Free and Cheap Riding in Strict, Conservative Churches

Iannaccone (1994) uses rational choice theory to argue that strict rules (e.g., no smoking or drinking) raise average commitment levels in conservative churches because strictness discourages free riding. Tests of this assertion have been hampered, in part, by uncertainties concerning how free riding should be measured. We introduce a new, indirect measure of free (and cheap) riding, the level of positive skewness of a congregation's money contributions—that is, the extent to which a few members give much more than the mean amount while the majority gives much less. Using a study of giving in five denominations, we find that strict, conservative congregations have both higher mean giving and less skewness in the pattern of their giving. The higher mean-contribution levels at strict, conservative congregations are not simply due to each member giving more or a few members giving a lot more. Instead, as Iannaccone's model predicts, some combination of strict rules and/or conservative theology appears to systematically limit the proportion of free- and cheap-riding members giving far less than the mean and thus increase the proportion giving at or above the mean.     

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIPLE JOB PERFORMANCE MEASURES IN A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF JOBS

The goal of criterion development in Project A was to construct multiple measures of the major components of job performance such that the total performance domain for a representative sample of the population of entry-level enlisted positions in the U.S. Army was covered. These measures were to be used as criteria against which to validate both experimental and existing predictors of job performance. The initial model specified that performance is multidimensional within two major categories of dimensions designated as organization-wide and job specific. The development strategy involved describing the total domain of job content via extensive task analyses and critical incident analyses, generating the critical performance dimensions that constitute it, constructing measures for each dimension, and evaluating each measure using expert judgment and field test data. The specific measures developed consisted of rating scales, tests of job knowledge, hands-on job samples, and archival records. The major steps in the job analyses, content sampling, instrument construction, and instrument evaluation are described, and the final array of criterion measures is presented.     

All marriages are not maintained equally: Marital type,marital quality,and the use of maintenance behaviors

Although a growing amount of research has shown that married couples enact behaviors that maintain or preserve the relationship, little attention has examined how maintenance strategies are used in different types of marriages. This study investigated differences in the use of maintenance behaviors and in perceptions of marital quality across various marital types and explored the relationship between maintenance behaviors, marital types and key indicators of marital quality. Data collected from 141 married couples indicated that couples differed in the use of maintenance behaviors among various marital types. Further, the relationship between maintenance behaviors and perceptions of the key indicators of marital quality varied depending upon couples’ideological frameworks. The findings allow for a better picture of the use of maintenance behaviors in different types of marriages.     

When does performance feedback prompt complementarity in romantic relationships?

Two studies addressed five issues concerning complementarity in romantic relationships and suggest that complementarity deserves a new look. Dating couples (N= 28 couples) and married couples (N= 43). were given performance feedback to assess effects on self and perceived partner relevance. We found that comparison with a partner but not comparison with a stranger prompted complementarity (Study 1). Comparison resulted in complementarity and did not merely change self‐image (Studies 1 and 2). Both outperforming the partner and being outperformed by the partner can prompt complementarity (Study 2). Ceding areas to the partner in response to being outperformed was relatively automatic (Study 2). And, degree of development in the relationship influenced response to comparison‐feedback (Studies 1 and 2). Findings suggest that partners in romantic relationships automatically protect their views of the relationship as a “team” by increasing “perceived complementarity” in response to differential performance feedback.     

EFFECTS OF CONSCIENTIOUSNESS AND EXTRAVERSION ON NEW LABOR MARKET ENTRANTS' JOB SEARCH: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF METACOGNITIVE ACTIVITIES AND POSITIVE EMOTIONS

Job seekers' Conscientiousness and Extraversion show consistent relationships with their job search activities and success, although the explanatory mechanisms for these relationships are unclear ( Kanfer, Wanberg, & Kantrowitz, 2001 ). To explore these mechanisms, we developed and tested a model in which both Conscientiousness and Extraversion influenced metacognitive activities whereas Extraversion alone influenced positive emotions; these mediating variables in turn were predicted to influence resumé submissions, first interviews, second interviews, and job offers. Using longitudinal data collected from 232 job applicants, we found support for these predictions. Interestingly, meta-cognitive activities appeared to be more important in predicting resumé submissions and first interviews, whereas positive emotions predicted success in obtaining second interviews and job offers. We discuss the implications of our results and suggest future directions for research.     

Culturally Informed and Flexible Family-Based Treatment for Adolescents: A Tailored and Integrative Treatment for Hispanic Youth

The increasing utilization of evidence-based treatments has highlighted the need for treatment development efforts that can craft interventions that are effective with Hispanic substance abusing youth and their families. The list of evidence-based treatments is extremely limited in its inclusion of interventions that are explicitly responsive to the unique characteristics and treatment needs of young Hispanics and that have been rigorously tested with this population. Some treatments that have been tested with Hispanics do not articulate the manner in which cultural characteristics and therapy processes interact. Other treatments have emphasized the important role of culture but have not been tested rigorously. The value of well designed interventions built upon an appreciation for unique patient characteristics was highlighted by Beutler et al. (1996) when they argued that "psychotherapy is comprised of a set of complex tasks, and practitioners need comprehensive knowledge of how different processes used in psychotherapy interact with patient characteristics in order to make treatment decisions that will maximize and optimize therapeutic power" (p. 30). A focus on how treatment processes interact with patient characteristics is particularly relevant in the Hispanic population because of the considerable heterogeneity beneath the Hispanic umbrella. Our new program of clinical research focuses on articulating how the varied profiles with regard to immigration stressors, acculturation processes, values clashes, sense of belonging to the community, discrimination, and knowledge about issues important to adolescent health can be more effectively addressed by a culturally informed treatment.     

MOTIVATING THE GLOBAL DEMOS

Abstract: Debates about the possibility of global democracy and justice are plagued by a fallacious assumption made by all parties. That assumption is that there is a "naturalness" to relations among fellow nationals to which a global demos could never aspire. In fact, nation builders employed a great many tools that mobilized the psychological and moral susceptibilities of individuals in order to create a sense of solidarity out of initially heterogeneous elements. Two such tools are described and then applied to the global sphere: first, appeals to prudence through the sometimes artificial engineering of Hobbesian situations, and second, uses of philosophically inferior but motivationally optimal moral argument. The applicability of these strategies to the global sphere suggests that cosmopolitans would be well advised to examine further the nation builder's toolbox for other devices through which a global demos might be motivated.