Contextualizing psychological contracts research: a multi-sample study of shared individual psychological contract fulfilment

ABSTRACT

Research on psychological contracts has made significant contributions to theoretically advancing our understanding of the employee-employer exchange relationship and its implications for organizational practice. However, the predominant emphasis of this empirical research has been on the individual level of analysis and in the process does not give sufficient attention to contextual influences. Teams have become a common feature in organizations today and provide a proximal context through which to understand how teams affect individuals’ evaluation of their psychological contract. Based on the macrosociological perspective of social exchange theory as well as theories on the role of social influence in psychological contract evaluations, we examine how shared individual psychological contract fulfilment (PCF) shapes the relationship between individual PCF and outcomes (employee’s own contributions and contextual performance) at the individual level as well as the predictors (group POS) and consequences (average employee contributions and average contextual performance) of shared individual PCF at the team level. Our findings from three studies, representing a total sample of 995 employees and 170 teams, provide support for the study hypotheses. This paper contributes to the psychological contract literature by conceptually and empirically addressing the role of a team context (shared individual PCF) and its impact on individual- and team-level relationships.     

问题性网络使用对初中生自杀意念的影响:一个有调节的中介模型

采用戴维斯在线认知量表、自杀意念自评量表、UCLA孤独感量表以及领悟社会支持量表，对江西赣州九所公立学校三个年级的1311名初中生进行测查，探讨问题性网络使用对初中生自杀意念的影响及作用机制。结果发现：（1）问题性网络使用对初中生的孤独感和自杀意念都有显著的正向预测作用；（2）孤独感在问题性网络使用与初中生自杀意念之间起着部分中介作用；（3）孤独感和自杀意念的关系（中介效应的后半段路径）受到领悟社会支持的调节，即孤独感对自杀意念的影响随着领悟社会支持的增强而减弱。因此，问题性网络使用和初中生自杀意念之间存在孤独感的中介作用和领悟社会支持的调节作用。     

Racial exclusion causes acute cortisol release among emerging-adult African Americans: The role of reduced perceived control

ABSTRACT

Racial discrimination contributes to stress-related health disparities among African Americans, but less is known about the acute effects of racial exclusion on the hypo-pituitary-adrenocortical response and psychological mediators. Participants were 276 Black/African American emerging-adults (54% female; M _age = 21.74, SD = 2.21) who were randomly assigned to be excluded or included by White peers via the game Cyberball. Racial exclusion (vs. inclusion) predicted: greater negative affect (F(1, 276) = 104.885, p < .0001), lower perceived control (F(1, 276) = 205.523, p < .0001), and greater cortisol release (F(1, 274) = 4.575, p = .033). Racial exclusion’s impact on cortisol release was mediated by lower perceived control (95% CI: .027, .112), but not negative affect (?.041, .013). These findings suggest that racial exclusion contributes to acute cortisol release, and that reduced perceived control is a consequence of racial discrimination that has important implications for the health of those who experience discrimination.     

Avoidance Behavior Following Terror Event Exposure: Effects of Perceived Life Threat and Jewish Religious Coping

The current research was designed to examine associations of perceived life threat (PLT) and religious coping with the development of avoidance behavior following terror event exposure. Based upon the terror management theory (TMT), we hypothesized that religious coping, through its effect on religious beliefs as a meaning system, would moderate the impact of threat, as expressed in PLT, on an individual's reaction to terror event exposure, as manifested in avoidance behavior. Participants were 591 Israeli Jewish students who were vicariously or directly exposed to a terror event in the past. We report a significant interaction between PLT and negative religious coping. PLT was positively associated with avoidance behavior but this relationship was more profound among persons who reported high negative religious coping. Secular students reported higher rates of avoidance behavior and negative religious coping and were more likely than religious students to report intrapersonal religious conflict. Our findings suggest that terror event exposure is associated with an elevated sense of threat, which is, at least in part, associated with a weakening of prior religious beliefs.     

Does the horny man think women want him too? Effects of male sexual arousal on perceptions of female sexual willingness

ABSTRACT

Disputes over acquaintance rape typically center on the issue of whether the alleged victim consented to sex. Disputed sexual encounters often take place when one or both involved parties is sexually aroused, and this arousal might influence the extent to which the parties perceive sexual consent. Two studies tested the effects of men’s sexual arousal on their interpretations of the extent to which 25 hypothetical female behaviors reflected sexual willingness. Arousal was manipulated via written fantasies (Study 1) or exposure to erotic material (Study 2). Manipulated arousal and individual differences in rated arousal were each associated with greater perceptions of female sexual willingness. Manipulated arousal was significant only for single men in Study 2. Findings suggested present-state sexual arousal affects single men’s interpretations of women’s sexual willingness. Men’s sexual arousal might prominently contribute to misunderstandings in sexual communication.     

Ideological differences in attitude and belief similarity: distinguishing perception and reality

ABSTRACT

Attitude and belief similarity have long stood as topics of inquiry for social psychology. Recent research suggests that there might be meaningful differences across people in the extent to which they perceive and actually share others’ attitudes and beliefs. I outline research examining the relationship between political ideology and the perception and reality of attitude similarity. Specifically, I review research documenting that (a) conservatives perceive greater ingroup similarity than do liberals, (b) conservatives overestimate and liberals underestimate ingroup similarity, (c) liberals and conservatives both underestimate similarity to outgroup members, and (d) liberals possess more actual ingroup similarity than do conservatives on a national level. Collectively, this review contributes to understanding how political ideology relates to (perceived) attitude similarity.     

How numbers mean: Comparing random walk models of numerical cognition varying both encoding processes and underlying quantity representations

How do people derive meaning from numbers? Here, we instantiate the primary theories of numerical representation in computational models and compare simulated performance to human data. Specifically, we fit simulated data to the distributions for correct and incorrect responses, as well as the pattern of errors made, in a traditional “relative quantity” task. The results reveal that no current theory of numerical representation can adequately account for the data without additional assumptions. However, when we introduce repeated, error-prone sampling of the stimulus (e.g., Cohen, 2009) superior fits are achieved when the underlying representation of integers reflects linear spacing with constant variance. These results provide new insights into (i) the detailed nature of mental numerical representation, and, (ii) general perceptual processes implemented by the human visual system.     

反向对抗逻辑范式的创立与证实——人工语法PDP对抗逻辑的改进

人工语法对抗逻辑范式不能排除相似性和辨别力,导致自动反应不纯粹甚至虚假或无法检测到。本研究创立反向对抗逻辑范式,采用单因素(相容/对抗条件)被试间设计:内隐学习阶段将肯定标签与语法A绑定,否定标签与语法B绑定;测量阶段相容条件组对语法A和B做与学习阶段一致的判断,对抗条件组对语法B做与学习阶段对抗的肯定判断。实验证明:(1)外显否定标签可与语法B绑定学习而获得自动化特征,产生内隐联结自动化。(2)内隐否定知识比肯定知识更自动,知识从肯定转为否定易,从否定转为肯定难。(3)反向对抗逻辑范式能有效检测到自动反应,不受语法间形式相似性和辨别力影响。(4)首次析出高概率判断偏向效应,得到纯粹受控反应。