When bonuses backfire: an inaction inertia analysis of procrastination induced by a missed opportunity

An inaction inertia analysis of procrastination was used to generate the prediction that using bonuses to encourage early task completion will have two opposing effects, encouraging early task completion by some but also inducing procrastination for those who miss the bonus. Study 1 showed that the addition of bonuses for early completion produced both of these effects and also led to overall task completion rates that were either equal to (large bonus) or actually less than (medium and small bonuses) those obtained by simply establishing a completion deadline with no bonus. In Study 2, a lottery methodology was used to manipulate the size of a missed bonus for all participants. Even under these conditions of reduced personal responsibility the larger missed bonus led to increased procrastination as predicted by the inaction inertia analysis. Possible mediating processes based on anticipated regret and perceived fairness were discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Serendipity in the Theater: Maude Adams as James M. Barrie's American Muse

A special niche in theatre history is addressed to begin to fill a void in the contemporary creativity literature. The present essay focuses on Maude Adams and James M. Barrie in an attempt to demonstrate that, serendipitously, Adams initially impacted Barrie's creative process, and thereafter became his platonic source of inspiration for the plays he created for her, meriting the belated title of muse. Set change theory is underscored as a plausible cognitive explanation for Barrie's illumination. The psychoanalytic theory of transference is proposed as an underlying mechanism for facilitating the change of mental set during the incubation stage. A brief discussion on a selective theoretical integration from the fields of cognitive psychology, psychoanalysis, and neuroscience is followed by conclusions.     

IS LIBERAL NATIONALISM INCOMPATIBLE WITH GLOBAL DEMOCRACY?

Abstract: To respond to globalization-related challenges, many contemporary political theorists have argued for forms of democracy beyond the level of the nation-state. Since the early 1990s, however, political theory has also witnessed a renewed normative defense of nationhood. Liberal nationalists have been influential in claiming that the state should protect and promote national identities, and that it is desirable that the boundaries of national and political units coincide. At first glance, both positions—global democracy and nationalism—seem to contradict each other. We do not share this oppositional picture. Developing a more harmonic picture of nationalist ideals and cosmopolitan visions is the aim of this essay.     

A model of the precaution adoption process: evidence from home radon testing.

We present the precaution adoption process model--a stage theory consisting of seven distinct states between ignorance and completed preventive action. The stages are "unaware of the issue," "aware of the issue but not personally engaged," "engaged and deciding what to do," "planning to act but not yet having acted," "having decided not to act," "acting," and "maintenance." The theory asserts that these stages represent qualitatively different patterns of behavior, beliefs, and experience and that the factors that produce transitions between stages vary depending on the specific transition being considered. Data from seven studies of home radon testing are examined to test some of the claims made by this model. Stage theories of protective behavior are contrasted with theories that see precaution adoption in terms of movement along a single continuum of action likelihood.     

RIASEC TYPES AND BIG FIVE TRAITS AS PREDICTORS OF EMPLOYMENT STATUS AND NATURE OF EMPLOYMENT

This prospective study investigated the validity of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality and Holland's RIASEC vocational interest typology in predicting employment status and the nature of employment in a sample of graduating college seniors as they entered the job market. A sample of 934 senior college graduates enrolled in various academic subjects filled in Costa and McCrae's NEO-PI-R (1992) and Holland's Self-Directed Search (1979). One year after graduation, they were requested to describe their labor market positions and jobs, using the Position Classification Inventory (PCI; Gottfredson & Holland, 1991). Six hundred and twelve people responded to the second call, of whom 335 were employed and 66 unemployed. The incremental validity of the 2 models over and above each other was investigated in the sample of employed and unemployed subjects ( N = 401) using stepwise regression analysis. The results showed that Extraversion and Conscientiousness were the only valid predictors of employment status and that vocational interests did not show incremental validity over and above these factors. The RIASEC types, however, were clearly superior in explaining the nature of employment, underscoring the validity of Holland's hexagonal calculus assumptions. Employment reflecting Realistic, Social and Enterprising characteristics was to a limited extent predicted by four of the Big Five, except Neuroticism, over and above the RIASEC types. The findings are discussed in the framework of Schneider's Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) theory (1987) concluding that Holland's RIASEC model is more employee-driven, being better at predicting the nature of employment, whereas the FFM is more employer-oriedted, with greater validity in evaluating the employability and employment status of applicants.     

小学低年级汉语儿童语言能力的发展轨迹:认知能力的预测作用

对177名小学一年级学生进行了长达一年的三次追踪,通过多层线性模型探索了儿童汉字识别、口语词汇和限时阅读理解能力的发展轨迹及复合语素意识、正字法意识和快速命名能力对三者的预测作用,结果发现：（1）三种语言能力均随时间呈现显著的线性增长趋势,汉字识别的个体差异逐渐缩小,口语词汇的个体差异相对稳定,而限时阅读理解成绩的差异逐渐扩大;（2）三种认知能力对汉字识别和限时阅读理解的初始成绩均有显著的正向预测作用,复合语素意识不仅能预测口语词汇的初始成绩,还能正向预测限时阅读理解的发展速度。