How management style moderates the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace deviance: An uncertainty management theory perspective

Based on uncertainty management theory [Lind, E. A., & Van den Bos, K., (2002). When fairness works: Toward a general theory of uncertainty management. In Staw, B. M., & Kramer, R. M. (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 24, pp. 181–223). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.], two studies tested whether a management style depicting situational uncertainty moderates the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace deviance. Study 1, using survey data from 379 subordinates of various industries, found that the positive relationship between abusive supervision and organizational deviance was stronger when authoritarian management style was low (high situational uncertainty) rather than high (low situational uncertainty). No significant interaction effect was found on interpersonal deviance. Study 2, using survey data from 1477 subordinates of various industries, found that the positive relationship between abusive supervision and supervisor-directed and organizational deviance was stronger when employees’ perceptions of their organization’s management style reflected high rather than low situational uncertainty.     

Reliability,Validity and Invariance of the Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire for Children-Revised (NPQC-R)

Using confirmatory factor analysis, this study compared the 4-factor 18-item Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire for Children (NPQC) and the 2-factor, 12-item Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire for Children-Revised (NPQC-R). Support was found for the 2-factor structure of the 12-item NPQC-R using two independent adolescent school-based samples (n = 479 and n = 470). The 2-factor NPQC-R model (i.e., Superiority, Exploitativeness) showed a better fit in both adolescent samples than the alternative 4-factor NPQC model. There was strong support for NPQC-R’s invariance across gender and age. The NPQC-R was found to have reasonable internal consistency estimates, test–retest reliability estimates, and adequate convergent and discriminant validity estimates. Collectively, these results support the utility of the NPQC-R as a measure of narcissism in children and adolescents. A copy of the NPQC-R and scoring key can be obtained from Rebecca P. Ang.     

Children's understanding of the inverse relation between multiplication and division

Children's understanding of the inversion concept in multiplication and division problems (i.e., that on problems of the form d * e/e no calculations are required) was investigated. Children in Grades 6, 7, and 8 completed an inversion problem-solving task, an assessment of procedures task, and a factual knowledge task of simple multiplication and division. Application of the inversion concept in the problem-solving task was low and constant across grades. Most participants approved of the inversion-based shortcut but only a slight majority preferred it. Three clusters of children were identified based on their performance on the three tasks. The inversion cluster used and approved of the inversion shortcut the most and had high factual knowledge. The negation cluster used the negation strategy, had lower approval of the inversion shortcut, and had medium factual knowledge. The computation cluster used computation and had the lowest approval and the weakest factual knowledge. The findings highlight the importance of addressing the multiplication and division inversion concept in theories of children's mathematical competence.     

When do children learn from unreliable speakers?

Children do not necessarily disbelieve a speaker with a history of inaccuracy; they take into account reasons for errors. Three- to five-year-olds (N = 97) aimed to identify a hidden target in collaboration with a puppet. The puppet’s history of inaccuracy arose either from false beliefs or occurred despite his being fully informed. On a subsequent test trial, children’s realistic expectation about the target was contradicted by the puppet who was fully informed. Children were more likely to revise their belief in line with the puppet’s assertion when his previous errors were due to false beliefs. Children who explained this puppet’s prior inaccuracy in terms of false belief were more likely to believe the puppet than those who did not. As children’s understanding of the mind advances, they increasingly balance the risk of learning falsehoods from unreliable speakers against that of rejecting truths from speakers who made excusable errors.