THE CONSTRUCT OF AROUSAL IN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

The construct of arousal is pivotal to those who investigate the relationship between emotions and communication. This study seeks to compare Zillmann's and Mehra-bian's concepts of arousal in order to identify common ground between the theorists. The goal is, through such commonalities, to provide a more complete and useful framework for understanding arousal's role in communication. This common framework is important to those researchers who find merit in both Zillmann's and Mehrabian 's theories, important to those in the field who look for an understanding of human communication from a variety of viewpoints.     

SUPERIORS' ARGUMENTATIVENESS AND VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS AS PREDICTORS OF SUBORDINATES' SATISFACTION

Corporatist theory of job productivity is reviewed and ideas about organizational communication are explored from the perspective of recent conceptions of argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness. A hypothesis is derived that the more subordinates perceive their superiors are high in argumentativeness and low in verbal aggressiveness, the more the subordinates also wilt be argumentative and have job satisfaction. A study is reported that surveyed 216 subordinates in a variety of organizations in a major metropolitan and industrial section of the midwest. Canonical correlation analysis revealed three significant roots that suggested considerable support for the research hypothesis. Implications of the results are discussed, particularly in terms of corporatist theory.     

The Effects of Stress and Gender on Nonverbal Decoding Accuracy in Kinesic and Vocalic Channels

Stress has the potential to impair accurate decoding of others’ communication. This experiment tested the effects of stress, induced through the Stroop Color-Word Test, on the accurate decoding of kinesic and vocalic emotional expressions. Respondents (N =372) viewed or heard 30 emotional expressions interspersed with multichannel color stimuli that were redundant with one another (low stress) or conflicted with one another (high stress). Analyses of accuracy scores across three trials supported three of four hypotheses. Stress debilitated accuracy primarily in the vocalic channel and at the onset of stress. The kinesic facial channel also produced consistently higher accuracy than the vocalic channel, and females achieved higher accuracy than males, but this superiority dissipated by the third trial.     

Affirmative Action and the Doctrine of Double Effect

ABSTRACT  This article attempts to show that affirmative action can be supported by the doctrine of double effect which recognises distinctions between desired and unintended effects such that the responsibility for acts falls on the side of the former rather than the latter. With this doctrine it may also be seen why affirmative action programmes cannot be simply equated with numerical quota systems, nor can they be called discriminatory, at least not under the definition of discrimination utilised.     

The actor–partner interdependence model for categorical dyadic data: A user‐friendly guide to GEE

The actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) has been widely used for the analysis of pairs of individuals who interact with each other. The goal of this article is to detail in a nontechnical way how the APIM for binary or count outcomes can be implemented and how actor and partner effects can be estimated using generalized estimating equations (GEE) methodology. Both SPSS‐ and SAS‐syntax needed to estimate the model and the interpretation of the output are illustrated using data from a study exploring the effect of satisfaction with the relationship before the breakup on unwanted pursuit behavior after the breakup in formerly married partners. The use of this GEE method will allow researchers to test a wide array of research hypotheses.     

A prototype analysis of infidelity

The current research tested whether the concept of infidelity is prototypically organized and whether laypeople's conceptualizations of infidelity are consistent with how researchers have operationalized this construct. Across 4 studies, results indicated that infidelity is indeed prototypically organized as individuals are able to list and rate how central certain features are to the infidelity construct. Furthermore, there was evidence that the centrality ratings influenced how individuals processed information in a series of memory tasks and narratives about infidelity experiences. Laypeople are less likely than researchers to consider the presence of particular behaviors (i.e., flirting, kissing, and sexual intercourse) as defining qualities of infidelity. Instead, laypeople focus more on the concealment of behaviors and the resulting emotional fallout from infidelity.     

THE EFFECT OF JOB OFFER TIMING ON OFFER ACCEPTANCE, PERFORMANCE, AND TURNOVER

Employers often enjoy some discretion in how quickly they extend job offers following candidate interviews. Applicant reactions research suggests that quicker offers are more likely to be accepted. This paper reports an archival study investigating the effect of offer timing on offer acceptance and employment outcomes with field data ( N  = 3,012) from 1 large company, including both student ( N  = 906) and experienced ( N  = 2,106) candidates. The 2 groups differed markedly in their recruiting processes, but job seekers of both types were more likely to accept earlier offers. Further, we found no differences for either performance ratings or turnover among employees hired after quicker offers and those who accepted later offers. It therefore appears that employers may benefit from accelerating their postinterview job offer processes, improving their acceptance rates, and reducing vacancy times without incurring either performance or turnover penalties.     

UNPROCTORED INTERNET TESTING IN EMPLOYMENT SETTINGS

As the Internet has become more accessible to individuals and organizations, the use of computerized testing has become more feasible. Computerized testing has brought with it a demand for unproctored testing that allows test takers to take employment tests at times and places convenient to them. However despite the advantages of costs and convenience, unproctored Internet testing (UIT) introduces a number of issues, many of which have not yet been resolved. These problems range from hardware and software issues to concerns about the security of the test content, the identity of candidates, and cheating. This article explores the pros and cons of unproctored, Internet testing. Six panelists share their opinions and experiences regarding issues around UIT and offer suggestions for appropriate use and future research.