Implicit and explicit object recognition at very large visual eccentricities: No improvement after loss of central vision

Little is known about the ability of human observers to process objects in the far periphery of their visual field and nothing about its evolution in case of central vision loss. We investigated implicit and explicit recognition at two large visual eccentricities. Pictures of objects were centred at 30° or 50° eccentricity. Implicit recognition was tested through a priming paradigm. Participants (normally sighted observers and people with 10–20 years of central vision loss) categorized pictures as animal/transport both in a study phase (Block 1) and in a test phase (Block 2). In explicit recognition participants decided for each picture presented in Block 2 whether it had been displayed in Block 1 (“yes”/“no”). Both visual (identical) and conceptual/lexical (same-name) priming occurred at 30° and at 50°. Explicit recognition was observed only at 30°. In people with central vision loss testing was only performed at 50° eccentricity. The pattern of results was similar to that of normally sighted observers but global performance was lower. The results suggest that vision, at large eccentricity, is mainly based on nonconscious coarse representations. Moreover, after 10–20 years of central vision loss, no evidence was found for an increased ability to use peripheral information in object recognition.     

Social Comparison,Inequity, and Absenteeism among Bus Drivers

Abstract

In this study, absenteeism among bus drivers is predicted on the basis of equity theory and social comparison theory. The number of objectively recorded absence spells (up to a maximum of 14 calendar days) is assessed in a sample of 116 bus drivers from a transport company in the Netherlands. Using the program LISREL, a social psychological model is developed (i.e. tested and revised). The study demonstrates the impact upon absenteeism of two social factors: (1) conflicts with superiors, which are associated with drivers' perception of investing more in the exchange relationship with the company than they receive in return; and (2) the perceived norms of colleagues regarding being absent from work. In addition to their impact upon absence behaviour, both social factors also seem to influence the personal norm regarding being absent. Unexpectedly, the personal absence norm is not significantly associated with absence behaviour. It is concluded that equity theory and social comparison theory enhance our understanding of absenteeism among bus drivers.     

Goal orientation of team leaders: Its effects on performance and group interaction in software development projects

Abstract

Goal orientation is an action style implying the development of long-range and precise goals, and persistent pursuit of these goals. Goal orientation is not only important for a person's own performance but also for the performance of others in a co-operative work setting. This applies particularly to team leaders, whose goal orientation was predicted to correlate with both team performance and quality of group interaction within the team. In a sample of 44 team leaders and 141 other team members of software development projects it was found that team leaders' goal orientation is related to the quality of the development process, the quality of the final product, and the interaction within the team. This is true both for team leaders' estimates of the dependent variables and for aggregated scores of the team members' estimates. Interaction effects between team members' and team leaders' goal orientation were also found.     

Reassessing the Work Ethic: A New Look at Work and Other Activities

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to argue that psychological research on the work ethic, or work centrality, uses too narrow a focus for understanding shifts in behaviour and attitudes over time. The appropriate unit of analysis is activity. Working is a subcategory of this larger unit. Six areas of activity are distinguished: education and training in early life, paid tasks or work, updating education throughout life, unpaid tasks or voluntary activity, education of the third age, and active or passive leisure. Historical, sociological, and anthropological evidence is reviewed and related to the psychological analysis of the meaning of working. It emerges that work is a controversial topic; it is extensively praised by some and condemned by others. Few would deny that paid work is a necessary way of obtaining basic and supplementary human requirements under present-day circumstances, but the differential conditions and constraints under which it is carried out are not always accepted as a necessary corollary. Is paid work a necessary or a desirable means of obtaining a standard of living? The answer depends on whether paid work is seen in isolation or as a subsystem of a wider range of activities which together result in a fulfilling life.     

Fostering innovation in functionally diverse teams: The two faces of transformational leadership

Empirical research on the effects of functional diversity on team innovation has yielded largely inconsistent results, showing positive, negative, as well as nonsignificant effects. For capitalizing on the positive potential inherent in functionally diverse teams, opening the black box between cross-functionality and team innovation by analysing mediating and moderating processes thus seems to be highly relevant. In this article, task and relationship conflicts are introduced as mediators of functional diversity and team innovation. Within this framework, transformational leadership is discussed as a moderator. It will become apparent that the role of transformational leadership in fostering the innovativeness of cross-functional teams is rather ambiguous. The discussed mediators and the moderator transformational leadership are integrated into a comprehensive framework and propositions for future research are derived.     

Exercise after work,psychological mediators,and affect: A day-level study

In this diary study, we tested the recovery potential of exercise activities during leisure time and examined the psychological mechanisms underlying the relation between exercise activities and affect. We hypothesized that spending time on exercise activities after work will be related to subsequent affect in the evening, and that psychological detachment from work, sense of belonging, and physical self-perceptions explain why exercise activities are related to subsequent affect. One-hundred and twenty-six participants from diverse occupations completed a diary twice a day over five consecutive work days. Multilevel analyses showed that exercise activities after work were related to positive, but not to negative affect in the evening. As proposed, psychological detachment, sense of belonging, and physical self-perceptions mediated the relation between exercise activities after work and positive affect in the evening.     

The impact of accountability on teachers’ assessments of student performance: a social cognitive analysis

Research on teachers’ judgments of student performance has demonstrated that educational assessments may be biased or may more correctly take the achievements of students into account depending on teachers’ motivations while making the judgment. Building on research on social judgment formation the present investigation examined whether the accountability of teachers has an influence on judgment formation. We predicted that unaccountable teachers would activate social categories and use them for the assessment, whereas accountable teachers’ attention would be directed to individual attributes of students. Using secondary school teachers as participants, three studies investigating teachers’ assessments, inferences and memory for students’ attributes supported these hypotheses. Thus, accountability appears to be a moderator of social information processing and judgment formation in the domain of educational assessments.     

The influence of gender‐stereotyped perfumes on leadership attribution

The classification of perfumes as ‘women's’ and ‘men's’ fragrances is based on certain gender stereotypes. In two experiments, female and male participants were asked to assume the role of a manager. In Experiment 1, they read an application for the position of a junior manager written by a male or female job applicant. Application papers were prepared with a typically masculine perfume, a typically feminine perfume or no perfume at all (control group). In Experiment 2, participants conducted a job interview with a female or male applicant (a confederate) who had applied the respective perfume or no perfume. Persons with a typically masculine perfume were ‘employed’ with a higher degree of certainty compared to persons with a typically feminine perfume. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Immorality of Modal Realism,Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let the Children Drown

Philosophical Studies -