The Effects of Mood on Moral Judgment: The Role of Self‐Monitoring1

After being induced, via film clips, into either a positive (happy) or negative (sad) mood, high and low self‐monitors completed a moral reasoning task (the Defining Issues Test). The results indicate that mood had a significant impact on the moral decision making of low, but not high self‐monitors. In particular, low self‐monitors induced into a positive mood demonstrated more sophisticated and principled moral reasoning strategies than did low self‐monitors induced into a negative mood. In contrast, the level of moral reasoning among high self‐monitors did not differ significantly as a function of induced mood.     

Technology‐Related Pressure and Work–Family Conflict: Main Effects and an Examination of Moderating Variables

With the increased use of computers for completing work, as well as the interconnectivity that the technology enables, more and more workers are experiencing technology‐related pressure. Although it is known that this pressure occurs, especially for employees who complete the majority of their work on computers, little is known about the outcomes that result from it. This study attempts to fill this void by examining work–family conflict (WFC) as a potential consequence stemming from technology‐related pressure. Additionally, we examine negative affectivity, social stressors, and job control as moderators of the technology‐related pressure/WFC association. We investigated these relationships in a sample of 283 workers, all of whom complete the majority of their work on the computer.     

Attachment styles and interpersonal approach and avoidance goals in everyday couple interactions

Sixty undergraduates at a public university in the northwest United States recorded their approach and avoidance communal (closeness), uncommunal (distance), agentic (assertion), and unagentic (submission) goals during a total of 836 naturalistic interactions with romantic partners. They also completed a self‐report measure of attachment style. Secure attachment predicted more approach than avoidance goals, especially agentic goals. Avoidant attachment predicted goals to avoid and not to approach closeness and submission. Anxious attachment predicted more intense and inconsistent goals; for example, anxiety predicted focusing more on avoiding distance yet less on creating closeness and predicted more within‐person variability across interactions in goals to approach distance, avoid closeness, avoid assertion, and avoid submission. In sum, the study revealed strong relationships between enduring attachment styles and momentary interpersonal goals in everyday life.     

USING COMPUTERS TO DELIVER TRAINING: WHICH EMPLOYEES LEARN AND WHY?

Compared to traditional instructor-led training, computer-delivered training typically offers learners more control over their instruction. In learner-controlled environments, learner choices regarding practice level, time on task, and attention are expected to be critical determinants of training effectiveness. To examine the effect of learner choices in computer-based training, a study was conducted with 78 employees taking an Intranet-delivered training course. Learner choices were assessed and predicted with goal orientation (mastery and performance) and learning self-efficacy, as well as age, education, and computer experience. Results indicate considerable variability among trainees in practice level and time on task, which both predict knowledge gain. Performance orientation interacted with learning self-efficacy to determine practice level, and mastery orientation had an unexpected negative effect. Implications for the use of computers to deliver training and for future research are discussed.     

Farm Families in Career Transitions: Descriptive Characteristics and an Intervention

Characteristics of farm family members involved in workshops that are designed to assist them in developing career plans and making transitions to other careers are described. Age, sex, educational level, and career change characteristics of workshop participants are presented. Vocational identity scores using My Vocational Situation, interest patterns based on the Self-Directed Search, and 6-month follow-up data are also presented to describe the farm family members served through this intervention. My family went back four generations on this piece of land. Farming wasn't a job; it was a way of life. I couldn't go to the auction. I couldn't see it all being taken. I feel like such a failure.     

THE JOINT EFFECTS OF CONSCIENTIOUSNESS AND SELF-LEADERSHIP TRAINING ON EMPLOYEE SELF-DIRECTED BEHAVIOR IN A SERVICE SETTING

This field investigation examined the effects of conscientiousness and self-leadership training on employee self-direction. Conscientiousness correlated significantly with supervisor evaluations of self-direction for employees working in a hotel/resort. Self-leadership training was then conducted for a group of the employees. Gain score analysis failed to detect an overall effect for training on self-direction. However, conscientiousness was found to moderate the effect of self-leadership training in that training group employees who initially scored low on conscientiousness improved their behavior more than their high conscientiousness coworkers. Implications of these findings for the practices of employee training and selection are discussed.