Self-esteem as a moderator of performance-satisfaction relationships

Korman's (Journal of Applied Psychology, 1968, 52, 484–490) prediction that performance and satisfaction should be positively related for high self-esteem individuals and unrelated for low self-esteem individuals was tested with samples of scientists, engineers, homemakers, firefighters, and clerical workers. Although there was a slight tendency for this prediction to be supported with the male scientist, engineer, and firefighter samples, Korman's theory was unsupported in the homemaker and clerical worker samples. Since the correlations found for low and high self-esteem persons significantly differed in only one of eight comparisons, self-esteem did not appear to be a reliable moderator of the performance-satisfaction relationship. Problems with previous studies purporting to test Korman's prediction are discussed, and the possibility of a confound between self-esteem and sex role and/or status is introduced.     

Spatial visualization and sex differences in quantitative ability

The hypothesis that sex differences in spatial visualization ability might account for sex differences in mathematical ability was supported for a group of 183 male and 81 female college students. With spatial visualization statistically controlled, no significant sex differences in Quantitative Scholastic Aptitude Test (QSAT) scores was found; including sex as a predictor variable increased the variance explained by less than 1%. Although the slope of the regression of mathematics on spatial visualization did not differ as a function of sex, males were somewhat more predictable than females. As the OSAT of both males and females high on spatial visualization was more predictable than the QSAT of those scoring less well, it appears that the sex difference in predictability is due to males having higher spatial ability than females.     

Effects of academic instruction on spatial visualization

The hypothesis that spatial ability can be improved through experience afforded but relevant college courses was supported for a group of 142 male and female college students. Two spatial visualization tests were administered before and after two years of college study. Students majoring in the humanities and the social sciences improved less than those majoring in mathematics and the physical sciences. Female physical science majors improved more than male physical science majors. A significant correlation between improvement in tested spatial ability and number of mathematics courses taken was obtained.     

Information processing complexity and leadership status

144 Subjects divided into four-person groups participated in three discussions. In each group, one member (Target subject) was preselected as either being high or low in cognitive complexity. The groups were then assigned to one of three conditions. Under Continuous Reinforcement the Target subject received a reinforcing light cue following each verbalization in the second of three discussions (no light cues used in the first and third discussions). Target subjects under Partial Reinforcement received light cues on a 50% variable ratio reinforcement schedule. Control subjects received no light cues in any session. Target subjects in both experimental groups showed conditioning effects on all dependent measures. While no differences were found between reinforcement conditions, results suggest that abstract subjects are able to make more use of feedback cues than concrete subjects.     

Developmental differences in cognitive mapping: Configurational knowledge of familiar large-scale environments

In order to investigate the development of cognitive mapping of familiar large-scale environments. First-, fifth-, and eighth-grade children were asked to make bearing and distance estimates to six targets from three sighting locations in their school. Correlations between estimated and actual bearings and distances were extremely high at all grade levels, indicating that (a) children at all grade levels could reliably make such estimates, and (b) route knowledge of even the youngest children was quite high. Bearing accuracy increased between first- and fifth-grade and showed little improvement thereafter. Increases in a measure of configurational accuracy were found between first- and fifth-grade and between fifth- and eighth-grade. Differential accuracy as a function of the demands of particular sighting locations was found only for the younger children.     

Developmental changes in attention-deployment skills

The ability to efficiently allocate attention between two tasks differing in payoff was investigated developmentally. Ten subjects from each of three grade levels (second, fourth, and college) performed an auditory and a visual memory task simultaneously. Modality of the primary task, difficulty of the primary task, and difficulty of the secondary task were varied factorially within subjects. The difference between primary and secondary performances increased with age: All college students, about half of the fourth graders, and none of the second graders showed a meaningful degree of differentiation between primary and secondary tasks.     

Interviewer evaluations of interviewee nonverbal behavior

Personnel representatives (N = 52) were shown one of four videotaped job interviews in which the verbal content of the 16-min interview was identical, but the interviewee's nonverbal behavior was manipulated. A “low nonverbal” interviewee was defined by minimal eye contact, low energy level, lack of affect and voice modulation, and a lack of speech fluency. The “high nonverbal” interviewee demonstrated the opposite behavior on each of these components. The subjects were asked to rate the videotaped candidates on dimensions previously identified as critical in influencing a job interviewer's decisions. Nonverbal behavior was found to have a significant effect on almost every rating made by subjects in this study. After reviewing the entire 16-min interview, 23 of the 26 subjects who saw the “high nonverbal” candidate would have invited him/her for a second interview. All 26 of the subjects who saw the “low nonverbal” candidate would not have recommended a second interview.     

Two components of need for approval score and their relationship to cheating following success and failure

Subjects completed a simulated “intelligence test” on which they were given bogus feedback indicating that they had either met college norms or had failed substantially to meet norms. Immediately following was a period in which subjects could modify their scores and believe that their modification would go undetected. The relationship of need for approval to “cheating” and amount of “cheating” was analyzed. The results supported an “avoidance” interpretation of approval motivation. Two separate components of need for approval score were identified and found to be differentially related to avoidance behavior for men and for women.     

The self-serving attributional bias: Beyond self-presentation

An experiment was conducted to provide empirical support for the notion that asymmetrical causal attributions for favorable and unfavorable outcomes result from a self-serving attributional bias that occurs independently of self-presentational concerns. Subjects did either well or poorly on an ego-involving test for which their performance, attributions, and evaluations of the test were either public or private. A pattern of self-serving responses for subjects' attributions and evaluations of the test was found in the private conditions, thus providing evidence of the influence of outcome favorability on individuals' perceptions of causality. Theoretical and practical implications of these finding are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Reward behavior by male and female leaders: A causal inference analysis

This research investigated causal inferences between leader reward behavior (positive and punitive) and subordinate goal attainment, absenteeism, and work satisfaction over a 3-month period in a merchandise distribution center (n = 252). Four groups were studied: (a) male supervisors-male subordinates, (b) male supervisors-female subordinates, (c) female supervisors-female subordinates, and (d) female supervisors-male subordinates. Using the techniques of tests of mean differences and corrected cross-lag correlations, the results revealed that: (a) No significant differences attributed to sex were found between the four groups with the perceptions of leader reward behavior or subordinate outcome measures, and (b) the causal inference analysis suggested that the relationships between leader reward behavior and subordinate attitudes and behavior were independent of the effects of sex of supervisor or subordinate. Implications for research on sex stereotypes and leadership were discussed.     

A comparison of Holland's model using constructs measured by two different methods

The relationship was studied between the set of constructs specified by Holland's 1973 theory (viz, Realistic, Intellectual, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional) measured by an Adjective List (AL) derived from Holland's theory and the same set of constructs as measured by the Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI). The correspondence of the two measures of Holland's model compared the distances between the constructs as measured by the AL and the constructs measured by the VPI in factor space using an adaptation of a model testing procedure reported by Wakefield and Doughtie 1973. The subjects were 174 undergraduates at a state university. The correspondence between the two separate measures of Holland's model was significant (p < .01). These results provide further support of the construct validity of Holland's theory and offer evidence that the relationships hypothesized by the theory are not tied to any one particular method of measurement.     

The effects of uncontrollable failure and depression on memorial processes

Many investigators have argued that exposure to uncontrollable failure and depressed mood affect learning processes. However, little has been done to explore how information processing is affected by such events. Two experiments revealed that prior failure (Experiment 1) and depressed mood (Experiment 2) have similar effects on a simple free-recall task. These data are interpreted to suggest that the experience of uncontrollable failure and depression disrupt the transfer or retrieval of new information from a transient to a more permanent storage format. The implications of these data are discussed.     

Generality of persistence: The role of stimulus and response factors in persistence to punishment

Previous research has shown that intermittent punishment of a response increases its persistence to continuous punishment and that intermittent punishment training in one situation produces persistence to continuous punishment in other situations. Experiment 1 showed that as long as the instrumental response and punishing stimulus were held constant from intermittent to continuous punishment marked differences between these situations had no decremental effect on persistence. Experiment 2 showed that intermittent punishment training of one response resulted in substantial persistence to continuous punishment of a different and apparently incompatible response and that such response change had no more than a marginal effect on persistence. The results were seen as requiring some revision to the traditional conditioning-model interpretation of persistence to punishment.     

A clarification of selective exposure: The impact of choice

Selective exposure as a reaction to cognitive dissonance has long eluded researchers working in the realm of dissonance theory. It is proposed here that the difficulties in selective exposure paradigms have resulted from inadequate designs, and more particularly, it is likely that many of the previous findings are due to confoundings. The present experiment manipulates the variable of choice with the intent of controlling for a variety of possible confounds. The experiment shows a simple, theoretically predicted effect: Selective exposure, favoring supporting over nonsupporting information, increases to the degree that an onerous task is undertaken with volition.     

Reactions to threat by defensive and congruent internals and externals: A self-esteem analysis

The hypothesis that vulnerable self-esteem internals and externals would react more defensively to negative intellectual and personality feedback than congruent (more secure self-esteem) internals and externals was investigated in two experiments. The defensive (DE)-congruent (CE) external distinction was strongly confirmed in both cases. In Experiment 1, DEs assumed less personal responsibility for failure than for success, while CEs assumed little personal responsibility for either outcome. Defensive externals performed more poorly than CEs on a task described as an IQ test, suggesting greater anxiety in the face of possible failure. In Experiment 2, DEs rated themselves more favorably and derogated evaluator's competence more than CEs following receipt of negative information regarding their interpersonal skills. Congruent internals (CI) performed more poorly than defensive internals (DI) on the “IQ” task, while male DIs attributed responsibility for outcomes more defensively. It was suggested that a consistently internal view of causation may increase stress in evaluative situations. Implications of these findings for better understanding the relationship between locus of control and maladjustment were discussed, and suggestions for future research were presented.     

An occupational taxonomy by professional characteristics: Implications for research

Theorists concerned with the nature of professionalism and researchers investigating professionals in the work environment often assume that professional occupations are a unique occupational type. To test this assumption, an occupational taxonomy based on nine dimensions of professionalism was derived empirically. The taxonomy represented expectations only to a moderate degree. Several implications were noted for the use of occupational taxonomies in the generalization of research findings on one occupational group to other occupational groups in the same classification.     

Reactions to stigmatized others: Response amplification vs sympathy

Four experiments examined the conditions under which responses to handicapped persons are characterized by sympathy or response amplification. The first two experiments tested the hypothesis that contact with a handicapped person would lead to amplified positive and negative responses in comparison to contact with a nonhandicapped person. The results indicated that mere contact was not sufficient to elicit response amplification. Instead, contact led to more positive evaluations of the handicapped than of the nonhandicapped other, regardless of whether she behaved in a positive or negative manner—a “sympathy” effect. The third and fourth experiments indicated that amplified positive and negative responses to the handicapped will occur when the behavior of a handicapped person is highly relevant to the evaluator. A two-stage model of responses to stigmatized others is proposed to account for these results.     

Orienting versus learning instructions in children's free recall: New evidence

Ninety-six first graders were given a list of either words or pictures to process under three types of incidental orienting instructions (semantic, directed at list organization; semantic, directed at individual item characteristics; and physical) and an intentional-learning instruction. For pictures and words, list organizational instructions were the most effective, and were superior to intentional-learning instructions. In contrast, individual item-orienting instructions were not better than intentional-learning instructions on either list. Additionally, different patterns of instructional effects emerged on the two list types, which were interpreted with respect to both available data and contemporary processing theories.