Positive Affectivity and Collective Efficacy as Moderators of the Relationship Between Perceived Politics and Job Satisfaction

This study explores the moderating potential of positive affectivity (PA) and perceived collective efficacy (PCE) on the relationship between 3 dimensions of politics perceptions and job satisfaction. We hypothesized that high levels of PA and PCE, in unison, would buffer the harmful effects of perceived politics on job satisfaction. Regression analyses for the 3 dimensions (i.e., general politics, go along to get along, and pay and promotion) yielded a significant finding for the PA × PCE × Go Along to Get Along 3-way interaction only. Consistent with our expectations, low PA-low PCE individuals were less satisfied with their jobs when levels of go-along-to-get-along politics increased. Contrary to our hypothesis, however, high PA-high PCE individuals reported a significant inverse relationship between perceived politics and job satisfaction. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are provided.     

Personal Characteristics,Job Performance,and Absenteeism of Public School Teachers1

Personal characteristics and job performance were examined as potential predictors of absenteeism for a professional occupational group. Data on 152 public school teachers demonstrated that sex and independence contributed unique variance to the prediction of absenteeism. Furthermore, the interaction terms of sex with independence, with the ability to control anxiety, and with performance rating significantly added to the variance explained in absenteeism. Implications of the present results are discussed as well as suggestions for future research.     

Intraspecific aggression in male hamsters is inhibited by intrahypothalamic vasopressin-receptor antagonist

The present study examines the effect of the arginine vasopressin (AVP) receptor antagonist, d(CH₂)₅Tyr(Me)AVP, on intraspecific aggression between pairs of male Golden hamsters in a neutral territory. Subjects drawn from a group of 24 animals were paired once each with novel partners from the group under each of three experimental conditions: 1) both members of a pair were microinjected into the anterior hypothalamus with saline (S/S), 2) one member of a pair was microinjected with AVP-receptor antagonist and its partner with saline (A/S), and 3) both members of a pair were microinjected with AVP-receptor antagonist (A/A). There were significantly (P < .01) fewer attacks during encounters between pairs of hamsters in the A/A condition compared to pairs in the A/S condition. Similarly, pairs in the A/S condition attacked significantly (P < .025) less often than pairs of hamsters in the S/S condition. These results confirm our earlier work showing that AVP-receptor antagonist reduces intraspecific aggression. In addition, saline-treated hamsters initiated significantly (P < .001) fewer attacks toward antagonist treated hamsters than would have been predicted if their opponent was not drug treated. These latter results suggest that hamsters microinjected into the anterior hypothalamus with an AVP-receptor antagonist also elicit less aggression from conspecifics.     

The Employment Interview Context: Social and Situational Influences on Interviewer Decisions1

The employment interview context is broad and multifaceted, and it includes a number of social, situational, and affective influences which generate from the interviewee, interviewer, nature of the job in question, and interactions among these factors. The employment interview is proposed to be influenced by nonverbal and self-promotion behaviors of the applicant, interviewer training, and the requirements of the job. These variables then influence the intermediate variables of applicant similarity to the interviewer, perceived competence of the applicant, and interviewer affect toward the applicant. The intermediate variables then influence the perceived job suitability of the applicant. The present study tested and found support for modeling the employment interview context and how it affects interviewer decisions. The contributions and limitations of the present study are discussed, in addition to directions for future research.     

REPLICATION OF THE ACHIEVEMENT PLACE MODEL IN CALIFORNIA1

Attempting to replicate procedures from Achievement Place, token reinforcement procedures were used to modify savings, conversational interruptions, and table-setting of delinquent boys residing in a home-style, community based, treatment setting. The tokens (points) were redeemable for various privileges and could be earned for specified appropriate behaviors and lost for specified inappropriate behaviors. Contingent point fines reduced the frequency of interruptions. Point rewards improved table-setting, but even large point rewards did not substantially increase savings. Baseline data indicated that lateness to dinner was not a problem, as it was in Achievement Place. Withdrawal of contingent points and back-up rewards did not disrupt the clean-up behavior of two boys.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF TOKEN REINFORCEMENT ON DIVERGENT VERBAL RESPONDING1

The effect of token reinforcement on three classes of divergent verbal responding to verbal stimulus items from three measures of the Wallach-Kogan Creativity test was examined. The subjects consisted of two “gifted”, two “average”, and two “learning disabled” children from a public-school setting. The design utilized both an intra-subject and inter-subject multiple-baseline design with a reversal design added. Tokens were dispensed contingent upon the number of appropriate verbal responses to each stimulus item, i.e., a continuous schedule of reinforcement was used—one token per appropriate response. Interobserver agreement on “appropiateness” was 993%. The tokens could be used to “purchase” items listed in a “menu” format (e.g., ball and jacks—100 tokens). Consistently large effects of token reinforcement were observed, without generalization of effect across the three classes of behaviors, or conditions. These results support the works of Goetz and Baer (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1973, 6 , 209–217), Goetz and Salmonson (Behavior Analysis and Education, G. Semb, (Ed.), University of Kansas, 1972, 53–61), and Maloney and Hopkins (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1973, 6 , 425–434). Implications lie in continued experimental analysis of behavior approach to the concept called “creativity”. Additionally, implications are made in classroom application of assessing and intervening in the area of divergent responding for children with deficits in those areas.     

Visibility distances with halogen and conventional headlights

Abstract.— Using visibility distance as a criterion, halogen and conventional continental European high and low-beam headlights were compared in a series of field experiments. On high-beam without opposing light the halogen headlights offered about 25% longer visibility distances than the conventional headlights. With both opposing cars using low-beam there was a slight advantage (<5 m) in favour of halogen headlights. The optimal dipping distance was a function of high-beam system (intensity) rather than low-beam system. Small differences in aiming, atmosphere etc. caused larger differences in visibility distance than did the headlight system.     

Differential Effectiveness of Applicant Impression Management Tactics on Employment Interview Decisions1

It has been a commonly held belief for some time that applicants attempt to manage impressions of interviewers in the employment interview process, but only recently have researchers begun to examine systematically the tactics applicants use, and how effective they are. The present study contrasted two sets of impression management tactics used by applicants and observed their effects on interviewer decisions in a controlled laboratory experiment. An applicant who employed self-focused-type impression management tactics was rated higher, received more recommendations for a job offer, and received fewer rejections from business students, who had just completed an interviewer training program, than when he used other-focused-type tactics. The implications of these results in terms of both theory and practice are discussed.