Interpersonal communication and personality: Self and other perspectives

This study was designed to examine the links between the personality of group members and their styles of communication in task groups meeting over a three-month period. Comprehensive measures of personality and of communication styles were taken from the perspectives both of the actor (the self) at the beginning of the group's life and his or her fellow group members (the others) at the end of the group's life. Even after extensive group interaction, these two sets of ratings converged only when observable characteristics were being measured (e.g., extraversion in personality or precision in communication). Self-rated personality across eight dimensions predicted two of the three self-rated dimensions of communication style (Verbal Engagement and Attentiveness to the Other) at only moderate levels; the actor's personality rated on the same eight dimensions by others predicted the actor's communication style as rated by these same others on all three dimensions (Verbal Engagement, Attentiveness to the Other, and Feelings versus Silence), and at much stronger levels than did self-ratings of personality. Both personality and communication styles as rated by others were able to predict the key social outcomes of the actor's likability and task contribution, whereas self-ratings were not. Ratings derived from the self and those derived from others about the self thus appear to develop from different sources of information and relate to different outcomes. The links between personality and communication style are largely confined to the perspective (self versus other) from which they were measured.     

Level validity of self-report whole-family measures

This article introduces an approach to testing the level validity of family assessment instruments (i.e., whether a family instrument measures family functioning at the level of the system it purports to assess). Two parents and 2 adolescents in 69 families rated the warmth in each of their family relationships and in the family as a whole. Family members' ratings of whole-family warmth assessed family functioning not only at the family level (i.e., characteristics of the family as a whole) but also at the individual level of analysis (i.e., characteristics of family members as raters), indicating a lack of level validity. Evidence was provided for the level validity of a latent variable based on family members' ratings of whole-family warmth. The findings underscore the importance of assessing the level validity of individual ratings of whole-family functioning.     

LEADERSHIP TRAINING IN ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE TO INCREASE CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR WITHIN A LABOR UNION: A REPLICATION

In a replication of a quasi-experiment by Skarlicki and Latham (1996), we investigated the effect of training union leaders ( N = 25) in the administration of organizational justice principles on union members' ( N = 177) perceptions of their leaders' fairness and the members' subsequent citizenship behavior toward their union. Despite the fact that the union members were also shareholders of the company, the results were replicated. Union leader training increased members' perceptions of their leaders' fairness as well as union members' citizenship behavior directed both toward the union as an organization (OCBO) and fellow union members (OCBI). Organizational justice was found to partially mediate the effect of the training on OCBO, but not OCBI.     

Antecedents and consequences of reactions to developmental 360° feedback

This study investigated the factors that influence leaders’ reactions to 360° feedback and the relationship of feedback reactions to subsequent development activities and changes in leader behavior. For leaders with low ratings, those who agreed with others about their ratings were less motivated than those who received low ratings and over rated themselves. For leaders with high ratings, agreement between self and other did not influence their motivation. Individuals with more favorable attitudes toward using feedback were more motivated following feedback. We found minimal support for hypothesized relationships between personality characteristics and reactions to feedback. Leaders’ reactions to feedback were not related to the number of follow-up activities they reported, but were related to the degree of change in ratings over time.     

Situational Variability in Personal Construing and Social Cognitive Development

Abstract

This study assesses whether contextually based shifts in repertory grid ratings represent an interpretabte individual difference in social cognitive functioning. A group of 117 subjects rated role figures in both general and specific behavioral contexts. Subjects also completed measures of conceptual system abstractness and construct system organization. Results showed significant shifts in grid ratings when role figures are judged in specified as opposed to unspecified contexts. Also, subjects with greater shifts in grid ratings possessed more abstract conceptual systems and formed more highly organized impressions than subjects with fewer shifts in grid ratings     

The Collective Preference for Shared Information

Decision-making groups prefer to discuss shared information that all members know instead of unshared information that a single member knows. This bias toward discussing shared information can lead groups to make suboptimal decisions when unshared information is critical for good decision making. This preference for discussing shared information may stem from group members' positive evaluations of each other's task capabilities when shared information is communicated. Members who already are perceived as capable (i.e., those high in status, experts, and leaders) need not bolster their image by communicating shared information. Instead, they discuss unshared information more than members perceived as less capable. As members low in status gain respect by communicating shared information, they may risk mentioning unshared information later during discussion. Assigning group leaders, informing members of their expert roles, and allowing ample time for discussion may increase groups' discussion of unshared information.     

Constructive Thinking and Elevated Ratings of Self in Interpersonal Groups

Probing Taylor and Brown's (1988) connection of mental health with favorably slanted self-evaluations, responses to Epstein's (1987) Constructive Thinking Inventory (CTI) were correlated with ratings of interpersonal behavior. Several weeks after completing the CTI, 103 small-group members rated themselves and each other for self-accepting and other-accepting conduct. Separately for each acceptance scale, eight CTI measures were correlated with differences of self-ratings (S) from the mean rating individuals' received (R) from others, the mean rating each gave (G) to these others, and all components. Agreeing substantially, indicators S and R also correlated with the CTI measures similarly but in a pattern opposite to G's correlations. Supporting Taylor and Brown, 12 of 16 correlations of CTI measures with intrarater (S – G) differences attained statistical significance (p < .05) unlike any parallel correlation with interrater differences (S – R). Constructive thinking and rating oneself above peers—especially for acceptance of self—consistently correlated positively, suggesting an underlying sense of independence.     

Difficulty in implementing a family intervention for bipolar disorder: the predictive role of patient and family attributes

Family affect was examined as a predictor of difficulty implementing a 9-month, manual-based, psychoeducational family therapy for recently manic bipolar patients. Prior to therapy, family members were administered measures to assess both their expressed emotion and affective behavior during a family interaction task. Following family treatment, both therapists and independent observers rated the overall difficulty of treating the family, and therapists also rated each participant's problem behaviors during treatment, in the areas of affect, communication, and resistance. Therapists regarded affective problems among relatives and resistance among patients as central in determining the overall difficulty of treating the family. Relatives' critical behavior toward patients during the pretreatment interaction task predicted both independent observers' ratings of overall treatment difficulty and therapists' perceptions of relatives' affective problems during treatment. Moreover, patients' residual symptoms predicted independent observers' ratings of overall difficulty and therapists' perceptions of patients' resistance to the family intervention. Results suggest that difficulties in conducting a manual-based family intervention can be predicted from systematic, pretreatment family and clinical assessment.     

When group members admit to being conformist: the role of relative intragroup status in conformity self-reports

Five studies examined the hypothesis that people will strategically portray the self as being more group influenced the more junior they feel within the group. Among social psychologists (Study 1), ratings of self-conformity by group members were greater when the status of the participant was low than when it was high. These effects were replicated in Studies 2, 3, and 4 in which relative intragroup status was manipulated. In Study 3, the authors found junior group members described themselves as more conformist than senior members when they were addressing an ingroup audience, but when they were addressing an outgroup audience the effect disappeared. Furthermore, junior members (but not senior members) rated themselves as more conformist when they were led to believe their responses were public than when responses were private (Study 5). The discussion focuses on the strategic processes underlying low-status group members' self-reports of group influence and the functional role of conformity in groups.     

The persistence of loneliness: Self and other determinants1

Four studies (total n= 469) examined correlates of loneliness in order to explore explanations for the persistence of loneliness among college students. Self-report and attitude scales, ratings of others following dyadic interactions, and self and other ratings at two points during an extended period of group interactions indicated that lonely students (a) rated themselves more negatively and reported deficits in social skills and self-concept, (b) rated specific others and people-in-general more negatively and were more alienated and externalized, (c) expected others to rate them negatively, but (d) in general were not differentially rated by others except in the initial phase of group interactions and by lonely others following dyadic interactions. Results suggested that loneliness may be perpetuated by its cognitive and affective concomitants, with some evidence for gender differences, whereas inconclusive evidence was found regarding responses of others to the lonely person.     

Moral elevation and compassionate goals predict posttraumatic growth in the context of a college shooting

Abstract

After a mass shooting, community members may experience not only distress, but also feeling uplifted or morally elevated by others’ prosocial responses to the trauma. Those experiencing elevation may be more likely to strive to support others (compassionate goals) and to endorse posttraumatic growth (PTG). However, the role of elevation in PTG, and the relative contribution of compassionate goals (both from and toward others), remains unknown. Students, faculty, and staff (N = 385) completed measures four months after a campus shooting, and a subset repeated measures at eight months (n = 82). As expected, compassionate goals toward others incrementally predicted higher PTG beyond perceptions of compassionate goals from others. Also, elevation concurrently and prospectively predicted higher PTG. Lastly, elevation mediated effects of others’ compassionate goals on PTG, as hypothesized (95% CI = 2.59 to 5.43). These findings have implications for understanding the social and emotional processes that facilitate PTG.     

Assessing social desirability in family self-report

This study focused on social desirability in family members' self-reports. 32 clinical families (93 family members) were given self-report measures from the McMaster and Circumplex family-assessment models and a measure of social desirability. Clinicians assessed these families on clinical rating scales from the same models. Regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between self-reports, social desirability scores, and clinicians' ratings. It was expected that social desirability would be a suppressor variable (i.e., when accounted for, the similarity between clinicians' and family members' ratings would be enhanced). This did not occur; instead, social desirability was significantly but negatively correlated with ratings of pathology. Results provide evidence that correcting for social desirability on clinical pencil-and-paper tests is not supported.     

Making Things Happen (Un)Expectedly: Interactive Effects of Age,Gender, and Motives on Evaluations of Proactive Behavior

Proactive behavior entails self-starting actions oriented toward change in the future. Other people’s perceptions of an employee’s proactive behavior are likely shaped by personal characteristics of the employee and related expectations. We hypothesized that the intersectionality of age, gender, and two motives (i.e., achievement and benevolence) influences others’ evaluations of proactive behavior. Consistent with the social role theory and the notion of a lack of fit, results of a first experimental vignette methodology study with an employee sample (N?=?101; 1818 ratings) showed that proactive behavior was rated as more effective for older men compared to younger men motivated by achievement, whereas proactive behavior was rated as more effective for younger men compared to older men motivated by benevolence. Younger women compared to older women received higher effectiveness ratings for proactive behavior independent of their motive. In a second experimental vignette methodology study with a sample of participants in supervisory roles (N?=?164; 1205 ratings), we partially replicated the results of the first study: proactive behavior was rated as more effective for older men compared to younger men motivated by achievement, and proactive behavior was rated as more effective for younger women compared to older women motivated by achievement. In contrast, effectiveness ratings of proactive behavior of younger and older men as well as younger and older women motivated by benevolence did not differ. Overall, by investigating the intersectionality of age, gender, and motives, these findings advance research on influences of person characteristics on others’ evaluations of proactive behavior.

     

Perceptions of the therapist in family therapy

Thirty-five families completed ratings describing their perceptions of their therapists. These ratings were then correlated with measures of outcome to assess whether there was a relationship between experiences of the therapist and treatment outcome. Further, the study addresses whether some family members' perceptions are more influential in affecting the course of treatment. The results showed that family members' perception of the therapist does have an impact on treatment outcome, but not all members affect the outcome equally. Further results and their implications are discussed.     

Leadership Style and Leader Title

In a 2 by 4 design, leadership style (authoritarian versus democratic) was varied against form of address (Mr., Ms., Miss, Mrs.) in a simulated small group case study. Subjects (374 college and high school students) read the case study and then rated their reactions to the leaderson behavioral differential factors of "subordination" and "friendship." These ratings indicate significant effects due to leader style (i.e., greater subordination and stronger friendship attraction to democratic rather than authoritarian leaders). Leader title produced no significantmain effects although authoritarian leaders using the title Ms. evoked higher subordination (p <.001) than other authoritarian leaders.     

Cohesion and outcome in short-term psychodynamic groups for complicated grief

This study used two measures of cohesion for the process analysis of 12 short-term, time-limited groups for complicated grief. The measures had similar theoretical definitions but differed in terms of rater source (member vs. observer), measurement score (mean of items vs. global rating), and rating unit (individual vs. group). We examined the relationship between the measures, assessed the development of cohesion over the life of the group, and evaluated each measure's relationship to outcome. A principal components analysis with each measure yielded one cohesion component, which supported a unidimensional model; however, the two cohesion components were independent of each other, which supported a multidimensional model. Repeated measures analyses indicated that observer-rated cohesion developed in a quadratic manner (v pattern) across sessions, while member-rated cohesion developed in a linear manner. The object focus (the group, other members, the therapist) of the members' ratings determined whether cohesion increased or decreased across sessions. No significant relationships between cohesion and outcome were identified. Implications of the findings for the understanding of group cohesion are considered.     

Ideal is typical.

A well-established finding in research on concepts and categories is that some members are rated as better or more typical examples than others. It is generally thought that typicality reflects centrality, that is, that typical examples are those that are similar to many other members of the category. This interpretation of typicality is based on studies in which participants had little knowledge about the relevant categories. In the present study, experienced fishermen were asked to give goodness-of-example ratings to familiar freshwater fish. These fishermen were of two cultural groups with somewhat different goals and ideals. Typicality was well predicted by fishes' desirability and poorly predicted by their centrality. Further, the two cultural groups differed in their typicality ratings in ways that corresponded to their different goals and ideals. For knowledgeable reasoners typicality in natural taxonomic categories appears based on ideals rather than on centrality.     

Developing a measure of interpretation bias for depressed mood: An ambiguous scenarios test

The tendency to interpret ambiguous everyday situations in a relatively negative manner (negative interpretation bias) is central to cognitive models of depression. Limited tools are available to measure this bias, either experimentally or in the clinic. This study aimed to develop a pragmatic interpretation bias measure using an ambiguous scenarios test relevant to depressed mood (the AST-D).¹ In Study 1, after a pilot phase (N = 53), the AST-D was presented via a web-based survey (N = 208). Participants imagined and rated each AST-D ambiguous scenario. As predicted, higher dysphoric mood was associated with lower pleasantness ratings (more negative bias), independent of mental imagery measures. In Study 2, self-report ratings were compared with objective ratings of participants’ imagined outcomes of the ambiguous scenarios (N = 41). Data were collected in the experimental context of a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner. Consistent with subjective bias scores, independent judges rated more sentences as negatively valenced for the high versus low dysphoric group. Overall, results suggest the potential utility of the AST-D in assessing interpretation bias associated with depressed mood.