The Changing Value of Skill Utilisation: Interactions with Job Demands on Job Satisfaction and Absenteeism

Opportunities to learn and apply new skills are generally considered a favourable job characteristic, but can there be too much of a good thing? In this paper, we draw on vitamin and resource perspectives to investigate a more nuanced perspective on where, when and why skill utilisation delivers value as a resource. Specifically, we examine whether skill utilisation exhibits non-linear relationships with job satisfaction and absenteeism in the presence of two different job demands: task workload, which captures the quantitative demands of work, and surface acting, which captures the qualitative demands of work. Using data from 278 hospital employees, we found that surface acting moderated the non-linear relationship between skill utilisation and absenteeism. Specifically, the relationship between skill utilisation and absenteeism became increasingly positive when surface acting was high, but not when surface acting was low. Interestingly, the linear relationship between skill utilisation and job satisfaction was less positive when surface acting was high. Task workload did not interact with skill utilisation to predict employee outcomes. Our findings highlight complexities in the relationship between job resources and demands and show that the value of skill utilisation changes under demanding conditions.     

Does power corrupt? The moderating effect of status

Findings on the effect of power on corruption are mixed. To make sense of these mixed results, three studies were conducted to examine the moderating role of status on this effect. In Study 1, corrupt intent was measured using a corruption scenario that contained manipulations of power and status. In Study 2, corrupt behaviour was measured in a corruption game that contained manipulations of power and status. Study 3 was conducted in real organisational settings, and aimed to expand the external validity of Studies 1 and 2. The results of all three studies consistently indicated that the effect of power was moderated by status. Specifically, power increased corruption when status was low, whereas this effect disappeared when status was high. The implications of reducing the facilitating effect of power on corruption by considering status from the perspective of social hierarchy are discussed.     

The more you have,the more you want? Higher social class predicts a greater desire for wealth and status

Traditional theories have focused on the intentions of lower-class individuals to climb on the social ladder, yet they have paid relatively little attention to the motivations of upper-class individuals to ascend even higher. Addressing this issue, Studies 1 and 2 provided cross-national evidence that higher social class is associated with a greater desire for wealth and status. Moreover, by manipulating perceived social class, Studies 3 and 5 experimentally confirmed that compared to people in the lower-class group, those in the upper-class group express a stronger desire for wealth and status. Furthermore, in line with self-categorization theory predictions, Studies 3–5 showed that upper-class individuals tend to see and use wealth and status as important attributes in defining and categorizing self, and this tendency explains the effect of social class on desire for wealth and status. Together, our findings demonstrate a “having more—wanting more” relationship, and its consequences are further discussed.     

Mechanism underlying the self-enhancement effect of voice attractiveness evaluation: self-positivity bias and familiarity effect

The aim of the present study was to determine whether the self-enhancement effect of voice attractiveness evaluation is due to general self-positivity bias and/or the familiarity effect. The participants were asked to rate the attractiveness of their own voice, a friend's voice and strangers' voices. In addition, a self-reference valence (SR-valence) task was adopted in the experiment. Significant self-enhancement effects in voice attractiveness ratings were demonstrated, regardless of whether the participants recognized their self-voice or not. However, the friend-enhancement effect was found in only those participants who successfully recognized their friend's voice. Moreover, a significant correlation was found between self-positivity bias in the SR-valence task and the self-enhancement effect (but not the friend-enhancement effect). Our findings suggest that both the familiarity effect and self-positivity bias account for the vocal self-enhancement effect, and the influence of self-positivity bias could be implicit. The present study thus provides empirical evidence to clarify the potential explanations for the self-enhancement of voice attractiveness assessment.     

Type D personality,but not Type A behavior pattern,is associated with coronary plaque vulnerability

Personality traits are associated with major adverse coronary events (MACE) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the link between personality traits and intravascular morphology in CAD patients is poorly understood. This study investigated the relationship between personality traits, specifically Type A behavior pattern and Type D personality, and plaque vulnerability. After adjustment for demographic and clinical factors, multivariable regression analysis showed no association between Type A and optical coherence tomography indices. However, Type D personality was independently associated with lipid plaque, thin cap fibroatheroma (TCFA), and fibrous cap thickness. More specifically, negative affectivity of Type D was related to lipid plaque, TCFA and fibrous cap thickness, and social inhibition was associated with plaque rupture. Our results show that Type D personality was associated with plaque vulnerability, independent of clinical factors. Measurement of negative affectivity and social inhibition will increase our understanding of the progressive phase of the plaque vulnerability, which can contribute to the early identification of high risk patients and reduce the incidence of MACE.     

U.K. consumers' perceived risk of buying products from emerging economies: A moderated mediation model

Although considerable research has been conducted on consumer attitude towards foreign products, most of these studies focus on the attitude of products from Western developed countries. Our study intends to investigate the effects of consumers' national identification and culture sensitivity on their perceived risk of buying products from Eastern developing countries. Especially, this study advances the literature by identifying the mediation effect of consumer ethnocentrism and the moderating effect of consumer value consciousness. Taking China and India as focal emerging economies, the consumer survey (n = 308) in the United Kingdom produced the following results. First, U.K. consumers' national identification is positively related to their perceived risk of buying Eastern products through consumer ethnocentrism, whereas their cultural sensitivity has a negative relationship. Second, the effect of consumer ethnocentrism on the perceived risk of buying Eastern products is moderated by consumer value consciousness. Third, value consciousness also attenuates the indirect relationships between national identification or cultural sensitivity and perceived risk via consumer ethnocentrism.     

An Evaluation of the Word Triad Method for Monitoring Spelling Progress

Although spelling skill progress has typically been studied within the context of students' responses to written story starters (Deno, Marsten, & Mirkin, 1982; Fuchs & Fuchs, 2011; Hosp, Hosp, & Howell, 2007; Shinn & Shinn, 2002), there has been little research conducted within a curriculum-based measurement framework that has studied spelling progress monitoring on a weekly basis throughout an entire school year. The authors evaluated spelling progress using word triads, defined as a group of 3 words (with the same number of letters) that have a similar phonetic or morphological structure. Successful spelling of word triads as the unit of analysis has the potential to be more useful diagnostically to teachers than successful spelling of single words as the unit of analysis. An alternating series of three 15-word spelling tests were administered weekly to 10 third- and fourth-grade classrooms in the same school district throughout the school year for 8 rounds (1 round = 3 weeks of different but phonetically and/or morphologically similar word lists). Results indicate steady progress throughout the school year in the correct spelling of word triads (despite teacher reporting of no explicit spelling instruction in classrooms using in the words employed in the study). Correlations between the number of correctly spelled word triads with standard scores from a group-administered communication arts test were significant and comparable to alternate spelling test scoring methods. The authors conclude with limitations of the study and implications for practitioners.     

视觉信息呈现材料对视线突显技术的影响作用

本研究选取了基于视线追踪的视线突显技术作为研究对象,探究视觉信息呈现材料对不同视线突显技术的影响作用。结果表明：1）相比无突显,两种视线突显技术在搜索中均能提高操作绩效;2）视线矩阵突显技术在提高搜索速度上更优于视线单项突显技术;3）视线矩阵突显技术均能提高两种词频词组的搜索绩效,而低频词组搜索时,视线单项突显技术下的搜索正确率最优。本研究进一步考察了视线突显技术规律特点,为其实际应用提供理论依据和设计思路。     

论愚蠢的德才欠缺理论

并非所有的愚蠢都是由弱智、知识有欠缺、社会阅历不足或低情商造成的,也不可将愚蠢简单地视作聪明的反义词。愚蠢是指个体因自身在品行或才智上有欠缺,导致无法以睿智、豁达的态度看待人生、展现人生,无法洞察生活中形形色色的人与事,从而易做出不理智的举动,或当其面临一个复杂问题情境时,因自身在品行或才智上有欠缺,导致做出错误的判断、决定或行动,由此而损害了他人或自己与他人的正当权益,最终可能既害人害己,甚至还给单位、国家或人类的健康与可持续性发展造成巨大损失。因此,愚蠢的实质是个体因自身在品行或才智上有欠缺而犯的错误。从类型上看,根据愚蠢的成因不同,可将愚蠢分为少智式和缺德式两大类型,二者在内涵、成因、子类型多寡、危害程度等方面都存在明显差异。