The relationship between psychological contract breach and organizational commitment: Exchange imbalance as a moderator of the mediating role of violation

This study tested the mediating role of violation in the relationship between breach and both affective and continuance commitment and the extent to which this mediating role is moderated by exchange imbalance amongst a sample of 103 sales personnel. Results suggest that violation mediated the relationship between breach and commitment. Also, results suggest that perceived exchange imbalance moderates this mediating pathway: Low exchange imbalance increases the mediating role of violation in the case of affective commitment. On the other hand, exchange imbalance failed to moderate the mediating influence of violation in the case of continuance commitment. Results are discussed in view of the importance of a) including both measures of violation and breach in future studies and b) the role of social exchange in explaining psychological contract violation.     

Treatment manuals: use in the treatment of bulimia nervosa

As psychology has moved toward emphasizing evidence-based practice, use of treatment manuals has extended from research trials into clinical practice. Minimal research has directly evaluated use of manuals in clinical practice. This survey of international eating disorder professionals examined use of manuals with 259 clinicians’ most recent client with bulimia nervosa. Although evidence-based manuals for bulimia nervosa exist, only 35.9% of clinicians reported using a manual. Clinicians were more likely to use a manual if they were younger; were treating an adult client; were clinical psychologists; were involved in research related to eating disorders; and endorsed a cognitive-behavioral orientation. Clinicians were less likely to use a manual if they provided eclectic psychotherapy that incorporated multiple psychotherapeutic approaches. We conclude that psychotherapy provided in clinical practice often does not align with the specific form validated in research trials, and “eclecticism” is at odds with efforts to disseminate manuals into clinical practice.     

心理契约、工作满意度与组织承诺关系

深入研究心理契约、工作满意度与组织承诺关系,将对组织变革中的人力资源管理具有重要理论和实践价值。本文首先回顾心理契约、工作满意度和组织承诺的概念,其次对心理契约、工作满意度和组织承诺之间的关系做一简单总结,最后提出对人力资源管理实践的启示。     

自我-他人决策差异：问题、研究与思考

目前关于自我-他人决策差异的研究在采用的任务、得到的发现及理论解释上均存在诸多矛盾或不一致的地方, 且缺乏对此种现象深层心理机制的探讨。虽然一些研究者试图用心理距离假设来解释相关结果, 但由于对心理距离的实验操纵过于简单, 难以形成解释力较强的理论模型。近年来我们的一系列研究发现：得失情境下自我-他人决策差异存在不对称性; 直接操纵心理距离比操纵决策者角色和社会距离对诱发自我-他人决策差异更有效; 决策者个体的自尊水平影响自我-他人决策差异。未来的研究需要进一步探讨自我-他人心理距离的本质、决策者角色转换引起的心理距离变化及自我-他人决策差异的脑机制等问题。     

The scientific use of ‘representation’ and ‘function’: avoiding explanatory vacuity

Nearly all of the ways philosophers currently attempt to define the terms ‘representation’ and ‘function’ undermine the scientific application of those terms by rendering the scientific explanations in which they occur vacuous. Since this is unacceptable, we must develop analyses of these terms that avoid this vacuity. Robert Cummins argues in this fashion in Representations, Targets, and Attitudes. He accuses ‘use theories’ of representational content of generating vacuous explanations, claims that nearly all current theories of representational content are use theories, and offers a non-use theory of representational content which avoids explanatory vacuity. One task I undertake in this article is to develop an alternative non-use theory which avoids an objection fatal to that theory. My second task is to adapt Cummins’ argument to criticize most current analyses of ‘function,’ which undermine scientific explanation in an analogous way. Though Cummins does not explicitly argue in this manner, his own analysis of ‘function,’ by avoiding any appeal to use, avoids the explanatory vacuity to which they succumb. Consequently, I endorse Cummins’ notion of function. However, although use theories fail as analyses of the terms ‘representation’ and ‘function,’ they can still make significant contributions to the sciences employing these terms. For, while philosophers seeking to define ‘representation’ and ‘function’ must avoid incorporating representational and functional uses into their definitions, scientists must still find a way to determine which representations and functions are being used. Suitably re-construed use theories of representation and function may in many cases assist them in this task.     

Can an agent's false belief be corrected by an appropriate communication? Psychological reasoning in 18-month-old infants

Do 18-month-olds understand that an agent's false belief can be corrected by an appropriate, though not an inappropriate, communication? In Experiment 1, infants watched a series of events involving two agents, a ball, and two containers: a box and a cup. To start, agent1 played with the ball and then hid it in the box, while agent2 looked on. Next, in agent1's absence, agent2 moved the ball from the box to the cup. When agent1 returned, agent2 told her "The ball is in the cup!" (informative-intervention condition) or "I like the cup!" (uninformative-intervention condition). During test, agent1 reached for either the box (box event) or the cup (cup event). In the informative-intervention condition, infants who saw the box event looked reliably longer than those who saw the cup event; in the uninformative-intervention condition, the reverse pattern was found. These results suggest that infants expected agent1's false belief about the ball's location to be corrected when she was told "The ball is in the cup!", but not "I like the cup!". In Experiment 2, agent2 simply pointed to the ball's new location, and infants again expected agent1's false belief to be corrected. These and control results provide additional evidence that infants in the second year of life can attribute false beliefs to agents. In addition, the results suggest that by 18 months of age infants expect agents' false beliefs to be corrected by relevant communications involving words or gestures.     

Symptoms of Psychological Distress Among Mothers and their Adult Offspring: A Longitudinal Examination

We examined the association between maternal psychological distress during offspring’s early development and offspring’s later distress in adulthood, as well as the influence of maternal characteristics at offspring’s birth and offspring’s characteristics in adulthood on distress. Data were obtained from the British Cohort Study, a longitudinal study of children born in a one-week period in 1970. Children were followed up multiple times from birth through to age 30. Results indicate that greater symptoms of maternal psychological distress during offspring’s early childhood are associated with greater symptoms of distress in adult offspring. A large component of this association is indirect, occurring through mother’s distress in later childhood and offspring’s problem behavior during adolescence. Findings that the association between maternal and offspring’s distress is more indirect than direct support arguments that early maternal distress has long-term consequences for offspring.     

Graduate employment status and health: a longitudinal analysis of the transition from student

The prevalence of unemployment and underemployment was explored longitudinally in 248 recent graduates (73 males and 175 females) over an 18–24 month transition from final year student to 9–12 months post-graduation. Over this period changes in levels of psychological distress, health behaviours, social support, optimism and achievement motivation were measured. Results show that both unemployment and underemployment have deleterious effects on psychological and physical health, social support, optimism and achievement motivation.

民族型心理契约及回族员工角色外行为特征

在传统的心理契约维度结构模式的基础上, 提出民族型心理契约的理论。基于回族文化特征及现实特征, 确定民族型心理契约维度及其层次性特征, 分析民族型心理契约的民族文化背景以及组织情景因素, 探讨回族员工民族型心理契约的生成机理、民族型心理契约对组织绩效的影响, 以及益组织行为与损组织行为双向维度的回族员工角色外行为特征。从企业管理机制和企业文化角度架构民族型心理契约的组织干预模型。     

The relationship between relative levels of motivation and intrapersonal, interpersonal, and academic functioning among older adolescents

Using cluster analysis to combine specific adaptive measures related to mastery motivation (intrinsic motivation, self-adequacy, and locus of control), a total of 654 high school students were placed into distinct adaptive motivation groups. Mean scores on a variety of self-reported and peer-reported measures of interpersonal, intrapersonal, and academic functioning were compared across the groups. Results found that youth in the “high adaptive” motivation group reported significantly higher global and family satisfaction, self-esteem, interpersonal relations, grade-point average and school belonging, and significantly lower depression, anxiety and social stress than youth in the other two motivation groups. Peer-reported prosocial and academic behaviors were significantly related to higher levels of adaptive motivation. Collectively, these findings suggest a number of psychological, social, and academic benefits that are associated with incremental levels of adaptive motivation. The implications of these findings for research and practice conclude the paper.