An actor–partner interdependence model of employees’ and coworkers’ innovative behavior,psychological detachment,and strain reactions

In an extension of the existing paradigm on the benefits of innovative behavior for organizations, this study addresses the negative effects of innovative behavior. Guided by psychological detachment theory, we propose that both displaying innovative behavior and witnessing others’ innovative behavior make it difficult for workers to psychologically distance themselves from innovation matters, engendering strain reactions (e.g., sleep problems, hostility). Those with more proactive personalities may be more likely to experience these detachment difficulty problems after displaying or witnessing innovative behavior. To test these premises, we conducted two studies. In the pilot study (N = 104 employee–coworker dyads), we gathered both quantitative and qualitative data to show that innovative behavior predicts detachment difficulty above and beyond other job behaviors. In the main study, we collected data from 257 employee–coworker dyads over 5 weeks and analyzed them with an actor–partner interdependence model. The results are generally supportive, suggesting that further investigation of the unintended consequences of innovative behavior is warranted.     

The Influence of Shared Visual Context on the Successful Emergence of Conventions in a Referential Communication Task

Human communication is thoroughly context bound. We present two experiments investigating the importance of the shared context, that is, the amount of knowledge two interlocutors have in common, for the successful emergence and use of novel conventions. Using a referential communication task where black‐and‐white pictorial symbols are used to convey colors, pairs of participants build shared conventions peculiar to their dyad without experimenter feedback, relying purely on ostensive‐inferential communication. Both experiments demonstrate that access to the visual context promotes more successful communication. Importantly, success improves cumulatively, supporting the view that pairs establish conventional ways of using the symbols to communicate. Furthermore, Experiment 2 suggests that dyads with access to the visual context successfully adapt the conventions built for one color space to another color space, unlike dyads lacking it. In linking experimental pragmatics with language evolution, the study illustrates the benefits of exploring the emergence of linguistic conventions using an ostensive‐inferential model of communication.