Engaged,Committed and Helpful Employees: The Role of Psychological Empowerment

Although previous research has been focused on the relationship among personality, empowerment, and outcomes, little is known about the incremental effect of empowerment on positive work outcomes. This article aims at exploring the relation between personality factors (i.e., extraversion and conscientiousness) and positive work outcomes (i.e., work engagement, affective organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior), and at determining the incremental effect of psychological empowerment on these outcomes. A convenience sample from three organizations has been used for data collection (N = 258; 52% women, mean age 38.55 years, SD = 10.21). Hierarchical multiple regressions indicate that personality and psychological empowerment explain a significant amount of the variance in the positive organizational outcomes, and that psychological empowerment has a significant incremental value over demographics and personality for the studied outcomes.     

Power and Gender Influences on Responsibility Attributions: The Case of Disagreements in Relationships

Abstract

In a sample of 156 college students (74 men and 82 women), the authors examined the influences of power status and gender on responsibility attributions and resolution choices during disagreements in personal relationships. The participants read vignettes in which relationship partners disagreed; then the participants placed themselves in the situations depicted and reported their perceived responsibility and resolution choices. The participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 power-status conditions (you have/your partner has greater power in the situation). Power status was based on resource power (i.e., a monetary inheritance) or on perceived power (i.e., financial knowledge). The authors tested 2 alternative power-status hypotheses (justified benefits/rights and ability/accountability) and 1 gender hypothesis. The results supported both power-status hypotheses. In addition, the men's and the women's responsibility attributions and resolution choices (i.e., adhering to their own wishes or deferring to their partner's wishes) revealed differential dependence on the type of power held by the person with greater situational power. The authors suggest issues further research concerning how situational differences in socially based expectations (e.g., power status and gender) may affect conflicts within relationships.     

Reducing the gap between pro-environmental disposition and behavior: The role of feeling power

Environmental issues are some of the most pressing threats the world is facing nowadays. In this context, motivating individual pro-environmental behavior becomes highly relevant. One strategy is to harness people's pro-environmental dispositions (e.g., biospheric values, pro-environmental attitudes). Although acknowledging the need to behave pro-environmentally lies at the core of these dispositions, the extent to which they are reflected in day-to-day pro-environmental practices fluctuates to a great extent. How to bridge this gap between dispositions and behaviors in pro-environmentalism? This research tests a novel psychological solution, that is, to heighten subjective feelings of power. Power depicts people's control over their own and others’ outcomes. Two studies (total N = 338, with n = 200 in Study 1 and n = 138 in Study 2) manipulated people's situational sense of high versus low power (by recalling and writing about relevant incidents), measured pro-environmental dispositions (biospheric values in Studies 1 and 2; attitude toward a specific environmental cause in Study 2), and examined their effects on pro-environmental behaviors (spending time on environmental persuasion in Study 1 and spending money on environmental donation in Study 2). Overall, both studies revealed that pro-environmental dispositions predicted pro-environmental behaviors, but only when the actors were prompted to experience a high instead of a low sense of power. The findings illuminate power as an important and viable communication tactic—to orient people toward their dispositions and practice what they preach in pro-environmentalism.     

Who Cares? The Role of Job Involvement in Psychological Contract Violation

This study examined survey data from full‐time employees employed in a variety of occupations. We empirically examined how psychological involvement with one's job affects reactions to psychological contract violation. Data for control variables (i.e., age, gender, organizational tenure), the independent variable (i.e., psychological contract violation), and the moderator (i.e., job involvement) were taken at Time 1; and dependent variables (i.e., depressed mood at work, turnover intention) were taken at Time 2. Results illustrated that job involvement was an important construct in understanding individuals' negative reactions to psychological contract violations. Implications and limitations are discussed, and suggestions for future research are offered.     

Is the practice of yoga associated with positive outcomes? The role of passion

Using the dualistic model of passion [Vallerand, R.J., Blanchard, C.M., Mageau, G.A., Koestner, R., Ratelle, C.F., Léonard, M.,?…?Marsolais, J. (2003). Les passions de l’âme: On obsessive and harmonious passion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 756–767], this research represents an initial attempt to examine whether an activity that is generally recognized to have widespread benefits, namely yoga, can still relate differently to outcomes as a function of the type of activity involvement (i.e., passion). Vallerand et al. (2003) distinguish two types of passion: harmonious passion, characterized by a volitional engagement in a beloved activity, and obsessive passion, which entails an uncontrollable urge to partake in the activity. Study 1 (n?=?75) revealed that harmonious passion for yoga was more positively associated with positive psychological outcomes than obsessive passion. In Study 2 (n?=?89), these findings were replicated and extended using a 3-month prospective design. Although preliminary, the results of this research suggest that the type of passion one has for a ‘positive’ activity makes a difference for one's psychological and physical well-being.     

Power and gender influences on responsibility attributions: the case of disagreements in relationships

In a sample of 156 college students (74 men and 82 women), the authors examined the influences of power status and gender on responsibility attributions and resolution choices during disagreements in personal relationships. The participants read vignettes in which relationship partners disagreed; then the participants placed themselves in the situations depicted and reported their perceived responsibility and resolution choices. The participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 power-status conditions (you have/your partner has greater power in the situation). Power status was based on resource power (i.e., a monetary inheritance) or on perceived power (i.e., financial knowledge). The authors tested 2 alternative power-status hypotheses (justified benefits/rights and ability/accountability) and 1 gender hypothesis. The results supported both power-status hypotheses. In addition, the men's and the women's responsibility attributions and resolution choices (i.e., adhering to their own wishes or deferring to their partner's wishes) revealed differential dependence on the type of power held by the person with greater situational power. The authors suggest issues further research concerning how situational differences in socially based expectations (e.g., power status and gender) may affect conflicts within relationships.     

Living Conditions and Psychological Distress in Latino Migrant Day Laborers: The Role of Cultural and Community Protective Factors

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between typically difficult living conditions and psychological distress in Latino migrant day laborers (LMDLs), with attention to the potentially protective roles of contact with family in country of origin (i.e., communication, sending money, etc.), availability of local culture (i.e., food, music, people from one's country of origin), and utilization of community resources perceived to be culturally competent (i.e., services that are respectful, able to serve Latinos, able to solve problems, in Spanish, etc.). Participants were 344 LMDLs surveyed in the San Francisco Bay Area. As hypothesized: (a) difficult living conditions were related to depression, anxiety, and desesperación [desperation], the latter a popular Latino idiom of psychological distress recently validated on LMDLs; (b) contact with family moderated the relation between difficult living conditions and depression and desesperación but not anxiety and (c) access to local culture, and utilization of community resources, mediated the relation between difficult living conditions and depression and desesperación but not anxiety. Implications for intervening at local and larger levels in order to provide some protection against distress built into the LMDL experience in the United States are discussed.     

Improved resiliency and well‐being among military personnel in a Swedish Naval Force after a counter‐piracy operation off the coast of Somalia

The aim of this study was to explore: (1) how the psychological health of the members of the first European Union Naval Force (ME01) was affected by international deployment off the coast of Somalia; and (2) if and how organizational and personal factors (e.g., type of personnel category, previous experiences, and resilience) affected their psychological health and well‐being post‐deployment. The study had an exploratory longitudinal design, where the participants were assessed both before and after deployment (i.e., T1 and T2). The participants (n = 129, 120 men, 9 women) were equally distributed between officers (n = 68; 64 men, 4 women) and sailors (n = 61; 56 men, 5 women). The members' average age was 31 years, ranging from 20 to 61. For the majority (78%) ME01 was their first international deployment and officers were, in general, more experienced than sailors. The overall results showed that the members' reported a positive experience with improved resilience and well‐being (e.g., sense of coherence). However, the result also showed that type of personnel category (i.e., officer or sailor) affected their psychological health. Why and how these differences among military personnel arise is discussed, but deserves further attention.     

Social comparison and optimism about one's relational future: order effects in social judgment

This research tested the hypothesis that when individuals first answer a question about relative evaluation, i.e. the degree in which they feel they are better or worse off than comparison others and next a question about general evaluation, i.e. the general judgment of one's situation or one's characteristics, the correlations between both variables will be higher than when the order of the questions is reversed. In the first case individuals will use social comparison information as a reference point for making a judgment of their situation, whereas general evaluations not preceded by relative evaluations may be based on a variety of factors. The content of the questions concerned optimism with respect to one's own prospects concerning intimate relationships, i.e. the perceived chances of having a happy intimate relationship in the future, and the perceived chance of not becoming involved in a divorce. The results of two studies—a questionnaire study among students (n=274), and a computer administered survey among single adults (n=275)—confirmed the predictions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bias at school: Perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination among Latino and European American children

Latino and White/European American children (N = 99; 5–11 years of age) participated in a study designed to examine their perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination in educational settings. Children heard scenarios involving two children of different races/ethnicities, one who received a more positive outcome from a teacher than the other. Children were then asked about the reasons for the differential outcomes. The role of (a) situational information (i.e., the race/ethnicity of the children and teacher in the story, and information about the teacher's past choices); (b) social-cognitive abilities (i.e., theory of mind); and (c) child characteristics (i.e., child's race/ethnicity and racial/ethnic attitudes) in facilitating children's attributions to discrimination was assessed. Results indicated that children most frequently attributed differential outcomes to the quality of work or the ability of students. Children were most likely to make an attribution to discrimination when the teacher rewarded a same-race/ethnicity child and had a history of similar behavior. Children's attention to situational information was moderated, however, by their social-cognitive abilities. Children's own race/ethnicity and ethnic attitudes also affected their perceptions of discrimination.     

The unwelcoming experience of abusive supervision and the impact of leader characteristics: turning employees into poor organizational citizens and future quitters

ABSTRACT

Over three studies (i.e., two 2 × 2 experiments and a multi-source field study), we examine the relationship between abusive supervision, leader characteristics, and organizational inclusion on employee outcomes. Drawing on the group value theory of organizational justice and multiple needs theory of organizational justice, we argue that abusive supervision is counterproductive to making employees feel welcome. Specifically, we demonstrate that abusive supervision demoralizes employees’ feelings of organizational inclusion. Additionally, we draw upon research that suggests that the display of hostility inherent in abusive supervision can be perceived differently when it comes from a strategic versus impulsive source. We build upon this reasoning to examine and explain how leader characteristics might alter the effect of abusive supervision on organizational inclusion. More specifically, we suggest that leader political skill (i.e., strategic source) and leader neuroticism (i.e., impulsive source) act as moderators of the relationship between abusive supervision and organizational inclusion. We integrate organizational justice and inclusion theories to demonstrate that abusive supervision can be interpreted as an unwelcoming experience that ultimately has the ability to turn employees into poor organizational citizens (i.e., decrease engagement of OCBs) and future quitters (i.e., increase of turnover intentions). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Expectations for Postcombination Organizational Life: A Study of Responses to Merger and Acquisition Scenarios1

A scenario experiment was conducted to investigate expectations for postmerger/acquisition (combination) life. Relative size of participants' organization (i.e., being in an organization of smaller, equal or larger size), and the motive for combining (growth or survival) were predicted to influence postcombination expectations regarding personal autonomy, the use of power, postcombination sense of organizational morale/identity, feelings of job security, and career opportunities. After reading scenarios of organizational combinations in which relative organizational size and motive were manipulated, 252 MBA students responded to questionnaires designed to assess their postcombination expectations. Results indicated that size and motive had significant effects on expectations. In brief (a) the most positive postcombination expectations were from persons in larger organizations when the motive for combining was growth and (b) the least positive postcombination expectations were from persons from smaller organizations when survival was the motive for combining.     

You'll change more than I will: Adults’ predictions about their own and others’ future preferences

It has been argued that adults underestimate the extent to which their preferences will change over time. We sought to determine whether such mispredictions are the result of a difficulty imagining that one's own current and future preferences may differ or whether it also characterizes our predictions about the future preferences of others. We used a perspective-taking task in which we asked young people how much they liked stereotypically young-person items (e.g., Top 40 music, adventure vacations) and stereotypically old-person items (e.g., jazz, playing bridge) now, and how much they would like them in the distant future (i.e., when they are 70 years old). Participants also made these same predictions for a generic same-age, same-sex peer. In a third condition, participants predicted how much a generic older (i.e., age 70) same-sex adult would like items from both categories today. Participants predicted less change between their own current and future preferences than between the current and future preferences of a peer. However, participants estimated that, compared to a current older adult today, their peer would like stereotypically young items more in the future and stereotypically old items less. The fact that peers’ distant-future estimated preferences were different from the ones they made for “current” older adults suggests that even though underestimation of change of preferences over time is attenuated when thinking about others, a bias still exists.     

The generalized sense of power is a psychological resource: Evidence from a disaster response field training exercise

We examined whether the generalized sense of power—the belief that one is able to influence others in one's various social relationships—serves as a psychological resource that enables leadership in high-stakes, unfamiliar group challenges, such as emergencies or crises. We studied current and prospective humanitarian aid professionals (N = 180) during a major field training exercise: a three-day, immersive simulated humanitarian crisis. Individuals who entered the simulated crisis with a greater sense of power in their social relationships experienced lower stress (anxiety), behaved more assertively, and left the simulation with a relatively heightened desire to lead, despite not being deemed better leaders by their teammates. Lacking an initial sense of power was associated with experiences (e.g., feeling timid) that undermined the desire to lead. These results suggest that the psychological sense of power is a key leadership resource, without which one may be at risk of self-selecting out of leadership.     

社会文化视角下的农民工心理契约违背机制

本研究考察了集体主义文化价值观（集体主义倾向和权力距离感）与当前社会信任危机引发的各类受骗事件对农民工心理契约违背感知的影响及作用机制。来自长三角和东南沿海地区的12家制造企业的676名农民工参加了调研。研究结果显示,权力距离感和受骗事件对农民工心理契约违背的感知分别有直接的抑制和促进作用;集体主义倾向、权力距离感和受骗事件通过组织公正感的中介作用,对农民工心理契约违背的感知有着间接的抑制或促进作用。     

The influence of social interaction on the dynamics of employees’ psychological contracting in digitally transforming organizations

ABSTRACT

This paper takes a process perspective in exploring the influence of social interaction on the dynamics of psychological contracting throughout organizational change. Although social interaction is a key focus in social exchange theory, this aspect is largely overlooked in the current psychological contract literature. In this qualitative study, we adopt a retrospective design, asking change recipients to recollect events over time in the context of digital transformation in Dutch travel organizations. Our data reveal a sequence of different kinds of social interactions over the course of a change process, from collective-focused interactions (i.e., kindness and sharing) in stable contracts to transactional interactions (i.e., “what is in it for me”) following psychological contract disruption, to relational interactions (i.e., vigilance about equity in social exchange) in psychological contract repair, and to a final return to resonance and alignment with others and a return to psychological contract maintenance. Our results suggest that social interactions play a more potent role in the dynamics of psychological contracting than is currently recognized in the literature. Finally, we discuss a number of implications for dynamic models of psychological contracting.     

The attraction of social power: The influence of construing power as opportunity versus responsibility

Social power can be construed as opportunity (focusing on the possibility of one's own goal achievement resulting from the control over others' outcomes) or as responsibility (focusing on the implications of one's own actions resulting from the control over others' outcomes). Four experiments tested the impact of different construals of social power on the attraction of power. Due to the salience of the possibility for goal achievement, power construed as opportunity was expected to be more attractive than power construed as responsibility. This effect was predicted to be particularly pronounced among individuals with a strong promotion orientation, because of their focus on gains and achievements. Results supported these predictions and indicate that future research should take different construals of power into account.     

Genetic Testing Likelihood: The Impact of Abortion Views and Quality of Life Information on Women’s Decisions

Little is known about factors predicting the likelihood of choosing genetic testing in college aged women versus older women, including knowledge of quality of life (QOL) associated with a disorder. Using vignettes with female college students (Experiment 1: n = 257, mean age = 19.70 yrs) and female faculty/staff/alumni (Experiment 2: n _nulliparous = 83, mean age = 30.20 yrs; n _mothers = 53, mean age = 33.77 yrs), we examined the contribution of multiple factors to predicting genetic testing likelihood for cystic fibrosis. We investigated malleable situational factors (style of genetic risk presentation and providing QOL information including physical and social aspects) and stable dispositional factors (abortion views). Parity (i.e., prior births) was more influential in women’s genetic testing likelihood than was age. Greater acceptability of abortion for oneself and self-assessed knowledge following QOL information were predictors of higher testing likelihood for college students. Greater acceptability of abortion for another person was a predictor for nulliparous women. Abortion views moderated the effect of predictors for nulliparous women and mothers. Findings encourage genetic counselors to utilize QOL information to promote informed decision making through genetic testing.     

Effects of Response Instructions on Faking a Situational Judgment Test

A situational judgment test (SJT) and a Big 5 personality test were administered to 203 participants under instructions to respond honestly and to fake good using a within‐subjects design. Participants indicated both the best and worst response (i.e., Knowledge) and the most likely and least likely response (i.e., Behavioral Tendency) to each situation. Faking effect size for the SJT Behavioral Tendency response format was (d=.34) when participants responded first under honest instructions and (d=.15) when they responded first under faking instructions. Those for the Big 5 dimensions ranged from d=.26 to d=1.0. For the Knowledge response format results were inconsistent. Honest condition Knowledge SJT scores were more highly correlated with cognitive ability (r=.56) than were Behavioral Tendency SJT scores (r=.38). Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

The effect of perspective-taking on reasoning about strong and weak belief-relevant arguments

This study investigated whether perspective-taking reduces belief bias independently of argument strength. Belief bias occurs when individuals evaluate belief-consistent arguments more favourably than belief-inconsistent arguments. Undergraduates (n = 93) read arguments that varied with respect to belief-consistency (i.e., belief-consistent or belief-inconsistent) and strength (i.e., strong or weak) about the topic of climate change. After participants read each argument, those in the perspective-taking condition rated the argument's strength from a perspective of a climate scientist and then from their own perspectives, whereas those in the no perspective-taking condition only rated the arguments from their own perspectives. Perspective-taking eliminated belief bias for weak arguments, but not for strong arguments. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed, and directions for future research are provided.