Measurement of equity sensitivity: a comparison of the Equity Sensitivity Instrument and Equity Preference Questionnaire

The psychometric properties of the Equity Sensitivity Instrument (Huseman, Hatfield, & Miles, 1985, 1987) and Equity Preference Questionnaire (Sauley & Bedeian, 2000) are compared. 173 undergraduate business majors completed several work attitude and personality measures. Results suggest that the Equity Preference Questionnaire may be a better measure of the equity sensitivity construct than the Equity Sensitivity Instrument which is typically used in research. Reliabilities for the scores on the Equity Sensitivity Instrument and Equity Preference Questionnaire were equivalent (coefficient alphas of .85 and .86, respectively); however, evidence for convergent and content validity was greater for the Equity Preference Questionnaire. Understanding individual differences in perceptions of equity and how best to measure these differences can affect workplace outcomes (e.g., turnover, employee engagement.     

Equity Sensitivity Revisited: Contrasting Unidimensional and Multidimensional Approaches

Purpose  Past research has shown little support for direct relationships between equity sensitivity and various equity-relevant criteria. Recent work by Davison and Bing (J Manag Issues 20: 131–150, 2008) suggests that equity sensitivity consists of separate input- and outcome-focus dimensions and that these dimensions are associated with such criteria in an interactive fashion. The current study extends this research by theoretically strengthening and empirically testing their two-dimensional model. Design/methodology/approach  We surveyed adults who were working at least 30 h a week at three time periods to temporally separate measurement of predictors and criteria (n = 172). Findings  Results provide support for the two-dimensional model. Input and outcome focus interacted to explain variance in individuals’ satisfaction and self-reported job performance even after controlling for demographic characteristics, personality, and social desirability. By contrast, the original ESI only significantly predicted one of 10 dependent variables. Implications  Whereas a ratio has been historically used as the basis for evaluating equity, employing independent dimensions and investigating their interaction seems more appropriate to assess individuals’ equity sensitivity. The current study suggests a multidimensional measure of equity sensitivity may better reflect the original theoretical underpinnings of the construct. Originality/value  The current study enhances our understanding of equity theory in general, and equity sensitivity in particular, by drawing attention to the multidimensional nature of the equity sensitivity construct. In particular, it extends the work of Davison and Bing (J Manag Issues 20: 131–150, 2008) by revisiting Huseman et al.’s (Acad Manag Rev 12: 222–234, 1987) original conceptualization of equity sensitivity. In doing so, we broaden its utility as a potential unique predictor of organizationally relevant criteria.     

The Social Phobia Inventory: screening and cross-cultural validation in Spanish adolescents

Availability of brief, self-report measures to be used as screening instruments is crucial to detect correctly youth with social anxiety disorder and therefore, reach those otherwise under-detected and under-treated. A previous study revealed that the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) was potentially an appropriate measure for screening social anxiety among US adolescents. However, there is a lack of information concerning its properties as a screening test in other cultures and languages. This is the main objective of this study, although further validity of the scale is provided as well. The sample consisted of 192 adolescents (a sample composed of 114 subjects with a principal diagnosis of social anxiety disorder; and a group consisting of 78 subjects with no diagnosis of social phobia). Results suggest that the Social Phobia Inventory has demonstrated good psychometric properties and indeed may be used as a screening tool in Spanish-speaking adolescents.     

Broken Promises: Equity Sensitivity as a Moderator Between Psychological Contract Breach and Employee Attitudes and Behavior

This study examined the moderating role of equity sensitivity in determining the relationship between psychological contract breach and employees' attitudes and behaviors. Entitled individuals were expected to have greater increases in negative affect toward their organization and greater decreases in job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior than benevolent individuals following a breach of extrinsic outcomes (i.e., pay, benefits). Conversely, benevolents were expected to respond more negatively than their entitled counterparts following a breach of intrinsic outcomes (i.e., autonomy, growth). Results supported most of the study's propositions. Practical implications as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

分配情境下的婴幼儿公平敏感性

公平一直是道德规范领域的中心议题。公平敏感性是指个体对感知到的公平和不公平的稳定而个性化的反应, 随着自身成长具有一定可变性。本文首先介绍了公平敏感性的概念界定以及研究方法, 认为第三方范式的引入使得婴幼儿研究的结果更加积极; 然后对分配情境下公平敏感性的影响因素进行了探讨, 如社会情境、社会关系、分配资源等; 最后, 指出未来研究应将公平敏感性概念具体化, 对分配情境下各因素进行协调整合, 匹配跨文化跨年龄组条件以系统探讨婴幼儿公平敏感性。     

A cross-cultural study of the representation of shape: Sensitivity to generalized cone dimensions

Many of the phenomena underlying shape recognition can be derived from an assumption that the representation of simple parts can be understood in terms of independent dimensions of generalized cones, e.g., whether the axis of a cylinder is straight or curved or whether the sides are parallel or nonparallel. What enables this sensitivity? One explanation is that the representations derive from our immersion in a manufactured world of simple objects, e.g., a cylinder and a funnel, where these dimensions can be readily discerned independent of other stimulus variations. An alternative explanation is that genetic coding and/or early experience with extended contours—a characteristic of all naturally varying visual worlds—would be sufficient to develop the appropriate representations. The Himba, a seminomadic people in a remote region of Northwestern Namibia with little exposure to regular, simple artifacts, were virtually identical to western observers in representing generalized-cone dimensions of simple shapes independently. Thus immersion in a world of simple, manufactured shapes is not required for the development of a representation that specifies these dimensions independently.     

Youth suicide: a cross-cultural perspective

Changes in the suicide rate of teenagers and young adults internationally from 1970 to 1980 were examined. Twenty-three nations experienced an increase (with Norway experiencing the largest percentage increase), while six experienced a decrease. Unlike general suicide rates, teenage suicide rates were not related to the quality of life in the nations surveyed.     

Self-concept: a cross-cultural study.

Self-concept differences between 190 American and 98 Danish 5th and 6th grade suburban students were examined in light of known societal and educational differences. Danish males and American females reported significantly higher self-confidence in personal attributes; American students reported higher achieving in school scores than Danish students. Results are discussed in the contex of cultural differences; further areas of investigation are offered.     

Deductive reasoning and creativity: a cross-cultural study

The present cross-cultural study examined the relationship between deductive reasoning and creativity among college students (M age=20.4 yr., SD= .6) from Hong Kong (n=39) and the United States (n=38). Participants performed tasks designed to measure deductive reasoning, creative writing, and insight problem-solving, all in verbal form. No correlation was found between the performance for deductive reasoning and creativity as measured by creative writing. Insight problem-solving performance correlated significantly with that for both reasoning and creativity. Significant cultural differences favoring the American participants were only found on the creative writing and insight problem-solving tasks, both of which supposedly involve creative thinking. There seems to be cultural dependence for creativity but not for deductive reasoning which suggests a qualification of a strong cultural-relevance view positing pervasive cultural influences on human thinking processes.     

The Adultcentrism Scale in the educational relationship: Instrument development and preliminary validation

The term “adultcentrism” refers to a paradigm of thought that leads adults to provide inadequate or distorted responses to children’s needs (Furioso, 2000), despite the belief of acting in children’s best interest. Our understanding of adult-child relationship could be subjected to such adultcentric bias, thus preventing the acknowledgement of the deeply reciprocal qualities of the encounter between the culture of adults and the one of children. Several authors have focused on the importance of making an effort in recognizing the partiality of such adult-centered perspective (Goode, 1986; Petr, 1992; Furioso, 2000; Mackay, 1973, 2003; Biancardi, 2002; Foti, 2004), but no research tools have been proposed so far.The Adultcentrism Scale, a questionnaire of 27 items, has been developed and administered to 326 university students during a pilot study. Three factors emerged from ML EFA (Oblimin rotation): “Child as an empty box”, “Child without agency”, and “Competent Child”. The factorial structure resulted corroborated by CFA, with the exception of one item that has been therefore excluded. The final version of the Adultcentrism Scale has been administered to a sample of 910 parents of primary school-age children. Results indicate that the Adultcentrism Scale could help in the detection of the construct of adultcentrism in caregivers, particularly in large-scale studies. The three factors extracted and the tendency of response distributions appear consistent with the reference literature. Reflecting on adultcentrism can bring positive implications in designing interventions focusing on the improvement of adult-child relationship quality.     

A cross-cultural validation of stage development: A Rasch re-analysis of longitudinal socio-moral reasoning data

Kohlberg's characterization of moral development as displaying an invariant hierarchical order of structurally consistent stages is losing ground. However, by applying Rasch analysis, Dawson recently gave new interpretation and support to his characterization of stage development. Using Rasch models, we replicated and strengthened her findings in a re-analysis of three sets of longitudinal socio-moral reasoning data collected in Iceland. A new application of Rasch analysis provided support for upward development. Our results supported Kohlberg's characterization of stage development and the cross-cultural stability of Dawson's findings that were exclusively based on US samples. We conclude that proposals to replace Kohlberg's characterization of moral development are premature.     

Sensitivity to interpersonal treatment in the workplace: Scale development and initial validation

The authors designed the sensitivity to interpersonal treatment (SIT) scale to assess how strongly individuals react to the interpersonal interactions in their workplaces. Questionnaire responses from 563 working undergraduates and 446 working adults provided data for this study. Details on the development of the new scale are provided along with initial evidence for its validity. Results indicated that the SIT is an internally consistent scale composed of two factors: self‐treatment and other‐treatment. Suggestions for future research that will develop a further understanding of SIT in the workplace are discussed.     

Psychopathy in Iran: a cross-cultural study

Few cross-cultural studies have assessed psychopathy and none have included a sample from non-western countries. This study investigated the factor structure of the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) in an Iranian sample, and compared the results with a western sample. Three hundred fifty-one Iranian prisoners were compared with 405 participants of the standardization sample of the PCL:SV. Confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory method were used for data analysis. The Iranian data fitted well with the hierarchical three-factor model of psychopathy and neither two- nor four-factor models showed an adequate fit. Differential item functioning existed across samples, with discriminatory power of factor 1 (arrogant and deceitful interpersonal style) being lower in the Iranian sample that for factor 2 (deficient emotional experience) being greater in the Iranian sample than the standardization sample. Deficient emotional experience might be the most significant factor in diagnosing psychopathy, regardless of the studied culture. Other factors appear to be relatively culture-specific.     

Infantile amnesia reconsidered: a cross-cultural analysis

A number of theories have been offered over the past hundred years to explain the phenomenon of infantile amnesia, the common inability to remember autobiographical experiences from the first years of life. Recent comparative studies that examine autobiographical memories in different populations, particularly populations in North America and East Asia, have yielded intriguing findings that provide a unique opportunity to revisit some of the major theoretical views and to propose new accounts. In light of these findings, this article discusses five theoretical explanations for infantile amnesia, including cognitive and social discontinuity, the emergence of the self, early parent-child memory sharing, functions of autobiographical memory, and the complexity of life experience. The reconsideration of infantile amnesia from a cross-cultural perspective suggests that while the basic mechanisms and contributing factors may be universal, the specific ways in which these mechanisms and factors are manifested differ qualitatively across cultures. A theoretical approach that takes the larger cultural context into account can help us understand this long-standing puzzle.