Fairness at the collective level: a meta-analytic examination of the consequences and boundary conditions of organizational justice climate

This article uses meta-analytic methods (k = 38) to examine the relationship between organizational justice climate and unit-level effectiveness. Overall, our results suggest that the relationship between justice and effectiveness is significant (ρ = .40) when both constructs are construed at the collective level. Our results also indicate that distributive justice climate was most strongly linked with unit-level performance (e.g., productivity, customer satisfaction), whereas interactional justice was most strongly related to unit-level processes (e.g., organizational citizenship behavior, cohesion). We also show that a number of factors moderate this relationship, including justice climate strength, the level of referent in the justice measure, the hierarchical level of the unit, and how criteria are classified. We elaborate on these findings and attempt to provide a clearer direction for future research in this area.     

SATISFACTION, CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIORS, AND PERFORMANCE IN WORK UNITS: A META-ANALYSIS OF COLLECTIVE CONSTRUCT RELATIONS

This paper offers theoretical development clarifying the structure and function of collective job satisfaction and uses meta-analytic methods ( k  = 73) to examine the satisfaction–performance relationship when both constructs are construed at the work unit level. Overall, our results suggest that the relationship between unit-level job satisfaction and unit-level performance is significant (ρ= .34). Specifically, significant relationships were found between unit-level job satisfaction and unit-level criteria, including productivity, customer satisfaction, withdrawal, and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). Furthermore, the satisfaction-performance relationship was moderated by the strength of unit consensus, performance criteria, industry type, and whether the sample was U.S. based. Although these moderators were identified, collective satisfaction positively predicted performance across all levels of moderators. In addition, results indicate that unit-level OCB has a moderately strong relationship with unit-level performance. Only limited support was found for the notion that OCB is a route through which satisfaction has an impact on performance. We elaborate on these findings and attempt to provide a more clear direction for future research in this area.     

Loving, hating, vacillating: Agreeableness, implicit self-esteem, and neurotic conflict

An implicit preference for the self over others may be beneficial when pursuing one's own desires but costly when adjusting the self to the desires of others. On the basis of this reasoning, the authors hypothesized that Agreeableness and implicit self-esteem would interact in predicting measures of neurotic distress. Three studies and one meta-analysis, involving 235 undergraduate participants, confirmed that high levels of implicit self-esteem were beneficial (i.e., less neurotic distress) within the context of low levels of Agreeableness but costly (i.e., more neurotic distress) within the context of high levels of Agreeableness. Because findings were robust across various measures of Agreeableness, implicit self-esteem, and neurotic distress, the interpersonal principles examined here appear to have broad relevance for understanding this particular form of intrapsychic conflict and its manifestation in neurotic distress. Results therefore support Horney's (1945) theory concerning the consequences of intrapsychic conflicts related to interpersonal motivation and cognition.     

Daily interpersonal experiences, context, and alcohol consumption: crying in your beer and toasting good times

The authors explored a multidimensional view of drinking, whereby social and solitary drinking represent distinct behaviors associated with positive and negative experiences, respectively. Using daily diary methodology and multilevel analytic strategy, the authors examined, over 30 days, the within-person association of negative and positive experiences and alcohol consumption in different contexts and focused on interpersonal experiences. On days with more negative interpersonal experiences, participants engaged in more solitary drinking (i.e., drinking at home and alone), whereas on days with more positive interpersonal experiences they drank more in social contexts. The authors also demonstrated that individuals high on neuroticism drank more in solitary contexts on days with more negative interpersonal experiences, relative to those with lower neuroticism. These findings lend support to models linking daily drinking motivation and context-dependent drinking behavior.     

Exploration of Jewish Ethnic Identity

Despite a growing amount of research on the topic of ethnic identity, Jews, and the important aspects of a Jewish identity, have not been included in the multicultural and psychological literature. Using consensual qualitative research (C. E. Hill et al., 2005), the authors sought to gain an understanding of Jewish ethnic identity in 10 American young adults, ages 20–27, who identified as Conservative Jews. Six themes were identified: (a) perception of Jewish identity based in multiple influences, (b) personalization of a Jewish identity, (c) reinforcers of a Jewish identity, (d) challenges in holding on to Jewish identity, (e) critical incidents necessitating the expression of one's Jewishness, and (f) critical incidents necessitating the denial of one's Jewishness.     

Advisory working alliance, perceived English proficiency, and acculturative stress

The aim of this study was to examine the moderators of (a) general or cross-cultural advisory working alliances and (b) perceived English proficiency on the association between acculturative stress and psychological distress. A total of 143 East Asian international students completed an online survey. Results from a hierarchical regression indicated significant three-way interactions of (a) General Advisory Working Alliances × Perceived English Proficiency × Acculturative Stress on Psychological Distress and (b) Cross-Cultural Advisory Working Alliances × Perceived English Proficiency × Acculturative Stress on Psychological Distress. Specifically, the present results indicated that acculturative stress was significantly associated with psychological distress only when students perceived lower English proficiency and had a stronger general or cross-cultural advisory working alliance. However, acculturative stress was not significantly related to psychological distress when these students perceived lower English proficiency and had a weaker advisory working alliance (i.e., general or cross-cultural). In addition, acculturative stress was also not significantly related to psychological distress when these students perceived higher English proficiency and had a stronger or weaker advisory working alliance (i.e., general or cross-cultural).     

Organizational citizenship behavior in work groups: a group norms approach

Although the relationship between unit-level organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and unit outcomes has been well established in recent years, the conceptual development of OCB at the unit level of analysis has not been adequately addressed. In an effort to fill this conceptual gap and to spur future research, the authors apply the literature on group norms to the concept of OCB. The resulting framework suggests a cyclical relationship between individual- and group-level processes and ultimately offers an explanation for how OCB norms are established and maintained in work groups. The authors demonstrate how this framework incorporates past research on the relationship between unit-level OCB and unit outcomes and how it extends previous research by suggesting multiple directions for future efforts related to unit-level OCB.     

Living Conditions and Psychological Distress in Latino Migrant Day Laborers: The Role of Cultural and Community Protective Factors

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between typically difficult living conditions and psychological distress in Latino migrant day laborers (LMDLs), with attention to the potentially protective roles of contact with family in country of origin (i.e., communication, sending money, etc.), availability of local culture (i.e., food, music, people from one's country of origin), and utilization of community resources perceived to be culturally competent (i.e., services that are respectful, able to serve Latinos, able to solve problems, in Spanish, etc.). Participants were 344 LMDLs surveyed in the San Francisco Bay Area. As hypothesized: (a) difficult living conditions were related to depression, anxiety, and desesperación [desperation], the latter a popular Latino idiom of psychological distress recently validated on LMDLs; (b) contact with family moderated the relation between difficult living conditions and depression and desesperación but not anxiety and (c) access to local culture, and utilization of community resources, mediated the relation between difficult living conditions and depression and desesperación but not anxiety. Implications for intervening at local and larger levels in order to provide some protection against distress built into the LMDL experience in the United States are discussed.     

Main and Interactive Effects of Distress Tolerance and Negative Affect Intensity in Relation to PTSD Symptoms among Trauma-Exposed Adults

The present investigation evaluated the main and interactive effects of distress tolerance and negative affect intensity in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity and symptom cluster severity. Participants were 190 trauma-exposed adults (52.6 % women; M _age?=?25.3 years, SD?=?11.4) recruited from the community. Distress tolerance (i.e., perceived ability to withstand distressing emotional states) demonstrated significant incremental associations with global PTSD symptom severity as well as Re-Experiencing, Emotional Numbing, and Hyperarousal symptom cluster severity. Negative affect intensity (i.e., perceived intensity of negative emotional responses) demonstrated significant incremental associations with each of the PTSD symptom outcomes. Moreover, the incremental interactive effect of distress tolerance and negative affect intensity was significantly associated with PTSD symptom severity as well as PTSD—Emotional Numbing symptom cluster severity. These incremental effects were evident after accounting for the variance explained by anxiety sensitivity (i.e., fear of anxiety-related sensations). Post hoc probing analyses supported the moderating role of negative affect intensity in the association between distress tolerance and PTSD symptom severity, such that low levels of distress tolerance, in the context of elevated levels of negative affect intensity, were associated with the greatest levels of PTSD symptoms.     

Managerial modes of influence and counterproductivity in organizations: a longitudinal business-unit-level investigation

The authors studied the effect of 3 modes of managerial influence (managerial oversight, ethical leadership, and abusive supervision) on counterproductivity, which was conceptualized as a unit-level outcome that reflects the existence of a variety of intentional and unintentional harmful employee behaviors in the unit. Counterproductivity was represented by an objective measure of food loss in a longitudinal study of 265 restaurants. After prior food loss and alternative explanations (e.g., turnover, training, neighborhood income) were controlled for, results indicated that managerial oversight and abusive supervision significantly influenced counterproductivity in the following periods, whereas ethical leadership did not. Counterproductivity was also found to be negatively related to both restaurant profitability and customer satisfaction in the same period and to mediate indirect relationships between managerial influences and distal unit outcomes.     

Young men's coping with androgenetic alopecia: acceptance counts when hair gets thinner

The present study examined how young men cope with balding (androgenetic alopecia). The sample consisted of 160 university students (18–30 years) with varying degrees of hair loss (stages II–VII on the Norwood–Hamilton Scale). Three ways of coping were distinguished: compensation, avoidance, and acceptance. Psychological distress due to hair loss depended neither on the age of participants nor on the stage of balding. Since compensation and avoidance were associated with high levels of distress, their functional value might be questioned. Acceptance, however, was negatively related to distress – even, or rather, especially when stage of hair loss was advanced. Furthermore, acceptance had a direct negative effect on medical consultation about hair loss. By contrast, compensation and avoidance had a positive distress-mediated effect on medical consultation. Taken together, this study underlines the adaptive role of acceptance when confronted with irreversible changes such as androgenetic alopecia.     

Trait configurations in self-managed teams: a conceptual examination of the use of seeding for maximizing and minimizing trait variance in teams

In this article, the authors argue that there is no one best way to make placement decisions on self-managed teams. Drawing from theories of supplementary and complementary fit, they develop a conceptual model that suggests that (a) maximization principles should be applied to extroversion variance (i.e., complementary fit), (b) minimization principles should be applied to conscientiousness variance (i.e., supplementary fit), and (c) extroversion variance and conscientiousness variance interact to influence team performance. They also argue that previous research has underestimated the effect of extroversion and conscientiousness variance on performance because of suboptimal design. The authors, therefore, present an alternative method for making team placement decisions (i.e., seeding) that can be used to maximize or minimize variance in teams.     

Stress and family support as predictors of distress and rejection in people who care for a relative with schizophrenia

Relatives (N=121) of adult schizophrenia patients were interviewed to investigate predictors of their level of psychological distress and of rejecting attitudes toward the sufferer. The relatives' total stress, particularly that associated with poor communication skills in the sufferer, predicted several measures of their psychological distress, and the same variables plus turbulence of sufferer behavior (i.e., violence and disruptiveness) predicted rejection of the sufferer by the relative. In each case, adequacy of family support moderated the influence of the stressors, although this effect was more marked for distress outcomes than for rejection. The results have important implications for the sorts of professional and peer support which relatives may need to encourage their performance of this potentially burdensome role. In addition, the results fit a classic stress management model and provide a feasible alternative to the Expressed Emotion Model of the relationship between relatives' rejection and patients' illness severity.     

Physical, emotional, and behavioral reactions to breaking up: the roles of gender, age, emotional involvement, and attachment style

Associations between gender, age, emotional involvement, and attachment style and reactions to romantic relationship dissolution were studied in a survey of more than 5,000 Internet respondents. It was hypothesized that individual reactions to breakups would be congruent with characteristic attachment behaviors and affect-regulation strategies generally associated with attachment style. Attachment-related anxiety was associated with greater preoccupation with the lost partner, greater perseveration over the loss, more extreme physical and emotional distress, exaggerated attempts to reestablish the relationship, partner-related sexual motivation, angry and vengeful behavior, interference with exploratory activities, dysfunctional coping strategies, and disordered resolution. Attachment-related avoidance was weakly and negatively associated with most distress/proximity-seeking reactions to breakups and strongly and positively associated with avoidant and self-reliant coping strategies. Security (low scores on the anxiety and avoidance dimensions) was associated with social coping strategies (e.g., using friends and family as "safe havens"). Attachment insecurity, particularly anxiety, was associated with using drugs and alcohol to cope with loss.     

The relational context of social support: Relationship satisfaction moderates the relations between enacted support and distress

In two studies of kidney transplant patients and their significant others, the authors examined whether the relations between enacted social support and patient distress were moderated by patients' satisfaction with their relationship with the support provider (i.e., their significant other). In Study 1 (n = 121 couples), unsupportive spousal behaviors were associated with more distress only among patients who were less satisfied with their marital relationship. In Study 2 (n = 112 couples), the relations between unsupportive behaviors and distress again varied as a function of the patient's relationship satisfaction, although the particular pattern of the interaction depended on the specific unsupportive behaviors offered to the patient. In both studies, relationship dissatisfaction was associated with higher levels of patient distress. Supportive behaviors were not related to distress and did not interact with relationship satisfaction. Implications for future research on social support in marriage are discussed.     

Stressors,Personal Resources,and Social Supports in Military Performance During Wartime

Self-report measures of combat stressors, stress reactions, personal resources, and social supports were obtained from 48 Israeli combat veterans, each from a different military unit. These retrospective reports referred to military service in Lebanon during two time periods: (a) the initial invasion, characterized by high levels of combat stressors and high levels of endorsement of the official goals of the war; and (b) the subsequent holding operation, characterized by low levels of both. As predicted, soldiers reported a decline from the first period to the second in intensity of combat stressors, endorsement of goals, and frequency of stress reactions. There were also declines in military unit morale and primary loyalty to the unit, but unit cohesiveness, motivation to serve, and military performance remained unchanged. Regression analyses showed that military performance was strongly associated with unit cohesiveness, primary loyalty to one's unit, and motivation to serve, and was unrelated to intensity of combat-related stressors.     

Intergroup conflict management strategies as related to perceptions of dual identity and separate groups

The authors examined the relations between (a) the perceptions of dual identity and separate groups and (b) intergroup conflict management strategies, in two contexts: the conflict between the secular and religious sectors in Israel and the allocation of resources among organizational subunits. In both contexts, contention (i.e., forcing one's will on the other party) was associated with the perception of separate groups. Only in the organizational context, avoidance (i.e., doing nothing or discontinuing participation in the conflict) was associated with the perception of dual identity. Problem solving (i.e., finding a solution that is acceptable to both parties) was related to the perception of dual identity in the secular-religious context. In the organizational context, this relation appeared only under a low perception of separate groups. Yielding (i.e., satisfying the other party's needs at the expense of one's own) was related to the perception of dual identity in the organizational context. In the secular-religious context, this relation appeared only under a high perception of separate groups. The authors discussed the varying pattern of the associations between (a) the perceptions of dual identity and separate groups and (b) the conflict management strategies in the two contexts in terms of the Dual Concern Model and the perceived feasibility of the strategies.     

A Multimodal Study of Childhood Trauma and Distress Tolerance in Young Adulthood

Individuals with a history of childhood trauma experience deficits in emotion regulation. However, few studies have investigated childhood trauma and both perceived (i.e., self-report) and behavioral measures of distress tolerance. The current study evaluated associations between childhood trauma (i.e., physical abuse, sexual abuse, and witnessing family violence) and measures of perceived (Distress Tolerance Scale) and behavioral distress tolerance (i.e., Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, breath-holding). Participants were 320 undergraduate students with a history of interpersonal trauma (e.g., sexual/physical assault). Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate associations between frequency of childhood trauma type and distress tolerance. Greater childhood physical abuse was associated with higher perceived distress tolerance. Greater levels of witnessing family violence were associated with lower behavioral distress tolerance on the breath-holding task. No significant effects were found for Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test performance. Associations between childhood trauma and emotion regulation likely are complex and warrant further study.     

Drinking to cope and alcohol use and abuse in unipolar depression: a 10-year model

This study examined drinking to cope with distress and drinking behavior in a baseline sample of 412 unipolar depressed patients assessed 4 times over a 10-year period. Baseline drinking to cope operated prospectively as a risk factor for more alcohol consumption at 1-, 4-, and 10-year follow-ups and for more drinking problems at 1- and 4-year follow-ups. Findings elucidate a key mechanism in this process by showing that drinking to cope strengthened the link between depressive symptoms and drinking behavior. Individuals who had a stronger propensity to drink to cope at baseline showed a stronger connection between depressive symptoms and both alcohol consumption and drinking problems.