Increasing On-Task Behavior in Students in a Regular Classroom: Effectiveness of a Self-Management Procedure Using a Tactile Prompt

Self-management strategies have been shown to be widely effective. However, limited classroom-based research exists involving low performing but developmentally normal high school-aged participants. This study examined the effectiveness of a self-management strategy aimed at increasing on-task behavior in general education classrooms with students without a diagnosed disability, behavior disorder, or exceptionality. The self-management package included provision of a tactile prompt, training in self-monitoring and data recording, self-monitoring, and the plotting of the results on a cumulative graph. A multiple baseline design across three participants was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention. An increase in on-task behavior was observed with all participants on implementation of the self-management package, and questionnaire-based social validity findings suggest this was an acceptable and effective procedure for the classroom context. Limitations, implications, and future directions of these findings are discussed.     

Delay of Gratification in Two- and Three-Year-Olds: Associations with Attachment, Personality, and Temperament

Delay of gratification in young children has been linked to long-term behavioral and academic outcomes. This study explored temperament, personality, and child–parent attachment as possible associates of delay ability. The sample consisted of 50 2- and 3-year-old children and their primary caregivers. Two laboratory tasks, the Preschool Strange Situation and the newly created Gift Delay Task, were conducted on separate occasions to assess child–parent attachment and delay of gratification, respectively. Parents and preschool teachers completed child temperament (EASI-III) and personality (California Child Q-Set) questionnaires. Based on the award-oriented behavior in the Gift Delay Task, children were classified into three groups: Delay (20 %), Touch and Go (i.e., approached the gift, but demonstrated some delay ability; 46 %), and Non Delay (34 %). Reports on activity, impulsivity, decision time, negative emotionality, over-control, and affect were found to be associated with delay ability. The association between child–parent attachment and delay was not statistically significant, but an interesting trend emerged. A larger percentage of Non Delayers were rated as Insecure-Ambivalent (“C”), and more Delayers were rated as Securely attached (“B”). Implications for behavioral interventions focused on parental support and scaffolding are discussed.     

Digital Drift and the “Sense of Injustice”: Counter-Productive Policing of Youth Cybercrime

ABSTRACT

Over the past several decades, criminological scholarship has increasingly focused on the problem of cybercrime including technology-enabled offending. Theoretical developments that account for these offences have not grown in tandem, leading to questions as to the nature of cybercriminality relative to traditional forms of offending. Recently, Goldsmith and Brewer proposed the conceptual framework of digital drift, extending elements of Matza’s original theories to the virtual environment. While making a useful contribution to the theorization of cybercrime, we argue that further elements of Matza’s original work also warrant consideration. In particular, we acknowledge the role of policing and the criminal justice system in affecting offender perceptions and decision-making. As such, this article extends the theorizing around digital drift to incorporate the ways that offender views are shaped in reaction to the law enforcement and industry responses to cybercrime. The implications of this extension are discussed in depth.     

Birth Order and Sex Differences In Complexity-Simplicity,Color-Form Preference and Personality

With 196 undergraduate Ss it was found that (a) females preferred more complexity than males, and first-born males and later-born females preferred more complexity than their respective sex groups; (b) first-born males and later-born females checked adjectives which were like those of independent Ss in a conformity study; (c) there were no significant differences with the Internal-External Control Scale; (d) males preferred more form than females. These significant findings were related to previous research in personality and in creativity.     

Inhibition and the right inferior frontal cortex

It is controversial whether different cognitive functions can be mapped to discrete regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The localisationist tradition has associated one cognitive function - inhibition - by turns with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), inferior frontal cortex (IFC), or orbital frontal cortex (OFC). Inhibition is postulated to be a mechanism by which PFC exerts its effects on subcortical and posterior-cortical regions to implement executive control. We review evidence concerning inhibition of responses and task-sets. Whereas neuroimaging implicates diverse PFC foci, advances in human lesion-mapping support the functional localization of such inhibition to right IFC alone. Future research should investigate the generality of this proposed inhibitory function to other task domains, and its interaction within a wider network.     

Exploring teenagers' adaptive and maladaptive thinking in relation to the threat of hiv infection

Abstract

Teenagers' HIV-preventive cognitions were explored within a protection motivation theory framework. Five hundred and seven adolescent men and women from two cohorts (sixteen and eighteen) completed a confidential postal questionnaire. The effect of demographic variables, previous sexual experience and appraisal of threat and coping resources upon HIV-relevant cognitions was investigated using path analysis. Cognitions promoting (adaptive) and inhibiting (maladaptive) preventive behaviour were considered. Anticipated condom use, intention to limit number of sexual partners and willingness to consider an HIV antibody test were included as adaptive HIV-preventive cognitions. Coping appraisal measures were strongly associated with anticipated condom use but threat appraisal measures were not. Gender, previous sexual experience, coping appraisal measures and denial accounted for 33% of the variance in anticipated condom use. Overall the results provided qualified support for Protection Motivation Theory. Implications for health education are highlighted.     

Acting Superior But Actually Inferior?: Correlates and Consequences of Workplace Arrogance

Accounts of arrogant employees abound, yet there is little systematic research on arrogance within organizations. In response to this oversight, this article presents the findings from four studies. In Studies 1 and 2, the authors developed the Workplace Arrogance Scale and found support for its convergent and discriminant validity. In Study 3, the Workplace Arrogance Scale was included as part of a 360-degree performance feedback survey. Results revealed that there was satisfactory agreement between self- and other-ratings of arrogance. The authors also found that arrogance was negatively related to self- and other-rated task performance. Findings from Study 4 suggested that arrogance is negatively related to cognitive ability and self-esteem. The authors conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

Organizational entry and exit: An exploratory longitudinal examination of early careers

New college graduates' perceptions of organizational entry constructs were measured at the end of the first year of employment and related to subsequent turnover as well as work attitudes 3 years later in a longitudinal design. The research design examined the simultaneous effects of entry constructs for the first time in an exploratory model. The combined effects of individual readiness, organizational tactics, individual tactics, entry process perceptions, perceived job characteristics, learning, expectations, and coping responses on subsequent turnover and job attitudes of newly employed college graduates were investigated using hierarchical logistic regression. Aspects of preemployment anticipation, organization receptivity, adaptation difficulty, meeting with person previously in the position, feedback seeking, and organization attachment correctly predicted 73.3% voluntary turnover after Year 1. Organization entry constructs and first year attitudes explained 45% of the variance in organizational commitment and 48.9% of organizational attachment 3 years later. Preliminary evidence suggests mediated causal paths link other aspects of newcomer perceptions, work attitudes, and turnover.     

The Interaction Effects of Leader and Follower Conscientiousness on Person-Supervisor Fit Perceptions and Follower Outcomes: A Cross-Level Moderated Indirect Effects Model

ABSTRACT

The primary purpose of this study is to examine how the cross-level interaction between leader and follower conscientiousness influences person-supervisor (PS) fit perceptions, which in turn impact follower work attitudes and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Based on a sample of 1,204 participants in 167 work teams, the results of our cross-level moderated indirect effects model show that highly conscientiousness followers whose leaders also have high levels of conscientiousness experience enhanced perceptions of PS fit which result in higher levels of job satisfaction and OCB and lower levels of intention to quit. The study suggests that high leader conscientiousness serves as a supportive situational cue that motivates followers to more fully express their conscientiousness and act in ways consistent with their conscientiousness.     

Collaboration Technologies Improve Performance and Communication in Air Battle Management

Team communication is critical for Air Battle Management (ABM). In this study, two communication tools (text chat and electronic whiteboard) and two team resource aids (tabular and graphical displays) were introduced during simulated ABM to supplement radio communication. Results showed that combined chat and virtual whiteboard improved team performance, decreased number and duration of radio transmissions, but had mixed effects on workload. In addition, the graphical resource display improved team performance, decreased number and duration of radio transmissions, and reduced workload compared to the tabular display. These findings indicate that collaboration technologies introduced in this experiment may benefit military operations.