Personality correlates of exceptional personal influence: A note on Thorndike's (1950) creators and leaders

Past investigations suggest that the magnitude of social influence exerted by an eminent individual may be determined by similar personality traits for both creators and leaders. This hypothesis is tested by examining the 91 historical figures whom Thorndike (1950) had assessed on 48 characteristics. After collapsing these assessments into the four dimensions of industriousness, extraversion, aggressiveness, and intelligence, and objectively measuring the differential eminence of the individuals using a composite archival index, it was found that achieved distinction in both domains was a positive linear function of intelligence and aggressiveness. Not only were the functions identical across both creators and leaders, but the relationships also seemed to be transhistorically invariant.     

Thematic fame and melodic originality in classical music: A multivariate computer-content analysis1

In order to understand the foundation of eminence in cultural activities, an attempt was made at learning why some works creators produce are more famous than others. This paper specifically investigates the differential fame of 5,046 themes by 10 eminent composers of classical music. Hypotheses derived from past research in creativity and esthetics were tested using a computerized content analysis. The results show that (a) the fame of a musical theme is a positive linear function of melodic originality (rather then a curvilinear inverted-U function), and (b) melodic originality is a positive function of biographical stress and of historical time, and an inverted backwards-J function of age.     

Eminence, IQ, Physical and Mental Health, and Achievement Domain: Cox's 282 Geniuses Revisited

ABSTRACT— Catharine Cox published two studies of highly eminent creators and leaders, the first in 1926 as the second volume of Terman's landmark Genetic Studies of Genius and the second in 1936 as a coauthored article. The former publication concentrated on the relation between IQ and achieved eminence, and the latter focused on early physical and mental health. Taking advantage of unpublished data from the second study, we examined, for the first time, the relationships among achieved eminence, IQ, early physical and mental health, and achievement domain. The correlation and regression analyses showed, for these 282 individuals, that eminence is a positive function of IQ and that IQ is a positive function of mental health and a negative function of physical health, implying an indirect effect of physical and mental health on eminence. Furthermore, levels of early physical and mental health vary across 10 specific domains of achievement.     

Stimulus context and infant orientation discrimination

In three experiments, the effect of additional "contextual" elements on the discrimination of the orientation of linear and curvilinear segments was investigated with 4-month-old infants. In Experiment 1, paired visual matrices (one which contained some irregularity in orientation of internal elements, vs one which contained no irregularities) were presented. Infants detected irregular matrices significantly better than chance, but such detection was not aided by contextual elements. Discrimination of orientation in Experiment 2 was assessed with a paired-comparison familiarization-novelty paradigm. It was found that the addition of elements here significantly aided discrimination of linear segment orientation, but not curvilinear segment orientation. Experiment 3 investigated why this effect was not found for curvilinear segments; after equating the curvilinear stimuli to linear ones used in Experiment 2 with respect to the closedness of figure, discrimination of curvilinear orientation was observed.     

Gender and genius in japan: Feminine eminence in masculine culture

The number of distinguished women was hypothesized to fluctuate over consecutive historical periods according to concomitant changes in the dominant male culture. Three conjectures were evaluated using a sample of 2453 Japanese creators and leaders active between 580 and 1959. Applying generational time-series analysis to 69 consecutive 20-year periods, indicators gauged changes in female literary and nonliterary eminence along with male literary activity, power and aggressive behavior, and ideology. Although the emergence of gender-biased belief systems was negatively associated with female distinction in all domains, literary success of both men and women was linked to similar contextual factors, especially a negative association with male power and aggressive activities. The group-level results are interpreted in terms of possible individual and interpersonal processes.I thank Arakaki Makoto for his assistance on this project.     

SUPERIOR'S UPWARD INFLUENCE,SATISFACTION, AND OPENNESS IN SUPERIOR-SUBORDINATE COMMUNICATION: A REEXAMINATION OF THE “PELZ EFFECT”

Utilizing questionnaire data collected from subordinates (Ss) in three different organizations, this study reexamined the validity of the “Pelz Effect.” Specifically, the investigation explored the House et al. assertion that, for subordinates who perceive their supervisors as supportive leaders, there exists a curvilinear rather than positive linear association between supervisors’ upward influence and subordinates’ openness and satisfaction with supervision. Results, in general, did not support the House et al. position, but rather Pelz's original findings. However, analyses suggest the additional conclusion that the “Pelz Effect” is viable for subordinates who perceive their superiors as supportive or nonsupportive leaders, but has its greatest effects for subordinates in the former group.     

What breaks a leader: the curvilinear relation between assertiveness and leadership

The authors propose that individual differences in assertiveness play a critical role in perceptions about leaders. In contrast to prior work that focused on linear effects, the authors argue that individuals seen either as markedly low in assertiveness or as high in assertiveness are generally appraised as less effective leaders. Moreover, the authors claim that observers' perceptions of leaders as having too much or too little assertiveness are widespread. The authors linked the curvilinear effects of assertiveness to underlying tradeoffs between social outcomes (a high level of assertiveness worsens relationships) and instrumental outcomes (a low level of assertiveness limits goal achievement). In 3 studies, the authors used qualitative and quantitative approaches and found support for their account. The results suggest that assertiveness (and other constructs with nonlinear effects) might have been overlooked in research that has been focused on identifying what makes a leader rather than on identifying what breaks a leader.     

小而灵通，老而顽固？年龄信息对创造性观念评价的影响及其机制

创作者的年龄作为重要的社会线索信息,可能会影响大众对其观点的创造性评价。本研究以物品非常规用途想法作为评价材料,考察了4类年龄信息对创造性观念评价的影响,以及相关刻板印象在其中的作用。结果发现,10岁左右年龄信息会提升被试的新颖性和适用性评分;30岁左右的信息提升了新颖性评分,但刻板印象强弱对评分变化不具有预测作用。这表明,对于领域一般性产品,有关创作者的刻板印象不易被激活并应用于创造性评价。     

Properties of curvilinear vection

Approximately linear relationships were observed between contrast, spatial frequency, temporal frequency, or velocity of stimulation and perceived velocity of curvilinear vection—that is, a visually induced self-motion in a curved path. Similarly, linear relationships were also found between the perceived degree of curvature of curvilinear vection and spatial frequency or velocity of stimulation. Since the perceived velocity of curvilinear vection varies with contrast, spatial frequency, temporal frequency, and angular velocity, and the perceived degree of curvature of curvilinear vection varies only with spatial frequency and angular velocity, peripheral vision is not sufficient for computing accurately the curvilinear component of induced self-motion in a curved path. Concurrently, it was shown that the perceived direction of curvilinear vection is not always unambiguously perceived (Sauvan & Bonnet, 1989). Consequently, it is suggested that two different types of visual processing, which involve the peripheral or the central vision, underlie the processing of curvilinear vection.     

Evaluating FACES III and the Circumplex Model: 2,440 families

Previous evaluations of the Circumplex Model's curvilinear hypothesis using FACES instruments have yielded conflicting results. A review of the different research procedures and samples used in those investigations revealed that none of the studies had samples large and/or heterogenous enough to test the curvilinear hypothesis adequately. The present study evaluates the curvilinear hypothesis of family functioning and the concurrent validity of FACES III with a sample of optimal size (N = 2,440 families) and diversity. The lack of support for the curvilinear hypothesis in this "greenhouse" sample is explained by different findings for the two FACES III subscales. There was no relationship between the study's measures of well-being and the adaptability subscale and a linear relationship between these measures and the cohesion subscale. Implications of these findings for the continuing use of the FACES III and for the Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems are discussed.     

Revealing Hidden Curvilinear Relations Between Work Engagement and Its Predictors: Demonstrating the Added Value of Generalized Additive Model (GAM)

Previous studies measuring different aspects of the quality of life have, as a rule, presumed linear relationships between a dependent variable and its predictors. This article utilizes non-parametric statistical methodology to explore curvilinear relations between work engagement and its main predictors: job demands, job control and social support. Firstly, the study examines what additional information non-linear modeling can reveal regarding the relationship between work engagement and the three predictors in question. Secondly, the article compares the explanatory power of non-linear and linear modeling with regard to work engagement. The generalized additive model (GAM), that makes possible non-linear modeling, is compared with the widely used simply linear generalized linear model (GML) procedure. Based on the survey data (N = 7,867) collected in eight European countries in 2007, the article presents the following main results. GAM clearly fitted the data better than GLM. All investigated job characteristics had curvilinear relationships with work engagement, although job demands and job control relationships were almost linear. Social support had a clear U-shaped curvilinear connection to work engagement. Interactions between the three job characteristics were also found. Interaction between job demands and social support was curvilinear in shape. Finally, GAM proved to be a more practical and efficient tool of analysis than GLM in situations where there are reasons to assume curvilinear relationships, complex interactions effects between predictors.     

Age effects may be global, not local: comment on Fisk and Rogers (1991)

A series of analyses of variance on target search times allowed Fisk and Rogers (1991) to reject the null hypothesis that age had a uniform, additive effect across search conditions. It does not, however, follow that age affected some conditions in an exceptional way, as Fisk and Rogers concluded. Age may have had a uniform but nonadditive effect across conditions. In this article, it is shown that age had a uniform linear, or perhaps slightly curvilinear, effect on search times. This "null hypothesis" adequately accounted for the age effects in all 27 search conditions. Indeed, it accounted for the age effects in 107 conditions abstracted from other visual search studied and for the age effects in 154 conditions abstracted from a miscellaneous collection of nonsearch processing-time studies. The only variation in age outcomes across studies was consistent with sampling error, given the known variance in response times. It is concluded that age is experienced as a generalized slowing of the central nervous system uniformly affecting all information processes.     

Historical impact in psychology differs between demographic groups

Psychology has a long tradition of creating lists of the most eminent members of the discipline. Such lists are typically created under the assumption that there is a general answer to the question of eminence, covering all psychologists everywhere. We wondered, however, to what degree perceived eminence depends on the individual's particular demographic situation. Specifically, are different historical figures “eminent” to people of different genders, ages, and geographical locations? We tested this by asking a wide swath of people – mostly psychologists – who they think has had the most impact on the discipline of psychology, historically. We used an online game in which “players” were shown a series of pairs of significant figures from psychology's past and asked to select which had had the greater impact. We then converted these selections into a ranked list using the Elo rating system. Although our overall rankings had considerable similarity with traditional efforts, we also found that rankings differed markedly among different demographic groups, undermining the assumption of a general measure of eminence that is valid for all.     

Support for a continuous (single-process) model of recognition memory and source memory

Does memory retrieval occur in a continuous or an all-or-none manner? The shape of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) has been used to answer this question, with curvilinear and linear memory ROCs indicating continuous and all-or-none retrieval processes, respectively. Signal detection models (e.g., the unequal variance model) correspond to a continuous retrieval process, whereas threshold models (including the multinomial model and the recollection component of the dual-process model) correspond to an all-or-none process. In studies of source memory, Slotnick et al. (2000) and others have observed curvilinear ROCs (supporting the unequal variance model), whereas Yonelinas (1999) observed linear ROCs (supporting the dual-process model). We resolve these seemingly inconsistent results, showing that source memory ROCs are naturally curvilinear but can appear linear when nondiagnostic source information is included in the analysis. Furthermore, the unequal variance model accounted for both recognition memory and source memory ROCs, supporting a continuous process of memory retrieval.     

Assortative mating and marital quality in newlyweds: a couple-centered approach

Using a couple-centered approach, the authors examined assortative mating on a broad range of variables in a large (N = 291) sample of newlyweds. Couples showed substantial similarity on attitude-related domains but little on personality-related domains. Similarity was not due to social homogamy or convergence. The authors examined linear and curvilinear effects of spouse similarity on self and observer indicators of marital quality. Results show (a) positive associations between similarity and marital quality for personality-related domains but not for attitude-related domains, (b) that similarity on attachment characteristics were most strongly predictive of satisfaction, (c) robust curvilinear effects for husbands but not for wives, (d) that profile similarity remained a significant predictor of marital quality even when spouses' self-ratings were controlled, and (e) that profile-based similarity indices were better predictors of marital quality than absolute difference scores.     

Time pressure with state vigour and state absorption: are they non-linearly related?

On the basis of activation theory and the challenge-hindrance demands model, this study was conducted to clarify the functional form (linear vs. curvilinear) of the within-persons relations of time pressure with vigour and absorption. Further, we investigated whether these relations would be moderated by time-varying job control. A total of 52 full-time employees (44% female) participated in the study, which included two assessments per day over the course of 2 work weeks. Our analyses confirmed an inverted U-shaped within-persons association between state time pressure and state vigour and a moderator effect of job control on the curvilinear relation. By contrast, state time pressure and state absorption displayed only a positive linear relation. This study demonstrates that within-persons high levels of time pressure may impair employees’ energy levels but still promote their absorption at work.     

Understanding The Curvilinear Relationships between LMX Differentiation and Team Coordination and Performance

The leader–member exchange (LMX) literature argues that leaders develop different quality dyadic relationships with members in the same team (i.e., LMX differentiation). Research has generally not found support for a linear (i.e., main effect) relationship between LMX differentiation and team performance; rather, moderators typically determine whether the relationship is significantly positive or negative. Examining linear effect moderators alone, however, does not account for (a) potential curvilinear (i.e., inverted U‐shaped) effects, (b) explanatory mechanisms of how LMX differentiation influences team performance, or (c) moderators of curvilinear effects. Integrating social identity theory with LMX differentiation research, we propose inverted U‐shaped relationships between LMX differentiation and both team coordination (as a mediator) and team performance (as an outcome), and we examine both team size and team power distance orientation as moderators. Using data from 928 employees in 145 teams in 3 organizations, we found an inverted U‐shaped relationship between LMX differentiation and team coordination, which, in turn, partially mediated LMX differentiation's inverted U‐shaped relationship with team performance. Larger teams, or those with higher team power distance orientation, benefit more from LMX differentiation. By integrating social identity theory with LMX differentiation research, we enhance the understanding of the processes by, and conditions under, which LMX differentiation affects team performance both positively and negatively.     

Recognition memory for faces: When familiarity supports associative recognition judgments

Recognition memory for single items can be dissociated from recognition memory for the associations between items. For example, recognition tests for single words produce curvilinear receiver operating characteristics (ROCs), but associative recognition tests for word pairs produce linear ROCs. These dissociations are consistent with dual-process theories of recognition and suggest that associative recognition relies on recollection but that item recognition relies on a combination of recollection and assessments of familiarity. In the present study, we examined associative recognition ROCs for facial stimuli by manipulating the central and external features, in order to determine whether linear ROCs would be observed for stimuli other than arbitrary word pairs. When the faces were presented upright, familiarity estimates were significantly above zero, and the associative ROCs were curvilinear, suggesting that familiarity contributed to associative judgments. However, presenting the faces upside down effectively eliminated the contribution of familiarity to associative recognition, and the ROCs were linear. The results suggest that familiarity can support associative recognition judgments, if the associated components are encoded as a coherent gestalt, as in upright faces.     

Spatiotemporal boundaries of linear vection

Thresholds for the perception of linear vection were measured. These thresholds allowed us to define the spatiotemporal contrast surface sensitivity and the spatiotemporal domain of the perception of rectilinear vection (a visually induced self-motion in a straight line). Moreover, a Weber’s law was found, such that a mean relative differential threshold in angular velocity of about 41% is necessary to perceive curvilinear vection. This visually induced self-motion corresponds to the sensation of moving in a curved path. It is proposed that curvilinear vection is induced when the apparent velocity difference is detectable. The spatiotemporal domain of perception of rectilinear vection and its spatiotemporal contrast surface sensitivity are centered on low spatial frequencies. Concurrently, the values which correspond to the relative differential thresholds of curvilinear vection are low spatial frequencies. Accordingly, the peripheral ambient visual system seems to be involved in perceiving linear vection. It is argued further that the central ambient system might also be involved in the processing of linear vection.