Rules, praise, and ignoring: elements of elementary classroom control

An attempt was made to vary systematically the behavior of two elementary school teachers to determine the effects on classroom behavior of Rules, Ignoring Inappropriate Behaviors, and showing Approval for Appropriate Behavior. Behaviors of two children in one class and one child in the other class were recorded by observers, as were samples of the teachers' behavior. Following baseline recordings, Rules, Ignoring, and Approval conditions were introduced one at a time. In one class a reversal of conditions was carried out. The main conclusions were that: (a) Rules alone exerted little effect on classroom behavior, (b) Ignoring Inappropriate Behavior and showing Approval for Appropriate Behavior (in combination) were very effective in achieving better classroom behavior, and (c) showing Approval for Appropriate Behaviors is probably the key to effective classroom management.     

Post-retinal storage? Some further observations on Parks’ camel as seen through the eye of a needle

Parks recently reported observations with an apparatus in which successive slices of a stimulus figure could be entered on the same retinal locus. He reported that when this was done, a visual percept of the figure appeared, but one that appeared condensed in length. From this he argued that the slices, differing only in time of arrival, must be stored post-retinally and then reconstructed spatially to form the coherent figure again. In attempting to replicate this important conclusion, we found, contrary to Parks, that the appearance of the percept occurred only when the slices were spread out over the retina, and not when they were entered on the same spot. Thus, the percept is probably due to much more understandable poor temporal resolution, rather than spatial integration. Shape distortions were found corresponding to Parks’ reports, but only in the absence of any visual percepts. In spite of the failure to support all of Parks’ conclusions, the effects are seen as very intriguing ones, and may have critical theoretical ramifications.     

Effective list length and part-whole transfer in first-graders' multitrial free recall

First-gradens' multitrial free recall shows an effective list-length (ELL) effect: an initial recall gain followed by a constant output level that fluctuates in item content. The part-whole transfer paradigm was used to investigate ELL. The ELL effect occurred in whole-list learning regardless of whether the prior task consisted of relevant practice, irrelevant practice, or an unrelated task. Relevant part-list learning resulted in positive transfer which declined from a high to a marginal level over the course of whole-list learning. Other analyses indicated a general deficit in the use of strategies. A response-strength model was used to explain the ELL effect and the transfer results.     

Correction for Range Restriction in Meta‐Analysis Revisited: Improvements and Implications for Organizational Research

In this study, we present a more accurate method for correcting for range restriction (Case V) that expands upon Bryant and Gokhale's (1972) method. We further present detailed steps to incorporate the Case V method into Schmidt and Hunter's (2015) psychometric meta‐analysis methods (both individual correction and artifact distribution approaches). We then evaluate the accuracy of the Case V method vis‐à‐vis existing methods. Monte‐Carlo simulation results indicate that the Case V method provides very accurate estimates for the mean true score correlation and reasonably accurate estimates for the true standard deviation. More important, Case V almost always provides more accurate results than alternative methods (particularly, Case IV). To illustrate how the Case V method works with real data, we conduct a reanalysis of Judge, Heller, and Mount's (2002) meta‐analysis examining the relationships between the Big 5 personality traits and job satisfaction. Results indicate that the true score correlations between the Big 5 traits and job satisfaction have been underestimated, whereas their true standard deviations have been overestimated. Implications for range restriction corrections in organizational research are discussed.     

Do CEOs Matter to Firm Strategic Actions and Firm Performance? A Meta‐Analytic Investigation Based on Upper Echelons Theory

What roles do CEOs play in firm performance? To address this question, the management field has accumulated a substantial amount of research over the past 3 decades built on upper echelons theory (UET), which posits that CEO characteristics manifest in firm strategic actions and, in this way, future firm performance. Hence, there is a need to systematically amass and take stock of prior empirical findings for UET testing and development. We use meta‐analytic techniques to synthesize prior UET research on the relationships among commonly studied CEO characteristics, firm strategic actions, and future firm performance. Based on 308 studies, meta‐analytic results generally support UET's predictions with a few exceptions: CEO characteristics (i.e., tenure, formal education, prior career experience, and positive self‐concept) are significantly associated with firm strategic actions, which in turn are significantly related to future firm performance. Moreover, CEO characteristics (i.e., age, tenure, formal education, and prior career experience) are positively related to future firm performance. In addition, fine‐grained analyses have revealed interesting and important relationships between specific measures of CEO characteristics (e.g., CEO prior task experience) and firm outcomes (e.g., firm strategic actions that match with CEO prior task experience). Implications for theory, future research, and practice are discussed.     

The Contribution of Ideational Behavior to Creative Extracurricular Activities

The prediction of creative performance from ideation has shown promise, but questions remain. In this study, the relationship of ideational behavior and the creative performance of elementary school children (N = 255) was examined across 6 domains of creative performance: science, mathematics, technology, fine arts, music, and writing. Importantly, the potential confounding of grade and gender were controlled and creative self-efficacy tested as a moderator. Results indicated that ideational behavior explained a unique portion of variance in creative performance, above and beyond the potential confounding factors. The moderating effect of creative self-efficacy was confirmed, but only in the domain of science. Interestingly, ideation was more strongly related to creative activity than was creative self-efficacy in every domain except art and writing. Limitations and future research are discussed.