Children's and adults’ understanding of the “disgust face”

By the age of 4 years, children (N=120) know the meaning of the word disgust as well as they know the meaning of anger and fear; for example, when asked, they are equally able to generate a plausible cause for each of these emotions. Yet, in tasks involving facial expressions (free labelling of faces, deciding whether or not a face expresses disgust, or finding a “disgust face” in an array of faces), a majority of 3- to 7-year-old children (N=144) associated the prototypical “disgust face” with anger and denied its association with disgust (25% of adults on the same tasks did so as well). These results challenge the assumption that all humans easily recognise disgust from its facial expression and that this recognition is a precursor to children's understanding of the emotion of disgust.     

Overgeneral autobiographical memory predicts changes in depression in a community sample

This study investigated whether overgeneral autobiographical memory (OGM) predicts the course of symptoms of depression and anxiety in a community sample, after 5, 6, 12 and 18 months. Participants (N = 156) completed the Autobiographical Memory Test and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) at baseline and were subsequently reassessed using the DASS-21 at four time points over a period of 18 months. Using latent growth curve modelling, we found that OGM was associated with a linear increase in depression. We were unable to detect changes over time in anxiety. OGM may be an important marker to identify people at risk for depression in the future, but more research is needed with anxiety.     

“Generic” and “Specific” Expertise in English: An Expert/Expert Study in Poetry Interpretation and Academic Argument

In this study, eight English professors thought aloud as they read four lyric poems and composed a short text proposing a hypothetical talk about them for a professional conference. The study used a crossed design in which participants read a poem in each of the following conditions: familiar to them and close to their professional writing, familiar and far, unfamiliar and close, unfamiliar and far. When reading familiar poems, participants produced longer protocols and more elaborate interpretations. When planning their conference talks, participants produced longer protocols for poems that were far from their professional writing as they struggled to access sufficient background knowledge. Participants attempted to say something “new” about the poems, and they closely monitored the limits of their knowledge. These results suggest that English professors, just like experts in other disciplines, develop both “generic” and “specific” expertise. Implications for expertise research, literature instruction, and academic literary scholars are considered.     

The effects of team strategic orientation on team process and information search

We tested the effects of team strategic orientation on team member perceptions, work strategy and information search. In Experiment 1, 80 teams worked on a hidden profile decision-making task. A defensive team strategic orientation increased members’ perceptions of the problem’s scope, leading to a more process-focused work strategy and broader information search compared to an offensive team strategic orientation. When teams needed critical information from the environment, defensive teams outperformed offensive teams; offensive teams performed better when critical information resided within the team. In Experiment 2, these findings were replicated with 92 teams performing a different decision task. When making a second decision, half of the teams were led to change their strategic orientation; teams shifting from offense to defense altered their information search behavior more readily than did teams shifting in the opposite direction, suggesting an asymmetric adaptation effect.     

Reactions to Recruitment Web Sites: Visual and Verbal Attention, Attraction, and Intentions to Pursue Employment

Purpose

We investigate job seeker visual and verbal attention, and perceptions regarding company web sites in the applicant generation phase of recruitment.

Design/Methodology/Approach

We report three studies using varied methodological approaches including eye-tracking, verbal protocol analysis (VPA), and survey data.

Findings

Eye-tracking results suggest Web-based job seekers focus visual attention on information containing hyperlinks and on text more than graphic images or navigation tools. VPA suggests Web-based job seekers focus verbal attention on content more than design, especially job opening information. Survey results suggest content, design, and communication features are all related to applicant attraction. Design explains the most incremental variance in web site evaluation, while perceptions of communication features explain the most incremental variance in attitude toward the organization and intentions to pursue employment.

Implications

We provide multi-method evidence concerning features that attract applicant visual and verbal attention, and influence attraction and intentions to pursue employment. The findings also provide practical implications for designing recruitment web sites.

Originality/Value

We report three methodologically distinct perspectives on an important and timely issue: Web-based recruitment. We are aware of no other psychomotor eye-tracking studies in the recruitment literature, and only one other VPA. Combining multiple methods in this way provides unique perspective.     

The Clicker Technique: Cultivating Efficient Teaching and Successful Learning

The clicker technique is a newly developed system that uses frequent testing in the classroom to enhance students' understanding and provide feedback to students and teachers. Using a laboratory model of the clicker technique, Experiment 1 explored the effects of the clicker technique, via its potential for compressing learning time and its partially individualized instruction, on the acquisition, retention, and generalization of knowledge at immediate and delayed tests. Results supported the clicker technique as a viable method for instructors to promote generalizable learning and to conserve teaching time. Experiment 2 examined the clicker technique in terms of its components, studying and testing, to determine which components are crucial to its effectiveness. Results indicated that the combination of studying and testing promotes superior performance only during acquisition, relative to either studying or testing alone, and neither study, test, nor the combination of study and test led to a retention advantage. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

P = f (Conscientiousness × Ability): Examining the Facets of Conscientiousness

We posited that the form of the joint effects of motivation and ability in traditional performance models are interactive because motivation triggers the use of energy resources required to deploy ability at work. Moreover, we posited that achievement might best represent motivation compared to five other facets of Conscientiousness or global Conscientiousness. In two samples of customer service representatives, achievement interacted with general mental ability (GMA) in predicting task performance, whereas global Conscientiousness and the other five facets did not. This suggests that researchers examining the motivational aspects of Conscientiousness might uncover a more consistent pattern of results for task performance if they focus on the achievement facet. Furthermore, managers might see the highest levels of task performance in certain contexts when hiring individuals based on both achievement and GMA.     

Utility Aspects of Personality and Peformance

The purpose of this study is threefold: (a) to examine the extent to which two personality measures appear to function in an Industrial Organizational context, but in a different language and culture; (b) to study their construct and concurrent validity; and (c) to relate these findings to utility analyses. These three tasks were done to determine the extent to which personality measurements can provide a positive financial outcome to organizations in a selection situation. Swedish versions of 2 well-known U.S. tests, Service First, a customer service measure, and the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI; Hogan & Hogan, 1992), a Big Five personality measure, were administered to several hundred employees, job applicants, and students in a range of organizations. Despite considerable differences in culture (especially attitudes to service, education, and life goals), the Swedish norms and factor structures for the 2 tests were remarkably similar to those of the United States, confirming that tests of this type can be used in different environments. When compared with each other and with the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (Consulting Psychologists Press, 1991, 1995), the results also confirmed that their construct validity had survived the transformation to anew culture and language. Two concurrent criterion validity studies showed that the correlation between test results and different kinds of criterion data were highly significant, suggesting that the tests can be used to forecast work performance. Additional information was obtained from the 2 companies concerning salaries and performance variation and these were used to perform a utility analysis to show the substantial financial benefit of using personality testing for selection as well as in a downsizing context.     

Posttraumatic Stress,Depression, and Insomnia Among U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen

Few studies have examined rates of mental health problems among special duty military personnel, who often have frequent deployments and high exposure to operational stressors and trauma. The current study examined the severity and rates of positive screening for posttraumatic stress, depression, and insomnia among 194 U.S. Air Force pararescuemen (PJs) in the active duty (AD) and National Guard/Reserve (NG/R) components. Overall estimated rates were 11.6% for probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 1.6% for probable depression, and 16.1% for clinical insomnia. PJs in the NG/R reported significantly more severe posttraumatic stress symptoms (F(1, 162) = 10.031, p = .002, partial η² = .058) and were approximately twice as likely to screen positive for probable PTSD (8.5% vs. 19.1%; χ²[1] = 3.679, p = .055). No differences in the rate or severity of depression or insomnia symptoms were found. Rates of positive screens are comparable to or lower than previously published rates among military personnel.     

Modeling the Indirect Association of Combat Exposure With Anger and Aggression During Combat Deployment: The Moderating Role of Perceived Unit Morale

Anger and aggression are common combat-related behavioral health problems. The impact of combat on anger and aggression appears to be largely attributable to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Factors that moderate the purported pathway from combat to anger and aggression are poorly understood. We examined the conditional direct and indirect associations of combat exposure with self-reported anger and aggression using survey data collected from 592 U.S. Soldiers during a combat deployment in Afghanistan. Unit morale was examined as a moderator between combat exposure and PSTD symptoms, as well as the indirect association of combat exposure with anger and aggression via PTSD symptoms, controlling for depression symptoms. Results indicated that unit morale was negatively correlated with PTSD symptoms and self-reported anger and aggressive behaviors. Perceptions of unit morale moderated the direct association of combat exposure with PTSD symptoms. Unit morale also moderated the indirect association of combat exposure with anger and aggression through PTSD symptoms. Unit morale moderated the association of combat exposure with anger and aggression during combat operations by putatively mitigating the deleterious effect of combat on stress-related symptoms. The impact of policy and leadership on soldier and unit morale should be carefully considered given its protective role during combat operations.