Conflict escalation and coping with workplace bullying: A replication and extension

Bullying or mobbing is used for systematically harassing a person for a long time. In the context of stress theory, bullying is a severe form of social stressors at work, whereas in terms of conflict theory, bullying signifies an unsolved social conflict having reached a high level of escalation and an increased imbalance of power. Based on a qualitative study with 20 semi-structured interviews with victims of bullying and a quantitative questionnaire study with a total of 149 victims of bullying and a control group (N = 81), it was investigated whether bullying victims use specific conflict management strategies more often compared with individuals who are not bullied, and whether coping strategies used by successful copers with bullying differ from those of the unsuccessful copers. Successful copers were those victims who believe that their situation at work has improved again as a result of their coping efforts. The qualitative data showed that most victims started with constructive conflict-solving strategies, changed their strategies several times, and finally tried to leave the organization. In the interviews, the victims of bullying most often recommended others in the same situation to leave the organization and to seek social support. They more often showed conflict avoidance in the quantitative study. Successful victims fought back with similar means less often, and less often used negative behaviour such as frequent absenteeism. Moreover, they obviously were better at recognizing and avoiding escalating behaviour, whereas in their fight for justice, the unsuccessful victims often contributed to the escalation of the bullying conflict.     

There is more than obeying display rules: Service employees’ motives for emotion regulation in customer interactions

Although research has focused on how service employees regulate their emotions, few studies have explored why they do so. In this article, we first described which kinds of motives for emotion regulation exist in customer interactions. Second, we investigated how the motives are related to four emotion regulation strategies. The application of an explorative approach resulted in a list of 10 motives, which could be classified into the three motive categories: pleasure, prevention, and instrumental. Hierarchical linear modelling of 421 reported service interactions from a diary study revealed that the motive categories were differently related to the emotion regulation strategies. Motives of the instrumental category were only significantly positively related to surface acting. Motives of the pleasure category were positively related to deep acting and automatic regulation as well as negatively related to surface acting and emotional deviance. Motives of the prevention category were positively related to deep acting, surface acting, and emotional deviance as well as negatively related to automatic regulation. These results can be used by organizations not only to enhance the motivation of employees towards emotion regulation, but also towards more authentic emotional expressions.     

Self‐Concept Clarity and the Management of Social Conflict

ABSTRACT: In 4 studies we examined the relationship between self‐concept clarity and conflict management. Individuals with higher self‐concept clarity were overall more active and showed more cooperative problem‐solving behavior than people with low self‐concept clarity. There were no relationships with contending or yielding. The positive relationship with cooperative behavior was mediated by less rumination (Study 2) and moderated by conflict intensity (Study 3). Specifically, it applied to relatively mild conflicts (Study 3). Finally, Study 4 extended these findings to the group level: Dyad members with higher self‐concept clarity engaged in problem solving, whereas dyad members with lower self‐concept clarity did not. We conclude that higher self‐concept clarity associates with proactive problem solving in social conflict.     

A State-Trait Analysis of Job Satisfaction: On the Effect of Core Self-Evaluations

Une recherche récente qui portait sur les fondements caractériels de la satisfaction au travail s’est focalisée sur le rapport entre la satisfaction professionnelle observée et le noyau central des autoévaluations (CSE). Cette étude s’est occupée d’une part de la relation entre la variance‐trait de la satisfaction au travail et le CSE et d’autre part de la structure des variables CSE. En faisant le choix d’un modèle de mesure longitudinal, nous avons d’abord recherché si le CSE était suffisamment stable, cela à partir d’une analyse secondaire de quatre périodes successives. Les résultats montrent une forte stabilité du CSE (.87 sur deux ans). Nous avons ensuite opéré une scission état‐trait de la satisfaction professionnelle de façon à dissocier la variance‐trait de la satisfaction au travail de la variance instable. Le facteur stable de satisfaction professionnelle fut mis en rapport, par régression, avec les variables CSE, en utilisant plusieurs modèles de CSE (une sommation, un facteur latent ou un concept global). D’après les résultats, il vaut mieux traiter les variables CSE comme une sommation, et cette série rend compte de presque toute la variance stable de la satisfaction professionnelle (84%). En outre, seuls l’affectivité négative et le locus of control interne avaient un impact significatif, alors que l’estime de soi et l’efficience personnelle n’en avaient pas. On conclut que la conception actuelle du CSE comme concept supraordonné englobant quatre dimensions est défendable, mais trop générale pour les recherches sur la satisfaction professionnelle; il est plus satisfaisant et suffisant d’analyser à la fois l’affectivité négative et le locus of control. Recent research that looked into the dispositional base of job satisfaction focused on relating observed job satisfaction to core self‐evaluations (CSE). This study was concerned with (a) the relation between the trait variance of job satisfaction and CSE and (b) the structure of the CSE‐variables. Using a longitudinal measurement model in a secondary analysis of four waves of a longitudinal study we first tested whether CSE are sufficiently stable over time. Results indicate a high stability of CSE (.87 across 2 years). We then performed a state‐trait decomposition of job satisfaction in order to separate trait variance of job satisfaction from changing variance. The stable job satisfaction factor was regressed on CSE‐variables, using different models of CSE (a collective set, a latent factor, or an aggregate concept). Results were in favor of treating the CSE‐variables as a collective set, and this set explained almost all stable variance of job satisfaction (84%). Moreover, only negative affectivity and internal locus of control had a significant impact, whereas self‐esteem and self‐efficacy had not. It is concluded that current conceptualisations of CSE as a superordinate concept underlying its four dimensions is possible but overly broad in job satisfaction research; collective consideration of LOC and NA is better and sufficient.     

Psychophysiological effects of emotional dissonance in a face-to-face service interaction

Abstract

Current research demonstrates that requirements to express emotions which are not genuinely felt in the particular situation (emotional dissonance) are associated with negative long and short-term effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate: (a) the psychophysiological short-term effects of emotional dissonance in a face-to-face service interaction and (b) the moderating role of gender and neuroticism. In total, 32 women and 27 men were instructed to play the role of a service employee, who had to interact with an angry and rude customer. Half of the sample was given information that the organization expected them to be friendly (emotional dissonance), the other half was told they were expected to act naturally and show their genuine feelings (no emotional dissonance). Subjective and behavioral responses revealed that participants in the “friendly” condition modulated their emotional expressions to a greater extent than those in the “naturally” condition. Participants in the “friendly” condition showed stronger systolic and diastolic blood pressure responses. Furthermore, hierarchical regression analyses yielded that gender and neuroticism partly moderated the association between emotional dissonance and participants' psychophysiological response.     

Error Detection, Task Characteristics, and Some Consequences for Software Design

On a étudié la détection des erreurs par les utilisateurs d'ordinateur à partir de la théorie de l'action. On a effectué, pour des raisons de validités externe et interne, à la fois une recherche sur le terrain et deux expériences de laboratoire exploitant un traitement de texte. La problématique portait sur le taux de détection de différents types d'erreurs, l'impact de la complexité de la tâche sur la détection des erreurs et la question de la détection programmée des erreurs. Les résultats débouchent sur un meilleur taux de détection (96,5%) dans la recherche de terrain (par rapport au taux obtenu dans les expériences). Les erreurs apparaissant dans les tâches complexes étaient plus difficiles à détecter. En outre, la moitié de la totalité des erreurs pouvaient être détectées par les seuls utilisateurs. Pas plus de 22% des erreurs étaient détectées avec l'aide du système informatique. Ce sont les erreurs dans les travaux complexes que la détection aidée par le système déjouait le plus difficilement. On propose, comme application pratique, une stratégie de gestion des erreurs qui ferait appel à un processus de traitement des erreurs relevant du software.     

Psychophysiological effects of emotional display rules and the moderating role of trait anger in a simulated call center

In customer interactions, emotional display rules typically prescribe service providers to suppress negative emotions and display positive ones. This study investigated the causal impact of these emotional display rules on physiological indicators of workers' stress and performance. Additionally, the moderating influence of personality was examined by analyzing the impact of trait anger. In a simulated call center, 82 females were confronted with a complaining customer and instructed to react either authentically and show their true emotions or to "serve with a smile" and hide negative emotions. Increases in diastolic blood pressure and heart rates were higher in the smile condition, while verbal fluency was lower. Trait anger moderated the effects on diastolic blood pressure and observer ratings' of participants' professional competence, suggesting more negative effects for high trait anger individuals. Findings imply that emotional display rules may increase call center employees' strain and that considering employees' personality may be crucial for precluding health and performance impairments among call center workers.     

Is two a plural marker in early child language?

Is two ever a plural marker in child language? By some accounts, children bootstrap the distinction between the words one and two by observing their use with singular-plural marking (one ball/two balls). Others argue that the numeral two marks plurality before children begin using numerals to denote precise quantities. We tested the relation between numerals and singular-plural marking in English-speaking 2- and 3-year-olds by asking them to label sets of objects. When children were not prompted to use numerals they hardly ever did so, although they did frequently use plural marking. Thus, it does not appear that children spontaneously use numerals like two as plural markers. Also, children who used numerals when labeling sets were significantly more likely to use a plural marker than children who did not use numerals, suggesting that most children view plural marking as obligatory when numerals are used, rather than viewing the 2 forms as alternative markers of plurality. Finally, two was no more likely than other numerals to be used with unmarked nouns (i.e., as an alternative to the plural), suggesting that it does not have a special status as a plural marker. We conclude that two is not a plural marker in early child language.     

Assessment of competency for execution: professional guidelines and an evaluation checklist

The issue of whether mental health professionals should be involved in conducting evaluations of competency for execution is a topic that has elicited controversy and heated debate. This article picks up at a point beyond the controversy and addresses issues of professionalism and the objective assessment of competency for execution. Specifically, this article identifies professional standards for conducting competence for execution (CFE) evaluations, describes current practices in this area, and provides an interview checklist that can be used as an evaluation guide by involved professionals.