The Effects of Competition on the Decision Quality of Diverse and Nondiverse Groups

Research has validated that intragroup cooperation, rather than competition, produces more positive group interaction and interpersonal acceptance which leads to better performance. The unique values of culturally diverse group members, however, may influence group processes and performance if these group members respond differently to situational cues. Research on the interaction between cultural diversity and competitive team situations would benefit organizations that employ an increasingly diverse work force. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the effects of cultural diversity on group performance and group processes by comparing culturally diverse and culturally nondiverse groups under conditions of intergroup competition and noncompetition. This experiment was conducted using 500 upper-level undergraduate students enrolled in a principles of management course at a large university in the southwestern United States. The results of this experiment indicate that the competitive nondiverse groups performed better than did the noncompetitive diverse groups in terms of quality of performance. Results also suggest that both the culturally diverse and culturally nondiverse groups outperformed their best individual members' scores when they were matched with competitive situations that enhanced their innate group processing styles. Organizations can increase their effectiveness by appreciating that diverse and nondiverse groups respond differently under conditions of competition and noncompetition.     

Implications of Racial Diversity in the Supervisor-Subordinate Relationship

This study addresses the impact of race on the supervisor-subordinate relationship. The purpose is to examine this relationship with minority subordinates reporting to both majority and minority group members. Using the subordinates needs framework identified by Baird and Kram (1983), 5 areas were addressed: supervisory support, developmental opportunities, procedural justice, acceptance or assimilation, and discrimination. The results indicated that African American subordinates with White supervisors experience less supervisory support, developmental opportunities, procedural justice, assimilation, and more discrimination than African American subordinates with African American supervisors.     

Relational and imageric recall in young and older adults under conditions of high task demand

Research indicates the presence of an age-related pictorial processing deficit, for which the elderly may attempt to compensate through the use of relational information. Cognitive asynchrony theory, a recent synthetic formulation which unites elements of the generalized slowing hypothesis, environmental support theory, and the item-specific/relational information distinction, has proven useful in a number of experiments in explaining these aspects of visual cognitive aging. The present experiments tested this theoretical formulation under high processing demand conditions in both the relational and the pictorial/item-specific realm. Young and older adults yielded a complex pattern of results consistent with the cognitive asynchrony synthesis of these theoretical considerations. The present experiments add to the growing body of findings indicating that the cognitive subsystems of memory decline at different rates, that the differences in cognitive processing between young and older adults tend to be more quantitative than qualitative, and that the global age-related memory deficits of popular belief are in fact relatively circumscribed and specific. This research was supported by grant AG11605 from the National Institute on Aging, and by a grant from the College of Science and Mathematics, California State University.     

Modifications to basic functional analysis procedures in school settings: a selective review

This review describes applied behavioral research involving functional analyses conducted in public school settings. Functional analyses in public school settings often require added conditions. The modified conditions described herein include changes to experimental designs, antecedent changes that include task variation, tasks included, idiosyncratic variables, physiological conditions, and modified escape conditions. Finally, consequent modifications cover peer attention, tangibles, varied attention, and altered escape. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Factors Influencing Levels of Credit‐Card Debt in College Students1

The current study examined the relationship between money attitudes, impulsivity, locus of control, life satisfaction, and stress and credit‐card debt in 227 college students. Students reported an average credit‐card debt of $ 1,518, with over 75% of students holding at least one credit card. Students with credit cards from on‐campus solicitation had higher debt‐to‐income ratios than did those with credit cards from other sources. Personality variables were generally unrelated to level of debt, although they were related to attitudes toward money. Many students requested information about credit and debt, suggesting that knowledge of financial issues may be an important variable for future consideration.     

“Watch out!”: Effects of instructed threat and avoidance on human free‐operant approach–avoidance behavior

Approach–avoidance paradigms create a competition between appetitive and aversive contingencies and are widely used in nonhuman research on anxiety. Here, we examined how instructions about threat and avoidance impact control by competing contingencies over human approach–avoidance behavior. Additionally, Experiment 1 examined the effects of threat magnitude (money loss amount) and avoidance cost (fixed ratio requirements), whereas Experiment 2 examined the effects of threat information (available, unavailable and inaccurate) on approach–avoidance. During the task, approach responding was modeled by reinforcing responding with money on a FR schedule. By performing an observing response, participants produced an escalating “threat meter”. Instructions stated that the threat meter levels displayed the current probability of losing money, when in fact loss only occurred when the level reached the maximum. Instructions also stated pressing an avoidance button lowered the threat level. Overall, instructions produced cycles of approach and avoidance responding with transitions from approach to avoidance when threat was high and transitions back to approach after avoidance reduced threat. Experiment 1 revealed increasing avoidance cost, but not threat magnitude, shifted approach–avoidance transitions to higher threat levels and increased anxiety ratings, but did not influence the frequency of approach–avoidance cycles. Experiment 2 revealed when threat level information was available or absent earnings were high, but earnings decreased when inaccurate threat information was incompatible with contingencies. Our findings build on prior nonhuman and human approach–avoidance research by highlighting how instructed threat and avoidance can impact human AA behavior and self‐reported anxiety.     

The normative aspect of signalling and the distinction between performative and constative

The paper outlines an approach to the formal representation of signalling conventions, emphasising the prominent role played therein by a particular type of normative modality. It is then argued that, in terms of inferencing related to this modality, a solution can be given to the task J.L. Austin set but failed to resolve: finding a criterion for distinguishing between what Austin called constatives and performatives. The remainder of the paper indicates the importance of the normative modality in understanding a closely related issue: reasoning about trust in communication scenarios; this, in turn, facilitates a clear formal articulation of the role of a Trusted Third Party in trade communication.     

Motherhood in the 21st Century: Implications for Counselors

Although mental health professionals frequently work with mothers, the social construction of motherhood is rarely discussed in the counseling field. In this article, the literature on motherhood is reviewed. Intensive mothering expectations are critiqued, and the impact of these expectations on employed mothers, mothers on welfare, and stay‐at‐home mothers is discussed. Suggestions for mental health professionals are provided.     

Illness representations and psychological distress in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Preoperative psychological distress has been shown to predict both postoperative distress and subsequent cardiac morbidity in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. This study assessed the associations between illness perceptions and psychological well-being among 56 patients awaiting CABG surgery using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R). Patient perceptions of their illness as chronic were associated with reduced beliefs in both personal control over illness and efficacy of treatment, and increased perceived consequences of illness in terms of life functioning. In addition, psychological distress regarding illness was significantly correlated with psychological distress in general. Reduced illness coherence was also associated with increased psychological distress. Preoperative psycho-education aimed at helping patients better understand their illness, treatment, and its effects may reduce psychological distress, and perhaps improve future well-being as a result.