The effects of psychological contract breach on union commitment

This research investigates the relationship between psychological contract breach and union commitment among 109 union employees. As expected, psychological contract breach is positively related to commitment to the union. The results also suggest that union instrumentality moderates the relationship between psychological contract breach and union commitment. Specifically, the findings indicate that the relationship between psychological contract breach and union commitment is stronger when individuals perceive that their union is highly instrumental in protecting their rights and benefits. Implications of this study are discussed and recommendations for future research are offered.     

Methodological challenges in treatment outcome research with ethnic minorities

Treatment outcome research focused on ethnic minorities is critically needed to eliminate mental health disparities. Because the conduct of treatment outcome research with ethnic minorities is difficult and complex, we discuss key challenges and present some methodological options suited to provide answers to specific types of questions. We focus first on the randomized clinical trial (RCT) paradigm, reviewing specific challenges facing investigators conducting ethnically inclusive trials. We then highlight the promise of other methods of inquiry to expand the science on mental health treatment with ethnic minorities.     

Methodological problems in cross-cultural studies of linguistic relativity

Bloom (1981) tested a weak version of the linguistic relativity hypothesis (i.e., "Language affects thinking though it does not determine thinking") in a series of cross-cultural experiments. According to Bloom, Chinese lacks two linguistic devices that are present in English and supposed to be critical in performing theoretical thinking. It was found that the Chinese subjects were outperformed by American counterparts in all the tests designed to assess the ability of theoretical thinking. The results were taken as evidence for the weak version of the linguistic relativity hypothesis. A methodological consideration has revealed, however, that all of his experiments except one are uninterpretable because of the lack of necessary control conditions. In addition, three experiments in the present study have demonstrated that the findings in Bloom's sole interpretable experiment were artifacts due to a methodological flaw. Further theoretical considerations reveal the inadequacy of Bloom's basic methodology and the limitation in the effects of linguistic relativity that may be possible at least theoretically.     

Calculating savings to the nation from counselling services: Methodological challenges

The research endeavoured to develop and pilot a system to demonstrate savings to the nation resulting from counselling provided by a national voluntary agency. This paper demonstrates the methodological challenges encountered. A questionnaire was developed, focused on four broad dimensions of clients’ lives: Employment & Income, Health, Personal & Social, and Children. The questionnaire was piloted by eight counselling centres, and applied pre‐ and post‐intervention. It proved not always possible to attribute clear savings within the dimensions measured. Direct health‐related costs and sick days off work were relatively straightforward. However, for less tangible factors, e.g. personal and social, and children, it was not possible to attribute direct financial amounts to any improvements. The pilot, therefore, attributed savings where possible. Attrition was a major difficulty, with 976 pre‐intervention questionnaires reducing to only 159 post‐intervention. This paper indicates the challenges of estimating savings to the nation from counselling interventions, and illustrates a flexible flowchart which allows savings and costs to be attributed as and when available. Although no final calculations of savings to the nation are included, it is believed that the learning from the methodological challenges encountered should be useful to other services wishing to assess the financial costs and savings of psychological therapies and counselling.     

Stress and coping research. Methodological challenges, theoretical advances, and clinical applications

Coping is among the most widely studied topics in contemporary psychology. However, the explosion of interest in coping has yielded little and the field is in crisis. This section offers a survey of the state of the art in theory and research on stress and adaptational processes. The four core articles in the section take up, respectively, problems in research design, the neglect of unconscious reactions to stress, the selection of adaptational outcomes, and the link between research on adaptational processes and clinical practice. The final article by Richard S. Lazarus offers a commentary. The present introduction provides the historical backdrop for the section. Then, after a brief overview of research on adaptational processes, the authors summarize the scope and yield of coping research and preview the four core articles in the section. The strengths and limits of individual coping efforts and the need for realistic expectations and redoubled efforts are discussed.     

A model of union participation: the impact of perceived union support, union instrumentality, and union loyalty

Perceived union support and union instrumentality have been shown to uniquely predict union loyalty. This study was the first to explicitly examine the relation between perceived union support and union instrumentality. Surveys were completed by 273 union members and 29 union stewards. A comparison of 2 models, 1 based on organizational support theory and 1 based on union participation theories, found that the model based on organizational support theory, in which union instrumentality was an antecedent to perceived union support and led to union loyalty and subsequently union participation, best fit the data. The model based on union participation theories, in which perceived union support was an antecedent of union instrumentality and led to union loyalty and subsequently union participation, was not supported. Union instrumentality was related to union commitment, but the relation was completely mediated by perceived union support.     

Event-related potentials in cognitive neuropsychology: Methodological considerations and an example from studies of aphasia

Recording event-related potentials (ERPs) from neurological patients introduces some methodological problems that are unique to this type of work. Important issues include, for example, the signal-to-noise ratio in patients relative to control subjects and changes in conductivity that are due to brain lesion. Therefore, in order to be able to reliably interpret possible changes in the ERP effects of brain-damaged patients as reflecting changes in underlying cognitive processes, it is important to clearly identify the factors that might contaminate the results of the experiments and to apply appropriate controls. Possible controls are discussed, and, as an example, some studies illustrating the use of ERPs in aphasic patients are reviewed.     

Self-determination in sport commitment

The study tested utility of self-determination and sport commitment theories to understanding young athletes' sport commitment. 343 young athletes (M= 13.5 yr., SD= +/- 1.1) from soccer, basketball, volleyball, handball, and water polo teams volunteered to participate. All completed the Sport Motivation Scale and the Sport Commitment Questionnaire. Pearson correlations showed a strong relationship between commitment and intrinsic motivation scores. In contrast, extrinsic motivation scores were not significantly correlated to commitment, whereas amotivation scores showed a negative correlation to commitment. Path analysis resulted in strong positive association of intrinsic motivation and commitment. Amotivation had small negative relation to commitment. According to the model tested, social constraints and involvement opportunities were not significant contributors to sport commitment. An alternative model supported the mediating role of enjoyment to psychological commitment. The results showed that high self-determination is supportive of sport commitment, whereas low self-determination reduces sport commitment.     

Employee commitment in context: The nature and implication of commitment profiles

It is well established that employee commitment can take different forms (e.g., affective, normative, and continuance), yet it is only recently that theory has been advanced to explain how these different forms combine to influence behavior (Meyer & Herscovitch, 2001). We tested this theory with data from employees in three human services organizations (N = 403). Using latent profile analyses, we identified six distinct profile groups and found that they differed on measures of need satisfaction, regulation, affect, engagement, organizational citizenship behavior, and well-being. The observed differences are consistent with the notion that a commitment profile provides a context that determines how the individual components are experienced (Gellatly, Meyer, & Luchak, 2006). We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this context effect.     

Methodological individualism

The doctrine of methodological individualism is clarified and different versions of it are distinguished. The main thesis of the article is that methodological individualism is either a false doctrine or else a doctrine compatible with functionalism, structuralism, and Marxism. Positively it is maintained that, for all we know, collective entities such as power structures may shape our beliefs and values; these beliefs and values may explain some of our actions and expectations. These actions and expectations, together with similar actions and expectations of other people, caused in a similar fashion, may in turn constitute social phenomena. This means that, for all we know, in our best explanations of some social phenomena we may well need to have recourse to collective entities.     

Probability and delay in commitment

In the first stage of a two-stage choice, human subjects chose between probabilistic access to a second choice (between a small high-probability reward and a large low-probability reward) and commitment to the large low-probability reward. When confronted with the second-stage choice, subjects strongly preferred the small high-probability reward. When the first-stage probability (of access to the second stage) was high, subjects strongly preferred the path leading to the choice in the second stage. But when the first-stage probability was low, subjects committed themselves to the large low-probability reward. These results parallel those obtained by Rachlin and Green (1972) with pigeons and constitute some evidence that probabilities may be interpreted as delays.