Evaluating organizational stress-management interventions using adapted study designs

The evaluation of organizational stress management interventions has proved challenging for researchers and practitioners alike. Traditionally, researcher designed quasi-experiments have been regarded as the method for evaluating such interventions. However, relatively few such studies have been satisfactorily completed in organizations, and many of those that have did not adequately take account of intervention processes. This article presents an approach to evaluation that can help to overcome these problems. Two empirical studies are presented that demonstrate that measurement of the intervention process can be used to adapt and shape the design of the evaluation. In both studies, process evaluation incorporating the measurement of intervention exposure was used to partition participant samples (into intervention and control groups). This approach has the potential to enable and strengthen quantitative outcome evaluation in situations where controlled quasi-experimentation is not possible.     

Self and peer nominations of bullying: An analysis of incident rates,individual differences,and perceptions of the working environment

Within workplace bullying research, the use of different criteria to identify victim samples, and a tendency to rely on self-reported victimization without including reports from other stakeholders have been considered major methodological problems associated with incidence studies (Cowie, Naylor, Rivers, Smith, & Pereira, 2002; Hoel, Rayner, & Cooper, 1999; Randall, 2001). Using diverse criteria to identify victim and perpetrator samples (such as self report, peer report, and self- and peer report), this study found rates of victimization and bullying varied quite considerably. Rates for victims ranged from 3.9% to 39.6% and for perpetrators from 2.7% to 19.3%. Differences in personality and perceptions of the organizational environment were then examined between victim/bully groups and a control sample. Results indicated that all victim samples differed significantly from controls on stability. However, self- and peer-reported victims differed significantly from controls on both the poised and relaxed subscales, whereas self-reported victims only differed significantly on the relaxed subscale. Additionally, self- and peer-reported victims were the only group that significantly differed from controls in their views of the negative aspects of the work environment. The notion that victim and perpetrator samples are not homogenous groups and considerations of why this is the case are discussed.     

Opening the black box: Presenting a model for evaluating organizational-level interventions

Organizational-level occupational health interventions are often recommended when improvements in working conditions, employee health, and well-being are sought within organizations. Research has revealed that these interventions result in inconsistent effects despite being based on theoretical frameworks. This inconsistency indicates that intervention studies need to be designed to examine directly how and why such interventions bring about change and why they sometimes fail. We argue that intervention studies should include a process evaluation that includes a close examination of the psychological and organizational mechanisms that hinder and facilitate desired intervention outcomes. By drawing on existing intervention literature we present an evidence-based model containing three levels of elements that appear to be crucial in process evaluation. We describe how this model may be applied and developed in future research to identify better the mechanisms that link intervention processes to intervention outcomes.     

An Eastern Orthodox Perspective on Microbial Life on Mars

Recent efforts to explore the geology and climate of planets within our own solar system, especially Mars, have prompted a renewed interest in the search for microorganisms as the most plausible forms of extraterrestrial life. As the scientific search for evidence of microbial life on Mars intensifies, there has been a perceived need to examine the theological implications in advance of such a possible discovery. Religious considerations, thus far, have focused mainly on Western Christianity as represented by the Roman Catholic and various Protestant traditions. Although Eastern Orthodoxy represents the second largest group of Christians worldwide, to date, there is very little information available from these ongoing discussions concerning an Eastern Orthodox perspective. Therefore, we first review the case for the possibility of microbial life on Mars and then explore its fundamental Orthodox theological meaning. The apprehension of any form of extraterrestrial life by the Orthodox Church will be rooted in its collective interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, Patristic and contemporary religious writers, and in the ancient liturgical expression of its worship.     

Narcissism and Negotiation: Economic Gain and Interpersonal Loss

Successful negotiation involves satisfying two seemingly contradictory goals: maximizing personal gain while forming a positive interpersonal relationship with negotiation counterparts. We hypothesized that individuals high on narcissism would gain economically but loose interpersonally in a negotiation. Seventy MBA students engaged in a negotiation simulation, completed a measure of narcissism, reported their emotional states, evaluated their negotiation counterparts' emotional states, and evaluated how much they trusted and liked their counterparts. Consistent with the hypothesis, results revealed that in negotiations, narcissistic personality characteristics can lead to economic gain but are accompanied by interpersonal loss.     

Effects of Encoding Tasks on the Own-Age Face Recognition Bias

In the current study, we evaluated the own-age face recognition bias by using various encoding tasks to evaluate the robustness and potential limitations of the own-age bias. One hundred sixty young adults studied photographs of children, young adults, middle-aged adults, and older adults and were assigned to one of four encoding conditions (i.e., age estimate, attractiveness rating, friendliness rating, and a face search task). Subsequent recognition tests revealed a robust own-age bias such that participants recognized own-age faces better than other-age faces regardless of encoding task. The current study showed that encoding tasks that focus on socially relevant characteristics (i.e., attractiveness ratings and friendliness ratings) do not eliminate or weaken the own-age bias compared to tasks that specifically focus on the age of the face. These findings indicate that in-group/out-group categorization requires little conscious processing and may be automatic, which is consistent with Sporer's (2001) in-group/out-group model (IOM) of facial processing.     

Book Reviews

Abstract

The assessment center is recognized as an effective managerial tool for identifying the strengths and weaknesses of key employees. It is suggested in this article that the technique would be useful in the selection and hiring of salespeople. This is an important subject because the hiring of salespeople represents a major but elusive goal for most businesses.     

Cognitive Control in Children with ADHD-C: How efficient are they?

The literature on children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, combined type (ADHD-C), is currently inconclusive as to the nature of deficits in two forms of cognitive control — interference control and response selection (Nigg, 2006 Nigg, J. T. 2006. What Causes ADHD? Understanding what goes wrong and why, New York: The Guildford Press.  [Google Scholar]). This paper examined the performance of children with ADHD-C on interference control and response selection conflict tasks that required both speed and accuracy. The data was analyzed utilizing a new efficiency method to more effectively analyze overall responses. Both interference control and response selection conditions were combined within tasks allowing for a closer comparison of how children with ADHD-C perform on these specific types of cognitive control. Computerized tasks were administered to 62 boys, ages 7 to 12 (31 controls, 31 ADHD-C). Results revealed deficits in efficient performance for children with ADHD-C on interference control tasks and response selection tasks hypothesized to involve high cognitive control demand. These results highlight the utility of analyzing efficiency data to identify deficits in performance for children with ADHD-C and to foster an increased understanding of cognitive control functioning in this clinical population.