Reconsidering the Equivalence of Multisource Performance Ratings: Evidence for the Importance and Meaning of Rater Factors

Purpose

The study specified an alternate model to examine the measurement invariance of multisource performance ratings (MSPRs) to systematically investigate the theoretical meaning of common method variance in the form of rater effects. As opposed to testing invariance based on a multigroup design with raters aggregated within sources, this study specified both performance dimension and idiosyncratic rater factors.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data was obtained from 5,278 managers from a wide range of organizations and hierarchical levels, who were rated on the BENCHMARKS^® MSPR instrument.

Findings

Our results diverged from prior research such that MSPRs were found to lack invariance for raters from different levels. However, same level raters provided equivalent ratings in terms of both the performance dimension loadings and rater factor loadings.

Implications

The results illustrate the importance of modeling rater factors when investigating invariance and suggest that rater factors reflect substantively meaningful variance, not bias.

Originality/Value

The current study applies an alternative model to examine invariance of MSPRs that allowed us to answer three questions that would not be possible with more traditional multigroup designs. First, the model allowed us to examine the impact of paramaterizing idiosyncratic rater factors on inferences of cross-rater invariance. Next, including multiple raters from each organizational level in the MSPR model allowed us to tease apart the degree of invariance in raters from the same source, relative to raters from different sources. Finally, our study allowed for inferences with respect to the invariance of idiosyncratic rater factors.     

Identification of emotional facial expressions among behaviorally inhibited adolescents with lifetime anxiety disorders

The current study examined differences in emotion expression identification between adolescents characterised with behavioural inhibition (BI) in childhood with and without a lifetime history of anxiety disorder. Participants were originally assessed for BI during toddlerhood and for social reticence during childhood. During adolescence, participants returned to the laboratory and completed a facial emotion identification task and a clinical psychiatric interview. Results revealed that behaviorally inhibited adolescents with a lifetime history of anxiety disorder displayed a lower threshold for identifying fear relative to anger emotion expressions compared to non-anxious behaviorally inhibited adolescents and non-inhibited adolescents with or without anxiety. These findings were specific to behaviorally inhibited adolescents with a lifetime history of social anxiety disorder. Thus, adolescents with a history of both BI and anxiety, specifically social anxiety, are more likely to differ from other adolescents in their identification of fearful facial expressions. This offers further evidence that perturbations in the processing of emotional stimuli may underlie the aetiology of anxiety disorders.     

Psychological need satisfaction,intrinsic motivation and affective response to exercise in adolescents

ObjectivesTo further understanding of the factors influencing adolescents' motivations for physical activity, the relationship of variables derived from Self-Determination Theory to adolescents' affective response to exercise was examined.DesignCorrelational.MethodAdolescents (N = 182) self-reported psychological needs satisfaction (perceived competence, relatedness, and autonomy) and intrinsic motivation related to exercise. In two clinic visits, adolescents reported their affect before, during, and after a moderate-intensity and a hard-intensity exercise task.ResultsAffective response to exercise and psychological needs satisfaction independently contributed to the prediction of intrinsic motivation in hierarchical linear regression models. The association between affective response to exercise and intrinsic motivation was partially mediated by psychological needs satisfaction.ConclusionsIntrinsic motivation for exercise among adolescents may be enhanced when the environment supports perceived competence, relatedness, and autonomy, and when adolescents participate in activities that they find enjoyable.     

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,Sensory Integration,and Aquatic Therapy: A Scoping Review

The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to increase. Symptomology of PTSD include sensory deficits much like those displayed in children with sensory integration (SI) disorder. The aim of this scoping review is to review symptoms of PTSD and SI, and make a case of how aquatic therapy may be an effective modality in treating clients with PTSD. Eighteen articles were selected for review. From this review, it is suggested that aquatic therapy can be an effective modality in reducing symptoms of PTSD; however, future research is essential in determining its effectiveness.     

The Darwin–Gray Exchange

After the publication of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, the controversy over the issues of design, teleology and divine intervention in nature were renewed. This paper looks at Darwin's correspondence with Harvard botanist Asa Gray from 1860–1863 and investigates how Darwin rejected notions of design due to his immersion in William Paley's categories. Gray, in contrast, was able to move past Paley's influence and find consistency in affirming both evolutionary theory and natural theology.     

Emerging Understanding of Patterning in 4-Year-Olds

Young children have an impressive amount of mathematics knowledge, but past psychological research has focused primarily on their number knowledge. Preschoolers also spontaneously engage in a form of early algebraic thinking—patterning. In the current study, we assessed 4-year-old children's knowledge of repeating patterns on two occasions (N = 66). Children could duplicate and extend patterns, and some showed a deeper understanding of patterns by abstracting patterns (i.e., creating the same kind of pattern using new materials). A small proportion of the children had explicit knowledge of pattern units. Error analyses indicated that some pattern knowledge was apparent before children were successful on items. Overall, findings indicate that young children are developing an understanding of repeating patterns before school entry.     

Women in the midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle have difficulty suppressing the processing of negative emotional stimuli: An event-related potential study

Emotion regulation deficits have been implicated in anxiety and depressive disorders, and these internalising disorders are more prevalent in women than men. Few electrophysiological studies have investigated sex differences in emotional reactivity and emotion regulation controlling for menstrual phase. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 28 early follicular women, 29 midluteal women, and 27 men who completed an emotion regulation task. A novel finding of increased N2 amplitude during suppression was found for midluteal women compared with men. These findings suggest midluteal women may be significantly less able to suppress cortical processing of negative stimuli compared to men. This ERP finding was complemented by behavioral ratings data which revealed that while both early follicular and midluteal women reported more distress than men, midluteal women also reported greater effort when suppressing their responses than men. P1 and N1 components were increased in midluteal women compared to men regardless of instructional set, suggesting greater early attentional processing. No sex or menstrual phase differences were apparent in P3 or LPP. This study underscores the importance of considering menstrual phase when examining sex differences in the cortical processing of emotion regulation and demonstrates that midluteal women may have deficits in down-regulating their neural and behavioural responses.     

Religious Appeals and Implicit Attitudes

This article explores the effects of religious appeals by politicians on attitudes and behavior. Although politicians frequently make religious appeals, the effectiveness of these appeals and the mechanisms of persuasion are unknown. This article explores the possibility that religious language can affect political attitudes through implicit processes. Because religious attachments are formed early in the lives of many Americans, religious language may influence citizens without their awareness. Implicit and explicit attitudes are related but distinct constructs, and implicit attitudes may have behavioral implications in the political realm. I test these hypotheses experimentally, relying on a widely used implicit measure, the Implicit Association Test. I find that a Christian religious appeal affects implicit attitudes and political behavior among people who currently or previously identify as Christian. Furthermore, an explicit preference for less religion in politics does not moderate implicit effects.     

Trait Goal Orientation, Self-Regulation, and Performance: A Meta-Analysis

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to meta-analytically examine trait goal orientation constructs and their relationships with the self-regulation variables of self-monitoring, self-evaluations, self-reactions, and self-efficacy as well as task performance across a range of contexts.

Design, Methodology, Approach

Data were gathered from published and unpublished research examining the goal orientation construct and self-regulation and/or task performance. Effect sizes from 102 research reports involving over 16,000 participants were included.

Findings

In general the mastery-approach goal orientation construct was positively related to the self-regulation and performance variables. Conversely, negative relationships were found between the performance-avoid goal orientation and those variables. Relationships between goal orientation and self-regulation tended to be higher compared to those found for goal orientation and performance. Overall, the findings support the discriminant validity of the three factors of goal orientation (mastery-approach, performance-approach, performance-avoid).

Practical Implications

Practitioners and researchers will benefit from learning that mastery-approach goal orientation consistently relates to self-regulation and task performance. The findings indicate that a mastery-approach goal orientation could serve as a meaningful predictor in selection processes or as an explanatory variable of motivation.

Originality/Value

The present study updates and expands upon past research by focusing on relationships of trait goal orientation across a variety of contexts. The results extend meta-analytic results to a wider range of self-regulatory variables.     

Worked to Death: The Relationships of Job Demands and Job Control with Mortality

Despite recent calls in the literature to examine the effects of the occupational context on physiological outcomes, such as mortality, little research has accumulated on this front. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate the interactive relationship between job demands, control, and death. Drawing from the job design, stress, and epidemiology literatures, we argue that job demands will be positively related to mortality under conditions of low control, and negatively related to mortality under conditions of high control. We tested our hypothesis using a 7‐year time‐lagged design in a sample of 2,363 individuals from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. Our results supported our hypothesis, with results showing that for individuals in low control jobs, high job demands are associated with a 15.4% increase in the odds of death compared to low job demands. For those in high control jobs, high job demands are associated with a 34% decrease in the odds of death compared to low job demands. Supplementary analyses revealed a similar pattern predicting body mass index in the group of surviving individuals. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice, while proposing several avenues for future research.