THE EFFECTS OF PSYCHOLOGICALLY BASED INTERVENTION PROGRAMS ON WORKER PRODUCTIVITY: A META-ANALYSIS

A meta-analysis of the effects on worker productivity of 11 types of psychologically based organizational interventions showed that such programs, on average, raised worker productivity by nearly one-half standard deviation. The strength of effects was found to vary by type of intervention, criterion of productivity, contextual factors in organizations, and features of research design. Also discussed in the paper are comparisons of conclusions reached through meta-analysis versus traditional methods of literature review.     

THE EFFECTS OF INDIVIDUAL AND CONTEXTUAL ATTRIBUTES ON THE SIZES OF RECOMMENDED SALARY INCREASES

In a series of experiments, college students, line managers, and compensation managers allocated salary increases to hypothetical job holders who varied in the criticality of their positions for accomplishment of organizational goals, occupational marketability, job performance, personal need for money, and increase in capability since the last performance review. Results indicated that though performance had the largest impact, a number of nonperformance factors also influenced the recommendations. Salary recommendations were lower when constrained by a budget, and performance, growth in capabilities, marketability, and criticality were all significantly related to the magnitudes of suggested increases.     

Chromatic perception in relation to an hypothesized cerebral dominance

On the basis of the cerebral dominance, we have hypothesized an asymmetry (for saturation or brightness) between the two eyes in perception of chromatic stimuli. 51 subjects were tested on chromatic perception (green, red, yellow, blue). For each subject also an ocular-dominance score was obtained. The results substantially confirmed the hypothesis of cerebral dominance in color perception. Subjects with high ocular-dominance scores (right- or left-dominant subjects) showed for the green stimulus asymmetric behavior, while subjects with low ocular-dominance scores showed a tendency toward symmetry in perception.     

Compliance with homework to employ self-instructions in controlling ice water pain: an analogue to counseling

40 women were taught to use self-statements to cope with pain caused by ice water. The trainer used four different strategies for reassigning a homework task of using self-statements to cope with pain produced by immersing one hand in ice water. The strategies were equally effective in eliciting compliance with the homework assignment.     

The horizontal-vertical illusion in photographs of concrete scenes with and without depth information

On the basis of the hypothesis of misapplied constancy scaling, the perception of an abstract horizontal-vertical illusion figure embedded in photographs of natural scenes with depth cues is investigated. The effect is compared with that of a figure on photographs containing no depth information and with a figure on a neutral surface. It is shown that the magnitude of the illusion in the perspective scenes is greater than in the other two conditions. The results are considered compatible with a constancy theory of the illusion. Finally, the evidence for misapplied constancy scaling in the horizontal-vertical illusion in relation to a retinal theory is discussed.     

Auditory-successive selective attention for learning disabled and normal boys

Improvement in auditory-successive selective attention was noted across the age range of 9 through 16 yr. In contrast to comparable paradigms with visual-simultaneous materials, 30 learning disabled and 30 normal boys did not differ. Results of research on selective attention may be affected by task materials and encoding requirements.     

Psychotherapeutic possibilities in patients with definitive movement disorders

Since traumas leading to severe and permanent physical handicaps affect the whole personality, the psychological approach plays a major role in the rehabilitation of patients with locomotory handicaps owing to injury. The harmful effects become apparently more easily on account of the disturbed personality development of the cripple, and the consequent mental changes complicate his or her reintegration into society. Rehabilitation measures intended to restore, as far as possible, the physical functions can only yield satisfactory results if they prepare the whole personality of the cripple--as a combined psychological and somatic entity--for life of a different quality.     

Psychometric studies on the specificity of psychological performance disorders of epileptic patients

Using a psychological test battery for registration of psychic/psychomotoric speed and flexibility/perseveration we examined 78 epileptic patients with different forms of epilepsy and the same number of brain healthy control persons, parallelised in sex, age, education, profession and intelligence. The registrated data were varianz-, correlation- and factoranalised. We found a deceleration of psychic/psychomotoric speed as a primary basic disorder in epileptics. Decreases of flexibility independent of speed were not ascertainable.     

The development of Lewis Henry Morgan's evolutionism

Lewis Henry Morgan never used the term evolution in any of his major sociological works. If he may be labeled an evolutionist, the specificity of his views must be taken into account. The main "evolutionist" issue that concerned him was that of the unity or diversity of the human species. This was an urgent political and theological issue in the America of his day, and it impinged also on research on the American Indians. Morgan's first major study was designed to demonstrate the unity of origin of the American aborigines and their "Asian" origins. His methods were derived from the tradition of Indo-European philology. It was virtually as an afterthought that he added a social evolutionary component to what he conceived of as an exercise in philology. Later he came under the direct influence of the English evolutionists, and this was crucial for the conception of Ancient Society.     

Temporal proximity and reinforcement sensitivity in multiple schedules

Distributions of reinforcers between two components of multiple variable-interval schedules were varied over a number of conditions. Sensitivity to reinforcement, measured by the exponent of the power function relating ratios of responses in the two components to ratios of reinforcers obtained in the components, did not differ between conditions with 15-s or 60-s component durations. The failure to demonstrate the “short-component effect,” where sensitivity is high for short components, was consistent with reanalysis of previous data. With 60-s components, sensitivity to reinforcement decreased systematically with time since component alternation, and was higher in the first 15-s subinterval of the 60-s component than for the component whose total duration was 15 s. Varying component duration and sampling behavior at different times since component transition may not be equivalent ways of examining the effects of average temporal distance between components.