Transactional Leadership Revisited: Self–Other Agreement and Its Consequences

In a field study involving 209 leader–follower dyads, we examined leader–follower agreement regarding perceptions of the leaders' behavior style and follower outcomes of performance, organizational citizenship behavior, affective commitment, and trust in the leader. Using the self–other agreement paradigm, we found that agreement about a leader's style as transactional was positively related to these outcomes, whereas there was no relationship between agreement about a leader's transformational style and any of the outcomes. These findings support our view that a shared interpretation of the leader's transactional behavior is essential for positive follower outcomes, and may also be a necessary precondition for the effective use of transformational leader behavior. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.     

Latent Structure of the Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index in Methadone Maintenance Patients

The latent structure of Davis's 28-item Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) measure of empathy was examined in 241 methadone maintenance (MM) patients using factor analytic procedures and the divergent and convergent reliability of the derived structure was determined. Contrary to the four-factor structure determined for the IRI previously, three factors, comprised of 18 items, were found to best represent the construct of empathy in MM patients—an Empathy factor (nine items) combining the Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking factors originally described by Davis, and Fantasy (four items) and Personal Distress (five) factors. Canonical correlation analysis undertaken to determine concurrent validity of the IRI's revealed latent structure supported the validity of the derived Empathy factor as a measure of empathy, but indicated that Personal Distress appeared to be associated with neuroticism. These findings are consistent with more recent factor analytic and validity findings for the IRI.     

Of Tabloids and Family Secrets: The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip1

Two experiments tested hypotheses about gossip derived from an evolutionary perspective. In the first experiment, 128 people ranging in age from 17 to 62 years ranked the interest value of 12 tabloid stories about celebrities differing in age and gender. In the second experiment, 83 college students ranked the interest value and likelihood of spreading gossip about male or female professors, relatives, friends, acquaintances, or strangers based on 12 different gossip scenarios. The results of these experiments confirmed a consistent pattern of interest in gossip marked by a preference for information about others of the same age and gender. Exploitable information in the form of damaging, negative news about nonallies and positive news about allies was especially prized and likely to be passed on. The findings confirm that gossip can serve as a strategy of status enhancement and function in the interests of individuals, and that it does not just function as a means of social control within groups.     

The linkages of cognitive processes, stress propensity, affect, and strain: experimental test of a cognitive model of the stress response

This research examined a model of the stress response that includes cognitive-affective stress propensity, cognitive-affective processes, experienced affective reactions, subjective stress, and strain constructs. Using partial least squares analysis, this model was found to provide a good fit with the data. Moderated multiple regression analyses found support for the hypothesized moderating effects of individual stress propensity on the relationships of stressors with cognitive-affective processes. The research and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Telemetric monitoring in the behavior sciences

This article reviews recent advances in telemetrics, a class of wireless information systems technology that can collect and transmit a wide variety of behavioral and environmental data remotely. Telemetrics include wearable computers that weave on-body sensors into articles of clothing, ubiquitous computers that embed sensors and transmitters seamlessly into the environment, and handheld devices, such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants, that can record cognitive and affective states. Examples of telemetric applications are provided to illustrate how this technology has been used in the behavioral sciences to unobtrusively and repeatedly gather physiological, behavioral, environmental, cognitive, and affective data in natural settings. Special issues relating to privacy and confidentiality, practical considerations, and statistical and measurement challenges when telemetrics are used are also discussed.     

Adult Needs and Strengths Assessment-Abbreviated Referral Version to specify psychiatric care needed for incoming patients: exploratory analysis

The present study examined the Adult Needs and Strengths Assessment-Abbreviated Referral Version ratings for a group of 272 incoming psychiatric patients over a 2-yr. period to assess whether the rating scale was useful in predicting clinical placement for psychiatric treatment. Participants were patients (125 women) admitted to Regional Mental Health Care, St. Thomas, Canada between April 2004 and June 2006. Most participants were Euro-Canadian and ranged in age from 16 to 87 years. Clinical cutoff scores were established using observed mean differences in the patients' total scores and are expected to help guide psychiatric triage and longer term rehabilitation placement decisions. A canonical discriminant function analysis showed 85.9% of original level of care placements were correctly classified. The rating scale is a valid and reliable tool to specify level of psychiatric care needed for adults with mental disorders.     

Benefits of membership: the activation and amplification of group identities in response to social rejection

Groups vary in the range of benefits they provide to members, but one potential benefit of membership is a confirmation of individuals' sense of belonging to a larger social whole. The current studies present an exploration of this potential benefit by examining the activation and amplification of group identities and memberships following rejection. Results demonstrate that rejected participants exhibited heightened activation of group constructs, social identities, and idiosyncratic group memberships (Studies 1 and 2) and judged their own groups to be more entitative (meaningful and cohesive) than other groups (Study 3) as compared to controls. Moreover, heightened activation of group constructs and entitative group memberships after rejection was associated with higher self-esteem (Studies 1 and 2) and more positive mood (Study 4). The potential use of group identity activation and amplification as an indirect belonging regulation strategy is discussed within the context of a broader belonging regulation model.     

Towards effective partnerships in a collaborative problem‐solving task

Background Collaborative learning is recognized as an effective learning tool in the classroom. In order to optimize the collaborative learning experience for children within a collaborative partnership, it is important to understand how to match the children by ability level, and whether assigning roles within these dyads is beneficial or not. Aims The current study investigated the effect of partnering children with different task‐specific abilities and assigning or not assigning helping roles within the dyads on the quality of talk used in a collaborative learning task. Sample The participants in this study comprised 54 year 6 pupils from a Western Sydney government primary school (boys=26, girls=28). The ages ranged from 10 years 10 months to 12 years 4 months with a mean age of 11 years 4 months. Method The children were formed into 27 single sex dyads of low–middle‐ and low–high‐ability partnerships. In half of each of these dyads the higher ability partner was asked to help the lower ability partner, which was compared with just asking partners to work together. The quality of talk used by the dyads while working collaboratively on the problem‐solving task was analysed using a language analysis framework developed by Mercer and colleagues (e.g. Littleton et al., 2005 ; Mercer, 1994, 1996 ). Results Results of this study found that children who worked collaboratively in the low–middle‐ability dyad condition demonstrated significantly more high‐quality exploratory talk than those in the low–high‐ability dyad condition. Although there was no significant difference between dyads who were assigned roles and those who were asked to work together, there was an interaction trend which suggests that low–high‐ability dyads, who were given the roles of helper and learner, showed more exploratory talk than dyads who were asked just to work together. Conclusion Mercer's re‐conceptualization of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) in terms of the Intermental Development Zone (IDZ), which is reliant on constructive challenging discourse, can potentially provide a platform upon which all learners in the classroom can benefit from collaborative learning experiences.     

Training to increase safe tray carrying among cocktail servers

We evaluated the effects of training on proper carrying techniques among 3 cocktail servers to increase safe tray carrying on the job and reduce participants' risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders. As participants delivered drinks to their tables, their finger, arm, and neck positions were observed and recorded. Each participant received individual safety training that focused on proper carrying positions and techniques after baseline data were collected. A multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of the safety training. Results showed that the training increased safe carrying for all 3 participants.     

Relationship between self‐worrying and self‐critical messages in clients with generalised anxiety engaging in emotion‐focused worry dialogues

Emotion‐focused therapy (EFT) has recently been adapted as a treatment for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). One intervention used in this adaptation is a worry dialogue, in which the client enacts worry in one chair (“worrier”) and is facilitated to experience the impact of this worry in another chair (“experiencer”). Although not formally studied, anecdotal observations from therapists in the EFT for GAD treatment development study suggested that within worry dialogues there might be a link between client's self‐worrying and self‐critical messages. This study used data from 47 worry dialogues from fourteen study clients who received EFT for GAD. An observation based qualitative analysis of clients' self‐directed messages as present in in‐session worry dialogues was conducted using video/audio recordings of relevant sessions. Results indicate a relationship between self‐worrying and self‐critical messages. A total of 90 paired self‐worry and self‐critic messages across the 47 worry dialogues were logged. Six recurring clusters of themes/relationships were observed: (a) I need to be prepared for future negative events because… I'm weak and a failure; (b) I need to stop worrying… I'm flawed for being a worrier; (c) People will negatively judge me if I engage with them… because I'm not good enough; (d) If I don't worry, there will be negative consequences… and I will be responsible and will be unable to bear it; (e) I worry/ruminate that I cause(d) some damage… because I'm incompetent; and, (f) I must always be prepared against others taking advantage of me… because I'm weak. Given the observed close link between self‐critical and worry processes, it is important that therapists differentiate between these processes and remember to address both in therapy for GAD.