INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND RELATIONAL INTERDEPENDENCES IN SOCIAL INTERACTION

This research argues for the integration of individual difference and relational models in understanding social interaction. Two longitudinal studies are reported that investigate dyadic perceptions within a small group context. A round-robin design and variance partitioning procedures were used to isolate consistent individual differences and unique relational interdependencies in perceptions of leadership, openness, and liking. Both studies indicate that the magnitudes of individual level consistencies and unique relational interdependence vary as a function of characteristics assessed and the length of the relationship. The implications for conceptualizing and measuring relational aspects of interaction and for understanding the interface between individual difference and relational explanations for social interaction are discussed.     

动觉后效的个体差异

本实验对143人用宽、窄两种插入刺激测定了动觉后效。实验结果表明,缩小型属外向,扩大型属内向,中间型内外向的趋势不大明显。作者简化了动觉后效的测定程序以后,并没发现对实验结果有什么影响,但发现了在各种条件下测定的动觉后效的类型是稳定不变的。这些都是把它作为诊断内外向的指标的有利条件。     

GENERALITY AND RELIABILITY OF INDIVIDUAL SITUATIONS DIFFERENCES IN DISCRETE STIMULUS-ITEM

The basic data with which psychologists commonly deal are the dichotomous responses of individuals t o stimulus presentations. The stimulus situations studied range from those presented in psychophysical brass instrument experiments .to items printed in tests of ability and personality.     

RACE DIFFERENCES IN TERMINATION AT WORK: THE ROLE OF EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITY

Prior research has demonstrated that race, at least to some extent, is related to employment decisions such as selection and performance appraisals. However, little prior research has addressed the impact of race on employment termination. The current study investigates whether race is related to employment termination and highlights the importance of education, an important component of human capital, in understanding racial differences in termination. Results based on 548 employees from a large hotel chain indicate that race is related to termination; however, race is not predictive of termination when education is included in the regression analysis as a predictor. These findings support the notion that a societal level variable (i.e., education) is an important factor in reducing racial inequality in employment practices.     

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES IN A SINGLE-CUE PROBABILITY LEARNING TASK

B jörkman , M. Individual performances in a single-cue probability learning task. Scand. J. Psychol . 1969, 10 , 113–123. —Inference behavior was studied in a 2 times 2 cue-criterion task. Fifty subjects were distributed on five conditions varying in cue validity and base rate. They were studied individually with respect to four cognitive strategies: matching, maximizing, double matching and differential maximizing. The utilization coefficients of the average subject had a tendency to 'overshoot' when the cue validity was high and to 'undershoot' when the validity was low. Double matching and differential maximizing were the most common strategies. Cognitive activity is interpreted as a compromise between various type performances.     

GLOBAL PROCESSING-TIME COEFFICIENTS CHARACTERIZE INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP DIFFERENCES IN COGNITIVE SPEED

Abstract— Forty participants performed seven different information processing tasks (choice reaction time, letter classification, visual search, abstract matching, line-length discrimination, mental rotation, and mental paper-folding) Slow (top quartile) and fast (bottom quartile) processors were selected based on their mean z scores Response times (RTs) of the slow and fast groups in the 21 conditions of the seven tasks were linear functions of the mean RTs of the entire group (both r²s = 99) In addition, individuals' RTs were well described by linear functions (median r²= 93) When tasks were ranked in order of complexity, the odd-even reliability of the ratio of an individual's RT to the average RT was 80, indicating that such ratios remain relatively stable across tasks Taken together, these findings indicate that the performance of an individual on diverse tasks can be predicted on the basis of a single processing-time coefficient Such coefficients may provide useful indices of the efficiency with which different individuals process information     

STEREOTYPE THREAT AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PERFORMANCE ON A NOVEL VISUOSPATIAL TASK

Stereotype threat research has shown that being a member of a negatively stereotyped group may result in impaired performance on tests of skills thought to be relevant to the stereotype. This study investigated whether stereotype threat influences gender differences in performance on a novel test of visuospatial ability. Undergraduates ( N  = 194) were told that men outperform women on the test (explicit threat), were given no gender-relevant information (implicit threat), or were told that men and women do not differ (nullified stereotype). Although men outperformed women in the explicit and implicit stereotype threat groups, women's performance did not differ significantly from men's when told there is no gender difference. The effect was most pronounced for difficult line judgments. Although stereotypes regarding visuospatial ability may be less culturally salient than those of other cognitive abilities, these findings suggest that they influence performance nonetheless. Implications for optimizing cognitive test performance are discussed.     

BLACK-WHITE DIFFERENCES IN WORK ENVIRONMENT PERCEPTIONS AND JOB SATISFACTION AND ITS CORRELATES

Numerous studies have reported racial differences in intelligence, abilities, motivation, job satisfaction, and so forth. Relatively few of these studies, however, limited their comparisons to blacks and whites experiencing similar work conditions. The present effort compared black ( n = 166) and white ( n = 1,451) sailors assigned to the same shipboard divisions in order to investigate possible differences in perceived work conditions, satisfaction, need strength, and relationships among these variables. Also explored were two hypothesized sources of race-related satisfaction differences–differences in perceived work conditions and differences in need strength. The results tended to support the need strength hypothesis although satisfaction differences were fewer than expected.     

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SUCCESSFUL JOB SEARCHES FOLLOWING LAY-OFF

A field study was conducted to examine attitudinal and behavioral variables associated with reemployment following job termination. Thirty-five employees were surveyed within two days following termination. Of those surveyed, 23 were contacted one month later regarding employment status. Analyses revealed that reemployed persons were significantly more confident of job search skills and had engaged in a greater number of search behaviors than had individuals who had remained unemployed. No significant differences between the reemployed and still unemployed groups were obtained in affective responses to termination or nonwork-related variables. The findings suggest that reemployment success is related to individual differences in expectations of successful job search. Implications for future research on job loss and reemployment are discussed.     

AN EVALUATION OF ORIENTATION AND ASSESSMENT EFFECTIVENESS IN THE WORK INCENTIVE PROGRAM

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Work Incentive (WIN) Orientation and Assessment Program which was designed to (a) assess enrollee attitudes and abilities, and (b) provide enrollee pre-employment test orientation. A sample of 155 WIN enrollees was divided into two groups; the experimental group received two weeks of orientation and assessment. Results were obtained by using two criteria: First, the number of terminations prior to completing the EDP was examined for each group, and second, the total number of referrals to each of three major components was examined. Findings revealed a significantly lower number of terminations among the experimental group, but did not yield any difference in the number of referrals per component. It is suggested that further studies of this type include a more refined measure of enrollee success and satisfaction in various WIN components.     

RELATIONS BETWEEN WORK GROUP CHARACTERISTICS AND EFFECTIVENESS: IMPLICATIONS FOR DESIGNING EFFECTIVE WORK GROUPS

Five common themes were derived from the literature on effective work groups, and then characteristics representing the themes were related to effectivness criteria. Themes included job design, interdependence, composition, context, and process. They contained 19 group characteristics which were assessed by employees and managers. Effectiveness criteria included productivity, employee satisfaction, and manager judgments. Data were collected from 391 employees, 70 managers, and archival records for 80 work groups in a financial organization. Results showed that all three effectiveness criteria were predicted by the characteristics, and nearly all characteristics predicted some of the effectiveness criteria. The job design and process themes were slightly more predictive than the interdependence, composition, and context themes. Implications for designing effective work groups were discussed, and a 54-item measure of the 19 characteristics was presented for future research.     

小团体决策:成员地位差别和任务种类对团体达成一致的影响

本实验研究了成员地位差别(平等组(4—4—4)、杰出组(3—5—5)、突出组(3—3—5)、惯常组(3—4—5))和任务种类(猜谜、人员选择、资源分配、风险决策)对小团体达成一致决策的影响,并预测了五种决策模式:真实模型、权力模型、大多数模型、弱者联合模型和折中模型。结果表明,猜谜问题比较符合真实模型,而突出组(3—3—5)符合权力模型。这与国外得到的研究结果一致,并表现出某些中国人的决策规律。     

RELATIONS BETWEEN WORK TEAM CHARACTERISTICS AND EFFECTIVENESS: A REPLICATION AND EXTENSION

Previous research has demonstrated that work team characteristics can be related to effectiveness (Campion, Medsker, & Higgs, 1993). This study provides a replication with professional knowledge worker jobs, different measures of effectiveness, and work units that varied in the degree to which members identified as a team. Data were collected from 357 employees, 93 managers, and archival records for 60 teams in a financial services organization. Team characteristics were measured with questionnaires completed by employees and managers. Effectiveness measures included immediate manager judgments at two points in time, senior and peer manager judgments, employee judgments, and archival records of employee satisfaction and performance appraisals. Results were similar to previous findings in that most team characteristics were related to most effectiveness criteria. Relationships were strongest for process characteristics, followed by job design, context, interdependence, and other characteristics. Further, work units higher on single-team identity were higher on many team characteristics and effectiveness measures.