Learning outcomes in leadership teams: The multilevel dynamics of mastery goal orientation,team psychological safety,and team potency

A sample of 166 individual participants in 47 school leadership teams was used to investigate the multilevel relationships between individual learning outcomes and two dimensions of individual mastery achievement goal orientation—mastery approach goals (MAP), and an emotionally modified measure of mastery avoidance goals (MAV)—and two group-level emergent beliefs, namely, team potency and team psychological safety. All variables were independently positively related to individual learning; however, team potency had no incremental effect above team psychological safety. MAP and team potency interacted negatively on individual learning, indicating that the emergence of high potency in teams may compensate for low average level of MAP in teams. When running the complete research model, MAV and team psychological safety remained positively related to individual learning, in contrast to team potency and MAP. The implications of the findings for leadership teams are discussed.     

Literary critics in a new era

In this article I look at changes in the role of literary criticism in Russian literature since perestroika. The article draws on the research of Sergej Čuprinin and Birgit Menzel. Based on my readings of the debate among literary critics about what literary criticism is and should be, and focusing on the interrelationship in the triangle writer-critic-reader, I establish a typology of contemporary literary criticism: 1. the critic as a master of the “literary process”, 2. the critic as co-writer, 3. the critic as a guide for the reader.

Couples’ Attributions for Work Function Changes in Prodromal Huntington Disease

People who have tested positive for the expanded Huntington disease (HD) gene who are not yet diagnosed (pre-HD) and their companions report subtle changes in ability of people with pre-HD to do their jobs. However, it is not known whether they attribute these changes to HD. Semi-structured telephone interviews were analyzed from seven persons with pre-HD at different estimated points from diagnosis and six companions. Data were analyzed using qualitative analysis methods. Participants made attributions related to health, work, and temperament. Only one participant attributed a change to HD. The process of forming attributions was demonstrated through symptom monitoring and comparison of participants with pre-HD to others with and without HD. Participants also expressed uncertainty regarding how to make attributions. Attributions influence coping procedures, including whether to seek and accept medical treatment. In persons with prodromal HD the relationship between attributions and use of coping strategies for symptoms that interfere with job functioning is unknown.     

An auditory Stroop effect for pitch, loudness, and time

Increased reaction time to pitch, loudness, or duration of an auditorily presented word whose meaning is in conflict with the response label (i.e., high/low, loud/soft, or fast/slow) demonstrates an auditory Stroop effect. Fifteen normal adults participated in an auditory Stroop test. Analysis of reaction time data supports the existence of an auditory Stroop effect for pitch and loudness, but not duration. The interaction between psychoacoustic and semantic attributes of speech stimuli is discussed.     

Group-directed criticisms and recommendations for change: why newcomers arouse more resistance than old-timers

Three experiments examine the extent to which newcomers are able to influence their groups relative to old-timers. Specifically, how group members respond to criticisms of their group was assessed as a function of the intragroup position of the speaker. When criticizing their workplace (Experiment 1; N = 116), their profession (Experiment 2; N = 106), or an Internet community (Experiment 3; N = 189), newcomers aroused more resistance than old-timers, an effect that was mediated by perceptions of how attached critics were to their group identity. Experiment 3 also showed that newcomers could reduce resistance to their criticisms by distancing themselves from a group of which they were previously members. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The Moral Contours of Empathy

Morally contoured empathy is a form of reasonable partiality essential to the healthy care of dependents. It is critical as an epistemic aid in determining proper moral responsiveness; it is also, within certain richly normative roles and relationships, itself a crucial constitutive mode of moral connection. Yet the achievement of empathy is no easy feat. Patterns of incuriosity imperil connection, impeding empathic engagement; inappropriate empathic engagement, on the other hand, can result in self-effacement. Impartial moral principles and constraints offer at best meager protection against these perils, and hence serve poorly in securing morally contoured empathy. More nuanced and practical guidance should be sought in normatively substantive conceptions of our roles and relationships and their defining moral stakes. These, joined with more abstract moral tools, can facilitate rich, narratively textured interpretations of moralitys demands. While the content of our normative conceptions must be continually debated, engaging in this debate is vital to the achievement of proper empathy, and thus to effective, respectful, morally healthy care of dependents.This paper was originally presented at the conference on Reasonable Partiality at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, October 22–24, 2003. I wish to thank all those present for stimulating discussion. Special thanks go to Bert Musschenga, who organized the conference, and who has provided insightful feedback on this paper. Warm thanks as well to Brenda Almond and Bernie Rollin for lively exchanges on the issues addressed here and to Nancy Sherman for sharing with me an ongoing fascination with, and her own fantastic work on, empathy. Comments from an anonymous reviewer for the journal were challenging and helpful. Finally, I wish to express gratitude beyond normal bounds to Maggie Little both for her generosity, keen insight, and artful intervention at key points in this essays evolution and for her ground-breaking work on deontic pluralism that deeply influences the position I frame here.     

Randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a web-based stress management program among community college students

Background and Objectives: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a web-based stress management program among community college students that focused on increasing perceived control over stressful events. Design: Students (N = 257) were randomly assigned to a Present Control Intervention or a Stress-information only comparison group. Methods: Primary outcomes were perceived stress and stress symptoms; secondary outcomes were depression and anxiety. Self-report measures were completed online at preintervention, postintervention, and three-week follow-up. Intervention effects were estimated using linear mixed models. Seventy-five percent of the sample (n = 194) completed the pretest and comprised the intent-to-treat sample. Results: Participants in the intervention group reported significant increases in present control, and significant decreases in all four primary and secondary outcome measures from baseline to postintervention and follow-up. Within-group effect sizes were small to medium at postintervention (mean d = –.34) and follow-up (mean d = –.49). The mean between-group effect size on the four outcome measures was d = .35 at postintervention but d = .12 at follow-up, due to unexpected decreases in distress in the comparison group. Conclusions: Our online program is a cost-effective mental health program for college students. Limitations and future direction are discussed.