Job-content Perceptions, Performance–reward Expectancies, and Absenteeism among Low-wage Public-sector Clerical Employees

This study explored relations of job-content perceptions (i.e., skill variety and task significance), and performance–reward expectancies, with absenteeism among 134 low-wage public-sector clerical employees. Results indicated that those employees who perceived limited performance–reward expectancies (i.e., lower instrumentality), and who considered their jobs to be either higher on skill variety or task significance, were likely to be absent more often. Moreover, the link between skill variety and absenteeism was moderated by instrumentality in a manner suggesting that respondents may have utilized absenteeism as a means of compensating for perceived workplace contributions not extrinsically rewarded. These findings further suggest that employees in occupational settings for which performance-related extrinsic rewards are less available may not respond to favorable job-content perceptions in the positive manner generally predicted by job characteristics theory.     

Uncovering the mystery: factors of African American suicide

Traditionally, African Americans have registered lower rates of suicide than other ethnic groups. In the last 20 years this pattern has changed, particularly among young African Americans. To date, the research conducted regarding this phenomenon has been limited for a variety of reasons and previous research has been inconclusive in determining risk factors of African American suicide. The purpose of this paper is to identify risk and protective factors specific to African American suicide. To determine the factors, the 1993 National Mortality Follow-back Survey was analyzed. The risk factors identified include being under age 35, southern and northeastern residence, cocaine use, firearm presence in home, and threatening others with violence. Some of the protective factors associated with African American suicide include rural residence and educational attainment. These results provide valuable information about completed African American suicides in relation to Whites. Several of these factors are unique to African Americans.     

Positive affect and distressed affect over the day in older people

The purpose of this study was to assess patterns of affect over the day in a representative sample of older people, with particular emphasis on the impact of loneliness and depression. Momentary assessments of positive and distressed affect were obtained four times over a single day from 4,258 men and women aged 52-79 years from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Positive and distressed affect were only modestly correlated (r = -0.23). Positive affect was low on waking and peaked in the early evening, while distressed affect decreased progressively over the day. The diurnal variation in positive affect was greater in participants <65 years compared with older individuals. Positive affect was greater in men, married participants and in healthy individuals, while distressed affect was higher among women, unmarried and lower socioeconomic status respondents, and in those with limiting longstanding illnesses. Depressed individuals experienced lower positive affect throughout the day, while differences in distressed affect were more pronounced in the morning. Loneliness was associated with lower positive affect and greater distressed affect independently of age, sex, marital status, paid employment, socioeconomic status, health, and depression. This study demonstrates that ecological momentary assessment of affect is feasible on a large scale in older individuals, and generates information about positive affect and distress that is complementary to standard questionnaire measures. The associations with loneliness highlight the everyday distress and reduced happiness and excitement experienced by lonely older men and women, and these may contribute to enhanced risks to physical and mental health.     

EMERGENT INTRAVERBAL RESPONSES VIA TACT AND MATCH-TO-SAMPLE INSTRUCTION

The present investigation evaluated the effectiveness of category tact and match‐to‐sample instruction in facilitating the emergence of intraverbal responses (i.e., naming several items belonging to a specific category) for 2 children with autism. Results demonstrated the emergence of untaught responses, suggesting an effective instructional protocol for establishing intraverbal responses without direct instruction.     

Situationally Equivocal Eyewitness Evidence and the Violence of Crimes

Eyewitness evidence is amongst the most important types of evidence in investigative and juridical proceedings. Yet, eyewitness evidence frequently derives from observations made under situationally equivocal conditions, including such factors as darkness and physical obstruction of view. The effect of the violence of a given crime on potential jurors' evaluation of such equivocal evidence was addressed. A witness's identification of a suspect in a violent crime was generated in three versions, varying only in the level of violence of the crime. Respondents were more likely to accept this identification as accurate under more violent conditions and were also less likely to report noticing or considering equivocal aspects (darkness and physical obstruction) in situations of greater violence. Predisposing factors to judgement of guilt lay significantly in the acceptance of punishment as a viable deterrent to crime and of societal guilt for the criminal's behaviour, although political or religious orientations were not shown to influence these results, and none of these factors interacted with the violence of the crime to influence judgement of guilt or innocence. These findings indicate the importance of affective factors in judgements of guilt or innocence, especially when these judgements are based on situationally equivocal eyewitness evidence. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrating cognitive bias modification into a standard cognitive behavioural treatment package for social phobia: A randomized controlled trial

ObjectiveThe aim of the current study was to integrate recent developments in the retraining of attentional biases towards threat into a standard cognitive behavioural treatment package for social phobia.Method134 participants (M age – 32.4: 53% female) meeting DSM-IV criteria for social phobia received a 12-week cognitive behavioural treatment program. They were randomly allocated to receive on a daily basis using home practice, either an additional computerised probe procedure designed to train attentional resource allocation away from threat, or a placebo variant of this procedure. Measures included diagnostic severity, social anxiety symptoms, life interference, and depression as well as state anxiety in response to a laboratory social threat.ResultsAt the end of treatment there were no significant differences between groups in attentional bias towards threat or in treatment response (all p's > 0.05). Both groups showed similar and highly significant reductions in diagnostic severity, social anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, and life interference at post-treatment that was maintained and in most cases increased at 6 month follow-up (uncontrolled effect sizes ranged from d = 0.34 to d = 1.90).ConclusionsThe current results do not indicate that integration of information processing-derived attentional bias modification procedures into standard treatment packages as conducted in this study augments attentional change or enhances treatment efficacy. Further refinement of bias modification techniques, and better methods of integrating them with conventional approaches, may be needed to produce better effects.     

The Top Ten Sales Articles of the 20th Century

The dawn of a millennium brings reflection on accomplishments and progress over the prior century. A common exercise is to identify the “best of the best” in a variety of fields of endeavor (e.g., music, science, art, or literature). In this article we identify the “best of the best” in academic research concerning sales management and professional selling. We conducted a survey of practicing sales academics to identify the “Top 10” sales articles of the century. Each of these articles is briefly reviewed, with attention to its purpose, content and contribution. A citation analysis was also conducted to validate the expert opinion rankings. In total, the results present an intriguing perspective on the accomplishments of the sales academy and its progress as a scholarly community.