Modeling the Relationship Between Pay Level and Pay Satisfaction

The relationship between pay level and pay satisfaction was modeled in a field study with 456 employees of nursing departments in a large hospital. After controlling for person, job, and pay system characteristics, pay satisfaction variance was better explained by treating pay level as a power function rather than a linear function. This result was expected given the low wage rate relative to the market, the lack of a formal rewards system, and the high level of tenure in the workforce. Implications of this finding for theory, research, and practice were discussed.     

Book reviews

History of Islamic Philosophy Seyyed Hossein Nasr & Oliver Leaman, Editors, 1996 London, Routledge Part I, xx+ 780 pp., Part II, xiv + 428 pp., hb ISBN 0415 05 6675, £120.00

Early Advaita Vedānta and Buddhism: the Mahāyāna context of the Gaudapādiya‐Kārikā Richard King, 1995 Albany, State University of New York Press xii + 341 pp., pb $19.95

Vaisnavism: its philosophy, theology and religious discipline S.M. Srinwasa Chari, 1994 Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass xxxviii + 383 pp., pb Rs. 350

Vaisnavism: contemporary scholars discuss the Gaudiya tradition Steven J. Rosen (Ed.), 1992 Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1994 ix + 354 pp., pb Rs. 160

Cultural Realism: strategic culture and grand strategy in Chinese history Alastair Iain Johnston, 1995 Princeton, Princeton University Press xiii + 367 pp., hb ISBN 0691029962, $39.50

Laughing at the Tao: debates among Buddhists and Taoists in medieval China Livia Kohn, 1995 Princeton, Princeton University Press xii + 281 pp. hb (price not given)

Pantheism. A Non‐theistic Concept of Deity Michael P. Levine, 1994 London, Routledge xii + 388 pp., hb £45 ISBN 0415070643     

Externalism and Action-Guiding Epistemic Norms

In his book, Contemporary Theories of Knowledge, John Pollock argues that all externalist theories of justification should be rejected on the grounds that they do not do justice to the action-guiding character of epistemic norms. I reply that Pollocks argument is ineffective -- because not all externalisms are intended to involve action-guiding norms, and because Pollock does not give a good reason for thinking that action-guiding norms must be internalist norms. Second, I consider rehabilitating Pollocks argument by restricting his conclusion to theories that do involve action-guiding norms and providing a better reason to think that action-guiding norms must be internalist norms. But I claim that if Pollocks argument is made strong enough to rule out all externalisms, it rules out too much, namely, any plausible conception of epistemic norms.     

The Investigation of Personality Structure: Statistical Models

This article provides an introduction to a number of statistical techniques for investigating the structure of measures of personality. Each of these techniques is illustrated through its application to a set of 12 items from Snyder's (1974) self-monitoring scale. Approaches are presented for both continuous and dichotomous observed measures and for underlying constructs that are assumed to be continuous as well as those that are assumed to be discrete classes. Our emphasis is on techniques which permit tests of hypothesized structures (with a special focus on confirmatory factor analysis); however, exploratory approaches are also considered. We identify the critical assumptions, limitations, and areas of application of these techniques with an aim toward fostering their critical and appropriate usage.     

Microanalysis of Smokers' Beliefs about the Consequences of Quitting: Results from a Large Population Sample1

Using an expectancy-value approach, personal beliefs about the consequences of quitting were studied in a sample of 1,305 cigarette smokers derived from a representative sample of the United Kingdom population. Subjects evaluated 32 outcomes of continuing to smoke or stopping smoking in terms of how much they “wanted” or “feared” them (outcome evaluation, or OE) and then rated the likelihood of each outcome occurring under the two alternatives, yielding a likelihood difference (LD) score for each outcome. Subjects with relatively strong and relatively weak intentions to try to quit were compared with respect to their OE, LD, and OE × LD scores. The results showed consistent differences between intenders and nonintenders. Intenders rated every positive outcome as more desirable and every negative outcome as more undesirable. Intenders also believed that stopping smoking would lead to a larger increase in their chances of obtaining the benefits (health, financial, social, self-esteem) and a smaller increase in their chances of incurring the costs (negative affect, loss of enjoyment), compared with nonintenders. The product scores showing the largest relationships with intention were for the outcomes “feel proud of yourself”, “feel a sense of achievement”, “enjoy yourself”, “feel energetic”, and “set a good example to children”. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for efforts to encourage more smokers to try to quit.     

The Costs of Type B Behavior: Females at Risk in Achievement Situations'

This study investigated the costs associated with the Type B behavior pattern in an achievement task completed by 84 male and female fifth- and sixth-grade students preselected for their Type A-B scores. We hypothesized that the achievement behaviors of Type B girls, in comparison to boys and Type A girls, would be most negatively affected by failure experiences. Hypothesis-testing strategies were assessed during a discrimination task that included eight training, four forced failure, and four success problems. Self-ratings of performance were obtained following failure and success experiences, and preference for challenge was measured. As expected. Type B girls in comparison to all other children showed the greatest decrement in their hypothesis-testing strategies during failure, appeared to have the most difficulty recovering from failure, were the only group to view their performance following success as poorer than other children's performance, and exhibited the least preference for challenge. These findings suggest that Type B girls are at risk in achievement situations.     

A Motivational Explanation for the Existence of Private Self-Consciousness Differences

ABSTRACT The present article investigates whether there are motivational underpinnings for individual differences in level of private self-consciousness The findings provide preliminary evidence that there are underlying motivational components of need for self-knowledge and need for self-defense In the first two studies, high private self-conscious individuals (PRSCs) reported placing a higher value on accurate self-knowledge than did low PRSCs (Study 2), and acted according to that value (Study 1) In Study 3, the pattern of results supported the view that low PRSCs may have a desire to avoid unpleasant self-knowledge Our tentative conclusion is that high PRSCs may have a need for self-knowledge that is stronger than their need to protect their self-esteem, whereas low PRSCs may have a need for self-defense that outweighs self-knowledge needs Implications of these findings both for other approaches to self-consciousness and for a better understanding of the etiology of self-consciousness are discussed     

Marriage guidance counselling: I. What clients think will help

Thirty-one first-time attenders for marriage guidance counselling were given a non-schedule standardised interview and a client questionnaire. The main aim was to identify the counselling and counsellor characteristics which clients considered would be most helpful in dealing with their problems. Traditional counselling skills such as the ability to be warm, supportive, understanding and a good listener were seen to be important by most clients. However, the vast majority of clients indicated that it would be helpful to receive the counsellor's opinion about their marriage, their personal problems and marriage in general: this is incompatible with a non-directive approach to counselling. Whilst clients may not know best how they should be helped, counsellors who fail to address their preconceptions risk mutual disappointment and premature termination of counselling.     

The near-death experience of a nonverbal person with congenital quadriplegia

This article describes the near-death experience (NDE) a 39-year-old man born with severe spastic quadriplegia had when he was two and one-half years old. Nonverbal because of cerebral palsy, the man was able to communicate about his experience after he heard a therapist talking to another person about NDEs. The man experienced a fairly typical NDE and has had seven subsequent out-of-body experiences, the latter hypothesized as temporary relief from his physical pain resulting from muscular spasticity.