Cooperation, competition and goal interdependence in work teams: a multilevel approach

The aim of this research was to predict cooperative and competitive conflict management styles in 26 new start-up work teams (time 1), and after one year of functioning (time 2) in an automotive company. Vertical-horizontal, individualism-collectivism cultural patterns were used as predictive variables. It was predicted that goal interdependence would moderate the relationship between cultural patterns and conflict management styles. Because of the hierarchically nested data structure, a Multilevel Analysis approach was used. Horizontal and vertical collectivism increased cooperation, and horizontal and vertical individualism increased competition. Only when work teams had been functioning for a year, goal interdependence increased cooperation and interaction effects between goal interdependence and vertical types of individualism and collectivism were observed. Implications for team-building as organizational transformational strategies are discussed.     

Power and conflict in cooperative and competitive contexts

Power and conflict are classic research topics in organizational theory and important practical management issues. The goal of this article was to analyse the influence of supervisor power bases and goal interdependence situations over intragroup conflict. The study involved the participation of 401 workers from a range of social service organizations. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that (a) supervisor personal power bases were negatively associated with task and relationship conflict; (b) supervisor position power bases were positively associated with relationship conflict; (c) cooperative environments were negatively associated with task and relationship conflict; and (d) that goal interdependence moderates the negative consequences of the use of position power. The implications for research and managerial practices are discussed.     

Religious Homogamy, Marital Conflict, and Stability in Same-Faith and Interfaith Jewish Marriages

This study examined the relationship between a couple's similarity in religious beliefs and practices and their level of marital conflict and stability. One-hundred-fifty-five adult children of same-faith and interfaith Jewish marriages reported on each of their parents' religious beliefs and behaviors. Religious homogamy was defined as similar attitudes and beliefs about specific religious practices. The parents' level of marital conflict was obtained by having their adult children fill out the Children's Perception Questionnaire (Emery and O'Leary 1982). The major hypotheses tested were that a positive correlation would exist between religious homogamy and marital stability and this relationship would be mediated by the level of marital conflict. That is to say, as marital conflict increases, marital stability should decrease. It was expected that these correlations would still hold after controlling for religious denomination (same-faith and interfaith). Partial support for the model was found: more disagreement on Jewish issues predicted higher levels of marital conflict. Higher conflict, in turn, predicted less marital stability.     

So close,and yet so far: does collectivism foster transparency overestimation?

The present research demonstrated that horizontal collectivism (HC), the tendency to emphasize social bonds and interdependence, is associated with overestimating the extent to which one's preferences, feelings, and behavioral inclinations are transparent to close others. The link between HC and felt transparency was mediated by self-other merging but was not significantly mediated by perceived similarity, behavioral closeness, or metaperception positivity. Evidence of a causal connection was obtained in an experiment where individuals for whom interdependence was primed exhibited greater transparency overestimation than did those for whom it was not. Additional results indicated that higher HC is associated with greater confidence but not greater accuracy in judgments about a friend. The authors argue that other perspective-taking deficits involving overuse of the self in judgments of others should also be exacerbated by the self-other merging that is associated with HC.     

I'm worth more than you! Effects of reward interdependence on performance,cohesion, emotion and effort during team competition

ObjectivesTo examine the effects of reward structures on the performance of a motor task. To evaluate the effects of reward interdependence on performance, cohesion, emotion, and effort during intergroup (team) competition.DesignAn experimental design was used to compare the effects of reward interdependence (no, low, high) on performance of a strength and endurance task.MethodParticipants (N = 111) performed a 3-min handgrip task as a member of a team of four under three reward interdependence conditions (no; low, with an even split of prize money; high, with an uneven split of prize money) in head-to-head competitions against another team. Task performance was assessed using the cumulative force production total. Task-related cohesion, enjoyment, anxiety and effort were measured using self-report scales.ResultsPerformance was better with rewards than no reward, and better with high than low reward interdependence. Team cohesion was highest with low reward interdependence. Effort was greater with rewards than no reward. Anxiety and enjoyment did not vary among the reward conditions. Mediation analyses indicated that increased cohesion mediated improvements in performance from no reward to low reward interdependence conditions, and increased effort mediated improvements in performance from no reward to both low and high reward interdependence conditions.ConclusionPerformance of a simple physical task in team competition was facilitated by rewards, with optimal performance associated with unequal rewards (i.e., performance-related pay). The benefits of performing with rewards compared to no rewards were explained by increased cohesion and effort. Social interdependence theory can help explain performance of simple motor tasks during team-based competitions. The findings have implications for the pay structures adopted by sports teams.     

With a little help from our friends: The impact of cross-group friendship on acculturation preferences

Despite extensive research on intergroup contact and acculturation, our understanding of how contact affects receiving society members’ preferences for acculturation orientation of immigrants over time is still relatively rudimentary. This longitudinal study examined how perceived group similarity and outgroup trust mediate the effects of cross-group friendship on acculturation preferences (culture maintenance and culture adoption) of the receiving society. It was predicted that cross-group friendship would affect acculturation preferences over time, and that these relationships would be partly mediated by outgroup trust and perceived group similarity. A three-wave full longitudinal sample (N = 467 Chilean school students) was analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results confirmed that cross-group friendship longitudinally predicted majority members’ support for the adoption of Chilean culture (via perceived group similarity) and Peruvian culture maintenance (via outgroup trust). Conceptual and practical implications are discussed.     

The Counselor and the School as a Social Organization

Role relations in the public school are viewed within the perspective of organization theory; the public school is like the prison and the public mental hospital in that neither client nor organization exercises choice concerning client participation in the organization. Based on previous studies of prisons and mental hospitals and on clues provided in a case study of a junior high school, it was predicted that counselors and principals would be less “custodial” in pupil control ideology than teachers. An instrument that measured pupil control ideology along a custodial-humanistic continuum was administered to 945 teachers, 181 principals, and 180 counselors. Results confirmed the predictions. Counselor adaptations to ideological conflict concerning pupil control in both the secondary and the elementary school are discussed. It was speculated that adaptations would function to reduce overt conflict and contribute to organizational equilibrium.     

Car Versus Public Transportation? The Role of Social Value Orientations in a Real-Life Social Dilemma1

This research evaluates the role of social value orientations (i.e., preferences for distribution of outcomes for the self and others) in decisions as how to commute. It was proposed that the commuting situation could be viewed either as an environmental issue, reflecting the decision structure of an N-person Prisoner's Dilemma, or as an accessibility problem, reflecting the decision structure of an N-person Chicken Dilemma. On the basis of interdependence theory (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978) it was predicted that people who are primarily concerned with the collective welfare—prosocial individuals—would prefer commuting by public transportation when other commuters were expected to go by public transportation. On the other hand, it was hypothesized that people who are primarily concerned with their own well-being—proself individuals—would prefer commuting by public transportation when others were expected to go by car. The obtained findings were consistent with these expectations. Practical and theoretical implications regarding the link between social value orientations and environmentally relevant behavior will be discussed.     

Preference and similarity: affective and cognitive judgement?

This study is a test of some implications of the distinction between cognitive and affective processes proposed by Zajonc (1980), applied to preference and similarity judgements. Preference and similarity data were obtained for male and female subjects judging male and female cinema actors. Preference judgements were assumed to be an example of primarily affective judgement, similarity was assumed to be mainly cognitive. It was furthermore assumed that men when judging women and women judging men should be more affectively involved than the opposite cases. It was predicted (a) that making preference judgements would be more confident, (b) that such judgements would be more stable, (c) that preference judgements would show a more simple structure than similarity judgements, and (d) that the difference between similarities and preferences with regard to the level of complexity indicated by the ratings should be especially large with large affective involvement. In support of Zajonc's model, preference judgements were given with more confidence by the subjects and they were more stable over time. There was a tendency for similarity spaces to be more complex for affectively involved subjects while the opposite occurred for preference ratings. Women seemed to react more negatively to the similarity task than men did.     

Gender, Race, and Perceived Similarity Effects in Developmental Relationships: The Moderating Role of Relationship Duration

The authors examine the doctoral student-faculty advisor dyad as a developmental relationship and investigate how gender, race, and perceived similarity are related to doctoral student perceptions of mentoring received. They hypothesized that the relationship of similarity with mentoring received would be moderated by duration of the relationship. Specifically, they expected that gender and race dissimilarity would lead to less mentoring early in the relationship but that such effects would dissipate later in the relationship. Furthermore, the authors predicted that perceived similarity, conceptualized as underlying similarity of attitudes, values, and beliefs, would be more strongly related to outcomes for longer duration versus shorter duration dyads. They found that, in general, duration of the relationship moderated the effects of gender similarity and perceived similarity on mentoring received, although the pattern of means was more complex than originally hypothesized.     

Emotional support, conflict, depression, and relationship satisfaction in a romantic partner

One aim of this study was to determine the relative contribution of partner conflict and support to satisfaction with a romantic relationship when conflict and support are measured in terms of the same characteristics. Another aim was to ascertain whether support is indirectly associated with relationship satisfaction through reduced conflict and depression, as suggested by C. E. Cutrona (1996). The Relationship Assessment Scale (S. S. Hendrick, 1988), the Revised SCL-90-R Depression subscale (L. R. Derogatis, 1983), and a conflict and support scale were completed by 76 female and 35 male college students. Relationship satisfaction was explained only by support. Support was indirectly associated with relationship satisfaction through a reduction of depression but was not associated with conflict. The results suggest that a better understanding of satisfaction with a romantic relationship may be obtained through the study of support rather than conflict.     

Emotional Support,Conflict, Depression,and Relationship Satisfaction in a Romantic Partner

One aim of this study was to determine the relative contribution of partner conflict and support to satisfaction with a romantic relationship when conflict and support are measured in terms of the same characteristics. Another aim was to ascertain whether support is indirectly associated with relationship satisfaction through reduced conflict and depression, as suggested by C. E. Cutrona (1996). The Relationship Assessment Scale (S. S. Hendrick, 1988), the Revised SCL-90-R Depression subscale (L. R. Derogatis, 1983), and a conflict and support scale were completed by 76 female and 35 male college students. Relationship satisfaction was explained only by support. Support was indirectly associated with relationship satisfaction through a reduction of depression but was not associated with conflict. The results suggest that a better understanding of satisfaction with a romantic relationship may be obtained through the study of support rather than conflict.     

Conflict,fear and social identity in Nagaland

This survey study tested the effects of exposure to ethnopolitical conflict and violence and social group identification on psychosocial well‐being among a sample of Nagas (n = 280). Nagaland is located in Northeast India, and for decades has suffered from armed conflict and political instability. It was predicted that reported exposure to conflict would be positively associated with reported levels of fear, which in turn would decrease psychosocial well‐being (assessed with the indices life satisfaction, self‐esteem and general health). It was also expected that strongly identifying with being Naga would be positively related to perceived levels of social support, which in turn were predicted to be positively related to well‐being. Last but not least, it was hypothesized that conflict and fear would also directly and negatively impact on levels of identification with being Naga: increased conflict‐induced fear was expected to reduce the strength of the group identification. These predictions were confirmed by structural equation modelling.     

Intimacy Behaviors and Relationship Satisfaction for Cohabitors: Intimate Sacrifices Are Not Always Beneficial

Guided by interdependence theory, the authors examined how relationship satisfaction is explained by intimate behavior sacrifices in a sample of cohabitors (N = 200). Specifically, it was predicted that characteristics of intimate behavior sacrifices, such as ease and partner appreciation should alter the association of sacrifice frequency and relationship satisfaction. The pattern that emerged demonstrates lower satisfaction for cohabitors when they frequently made intimate sacrifices and their partners were less appreciative of the sacrifices. When making frequent, but less appreciated, intimacy sacrifices for their partner, cohabitors may struggle with intimacy behaviors that are partner oriented.     

Modulation of the conflict monitoring intensity: The role of aversive reinforcement,cognitive demand,and trait-BIS

According to Botvinick’s (2007) integrative account, conflict monitoring is aversive because individuals anticipate cognitive demand, whereas the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (rRST) predicts that conflict processing is aversive because individuals anticipate aversive reinforcement of erroneous responses. Because these accounts give different reasons for the aversive aspects of conflict, we manipulated cognitive demand and the aversive reinforcement as a consequence of wrong choices in a go/no-go task. Thereby, we also aimed to investigate whether individual differences in conflict sensitivity (i.e., in trait anxiety, linked to high sensitivity of the behavioral inhibition system [trait-BIS]) represent the effects of aversive reinforcement and cognitive demand in conflict tasks. We expected that these manipulations would have effects on the frontal N2 component representing activity of the anterior cingulate cortex. Moreover, higher-trait-BIS individuals should be more sensitive than lower-trait-BIS individuals to aversive effects in conflict situations, resulting in a more negative frontal N2 for higher-trait-BIS individuals. In Study 1, with N = 104 students, and Study 2, with N = 47 students, aversive reinforcement was manipulated in three levels (within-subjects factor) and cognitive demand in two levels (between-subjects factor). The behavioral findings from the go/no-go task with noncounterbalanced reinforcement levels (Study 1) could be widely replicated in a task with counterbalanced reinforcement levels (Study 2). The frontal mean no-go N2 amplitude and the frontal no-go N2 dipole captured predicted reinforcement-related variations of conflict monitoring, indicating that the anticipation of aversive reinforcement induces variations in conflict monitoring intensity in frontal brain areas. The aversive nature of conflict was underlined by the more pronounced conflict monitoring in higher- than in lower-trait-BIS individuals.     

Sexual similarity,complementarity, accuracy,and overperception in same‐sex couples

We examined whether similarity, complementarity, accuracy, and positive illusions exist within the sex lives of same‐sex romantic couples. Partners had similar and complementary sexual desires and they perceived each other's desires with considerable accuracy; these effects were greater than in randomly matched pseudocouples. As evidence of positive sexual illusions, people overperceived sexual similarity and complementarity, and they overperceived the accuracy with which their partner knew their desires. Using actor–partner interdependence models (D. A. Kenny, D. A. Kashy, & W. L. Cook, 2006), similarity, complementarity, and positive illusions predicted sexual satisfaction, but a partner's actual accuracy did not. In parallel with earlier findings from heterosexual couples, this work indicates that positive sexual illusions are motivated cognitive processes that benefit sexual satisfaction, as theories of relationship maintenance suggest.     

Too Much of a Good Thing? Emotional Intelligence and Interpersonal Conflict Behaviors

Research suggests that the outcomes of interpersonal conflict are determined not only by the conflict itself, but also by the way in which it is handled. Confrontational and domineering tactics have been found to magnify the adverse impact of conflict. Thus, investigations of determinants of aggressive conflict management behaviors are of considerable interest. This study extends the literature by examining the relationship between conflict management preferences and conflict management behaviors and by examining how emotional intelligence (EI) shapes this preference-behavior relationship. Individuals’ conflict management preferences predicted actual conflict management behaviors. EI was found to moderate this relationship. However, some of these moderating effects run contrary to the popular view of EI as a prosocial concept. Specifically, some EI facets were found to strengthen the link between aggressive conflict management preferences and subsequent conflict management behaviors.     

Temperament and self‐based correlates of cooperative,competitive and individualistic learning preferences

People vary in the extent to which they prefer cooperative, competitive or individualistic achievement tasks. In this research, we conducted two studies designed to investigate correlates and possible roots of these social interdependence orientations, namely approach and avoidance temperament, general self‐efficacy, implicit theories of intelligence, and contingencies of self‐worth based in others' approval, competition and academic competence. The results indicated that approach temperament, general self‐efficacy and incremental theory were positively related, and entity theory was negatively related to cooperative preferences (|r| range from .11 to .41); approach temperament, general self‐efficacy, competition contingencies and academic competence contingencies were positively related to competitive preferences (|r| range from .16 to .46); and avoidance temperament, entity theory, competitive contingencies and academic competence contingencies were positively related, and incremental theory was negatively related to individualistic preferences (|r| range from .09 to .15). The findings are discussed with regard to the meaning of each of the three social interdependence orientations, cultural differences among the observed relations and implications for practitioners.     

Rorschach Records of a Schizophrenic Patient Before,During and after Electric Shock and Insulin Treatment

Jung's theory of psychological types provided the conceptual framework for a study of personality characteristics implicated in marital relationships. Partners in 20 couples completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and a series of open-ended questions describing their marital relationships. As predicted, (a) type similarity was more characteristic than type dissimilarity, particularly on sensation-intuition and thinking-feeling preferences, (b) sensation-intuition preferences were reflected in perceptions of qualities valued in self and spouse, (c) thinking-feeling preferences were significantly related to reported satisfaction in marriage, and (d) intuitives were more open to changes in the relationship than were sensing types. Marital problems were highly diverse, and were not related in any clear way to type patterns in individuals or dyads.     

Abstract and concrete self-evaluative goals

Assuming that people often hold the abstract goal of acquiring accurate feedback but recognize that acquiring favorable feedback can make the self-evaluative process more comfortable, the authors posited that low-level construals (of how action is performed) would elicit greater self-enhancement motivation than would high-level construals (of why action is performed). Individuals chronically using low-level construals had greater interest in downward social comparison (DSC) and less interest in negative feedback (NF; Studies 1 and 3). Decreases in temporal distance (which foster low-level construals) also elicited greater interest in DSC and less interest in NF (Studies 2 and 4). The latter effect was explained by participants' aversion to inconvenience (Study 5) and not by approach-avoidance conflict (Study 6). These results suggest that the level of abstraction at which people construe self-evaluative situations can influence their feedback preferences.