The role of personal work goals in newcomers' job satisfaction and organizational commitment: a longitudinal analysis

This study examined the importance of 3 characteristics of personal work goals (i.e., commitment, attainability, and progress) in accounting for changes in newcomers' affective job attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction and organizational commitment) during the 1st months of employment. Twenty weeks after organizational entry, 81 newcomers provided a list of their personal work goals. Goal attributes and job attitudes were assessed at 3 testing periods covering 8 months. Goal commitment was found to moderate the extent to which differences in the attainability of personal goals at the workplace accounted for changes in job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Goal progress mediated the interactive effect of goal commitment and attainability on newcomers' job attitudes. Findings are discussed with respect to their relevance for proactive approaches to organizational socialization.     

the adult career concerns inventory: Development of a short form

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a short form of the Adult Career Concerns Inventory (ACCI; D. E. Super, A. S. Thompson, & R. H. Lindeman, 1988), a measure of career stage that is based on D. E. Super's (1990) theory of career development. Participants were 260 college students who completed surveys. Examination of Cronbach's alpha indicated adequate reliability for the ACCI—Short Form. The multitrait‐multimethod matrix was used to compare the short form method with the long form method across the 4 career stages. Results indicated adequate convergent validity.     

Negative work reflection,personal resources,and work engagement: the moderating role of perceived organizational support

This day-level study examined the role of perceived organizational support (POS) in the context of employees’ negative work reflection during off-job time. We hypothesized that negative work reflection during off-job time should be indirectly related to reduced work engagement on the next workday through personal resources (i.e., vigour and self-efficacy) in the morning. In addition, we hypothesized that POS moderated the relationships between negative work reflection and personal resources and between personal resources and work engagement. In total, 100 employees completed one general survey and three daily surveys (in the morning, after work, and at bedtime) over five workdays. Results of multilevel path analyses showed that negative work reflection was neither directly associated with personal resources nor indirectly with work engagement via personal resources, although vigour and self-efficacy positively predicted increased work engagement. However, negative work reflection was negatively associated with self-efficacy when POS was low. POS did not predict work engagement, but moderated the relationships between personal resources and work engagement: Consistent with the resource substitution hypothesis, high levels of POS compensated for low levels of vigour and self-efficacy. Negative work reflection had a significant negative indirect effect on work engagement through self-efficacy only when POS was low.     

A social-cognitive,attributional model of personal goals: An empirical evaluation

A model of cognitive and affective antecedents and consequences of personal goals, which integrates constructs from social-cognitive and attribution theories, was examined. Data were gathered before and after course examinations in a large university class. Hierarchical and moderated regression analyses supported the model indicating that (1) relationships between self-efficacy, goals, and performance were positive during repeated trials over 4 1/2 months in a naturally occurring setting; (2) the stability dimension of causal attributions moderated the relationship between goal-performance discrepancies and self-efficacy; and (3) the locus of causality dimension of causal attributions moderated the relationship between goal-performance discrepancies and affective responses.We thank Susan Ashford, Jim Austin, Donald Fedor, Ruth Kanfer, Edwin Locke, Paul Nystrom, Donna Randall, Christina Shalley, Masoud Yasai-Ardekani and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this article. We also thank Eric Dietenberger for his help with graphics.     

Navigating personal and relational concerns: the quest for equilibrium

The authors' personal-relational equilibrium model suggests that people come to seek equilibrium in their dedication to personal and relational concerns in that these 2 important needs cannot always be gratified simultaneously. The authors proposed that the experience of personal-relational disequilibrium motivates attempts to restore equilibrium and that achieving equilibrium promotes life satisfaction. Four studies revealed good support for the model. In Study 1, a manipulation of anticipated future disequilibrium (vs. equilibrium) as a result of overdedication to either the personal or relational domain caused reduced motivation to address concerns in that domain and increased motivation toward the complementary domain. In Study 2, narratives describing disequilibrium experiences (vs. equilibrium experiences) exhibited increased motivation to restore equilibrium and reduced life satisfaction. In Study 3, diary reports of everyday disequilibrium were associated with increased same-day motivation to restore equilibrium, reduced same-day life satisfaction, and increased next-day dedication of effort to the complementary domain. In Study 4, experiences of disequilibrium predicted reduced well-being 6 months later. Collectively, these findings extend knowledge of how people regulate themselves toward equilibrium in pursuing 2 fundamental human concerns.     

个人目标相关性对非临床抑郁者未来想象的影响

通过两个实验考查了非临床抑郁者未来想象的异常是否受到个人目标相关性的调节。实验1采用未来想象任务, 实验2采用可能性评估范式, 两个实验一致发现, 抑郁倾向者想象未来积极事件的异常, 受到了与个人目标相关性的调节：相对于非抑郁倾向者, 抑郁倾向者对未来与个人目标相关的积极事件的预期减弱, 而对未来与个人目标无关的积极事件的预期则没有表现出异常; 同时还发现, 抑郁倾向者表现出了对未来消极预期的普遍增强, 不受与个人目标相关性的影响。     

Development of a modified treatment evaluation inventory

Kazdin's (1980a) Treatment Evaluation Inventory (TEI) is the major instrument used to assess parents' acceptance of procedures for behavior problem children. The length of the TEI, however, as well as problems with its scaling and wording limits its value as a clinical research instrument. In the present study, three experiments were conducted to develop a modified TEI. In Experiment 1, 153 parents completed the TEI to evaluate a behavioral treatment for noncompliant and oppositional children. A factor analysis of the data was used to obtain a reliable factor structure for the TEI and to construct a 9-item TEI-Short Form (TEI-SF) with a 5-point scale, consistent anchors on the scale, and simplified text and instructions. Experiment 2 evaluated the psychometric characteristics of the TEI and the TEI-SF. These data indicated the TEI-SF is a sound alternative to the original TEI. Experiment 3 compared the readability and completion time of the two instruments.     

Perfectionism and the pursuit of personal goals: A self-determination theory analysis

Previous studies have shown that self-critical and personal standards forms of perfectionism are associated with progress on personal goals in opposite ways. The present study used a 5-wave prospective longitudinal design to examine what motivational factors account for the finding that self-critical perfectionism has been reliably associated with poor goal progress whereas personal standard perfectionism has been associated with good progress. Specifically, we adopted a self-determination theory perspective to examine the role of autonomy in mediating the effects of perfectionism. Our results replicated previous findings linking the two forms of perfectionism with opposite patterns of goal progress. Importantly, the results suggested that the negative goal effects of self-critical perfectionism are mediated by lower levels of autonomous goal motivation. The results also demonstrated links from personal standards perfectionism to greater autonomous goal motivation. Interestingly, the effects of self-critical perfectionism on goal progress appeared to be dynamic over time and implicated affective mechanisms. The results of the investigation point to the value of adopting a self-determination theory perspective to understand perfectionism.     

Regulatory mode orientations and well‐being in an organizational setting: the differential mediating roles of workaholism and work engagement

This paper examines the relationships between two independent regulatory mode orientations, locomotion and assessment, and well‐being in organizational contexts. Results from a sample of 320 employees revealed that locomotion was negatively associated with burnout and psychological strain whereas assessment was positively associated with burnout and strain. The effects of locomotion and assessment on burnout and strain were mediated by workaholism and work engagement. Both locomotion and assessment predicted greater workaholism; however, locomotion was positively associated whereas assessment was negatively associated with work engagement. In turn, workaholism predicted greater burnout and strain, and work engagement predicted less burnout and strain. Implications for employee health and organizational success are discussed.     

Ideology in work and organizational psychology: the responsibility of the researcher

This is a rejoinder to the commentaries on our paper on neoliberalism in work and organizational psychology. In this rejoinder, we provide a summarized response to the commentaries, thereby highlighting three main points: (1) when, where and how does neoliberalism manifest in society and our work as Work and Organizational Psychologists, (2) what is our duty as work and organizational psychologists towards society and our own work, and (3) what do we recommend on the basis of the exchange with the commentators on our paper?     

Believing in a personal just world helps maintain well-being at work by coloring organizational justice perceptions

Justice is a core fundamental theme for individuals in organizations. This study suggests that believing the world is just where one gets what one deserves, and deserves what one gets, is an important personal resource that helps maintain well-being at work. Further, it suggests that personal belief in a just world, but not general belief in a just world, exerts its influence on well-being through increasing overall justice perceptions of the work environment. Using two waves of data drawn from a large random sample of working adults in Switzerland, results showed that personal belief in a just world at time 1 indeed augmented perceptions of overall organizational justice, and this in turn increased job satisfaction at time 2, that is, 1 year later. As expected, this effect was only evident for personal and not general belief in a just world, highlighting personal belief in a just world as an important yet largely overlooked resource for the work context, and suggesting the need to consider individual’s beliefs about justice as drivers of overall organizational justice perceptions.     

Emotions and goals: Assessing relations between values and emotions

Whereas most current theories on emotions posit a central position to goals, direct tests of associations between emotions and goals have been sparse. We investigated such relations by comparing ratings of value importance and frequency of emotional experiences in daily life. The results confirmed our general expectation that associations would be found between values and emotions related to corresponding goals. We argue that data like these are fundamental to further development of emotion theory.     

Creativity and innovation at work: the role of work characteristics and personal initiative

In this longitudinal study, we examined the role of work characteristics (creative requirement, job control, coworker and supervisor support) and personal initiative for teachers' idea generation, idea promotion, and idea implementation. Eighty-nine teachers responded to two surveys with an interval of two weeks. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that creative requirement and job control predicted idea generation, whereas support from coworkers and the supervisor predicted idea promotion. Coworker and supervisor support, as well as teachers' personal initiative, predicted idea implementation.     

Mobbing: its relationships with organizational culture and personal outcomes

A study dealing with the effects of both organizational culture and mobbing on personal and organizational outcomes of a sample of Spanish emergency workers, is reported here. It was found that there is a strong impact of organizational culture dimensions on mobbing, and that mobbing affects job satisfaction, organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behaviour. Results concerning organizational commitment show that this variable is not a mere effect of mobbing in general, but rather that it is also a direct impact of culture on this outcome.     

Children's engagement and competence in personal recollection: effects of parents' reminiscing goals

Parents' goal orientations in parent-child reminiscing were examined in this study, where 28 preschoolers (mean age = 46 months) experienced a standardized event. Dyads discussed the event that evening, with parents randomly assigned to either an "outcome-oriented" or a "process-oriented" condition. Outcome-oriented parents, who were told that children subsequently would be tested on event-related recall, were more controlling in these conversations compared with process-oriented parents, who were told that children's personal perspective would be assessed. Parents did not differ in their provision of structure. Children were interviewed 2 weeks later. Autonomy support in the parent-child conversation predicted children's engagement in the interview. Parental structure predicted children's recall of details and the coherence of their memories. Effects of parental reminiscing styles for children's memory and motivation to reminisce are discussed.     

From personal goals disclosed to personality judgments composed: Trait perceptions made on the basis of idiographic goals

Traits and goals represent discrete units of personality. Here, we examined the consensus, validity, and cues of trait judgments made on the basis of targets’ goals. Targets (N = 409) generated lists of personal goals and rated their traits. Observers were provided with targets’ (a) lists of goals, (b) first goals, or (c) fifth goals, and then reported trait judgments of targets. Perceptions of targets, which were formed on the basis of the emotional content of goals, were largely consistent among observers. Furthermore, observer reports made on the basis of participants’ lists of goals converged with self-reports of all traits whereas reports made on the basis of single goals converged with self-reports of certain (e.g., extraversion), but not all, traits.     

Neglected perspectives in work and organizational psychology

In this editorial we suggest that work and organizational psychology has tended to overlook the insights to be gained from ‘alternative’ perspectives such as interpretivism, critical theory and postmodernism, in favour of a focus on more normative and positivist studies of organizational life. While paradigmatic conformity is argued by some to have the benefit of providing a coherent knowledge base, we argue that it may also lead to an overly restrictive viewpoint and constrained practices. In any case, such a focus may be partly a default option rather than a conscious choice, fostered by assumptions of what constitutes ‘good’ research which may not be appropriate to (and even discriminate against) other perspectives. As a consequence, this special section aims to illustrate the insights to be gained from adopting such ‘alternative’ perspectives on topics of contemporary interest to work and organizational psychologists, such as retention of women in the workforce, collaborative (cross‐agency) work, advanced technological change and stress at work.     

Neoliberal ideology in work and organizational psychology

This paper explores the role of neoliberal ideology in workplace practices and in work and organizational psychology (WOP) research. It analyses how neoliberal ideology manifests in these two domains by using a prominent framework from the field of political theory to understand ideology through three different logics: political, social and fantasmatic logics. We explore the main neoliberal assumptions underlying existing practices in the workplace as well as in WOP research, how individuals are gripped by such practices, and how the status quo is maintained. The paper analyses how individuals in the contemporary workplace are henceforth influenced by neoliberalism, and how this is reflected in the practices and dominant paradigms within WOP. In particular, we focus on three ways neoliberalism affects workplaces and individual experiences of the workplace: through instrumentality, individualism and competition. The paper finishes with practical recommendations for researchers and practitioners alike on how to devote more attention to the, often implicit, role of neoliberal ideology in their work and research. The discussion elaborates on how alternative paradigms in the workplace can be developed which address the downsides of neoliberalism.