Emotions help memory for faces: Role of whole and parts

The role of holistic or parts-based processing in face identification has been explored mostly with neutral faces. In the current study, we investigated the nature of processing (holistic vs. parts) in recognition memory for faces with emotional expressions. There were two phases in this experiment: learning phase and test phase. In the learning phase participants learned face–name associations of happy, neutral, and sad faces. The test phase consisted of a two-choice recognition test (whole face, eyes, or mouth) given either immediately or after a 24-hour delay. Results indicate that emotional faces were remembered better than neutral faces and performance was better with whole faces as compared to isolated parts. The performance in immediate and delayed recognition interacted with emotional information. Sad eyes and happy mouth were remembered better in the delayed recognition condition. These results suggest that in addition to holistic processing, specific parts–emotion combinations play a critical role in delayed recognition memory.     

Risk perception and adoption of digital innovation in mobile stock trading

An increase in retail investors, trading platforms, and smartphones is facilitating digital transformation in stock trading. Investments in mobile-centered digitalization by trading firms are rapidly becoming a source of competitive advantage. Distinctive psychological aspects involving risks, make stock trading a unique individual decision-making behavior. The objective of the present research is to examine the determinants of retail investors' behavioral intentions (BI) for mobile stock trading (MoST). Across two studies using a mixed method approach we empirically test a framework comprising cognitive risk-mitigation factors, perceived risk (PR), perceived financial cost (PFC), and technology acceptance model (TAM) constructs. The results indicate information quality, privacy, and security protection to mitigate the risk perception involved in trading on mobile platforms. Further, we report the mediation of PR in the relationship between the cognitive risk-mitigating factors and BIs to adopt MoST. Moreover, we find PFC to moderate PR and the TAM constructs' relationship with BIs to adopt MoST. Our research has important theoretical contributions and managerial implications to understand digital adoption behavior by retail investors for MoST platforms.     

Time Perspective and Procrastination in the Workplace: An Empirical Investigation

In the workplace, procrastination is typically viewed as a sub-optimal behavior that undermines productivity. As a construct, psychologists typically conceptualize procrastination as a stable and enduring personality trait. It has recently been argued that time perspective is also a personality trait, which has an important influence on procrastination behavior (Ferrari and Díaz-Morales, 2007 Journal of Research in Personality 41:707–714). Time perspective helps to guide not only employees’ judgments and decisions, but also their actions at the individual level. In this study, we examine the extent to which five qualitatively different types of time perspective (defined by Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 77:1271–1288) predict the tendency to procrastinate in the workplace. Participants were 236 managers and executives sampled from seven major information technology and financial organizations in India. Regression analyses revealed that of the five time dimensions, two were significantly positively related to procrastination, whereas two others showed negative relationships. From a basic science perspective, these findings help to extend our theoretical understanding of both time perspective and procrastination. From an applied standpoint, the results suggest an important individual difference dimension that might be considered during the personnel selection process.     

An exploration of the Indian mindset

Eight hundred and twenty-nine adults, drawn from 12 locations in all four parts of India, participated in a study that explored the joint effects of Indians’ discrepant mindset, context sensitivity, and quality of environment on their modes of behavior. Respondents also predicted how a person is likely to change his behavior when the conditions in which he works change from disabling to enabling. The findings showed that the two most dominant modes of behavior-self-serving calculative and achieving high positive goal — coexisted, but were differently caused. Context sensitivity facilitated both modes of behavior; but adequate infrastructure and friendly and helpful people in the neighborhood encouraged only achieving high positive goal behavior. On the contrary, duplicity in professing desirable but acting under realistic compulsions, poor quality of environment, and low levels of development were conducive to self-serving calculative behavior. As a situation changed from disabling to enabling, a person was likely to shift towards more positive behavior.     

Human crowding and store messiness: Drivers of retail shopper confusion and behavioral intentions

With today's cut‐throat competition, brick and mortar retailers are engaging in various in‐store elements like ambience, visual design, and social factors to entice consumers. However, these environmental stimuli if not used properly can lead to retail shopper confusion that can negatively influence shopper behavioral intentions. Drawing on the theoretical argument that information overload facilitates retail shopper confusion, two experimental studies are conducted. The findings of both studies suggest a main effect of human crowding and store messiness for each dimension of retail shopper confusion—irritation, inefficiency, and helplessness. Mediating role of retail shopper confusion between human crowding, store messiness, and shopping behavioral intentions is also examined. Interactive impact of human crowding and store messiness suggests store messiness to be more problematic. The moderating role of shopping motivations (task vs. recreational) is also examined that suggests the negative effect of retail shopper confusion for consumers pursuing recreational shopping motivations. These findings across the two studies offer a new perspective that recommend the importance of organized retail store environments. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Feeling Good,Being Intentional,and Their Relationship to Two Types of Creativity at Work

In recent years, scholars have empirically demonstrated that creativity can be described as radical or incremental creativity. In efforts to better understand the nomological networks underlying radical and incremental creativity, this study explored the role that positive emotions directly and indirectly plays in predicting each type of creativity. Further, whether the nature of these mediated relationships varied differentially as a function of employees’ tendency to also engage in such purposeful activities as monitoring their creative behaviors and deepening their expertise was also explored. The resultant moderated-mediation model was tested in a field study of 129 professional employees in a large North American consumer products organization. Results indicated that positive emotions influence incremental and radical creativity differentially through fun, and that the degree to which individuals engage in monitoring impacts their levels of creativity. Implications and future directions for research and practitioners are discussed.