When and how do differences matter? An exploration of perceived similarity in teams

In this paper, we directly assess perceived similarity—the degree to which members view themselves as having few differences—because we want to understand when teams notice diversity on various member characteristics and how they interpret it. Our results indicate social category diversity was related to initial estimates of both perceived social category similarity (SCS) and perceived work style similarity (WSS). And, whereas perceived SCS did not change over time, perceived WSS decreased significantly over the period of our study. We suggest this change in perceived WSS can be explained by an information-processing/decision-making framework. We found informational diversity was positively related to conflict in teams, and in turn conflict was negatively related to subsequent estimates of perceived WSS. However, informational diversity was positively related to information sharing in teams, which in turn was positively related to subsequent estimates of perceived WSS. Finally, these updated estimates of perceived WSS affected subgroup formation and team process effectiveness. We discuss how our research explores the subjective experience of diversity by team members, provides a dynamic view of the relationship between diversity and team outcomes, and informs emerging theory about the activation of faultlines in teams.     

Comparing the Actual and Expected Persuasiveness of Evidence Types: How Good are Lay People at Selecting Persuasive Evidence?

Whereas there are many publications in which argumentation quality has been defined by argumentation theorists, considerably less research attention has been paid to lay people’s considerations regarding argument quality. Considerations about strong and weak argumentation are relevant because they can be compared with actual persuasive success. Argumentation theorists’ conceptions have to some extent been shown to be compatible with actual effectiveness, but for lay people such compatibility has yet to be determined. This study experimentally investigated lay people’s expectations about the persuasiveness of anecdotal, statistical, causal, and expert evidence, and compared these expectations with the actual persuasiveness of these evidence types. Dutch and French participants (N = 174) ranked four types of evidence in terms of their expected persuasiveness for eight different claims. Both cultural groups expected statistical evidence to be the most persuasive type of evidence to other people, followed by expert, causal, and, finally, anecdotal evidence. A comparison of these rankings with the results of Hornikx and Hoeken (Communication Monographs 74, 443–463, 2007, Study 1) on the actual persuasiveness of the same evidence types reveals that people’s expectations are generally accurate: How relatively persuasive they expect evidence types to be often corresponded with their actual persuasiveness.

The relation between scores on the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire and aggressive acts,impulsiveness, competitiveness,dominance, and sexual jealousy

This paper examines the relation of the four subscales (physical, verbal, anger and hostility) of the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) to act‐based aggression questionnaires (involving same‐sex or partners as opponents, and direct or indirect aggression) and evolutionarily based predictors of aggression, using an online student sample. All aggression measures were moderately correlated with one another. The BPAQ physical and verbal scales were most closely related to act‐based measures of direct aggression to a same‐sex other and the hostility scale to indirect aggression to a same‐sex other. The evolutionary variables were less closely related to the BPAQ than were the act‐based measures. Dominance and sexual jealousy were predictors of BPAQ physical, verbal and anger, and impulsiveness was a significant predictor of anger. Aggr. Behav. 32:1–10, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Therapist Response to Clients’ Partner Abuse: Implications for Training and Development of Marriage and Family Therapists

This qualitative study explored ecosystemic influences on therapists’ responses to partner abuse. Research questions focus on aspects of personal and professional development of attitudes and belief systems surrounding partner abuse. In-depth interviews with seven therapy trainees indicate that family of origin experiences, clinical experiences, and therapist developmental processes affect values, beliefs, and clinical reactivity to cases involving partner abuse. Implications for therapists’ self-work, clinical training, and the process of supervision are addressed.     

Contexts of the commitment–citizenship link: A test of economic volatility in a dual organization setting

Research interest on the commitment–performance link persists, and recent efforts have focused on investigating the contextual factors due to the mixed outcome of the empirical studies. However, very limited study has examined the influence of economic factors including economic volatility, and none in the dual setting of the organization and the union. This study investigated the contextual influence of perceived inflation—an economic volatility construct—on commitment and extra-role performance. Exchange theory, with support from psychological contract and equity theories, was used to postulate two parallel, but competing models of the organization and the union. Using a sample of 247 unionized employees in southern U.S.A., the study tested the moderating effect of perceived inflation on the relation between commitment and citizenship intent. The results revealed three-way interactive effects in both models, in a dual commitment setting. Thus, the economic volatility construct acts as a situational constraint on the link between the attitudinal-based commitments and citizenship intent, but in the contexts of obligation and cost-based commitments to the organization and the union respectively. The implications of these mitigated effects are discussed.     

The smell of cooperativeness: Do human body odours advertise cooperative behaviours?

Several physical features influence the perception of how cooperative a potential partner is. While previous work focused on face and voice, it remains unknown whether body odours influence judgements of cooperativeness and if odour-based judgements are accurate. Here, we first collected axillary odours of cooperative and uncooperative male donors through a public good game and used them as olfactory stimuli in a series of tasks examining whether and how they influence cooperative decision-making in an incentivized economic game and ratings of cooperativeness. Our results show that having access to the donor's body odours provided a strategic advantage to women during economic decisions (but not to men): with age, women were more likely to cooperate with cooperative men and to avoid interacting with uncooperative men. Ratings of cooperativeness were nonetheless unrelated to the donors’ actual cooperativeness. Finally, while men with masculine and intense body odours were judged less cooperative, we found no evidence that donors’ actual cooperativeness was associated with less masculine or less intense body odour. Overall, our findings suggest that, as faces and voices, body odours influence perceived cooperativeness and might be used accurately and in a non-aware manner as olfactory cues of cooperativeness, at least by women.     

The relation between worrying and concerns: the importance of perceived probability and cost

The relation between worrying and individuals' concerns was examined in a sample of 197 college students. Participants described the five undesirable outcomes that they thought about most often, indicated how likely they thought the outcomes were, and how upset they would be by them. Worry severity was measured using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. The relation between worry severity and the life domains about which individuals were concerned was quite weak. In contrast, as predicted, greater worry was associated with higher probability and cost estimates. In addition, cost estimates moderated the relation between worry severity and probability estimates. The potential importance of perceived threat for understanding worrying is discussed.     

Influence of expressed emotion and perceived criticism on cognitive-behavioral therapy for social phobia

This study examined significant others' expressed emotion (EE) and a closely related construct, perceived criticism, as predictors of cognitive-behavioral therapy outcome in a sample of 40 patients with social phobia (social anxiety disorder). Patients enrolled in group therapy for social phobia completed pre- and post-treatment questionnaire measures of perceived criticism and anxious and depressive symptoms. Designated significant others were assessed for the components of high EE (criticism, hostility and emotional overinvolvement) using the Camberwell Family Interview. It was hypothesized that these high-EE components and patients' perceived criticism would be associated with poorer treatment outcome, and results ran counter to these expectations. Controlling for initial social phobia severity, lower levels of perceived criticism predicted treatment dropout. There was also a nonsignificant trend for participants with a significant other rated as high in emotional overinvolvement to show less change on a composite symptom measure. Findings from this study suggest that close relationships impact the outcome of cognitive-behavioral interventions for social phobia.     

Perceived Social Support and Caregiver Strain in Caregivers of Children with Tourette’s Disorder

The research on Tourette’s disorder (TD), a neuropsychological disorder consisting of motor and phonic tics, has largely focused on individuals with TD and not on the caregivers of children with TD. We investigated the effects of several variables on caregiver strain of caregivers of children with TD, including perceived social support, caregiver characteristics, and characteristics of the child’s disorder. An online survey was completed by 140 caregivers of children with TD between the ages of 6 to 18 years. We performed a path analysis to examine the outcome of caregiver strain in relation to the research variables. Our results indicated that caregiver age, symptom severity of the child’s TD, and perceived social support accounted for variance in caregiver strain, and that perceived social support was a partial mediator of child’s symptom severity and caregiver strain. Symptom severity and caregiver strain were also related to the presence of other comorbid disorders, such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), anxiety, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) when compared to children either having no other comorbid disorders or other types of disorders.     

Perceived organizational support, organizational commitment and psychological well-being: A longitudinal study

Using longitudinal data (N = 220), we examined the contribution of perceived organizational support and four mindsets of organizational commitment (affective, normative, perceived sacrifice associated with leaving and perceived lack of alternatives) to employee psychological well-being. In order to assess the contribution of support and commitment independently from workplace stressors, we controlled for the effects of role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload. Analyses showed affective organizational commitment to mediate a positive relationship between perceived organizational support and well-being. In addition, perceived organizational support negatively related to perceived lack of employment alternatives which, in turn, was negatively related to well-being. Normative commitment and perceived sacrifice associated with leaving were unrelated to well-being. The implications of these findings are discussed under the lenses of social exchange and conservation of resources theories.