Managing discrimination in selection: the influence of directives from an authority and social dominance orientation

The authors examined one manner in which to decrease the negative impact of social dominance orientation (SDO), an individual difference variable that indicates support for the "domination of 'inferior' groups by 'superior' groups" (J. Sidanius & F. Pratto, 1999, p. 48), on the selection of candidates from low-status groups within society. Consistent with the tenets of social dominance theory, in 2 studies we found that those high in SDO reported that they were less likely to select a potential team member who is a member of a low-status group (i.e., a White female in Study 1 and a Black male in Study 2) than those low in SDO. However, explicit directives from an authority moderated this effect such that those high in SDO were more likely to select both candidates when authority figures clearly communicated that job performance indicators should be used when choosing team members. Thus, our studies suggest that the negative effects of SDO may be attenuated if those high in SDO are instructed by superiors to use legitimate performance criteria to evaluate job candidates.     

Factors influencing therapist selection among gays,lesbians and bisexuals

For this study 609 gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals were surveyed with respect to openness about sexual orientation and preference for a therapist with a particular sexual orientation. Other factors considered important in selecting a therapist such as licensure, referral source, gender, cost and specialty were also examined. Data for this study was collected using two different methods. In the first method, data was collected from respondents subscribing to internet listervers serving gay, lesbian and bisexual subscribers. In the second, more traditional method, surveys were distributed by mail or hand delivered to various organizations serving gay, lesbian, and bisexual communities in two southwestern states. Findings suggest that significantly more lesbians than gay men and bisexuals in the e-mail sample prefer a therapist of the same sexual orientation. No significant relationships were found between degree of openness and importance of the therapist's sexual orientation. Other factors related to therapist preference were explored, and results are discussed.     

Flexibility and traditionality in children's gender roles

The present study examined the correlates of variability in children's gender-role preferences. A multidimensional test battery assessed the traditionality of preferences of 376 kindergarten and third grade children in five different gender role domains, and elicited information about three significant socialization agents (parents, peers, and media). Parents of the children (N = 358) were also interviewed with regard to their attitudes and sex role socialization practices. Predictions were generated from an existing theoretical developmental model. Boys exhibited stronger sex-typed preferences than did girls. Older girls were more flexible and older boys less flexible than were their younger counterparts. In accordance with prediction, two factors were obtained; the first relevant to current gender-related activities, the other to future expectations. Present-oriented gender preferences correlated best with peer perceptions, whereas future expectations (e.g. job aspirations) were best predicted by media choices. Parental data correlated with children's preferences but not as strongly as did the peer and media scales. Predictability of children's gender-role orientations was reasonably high when a number of factors were included, thus supporting the utility of a multidimensional approach.     

“I deserve success”: Academic entitlement attitudes and their relationships with course self-efficacy, social networking, and demographic variables

This study investigated differences in university students?? academic entitlement (AE) by demographic group (sex, college class, college generational status) as well as AE??s relationship with self-efficacy for college coursework and social networking. It also investigated predictors of AE in first-generation (FG) students and continuing-generation (CG) students. Participants were 313 undergraduates at a south-central U.S. university. Males reported significantly greater AE than females. No differences in AE were found by college class or generational status. AE was significantly correlated with college course self-efficacy and social network use. College course self-efficacy, sex, and social network use predicted AE in CG students; however, in FG students, AE was predicted by college course self-efficacy alone. Implications for future research are presented.     

Your work is interfering with our life! The influence of a significant other on employee job search activity

This research draws on family systems theory to examine the influence of the significant other on employees’ job search behaviours. Data from 102 matched pairs of employees and their significant others showed that significant others’ perception of the employee's work‐to‐family conflict was positively related to the employee's job search activity after controlling for employee self‐reported work‐to‐family conflict. Contributions and implications are discussed.     

Getting What's New from Newcomers: Empowering Leadership,Creativity, and Adjustment in the Socialization Context

Researchers consistently argue that organizations need to generate creative ideas to ensure long‐term success and survival. One possible solution for increasing creativity is to inject “fresh blood” into the organization by hiring new employees. However, past work suggests there may be a number of impediments that stifle newcomer creativity and, further, that encouraging newcomer creativity may compromise other adjustment outcomes. Accordingly, the present research examines how empowering leaders, in conjunction with contextual and relational factors (i.e., organizational support for creativity and newcomers' trust in leaders), facilitate newcomer creativity. Study 1 indicates that empowering leadership positively predicts newcomer creativity and that this relationship is contingent on the organizational context. Study 2 reveals that a more specific and proximal contextual socialization factor–newcomers' trust in leaders–is a more potent moderator than organizational support for creativity. Further, these predictors operate through creative process engagement to influence creativity. Finally, results indicate positive links between empowering leadership and role clarity, attachment, and task performance, suggesting that empowering leadership may serve as an important, albeit overlooked, socialization tactic.     

The Interactive Contributions of Perceived Control and Anxiety Sensitivity in Panic Disorder: A Triple Vulnerabilities Perspective

Within the triple vulnerabilities model of anxiety disorders, a genetic contribution to the development of anxiety and negative affect (i.e., generalized biological vulnerability), a diminished sense of perceived control over aversive events and emotional experiences (i.e., generalized psychological vulnerability), and elevated levels of anxiety sensitivity (i.e., specific psychological vulnerability) are posited to increase the risk of developing and maintaining panic disorder (Barlow American Psychologist 55(11):1247–1263, 2000). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the direct and interactive effects of perceived control and anxiety sensitivity on panic disorder symptom severity. Structural equation models (SEM) were conducted in data derived from a sample of 379 adults with panic disorder participating in a multi-site randomized controlled trial. Findings indicated that both perceived control and anxiety sensitivity uniquely predicted panic disorder symptoms. A moderation model examining the interactive effects of perceived control and anxiety sensitivity on panic symptoms indicated that the effect of anxiety sensitivity on panic symptoms increased with greater deficits in perceived control. The present findings suggest that deficits in perceived control and elevated levels of anxiety sensitivity exert unique and shared effects on panic disorder symptoms, thereby illustrating the relationship between putative vulnerability factors and panic disorder symptoms as predicted by the triple vulnerabilities model.     

The brothers james and john bernoulli on the parallelism between logic and algebra

A short seventeenth-century text, sometimes cited as one of the first essays in mathematical logic, is introduced, translated and evaluated. Although by no means sharing the depth and magnitude of the investigations by Leibniz being undertaken at the same time, and although in particular not yet applying algebraic symbolism to logical structures, the treatise is of historical interest as an early published attempt to trace out analogies between logical and mathematical form, and may be viewed as a preliminary step toward the formalization of logic.