Social Contagion and Multiplexity Communication Networks as Predictors of Commitment and Role Ambiguity

This research compares two contrasting perspectives of social contagion processes associated with the organizational outcome variables of commitment and role ambiguity in organizations. The two perspectives are structural equivalence (which focuses on the positions of individuals in social networks) and cohesion (which focuses on an individual's direct communication contacts). It was hypothesized that structural equivalence would be more associated with role ambiguity and that commitment would be more associated with cohesion. The relationship between these variables and multiplex content networks was also studied. It was hypothesized that commitment was a much more broadly based concept in the sense that a number of functional content networks systematically relate to it. On the other hand, role ambiguity was hypothesized to be more closely associated with uniplex networks, especially those related to job duties and organizational goals. While there were exceptions, generally the research results supported the hypotheses relating to multiplexity. The hypotheses that structural equivalence was more associated with role ambiguity and that commitment was more associated with cohesion also were supported in this research.     

School counselors,leave home

This article discusses the dilemma of the “noncounseling counselor,” and suggests that the counselor be relocated at an organizational base external to the school since there are factors inherent in many school systems which influence the counselor to compromise his counseling objectives. Removed from the school, the counselor might operate more effectively as an agent of a more comprehensive community organization such as a human development center.     

VALIDITY AND TEST-RETEST STABILITY OF THE NASH MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS SCALE ON THE REVISED FORM OF THE STRONG VOCATIONAL INTEREST BLANK1

Managers ’motives (preferences for different activities or outcomes) probably determine, in part, their relative job effectiveness. This hypothesis was tested and confirmed by Nash (1966) when he developed and cross-validated a Managerial Effectiveness Key for the 1937 edition of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB). We revised the Nash SVIB key for those items retained in the recently-revised form of SVIB (Campbell, 1966). The new key has the same validity as Nash's key and high test-retest stability for lengthy periods of time (up to twenty-two years). Validity of the key is not extremely high (about .30), but its content does denote a pattern of stable and distinct manager motives which merit study along with cognitive, aptitude, and temperament factors as potential determiners of effective managing.     

A Fuller Account: The Role of ‘Fittingness’ in Thomas Aquinas' Development of the Doctrine of the Atonement

This article draws attention to Thomas Aquinas' under‐appreciated development of the doctrine of the atonement. I argue that Thomas' pursuit of the ‘fittingness’ of the passion yields an exceptional grasp of the multiplicity of effects accomplished by Christ's death. To defend this thesis, I explore the methodology underlying Thomas' approach to the atonement, contrasting it with that of Anselm. I then follow the implications of Thomas' methodology in his stance toward the diverse atonement theories of his day. In conclusion, I briefly note the significance of Thomas' method and conclusions for contemporary debates concerning the efficacy of Christ's passion.     

The impact of imagined audiences on self‐appraisals

The concept of the relational self suggests that simply imagining significant others produces shifts in self‐assessments consistent with one’s roles and experiences with those others. To test relevant hypotheses, college women (from the United States) imagined a significant other as part of a visualization task. After imagining parents as compared to peers, participants described themselves as less sensual, dominant, and adventurous (Experiment 1), a pattern consistent with other women’s ratings of how they actually felt with those others. Supporting the idea that self‐esteem differences emerge in more evaluative contexts, self‐esteem moderated self‐assessments on key dimensions (Experiment 2). After imagining a romantic other but not a best friend, self‐esteem was directly related to women’s self‐ratings of sensuality, physical attractiveness, and being at ease.     

Predicting conflict within romantic relationships during the transition to adulthood

We conducted a retrospective study between 1997 and 2000 with 200 participants in the Children in the Community Study at their mean age of 29 (range: 27–31 years). Participants completed detailed narrative interviews about their transition to adulthood and described monthly levels of partner conflict that had occurred between ages 17 and 27. Data from these interviews were used to investigate the developmental trajectory and predictors of conflict in romantic relationships. Multilevel growth models showed that partner conflict increased between ages 19 and 25 and then declined slightly. Parental divorce, low parental socioeconomic status, being an only child, being divorced, being married, cohabiting, and having biological offspring were associated with elevated partner conflict. Different patterns of association between these variables and partner conflict were observed in men and women.     

Interpersonal chemistry through negativity: Bonding by sharing negative attitudes about others

We propose that sharing a negative—as compared to a positive—attitude about a third party is particularly effective in promoting closeness between people. Findings from two survey studies and an experiment support this idea. In Studies 1 and 2, participants’ open‐ended responses revealed a tendency to recall sharing with their closest friends more negative than positive attitudes about other people. Study 3 established that discovering a shared negative attitude about a target person predicted liking for a stranger more strongly than discovering a shared positive attitude (but only when attitudes were weak). Presumably, sharing negative attitudes is alluring because it establishes in‐group/out‐group boundaries, boosts self‐esteem, and conveys highly diagnostic information about attitude holders. Despite the apparent ubiquity of this effect, participants seemed unaware of it. Instead, they asserted that sharing positive attitudes about others would be particularly effective in promoting closeness.