The validity of Mobley's (1977) model of employee turnover

Unlike earlier tests of an oversimplified version of this model, the validity of W. Mobley's (1977, Journal of Applied Psychology, 62, 237-240) original turnover model was fully investigated. Constructs that were neglected in prior studies were assessed and previously examined constructs were operationalized with more reliable measures. Measures of all constructs in Mobley's model were obtained from a survey of 192 hospital employees. Turnover data were collected a year following survey administration. Following the theoretical causal ordering of Mobley's constructs, each construct was regressed on all causally prior constructs. In general, each construct was accurately predicted by the linear combination of predictors representing its causal determinants. In the majority of instances, the best predictor of a model construct was the construct's immediate causal antecedent. Further, an alternative model was evaluated and compared with Mobley's model using path analysis.     

QUESTIONING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BEHAVIOR MODELING TRAINING IN AN INDUSTRIAL SETTING1

The intention of this study was to improve behavioral modeling's effectiveness by substituting managers for professional trainers and to evaluate the effect on 44 male supervisors using Kirkpatrick's four levels of evaluation: reaction, learning, behavior on the job, and performance. Twenty-two supervisors were trained with six behavior modeling modules and the effect was compared to a control group consisting of 22 supervisors. The research also examined the effects of trainees’ self-esteem and the perceived power of the trainers. The results showed that behavior modeling resulted in favorable reactions and an increase in learning, but did not produce behavior change on the job, or improved performance results. Power and self-esteem did not moderate the training effectiveness. The findings are compared with previous behavior modeling research. The discussion concludes with a recommendation for researchers to identify more complete theoretical models which explain behavioral change on the job (e.g., Maltz's theory of psycho-cybernetics) as opposed to relying solely on Bandura's social learning theory.     

Sensory modalities in depth perception by golden hamsters

Golden hamsters are able to detect differences in the height of a platform from which they jump, as measured by their increasing latencies prior to jumping from increased elevations. This ability is very effective when optical information is available, but it is also present when hamsters jump in total darkness. A second experiment shows that, when hamsters are placed on a real physical cliff, they preferentially use tactile information over visual information to guide their choice of the side from which to descend. In a nonvisual setting, tactile stimulation is used in conjunction with other types of cues. Evidence is provided to suggest that these cues are of an acoustical nature.