GENERALIZATION OF EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT TRAINING TO THE JOB SETTING: INDIVIDUAL AND SITUATIONAL EFFECTS

This study examined whether variables at individual, unit, and suborganization levels influence the extent to which the knowledge and skills learned in employee involvement (EI) training are generalized beyond specific EI activities. Training generalization occurs when the knowledge and skills learned in training for a specific purpose in one context (e.g., EI training for use in quality circles) are applied by trainees in another context (e.g., regular job duties). A multiple-cross-level design using data gathered from 252 employees and supervisors drawn from 88 units across 11 suborganizations provided support for both individual and situational effects. Hierarchical regression results demonstrated that characteristics at individual, unit, and suborganization levels significantly predicted the extent EI knowledge, skills, and attitudes were generalized to the core job activities. As predicted, trainees were more likely to use EI training in performing core job activities the more EI activities they participated in, the greater their commitment to the organization, and the less cynical they were about the likelihood of positive organizational change. Contrary to expectations, more generalization of EI training was found to occur in units and suborganizations with less participative climates.     

INDIVIDUAL AND SITUATIONAL INFLUENCES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-EFFICACY: IMPLICATIONS FOR TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS

We proposed a model that included individual and situational antecedents of self-efficacy development during training. Initial performance and self-efficacy levels, achievement motivation, and choice were examined as individual variables. Constraints, operationalized at both the individual and aggregate levels of analysis, were examined as situational influences. Mid-course efficacy was hypothesized to have positive linear relationships with training reactions and subsequent performance, and an interactive relationship with performance when training reactions were considered as a moderator. Survey data were gathered at two points in time from 215 students enrolled in 15 eight-week long university bowling classes. All of the hypothesized antecedents of mid-course self-efficacy were significant except aggregate and individual situational constraints, although both constraints related negatively to training reactions. Time 2 self-efficacy exhibited significant positive influences on training reactions and subsequent performance, but the hypothesized moderated relationship was not supported.     

THE MODERATING EFFECT OF SITUATIONAL CONTROL OF PERFORMANCE VARIANCE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND PERFORMANCE1

The present study investigated the existence of a moderating effect for situational control of performance variance on the relationship between individual differences and performance. An experimental simulation was conducted and validity coefficients were calculated. Results supported the presence of the predicted moderating effect. The implications of these data for validation research and testing programs are discussed.     

情境访谈的特点与研究趋势

情境访谈自８０年代初到现在已有了长足的发展,人们不仅把它作为一种人员选拔的方法,而更将它理解为一种研究的思路。本文主要着重讨论有关情境访谈研究的以下几个方面：（１）情境访谈与传统访谈的比较研究;（２）过去行为定向情境访谈和将来意图定向情境访谈的比较研究;（３）情境访谈与认知能力测验之间的关系。（４）情境访谈在新的组织情境下的应用。本文还讨论了关于情境访谈的将来研究趋势。     

CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND PERCEIVED WRONGDOING ASSOCIATED WITH WHISTLE-BLOWING DECISIONS

The potential explanations of why some observers report organizational wrongdoing, whereas others do not, are considered in this study. Nearly 8,600 randomly selected employees of 15 organizations completed questionnaires concerning whistle-blowing. Archival data and aggregate measures of organizational climate were also used. Discriminant analysis revealed that organization members who had observed alleged wrongdoing were more likely to blow the whistle if they had convincing evidence of wrongdoing, if the wrongdoing was serious, and if it directly affected them. Further, where the organization appeared to be dependent on the wrongdoing and threatened retaliation, whistle-blowers were more likely to report it to someone outside the organization. Implications for management practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

EXAMINATION OF SITUATIONAL AND ATTITUDINAL MODERATORS OF THE HESITATION AND PERFORMANCE RELATION

The hesitation dimension of action-state orientation refers to the behavioral capacity to start action on tasks. In this study, job characteristics (autonomy and routineness) and job attitudes (satisfaction and involvement) were examined as moderators of the relation between hesitation and supervisor ratings of work behaviors (overall job performance and self-management performance) in 2 different samples. In both samples, routineness moderated the hesitation and self-management performance relation such that individuals low in hesitation performed better than individuals high in hesitation when routineness was low, but no differences in performance were observed when routineness was high. In addition, job satisfaction and job involvement were significant moderators of the relation between hesitation and self-management performance, with individuals low in hesitation performing better than individuals high in hesitation when satisfaction or involvement was low, but no differences in performance were observed when satisfaction or involvement was high.     

PHYSICAL AND PSYCHIATRIC CORRELATES OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION

We tested the model that sexist discrimination, measured by the Schedule of Sexist Events (SSE), would account for additional variance in women's physical and psychiatric symptoms, above and beyond that accounted for by generic stressors. A series of hierarchical regression analyses, predicting symptoms on 10 different symptom outcome measures from generic stress and sexist stress (discrimination) were conducted, with the generic stressors entered on the first step and sexist discrimination on the second. Results revealed that sexist discrimination contributed significantly to the variance in women's symptoms, accounting for additional variance in those symptoms. Furthermore, sexist discrimination accounted for more of the variance than did generic stressors in premenstrual, depressive, obsessive-compulsive, somatic, and total psychiatric and physical symptoms. These findings varied with the age and ethnicity of the women and with the symptom measure used, but nonetheless suggest that sexist discrimination plays a significant role in women's most prevalent symptoms.     

EXPERIENCE-BASED AND SITUATIONAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: STUDIES OF VALIDITY

This research compared the validity of two different types of structured interview questions (i.e., experience-based and situational) under tightly controlled conditions. The experience-based interview questions required that 108 study participants relate how they had handled situations in the past requiring skills and abilities necessary for effective performance on the job. Situational questions, administered to another group of 108 study participants, provided interviewees with hypothetical job-relevant situations and asked them how they would respond if they were confronted with these problems. The experience-based interview questions yielded higher levels of validity than the situational questions. Additional analyses showed that the interview added incrementally to the prediction of performance beyond the variance accounted for by a cognitive ability test. There were small differences in subgroup performance (White, Black, Hispanic, male, and female) on the experience-based interview, though it was equally valid for all subgroups.     

PERSONALITY AND SOCIO-FAMILIAL CORRELATES OF CONSERVATISM IN INDIAN YOUTH

Wilson (1973) proposed a theory that internal and external factors which lead to ‘generalized susceptibility to experiencing threat or anxiety in the face of uncertainty’ are responsible for the growth of conservatism. The present study explored the relationship of some such factors with conservatism in Indian university students (120 males, 72 females) aged 21–25 yrs. It was discovered that conservatism is characterized by low self-esteem, insecurity, anxiety and intolerance of ambiguity. It is related with lower SES and joint family system but unrelated with family size and birth-order. Conservatives are more likely to be of the older generation, of the fair sex and to have conservative parents. The findings, on the whole, lend support to Wilson's (1973) theory.     

情境兴趣的研究进展

兴趣是一种重要的非智力因素,受到研究者的普遍关注。随着对兴趣的深入研究,研究者将兴趣分为个体兴趣和情境兴趣。其中,情境兴趣因其可被人为地控制和改变而成为国内外教育界的研究重点和热点。本文从情境兴趣的概念、分类、维度及影响因素等方面对情境兴趣的研究成果进行综述。     

FURTHER STUDIES OF SITUATIONAL TESTS

In the present paper, results are reported for two different situational judgment tests (SJT) used in validation studies with almost 4,000 employees in 7 different organizations. Across the 2 studies, it was shown that situational test scores were significantly related to performance (weighted average r = .19), cognitive ability (weighted average r = .45), and experience (weighted average r = .20). In one study, there was a slight tendency for experience and cognitive ability to interact in the prediction of situational judgment, such that cognitive ability became less predictive as experience increased. Situational judgment fully mediated the effects of cognitive ability in one study, but not in the other. Finally, SJT race effect sizes were consistent with past research and, while not trivial, smaller than those typically observed for cognitive ability tests. The studies yielded very similar results despite the use of different keying methods (empirical vs. subject matter expert opinion). The preponderance of the evidence indicates that situational judgment measures mediate avariety of job relevant skills. Limitations to these studies and directions for future research are reviewed.     

顿悟的大脑机制

自从柯勒1917年提出顿悟的概念以来,这个问题一直吸引着心理学家的关注。但有关顿悟过程的精确的大脑机制却始终未被触及。从心理过程上看,顿悟是一个瞬间实现的、问题解决视角的“新旧交替”过程;它包含两个方面,一是新的有效的问题解决思路如何实现,二是旧的无效的思路如何被抛弃（即打破思维定势）。我们以谜语作为材料,利用功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）技术精确记录了人类的大脑在实现顿悟的一瞬间的活动状况。结果显示顿悟过程激活了包括额叶、颞叶、扣带前回、以及海马在内的广泛脑区。根据各方面的综合证据,本文认为：顿悟过程中,新异而有效的联系的形成依赖于海马,问题表征方式的有效转换依赖于一个“非语言的” 视觉空间信息加工网络,而思维定势的打破与转移则依赖于扣带前回与左腹侧额叶。     

SUPERVISORY AND EMPLOYEE CHARACTERISTICS AS CORRELATES OF EMPLOYEE SALARY INCREASES

Previous research on merit pay has focused on the context in which merit decisions take place and on characteristics of the employee. In the present study it was hypothesized that not only do employee characteristics influence merit increases, but so do characteristics of the employee's supervisor. The results from 175 employees in a midwestern manufacturing plant showed that 11% and 24% of the variance in employee salary increases were attributable to supervisory and employee characteristics, respectively. These results suggest that supervisory characteristics should be included in future research involving correlates of employee salary increases and by organizations when auditing the administration of merit pay plans.     

COGNITIVE STYLE AND ATTITUDINAL CORRELATES OF THE PERCEIVED CAUSES OF RAPE SCALE

This study examines the relations between beliefs about the causes of rape and attitudinal and cognitive style (the tendency to think about social problems systemically, the view of people as complex and changeable, and an intellectual personality) measures in a sample of 270 community-college students. The Perceived Causes of Rape (PCR) Scale included the following subscales: Male Dominance, Society and Socialization, Female Precipitation, Male Sexuality, and Male Hostility. Beliefs about the causes of rape varied on three dimensions: individual versus sociocultural causes of rape, those causes that focus on the perpetrator versus those that focus on the victim, and rape myths versus feminist beliefs. The causes of rape identified as rape myths were associated with male sexuality stereotypes, a version of Burt's (1980) Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, attitudes toward feminism, and self-identification as a feminist. Agreement with the sociocultural causes of rape was associated with cognitive style measures and age. We suggest that belief in sociocultural causes of rape may require a predisposition to think systemically as much as an ideological stance.     

PERSONALITY CORRELATES OF AGE AND LIFE ROLES IN ADULT WOMEN

The association between age/family stage, career role, and personality traits was studied using a multivariate statistical approach. Young adult, midlife, and older women from four role groups—homemaker, married career, single career, and student—were compared on a number of personality measures including achievement motivation, affiliation, autonomy, cultural sex role characteristics, self esteem, and adjustment. While some of the expected group differences did not appear, some significant age and role differences were found. Older women showed less achievement motivation and had a greater need for affiliation than young adult and midlife women. Career women had a more internalized locus of control than homemakers and students. When age and role were considered together, the age-role groups were differentiated on autonomy, femininity, and adjustment. There were no differences between either age or role groups on measures of self-esteem, well-being, socialization, or other personality variables.