Towards a new framework of personalized psychological interventions to improve intergroup relations and promote peace

Recent increases in intergroup tensions and violence have global negative implications and underline the need for effective interventions to ameliorate conflictual relations. Despite the ongoing trend in social psychology toward an interventionist approach, there is still a theoretical and empirical gap in personalizing intergroup interventions to achieve optimal effectiveness. Integrating interventions aimed at prejudice reduction and promoting peace, we present a theoretical framework for personalizing these intergroup interventions. We propose a three‐layer model: personalization parameters, intergroup interventions, and mechanisms that link parameter and intervention. To illustrate the model, three sample parameters are described (ideology, dominant emotional sentiments, and Big Five personality types) and three corresponding mechanisms (level of intervention congruency; the degree to which an intervention addresses core appraisal theme; and a needs‐based mechanism). We demonstrate how the parameters and mechanisms map onto different established intergroup interventions, and suggest some empirical directions to test and later apply the theoretical framework. Finally, we discuss the potential of personalized interventions to substantially improve intergroup relations.     

The Reciprocal Transfer of Learning from Journals to Practice

A strong case can be made for the reciprocal transfer of learning between the journals and practice, as well as for blurring the distinction between the science and practice of I/O psychology. This is because journals consistently provide answers for practice, and the implementation of the answers provides a basis for publication and subsequent research. The author's research and practice in the areas of employee motivation, performance appraisal, training, and personnel selection are used in support of these arguments.     

High School Students' Career‐Related Decision‐Making Difficulties

The present study examined the construct of career‐related decision‐making difficulties among 1,843 Israeli adolescents: choosing a high school (9th grade), choosing high school elective courses (10th grade), and deciding on a military job preference (11th grade). Three versions of the Career Decision‐Making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ) were constructed to match the 3 decision situations. The structures of the 10 difficulty categories of the revised CDDQ were found similar to that proposed by I. Gati, M. Krausz, and S. H. Osipow (1996). Boys reported higher difficulties than girls in external conflicts and dysfunctional beliefs. Research and counseling implications are discussed.     

The Relationship of Client-Directed Aggressive and Nonclient-Directed Aggressive Work Behavior With Self-Control1

Employees (N= 121) participated in this study of aggressive work behavior. Employees completed a performance-based test of self-control. Aggressive work behavior data were then collected over a 4-year period. Self-control was related to client directed physically aggressive and nonclient-directed aggressive behavior. Findings of this study provide evidence on the usefulness of self-control in understanding aggressive work behavior.     

The use of co-working (co-therapy) as a training method

This paper formed the basis of a Workshop at the A.F.T. Conference 1981, although the bulk of the theoretical material was not presented in the Workshop. The primary aim of the Workshop itself was to enable participants to think about how they themselves would use the co-working method as a way of training and to test these thoughts out to some extent in role-play.
The experimental part of the Workshop fell into two sections. In the first the aim was for participants to consider in pairs what they might wish to teach by this method and how; and in the second it was intended that they test out in pairs an attempt to teach a specific aspect of family therapy.
In practice members found in the first part some of the difficulties that this method presents, as shown in my research, and thus for the second part they felt it essential to focus on the issue of developing a contract between the two potential co-workers in order to clarify and confirm the nature of the training relationship. This was no doubt as it should be, since there is evidence that to press ahead with trying to teach a method in this close working relationship when there are substantial problems in, or uncertainty about the relationship can be disruptive. Hence the workshop as a whole was much concerned with the nature of the training experience rather than the actual transmission of family therapy skills.     

The Relative Effectiveness of External, Peer, and Self-Coaches

Deux recherches poursuivies sur deux continents ont fait appel à deux variables dépendantes différentes pour étudier l’efficacité relative du coach externe, du pair coach et de l’autocoaching sur la performance des participants (maîtrise de gestion). La première investigation concernait trente étudiants en gestion canadiens. Ceux qui étaient suivis par un coach extérieur présentaient une meilleure adaptation au travail collectif que ceux qui avaient un pair pour coach. La seconde recherche portait sur 23 managers en gestion australiens. Ceux qui étaient suivis soit par un coach externe, soit par eux‐même, ont obtenu des résultats significativement plus élevés que ceux qui étaient accompagnés par un pair. Dans les deux études, le coach externe avait aux yeux de l’intéressé une plus grande crédibilité que le pair. Dans la seconde étude, l’autocoaching était mieux vu que le coaching du pair. La satisfaction relative à l’ensemble du processus était plus forte chez les managers pourvus d’un coach externe. Two studies in two different continents using two different dependent variables examined the relative effectiveness of external, peer, and self‐coaches on the performance of participants in two MBA programs. The first study involved MBA students in Canada (n= 30). Those who were coached by an external coach exhibited higher teamplaying behavior than did those who were coached by peers. The second study involved EMBA managers in Australia (n= 23). Those who were either coached by an external coach or who were self‐coached had significantly higher grades than those who were coached by a peer. In both studies, an external coach was perceived by the participants to have higher credibility than their peers. In the second study, self‐coaching was perceived to be more credible than coaching from peers. Satisfaction with the coaching process was highest among the managers who had an external coach.     

The Situational Interview as a Predictor of Academic and Team Performance: A Study of the Mediating Effects of Cognitive Ability and Emotional Intelligence

The criterion‐related and construct validity of the situational interview (SI) was examined. Both the SI and cognitive ability had predictive validity for the academic performance of managers and professionals (n=75) in an executive MBA course. Only the SI predicted teamplaying behavior assessed by peers (r=.32, p<.05). The correlation between the SI and cognitive ability was not significant. Emotional intelligence completely mediated the relationship between the SI and teamplaying behavior.     

An exploratory field experiment of the effect of subconscious and conscious goals on employee performance

The effect of both a primed and a conscious goal on performance in the workplace was investigated. The primed goal was pilot tested. People on their way to work (n = 52) shown a photo of a woman winning a race performed better on a brainstorming task within a 2-min time period than people in the control group. A laboratory experiment (n = 71) revealed that this primed goal significantly increased the participants’ subconscious need for achievement, as measured by a projective test, relative to those in the control group. A 2 (primed goal vs. control group) × 2 (conscious goal vs. do best goal) factorial design involving call center employees (n = 81) revealed a main effect for this primed goal, as well as a main effect for a conscious goal for money solicited from donors.