Employee self-esteem: A review of the literature

Theories and empirical findings about self-esteem derived from the work role and its activities are reviewed. First, self-esteem is defined and problems inherent in its measurement are discussed. Theoretical perspectives relating self-esteem to the work role and activities are then outlined. Problems of a methodological nature, common to most of the evidence, are highlighted prior to reviewing the intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics which influence self-esteem. The evidence pertaining to the moderating effects of chronic global self-esteem on such relationships is incorporated. The attitudinal and behavioral correlates of high employee self-esteem are then presented, followed by the influence of chronic self-esteem level on occupational choice. Suggestions are made for future research in line with the methodological and conceptual problems encountered.     

当代体育运动心理学跨文化研究述

采用文献检索法,对12份重要的国际期刊上1988~2004期间的文章进行检索,最终从其中的8份期刊中检索到33篇体育运动心理学跨文化研究的文献,在此基础上尝试从研究的方法论及研究的内容两方面来述评当代体育运动心理学跨文化研究的发展情况。方法论方面的述评主要包括数据收集方法、“文化”代表物、被试等值性,以及概念等值性四个方面的内容;研究内容方面的述评主要包括运动成就动机、教练-运动员关系、生涯转折,以及心理品质/心理技能四个方面的内容。文章最后对未来的研究提出了“建立指导研究的理论构架”、“发展指导研究的方法论模型”、“注重研究的实践应用价值”三点建议,并提出三阶段理论构架和四阶段方法论模型,分别尝试作为指导未来研究的理论构架和方法论模型     

The Authoritarian Personality, 50 Years Later: What Questions Are There for Political Psychology?

Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, and Sanford's The Authoritarian Personality is probably the most deeply flawed work of prominence in political psychology. The methodological, procedural, and substantive errors of this study are well known, but they are frequently simply attributed to poor methodological judgments, issues of scaling (such as response set), or Freudian theories that legitimated circular interpretations. But a more fundamental bias arose from the attempt to empirically verify the existence of a "type" of person whom the researchers thought dangerous and with whom they did not empathize. This attempt involved two dangerous procedures: (1) the fusion of nominalist research procedures (in which empirical results were used to type respondents) with a realist interpretation of types (in which some people "just were" authoritarians and others not), and (2) a theoretically rich critique of the authoritarians and a lack of interest in the psychodynamics of liberals. This combination led to an intrinsically biased interpretive project that could not help but accumulate damning evidence about authoritarians. These subtler problems have haunted contemporary work in political psychology that avoids the methodological problems of Adorno et al.; Altemeyer's work on authoritarianism, which not only is free from the defects of the Adorno et al. study but also involves some methodologically exemplary experiments, is similarly distorted by asymmetries. The same fundamental problems seem to be at the heart of the weaknesses of the theory of symbolic racism to which critics have pointed. Political psychologists should regard The Authoritarian Personality as a cautionary example of bias arising from the choice of methodological assumptions.     

The evidence for interactionism in psychology : A critical analysis of the situation-response inventories

A great deal of the evidence for interactionism in personality psychology arose out of the situation-response (S-R) studies of which there are now over 30. This paper examines closely the evidence for traitism, situationism and interactionism that arises from these studies. Nearly all of the published studies are tabulated, reanalysed and detailed criticisms of the more influential papers are offered. Serious problems are apparent in the methodology and analyses of these studies as well as in the conclusions drawn from them. It is argued that these studies have brought as much confusion as clarity to an area of research bedevilled by both conceptual and methodological problems.     

First- and third-person approaches in implicit learning research

How do we find out whether someone is conscious of some information or not? A simple answer is “We just ask them”! However, things are not so simple. Here, we review recent developments in the use of subjective and objective methods in implicit learning research and discuss the highly complex methodological problems that their use raises in the domain.     

Research workshop on methodological issues in evaluating preventive interventions using mutual support

The Prevention Research Branch, Division of Clinical Research, of the National Institute of Mental Health held a research workshop on the methodological issues in evaluating preventive interventions using mutual support. This workshop, held in June 1989, was part of an effort to stimulate high-quality research on preventive interventions using mutual support. These interventions include but are not limited to naturally occurring self-help groups. Participants reviewed methodological problems, generated strategies for dealing with these problems, and made recommendations for future research in this area.     

Easing the adaptation to parenthood

Abstract

Despite the proliferation of marital adjustment studies, basic methodological problems remain unresolved. Not the least of these is the lack of a clearly defined and uniformly understood concept of what is being studied. The purpose of the present paper is to illuminate methodological problems which are specific to research in marital adjustment. Therefore, problems which would be true for all research in the behavioral studies and are not specific to marital adjustment are either not included or are discussed minimally. More detailed research is available elsewhere that relates to but is not the same as marital adjustment. Research in marital therapy would be an example of related data (Gurman, 1975).     

The concept of development in vocational theory and intervention

One of the major problems in the vocational literature is the absence of theoretical formulations which deal with development in more than a superficial manner. Specific problems are that (1) key constructs are adapted from developmental theory without proper attention to the conceptual, empirical, and methodological problems involved; (2) little recognition has been accorded to significant changes in developmental theory during the past 15 years, changes which stress the multidimensional, plastic, contextual, and life-span features of development; (3) there is a paucity of adequately designed, contextually sensitive, longitudinal research; and (4) well-established empirical findings of developmental research have been misrepresented or ignored by vocational researchers. It is proposed that a theory of life-span vocational role development must meet the conceptual and methodological requirements of a developmental approach, that it must contain a contextual perspective, and that it must be relational in the sense that it provides for the examination of the “goodness of fit” between individual and contextual developments. The consequences of this viewpoint for vocational intervention are described as a more pronounced focus on events, processes, and life periods which are identified as antecedents of major vocational decisions. Finally, it is observed that vocational intervention should be viewed as a succession of procedures designed to assist the individual, throughout his/her life, to adapt vocational functioning to changing personal situations as well as to changing economic and contextual circumstances.     

A methodological review of sex-related access discrimination problems

This article provides a comprehensive review of the literature pertaining to sex-related access discrimination problems. The results indicate that positive and negative access discrimination occurs for both males and females. The major variables that appear to account for sex-related access discrimination are the sex role of the position, the amount of job-related information regarding the applicant, and the characteristics of the evaluator population. In general, it appears that the effects of access discrimination can be obfuscated if sufficient information is available regarding job-related variables other than sex. In selected instances, it also appears that populations which have been sensitized to female access discrimination problems may demonstrate reverse discrimination towards women applying for “out-of-role” positions. The article ends with a set of specific hypotheses designed to further investigate and clarify the process of sex-related discrimination in employment situations.     

Antidepressant medication in the treatment of agoraphobia: A critical review

The present article critically examines research on the use of antidepressants in treating agoraphobia. A number of studies have shown certain classes of antidepressant medication, namely tricyclic antidepressants and MAO inhibitors, to have beneficial effects on certain aspects of the agoraphobic syndrome. However, these studies must be interpreted with caution in light of two major methodological shortcomings, i.e. sole reliance on paper and pencil outcome indices and the confounding of the pharmacological effects of the drug with exposure to feared situations. Recent research, aimed at correcting for these methodological problems, seriously question the efficacy of antidepressant pharmacotherapy by itself as a treatment for agoraphobia. Moreover, it is argued that the disadvantages of drug treatments namely agoraphobics' reluctance to take medication, physical side effects and relapse upon withdrawal of the medication, caution against their routine use in clinical practice.     

How shall we study individual differences in cognitive abilities?—Methodological and theoretical perspectives

Selected studies in recent research literature are examined with regard to (a) their methodological adequacy in establishing dimensions of individual differences in information-processing abilities, and (b) the theoretical problems involved in inferring psychological processes from individual difference dimensions. Many methodological inadequacies are noted, including use of small Ns, questionable procedures in establishing variables (e.g., use of raw difference scores), improper or inadequate use of factor analysis and other multivariate statistical techniques, and poor presentation of results. On the whole, little progress has been made thus far in identifying psychological processes through research in individual differences, even though this research approach is viable and potentially useful. Serious theoretical difficulties arise in attempting to infer the nature and operation of psychological processes merely from the identification of individual difference trait dimensions. Promising research, however, is represented by studies in which an effort is made to analyze tasks into their components, to vary task characteristics, and/or to consider the strategies that individuals can employ in performing the tasks.     

A typology of personal and environmental sexual harassment: Research and policy implications for the 1990s

Most of the research conducted on sexual harassment over the last decade and a half has used categories that are neither mutually exclusive nor exhaustive. This has created problems for researchers: it is difficult to compare results from one study to another, harassment types that have scholarly and legal-policy relevance are omitted, and the ability of researchers to inform legal and policy decisions is diminished as a result of these problems. A comprehensive categorization of harassment types that addresses these methodological problems is presented. Specifically, 11 specific types of harassment—4 types of Verbal Requests, 3 Verbal Remarks, and 4 Nonverbal Displays—are presented with examples from research and legal literatures. Recommendations for reconceptualizing research definitions of harassment as well as for diversifying the methodological approaches to the topic are made.     

COGNITIVE ENCODING PROCESSES: EVIDENCE FOR A GRAPHEMICALLY BASED SHORT-TERM MEMORY

Three competing models of word recognition processes currently receive psycholinguistic research support: direct encoding (i.e., word recognition proceeds from graphemes); indirect encoding (i.e., word recognition proceeds from a phonemic translation of graphemes); and dual access (i.e., word recognition can proceed from either graphemes or phonemes). Resolution of the conflict between these models has been hampered by methodological problems common to research techniques in this area. The two experiments reported in this study analyzes the competing models via the SLIP technique, which avoids those methodological problems. Support is yielded for the direct encoding model. Implications are discussed.     

A comment on Koriat,Averill, and Malmstrom's “individual differences in habituation”

The paper considers the issues, raised by Koriat et al. (1973), of the consistency and reliability of measures of habituation currently used in personality research. It is argued that the problem of reliability is not as serious as Koriat et al. proposed and that specificity of measures of habituation is a theoretical rather than a methodological problem. It is proposed that ambiguity in the literature on the personality correlates of habituation is more likely to be due to the failure to consider the effects of stimulus conditions on habituation than to the problems of reliability and specificity.     

Self-observation and behavior change: Applications to academic and adjustment problems through behavioral consultation

Self-observation as a behavior change technique was implemented through behavioral consultation in a public elementary school system. The self-observation procedures were introduced to two subjects with academic problems (assignment completion) and two subjects with behavioral problems (disruptive talk and interruptions, respectively). In each of the four cases, self-observation resulted in improvement in client behavior. Results are discussed within the context of previous methodological issues in the self-observation literature and the relevance of self-observation as a therapeutic tool in school settings.     

儿童期负研究的问题与前瞻

简要评价了儿童欺负研究的现状和不足,其中包括欺负的界定、欺负的系统发生性和互动本质、欺负的适应意义等基本理论问题和具体研究方法、被试选择、研究思路和模式等方法论问题.在此基础上,简要剖析了未来研究的发展趋向.     

THE CONCEPTUAL DISTINCTIONS ARE IMPORTANT

A recent comparative analysis of the constructs of reticence, shyness, communication apprehension, and unwillingness to communicate concluded that there are no important distinctions among these terms. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that there are important conceptual distinctions among these and related constructs. Some of these terms refer to subjective, affective responses, and comprise specific instances of the umbrella construct of social anxiety. Others refer to patterns of overt, social-communicative behaviors. The failure to distinguish between anxiety and behavior results in conceptual confusion, measurement and methodological problems in research, and in unfocused, nonspecific treatments for communication difficulties. Recommendations for the amelioration of conceptual and methodological problems in the area are presented.     

Research With the Draw-A-Person Test: Conceptual and Methodological Issues

A number of methodological, statistical, and conceptual problems are inherent in research with the Draw-A-Person Test (DAP). These difficulties invalidate the theoretical position that an individual's gender-role identification is reflected in the sex of the figure drawn. The complexity of these problems affects the evaluation of the DAP and illustrates the need for multiple approaches to its interpretation.     

Are the important “individual differences” between or within individuals?

Within-individual differences have been a common finding in a variety of research areas. Such inconsistencies with individuals are argued to represent an important consideration for researchers concerned with between-individual differences. Cognitive Flexibility (availability in the individual's repertoire of several alternative types of strategies or processes, and ability to select the one(s) of the alternatives that are most effective for the required task) is suggested to be an important individual-difference variable. Some methodological problems in the assessment of cognitive flexibility as related to human memory are discussed, along with possible ways of overcoming these methodological difficulties, and some limited evidence for the importance of cognitive flexibility in research on personality as well as ability differences.