Salesperson knowledge distinctions and sales performance

Although it is conceptually and practically posited that salesperson knowledge has a direct relationship to performance, empirical research concerning this topic has been limited. In a free elicitation study of 150 multi-line insurance agents, the authors demonstrate that higher performing sales personnel have more elaborate, contingent and context-specific procedural knowledge than that of less effective agents. Moreover, higher performing sales personnel's contingent knowledge is shown to be more relevant to the sales call and more adaptive or responsive to the specific contingency than lower performers. In addition, higher performers have more intermediary and indirect goals prior to initially contacting a prospect. These results fuel a call for further research concerning the procedural knowledge roots underlying sales performance, as well as the practical exigencies involved in developing, managing and retaining the knowledge resource of the sales force as a firm-level asset.     

The Achievement of Therapeutic Objectives Scale: interrater reliability and sensitivity to change in short-term dynamic psychotherapy and cognitive therapy

This study examined interrater reliability and sensitivity to change of the Achievement of Therapeutic Objectives Scale (ATOS; McCullough, Larsen, et al., 2003) in short-term dynamic psychotherapy (STDP) and cognitive therapy (CT). The ATOS is a process scale originally developed to assess patients' achievements of treatment objectives in STDP, but further operational definitions have led to a theoretically neutral assessment device, making it applicable to other treatment modalities as well. Videotapes from a randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of STDP and CT for patients with Cluster C personality disorders were rated by independent raters, typically at Sessions 6 and 36. The results indicated good to excellent interrater reliability, as well as adequate sensitivity to change in theoretically expected ways, in both STDP and CT. The results lend further support to the psychometric soundness of the ATOS and show promise for its use when comparing STDP and CT.     

Further evidence of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory’s validity problems: A meta-analytic investigation—Response to Miller, Maples, and Campbell (this issue)

Miller, Maples, and Campbell (this issue) present evidence that Rosenthal and Hooley’s (2010) concerns regarding the Narcissistic Personality Inventory’s (NPI) relation to psychological health may be unwarranted. To resolve this issue empirically, we conducted a meta-analysis (k = 54, N = 38,932). Meta-analytic results revealed that a subset of NPI items were indeed problematic; items that function poorly at differentiating narcissists from non-narcissists accounted entirely for the NPI’s connection to psychological health. These items were also strongly associated with self-esteem, but unrelated to aggression/anger. In contrast, the remaining NPI items were unrelated to psychological health, but associated with aggression/anger. We conclude that although the NPI measures narcissism, its poorest functioning items also link it to outcomes unrelated to narcissism.     

Prospective memory reminders: a laboratory investigation of initiation source and age effects

Prior research indicates that, in some circumstances, reminders may facilitate prospective remembering. However, it remains unclear whether this effect is dependent on the initiation source (self vs. external), whether it is moderated by task type (event vs. time based), or whether the provision of standardized reminders particularly benefits older adults. In the current study, young (n?=?48) and older adults (n?=?47) were tested on a laboratory-based prospective memory task in which they encountered three counterbalanced reminder conditions: no reminders, self-initiated reminders, and experimenter-initiated reminders. The results indicated that while the provision of reminders enhanced prospective memory performance, no difference was seen between self-initiated and experimenter-initiated reminder conditions, nor was there any interaction with age or prospective memory type (event vs. time based). These data support the role of both self- and externally generated external reminders as an aid to prospective remembering. However, the absence of any interaction with age is not consistent with theoretical models of ageing that consider the provision of such reminders to reduce strategic demands (or increase automatic processing).     

Power,competitiveness, and advice taking: Why the powerful don’t listen

Four experiments test the prediction that feelings of power lead individuals to discount advice received from both experts and novices. Experiment 1 documents a negative relationship between subjective feelings of power and use of advice. Experiments 2 and 3 further show that individuals experiencing neutral and low levels of power weigh advice from experts and experienced advisors more heavily than advice from novices, but individuals experiencing high levels of power discount both novice and expert advice. Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrate that this tendency of individuals experiencing high levels of power to discount advice from experts and novices equally is mediated by feelings of competitiveness (Experiment 3) and confidence (Experiments 3 and 4). Finally, Experiment 4 shows that inducing high power individuals to feel cooperative with their advisors can mitigate this tendency, leading them to weigh expert advice more heavily than advice from novices. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.     

God,suffering, and the value of free will. Laura W. Ekstrom. Oxford University Press, 2021. 248 pp., $99.95 (hc.)

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -