Goal orientation of team leaders: Its effects on performance and group interaction in software development projects

Abstract

Goal orientation is an action style implying the development of long-range and precise goals, and persistent pursuit of these goals. Goal orientation is not only important for a person's own performance but also for the performance of others in a co-operative work setting. This applies particularly to team leaders, whose goal orientation was predicted to correlate with both team performance and quality of group interaction within the team. In a sample of 44 team leaders and 141 other team members of software development projects it was found that team leaders' goal orientation is related to the quality of the development process, the quality of the final product, and the interaction within the team. This is true both for team leaders' estimates of the dependent variables and for aggregated scores of the team members' estimates. Interaction effects between team members' and team leaders' goal orientation were also found.     

Silence is golden? Characteristics and experiences of self-reported whistleblowers

This study investigates the characteristics of whistleblowers, the prevalence and nature of whistleblowing, and the occurrence of retaliation after whistleblowing using a randomly selected and representative sample of Norwegian employees. The results showed that 12 per cent self-reported as whistleblowers according to an operational definition. Being a leader, or a union or personnel safety representative was significantly related to whistleblowing. The most frequently reported wrongdoing was harassment conducted by a single colleague. Wrongdoer(s) received mixed responses, from no reaction to reprimand. Even though most whistleblowers were not sanctioned, they reported less job satisfaction and more workplace bullying than did nonwhistleblowers. Only a few were rewarded. For the most part, wrongdoing was stopped or reduced. However, whistleblowing was only partially effective, because whistleblowers reported lack of feedback about the result of their report. Results also showed that the status of the wrongdoer was related to the reaction he or she received afterwards, as were the type of wrongdoing and the effect on the wrongdoing, and the type of wrongdoing and the effect on the wrongdoer(s). Potential explanations for the results, such as the type of sample and power distance, are discussed. Practical implications of the study are also addressed, such as the importance of providing feedback to whistleblowers.     

The relationship between ethnicity,Christian orthodoxy,and mental health

Although researchers have noted differences in the role of religiosity in the lives of people from different ethnic backgrounds, the components of religion's influence (i.e., membership and orthodoxy) on mental health have not been previously examined. In the current study, Christian participants’ Christian Orthodox Scale (COS) scores were used to predict scores on mental health. As hypothesized, African Americans with higher COS scores exhibited fewer mental-health problems than did all ethnicities studied with lower COS scores. Implications and future directions for understanding the cultural influence of religion on African Americans are discussed.     

Effects of extensive dual-task practice on processing stages in simultaneous choice tasks

Schumacher et al. Psychological Science 12:101–108, (2001) demonstrated the elimination of most dual-task costs (“perfect time-sharing”) after extensive dual-task practice of a visual and an auditory task in combination. For the present research, we used a transfer methodology to examine this practice effect in more detail, asking what task-processing stages were sped up by this dual-task practice. Such research will be essential to specify mechanisms associated with the practice-related elimination of dual-task costs. In three experiments, we introduced postpractice transfer probes focusing on the perception, central response-selection, and final motor-response stages. The results indicated that the major change achieved by dual-task practice was a speed-up in the central response-selection stages of both tasks. Additionally, perceptual-stage shortening of the auditory task was found to contribute to the improvements in time-sharing. For a better understanding of such time-sharing, we discuss the contributions of the present findings in relation to models of practiced dual-task performance.     

The simulation of emotion experience: On the emotional foundations of theory of mind

An argument is developed that supports a simulationist account about the foundations of infants' and young children's understanding that other people have mental states. This argument relies on evidence that infants come to the world with capacities to send and receive affective cues and to appreciate the emotional states of others – capacities well suited to a social environment initially made up of frequent and extended emotional interactions with their caregivers. The central premise of the argument is that the foundation of infants' understanding of other minds is built upon an early-developing capacity to share others' emotion experiences. The emotion experiences elicited in interactions between caregivers and infants enable the elaboration of this primitive understanding into a more fully developed understanding of psychological subjects. The evidence presented in support of these claims derives from a wide range of studies of the phenomena of emotional contagion, affective communication, and emotion regulation involving infants, young children, and adults.     

Crisis Support and Coping as Mediators of Well-Being in Persons with Spinal Cord Lesion

This study aims to investigate whether crisis support and coping mediate symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in individuals with spinal cord lesions (SCL). PTSD, crisis support, and coping were assessed an average of 83 days after the injury (T1), at discharge from the rehabilitation center (T2), and an average of 121 days following discharge (T3). Sixty-nine newly injured paraplegics and tetraplegics completed the questionnaire at T1, 40 (58%) at T2, and 38 (55%) at T3. Individuals with PTSD experienced significantly lower levels of social support, and used more emotional coping than did those without PTSD. On the basis of logistic regression analyses, emotional coping and the interaction between negative response and emotional coping predicted PTSD. Emotional coping is a strong predictor of PTSD in persons with new SCL.     

Age-associated memory impairment—pathological memory decline or normal aging?

The aim of the study was to determine whether the memory capacity of individuals with age-associated memory impairment (AAMI) over a period of approximately 3½ years declines more, if at all, than the memory capacity of persons without AAMI. Four computerized and three non-computerized memory tests, a naming test, and a test of visuo-motor speed were administered twice. Two estimates of intellectual capacity were made, one at the first examination and the other 3½ years later. One person in the AAMI group (n=44) developed vascular dementia. The group of AAMI subjects did less well on two of the seven memory tests after 3½ years than they did initially; the control group (n=18) had lower scores on one memory test at follow-up than they had previously. The data suggest that the memory capacity of subjects with AAMI is not pathologically impaired. The general intellectual level significantly influences whether an individual with memory complaints will be classified AAMI or not. People with high intelligence are less likely than people with lower intellectual capacity to fulfill the AAMI criteria. This suggests that AAMI lacks in construct validity.     

Personality characteristics of women with alcohol addiction: A Rorschach study of women in an early treatment programme

This study identifies personality characteristics in a group of Swedish women (N=60) attending their first treatment for alcohol problems.The treatment programme specifically addressed women in an early phase of their drinking career, and was called "Early Treatment of Women with Alcohol Addiction" (EWA). Rorschach personality profiles of the 60 women differed significantly in almost all investigated aspects in a psychopathological direction from norms reported by Exner for a reference group of female non-patients. The findings are consistent with the assumption that, although the EWA women were socially well-functioning and fairly early in their drinking career, they nevertheless reveal serious underlying psychopathology. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.