION

Portions of three previous studies relating individual differences in employee satisfaction and one study relating Management Communication Style (MCS) to employee satisfaction were replicated across four organizational contexts. Major findings were supportive of the generalizability of the results observed in the previous studies. The interface of superior-subordinate relations and their impact on employee satisfaction were examined through perceptions of employees with regard to the MCS of upper management and the task behaviors (supervision and administration) of their immediate superiors. Results were supportive of the MCS conceptualization and indicated that MCS of immediate superior and MCS of upper management had their primary impact on different dimensions of employee satisfaction. Perceptions of superiors' task behaviors were found to have different impact on employees satisfaction for different organizational contexts. Variability in employee satisfaction predictable from individual employee differences and that predictable from superior-subordinate interface were found to have little overlap. It is recommended that both the individual differences (trait) and superior-subordinate interface (situational) approaches to the study of communication in organizational contexts be continued since the two generate independent predictions of unique variance.     

EXAMINING THE THEORY AND CLINICAL UTILITY OF WRITING ABOUT EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES

Abstract— Pennebaker's (this issue) intervention for writing about emotional experiences shows promise as a module for inclusion in therapeutic packages. There are conceptual, methodological ant practical issues to be considered, however. These issues are discussed, and parallels are drawn from the literatures on the moodregulatory function of dreams and on the effects of social support on health. Although there is evidence that anything about emotional experiences has beneficial effects on health, it is premature to recommend writing intervention as a treatment component for specific problems. What is needed at this point is systematic research to evaluate to clinical utility.     

THE USE OF SELF-ASSESSMENTS IN EXAMINING

Self-assessments combined with other evidences such as achievements and test scores lead to increased accuracy and fairness in examining. The use of self-ratings to evaluate an applicant requires adjustment for degree of understanding of the element to be rated and for applicant's subjective base for rating. However, raw ratings may be used for psychometric analysis. Since minorities are usually represented in significant numbers among applicants but not in employed groups, this kind of analysis appears promising for studies designed to reduce adverse impact of tests and other measuring devices. An initial exploratory example of such analysis is described in detail.