Infants' understanding of object-directed action

When and in what ways do infants recognize humans as intentional actors? An important aspect of this larger question concerns when infants recognize specific human actions (e.g. a reach) as object-directed (i.e. as acting toward goal-objects). In two studies using a visual habituation technique, 12-month-old infants were tested to assess their recognition that an adult's reach is directed toward its target object. Infants in the experimental condition were habituated to a display in which an actor reached over a wall-like barrier with an arcing arm movement, to pick up a ball. After habituation infants saw two test displays, for which the barrier was removed. In the direct test event the actor reached directly for the ball, the arm tracing a visually new path, but the action consistent with attempting to reach for the object as directly as possible. In the indirect test event the actor traced the old path, reaching over in an arc, even though the wall was no longer present. This arm movement was identical to that in habituation but no longer displayed a reach going directly to its object. In a control condition infants saw the same movements but in a situation with no goal-object. In the experimental conditions, with a goal object present, infants looked longer at the indirect test event in comparison to the direct test event. In the control conditions infants looked equally at both indirect and direct test events. We conclude that sensitivity to human object-directed action is established by 12-month-olds and compare these results to recent findings by [Gergely, G., Nadasdy, Z., Csibra, G., & Biro S. (1995). Taking the intentional stance at 12 months of age. Cognition, 56, 165-193] and [Woodward, A. (1998). Infants selectively encode the goal object of an actor's reach. Cognition, 69, 1-34].     

The importance of job autonomy, cognitive ability, and job-related skill for predicting role breadth and job performance

Role theory suggests and empirical research has found that there is considerable variation in how broadly individuals define their jobs. We investigated the theoretically meaningful yet infrequently studied relationships between incumbent job autonomy, cognitive ability, job-related skill, role breadth, and job performance. Using multiple data sources and multiple measurement occasions in a field setting, we found that job autonomy, cognitive ability, and job-related skill were positively related to role breadth, accounting for 23% of the variance in role breadth. In addition, role breadth was positively related to job performance and was found to mediate the relationship between job autonomy, cognitive ability, job-related skill, and job performance. These results add to our understanding of the factors that predict role breadth, as well as having implications for how job aspects and individual characteristics are translated into performance outcomes and the treatment of variability in incumbent reports of job tasks.     

Turnover intentions and voluntary turnover: the moderating roles of self-monitoring, locus of control, proactive personality, and risk aversion

This article explores moderators of the relationship between turnover intentions and turnover behavior to better explain why some employees translate intentions into behavior and other employees do not. Individual differences in self-monitoring, locus of control, proactive personality, and risk aversion were examined. Results indicate that self-monitoring and risk aversion moderate the intentions-turnover link. Specifically, the relationship between turnover intentions and turnover is stronger for low self-monitors and those lower in risk aversion. Locus of control moderated the relationship in 1 of 2 samples such that the relationship was stronger for those with an internal locus of control. Proactive personality, however, did not directly moderate the relationship between intentions and turnover behaviors.     

Expressions of life meaning among college students

This study examined the views of 132 undergraduate students (35 men, 97 women) regarding what they considered to be contributing factors to a worthwhile or meaningful life. They rated, on a 5-point Likert scale, their agreement with each of 40 statements. Cluster analysis yielded three clusters which best described the data. One cluster comprised a religious group, and the other two clusters were nonreligious, with one having characteristics of both the religious and nonreligious cluster.     

Reorienting in images of a three-dimensional environment

Adult humans searched for a hidden goal in images depicting 3-dimensional rooms. Images contained either featural cues, geometric cues, or both, which could be used to determine the correct location of the goal. In Experiment 1, participants learned to use featural and geometric information equally well. However, men and women showed significant differences in their use of distant featural cues and the spontaneous encoding of geometric information when trained with features present. Transformation tests showed that participants could use either the color or the shape of the features independently to locate the goal. Experiment 2 showed that participants could use either configural or surface geometry when searching for the goal. However, their weighing of these geometric cues was dependent on initial training experience.     

Assessing the effectiveness of jail diversion programs for persons with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders

In recent years, jail diversion programs for people with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders have received increasing attention and have rapidly grown in number. Previous studies suggest that jail diversion programs have the potential to achieve positive outcomes. The present study reports findings from 6 jail diversion programs (3 pre-booking and 3 post-booking) participating in a federally-funded research initiative to assess the effectiveness of jail diversion programs for people with co-occurring disorders. Diverted and non-diverted groups were compared on self-reported outcomes at 12 months following diversion. The findings suggest that jail diversion reduces time spent in jail without increasing the public safety risk, while linking participants to community-based services. Jail diversion costs and the implications of these results for jail diversion programs and future research are discussed.