A multilevel analysis of effort, practice, and performance: effects; of ability, conscientiousness, and goal orientation

This article examines the relationship between motivation and performance during skill acquisition. The authors used multilevel analysis to investigate relationships at within- and between-person levels of analysis. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Measures of effort intensity and performance were taken at repeated intervals. As expected, the relationship between effort and performance increased with practice. Furthermore, the rate at which this effect strengthened was faster for individuals with high-ability or low-performance orientation. There was also an interaction between learning and performance orientations that only emerged after practice. By the end of practice, the negative effects of performance orientation were stronger for individuals with high learning orientation. Results highlight the importance of adopting a multilevel framework to enhance understanding of the link between motivation and performance.     

Intergenerational transmission of prejudice, sex role stereotyping, and intolerance

The attitudes of 111 ninth and eleventh graders and both of their biological parents were independently assessed for prejudice against people with HIV/ AIDS, homosexuals, Blacks, and fat people, as well as for male and female sex role stereotyping. This study corrected for two shortcomings in previous research: neglecting to assess both parents and assessing only a single domain of prejudice. We addressed the intergenerational transmission of prejudice and stereotyping using three competing models: same-sex, parent equivalent, and differential effects. Using multiple regressions in which parents' scores were entered separately, along with control variables, different maternal and paternal influences were detected. Mothers were the primary influence for prejudice regarding HIV/AIDS, fatness, and race, and fathers were the primary influence for male and female stereotyping and prejudice against homosexuals, supporting the differential effects model. We also established that prejudice and stereotyping in specific domains reflected a more general proclivity to be intolerant. In contrast to prejudice and stereotyping in specific domains, fathers and mothers about equally shaped the adolescents' intolerance, supporting the parent equivalent model.     

Parental Religious Socialization Practices, Connectedness With Others, and Depressive Symptoms in Late Life

This purpose of this study is to examine two constructs that have been largely overlooked in the study of religious involvement among older people: parental religious socialization practices and feelings of connectedness with others. The data are from an ongoing nationwide survey of older people. Findings from a latent variable model that was designed to examine the two focal constructs provides support for the following relationships:(1) older people whose parents encouraged them to become more involved in religion are more likely to attend worship services; (2) older people whose parents promoted religious involvement and older individuals who attend church more often are more likely to report that they see a fundamental connection among all human beings; (3) older adults who feel more closely connected to others will be more likely to forgive people for the things they have done; and (4) older people who are more forgiving are likely to experience fewer symptoms of depression over time.     

On reconciling conflicting meta-analytic findings regarding integrity test validity

We react to the Van Iddekinge, Roth, Raymark, and Odle-Dusseau (2012a) meta-analysis of the relationship between integrity test scores and work-related criteria, the earlier Ones, Viswesvaran, and Schmidt (1993) meta-analysis of those relationships, the Harris et al. (2012) and Ones, Viswesvaran, and Schmidt (2012) responses, and the Van Iddekinge, Roth, Raymark, and Odle-Dusseau (2012b) rebuttal. We highlight differences between the findings of the 2 meta-analyses by focusing on studies that used predictive designs, applicant samples, and non-self-report criteria. We conclude that study exclusion criteria, correction for artifacts, and second order sampling error are not likely explanations for the differences in findings. The lack of detailed documentation of all effect size estimates used in either meta-analysis makes it impossible to ascertain the bases for the differences in findings. We call for increased detail in meta-analytic reporting and for better information sharing among the parties producing and meta-analytically integrating validity evidence.     

Within-person relationships between mood and creativity

State mood has been proposed as a facilitator of creative behavior. Whereas positive mood compared to neutral mood generally facilitates creative performance, mood effects are weaker and less consistent when positive mood is compared to negative mood. These inconsistent results may be due to focusing only on mood valence, while neglecting or confounding mood activation. The current study is based on the dual-pathway model, which describes separate roles for mood valence and mood activation in facilitating creativity. We used experience sampling methodology to investigate the concurrent and lagged effects of mood valence and activation on creative process engagement (CPE) within-person over time among individuals working on a long-term project requiring creativity. We also investigated the moderating effects of individual differences in goal orientation and supervisory support on within-person mood-creativity relationships. As expected, we found that activating positive and activating negative moods were positively associated with concurrent CPE, whereas deactivating moods of both valences were negatively related to CPE. Activating negative mood had a significant lagged effect on CPE, whereas activating positive mood did not. We also found that activating positive mood was more strongly related to concurrent CPE among individuals with high rather than low learning goal orientation. Further, activating positive mood interacted with prove goal orientation and supervisory support for creativity, such that activating positive mood had the strongest association with CPE when both prove goal orientation and supervisory support were high.     

An Examination of Network Position and Childhood Relational Aggression: Integrating Resource Control and Social Exchange Theories

Applying resource control theory and social exchange theory, we examined the social network conditions under which elementary age children were likely to engage in relational aggression. Data on classroom peer networks and peer‐nominated behaviors were collected on 671 second‐ through fourth‐grade children in 34 urban, low‐income classrooms. Nested regression models with robust cluster standard errors demonstrated that the association between children's number of relationships and their levels of relational aggression was moderated by the number of relationships that their affiliates had. Children with more peer relationships (i.e., higher network centrality) exhibited higher levels of relational aggression, but only when these relationships were with peers who had fewer connections themselves (i.e., poorly connected peers). This finding remained significant even when controlling for common predictors of relational aggression including gender, overt aggression, prosocial behavior, victimization, social preference, and perceived popularity. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for advancing the literature on childhood relational aggression and their practical applications for identifying children at risk for these behaviors.     

Religion and Health: Making Sense of a Disheveled Literature

A growing body of research suggests that religion may exert a beneficial effect on both physical and mental health. Unfortunately, the rapid growth of this literature has made it difficult to get a clear picture of what has been accomplished. This issue is addressed by presenting a conceptual model that focuses on the needs that are satisfied by religion. In the process, an effort is made to show how this conceptual scheme can be used to add greater coherence to the field.     

Accurate and biased perceptions of responsive support predict well-being

The current research examined effects of accurate and biased perceptions of romantic partners’ responsive support provision on perceivers’ well-being. Perceivers discussed a personal problem with their romantic partners (“targets”). Perceivers’ perceptions of targets’ responsive support following the discussion were related to external indicators of targets’ behavior, but these perceptions also were predicted by perceivers’ sentiments toward targets, suggesting that processes underlying perceivers’ perceptions were a blend of both accuracy and bias. In addition, both accurately perceived and biased perceptions of targets’ responsiveness predicted perceivers’ personal well-being (i.e., affect, coping, self-efficacy) and interpersonal well-being (i.e., more positive sentiments toward targets) immediately after the support interaction, 2 weeks later, and 6 months later. Results suggest that accurate and biased cognition during interpersonal interactions can have important consequences for perceivers’ personal and interpersonal well-being through effects on perceived partner responsiveness.     

Do Pantheistic,Theistic, and Deistic Views of God Moderate the Relationship Between Financial Strain and Physical Health Status?

The purpose of this study is to see if a pantheistic view of God (i.e., God is all around us in nature), a theistic view of God (i.e., God is the creator of the universe who protects us), and a deistic view of God (i.e., God created the universe and then left people to fend for themselves) moderate the relationship between chronic financial strain and three measures of health (self-rated health, the number of chronic conditions, and functional disability). The data come from a recent nationwide survey of adults of all ages (N = 2,768). The findings suggest that neither pantheistic nor theistic views of God offset the effects of financial strain on any of the health outcomes. In contrast, the data further reveal that the relationship between ongoing economic difficulties and all three health outcomes is more pronounced for study participants who have a deistic view of God.