A Scale to Measure Perceptions of Organizational Maturity

While there are several standard scales in use for measuring various dimensions of human resource management, research is very limited in terms of scale development for variables that form part of the People Capability Maturity Model (PCMM) for organizational maturity. This study covers a perception measurement scale for people governance variables and organizational maturity developed, validated with industry experts and statistically tested. The scale was developed with 113 items grouped into 11 variables covering governance, staffing, performance management, rewards, quality, training, organizational maturity and business outcomes around staff, firm and customer aspects. The reliability analysis was performed for each of the variables based on inputs from 521 respondents across the services industry. The respondents were experienced professionals in functional management and human resources. Detailed analyses of results provide high scores for the variables, indicating good consistency of items. Convergent and discriminant validity analyses were performed for evaluating validation of item dimensions within each of the variables. The overall results indicate that the newly developed scale is a reliable and validated one to measure variables around people, process and organizational maturity, for researchers particularly in the services industry. This fills in a missing gap in terms of a validated scale for measuring people management variables. Further research can be done to extend this scale to other industries and to look at a model fitment across the related variables.     

How many variables can humans process?

The conceptual complexity of problems was manipulated to probe the limits of human information processing capacity. Participants were asked to interpret graphically displayed statistical interactions. In such problems, all independent variables need to be considered together, so that decomposition into smaller subtasks is constrained, and thus the order of the interaction directly determines conceptual complexity. As the order of the interaction increases, the number of variables increases. Results showed a significant decline in accuracy and speed of solution from three-way to four-way interactions. Furthermore, performance on a five-way interaction was at chance level. These findings suggest that a structure defined on four variables is at the limit of human processing capacity.     

L’enfance et l’adolescence in situ : facteurs environnementaux facilitateurs et inhibiteurs de troubles cognitifs et comportementaux

The definition of mental health associates three fundamental variables: biological variables, psychological variables and environmental variables. In this article, we will focus on environmental variables that inhibit and facilitate cognitive and behavioural disorders in childhood and adolescence. Environmental psychology considers the interrelations between human and environment in its spatial, social and chronological dimensions and considers it as a characterized and undissociated system. We will bring to mind social and physical environmental variables with which children and adolescents interact frequently and, through a literature review, we will enlighten environmental variables that are susceptible to induce behavioural disorders and psychological variables that modulate children's and adolescent's relations to environment. We then suggest possible outcomes of this approach in clinical practice as well as in terms of therapeutic applications in child psychology and psychiatry. Finally, we evoke the necessity of taking in account neurobiological fields in order to outline a model of human development integrating the three variables that define mental health.     

Determinants of visual attention in real-wound scenes.

The present study examined the saliency of size, movement, and human content variables in visual selective attention. Ss named stimuli present in motion pictures of real world scenes or in animated cartoon controls during a 15-sec. exposure period. Regardless of the type of presentation that they saw, Ss tended to name large and/or moving stimuli more often than small and/or nonmoving stimuli. Also, small human stimuli were named more frequently than small nonhuman stimuli, while there were no differences between the frequencies with which large human and nonhuman stimuli were named. The order in which Ss named stimuli was not related to either the size, movement, or human content variables. Results are discussed in terms of the generalizability of the results of previous studies to conditions simulating the real world.     

Toward Computational Model of Emotion from Individual Difference in Perceiving Facial Expressions

We propose a computational model for identifying emotional state of a facial expression from appraisal scores given by human observers utilizing their differences in perception. The appraisal model of human emotion is adopted as the basis of this evaluation process with appraisal variables as output. We investigated the performance for both categorical and continuous representation of the variables appraised by human observers. Analysis of the data exhibits higher degree of agreement between estimated Indian ratings and the available reference when these are rated through continuous domain. We also observed that emotional state with negative valence are influential in the perception of hybrid emotional state like ‘Surprise’, only when appraisal variables are labeled through categories of emotions. Thus, the proposed method has implications in developing software to detect emotion using appraisal variables in continuous domain, perceived from facial expression of an agent (or human subject). Further, this model can be customized to include cultural variability in recognizing emotions.     

AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE PREDICTORS OF EXECUTIVE CAREER SUCCESS

This study examined the degree to which demographic, human capital, motivational, organizational, and industrylregion variables predicted executive career success. Career success was assumed to comprise objective (pay, ascendancy) and subjective (job satisfaction, career satisfaction) elements. Results obtained from a sample of 1,388 U.S. executives suggested that demographic, human capital, motivational, and organizational variables explained significant variance in objective career success and in career satisfaction. Particularly interesting were findings that educational level, quality, prestige, and degree type all predicted financial success. In contrast, only the motivational and organizational variables explained significant amounts of variance in job satisfaction. These findings suggest that the variables that lead to objective career success often are quite different from those that lead to subjectively defined success.     

Interaction of procedural factors in human performance on yoked schedules

The differential effects of reinforcement contingencies and contextual variables on human performance were investigated in two experiments. In Experiment 1, adult human subjects operated a joystick in a video game in which the destruction of targets was arranged according to a yoked variable-ratio variable-interval schedule of reinforcement. Three variables were examined across 12 conditions: verbal instructions, shaping, and the use of a consummatory response following reinforcement (i.e., depositing a coin into a bank). Behavior was most responsive to the reinforcement contingencies when the consummatory response was available, responding was established by shaping, and subjects received minimal verbal instructions about their task. The responsiveness of variable-interval subjects' behavior varied more than that of variable-ratio subjects when these contextual factors were altered. Experiment 2 examined resistance to instructional control under the same yoked-schedules design. Conditions varied in terms of the validity of instructions. Performance on variable-ratio schedules was more resistant to instructional control than that on variable-interval schedules.     

Innovation Motivation and Artistic Creativity

Innovation motivation is a social learning model of originality comprising two variables: the need to be different and innovation expectancy. This study examined their contribution to artistic creativity in a sample of undergraduates. Participants completed measures of both innovation motivation variables as well as intelligence, adjustment, and artistic training. Participants completed three drawings using colored pencils: a human artifact, a non‐human life form, and a person. Choice of main subject and details were tabulated for each drawing and originality scores were derived based on the infrequency of each thematic element. The drawings were also evaluated for technical proficiency and creativity by two master's level art therapists. The need to be different and innovation expectancy each predicted the originality of each drawing; together, they predicted 42% of the variance in the composite originality score. The need to be different and innovation expectancy also predicted proficiency and creativity ratings, especially the latter. The other variables yielded weaker, less consistent predictions. In general, both innovation motivation variables still predicted significant proportions of the variance in originality scores and creativity ratings even after controlling for other variables.     

A new methodological approach to nonverbal behavior analysis in cultural perspective

The measurement of human behavior is a complex task, both for psychologists and human sciences researchers and with respect to technology, since advanced and sophisticated instruments may have to be implemented to manage the plurality of variables involved. In this article, an observational study is presented in which a quantitative procedure, theexternal variables method (Duncan & Fiske, 1977), was integrated with a structural analysis (Magnusson, 1993, 2000) in order to detect the hidden organization of nonverbal behavior in Italian and Icelandic interactions. To this aim, Theme software was introduced and employed. The results showed that both the frequency and the typology of gestures deeply change as a function of culture. Moreover, a high number of patterns was detected in both Italian and Icelandic interactions: They appeared to be complex sequences in which a huge number of events were constantly happening and recurring. In this domain, Theme software provides a methodological progression from the quantitative to the structural approach.     

The determinants of beliefs in human nature

This study set out to examine which of a range of ‘demographic’ factors best predicted peoples' beliefs in the heredity vs environmental determinants of specific features in human nature. Ss' sex, age, education, class, voting pattern and religion were related to their beliefs in the heredity vs environmental determinants of six human characteristics: physical characteristics, psychological skills, personality, beliefs, psychological problems and physical problems. Both univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated the close relationship between the independent demographic variables, particularly education and voting pattern, and the dependent belief variables, particularly personality and beliefs. The literature on correlates of political beliefs was examined and related to the findings in this study.     

Relative efficacy of human social interaction and food as reinforcers for domestic dogs and hand-reared wolves

Despite the intimate relationship dogs share with humans in Western society, we know relatively little about the variables that produce and maintain dog social behavior towards humans. One possibility is that human social interaction is itself a reinforcer for dog behavior. As an initial assessment of the variables that might maintain dog social behavior, we compared the relative efficacy of brief human social interaction to a small piece of food as a reinforcer for an arbitrary response (nose touch). We investigated this in three populations of canids: shelter dogs, owned dogs, and hand-reared wolves. Across all three canid populations, brief social interaction was a relatively ineffective reinforcer compared to food for most canids, producing lower responding and longer latencies than food.     

Le rôle de l’implication et des systèmes de croyances au sein des représentations sociales

The study presented in this article concerns the functioning of representational mechanisms in social thought. More specifically, its objective is to identify the role of variables covering psychosocial involvement and systems of belief within social representations. At the interface between the individual and the group, these variables are considered here because of their status as explanatory variables of social thought. By analyzing the representation of human rights, we hypothesize that the level of involvement and the type of beliefs developed toward the state (concepts of a democratic state versus a safe state) impact on the expression of this representation and the standpoints it creates. The survey was conducted by questionnaire with a student population (315 participants). The main results, which are consistent with our hypotheses, provide evidence of an influence of the variables tested on the expressiveness of the representation of human rights. On the one hand, they reveal how an involvement developed in this subject and the social beliefs attached to the role of the state come to particularize the meaning of this representation, especially concerning its principles of equality. On the other hand, the results demonstrate the activity of ideological processes – political in content – which intervene in the realization of the representation. Through these processes, the results show a stronger influence of social beliefs than of psychosocial involvement on the representation studied.     

The Earnings of American Jewish Men: Human Capital,Denomination, and Religiosity

This article analyzes the determinants of the earnings of American Jewish men using the 2000/2001 National Jewish Population Survey. Nonresponse to the question on earnings is analyzed. Earnings are related to conventional human capital variables, as well as Jewish-specific variables. Except for the size of place and region variables, the standard human capital variables have similar effects for Jewish men and the general male population. Jewish day schooling as a youth enhances earnings. Earnings vary by denomination, with Jewish men who identify their denomination as Conservative earning the most, with secular and Orthodox Jews earning less. The effect on earnings of religiosity (measured by synagogue attendance) is not monotonic. Earnings are highest for those who attend about once a week, are lower for those who attend daily, and are lowest for those who never attend.     

The leg-to-body ratio as a human aesthetic criterion

There are surprisingly few empirical studies on the aesthetic appeal of human legs, examining such variables as length or shape. The human legs are conspicuous in erotic contexts, but few studies have experimentally tested preferences for longer legs. This study examined the utility of the human leg-to-body ratio (LBR) as a specific aesthetic criterion among 71 British undergraduates. Participants rated for physical attractiveness line drawings that varied in five levels of LBR. The results showed that a longer LBR was preferred as maximally attractive in women, whereas a shorter LBR was preferred in men. Evolutionary psychological and socio-cultural explanations for this aesthetic preference are discussed, and the study's limitations are considered.     

Consuming Entertainment Media: How Media Effects Can Vary by Users’ Controllability

Previous communication studies have focused on how media content influences human aggression. Few studies, however, have been conducted regarding the influence of situational variables on human aggression. Regarding online gaming, the present study examines how game users’ aggression is influenced by two idiosyncratic situational variables: “degree of control” (playing vs. watching) and “degree of interaction” (alone vs. together). The feeling of presence is also examined as a mediator to explicate the mechanism through which these situational variables influence the game users’ levels of aggression. The results demonstrate that degree of control significantly affects users’ aggression. Aggression is increased when players actively participate in the game versus simply watching; situational factors that are associated with the way people engage in interactive media cause short-term shifts in players’ aggression. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Predictive value of cognitive variables for the information utilization process

Sequential predictive behaviour is used to analyse human problem solving. The most predictive and discriminative variables regarding the observable information reducing phases of the problem solving process are variables of cognitive complexity. The same holds for variables of cognitive flexibility regarding the information generating phase. Empirical evidence with respect to the thereby occurring interaction between the heuristic and epistemic part of the cognitive structure is yielded.     

Perceptual and motor components of performance in three different reaction time experiments

Three reaction time experiments were conducted to examine the effects of time of day, stimulus intensity, stimulus modality, and constant and variable foreperiod on the perceptual and motor components of performance. These variables are all supposed to generate changes in arousal level. All the independent variables affected the perceptual component, while the motor component was significantly influenced only by foreperiod and modality. The results are discussed in relation to aspects of dependency/independency of the perceptual and motor components of human performance in reaction time experiments.     

An exploratory analysis of the latent structure of process data via action sequence autoencoders

Computer simulations have become a popular tool for assessing complex skills such as problem-solving. Log files of computer-based items record the human–computer interactive processes for each respondent in full. The response processes are very diverse, noisy, and of non-standard formats. Few generic methods have been developed to exploit the information contained in process data. In this paper we propose a method to extract latent variables from process data. The method utilizes a sequence-to-sequence autoencoder to compress response processes into standard numerical vectors. It does not require prior knowledge of the specific items and human–computer interaction patterns. The proposed method is applied to both simulated and real process data to demonstrate that the resulting latent variables extract useful information from the response processes.     

Human Capital Models and the Gender Pay Gap

This paper provides a commentary on the article by Lips (2012), “The Gender Pay Gap: Challenging the Rationalizations, Perceived Equity, Discrimination, and the Limits of Human Capital Models.” It provides some economic background for human capital models that try to explain gender pay gaps, and discusses the limitations of the models. It assesses some of Lips’ criticisms of the model. In contrast to Lips, the author believes that human capital theorists are generally aware of the limitations of their models, and she believes that human capital models make a valuable contribution to the literature on the gender pay gap. The author also uses her own research to illustrate how human capital variables can be combined with variables from psychology and other fields to try to understand the salary differences between men and women in specific professions. The Appendix provides a list of some 2011 and 2012 studies that examine gender differences in pay in various countries and the types of data used.