Direct and indirect relationship between social stressors and job performance in Greater China: The role of strain and social support

This study examined the direct relationship between two social stressors (interpersonal conflict and organizational politics) and supervisor-rated job performance among employees in three Chinese societies in Greater China. The potential moderating effects of social support on the relation between social stressors and job performance were also investigated. Further, the potential mediating role of strain between stressors and job performance was tested. Data were collected from 1032 employees in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taipei. The results showed that both types of social stressors were positively correlated with strain, and negatively related with job performance. There was evidence supporting that social support was a significant moderator of the social stressor–performance relationship. Further, results were consistent with the hypothesis that strain could be a mediator between social stressors and job performance.     

Predictors and Outcomes of Experiences Deemed Religious: A Longitudinal Investigation

The two studies reported here revised Hunt's (1972) LAM (Literal, Anti-Literal, Mythological) Scale to include a Metaphorical dimension. The first study investigated the relationship between preference for literal versus metaphorical interpretations of religious language and structural levels of religious thinking. As predicted, participants who preferred a literal interpretation of religious statements gave evidence of a low developed structure of religious judgment. The predicted relationship between preference for metaphorical interpretations and style of religious thinking was not found. The second study compared samples of participants scoring highest on the Literal and the Metaphorical subscales. Literal participants scored lower on imaginative thinking and made greater use of religious language in an objectifying manner than did metaphorical participants. The meaning of these data for mature religious thinking is considered.     

“Faith Maturity Scale” for Chinese: A Revision and Construct Validation

Using a large sample of Chinese Christians (n = 2,196), we examined the internal structure, reliability, and validity of the Faith Maturity Scale (FMS). Despite its being developed in North America, and for a mainline Protestant population, the FMS was shown to have validity among non-Western, non-mainline Protestants. There is convergent validity with self-reported religious practices and a belief measure of religiosity. Our analyses also confirmed good construct validity with the Big Five personality dimensions, social axioms, attributional style, and quality of life. FMS remained associated with religious practices and high quality of life after personality was statistically controlled. Findings supported that the Chinese version of the FMS assesses the same theoretical construct as does the original scale and that the distinction between the vertical and horizontal dimensions of faith maturity is meaningful.     

Formulation and Application of the Hierarchical Generalized Random-Situation Random-Weight MIRID

The process-component approach has become quite popular for examining many psychological concepts. A typical example is the model with internal restrictions on item difficulty (MIRID) described by Butter (1994) Butter, R. 1994. Item response models with internal restrictions on item difficulty, Doctoral thesis Leuven, , Belgium: Katholieke Universiteit..  [Google Scholar] and Butter, De Boeck, and Verhelst (1998). This study proposes a hierarchical generalized random-situation random-weight MIRID. The proposed model is more flexible for formulating endogenous latent variables within a multilevel framework, allowing the analysis of polytomous data with complex models (e.g., including item discriminations, random situations, random weights, and heteroskedasticity). The parameters in the proposed model can be estimated using the computer program WinBUGS, which adopts Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms. To illustrate the application of the proposed model, a real data set about guilt is analyzed and a comparison of MIRIDs for various conditions is conducted.     

Parental,Peer, and Teacher Influences on the Social Behavior of Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents

Intensive interviews and self-report questionnaires were used to investigate parental, peer, and teacher influences on the prosocial and antisocial behaviors of Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. Students came from 5 academically different high schools. Results indicated that perceived parental influence was positively associated with frequency of prosocial behavior and negatively associated with frequency of delinquent behavior. Students with good relationships with their parents and peers showed lower frequencies of antisocial behaviors than did students with bad relationships. Adolescents in different identity statuses (achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, diffusion; E. H. Erikson, 1968) showed different patterns of prosocial and antisocial behaviors. For example, adolescents in the identity achievement group exhibited high frequencies of prosocial behaviors and low frequencies of antisocial behaviors, but those in the identity moratorium group exhibited quite high frequencies of both prosocial and antisocial behaviors.     

The Relation of Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior to Personality and Peer Relationships of Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents

The prosocial and antisocial behaviors of 2,862 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents were investigated. The major findings were as follows: (a) boys were more antisocial than girls; (b) negative peer influences were significantly stronger in boys than in girls, whereas positive peer influences were significantly stronger in girls than in boys; (c) antisocial adolescents tended to perceive their best friend as antisocial and exerting more negative influences on them, whereas prosocial adolescents tended to perceive their best friend as prosocial and exerting more positive influences on them; (d) antisocial behavior was positively associated with psychoticism and neuroticism; and (e) academic achievement tended to have a positive relation with prosocial behavior and a negative relation with antisocial behavior.     

Psychological contracts and innovative behavior: a moderated path analysis of work engagement and job resources

This study explored the relationships between psychological contract types and innovative behavior. We focused on the mediating effect of work engagement and the moderating effect of job resources (organizational and social resources). Participants were 267 dyads of research and development engineers and their supervisors from 30 high‐tech companies. Moderated path analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Findings showed that: (a) work engagement fully mediated the negative relationship between transactional contracts and innovative behavior; in addition, it also fully mediated the positive relationship between relational contracts and innovative behavior; and (b) job resources attenuated the former and strengthened the latter mediating effects. These findings contribute to understanding how, why, and when psychological contract types lead to innovative behavior via work engagement.     

Sensory Integration and Response to Balance Perturbation in Overweight Physically Active Individuals

The purpose of this study was to compare sensory integration and response to balance perturbation between physically active normal weight and overweight adults. Physically active young adults were grouped into normal weight (n = 45) or overweight (n = 17) according to the World Health Organization body mass index classification for Asian adults. Participants underwent two balance tests: sensory organization and motor control. Overweight participants presented marginally lower somatosensory score compared to normal weight participants. However, they scored significantly higher in response to balance perturbation. There was no difference in the onset of participants' active response to balance perturbation. Physical activity might have contributed to improved muscle strength and improved the ability of overweight individuals to maintain balance.     

Amazon Mechanical Turk in Organizational Psychology: An Evaluation and Practical Recommendations

Purpose

Amazon Mechanical Turk is an increasingly popular data source in the organizational psychology research community. This paper presents an evaluation of MTurk and provides a set of practical recommendations for researchers using MTurk.

Design/Methodology/Approach

We present an evaluation of methodological concerns related to the use of MTurk and potential threats to validity inferences. Based on our evaluation, we also provide a set of recommendations to strengthen validity inferences using MTurk samples.

Findings

Although MTurk samples can overcome some important validity concerns, there are other limitations researchers must consider in light of their research objectives. Researchers should carefully evaluate the appropriateness and quality of MTurk samples based on the different issues we discuss in our evaluation.

Implications

There is not a one-size-fits-all answer to whether MTurk is appropriate for a research study. The answer depends on the research questions and the data collection and analytic procedures adopted. The quality of the data is not defined by the data source per se, but rather the decisions researchers make during the stages of study design, data collection, and data analysis.

Originality/Value

The current paper extends the literature by evaluating MTurk in a more comprehensive manner than in prior reviews. Past review papers focused primarily on internal and external validity, with less attention paid to statistical conclusion and construct validity—which are equally important in making accurate inferences about research findings. This paper also provides a set of practical recommendations in addressing validity concerns when using MTurk.

     

The influence of visual perception of self-motion on locomotor adaptation to unilateral limb loading

Self-perception of motion through visual stimulation may be important for adapting to locomotor conditions. Unilateral limb loading is a locomotor condition that can improve stability and reduce abnormal limb movement. In the present study, the authors investigated the effect of self-perception of motion through virtual reality (VR) on adaptation to unilateral limb loading. Healthy young adults, assigned to either a VR or a non-VR group, walked on a treadmill in the following 3 locomotor task periods--no load, loaded, and load removed. Subjects in the VR group viewed a virtual corridor during treadmill walking. Exposure to VR reduced cadence and muscle activity. During the loaded period, the swing time of the unloaded limb showed a larger increase in the VR group. When the load was removed, the swing time of the previously loaded limb and the stance time of the previously unloaded limb showed larger decrease and the swing time of the previously unloaded limb showed a smaller increase in the VR group. Lack of visual cues may cause the adoption of cautious strategies (higher muscle activity, shorter and more frequent steps, changes in the swing and stance times) when faced with situations that require adaptations. VR technology, providing such perceptual cues, has an important role in enhancing locomotor adaptation.