Examining the Factor Structure and Structural Invariance of the PANAS Across Children,Adolescents, and Young Adults

It is unclear what factor structure best represents the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) from childhood to adulthood. The PANAS structure was examined in a sample of 555 children (M age = 11.66, SD = 1.24), 608 adolescents (M age = 15.45, SD = 1.09), and 553 young adults (M age = 18.75, SD = 1.00). A partially invariant model consisting of Positive Affect, Fear, and Distress factors best represented the PANAS across all age groups, indicating that the underlying constructs are the same across age but that the factors become increasingly interrelated with increasing age.     

Extending Color Psychology to the Personality Realm: Interpersonal Hostility Varies by Red Preferences and Perceptual Biases

The color psychology literature has made a convincing case that color is not just about aesthetics, but also about meaning. This work has involved situational manipulations of color, rendering it uncertain as to whether color‐meaning associations can be used to characterize how people differ from each other. The present research focuses on the idea that the color red is linked to, or associated with, individual differences in interpersonal hostility. Across four studies (N = 376 undergraduates), red preferences and perceptual biases were measured along with individual differences in interpersonal hostility. It was found that (a) a preference for the color red was higher as interpersonal hostility increased, (b) hostile people were biased to see the color red more frequently than nonhostile people, and (c) there was a relationship between a preference for the color red and hostile social decision making. These studies represent an important extension of the color psychology literature, highlighting the need to attend to person‐based, as well as situation‐based, factors.     

When the Going Gets Tough,the Differentiated Keep Going: Cybernetic Self-Determination,Daily Obstacles,and Persistent Goal Pursuit

ABSTRACT. Cybernetic theories of self-regulation contend that an individual's goal system may work best to the extent it is differentiated. The present investigation pioneered an assessment of goal differentiation in relation to an important feature of goals—intrinsic motivation—and quantified the extent to which intrinsic motivation systematically increased from low- to mid- to high-level goals, the resulting individual difference termed cybernetic self-determination. In Study 1 (n = 106), it was found that frustrating daily events precipitated motivations to quit at low, but not high, levels of cybernetic self-determination. In Study 2 (n = 111), it was found that negative feedback was associated with reduced goal persistence at low, but not high, levels of cybernetic self-determination. The findings therefore converge on the idea that individual differences in cybernetic self-determination are consequential in buffering reactions to obstacles in daily life. Implications for personality, motivation, and self-regulation literatures are discussed.     

Is Charismatic Leadership Effective When Workers Are Pressured To Be Good Citizens?

Prior research has explored how employees’ perceptions of their leaders impact their work attitudes and behaviors. Studies have shown that charismatic leaders motivate individuals to be more engaged and to exhibit more organizational citizenship behaviors. This study considers how a moderator, citizenship pressure, affects how charismatic leaders might inspire their followers to go above and beyond and be more engaged in their work. Using a sample of 243 workers, this study's findings show that charismatic leadership has a stronger positive effect on job engagement when employees perceive less citizenship pressure. Citizenship pressure did not moderate the relationship between charismatic leadership and organizational citizenship behavior. Implications of this study include an examination of the moderating influence of citizenship pressure, a relatively new construct. Practically, the implications may shed some light on leadership factors that encourage increased effort from employees and greater employee engagement. More specifically, findings suggest that persons are motivated to exhibit more OCBs to meet high expectations of charismatic leaders. However, when seeking engagement, feeling pressure to perform these OCBs has a reverse effect as more job engagement results with less citizenship pressure. Future research suggestions and limitations are discussed.     

Specific Onboarding Practices for the Socialization of New Employees

Onboarding is frequently used by organizations to help socialize newcomers, but little research has focused on the specific onboarding practices organizations use or the effectiveness of those practices in facilitating newcomer adjustment. To begin addressing this gap, this study explores specific onboarding practices and evaluates the Inform‐Welcome‐Guide framework of onboarding practices. Data are presented from representatives of 10 organizations regarding what onboarding practices they offer and how those practices are offered. Three hundred seventy‐three new employees from those same 10 organizations also shared their perceptions of the practices they experienced, when those practices were experienced, and the perceived helpfulness of those practices. Lastly, the extent to which new employees were socialization was assessed. Several research questions and hypotheses among these variables were examined, and most of the hypotheses supported. Implications of these findings for future research and practice are discussed.