When you're not the Brady Bunch: Identifying perceived conflicts and resolution strategies in stepfamilies

This study was a qualitative analysis of interviews from 58 members of 17 stepfamilies regarding the sources of conflict and conflict resolution strategies. The majority of conflicts resulted from negotiation of family boundaries and were manifested in the following ways: (a) disagreements over resources; (b) loyalty conflicts; (c) individuals holding a “guard and protect” ideology; and (d) conflict with extended family members Wide arrays of resolution strategies were used, and some, but not all, resulted in positive outcomes.     

EFFECTS OF SELF-EFFICACY and GOAL-ORIENTATION TRAINING ON NEGOTIATION SKILL MAINTENANCE: WHAT ARE THE MECHANISMS?

In a replication and extension of Gist, Stevens, and Bavetta (1991), we examined the effects of self-efficacy and a performance- versus a mastery-oriented post-training session on trainees' negotiation skill maintenance. Sixty MBA students received salary-negotiation training and engaged in practice negotiations with a confederate. They then attended either a performance- or a mastery-oriented post-training session. A second practice negotiation was conducted 7 weeks later. Results indicated that mastery-oriented trainees engaged in more interim skill-maintenance activities, planned to exert more effort, and showed more positive affect than did performance-oriented trainees. In addition, self-efficacy interacted with the post-training condition on Time 2 performance: Low self-efficacy trainees performed more poorly than high self-efficacy trainees in the performance- but not in the mastery-oriented post-training condition. Analyses indicated that trainees' cognitive withdrawal mediated this effect. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

TRANSFER TRAINING METHOD: ITS INFLUENCE ON SKILL GENERALIZATION, SKILL REPETITION, AND PERFORMANCE LEVEL

This study contrasted goal setting and self-management training designs for their effectiveness in facilitating transfer of training to a novel task. Behavioral measures of performance were used to assess transfer in terms of skill generalization, skill repetition and overall performance level. Skill generalization was more limited among the goal-setting trainees as compared to the self-management trainees. While goal-setting trainees generalized fewer skills to the novel task context, these skills tended to be used more repeatedly. In contrast, self-management trainees exhibited higher rates of skill generalization and higher overall performance levels on the transfer task, even after the effects of outcome goal level were controlled. Implications are discussed for future research on training transfer.     

The multidimensionality of state and trait anxiety

Abstract.— The two major problems investigated were ( a ) the multidimensionality of trait (A-Trait) and state (A-State) anxiety, and ( b ) the relationship between A-Trait and A-State under neutral conditions, using two measures of A-Trait (SR-GTA and STAI-T) and two measures of A-State (BRQ and STAI-S). These scales were administered to a sample of Swedish university students (54 males and 105 females). Factor analyses of the GTA situational scales yielded an interpersonal ego threat A-Trait factor and a physical danger A-Trait factor. Factor analyses of the GTA reaction scales and STAI-T reaction scales yielded, respectively, two and three factors providing evidence for the multidimensionality of A-Trait. Results of variance components analyses of the GTA scales provided further evidence for the multidimensionality of A-Trait. Factor analyses of the BRQand STAI-S measures yielded four and three factors, respectively, indicating the multidimensionality of A-State. The correlations between trait and state measures were higher than the correlations between the two state measures, and a factor analysis of the trait and state scales did not yield separate state and trait factors, questioning the proposition that A-Trait and A-State are distinct concepts. Via latent profile analysis, it was possible to compare A-State differences for different A-Trait profiles. Problems for further research were discussed.     

Leading here-and-now groups

Here-and-now groups present common events that demand specific responses from leaders if movement toward desired goals is to occur. This article describes some of these events and explicit interventions that are useful in leading these groups.     

Emotional Stress: Investigating the Restrictiveness of Residential Security and the Pains of Juvenile Incarceration

The authors found significant differences in emotional stress levels experienced by juvenile offenders confined to facilities having higher degrees of security and structure.     

THE INFLUENCE OF TRAINING METHOD AND TRAINEE AGE ON THE ACQUISITION OF COMPUTER SKILLS

This experiment examined the influence of training method and trainee age on performance during training in the acquisition of computer software skills. A behavioral modeling training method yielded consistently superior computer software mastery compared with a nonmodeling approach. Older trainees exhibited significantly lower performance than did younger trainees in both the modeling and the nonmodeling training conditions. Findings are discussed in terms of strategies for overcoming older worker technological obsolescence.