Managing diversity in organizations: An integrative model and agenda for future research

The literature on policies, procedures, and practices of diversity management in organizations is currently fragmented and often contradictory in highlighting what is effective diversity management, and which organizational and societal factors facilitate or hinder its implementation. In order to provide a comprehensive and cohesive view of diversity management in organizations, we develop a multilevel model informed by the social identity approach that explains, on the basis of a work motivation logic, the processes by, and the conditions under which employee dissimilarity within diverse work groups is related to innovation, effectiveness, and well-being. Building on this new model, we then identify those work group factors (e.g., climate for inclusion and supervisory leadership), organizational factors (e.g., diversity management policies and procedures, and top management's diversity beliefs), and societal factors (e.g., legislation, socioeconomic situation, and culture) that are likely to contribute to the effective management of diversity in organizations. In our discussion of the theoretical implications of the proposed model, we offer a set of propositions to serve as a guide for future research. We conclude with a discussion of possible limitations of the model and practical implications for managing diversity in organizations.     

Book reviews

This paper begins with a critical evaluation of British counselling psychology's aspirations for a scientific basis and considers some of the consequences in terms of theoretical assumptions and research practice. Through identifying certain empirical, theoretical and ideological problems inherent in the dominant tradition of quantifying inferred cognitive constructs (using the example of trainee self-talk), an alternative framework of discursive psychology is simultaneously introduced. the argument is made for a discursive study of storied meanings by trainee counselling psychologists about themselves and their work. This would potentially address two pivotal research areas. First, it affords both a personal and yet socially embedded framework for an increased understanding and more sensitive evaluation of the training process (with its acquisition of skills, knowledge, experience, competencies, etc.). Second, it offers an alternative approach to the problematic area of understanding unique and generic interactions between practitioners and their preferred psychological model(s) of therapy, thus challenging the theoretical and research cul-de-sac of competing modernist visions of purism, eclecticism and integration. Extending from these observations two research possibilities are suggested.     

学习风格与中美大学生课堂学习行为的关系研究

中美学生存在课堂学习行为差异的现象得到了中外众多教育工作者的关注和讨论.本文作者推测,中美学生在学习风格上存在的结构取向和深度取向的差异,是导致他们表现出不同课堂行为反应的一个原因.本研究采用学习风格量表和课堂学习行为量表对281名中国大学生和206名美国大学生施测.数据分析结果表明,中美学生存在学习风格与课堂学习行为的显著差异;学习风格的结构取向与课堂学习行为呈显著负相关,深度取向与课堂学习行为呈显著正相关;结构取向的学习风格在文化组别与课堂学习行为之间存在部分中介作用,表明结构取向至少能部分地解释中美大学生之间的课堂学习行为差异.     

Cultural and Religious Values: A Cross-Cultural Study In Austria,South Africa and Egypt

This article compares religious values found on the basis of the lexical approach in three cultures. Lists of human values in Austria (German), South Africa (Northern Sotho) and Egypt (Arabic) were compiled. These terms were rated by 456, 400 and 773 participants respectively as personal guiding motives in life. Factor analyses yielded orthogonal dimensions reflecting the specific values of each culture. In all three cases, a dimension pertaining to religious issues emerged. For Austria, a distinct dimension was found, which only comprised religious terms. In South Africa religious values were interrelated with mutual support, while in Egypt, religiosity was highly correlated with political concerns and Arabic nationalism. While only about 25% of the Austrian sample gave positive evaluations to religious values, most of the South African and Egyptian participants rated religiosity positively. Results suggest that religious values are ubiquitous and religious convictions are influenced by the ethical concepts in each culture.     

ROY SCHAFER'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING: FROM CLINICAL SENSIBILITY TO THE ANALYTIC ATTITUDE

The author reviews Schafer's contributions to psychological testing, emphasizing his development of the test battery, his significant contributions to psychoanalytically oriented Rorschach interpretation, and his understanding of the complex interpersonal dynamics involved in psychological test interpretation. The author also discusses his use of Schafer's writing in his own teaching and academic work, noting that Schafer's contributions have not only provided innovative methods for examining test data, but have also promoted a respectful, humanistic, and individualized approach to the patient in testing and treatment. The author asserts that Schafer's later seminal contributions to psychoanalysis had their origins in his early career as a psychologist applying psychoanalytic ideas to testing.     

Examination of Personality Characteristics in a Turkish Sample: Development of Basic Personality Traits Inventory

The aim of the present study was to test the cross-cultural validity of the five-factor nature of personality. For this aim, an indigenous, psychometrically strong instrument measuring the basic personality dimensions within Turkish culture and language was developed through three consecutive studies. The first study aimed to reveal the adjectives that have been most frequently used to define people in the Turkish culture. In the second study, factor analysis of these personality characteristics revealed big five personality factors, along with the sixth factor, which had been called as the Negative Valence factor. The adjectives that most strongly represented and differentiated each factor constituted 45-item “Basic Personality Traits Inventory”. Finally, in the third study, psychometric characteristics of the Basic Personality Traits Inventory were examined. Factor structure and psychometric properties of this instrument confirmed that five-factor nature of personality may not hold true in every culture.     

Infant Expressions in an Approach/Withdrawal Framework

Since the introduction of empirical methods for studying facial expression, the interpretation of infant facial expressions has generated much debate. The premise of this article is that action tendencies of approach and withdrawal constitute a core organizational feature of emotion in humans, promoting coherence of behavior, facial signaling, and physiological responses. The approach/withdrawal framework can provide a taxonomy of contexts and the neurobehavioral framework for the systematic, empirical study of individual differences in expression, physiology, and behavior within individuals as well as across contexts over time. By adopting this framework in developmental work on basic emotion processes, it may be possible to better understand the behavioral principles governing facial displays, and how individual differences in them are related to physiology and behavioral function in context.     

Cognitive aesthetics of alchemical imagery

Jung's contribution to the understanding of the relevance of psychology to alchemy has become increasingly invalidated by the ahistorical nature of his approach, just as his tendency to ignore the importance of cognitive aesthetics for an improved comprehension of the functions of alchemical images has prevented Jungians from further extending Jung's insight of the importance of alchemy for psychology. This paper explores the history of the development of alchemical illustrations in Western Europe from the 14^th to the 16^th century, tracing the emergent processes over time. It is only when we take into consideration the historical dimension and the aesthetics of alchemical imagery that it becomes possible to demonstrate how the increasing use of certain aesthetic techniques such as the disjunction and recombination of separate metaphorical elements of previous illustrations, the use of compressive combinations and the use of framing devices worked to gradually increase the cognitive function and the symbolical power of the images. If alchemy is still relevant to psychotherapy it is exactly because it helps us to understand the importance of cognitive aesthetics in our approach to the images, metaphors and narratives of our patients.     

Charting the Attributes of God: The Common Ground of Three Religions according to Ramon Llull (1232–1316)

The Open Letter written by 138 major representatives of Islam to the leaders of the Christian churches, on 13 October 2007, came as something of a surprise. Perhaps more surprisingly, in 1283, the Catalan theologian, Ramon Llull, wrote imaginatively of exactly such a letter in one of his novels, thus demonstrating that the interfaith question is not just a problem of our modern times, which became acute only on September 11. On the contrary, the churches have always been conscious of this interfaith context. Yet methods of tackling the problem have differed widely down the centuries and among Christian traditions. The solution proposed by Ramon Llull and analysed in this article starts from the common acceptance of the attributes of God in all three monotheistic religions. It deserves our attention not only as an interesting historical example but also as a way of avoiding some of our current problems and impasses.