TIME MATTERS IN TEAM PERFORMANCE: EFFECTS OF MEMBER FAMILIARITY, ENTRAINMENT, AND TASK DISCONTINUITY ON SPEED AND QUALITY

We compared the speed and quality of performance for familiar , initially unfamiliar but continuing , and one-shot (single session) teams. We also proposed and observed entrainment effects for task time limits. Over the course of weekly sessions with changing tasks, continuing teams reached speed levels of the initially familiar teams, but the one-shot teams were consistently slower. Continuing teams also tended to have higher-quality output than the one-shot teams. There were no differences in how quickly each type of group entrained to time limits on the tasks. Entrainment was not robust to task discontinuity (Task A, then B). However, entrainment on repeated trials of a task persisted even when a different type of task "interrupted" those repeated trials (Task A, then B, then A again). Results compel a richer incorporation of time as a medium for complex task sequences, and time-based constructs as a feature of team membership in the study of group effectiveness.     

You are my best friend: Commitment and stability in adolescents’ same‐sex friendships

A 2‐wave longitudinal study among 678 early and 317 middle adolescents investigated the applicability of Rusbult’s investment model to adolescent best friendships and tested its usefulness in predicting friendship stability. Results showed that satisfaction, quality of alternatives, and investments predict commitment in friendships, both concurrently and over time. Furthermore, investment model variables predicted friendship stability and, among stable friendships, predicted the tendency to switch best friends. Commitment mediated the effects of satisfaction, investment, and alternatives on tendency to switch. As expected, gender and age differences were found in that alternatives were more important for older adolescents and associations among model variables were stronger for girls. Overall, the investment model proved useful in predicting commitment and stability in adolescents’ best friendships.     

How Adolescent Children of African Jamaican Immigrants Living in Canada Perceive and Negotiate their Roles within a Matrifocal Family

This research project examined the adolescent/young adult-parent relationships of African Jamaican immigrants currently living in Canada. Specifically, we focused on the transmission of cultural values and beliefs within these relationships and how the adolescents navigated and negotiated potential changes in these values because of their acculturative experiences. An examination of various mundane family/cultural practices provided insight into perceived transmission attempts by parents and the adolescent/young adult interpretation of these attempts. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with adolescent/young adult members of African Jamaican immigrant families living in Canada. Using Grounded Theory methodology (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), several themes emerged during the analysis of the interviews—the most significant being the issue of matrifocality within the African Jamaican family. Issues of respect and adolescent agency are also discussed as they related to the manner in which the adolescent/young adult attempted to negotiate various roles within the family.     

Work‐Stress Burnout in Emergency Medical Technicians and the Use of Early Recollections

Numerous studies have indicated the high work‐stress burnout and attrition rate of emergency medical technicians. Of these studies, none have attempted to use projective techniques to predict work‐stress burnout. Eight central themes of early recollections have been reported: getter, controller, driver, pleaser, martyr/victim, “aginner,” feeling avoider, and excitement seeker. This article discusses those early memories that are more representative of emergency medical technicians who may be susceptible to burnout, as well as other memories that may indicate an individual's resistance to burnout, and proposes research to substantiate the effectiveness of early recollections in predicting burnout in emergency medical technicians.