The Role of Attitudes in Reactions Toward Diversity in Workgroups1

The present study examined attitudes toward diversity as a moderator of outcomes of diversity in workgroups. Two studies were conducted that focused on the development of the Attitudes Toward Diverse Workgroups Scale (ADWS) and on the impact of diversity attitudes on task performance and psychological reactions in actual face‐to‐face diverse brainstorming groups. The first study supported the internal consistency and stability of the ADWS and revealed that it was related, in the predicted way, to the Big Five and general prejudice. The second study revealed that high scores on the productive and affective dimensions of the ADWS enhanced brainstorming performance (quality of ideas) in actual diverse groups and positive psychological reactions to the group experiences, respectively.     

Ethical Principles in Counseling

Kitchener, K.S. (1984). Intuition, Critical Evaluation and Ethical Principles: The Foundation for Ethical Decisions in Counseling Psychology. Counseling Psychologist, 12(3), 43–55.     

Mothers' subjective employment experiences and the behaviour of their nursery school children

Most research on the effects of maternal employment on children has followed the ‘maternal deprivation’ hypothesis, which focuses on differences in the behaviour of children of employed and non-employed mothers. Yet this framework may have impeded an examination of a more relevant question, namely the impact of mothers' employment-related experiences. Accordingly, this study assesses the influence of mothers' job satisfaction, job involvement and role conflict on the behaviour of their nursery school sons and daughters (n=46 and 45 respectively). The effects of maternal employment on their nursery school children were found to be mediated by (a) the nature and quality of the employment experience (i.e. positive or negative), (b) the type of child behaviour assessed, and (c) the sex of the child. Mothers' job satisfaction was positively associated with daughters' self-control and negatively with conduct problems; their role conflict was negatively related to sons' and daughters' self-control, and positively associated with sons' conduct problems and daughters' immaturity. These results support the hypothesis that the quality of the maternal employment experience influences nursery school children's behaviour.     

Status of guidance in the elementary school: 1968–69

This study investigated some aspects of elementary school guidance and counseling in the 50 states and the 4 territories of America. Specifically such matters as number of counselors employed, their sources of financial support, professional background, certification, and state standards were examined. Counselors now working in elementary schools in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands total 6,041. The majority are supported in part by federal funds, with 36 percent supported locally. Eighty to 90 percent of the counselors are trained in guidance and counseling. To date, 23 states indicated certification requirements specifically for counselors at the elementary level.     

Tool use by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) of the Arnhem Zoo community

Abstract: Chimpanzees have a large repertoire of tool-use behaviors. This study reports on the variety and the extent of tool use exhibited by the chimpanzees of the Arnhem Zoo community in The Netherlands, living in an enriched captive setting since 1971. The use of tools by 29 chimpanzees aged from 0 to 37 years was observed. We identified 13 types of tool use comparable to those found in the wild. Some of these types of tool use seem to be specific to this community, and can be explained by the ecological characteristics of this captive setting. Chimpanzees started to use tools from the age of 2 years. Young chimpanzees, from 5 to 9 years old, showed a greater repertoire of tool use than infants and adults. All types of tool use in the community have appeared by the age of 10, the age of puberty for chimpanzees. Multivariate analysis was applied for the 29 individuals by 13 types of tool use in a one-zero matrix. The results show two major categories of tool use, one in a practical or substantial context and the other in a nonpractical or play context. The subjects clustered into groups reflecting developmental stages, although there are great individual differences. In conclusion, this captive community provides a unique opportunity to clarify the details of tool use by chimpanzees.     

The Relationship Between Creativity and Conformity Among Preschool Children

The current study investigated the relationship between creativity and conformity based on the work of Starkweather (1964). The subjects were 45 preschool children. Creativity was assessed using the Multidimensional Stimulus Fluency Measure (Moran, Sawyers, Fu, & Milgram, 1983), an original thinking task. Two forms of conformity were assessed: social conformity and impersonal conformity using the Starkweather Social Conformity Test and the Starkweather Form Boards Test respectively (Starkweather, 1964). Starkweather's hypothesis of a curvilinear relationship between conformity and creativity was found for the social conformity task (X² = 11.69, p < .01). The findings support the hypothesis that highly conforming and highly nonconforming children do not score as high on creativity measurements as their freedom of expression (i.e., not following a rigid pattern of conforming/nonconforming) counterparts. Chi‐square analyses revealed significantly more children in the high creativity and freedom of expression group as compared to the low creativity and conforming/nonconforming children. That is, significantly fewer children were found in the low conformity/low creativity cell and more in the low conformity/high creativity cell than were expected by chance. No differences were found for impersonal conformity, perhaps due to the insensitivity of the instrumentation to assess conformity. It is concluded that freedom of expression may be seen as an important personality trait in the identification and nurturance of creative potential and problem solving in young children.     

TEST OF A MULTISTAGE MODEL OF DISTAL AND PROXIMAL ANTECEDENTS OF LEADER PERFORMANCE

The authors developed and tested a multistage model of distal and proximal predictors of leader performance in an effort to shed greater light on the intermediate linkages between broad leader traits and performance. Predictor and criterion data were obtained from 471 noncommissioned officers in the U.S. Army. A model with cognitive ability and 3 of the Big 5 personality factors as distal antecedents, leadership experiences and motivation to lead as semidistal antecedents, and the knowledge, skills, and ability (KSAs) to lead as proximal antecedents of leader performance provided a good fit to the data. More specifically, the effects of the distal and semidistal antecedents on leader performance were partially mediated by more proximal variables, whereas leader KSAs demonstrated a relatively strong, direct influence on performance. The 1 exception was that Conscientiousness—a hypothesized distal antecedent—had a notable direct effect on leader performance. The implications of these findings for leadership research and practice are discussed.     

Situational precursors of revenge: Social exclusion,relationship type,and opportunity

Little is known about the situational factors that turn feelings of revenge into actual acts of revenge. Addressing this gap in the literature, this study selected a representative sample of people who acted on their feelings of revenge (avengers) and of people who did not (nonavengers), obtaining a reflection of typical antecedents of revenge. Results revealed that avengers did not report more severe offenses. Neither did avengers report less closeness to offenders nor a larger number of audience members toward whom they might want to prove something. Results did reveal that revenge was more prevalent (a) among young, male friends and acquaintances; (b) in contexts involving social exclusion; and (c) if there was a possibility to take revenge.