Salespersons’ empathy as a missing link in the customer orientation–loyalty chain: an investigation of drivers and age differences as a contingency

Salespersons’ customer orientation has attracted considerable attention from practitioners and researchers. By distinguishing customer-oriented attitude from behavior, this study sheds light on customers’ perceptions of salespersons’ empathy, as a missing link between customer orientation and customer-related outcomes. Noting the increasing age diversity among salespersons and customers, this study also investigates whether age differences in salesperson–customer dyads moderate the relationships of salespersons’ customer-oriented attitude and behavior with customer outcomes. Finally, this study examines salespersons’ climate perceptions as antecedents of their customer-oriented attitudes. Results of multilevel modeling with data from 164 salespersons and 405 customers reveal that salesperson empathy, as perceived by customers, is an important facilitator of the customer orientation–satisfaction relationship. When there are large age differences, salespersons’ customer-oriented attitude becomes more important for making customers feel understood by salespersons. Regarding antecedents, salespersons’ customer-oriented attitude is influenced by their perceptions of team-member exchange and age-inclusive climate.     

不同铆测验设计下多维IRT等值方法的比较

实际应用中测验往往具有多维结构, 如果仍采用单维IRT方法进行等值, 会得到不准确的结果。因此对于多维结构的测验, 需要使用多维IRT等值方法来实现参数的转换。基于共同题设计, 文章通过模拟研究的方法, 考察了不同铆测验设计下几种多维IRT等值方法的表现, 同时考虑了测验长度、两个维度题目数量的比例、铆测验长度、铆测验的选择策略、两个维度之间的相关和等值群体的能力水平差异六个因素的影响。所比较的多维IRT等值方法有：均值/均值(MM)方法, 均值/标准差(MS)方法, Stoking-Lord (SL)方法, Haebara (HB)方法, 最小平方(LS)方法。结果显示：(1) SL, HB和LS方法得到的等值误差均方根最小, 且在各条件下表现较为稳定。(2) MM和MS方法在非等组条件下呈现出很大的误差均方根。(3)铆测验设计对SL, HB和LS方法的等值结果没有显著影响。(4)在两个维度之间的相关较高, 测验长度和铆测验长度较长, 等值群体的能力水平没有差异的条件下, SL, HB和LS方法得到的等值误差均方根最小。     

French Validation of the Competitive Aggressiveness and Anger Scale (FVCAAS)

The aim of this study was to propose a French Validation of the Competitive Aggressiveness and Anger Scale (FVCAAS). The instrument was developed from the original version, which is composed of two subscales (six items by subscales) assessing aggressiveness and anger in competitive athletes (CAAS, Maxwell & Moores, 2007). Four studies have been conducted with 1428 competitors. In the first study, the exploratory factor analysis extracted the two-factor structure from the original version, both with good internal consistency. The second study confirmed that the two-factor structure of the instrument was consistent with the original version and showed its partial invariance across genders. The third study demonstrated the temporal stability of the FVCAAS. In the fourth study, both concurrent and discriminant validities were confirmed, supporting the validity and reliability of the FVCAAS. The contributions of this study and limitations are discussed, together with perspectives for future studies of aggressiveness in competitive sports.     

Like mother,like child? Maternal determinants of children's early social-emotional development

Social-Emotional competencies evolve early in life. For example, early emotion regulation is learned primarily in the context of mother–child interaction, which may allow for maternal influences to shape children's social-emotional development. The aim of the current study was to longitudinally examine maternal determinants of children's early social-emotional development in a community-based sample of first-time mothers (N = 61, aged 22–39 years). Specifically, we used structural equation modeling to examine how maternal emotion regulation difficulties and subclinical depression directly and indirectly, through sensitivity and postnatal bonding, assessed at 6 to 8 months predicted child outcomes at 12 to 16 months. We found that mothers’ sensitivity predicted fewer social-emotional and behavioral problems and that stronger bonding predicted fewer problems and more social-emotional competencies. Emotion regulation difficulties were significantly associated with depressive symptoms; yet, when accounting for shared variances, both factors differentially predicted less positive child outcomes such that more difficulties indirectly, through poorer bonding, predicted greater delay in competencies, and more symptoms indirectly, through less sensitivity, predicted more problems. Current findings underline the significance of maternal factors impacting the quality of mother–child interaction for children's positive development. Potential implications for early prevention programs to support children who are otherwise at risk for negative emotional outcomes due to mothers’ emotional state postpartum are discussed.     

Rhythmic priming across effector systems: A randomized controlled trial with Parkinson’s disease patients

This study investigated the immediate effects of auditory-motor entrainment across effector systems by examining whether Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation training of arm or finger movements would modulate gait speed. Forty-one participants with idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease were randomly assigned to 3 groups. Participants in the finger-tapping group tapped in synchrony with a metronome set to 20% faster pace than the pre-training walking cadence, whereas participants in the other group were asked to swing both arms in an alternating motion in synchrony with the metronome. Participants in the control condition did not receive training. To assess gait parameters pre- and post-training, participants walked on a 14-meter flat walkway at his/her preferred walking cadence with no auditory cueing. Results indicated that there was a significant increase in gait velocity after the finger tapping training (p < .005), whereas no differences were observed in the arm swing (p = .802) and in the control conditions (p = .525). Similarly, there were significant changes in gait cadence post-training in the finger tapping group (p < .005), but not after arm swing training (p = .879) or control (p = .759). There were no significant changes in stride length post-training in none of the groups. These findings suggest that auditory-motor entrainment in one effector system may prime a second effector system. Interestingly, however, the priming effect on gait was only observed in the finger tapping condition and not with synchronized arm swing movements. These findings have significant implications for motor rehabilitation and open new avenues for further investigation of the mechanisms underlying cross-effector coupling.     

Goal-directed aiming under restricted viewing conditions with confirmatory sensory feedback

A substantial body of research has examined the speed-accuracy tradeoff captured by Fitts’ law, demonstrating increases in movement time that occur as aiming tasks are made more difficult by decreasing target width and/or increasing the distance between targets. Yet, serial aiming movements guided by internal spatial representations, rather than by visual views of targets have not been examined in this manner, and the value of confirmatory feedback via different sensory modalities within this paradigm is unknown. Here we examined goal-directed serial aiming movements (tapping back and forth between two targets), wherein targets were visually unavailable during the task. However, confirmatory feedback (auditory, haptic, visual, and bimodal combinations of each) was delivered upon each target acquisition, in a counterbalanced, within-subjects design. Each participant performed the aiming task with their pointer finger, represented within an immersive virtual environment as a 1 cm white sphere, while wearing a head-mounted display. Despite visual target occlusion, movement times increased in accordance with Fitts’ law. Though Fitts’ law captured performance for each of the sensory feedback conditions, the slopes differed. The effect of increasing difficulty on movement times was least influential in the haptic condition, suggesting more efficient processing of confirmatory haptic feedback during aiming movements guided by internal spatial representations.     

Anticipatory postural adjustments during a Fitts’ task: Comparing young versus older adults and the effects of different foci of attention

Anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) are an integral part of standing balance. Previous research with balance control has shown that adopting an external focus of attention, compared to an internal focus of attention, yields better performance during motor skills. Despite the importance of APAs, especially among older adults, and the potential benefits of adopting an external focus of attention, studies investigating methods for improving APAs are limited. The aim of this study was to compare behavioral, kinematic and APAs measures while adopting different foci of attention among young and older adults when performing a lower extremity Fitts’ task. Ten young adults (mean age 24 years ± 4.37) and ten older adults (mean age 75 years ± 5.85) performed a lower-extremity reaching task (Fitts’ task) while adopting an external focus (focus on target) and an internal focus (focus on limb) in a within-subject design. A motion capture system was used to record participants’ movement data. Custom software derived movement time (MT), peak velocity (PV), time to peak velocity (ttPV) and variability at target (SD_T). Electromyography (EMG) was used to determine APAs onset and magnitude. The findings showed that an external focus of attention led to significantly shorter MT, higher PV, shorter ttPV and more accuracy when reaching the target (SD_T) for both age groups. Also, EMG results showed that, with an external focus, APAs onset occurred earlier and APAs magnitude was more efficient. As predicted by Fitts’ Law, participants spent more time executing movements to targets with higher indices of difficulty. Older adults compared to young adults were more adversely affected by the increase of difficulty of the Fitts’ task, specifically, on measures of APAs. In conclusion, adopting an external focus of attention led to better overall movement performance when performing a lower extremity Fitts’ task. The task used in the present study can distinguish between APAs for older and young adults. We recommend that future studies expand on our findings in order to establish a performance-based objective measure of APAs to assess clinical interventions for postural control impairment.     

Effects of children’s hearing loss on the synchrony between parents’ object naming and children’s attention

Children’s attentional state during parent-child interactions is important for word learning. The current study examines the real-time attentional patterns of toddlers with and without hearing loss (N = 15, age range: 12–37 months) in parent-child interactions. High-density gaze data recorded from head-mounted eye-trackers were used to investigate the synchrony between parents’ naming of novel objects and children’s sustained attention on the named objects in joint play. Results show that the sheer quantities of parents’ naming and children’s sustained attention episodes were comparable in children with hearing loss and their peers with normal hearing. However, parents’ naming and children’s sustained attention episodes were less synchronized in the hearing loss group compared to children with normal hearing. Possible implications are discussed.     

Postural control,falls and Parkinson’s disease: Are fallers more asymmetric than non-fallers?

Postural control asymmetry is an important aspect of Parkinson’s disease (PD) that may be associated with falls. The aim of this study was to compare the postural control asymmetry during postural tasks between fallers and non-fallers in people with PD and neurological healthy age-matched controls (CG). Individuals with idiopathic PD (n = 24) and CG (n = 24) were sub-divided into groups of fallers and non-fallers based on their fall history over the past year. Participants performed blocks of three 30-s trials of quiet standing with feet in a side-by-side and semi-tandem stance position. The center of pressure parameters for each limb were measured and used to calculate the symmetry index. Fallers compared to non-fallers had decreased asymmetry of vertical force in the side-by-side condition. During the tandem-front leg condition, PD non-fallers increased asymmetry of the medial-lateral velocity of sway compared to CG non-fallers. In addition, for the tandem–back leg condition, PD non-fallers increased asymmetry of total displacement and medial-lateral root mean square and mean velocity of sway compared to PD fallers. The results of the study did not support the hypothesis that PD fallers are more asymmetric than PD non-fallers. On the contrary, our results indicated that PD non-fallers had higher postural control asymmetry, especially during the more challenging (semi-tandem standing) postural task.     

On the difficulty interpreting He Yan’s ‘emotionless sage’

This paper examines the debate surrounding He Shao’s account that ‘He Yan thinks the sage is without pleasure, anger, sorrow and grief.’ The point of controversy surrounds squaring a perspective on the sage as emotionless with a thinker who otherwise largely expounds values and political views found in the Lunyu and the Laozi. Since proper management of emotions is important in both texts, it is difficult to imagine how He Yan could hold such a radical view. Dealing with this difficulty scholars have either simply found He Yan ‘unreasonable’ and ‘contradictory’ or otherwise sought to explain away his emotionless sage through complex ontological or political arguments. When He Yan’s work is contextualized in terms of philosophical religious views at the time, we find additional problems with how He Yan’s work has been interpreted. This paper considers a new way to view He Yan, one that respects his multifarious views.