REVISITING MET EXPECTATIONS AS A REASON WHY REALISTIC JOB PREVIEWS WORK

This study reanalyzed data from an examination by Hom, Griffeth, Palich, and Bracker (1998) of the mechanisms by which posthire realistic job previews reduce turnover. Irving and Meyer (1999) argued that Hom et al. overstated support for their mediation theory by calculating residual difference scores (errors derived from predicting experienced attainment of job outcomes from initial expectations of outcomes) to operationalize met expectations. Rather, Irving and Meyer showed that methodological weaknesses associated with difference scores also plague residual difference scores. Prompted by their demonstration, this research applied partial correlations (partialing out experienced outcomes from residual differences) and Edwards' (1994) polynomial regression approach to verify whether met expectations underlie realistic previews' effectiveness. These reanalyses disputed met expectations. As a result, this inquiry revised the formulation advocated by Hom et al. (1998), positing that coping strategies and perceptions of employer concern account for how posthire previews work.     

LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR AND EFFECTIVENESS OF BEAUTY SALON MANAGERS

A field study was conducted in a chain of beauty salons to determine how the leadership behavior of salon managers is related to managerial effectiveness. Leadership behavior was measured with a new questionnaire that was filled out anonymously by subordinates. Strong correlations were found between some of the leadership scales and salon profits, sales increase, performance ratings, subordinate satisfaction, and role ambiguity. The results were consistent with managerial role requirements derived from an analysis of the leadership situation.     

THE HEIDEGGERIAN BIAS TOWARD DEATH: A CRITIQUE OF THE ROLE OF BEING-TOWARDS-DEATH IN THE DISCLOSURE OF HUMAN FINITUDE

Abstract: In this paper I take issue with Heidegger's use of the concept of death as a means of disclosing human finitude. I argue that Being-towards-death is inadequate to the disclosure of Dasein's thrownness which is necessary for the kind of authentic historizing that Heidegger describes and furthermore leads to a reading of authenticity which is preclusive of Being-with-Others, I suggest that this difficulty may be alleviated through increased attention to the opposite boundary of Dasein's existence, namely its birth. Although I do not pursue the project here of conducting a phenomenology of birth, I suggest some directions for proceeding with that task, and I illustrate that a greater emphasis on Dasein's beginning will increase the richness of our understanding of our Being-with-Others.     

ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES FOR THE COMMUNICATION THEORIST: PROBLEMS IN THE LAWS-RULES-SYSTEMS TRICHOTOMY

This paper argues against the laws-systems-rules trichotomy which Cushman and Pearce use to organize theoretical options in the communication field. This trichotomy of perspectives does reflect the groupings into which scholars have come to classify themselves, but the analytic implications of this division follow strongly and confound the actual levels of choice inherent in theory building. The organization of theoretical alternatives by attempting to identify a type of necessity unique to each obscures fundamental differences among theorists, unprofitably restricts the range of theoretical alternatives, and will not encompass the variety of viable theoretic perspectives now before us. In place of the laws-rules-systems trichotomy this paper offers a multilevel analytic framework for organizing theoretical alternatives in communication.     

Forms and Functions of Intimate Play in Personal Relationships

Two studies are reported on intimate play in same-sex friendships and in opposite-sex romantic relationships. In Study 1, a typology of eight play forms was derived: private verbal coding, role-playing, teasing, prosocial physical play, antisocial physical play, games, gossiping, and public performances. Study 1 also modified the Betcher PQII paper-and-pencil measure of perceived playfulness for use in nonmarital relationships, finding playfulness a strong correlate of relationship closeness. Study 2 examined the multidimensional structure of the play typology, finding three underlying dimensions for the play forms: verbal versus nonverbal, antisocial versus prosocial, and assumed-identity versus self-identity. Study 2 also examined perceptions of the functions performed by the types of play, finding differences among the eight play forms on the functions of indexing intimacy, lessening interpersonal risk, distancing self from the interaction, and conflict management.     

Testing the Doomsday Argument

ABSTRACT Brandon Carter's anthropic principle reminds us that observers are most likely to find themselves in the spatiotemporal regions containing most of them. One should tend to prefer theories which make one's own observed spatiotemporal position fairly ordinary. This could much increase the estimated likelihood that our technological civilisation was not the very first in a universe which would include hugely many such civilisations. Similarly, which is the Carter-Leslie 'doomsday argument', it could much increase the estimated likelihood that you and I are not in the earliest 0.01%, for instance, of all humans who will ever have lived—as we would be if the human race survived for long even at its present size, let alone if it colonised the galaxy. With the aid of thought-experiments, the article defends this argument against many objections. Other thought-experiments suggest, though, that the argument is weaker if the world is radically indeterministic. In this case, it perhaps indicates only that we should not be highly confident in humankind's long survival, because high confidence would be equivalent to saying that any indeterminism would be unlikely to be relevant.     

“SECRET TESTS”

The current study was undertaken to develop a typology of “secret tests,”—that is, social strategies that people use to acquire knowledge about the state of their opposite-sex relationships. Furthermore, the influences of relationship type and respondent sex on strategy use were assessed. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed with data obtained from a total of 181 respondents. Findings suggest 14 basic categories of “secret tests” that comprise 7 cluster types in a two-dimensional spatial representation. Passive, active, and interactive strategy types were evident. Females reported more secret test strategies than did males, and people in opposite-sex relationships that were in transition from platonic to romantic reported more strategies than people in either platonic cross-sex or romantic cross-sex relationships. Differences were found as well in the type of secret test most likely to be employed as a function of respondent sex and relationship type.     

AN EXPLORATORY INVESTIGATION INTO THEORETICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING REALISTIC JOB PREVIEWS

This research explored complex theories about why realistic job previews (RJPs) deter turnover. After designing an RJP booklet about nursing work, we delivered this RJP to 82 newly hired nurses during orientation, while presenting a traditional recruitment brochure to 76 other nurses. Nurses also completed surveys on two occasions, assessing processes commonly thought to translate RJP influence: met expectations; commitment; perceived employer caring; coping efficacy; and value orientation. The RJP lowered voluntary quits: 8.5% of nurses given previews quit versus 17.8% of control nurses (p ≤ .10). Using structural equation methodology (SEM), we compared two integrative formulations portraying different structural networks among mechanisms behind RJP influence. Observed data appeared more consistent with an interdependent than independent mediating process model. In particular, these data suggest that met expectations have direct and indirect effects through other mediators (e.g., organizational concern and coping) on turnover precursors–namely, job satisfaction and organizational commitment.