Rewards and creative performance: a meta-analytic test of theoretically derived hypotheses

Although many scholars and practitioners are interested in understanding how to motivate individuals to be more creative, whether and how rewards affect creativity remain unclear. We argue that the conflicting evidence may be due to differences between studies in terms of reward conditions and the context in which rewards are offered. Specifically, we examine 5 potential moderators of the rewards-creative performance relationship: (a) the reward contingency, (b) the extent to which participants are provided information about their past or current creative performance, (c) the extent to which the reward and context offer choice or impose control, (d) the extent to which the context serves to enhance task engagement, and (e) the extent to which the performance tasks are complex. Using random-effects models, we meta-analyzed 60 experimental and nonexperimental studies (including 69 independent samples) that examined the rewards-creativity relationship with children or adults. Our results suggest that creativity-contingent rewards tend to increase creative performance-and are more positively related to creative performance when individuals are given more positive, contingent, and task-focused performance feedback and are provided more choice (and are less controlled). In contrast, performance-contingent or completion-contingent rewards tend to have a slight negative effect on creative performance.     

The revelation effect: when disguising test items induces recognition

Documented here is a bias whereby items are more likely to be judged as having been presented beforehand if they are disguised in some way and so have to be discovered or "revealed." The bias was found for test words that were unfolded letter by letter (Experiments 1 and 3), presented with their letters either transposed (Experiments 2 and 3), or individually rotated (Experiments 4 and 5), or rotated as a whole (Experiment 5), and for test numbers that were presented in the form of roman numerals (Experiment 6) or equations (Experiment 7). The bias occurred both for items that were presented beforehand and for those that were not. No bias was found when words were judged, not for prior occurrence, but for typicality as category instances (Experiment 8), lexicality (Experiment 9), frequency of general usage (Experiment 10), or number of times encountered during the preceding week (Experiment 11).     

The generation effect: A meta-analytic review

The generation effect refers to the finding that subjects who generate information (e.g., produce synonyms) remember the information better than they do material that they simply read. Meta-analytic techniques were used to summarize 445 effect sizes over 86 studies, thereby assessing the magnitude and 11 potential moderators of the generation effect. The size of the generation effect across the 86 studies was .40--a benefit of almost half a standard deviation of generation over reading. The variability of the effect size due to moderator type was substantial, and we attempted to use this information to clarify several theories that have been proposed to explain the generation effect.     

The conjunction fallacy: A test of averaging hypotheses

The conjunction fallacy, in which individuals report that the conjunction of two events is more rather than less likely to occur than one of the events alone, is a robust phenomenon. We assessed the possibility that an analysis in terms of functional measurement methodology might be consistent with occurrence of the fallacy. A 3 × 3 design in which we varied the judged likelihood of the two components constituting the conjunction permitted us to assess the possibility that subjects judge the likelihood of conjunctions by averaging the likelihood of their component parts. The results were consistent with this possibility, and this interpretation was supported by analysis of the results in terms of functional measurement methodology.     

The revelation effect: Moderating influences of encoding conditions and type of recognition test

In the revelation effect, slowly revealing a test item immediately prior to a recognition judgment increases the probability of an “old” response. Extant accounts imply that the revelation effect occurs for familiarity-based judgments but not for those involving recall or recollection. To assess this implication, the contribution of recollection was varied by encoding conditions and memory tests. Two manipulations of recollection, semantic encoding and context-item integration, both reduced the revelation effect on a standard recognition test. For the same encoding conditions, a perceptually driven memory test (rhyme recognition) exhibited no revelation effect whatsoever. In a second experiment, the rhyme recognition test exhibited a revelation effect under impoverished encoding conditions. The results document important limits of the revelation effect produced by both encoding and test conditions. Furthermore, the recollection-based limitations of the revelation effect are not restricted to conditions of enhanced semantic encoding.     

The revelation effect for autobiographical memory: A mixture-model analysis

Participants provided information about their childhood by rating their confidence about whether they had experienced various events (e.g., “broke a window playing ball”). On some trials, participants unscrambled a key word from the event phrase (e.g., wdinwo—window) or an unrelated word (e.g., gnutge—nugget) before seeing the event and giving their confidence ratings. The act of unscrambling led participants to increase their confidence that the event occurred in their childhood, but only when the confidence rating immediately followed the act of unscrambling. This increase in confidence mirrors the “revelation effect” observed in word recognition experiments. In the present article, we analyzed our data using a new signal detection mixture distribution model that does not require the researcher to know the veracity of memory judgments a priori. Our analysis reveals that unscrambling a key word or an unrelated word affects response bias and discriminability in autobiographical memory tests in ways that are very similar to those that have been previously found for word recognition tasks.     

A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory

The present article presents a meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. With 713 independent samples from 515 studies, the meta-analysis finds that intergroup contact typically reduces intergroup prejudice. Multiple tests indicate that this finding appears not to result from either participant selection or publication biases, and the more rigorous studies yield larger mean effects. These contact effects typically generalize to the entire outgroup, and they emerge across a broad range of outgroup targets and contact settings. Similar patterns also emerge for samples with racial or ethnic targets and samples with other targets. This result suggests that contact theory, devised originally for racial and ethnic encounters, can be extended to other groups. A global indicator of Allport's optimal contact conditions demonstrates that contact under these conditions typically leads to even greater reduction in prejudice. Closer examination demonstrates that these conditions are best conceptualized as an interrelated bundle rather than as independent factors. Further, the meta-analytic findings indicate that these conditions are not essential for prejudice reduction. Hence, future work should focus on negative factors that prevent intergroup contact from diminishing prejudice as well as the development of a more comprehensive theory of intergroup contact.     

Gender and reward distributions: A test of two hypotheses

This study was designed as a test of two competing explanations of gender differences in distributive justice: (a) the equity-equality hypothesis, which states that males endorse equitable distributions more than females and females endorse equal distributions more than males; and (b) the exploitation-accommodation hypothesis, which states that the sexes vary their norm endorsement according to self-favoring (males) or other-favoring (females) distribution outcomes. Preadolescent and college-aged subjects rated the fairness of reward distributions of vignette characters who had contributed either more or less than a co-worker in a task, and had subsequently divided the rewards either equitably or equally. The data provided no support for the equity-equality hypothesis, but did support the exploitation-accommodation hypothesis. Specifically, females rated equitable distributions of inferior workers as more fair than males did. Thus, the popular conclusion that males have a stronger commitment to equity than females must be rejected.     

Serial learning in rats: A test of three hypotheses

Findings obtained by providing rats with a single fixed series of events, A-B-C-…, often are equally compatible with three alternative serial learning interpretations: that the signal for items is (A) their position in the series (position view), (B) the prior item of the series (chaining view), and (C) one, two, or more prior items of the series (sequential view). By employing a novel procedure of supplying rats with two different series, rather than a single series, it was possible to choose between the three alternatives. Employing 10 and 0, 0.045 g, Noyes pellets as items, rats in both runway experiments reported here received a three trial series, either a 10-0-10 series or a 0-0-10 series. In Experiment 1, the other series was a single 0 pellet trial (along with 10-0-10) or a single 10 pellet trial (along with 0-0-10). In Experiment 2, the other series was either 0-0 (along with 10-0-10) or 10-0 (along with 0-0-10). Considering both experiments, findings were consistent with the sequential view but not with either the position view or the chaining view. The possibility was suggested that, under some other experimental conditions, particularly those not employing reward events as items, greater control over discriminative responding might be exercised by position cues than by item cues.     

The revelation effect in frequency judgment

In three experiments, we explored the revelation effect in a frequency judgment task. Participants estimated the frequency of words that had been presented one, two, four, or eight times. At test, half the words were revealed by completing word fragments, and half were presented intact. Estimated frequencies were reliably higher for revealed than for intact words, and in two of the three experiments, the revelation effect became larger as actual frequency increased. A revelation effect was obtained whether the revealed word was the same as (Experiment 1) or different from (Experiment 2) the word judged for frequency. Frequency estimates were higher for more distorted test items (Experiment 3).     

The sleeper effect in persuasion: a meta-analytic review

A meta-analysis of the available judgment and memory data on the sleeper effect in persuasion is presented. According to this effect, when people receive a communication associated with a discounting cue, such as a noncredible source, they are less persuaded immediately after exposure than they are later in time. Findings from this meta-analysis indicate that recipients of discounting cues were more persuaded over time when the message arguments and the cue had a strong initial impact. In addition, the increase in persuasion was stronger when recipients of discounting cues had higher ability or motivation to think about the message and received the discounting cue after the message. These results are discussed in light of classic and contemporary models of attitudes and persuasion.     

A test of two different revelation effects using forced-choice recognition

The revelation effect refers to the finding of an increased propensity to classify recognition test probes as old when they are preceded by a problem solving task. Recent research indicates that revelation effects are dissociable based on whether the revelation task involves an item that is the same as or different than the subsequently presented recognition probe. Using a two-alternative forced-choice design, we found a revelation effect for both words (Experiment 1) and nonwords (Experiment 2) in the condition where the revealed item was the same as the target item (same revelation condition), but no effect when the revealed item was different than either test alternative (different revelation condition). These results were replicated using a mixed list design containing both words and nonwords (Experiment 3). Results support Verde and Rotello’s (2004) two-factor account of the revelation effect, which proposes that changes in memory sensitivity underlie revelation effects in the same revelation condition, and that changes in the decision criterion are responsible in the different revelation condition.     

Socialization tactics and newcomer adjustment: A meta-analytic review and test of a model

One of the most popular and often studied topics in the organizational socialization literature is Van Maanen and Schein’s [Van Maanen, J., & Schein, E. H. (1979). Toward a theory of organizational socialization. In B. M. Staw (Ed.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 1), pp. 209-264. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.] theory of organizational socialization tactics. Over 30 studies on socialization tactics have been conducted in the past 20 years. In this meta-analysis, we examine the relationships between six socialization tactics and various indicators of newcomer adjustment as well as the moderating effects of study design (cross-sectional vs. longitudinal), measurement scale (use of complete vs. modified tactics scale), and type of newcomer (recent graduates vs. other newcomers). Our results indicate that institutionalized socialization tactics were negatively related to role ambiguity, role conflict, and intentions to quit, and positively related to fit perceptions, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance, and a custodial role orientation. We also found that the social tactics (serial and investiture) were the strongest predictors of adjustment outcomes. The results also indicated that the relationships between the tactics and outcomes were stronger for recent graduates compared to other newcomers; cross-sectional designs compared to longitudinal designs; and when Jones’ [Jones, G. R. (1986). Socialization tactics, self-efficacy, and newcomers’ adjustments to organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 29, 262-279.] complete scales were used compared to modified versions. Support was also found for a mediation model of newcomer adjustment in which role conflict, role ambiguity, and fit perceptions partially mediate some of the relationships between the socialization tactics and distal outcomes of adjustment. The implications of these results for research and practice are discussed.     

Aging and the revelation effect

Previous research by M. W. Prull, L. L. Light, M. E. Collett, and R. F. Kennison (1998) has shown that older adults are not susceptible to a memory illusion referred to as the revelation effect. The authors examined the robustness of Prull et al.'s findings by having participants solve a word fragment (Experiment 1) or an anagram (Experiment 2) prior to the recognition memory decision. In both experiments, younger and older adults showed a reliable revelation effect. These results simultaneously challenge both the conclusion that older adults are not vulnerable to the revelation effect and the conclusion that aging is associated with increasing susceptibility to memory illusions.     

The revelation effect for item and associative recognition: Familiarity versus recollection

The revelation effect occurs when items on a recognition test are more likely to be judged as being old if they are preceded by a cognitive task that involves the processing of similar types of stimuli. This effect was examined for item (single-word) and associative (word-pair) recognition. We found, in Experiments 1 and 2, a revelation effect for item, but not for associative recognition under normal study conditions. A revelation effect for both item and associative recognition was observed in Experiments 3 and 4 when study time was extremely brief, thus limiting the encoding of information that would support recall or recollection. In Experiment 5, we demonstrated that the revelation effect for item recognition is eliminated when item recognition decisions are made in the context of a study item. The results show that the revelation task influenced recognition decisions based on familiarity, but not decisions that involved recall or recollection.     

The Validity of Conscientiousness for Predicting Job Performance: A meta‐analytic test of two hypotheses

This study examined two hypotheses regarding the moderating effects of job characteristics on the validity of personality. Using meta‐analytic techniques, the authors explored the extent to which the structural characteristics and cognitive ability requirements of jobs influence the role of conscientiousness in predicting performance. The results suggest that conscientiousness is a stronger predictor of performance in jobs that are highly routinized, and a weaker predictor of performance in jobs with high levels of cognitive ability requirements. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.