Correlates of colorectal cancer screening compliance and stage of adoption among siblings of individuals with early onset colorectal cancer.

Concepts from the health belief, transtheoretical, and dual process models were used to examine how siblings of individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) before age 56 made decisions about CRC screening. Siblings (N = 504) were assessed for CRC screening practices and intentions, pros, cons, processes-of-change, perceived risk of CRC, perceived severity of CRC, preventability of CRC, cancer-related distress, and sibling relationship closeness. Physician and family recommendation and knowledge were also assessed. Fifty-seven percent of participants (n = 287) were compliant with CRC screening. Logistic regression indicated that perceived pros and cons, perceived risk, commitment to screening, health care avoidance, and sibling closeness were associated with screening compliance. Physician and family recommendation were also strong correlates. A similar set of factors was associated with stage of adoption of CRC screening.     

Effects of top-performer rewards on fellow salespeople: a double-edged sword

Rewarding top performers is of strategic importance to the sales organization. Top-performing salespeople not only contribute significantly to the success of their firm but may also motivate the skill development of peer salespeople. However, both academic research and anecdotal evidence suggest that top performer rewards can boomerang by damaging peer salespeople's morale and productivity, although the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions remain unclear. Using a sample of salespeople and their managers from financial investment firms in Taiwan, the authors uncover both positive and negative effects of top-performer rewards. Specifically, it is found that when behavior control is employed, top-performer rewards are positively associated with perceived top-performer customer-relationship-building competence only when overall organizational justice is high. By contrast, when organizational justice is low and behavior control is employed, top-performer rewards give rise to perceived favoritism. Moreover, in large sales units, top-performer rewards are much less likely associated with perceived favoritism when organizational justice is high. It is through the perceived top-performer customer-relationship-building competence and perceived favoritism that top-performer rewards have a double-edged sword effect on fellow salespeople's selling skills, opportunism, and sales performance. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

THE INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNEE: THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF FACTORS PERCEIVED TO CONTRIBUTE TO SUCCESS

The present study sought to empirically identify what factors are important for international assignee perceived success along with their relative importance. Subjects were 338 international assignees from diverse countries (nationality) and organizations, assigned to diverse countries, and performing diverse jobs. Five factors were identified and in a descending order of importance, these were Family Situation, Flexibility/Adaptability, Job Knowledge and Motivation, Relational Skills, and Extra-Cultural Openness. Although importance ratings were not influenced by job type (managerial/nonmanagerial status), they were influenced by organizational type. In general, the pattern of importance ratings for service organization international assignees was different from those of international assignees from other organizational types. Furthermore, service organization international assignees ascribed more importance to relational and psycho-social factors. The perceived relative importance of psycho-social factors reported by the study's participants tends to suggest that more attention should be paid to these factors in the selection and training of international assignees.     

INTERNATIONAL VALIDITY GENERALIZATION OF GMA AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES: A EUROPEAN COMMUNITY META-ANALYSIS

This article reports on a series of meta-analyses into the criterion validity of general menatl ability (GMA) and specific cognitive ability tests for predicting job performance ratings and training success in the European Community (EC). Meta-analyses were computed on a large EC database examining the operational validity of GMA and other specific cognitive abilities, including verbal, numerical, spatial-mechanical, perceptual and memory ( N ranged from 946 to 16,065) across 10 EC member countries. The results showed that tests of GMA and specific cognitive ability are very good predictors of job performance and training success across the EC. Evidence for the international validity generalization of GMA and specific cognitive abilities was presented. The results for the EC meta-analyses showed a larger operational validity than previous meta-analyses in the U.S. for predicting job performance. For training success, the European and American results are very similar. Implications for the international generalizability of GMA test validities, practical use of cognitive ability tests for personnel selection, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Competency development and career success: The mediating role of employability

The present study aims to unravel the relationship between competency development, employability and career success. To do so, we tested a model wherein associations between employee participation in competency development initiatives, perceived support for competency development, self-perceived employability, and two indicators of subjective career success (i.e. career satisfaction and perceived marketability) have been specified. A survey was conducted among a sample of 561 employees of a large financial services organization. The results support the idea that employee participation in competency development initiatives as well as perceived support for competency development is positively associated with workers' perceptions of employability. Moreover, self-perceived employability appeared to be positively related with career satisfaction and perceived marketability. A full mediation effect was found for the relationship between participation in competency development initiatives and both career satisfaction and perceived marketability, while a partial mediation effect was found in case perceived support for competency development was the predictor variable. The implications of our findings for understanding the process through which individuals and organizations can affect subjective career success are discussed.     

The association between in-class cultural diversity with empathy and bullying in adolescence: A multilevel mediation analysis

Little is known about the associations between cultural class composition, teacher support for diversity (TSD), cognitive and affective empathy, and bullying and victimisation. Research shows that empathy is negatively associated with bullying and victimisation; and support for diversity and classroom cultural diversity are positively linked to social skills. The present study examines whether cultural diversity and perceived TSD are protective factors against bullying and victimisation, either directly or mediated by empathy. Participants were 897 students from Grades 7 to 10 (M_age = 13.45, SD_age = 1.07, 51.3% girls, 46.7% boys) in 36 classes. Multilevel mediation analyses were conducted. Age and gender were controlled for. More perceived TSD and affective empathy were associated with less bullying. Moreover, the effect of perceived TSD on bullying was partly indirect through affective empathy. Victimisation was not predicted by the study variables. The class level showed no effects. Bullying and victimisation are complex phenomena, which seem to be linked more to individual than to class characteristics. The result that higher perceived TSD was linked to empathy and bullying provides a promising starting point for measures of competence enhancement and bullying prevention.     

Training and Mentoring of Chemists: A Study of Gender Disparity

This study was conducted to compare women’s and men’s retrospective perceptions of the mentoring they received during their training and career development in chemistry. Participants were 455 graduates (135 women) who received doctoral degrees from 11 top US chemistry programs over a 5-year period (1988–1992). In 2003, graduates completed surveys of undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral, and initial employment experiences. In line with Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent et al., Journal of Vocational Behavior 45:79–122, 1994), which posits that perceptions of barriers can affect career decisions, results suggest that women perceived that they received less mentoring than men at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral levels of training, likely related to gender differences in eventual career success. Possible interventions at the individual and institutional levels are discussed.     

Being at risk for cardiovascular disease: perceptions and preventive behavior in people with and without a known genetic predisposition

This study compares and explains differences in perceptions of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and preventive behaviors in people with and without a known genetic predisposition to CVD. A cross-sectional study using two samples was performed. The first sample (genetic predisposition; n?=?51) consisted of individuals recently diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) through DNA testing. The second sample (no genetic predisposition; n?=?49) was recruited among patients with CVD-risk profiles based on family history of CVD, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure, registered at general practices. Participants filled out a postal questionnaire asking about their perceived risk, causal attributions (i.e. genetic and lifestyle), and about perceived efficacy and adoption of preventive behavior (i.e. medication adherence and adoption of a healthy diet and being sufficiently active). Perceived comparative risk, genetic attributions of CVD, and perceived efficacy of medication were higher in the "genetic predisposition" sample than in the "no genetic predisposition" sample. The samples did not differ on lifestyle attributions, efficacy of a healthy lifestyle, or preventive behavior. Individual differences in perceived risk, genetic attributions, perceived efficacy of medication, and adoption of a healthy lifestyle were best explained by family history of CVD. Our findings suggest that in people diagnosed with a single gene disorder characterized by a family disease history such as FH, family disease history may be more important than DNA information in explaining perceptions of and responses to risk.     

Performance monitoring in a confusing world: error-related brain activity, judgments of response accuracy, and types of errors

The error-related negativity (ERN) represents a neural response, recorded from scalp electrodes, that is associated with monitoring activities. It is most likely generated in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Measures of the ERN, and of behavioral and perceived accuracy, were obtained from participants while they performed a visual 2-choice reaction time task under degraded stimulus conditions. Irrespective of behavioral accuracy, the amplitude of the ERN (measured at the time of the response) covaried with the perceived inaccuracy of the behavior (measured at the end of the trial). Errors due to premature responding (errors perceived as errors) were associated with large ERNs. Errors due to data limitations (errors about which there was uncertainty) were associated with smaller ERNs. These and other results are consistent with the proposal that performance monitoring, as manifested by the ERN, involves a comparison between representations of the appropriate response and the response actually made.     

Perceived control over personal goals in Russian and American college students

This study investigated cultural variations in perceived control over personal goals in Russian and American college students. Several appraisal dimensions of personal goals were studied including goals’ importance, their attainability, and sources of control over goal attainment, such as self, others, luck, and fate. The association between assimilative (tenacious goal pursuit) and accommodative (flexible goal adjustment) control strategies and perceived attainability of goals was also examined. The results indicated that both Russian and American students gave higher priority to work‐ and education‐related goals and lower priority to the familial goal. In both samples, the familial goal was the most influenced and health was the least influenced by luck/chance and fate. Overall, American students were more optimistic about the perceived probability to attain their goals, which may be affected by a cultural tendency for self‐enhancement and positive outlook. Russian students had a stronger belief in control by luck/chance and fate over personal goals, which coincides with a less agentic orientation of Russian culture. Regardless of culture and goal content, goal importance was associated with greater perceived success in goal attainment. However, control strategies (assimilative and accommodative) as well as internal control differentially predicted perceived attainability of goals depending on the goals’ content. For both Russians and Americans, perceived attainability of education‐related goals was associated with assimilative strategies and internal control; leisure was associated with accommodative strategies and health‐related goals were associated with internal control. Characteristics of cultural contexts accountable for crosscultural differences in perceived control over personal goals are discussed.     

Organizational Tenure Diversity as Predictors of Combat Performance in ROK Army

Drawing on the upper-echelons theory and diversity issues, this study examines the relationships between top management team (TMT) organizational tenure, tenure diversity, and combat performance. The study is based on of Korea Combat Training Center (KCTC) that is designed for training and evaluation of the battalion combat power. Findings indicate that battalions with higher levels of TMT tenure have a positive effect on combat performance. Tenure diversity of TMT has a negative effect on combat performance. In addition, results showed that the negative relationships between tenure diversity of TMT and combat performance are attenuated by commander’s shared experience with other TMT members.     

Predictors of school engagement among same-sex and heterosexual adoptive parents of Kindergarteners

Little research has explored parental engagement in schools in the context of adoptive parent families or same-sex parent families. The current cross-sectional study explored predictors of parents' self-reported school involvement, relationships with teachers, and school satisfaction, in a sample of 103 female same-sex, male same-sex, and heterosexual adoptive parent couples (196 parents) of kindergarten-age children. Parents who reported more contact by teachers about positive or neutral topics (e.g., their child's good grades) reported more involvement and greater satisfaction with schools, regardless of family type. Parents who reported more contact by teachers about negative topics (e.g., their child's behavior problems) reported better relationships with teachers but lower school satisfaction, regardless of family type. Regarding the broader school context, across all family types, parents who felt more accepted by other parents reported more involvement and better parent–teacher relationships; socializing with other parents was related to greater involvement. Regarding the adoption-specific variables, parents who perceived their children's schools as more culturally sensitive were more involved and satisfied with the school, regardless of family type. Perceived cultural sensitivity mattered more for heterosexual adoptive parents' relationships with their teachers than it did for same-sex adoptive parents. Finally, heterosexual adoptive parents who perceived high levels of adoption stigma in their children's schools were less involved than those who perceived low levels of stigma, whereas same-sex adoptive parents who perceived high levels of stigma were more involved than those who perceived low levels of stigma. Our findings have implications for school professionals, such as school psychologists, who work with diverse families.     

Development of physiological response patterns concomitant with the learning of voluntary heart rate control.

Thirty-six male undergraduate students were instructed to raise or lower heart rate in a multiple-session biofeedback experiment. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, frontalis electromyographic activity, and skin conductance level were simultaneously recorded throughout biofeedback training. Principal axes factor analyses showed that physiological response patterning concomitant with the development of heart rate control was different early in training (Training Session 1) than it was late in training (Training Session 4) for both speeding and slowing conditions. These results indicate that different heart rate control strategies were used by the subjects early and late in training. The factor patterns also indicated a tendency for greater heart rate response specificity as training progressed for both speeding and slowing. Heart rate speeding sessions were also found to be associated with a significant increase in perceived state anxiety as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. No significant change in perceived anxiety state, however, was associated with heart rate slowing.     

Employees High in Personal Intelligence Differ From Their Colleagues in Workplace Perceptions and Behavior

Personal intelligence (PI) involves the ability to recognize, reason, and use information about personality to understand oneself and other people. Employees in two studies (Ns = 394, 482) completed the Test of Personal Intelligence (TOPI; e.g., Mayer, Panter, & Caruso, 2017a) and assessments of workplace perception and behavior. Higher PI was associated with higher perceived workplace support and lower counterproductive work behavior. These relationships continued to hold after controlling for other key variables. The results indicate the TOPI, although still in research trials, shows promise as a screening device for selecting employees and targeting individuals for training.     

Are daily fluctuations in perceived environment associated with walking?

The physical environment is thought to influence walking; however, daily variations in perceived environment have received little attention. The current study sought to examine if key within-person factors (i.e., implementation intentions, social support, affect and self-efficacy) would be associated with walking and if perceived access to supportive environments (e.g., access to nice walking paths) and perceived environmental barriers (e.g., bad weather and safety issues) were uniquely associated with walking after controlling for other constructs. Participants (N = 14, 50.0% men, 78.6% White, M age = 59.4 ± 6.4) were in the intervention arm of an 8-week controlled trial promoting walking via personal digital assistants. Participants completed electronic surveys twice a day (total entries = 804) in which they reported brisk walking levels and psychosocial and environmental factors. Multilevel modelling was used to examine within-person variations in constructs as determinants of walking. Results suggested that daily variations in implementation intentions, social support and positive affect were positively associated with walking. Further, perceived access to supportive environments, though not perceived environmental barriers, was positively associated with walking after controlling for other constructs (p < 0.05). Future research should explore intervention components that target context-specific information about perceived access to supportive environments as part of a broader perspective on intervention development.     

MORE THAN NUMBERS: INDIVIDUAL AND CONTEXTUAL FACTORS IN HOW GENDER DIVERSITY AFFECTS WOMEN'S WELL-BEING

This study examined factors related to workplace gender diversity in a sample of 87 college-educated White women. Specifically, we investigated the moderating effects of one individual difference variable (sensitivity to sexism) and one contextual variable (perceptions of the workplace climate) in the relationship between the gender composition at the hierarchical level above the woman and her well-being (job satisfaction and general health). Results indicated that more negative well-being was associated with having more women working at the level above when women worked in a perceived negative climate whereas more positive well-being was associated with having more women working at the level above when women worked in a perceived positive climate. For general health, these findings were stronger for women who were also sensitive to sexism. Implications for research on gender diversity in work organizations are discussed.     

The Attributes Adolescents Associate with Peer Popularity and Teacher Preference

Perceived popularity and perceived teacher preference were investigated in a sample of 351 (179 boys, 172 girls) 10th-grade students from an urban community experiencing a moderate degree of economic distress. Students completed rating scale sociometric and behavioral nomination measures. Data on GPAs and unexplained absences were obtained from the school. Multiple regression analyses revealed that different behaviors were associated with perceived popularity and perceived teacher preference. Low GPA, low submissiveness, and high rates of absenteeism were associated with high perceived popularity and a low perceived teacher preference. Snobbishness and prosociality were more strongly associated with perceived popularity than perceived teacher preference. Students who were perceived as high on both dimensions simultaneously maintained a commitment to their scholastic success at school while behaving in a highly friendly nonsubmissive manner. A relation was also found between individuals' ratings of students' peer popularity and their own behavioral and academic attributes.     

Mood-congruent perceptions of success depend on self-other framing

Research on self-other framing suggests that self-judgements typically neglect information about others and instead use an ambiguous intrapersonal standard, making these judgements susceptible to the influence of mood as predicted by the affect infusion model (Forgas, 1995). Two experiments tested the hypothesis that mood-congruent judgements of personal success occur when these judgements are framed to maintain self-focus but are eliminated when participants first focus on other individuals. In Experiment 1, self-other framing moderated the influence of mood on perceived success for an ambiguous object identification task. Happy participants reported greater perceived success, compared to sad participants, after judging their own success relative to others (self-focused frame) but not after directly judging the success of others (other-focused frame). Experiment 2 replicated these results with students' perceptions of their academic success. These findings suggest that the open, constructive processing accompanying most self-judgements is critical in producing mood-congruent perceptions of personal success.     

A TALE OF TWO CLIMATES: DIVERSITY CLIMATE FROM SUBORDINATES' AND MANAGERS' PERSPECTIVES AND THEIR ROLE IN STORE UNIT SALES PERFORMANCE

Applying Zohar's (2000) multilevel model of organizational climate, this study assessed the main and interactive effects of subordinates' and managers' diversity climate perspectives on store sales performance. Across 654 store units of a large U.S. retail organization, we observed main effects of subordinate and managerial diversity climates on unit sales percentage change and a significant subordinate × manager diversity climate perspective interaction. The greatest sales growth was found in stores wherein subordinates and management perceived highly pro-diversity climates (positive consistency). In contrast, the lowest sales growth was evident for stores in which both subordinates and managers reported less hospitable diversity climates (negative consistency). Our findings underscore the positive financial ramifications of highly consistent perceptions that diversity is valued in a work context.     

Family Communication and Genetic Counseling: The Case of Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer

In familial breast/ovarian cancer, the information that the proband is able to supply about other family members is of critical importance for genetic counseling. This frequently requires family communication. Forty-six women attending a cancer genetics clinic were interviewed as part of a longitudinal study. Nearly all reported affected maternal, rather than paternal relatives, which may indicate lack of awareness by women with paternal histories. There was also much more communication among female relatives. Mothers, where they were still alive, were key figures in supplying family information. Although the majority of the sample contacted at least one relative regarding counseling, most named a relative with whom they did not feel able to communicate on this subject. Probands balanced the perceived obligation of passing on information with that of not causing alarm. Communication, both obtaining and giving information, was impeded by adoption, divorce and remarriage, family rifts, and large age gaps between siblings.