Preface

Dr. Siegfried Streufert devoted a considerable part of his career to designing and developing assessment and training technologies based on his theory of Behavioral complexity. The underlying emphasis in the design of his methodology called the Strategic Management Simulations (SMS), was on understanding “real world” productivity in an objective manner. This methodology focuses on the demonstrated decision-making capacity of an individual in various situations and its impact on human productivity and well-being. The SMS methodology compliments other evaluation tools that focus on individual “preferences”, “aspirations” and basic problem-solving skill sets. The following commentary provides a brief overview of well-used methodologies and describes the SMS comprehensive assessment which is focused on real world productivity and is constructed using Behavioral complexity theoretical paradigms.     

Interpretation of significance levels by psychological researchers: the .05 cliff effect may be overstated

Comments about previous studies indicate that the interpretation of significance levels by psychological researchers is unequivocally dictated by a binary decision-making framework. In particular, confidence in ap level would drop abruptly just beyond the fateful .05 level (cliff effect). A replication of Rosenthal and Gaito’s (1963) experiment on the degree of confidence inp levels shows that these claims should be moderated. Detailed analysis of individual curves reveals that the attitude of researchers towardp values is far from being as homogeneous as might be expected. However, most psychological researchers in our study rated graduated confidence judgments, as either exponential or linear. Only a minority ofall-or-none respondents exhibited an abrupt drop in confidence.     

The Effectiveness of Couple and Individual Relationship Education: Distress as a Moderator

Current literature yields mixed results about the effectiveness of relationship education (RE) with low‐income participants and those who experience a high level of individual or relational distress. Scholars have called for research that examines whether initial levels of distress act as a moderator of RE outcomes. To test whether initial levels of relationship and/or individual distress moderate the effectiveness of RE, this study used two samples, one of couples who received couple‐oriented relationship education with their partner (n = 192 couples) and one of individuals in a relationship who received individual‐oriented RE by themselves (n = 60 individuals). We delivered RE in a community‐based setting serving primarily low‐income participants. For those attending with a partner, there was a significant interaction between gender, initial distress, and time. Findings indicate that women who were relationally distressed before RE reported the largest pre‐postgains. Those who attended an individual‐oriented RE program reported significant decreases in individual distress from pre to post, but no significant relationship gains. Findings also suggest that initial levels of distress did not moderate the effectiveness of individual‐oriented RE.     

Sensitivity to Levels of Importance in the Logical Memory Subtest

The performance of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and neuropsychiatric patients was examined using the Logical Memory (LM) subtest of the WMS-R, utilizing a levels of importance methodology described by Haut et al. (1990). Although patient groups were matched for dementia severity, we found the expected differences between groups in terms of absolute level of performance. There was considerable variability, however, in the AD patients' performance. AD patients' recall and sensitivity to levels of importance depended on the story (Anna or Robert), and when the passages were recalled (immediate or delayed recalls). Results suggested that AD patients were able to utilize semantic information in their immediate recall, though this was dependent on individual story characteristics. AD patient's delayed recall was essentially absent. Thus, no conclusions could be drawn with respect to the level of importance factor. NP patient's recall performance was similar to patterns observed in other clinical samples for both immediate and delayed memory.     

Linearity of Personality–Performance Relationships: A large‐scale examination

This paper reviews theory and past research concerning nonlinear relationships between personality tests and job performance. We compare linear and nonlinear regression models for each of the 32 Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ32i) scales using job performance as the criterion variable. We evaluate linear, quadratic, and cubic relationships between personality and job performance by calculating changes in R (ΔR) between the linear and nonlinear models. We use 3 decision rules of varying levels for ΔR and divide a large sample randomly into 2 samples to cross‐validate any nonlinear effects found. Few scales exhibited nonlinearity and the magnitude of the departures from linearity were small.     

The left digit effect in a complex judgment task: Evaluating hypothetical college applicants

A left digit effect has been broadly observed across judgment and decision-making contexts ranging from product evaluation to medical treatment decisions to number line estimation. For example, $3.00 is judged to be a much greater cost than $2.99, and “801” is estimated strikingly too far to the right of “798” on a number line. Although the consequences of the effects for judgment and decision behavior have been documented, the sources of the effects are not well established. The goal of the current work is to extend investigations of the left digit effect to a new complex judgment activity and to assess whether the magnitude of the effect at the individual level can be predicted from performance on a simpler number skills task on which the left digit effect has also recently been observed. In three experiments (N = 434), adults completed a judgment task in which they rated the strength of hypothetical applicants for college admission and a self-paced number line estimation task. In all experiments, a small or medium left digit effect was found in the college admissions task, and a large effect was found in number line estimation. Individual-level variation was observed, but there was no relationship between the magnitudes of the effects in the two tasks. These findings provide evidence of a left digit effect in a novel multiattribute judgment task but offer no evidence that such performance can be predicted from a simple number skills task such as number line estimation.     

The Effects of Participation in Decision-Making on Worker Satisfaction and Productivity: An Organizational Simulation1

Although correlational evidence of a positive relationship between participation in decision-making and satisfaction is relatively consistent, whether participation in decision-making has a causal effect on satisfaction remains unclear. The present research examined, through an organizational simulation in which high and low levels of participation in decision-making were manipulated, the causal effect of participation on satisfaction and productivity. The subjects were 128 male undergraduates randomly assigned to 32 four-person groups. Results of the experiment showed that participation in decision-making had a significant positive effect on satisfaction. In addition, the correlation between perceived influence and satisfaction was positive (r= .31). Contrary to theoretically derived predictions, participation had no impact on productivity.     

Accounting for nonlinear utility functions in composite measures of productivity and performance

Composite measures of productivity and performance combine different indicators of work activities into a single index. The term nonlinearities refers to the phenomenon that the relationship between the scores on an indicator of productivity and the value of that level of the indicator to the organization is not always linear. For example, more is not always better. This research evaluated whether accounting for such nonlinear relationships in productivity measures adds new information to the composite measures. Data from five organizations showed that the correlations between a composite measure which includes nonlinear relationships and one which does not were very high, but treatment effect sizes and decisions resulting from the two measurement systems were substantially different. It was concluded that inclusion of nonlinearities added important information to composite measures of productivity and that accounting for nonlinearities should result in more valid composites. Applications of this issue for other topics such as performance appraisal and promotions were discussed.     

Influences on Member Assimilation in Workgroups in High‐Reliability Organizations: A Multilevel Analysis

This multilevel investigation examined the effect of group interaction and its influence on individual‐level membership variables and group assimilation. The study is based on a model of group socialization developed by Moreland and Levine (1982) and was modified in this study to investigate the development and maintenance of highly interdependent workgroups in a high‐reliability organization: a municipal fire department. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we examined individual‐ and crew‐level influence on four assimilation outcomes: involvement, trustworthiness, commitment, and acceptance. At the individual level, acculturation predicted all the four assimilation outcomes. Involvement also was a predictor of the latter sequences of assimilation: commitment and acceptance. The study also found that one crew‐level variable—crew performance—affected and modified the influence of tenure, proactivity, involvement, acculturation, and trust on members’ commitment. Implications are offered for the influence of group interaction on member assimilation and support for continuing group‐level research on assimilation. This study also underscores the utility of multilevel analysis in examining communication at the interpersonal and group levels.     

Religion and Gambling Among Young Adults in the United States: Moral Communities and the Deterrence Hypothesis

Despite voluminous research examining religion as an integrative force and a mechanism of social control, relatively few studies have examined the association between religion and proscribed or morally ambiguous behaviors beyond crime and drug use. The present exploratory study examines the role of religion, at both the individual and county levels, in predicting self‐reported gambling problems. Hierarchical linear models are employed to examine religion and self‐reported gambling problems using the restricted use data of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. A negative association between religious attendance and problem gambling (at the individual level) is strongest when church adherents per capita is relatively high (measured at the county level). However, when the number of conservative Protestants per capita is relatively high, religious attendance (measured at the individual level) is associated with an increased risk of gambling problems. These countervailing findings are interpreted as supportive of the bonding and bridging capital thesis.     

Effects of reprimands and praise on appropriate behavior in the classroom

The effects of positive consequences on appropriate behavior at the beginning of a classroom experience were examined during an academic program for students with behavioral and academic difficulties. The results showed that the use of reprimands alone was associated with high levels of on-task behaviors during the initial days of the class. The addition of praise produced no change in the rate of on-task behaviors or the level of academic performance. The withdrawal of all consequences caused significant decreases in on-task behavior and academic productivity. The subsequent use of praise alone led to an initial increase followed by a dramatic decline in on-task performance, resulting in no change in the average rate of on-task behavior relative to the use of no consequences. These results are consistent with previous findings indicating the importance of reprimands for maintaining appropriate classroom behavior. Speculations regarding potential roles of praise are briefly discussed.The authors wish to thank classroom teacher Bonnie Chatterton for her exceptional cooperation and effort, Mark Gunning for his valuable assistance in the data collection, and Ann Abramowitz for her helpful editorial comments.     

Does More Money Make You Happier? Why so much Debate?

Easterlin’s famous paradox questioned standard economic assumptions about a fundamental relationship in economics: that between happiness and income. In recent years there has been renewed debate about the paradox. In this essay, I highlight some of the methodological issues and challenges underlying that debate. I focus on the sensitivity of the results to the method selected, the choice of micro or macro data, and the way that happiness questions are defined and framed, all of which result in divergent conclusions. I also note the mediating role of the pace and nature of economic growth, institutional frameworks, and inequality. What is most notable is the remarkable consistency in the determinants of individual happiness – including income – within countries of diverse income levels and, at the same time, how happiness is affected by cross-country differences that are related to average per-capita income levels, such as political freedom and public goods. Income clearly plays a role in determining both individual and country level happiness. Still, assessing its role relative to other more difficult to measure factors as countries develop in new ways and at different rates will remain a challenge for the foreseeable future.     

Individual behavior in learning of an artificial grammar

Artificial grammar learning (AGL) is a widely used experimental paradigm that investigates how syntactic structures are processed. After a familiarization phase, participants have to distinguish strings consistent with a set of grammatical rules from strings that violate these rules. Many experiments report performance solely at a group level and as the total number of correct judgments. This report describes a systematic approach for investigating individual performance and a range of different behaviors. Participants were exposed to strings of the nonfinite grammar A ⁿ B ⁿ . To distinguish grammatical from ungrammatical strings, participants had to pay attention to local dependencies while comparing the number of stimuli from each class. Individual participants showed substantially different behavioral patterns despite exposure to the same stimuli. The results were replicated across auditory and visual sensory modalities. It is suggested that an analysis that looks at individual differences grants new insights into the processes involved in AGL. It also provides a solid basis from which to investigate sequence-processing abilities in special populations, such as patients with neurological lesions.     

Resolving the theory of planned behaviour's ‘expectancy-value muddle’ using dimensional salience

The theory of planned behaviour is one of the most widely used models of decision-making in the health literature. Unfortunately, the primary method for assessing the theory's belief-based expectancy-value models results in statistically uninterpretable findings, giving rise to what has become known as the ‘expectancy-value muddle’. Moreover, existing methods for resolving this muddle are associated with various conceptual or practical limitations. This study addresses these issues by identifying and evaluating a parsimonious method for resolving the expectancy-value muddle. Three hundred and nine Australian residents aged 18–24 years rated the expectancy and value of 18 beliefs about posthumous organ donation. Participants also nominated their five most salient beliefs using a dimensional salience approach. Salient beliefs were perceived as being more likely to eventuate than non-salient beliefs, indicating that salient beliefs could be used to signify the expectancy component. The expectancy-value term was therefore represented by summing the value ratings of salient beliefs, an approach that predicted attitude (adjusted R ²?=?0.21) and intention (adjusted R ²?=?0.21). These findings suggest that the dimensional salience approach is a useful method for overcoming the expectancy-value muddle in applied research settings.     

The Conceptualization of Team Flow

Despite the noted potential for team flow to enhance a team's effectiveness, productivity, performance, and capabilities, studies on the construct in the workplace context are scarce. Most research on flow at the group level has been focused on performance in athletics or the arts, and looks at the collective experience. But, the context of work has different parameters, which necessitate a look at individual and team level experiences. In this review, we extend current theories and essay a testable, multilevel model of team flow in the workplace that includes its likely prerequisites, characteristics, and benefits.     

Economic implications of access to daylight and views in office buildings from improved productivity

Previous research has found significant impacts of daylight and views on the cognitive function of office workers. In this study, we use scores on decision-making performance to estimate the annual economic potential of optimizing daylighting and views in U.S. offices. Cognitive scores were compared against over 100,000 previous test scores to obtain the distributional shift in cognitive performance when working in an office with optimized daylighting and views as opposed to an office with traditional blinds. These changes in performance were then compared to compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Office workers shifted on average from the 52nd percentile to 65th percentile, equivalent to a $11,809 difference in salary per person per year. When conservatively accounting for the number of employees working within 15 ft of a window with blinds, optimizing daylight and views in U.S. offices has the potential to generate $352B ($240B–$464B), or 1.7% of the 2018 U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), in additional productivity. These findings suggest that building developers, architects and tenants should give additional attention to daylight design and façade technology as they consider new building construction, renovation and leasing options.     

Financial resources and decisions to avoid information about environmental perils

Environmental perils pose threats that require mitigation. Mitigation requires knowledge of the threat. Ironically, people may opt to avoid information about an environmental peril, especially if they lack resources to respond and the mitigation burden is high or costly. Three experiments (N = 845) examined how available resources and the resource burden of responding to an environmental peril affect the perceived of burden of taking action, and how perceiving burden, in turn, affects avoidance of information about the threat. Experiments 1a and 1b revealed that lower perceived likelihood of taking action and low income predicted a greater tendency to avoid hurricane risk information among Florida residents. Experiment 2 examined receptivity to information about home radon levels and manipulated the burden required to make repairs ($200 vs. $2,000). Having low income and learning repairs were costly corresponded with greater perceived burden of taking action, which predicted a lower likelihood to repair and greater information avoidance. These findings demonstrate that facing a high mitigation burden and lacking resources can lead to remaining uninformed about risks posed by environmental perils. Remaining uninformed is problematic because it may increase people's vulnerability to damage from these threats. However, these findings also identify a potential pathway for intervention. Reminding people of resources they may be unaware of will likely increase their likelihood of preparation and decrease information avoidance.     

Explaining Differences in Subjective Well‐Being Across 33 Nations Using Multilevel Models: Universal Personality,Cultural Relativity,and National Income

This multinational study simultaneously tested three prominent hypotheses—universal disposition, cultural relativity, and livability—that explained differences in subjective well‐being across nations. We performed multilevel structural equation modeling to examine the hypothesized relationships at both individual and cultural levels in 33 nations. Participants were 6,753 university students (2,215 men; 4,403 women; 135 did not specify), and the average age of the entire sample was 20.97 years (SD = 2.39). Both individual‐ and cultural‐level analyses supported the universal disposition and cultural relativity hypotheses by revealing significant associations of subjective well‐being with Extraversion, Neuroticism, and independent self‐construal. In addition, interdependent self‐construal was positively related to life satisfaction at the individual level only, whereas aggregated negative affect was positively linked with aggregate levels of Extraversion and interdependent self‐construal at the cultural level only. Consistent with the livability hypothesis, gross national income (GNI) was related to aggregate levels of negative affect and life satisfaction. There was also a quadratic relationship between GNI and aggregated positive affect. Our findings reveal that universal disposition, cultural self‐construal, and national income can elucidate differences in subjective well‐being, but the multilevel analyses advance the literature by yielding new findings that cannot be identified in studies using individual‐level analyses alone.     

Eye movements when reading text messaging (txt msgng)

The growing popularity of mobile-phone technology has led to changes in the way people—particularly younger people—communicate. A clear example of this is the advent of Short Message Service (SMS) language, which includes orthographic abbreviations (e.g., omitting vowels, as in wk, week) and phonetic respelling (e.g., using u instead of you). In the present study, we examined the pattern of eye movements during reading of SMS sentences (e.g., my hols wr gr8), relative to normally written sentences, in a sample of skilled “texters”. SMS sentences were created by using (mostly) orthographic or phonological abbreviations. Results showed that there is a reading cost—both at a local level and at a global level—for individuals who are highly expert in SMS language. Furthermore, phonological abbreviations resulted in a greater cost than orthographic abbreviations.