Similarity in Context: Cognitive Representation and Violation of Preference and Perceptual Invariance in Consumer Choice

A recent stream of research has demonstrated that the relative preference ordering among any two alternatives is influenced by the context or the set of alternatives under consideration. A parallel stream of research has suggested that judgments of similarity or perceived distance also vary with the composition of the stimulus set. In this paper, we suggest that context-induced violations of invariance in preference and in similarity judgments are based on changes in the underlying cognitive representation. Using the case of attraction effect as our example, we demonstrate experimentally that (i) similarity or the distance between two brands changes as a function of new brand introduction and (ii) rather precise predictions can be made as to the pattern of changes in the distance between brands and changes in preference ordering. Furthermore, the effect of context on similarity judgment patterns allows us to identify new effects on preference for previously untested location of new brands, providing additional support for the claim that preference and similarity judgments involve common processes.     

An entropy approach to the scaling of ordinal categorical data

This paper studies the problem of scaling ordinal categorical data observed over two or more sets of categories measuring a single characteristic. Scaling is obtained by solving a constrained entropy model which finds the most probable values of the scales given the data. A Kullback-Leibler statistic is generated which operationalizes a measure for the strength of consistency among the sets of categories. A variety of data of two and three sets of categories are analyzed using the entropy approach.This research was partially supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under grant AFOSR 83-0234. The support by the Air Force through grant AFOSR-83-0234 is gratefully acknowledged. The comments of the editor and referees have been most helpful in improving the paper, and in bringing several additional references to our attention.     

Boundaryless LMX: Examining LMX's Impact on External Career Outcomes and Alumni Goodwill

Research has convincingly shown that leader–member exchange (LMX) is associated with a range of beneficial outcomes for employees within organizations. As employees increasingly pursue boundaryless careers that straddle multiple organizations, it is important to ask: Do advantages from LMX extend beyond the current organization and persist even after employees have left it? We propose that employees in higher quality LMX relationships with their managers benefit from stronger professional development, which can pay off in the form of better career outcomes on the external job market. Further, after leaving, whether or not ex‐employees (i.e., alumni) harbor goodwill toward their former organizations is likely to depend on their LMX quality prior to leaving. Alumni goodwill matters because organizations can potentially reap important strategic benefits from their alumni. Using time separated data including alumni interviews conducted by third‐party consultants, we find that, among employees who quit, pre‐turnover LMX is positively related to higher salaries and greater responsibility in their next jobs and is also positively related to alumni goodwill. Moreover, the strength of the LMX–alumni goodwill relationship depends on whether managers made robust retention efforts after employees communicated their decisions to quit.     

Of Intake and Outcomes: Wage Trajectories of Immigrant Classes in Canada

This study utilizes tabular data from the Canadian “Immigration Database” (IMDB) to look at the association between entry class and the wage earnings of immigrant cohorts arriving between 1990 and 2007. As expected, immigrants entering as skilled, principal applicants have the strongest earnings trajectories. Immigrants who enter under family or humanitarian considerations see more moderate earnings growth with government-assisted having the shallowest earnings trajectories.     

The good, the bad, and the unknown about telecommuting: meta-analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences

What are the positive and negative consequences of telecommuting? How do these consequences come about? When are these consequences more or less potent? The authors answer these questions through construction of a theoretical framework and meta-analysis of 46 studies in natural settings involving 12,883 employees. Telecommuting had small but mainly beneficial effects on proximal outcomes, such as perceived autonomy and (lower) work-family conflict. Importantly, telecommuting had no generally detrimental effects on the quality of workplace relationships. Telecommuting also had beneficial effects on more distal outcomes, such as job satisfaction, performance, turnover intent, and role stress. These beneficial consequences appeared to be at least partially mediated by perceived autonomy. Also, high-intensity telecommuting (more than 2.5 days a week) accentuated telecommuting's beneficial effects on work-family conflict but harmed relationships with coworkers. Results provide building blocks for a more complete theoretical and practical treatment of telecommuting.     

Community-Based Research in India: A Case Example of International and Transdisciplinary Collaboration

While there has been a trend toward greater disciplinary collaboration over the last several decades, the emergence of the HIV pandemic has required that disciplines work more closely and creatively to generate the multiple and innovative approaches necessary to meet the demands for effective prevention and treatment. This paper describes the nature of collaborative relationships among U.S. and Indian anthropologists, psychologists, demographers, epidemiologists, physicians and representatives of other fields and sectors in conducting a large scale, multi-year HIV/STD prevention project directed toward married men in urban poor communities in Mumbai (Bombay), India. The project has challenged members of the participating disciplines to develop a transdisciplinary conceptual model, to test the model with community-based formative research and to utilize the results in the development and implementation of a multi-level (community, provider and patient) intervention. The paper describes the interaction among disciplines and international sectors in the conceptualization, methodology and community-based action components of the project. In addition, it examines both the inhibiting and facilitating factors that are a part of the collaborative process. The paper concludes with implications for future transdisciplinary partnerships.     

The Effect of Pedagogy on Students' Perceptions of the Importance of Ethics and Social Responsibility in Business Firms

Human moral rights place justified limits on what people are free to do to one another. Animals also have moral rights, and arguments to support the use of animals in scientific research based on the benefits allegedly derived from animal model research are thus invalid. Animals do not belong in laboratories because placing them there, in the hope of benefits for others, violates their rights.     

How We See Ourselves: A Resident’s Reflection on the Class Play

The “class play” is an annual tradition in residency training programs and medical schools that celebrates the end of the academic year. It is also a locally generated narrative that reveals important components of an institution’s values, culture, and group dynamics. Exploring the class play is a reflexive exercise that allows one to reflect on his or her professional development and place in the department in a structural, historical, and experience-near driven way. In this way, the creation of and examining of the class play may be seen as an opportunity to understand and expand upon medicine’s Hidden Curriculum.     

Color by Numbers: Minority Earnings in Canada 1995–2005

We investigate the pattern of earnings disparity across Canadian-born ethnic groups in Canada over three census years, 1996, 2001, and 2006. This extends “Colour My World” by 10 years (Pendakur and Pendakur 2002). We find that the earnings gaps faced by Canadian-born visible minorities have not eroded since the 1990s. This is somewhat surprising given that the size of this population has radically increased over the last 20 years. Other patterns observed in the 1990s, such as the relatively poor earnings outcomes of South Asians and Blacks, particularly in Montreal and Toronto, are still evident into the 2000s. An exception to the ‘bad news’ outlook is that persons of Caribbean origin have seen substantial convergence in their earnings relative to majority workers.