Changes in ego development in the wake of September 11

In a longitudinal study using the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT), we examined changes in ego development in response to the events of September 11, 2001. A sample of 24 individuals responded to the WUSCT in both the summer and fall of 2001, before and after the events of September 11. A significant decrease in mean ego level was found following September 11, as well as more equivocal support for an increase in variability in responses to the WUSCT.     

Aftereffects for face attributes with different natural variability: adapter position effects and neural models

Adaptation to distorted faces is commonly interpreted as a shift in the face-space norm for the adapted attribute. This article shows that the size of the aftereffect varies as a function of the distortion level of the adapter. The pattern differed for different facial attributes, increasing with distortion level for symmetric deviations of eye height and decreasing for asymmetric deviations. These results are interpreted in terms of different coding ranges for the 2 facial attributes, arising from differences in eye-height variability in natural face images (large for symmetric, small for asymmetric). Neural models developed in low-level vision also are applied to facial attributes, contrasting a 2-pool (norm-based) and a multichannel (exemplar-based) model. The adapter position effects generally support a norm-based model, as did a finding that perception of stimuli further from the norm than the adapter was shifted in the direction of the norm, rather than repulsed away from the adapter.     

An examination of factors contributing to a reduction in subgroup differences on a constructed-response paper-and-pencil test of scholastic achievement

The authors investigated subgroup differences on a multiple-choice and constructed-response test of scholastic achievement in a sample of 197 African American and 258 White test takers. Although both groups had lower mean scores on the constructed-response test, the results showed a 39% reduction in subgroup differences compared with the multiple-choice test. The results demonstrate that the lower subgroup differences were explained by more favorable test perceptions for African Americans on the constructed-response test. In addition, the two test formats displayed comparable levels of criterion-related validity. The results suggest that the constructed-response test format may be a viable alternative to the traditional multiple-choice test format in efforts to simultaneously use valid predictors of performance and minimize subgroup differences in high-stakes testing.     

Employees’ Adaptability and Perceptions of Change-Related Uncertainty: Implications for Perceived Organizational Support,Job Satisfaction,and Performance

Purpose

The literature on organizational change has increasingly recognized that characteristics of change recipients influence their reactions to workplace change. Yet little is known about the influence of employees’ adaptability and change-related uncertainty on their interpretation of organizational actions. We examined these antecedents and the mediating role of perceived organizational support as explanations for employees’ job satisfaction and performance.

Design/Methodology/Approach

A survey was administered to material handling employees from two organizations. Employees completed measures of individual adaptability, uncertainty experienced regarding changes in the workplace, support received from the organization, and job satisfaction. Performance data were collected from the records of one organization.

Findings

Results from both samples support the role of perceived organizational support as a mediator of the relationship between employees’ adaptability and perceptions of change-related uncertainty and employees’ satisfaction and performance.

Implications

Change is a frequent occurrence in today’s workplace; thus, improving employee satisfaction and performance requires the consideration of change-related perceptions and individuals’ dispositions relevant to change. The present study offers insights regarding how organizations may help improve perceptions of organizational support by reducing perceived uncertainty as well as identifying employees who may need assistance to adapt to workplace changes.

Originality/Value

Despite practitioners’ expressed interest, there is scant research examining employees’ adaptability and change-related uncertainty. We provide the first evidence explaining how and why these variables impact important workplace outcomes and extend existing theory by identifying appraisals of the organization (and not the self) as a mechanism explaining stressor–strain relationships.     

Swimming against the Stream?: Mindfulness as a Psychosocial Research Methodology

In this article, we extend psychosocial research methodology by integrating a breaching experiment, influenced by ethnomethodological sociology, with aspects of mindfulness practice, influenced by Buddhist traditions. We offer an empirical investigation of what happens when researcher-participants subtly “swim against the stream” of normative public social conduct in a capital city setting. Our qualitative analysis explores a single case from a corpus of 172 first-person retrospective accounts of standing still and doing nothing in a busy, public place. We investigate the qualitative aspects of how one researcher-participant arguably adopted a mindful, beginner’s mind orientation toward the flow of psychosocial consciousness. We empirically investigate this psychosocial orientation of mindfulness by integrating Wetherell’s concept of affective-discursive practice with James’ stream of consciousness. Mindfulness offers a specific, embodied reorientation toward psychosocial flows. We discuss the methodological implications and limitations of this reorientation for psychosocial research.