Perceived Job Discrimination: Toward a model of applicant propensity to case initiation in selection

This paper develops and proposes the novel concept of perceived job discrimination (PJD) and a conceptual model of applicant propensity to case initiation (APCI) in employee selection. Distinguishing PJD from actual job discrimination (AJD) as traditionally viewed in selection, this paper puts forward a definition of PJD that emphasizes perceived unfair treatment and violations of the (pre‐)employment psychological contract. Differences between AJD and PJD are highlighted and a number of crucial situational features and measurement imperatives noted for PJD to be deemed to have occurred. Extending this construct, a detailed model of APCI is proposed specifying the key inputs, processes, and outcomes of applicant complaint and case initiation for unfair discrimination. Both concepts are argued to be relevant regardless of country‐specific legal requirements governing AJD. Future directions for research and selection practices in both PJD and APCI are noted throughout the paper.     

Perceived Job Discrimination: Going beyond a science of mean effects

This comment responds to the major issues raised by the papers of Anseel (2011) and Patterson and Zibarras (2011) as discussant commentaries to my keynote paper on perceived job discrimination (PJD) and applicant propensity to case initiation in employee selection. I respond first to the two main themes noted by these authors – (i) theoretical explanations for PJD, and, (ii) methodological and research design imperatives. In conclusion, this brief paper extends these issues to propose that applicant reactions research needs to develop from being a science of mean reactions to becoming a paradigm that can account for pragmatically important outlier reactions and responses as well.     

Gamification in employee selection: The development of a gamified assessment

Gamification has attracted increased attention among organizations and human resource professionals recently, as a novel and promising concept for attracting and selecting prospective employees. In the current study, we explore the construct validity of a new gamified assessment method in employee selection that we developed following the situational judgement test (SJT) methodology. Our findings support the applicability of game elements into a traditional form of assessment built to assess candidates' soft skills. Specifically, our study contributes to research on gamification and employee selection exploring the construct validity of a gamified assessment method indicating that the psychometric properties of SJTs and their transformation into a gamified assessment are a suitable avenue for future research and practice in this field.     

Attention Metaphors: How Metaphors Guide the Cognitive Psychology of Attention

The concept of attention is defined by multiple inconsistent metaphors that scientists use to identify relevant phenomena, frame hypotheses, construct experiments, and interpret data. (1) The Filter metaphor shapes debates about partial vs. complete filtering, early vs. late selection, and information filtering vs. enhancement. (2) The Spotlight metaphor raises the issue of space- vs. object-based selection, and it guides research on the size, shape, and movement of the attentional focus. (3) The Spotlight-in-the-Brain metaphor is frequently used to interpret imaging studies of attention. (4) The debate between supramodal and pre-motor theories of attention replays the dichotomy between the Spotlight and the Vision metaphors of attention. Our analysis reveals the central role of metaphor in scientific theory and research on attention, exposes hidden assumptions behind various research strategies, and shows the need for flexibility in the use of current metaphors.     

The Conceptualisation and Measurement of Pacing Styles

Pacing style reflects how individuals distribute their effort over time in working toward deadlines. As a new construct introduced in 2002, the notion of pacing style has intuitive appeal, but has been under‐researched, in part, due to a measurement need. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to improve the conceptualisation of pacing style and to develop and validate a new scale‐based measure. The result was the nine‐item Pacing Action Categories of Effort Distribution (PACED), consisting of deadline (complete work in a short time period just before the due date), steady (spread task activities evenly over time), and U‐shaped (invest most of the effort at the start and finish of a task, with a break in between) action styles. Across eight independent samples of students, faculty, and organisational employees, we examined the dimensionality, internal consistency, stability (temporal and situational), and validity (construct, convergent, discriminant, predictive) of PACED. Results support the use of PACED as a reliable and valid measure, and we discuss several research avenues that would benefit from incorporating the concept of pacing style.     

Gendered Organizations and Inequality Regimes: Gender,Homosexuality, and Inequality Within Religious Congregations

Building upon Acker's ( 1990 . Hierarchies, jobs, bodies: A theory of gendered organizations. Gender and Society 4(2):139–58; 2006. Inequality regimes: Gender, class, and race in organizations. Gender and Society 20(4):441–64) theory of gendered organizations and inequality regimes, this study investigates the extent to which inequality in gender and sexuality are linked within religious congregations. Using a nationally representative sample of congregations in the United States, the results demonstrate that a congregation's stance toward allowing women to serve as head clergyperson is significantly associated with its acceptance of gays and lesbians as members or leaders within the congregation. This research extends existing literature in three ways. First, it offers support for the utility of the concept of inequality regimes for investigating dimensions of inequality in addition to gender. Second, it provides evidence of the intersection of gender and sexuality within religious congregations, thereby contributing to the growing dialogue on congregational responses to homosexuality. Finally, these findings propose a number of avenues for future research regarding gender, sexuality, and organizations.     

The Forgotten Facet: Employee Satisfaction with Management above the Level of Immediate Supervision

This paper contends that satisfaction with management above immediate supervision is a key component of overall job satisfaction. We demonstrate that early job satisfaction researchers regarded this construct as very important, and that practitioners continue to regard the construct as very important. Yet, the visibility of this construct in current academic research is hampered by the absence of a comprehensive and theoretically based measure of the construct. In the present paper, we define the construct and formulate a nomological network for it. We subsequently describe the development of the Satisfaction with Upper and Middle Management (SUMM) scale, and we assess the validity of its scores via four independent samples. Results support our contention that satisfaction with management should be related to the traditional job satisfaction facets, but also that, because it is the facet of job satisfaction that pertains to the organisation's collective authority system, it should explain incremental variance (beyond these traditional facets) not only in global job satisfaction but also in organisational commitment and organisational justice. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.     

Drivers' compliance with speed limits: an application of the theory of planned behavior

The theory of planned behavior (TPB; I. Ajzen, 1985) was applied to drivers' compliance with speed limits. Questionnaire data were collected for 598 drivers at 2 time points separated by 3 months. TPB variables, demographic information, and self-reported prior behavior were measured at Time 1, and self-reported subsequent behavior was measured at Time 2. In line with the TPB, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived control were positively associated with behavioral intention, and intention and perceived control were positively associated with subsequent behavior. TPB variables mediated the effects of age and gender on behavior. Prior behavior was found to moderate the perceived control-intention and perceived control-subsequent behavior relationships. Practical implications of the findings for road safety and possible avenues for further research are discussed.     

A focus on commitment: the roles of transformational and transactional leadership and self-regulatory focus in fostering organizational and safety commitment

The concept of employees’ commitment is one of the most challenging concepts in the management, organizational behaviour and human resource management literatures and research. The current study focuses on the construct of commitment as an emotional attitude, and expands the concept of general organizational commitment to a new more specific form of commitment, commitment to safety. Furthermore, commitment theorists commonly identify leadership as an important contributing factor to the development of organizational commitment. We aim to explain an underlying motivational mechanism, self-regulatory foci, through which leadership styles foster followers’ commitment. Results of three studies that used different methods (field and experimental), within different samples, demonstrated that transformational leadership was positively associated with followers’ promotion focus, which in turn was positively associated with both followers’ general and affective commitment to safety. Prevention focus mediated the positive relationship between a transactional active leadership style and both followers’ general and continuance commitment to safety. The implications of the findings for theory and practice are further discussed.     

Relationships and Emotional Experience in a Process of Gay Identity Development: A Case-Study Based on Personal Construct Theory

A case-study of gay identity development is presented based on Kelly's personal construct theory. The subject is a married man in his early thirties. Repertory grid technique is used to investigate the subject's construing of his relationships with gay men, and Kelly's account of emotion in terms of constructs of transition is used in analysing the emotional dimensions of the subject's experience. Three dimensions of interpersonal construing emerged from the grid analysis: emotional impact, negative affect and friendship. Five aspects of the subject's emotional experience are discussed: aggression, threat, anxiety, hostility and guilt. Some implications of the study for counselling are outlined, its limitations noted, and possible avenues for further research identified. It is argued that the study serves to illustrate the value of Kelly's perspective in understanding the interpersonal and emotional dimensions of gay identity development.     

《穆勒评注》中的交往异化:马克思的转折点——马克思《詹姆斯·穆勒〈政治经济学原理〉一书摘要》研究

迄今为止,人们往往把《巴黎手稿》的异化理论归结为异化劳动。而实际上它决不仅仅指《第一手稿》中的异化劳动,还指《穆勒评注》中的交往异化。交往异化是马克思走出孤立人的自我异化逻辑,走向复杂的社会关系逻辑的关键环节,也是马克思建构社会概念以及唯物史观的前提。因此,交往异化在思想水平上高于异化劳动,《穆勒评注》在理论上也比《第一手稿》成熟,我们应该遵循《第一手稿》在前《穆勒评注》在后的文献学顺序解读《巴黎手稿》。如果说马克思在其早期思想发展过程中有一次根本性转变的话,《穆勒评注》就是这次转变的转折点。     

The need for an evolving concept of validity in industrial and personnel psychology: Psychometric, legal, and emerging issues

The Trinitarian view of validity (namely content, criterion-related, and construct) has dominated psychology for almost a half century. In industrial and personnel psychology especially, content and criterion-related (in particular) forms of validity have served as workhorses. Such a limited focus has lead to a stagnation of the area and the inability to incorporate more theory into the research and practice of personnel psychology. Therefore, we review the evolution of the concept of validity in the psychology discipline, with a particular emphasis on industrial and personnel psychology. We then review the legal and statutory history within industrial and personnel psychology that has helped to shape the concept of validity over the years. Finally, we examine some emerging trends in industrial and personnel psychology, including the issue of graduate training, which may have important consequences on how we conceptualize validity in the future in both our research and practice of personnel psychology.     

The need for an evolving concept of validity in industrial and personnel psychology: Psychometric, legal, and emerging issues

The Trinitarian view of validity (namely content, criterion-related, and construct) has dominated psychology for almost a half century. In industrial and personnel psychology especially, content and criterion-related (in particular) forms of validity have served as workhorses. Such a limited focus has lead to a stagnation of the area and the inability to incorporate more theory into the research and practice of personnel psychology. Therefore, we review the evolution of the concept of validity in the psychology discipline, with a particular emphasis on industrial and personnel psychology. We then review the legal and statutory history within industrial and personnel psychology that has helped to shape the concept of validity over the years. Finally, we examine some emerging trends in industrial and personnel psychology, including the issue of graduate training, which may have important consequences on how we conceptualize validity in the future in both our research and practice of personnel psychology.     

Location,Location, Location: Effects of Cross-Religious Primes on Prosocial Behavior

Priming with religious concepts is known to have a positive effect on prosocial behavior; however, the effects of religious primes associated with outgroups remain unknown. To explore this, we conducted a field experiment in a multicultural, multireligious setting (the island of Mauritius). Our design used naturally occurring, ecologically relevant contextual primes pertinent to everyday religious and secular life while maintaining full experimental control. We found that both ingroup and outgroup religious contexts increased generosity as measured by a donation task. In accordance with previous research, we also found an interaction between individual religiosity and the efficacy of the religious primes. We discuss these findings and their interpretation, and we suggest potential avenues for further research.     

Conditioned reinforcement: Neglected or outmoded explanatory construct?

The construct of conditioned reinforcement has been challenged over the past two decades, both as an adequate explanation of behavior in various situations (e.g., behavioral chains) in which it was previously regarded as crucial and in terms of the validity of the concept of conditioned value on which it is based. Recent research is reviewed that answers these criticisms and vindicates the importance of the construct. Also discussed are unanswered empirical issues regarding the concept and its implications for behavioral phenomena of major importance for general-process learning theory, such as autoshaping and imprinting.     

Biculturalism Unpacked: Components, Measurement, Individual Differences, and Outcomes

Cultural contact due to migration, globalization, travel, and the resulting cultural diversity, has led to growing numbers of bicultural individuals, which demands further research on this group. In this article, we introduce the concept of biculturalism and provide the foundation necessary for understanding literature on this topic, beginning research in this area, and recognizing biculturalism in everyday life. In unpacking the construct of biculturalism, we first define it along with its components and related constructs (e.g. acculturation strategies). Second, we compare and discuss various ways of measuring biculturalism (e.g. unidimensional versus bidimensional models). Third, we organize and summarize the limited literature on individual differences in bicultural identity, focusing on the construct of Bicultural Identity Integration ( Benet-Martínez & Haritatos, 2005 ). Lastly, we review the possible outcomes resulting from biculturalism.     

Exploring how consumer cooperatives might strategically incorporate social media to distribute wine

This research advances our understanding of disruptions to marketing channels in the digital world by investigating the viability of consumer cooperative systems which are envisioned as multi-actor constructed networks using social media (SM) platforms. It introduces the concepts of “social media consumer wine cooperator” as a new distribution channel for wine and investigates the consumer's intention to participate in an SM and become a wine cooperator. Relying on the uses and gratifications theory (UGT), we adopted a quantitative research inquiry with data gathered using an online survey involving a sample of 486 French consumers. We empirically tested the relationships among four factors: attitude toward buying wine based on SM recommendations, perceived risks, intention to buy wine on SM, and consumer intention to become an SM wine cooperator. Findings indicate that the intention to be an SM wine cooperator is positively correlated with attitude toward buying wine based on SM recommendations and the intention to purchase wine on SM. To finish with, we link the concept of the consumer wine co-op to the current debate in the literature on centralized versus decentralized (built on top of blockchain networks) social media platforms, opening the door for future research avenues.     

Gemmules and Elements: On Darwin’s and Mendel’s Concepts and Methods in Heredity

Inheritance and variation were a major focus of Charles Darwin’s studies. Small inherited variations were at the core of his theory of organic evolution by means of natural selection. He put forward a developmental theory of heredity (pangenesis) based on the assumption of the existence of material hereditary particles. However, unlike his proposition of natural selection as a new mechanism for evolutionary change, Darwin’s highly speculative and contradictory hypotheses on heredity were unfruitful for further research. They attempted to explain many complex biological phenomena at the same time, disregarded the then modern developments in cell theory, and were, moreover, faithful to the widespread conceptions of blending and so-called Lamarckian inheritance. In contrast, Mendel’s approaches, despite the fact that features of his ideas were later not found to be tenable, proved successful as the basis for the development of modern genetics. Mendel took the study of the transmission of traits and its causes (genetics) out of natural history; by reducing complexity to simple particulate models, he transformed it into a scientific field of research. His scientific approach and concept of discrete elements (which later gave rise to the notion of discrete genes) also contributed crucially to the explanation of the existence of stable variations as the basis for natural selection.     

Construct similarity, self-meaningfulness, and interpersonal attraction

Self-meaningfulness, a concept arising from personal construct theory research, has been defined in terms of the importance of the self in the personal construct system Forty-two undergraduate volunteers completed Repertory Grid ratings of the self and 15 individuals (five liked, five disliked, and five toward whom the subject was neutral) It was found that high self-meaningfulness individuals' ratings of attraction were more strongly associated with the perception of similarity than were the ratings of low self-meaningfulness subjects High self-meaningfulness subjects saw liked individuals as significantly more similar to the self than did low self-meaningfulness subjects In addition, liked, neutral, and disliked figures were seen as significantly different from one another on the similarity to self-measure for high self-meaningfulness subjects Only disliked figures were judged as more distant from the self for low self-meaningfulness subjects These findings were discussed in terms of the importance of investigating individual differences in similarity-attraction     

The congruence problem in John Holland's theory of vocational decisions

John Holland's theory of vocational choice has been a dominant one in careers psychology for many years, especially in North America. A key construct in the theory is congruence between person and environment. Yet research has failed to find as strong a link as might be expected between congruence and outcomes such as satisfaction and performance. This could present a major challenge to the theory. Fourteen possible reasons for the weak associations between congruence and outcome measures are identified and discussed under three broad headings: the theory, the research and the world. It is concluded that the most important reasons are (1) that Holland's measures of people and environments partially neglect some important constructs; (2) that environments have not been conceptualized or measured entirely appropriately; and (3) the data that are used in the calculation of congruence indices are insufficiently precise or comprehensive. It is suggested that Holland's theory and associated measures should be developed further, and that the processual elements of it need more attention.