The moderating influence of procedural fairness on the relationship between work-life conflict and organizational commitment

To help employees better manage work-life conflict, organizations have introduced various initiatives, which have met with mixed results. The present studies examined the utility of a procedurally based approach to understanding employees' reactions to work-life conflict. The authors examined whether the fairness of procedures used by organizational authorities to plan and implement decisions moderates the (inverse) relationship between work-life conflict and employees' organizational commitment. Three studies using different methodologies showed support for the moderating role played by procedural fairness. That is, the tendency for greater work-life conflict to lead to lower commitment was significantly less pronounced when procedural fairness was high rather than low. Theoretical contributions to the work-life conflict and organizational justice literatures are discussed, as are practical implications.     

Racists or tolerant multiculturalists? How do they begin?

The author discusses how negative racial attitudes originate. First, she looks globally at how various theories have attempted to explain the origins of racism. Second, she reviews some research on this topic that she and her colleagues have completed with very young children. Both the theories and the studies have ramifications for how psychologists might reduce the possibility of children becoming racist.     

Gender roles and adjustment in elementary-school children: A multidimensional approach

The present study of fourth through sixth graders examined the relationships between their school adjustment and the extent to which their self-concepts conformed to stereotypic gender roles. Several dimensions of gender roles were assessed. Adjustments was assessed by teacher ratings of externalizing and of internalizing symptoms. Among boys, more stereotypic self-concepts were associated with high levels of externalizing symptoms. Among girls, stereotypy was associated with high levels of internalizing. Discussion emphasized the practical importance of these relationships between gender-role stereotypy and poor adjustment, since externalizing and internalizing symptoms constitute the most frequent reasons for clinical referral among boys and among girls, respectively. Further findings, however, indicated that conclusions about the unfavorable adjustment correlates of stereotypy should not be extended to the less gender-typical symptoms (i.e., neither to boys' internalizing nor to girls' externalizing symptoms). Implications of the findings were also discussed with regard to earlier results obtained with adults that suggest mental health advantages associated with higher levels of masculinity. It was suggested that the contradiction between adult and child results partially reflects an emphasis upon externalizing symptoms with children, while studies employing adults have emphasized internalizing ones.The authors acknowledge the assistance of the Jefferson County School District, and especially Ms. Diane Hill, Director of Research, for their assistance in this study. The following persons are thanked for their assistance in interviewing children and collecting data: Heidi Hauge, Carol Hathaway-Clark, Judith King, and Ed Priddy. The authors also wish to thank Drs. Ann Boggiano and William Hodges for commenting on earlier drafts of this paper.     

Helplessness deficits in students: The role of motivational orientation

This paper includes research comprised of field studies and laboratory experiments to examine our diathesis-stress model that students with an extrinsic motivational orientation given evaluative/controlling directives are at risk for maladaptive achievement patterns, including performance, cognitive, and emotional deficits of helplessness. The findings, using our multimethod approach, confirmed our assumptions and indicated that motivational orientation is a more reliable predictor of helplessness than either attributions or perceptions of competence. The pattern of data obtained across studies is discussed in light of other theoretical approaches to understanding achievement patterns in students.The research reported here was supported, in part, by Grant No. MN45566 from NIMH. Address all correspondence to Ann K. Boggiano, Department of Psychology, Campus Box 345, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0345.     

A descriptive analysis of client outcomes associated with staff interventions in developmental disabilities

Although a large body of research supports the use of behavioral staff management interventions in developmental disabilities, the nature of client outcomes associated with such interventions has not been systematically assessed. We reviewed 59 staff management studies published over 20 years (1971–1990) in order to determine the generality or scope of the research (i. e., range of settings, types and levels of clients' disabilities, clients' ages), the frequency of inclusion of client outcome measures, the types of measures and levels of analysis selected (i. e., individual groups, combination), and the effects of the interventions on client behavior. Results indicated that: (a) over two-third of the studies were conducted in institutional settings; (b) more than one-half involved clients with profound to severe mental retardation; (c) clients of various ages were served; (d) assessment of client outcomes increased progressively over the period; (e) engagement and skill acquisition were the most frequently used measures; (f) group data were presented twice as frequently as either individual or a combination of group and individual data; and (g) staff interventions were associated with either positive or mixed client outcomes in 80% or more of the cases, although maladaptive behavior went unchanged in one-fifth of the studies in which they were reported. Based on these findings, suggestions are made for how researchers might extend the generality of staff management research, improve client outcome assessment practices, and produce even more consistently positive results.     

Code of fair testing practices in education

Although the code was not developed to cover employment tests, its guidelines appear useful for both developers and users of tests for the purposes of employee training, counseling, and development.     

Longitudinal scalogram analysis: A methodology and microcomputer program for Guttman scale analysis of longitudinal data

Guttman scalogram analysis has been limited to cross-sectional analysis. Longitudinal scalogram analysis (LSA), a direct extension of cross-sectional scalogram analysis to longitudinal-data, is proposed as an alternative methodology. The benefits of LSA relative to cross-sectional methods of analysis are discussed.     

The treatment of nocturnal bruxism using contingent EMG feedback with an arousal task

Nocturnal electromyographic (EMG) recordings of masseter muscle activity were performed before and after treatment on 10 heavy bruxism subjects. Treatment consisted of giving the subjects an auditory feedback signal during sleep which occurred when they clenched with moderate force. Each subject additionally had to perform an arousal task every time the signal occurred. Nine of 10 subjects demonstrated a significantly decreased EMG activity using a contingent auditory feedback signal, combining it with an arousal task.     

The double standard of aging and the social situation: Judgments of attractiveness of the middle-aged woman

Two hundred male and 200 female undergraduates judged pictures of middle-aged women and middle-aged men for their immediate emotional appeal. Pictures had been selected to be of middle attractiveness and to represent individuals who appeared to be between 35 and 55 years old. Subjects made judgments under one of the following social conditions: in private, or in small groups which were all male, all female, or half male and half female. Social condition and subjects' sex affected judgments significantly, and there were some significant complex interactions between these two variables and the sex of the stimulus picture. Male and female subjects privately judged middle-aged women to be more attractive than middle-aged men, but the effect was reversed when judgments were made publicly in groups. As predicted, members of all-male groups judged middle-aged women to be considerably less attractive than middle-aged men. Members of all-female groups, and both the men and the women in mixed-sex groups, judged middle-aged women to be only slightly less attractive than middle-aged men.The authors wish to thank Linda Andrews, Dayna Buskirk, Anne Grealy and Lori Monda for their assistance.