Optimism as modifier of escalation of commitment

To study whether optimism-pessimism modifies escalation of commitment, 52 undergraduates were told that they had made an unsuccessful investment, then they chose to continue or discontinue this investment. Optimism about future returns was induced in one group by varying the probability of a successful outcome from an initial low to medium, pessimism was induced in another group by varying this probability from an initial high to medium. Supporting the assumption of the manipulation, the results showed that optimistic participants preferred to continue investments whereas pessimistic participants preferred not to. As predicted, when the sunk cost increased, optimism led to escalation of commitment, whereas pessimism led to de-escalation of commitment. These effects were strengthened when probability of a successful outcome was ambiguous.     

Effects of team and organizational commitment – A longitudinal study

Retention management, i.e., keeping qualified employees, is a top priority for contemporary organizations. Commitment, and especially team commitment, can be the key to mastering this challenge. There is a lack of longitudinal research concerning the development and the direction of the effects of team commitment over time. In a longitudinal field-study design with three points of measurement, a total of 360 employees in 52 semi-autonomous industrial teams were surveyed over a period of three years. On the one hand, organizational commitment showed stronger effects on organization-related criteria (job satisfaction and intention to leave). These effects were consistent over the three points of measurement. Team commitment, on the other hand, affected team-related criteria (team performance and altruism). Longitudinal analyses confirmed the effects of organizational commitment on job satisfaction and intention to leave, and of team commitment on team performance and altruism. Moreover, these effects increased over time. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

A randomised worksite comparison of acceptance and commitment therapy and stress inoculation training

In this comparative intervention study, 107 working individuals with above average levels of distress were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT; n = 37); stress inoculation training (SIT; n = 37); or a waitlist control group (n = 33). The interventions were delivered to small groups in the workplace via two half-day training sessions. ACT and SIT were found to be equally effective in reducing psychological distress across a three month assessment period. Mediation analysis indicated that the beneficial impact of ACT on mental health resulted from an increase in psychological flexibility rather than from a change in dysfunctional cognitive content. Contrary to hypothesis, a reduction in dysfunctional cognitions did not mediate change in the SIT condition. Results suggest that the worksite may offer a useful, yet underutilised, arena for testing cognitive-behavioural theories of change.     

生涯适应力的作用：个体与组织层的跨层面分析*

生涯适应力(career adaptability)是生涯建构理论提出的自我职业生涯管理的核心概念,但国外理论和实践一直认为生涯适应力是一把双刃剑(生涯适应力高的员工工作绩效高,但其离职意向也高),本研究将对此进行检验;同时,生涯适应力作为个体职业生涯开发的核心变量,它在组织职业生涯管理跨层面作用中的价值也未曾研究。通过员工在两个时间点自评和管理者他评问卷,获得54家单位的485份有效调查问卷。结构方程模型分析的结果表明,生涯适应力不仅与工作绩效有显著正相关,而且也与离职意向有显著负相关。层次回归分析结果表明,工龄是生涯适应力与离职意向、工作绩效关系的调节变量;也就是说,工龄短员工的生涯适应力与工作绩效呈显著正相关,与离职意向呈显著负相关,但工龄长员工的生涯适应力与二者的关系都不显著。基于跨层面研究设计,多层线性模型(HLM)分析的结果表明,生涯适应力是组织职业生涯管理与个体工作绩效之间的完全中介变量,但在组织职业生涯管理与离职意向之间的中介作用不显著。这不但回答了生涯适应力对组织价值的管理困境问题,也解决了组织职业生涯管理与个体工作绩效的连接纽带问题。     

教师职业倦怠与归因的关系探讨

教师职业倦怠问题越来越受到国内外教育研究者的关注。本研究检验归因对教师倦怠的影响。采用教师职业倦怠量表与归因问卷调查170名中学教师。结果表明,中学教师的情绪倦怠程度并不高,但仍有一定比例的教师体验较严重的倦怠状态;内控性与机遇两个控制源与倦怠3个维度之间的相关达到显著水平,权势只与去个性化维度之间的相关达到显著水平;并且,只有内控性与机遇显著地预测了职业倦怠的三个维度。     

组织类型与员工建言行为的关系探索：基于权力的视角

研究目的是探索中国背景下国有企业、民营企业、外资企业、政府机关四类组织中员工建言行为的差异,及员工个人权力感和权力动机的中介作用。采用问卷法对员工和管理者进行配对取样调查,通过对回收的324份有效问卷进行数据分析。结果表明,员工建言行为在四种组织类型中存在显著性差异,而员工个人权力感和权力动机在其中起到中介作用。此外,研究还发现,权力距离倾向在组织类型和个人权力感之间起到调节作用。最后,研究梳理了组织类型与建言行为的关系模型,并对未来研究做了展望。     

Bases of social power,leadership styles,and organizational commitment

Affective organizational commitment reflects the extent to which organizational members are loyal and willing to work toward organizational objectives (Meyer & Allen, 1997). In particular, affective organizational commitment holds very important implications at all organizational levels (e.g., turnover rates, performance, and citizenship behavior). Whereas previous research has evinced the positive influence of transformational and charismatic leadership styles on affective commitment toward the organization (Bass & Avolio, 1994), little is known with regard to the nature of this relationship. In line with the interpersonal power/interaction model, the present investigation aimed to investigate the mechanism at play between transformational leadership style and affective organizational commitment. Specifically, we hypothesized that transformational leadership style would increase affective organizational commitment through its effect on willingness to comply with soft bases of power. In two studies, we subjected the foregoing hypotheses to empirical scrutiny. In Study 1, the proposed mediation model was empirically supported with Italian employees in the public sector. Attesting to the robustness of our findings, Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 with Italian employees from the public and private sectors. In addition, Study 2 replicated Study 1 using a different measure of transformational leadership. Both Study 1 and Study 2 provided results consistent with our hypotheses. Specifically, the present paper reports empirical evidence that (1) the more participants report having a transformational leader, the more willing they become to comply with soft (but not harsh) power bases, (2) in turn, greater willingness to comply with soft (but not harsh) power bases increases one's affective organizational commitment. These findings provide additional support for the interpersonal power/interaction model and pave the way for new research directions.     

The Interactive Effects of Self‐Perceptions and Job Requirements on Creative Problem Solving

Over the years, researchers have focused on ways to facilitate creativity in the workplace by looking at individual factors and organizational factors that affect employee creativity (Woodman, Sawyer, & Griffin, 1993 ). In many cases, the factors that affect creativity are examined independently. In other words, it is uncommon for researchers to look at the interaction among individual and organizational factors. In this study, it is argued that to get a true understanding of how to maximize creativity in the workplace, organizational researchers must look at the interaction between organizational factors and individual factors that affect employee creativity. More specifically, the current study looked at an individual's perceptions about his or her ability to be creative (i.e., individual factor) and perceptions of requirements for creativity in the workplace (i.e., an organizational factor). The results indicated that individuals who have a high belief about their ability to be creative (an individual factor) were most creative when they also perceived requirements for creativity in the workplace (an organizational factor). Furthermore, individuals who had low perceptions of creative ability were still able to perform creatively when they had high perceptions of requirements for creativity. This suggests that, to maximize creativity, organizations should focus on both individual and organizational factors that affect employee creativity.     

Tests of the Relationship Between Children's Temperament and Asthma and of the Reliability and Validity of the Brief Scale of Temperament

Two studies are reported. One examined the reliability and validity of a brief scale to measure children's temperament; the other tested the relationship of early temperament and the development of asthma. In Study 1, principal caretakers of 46 4- to 7-year-olds, usually the mothers, filled out questionnaires containing the Brief Scale of Temperament (BST) and the Behavioral Style Questionnaire. The caretakers did this twice, about 1 week apart. The first time the children's recent temperament was assessed, and the second time past (> 1 year) temperament was assessed. Internal consistency and correlational analyses revealed substantial reliability and validity for BST assessments of recent and past temperament. Study 2 incorporated the BST in a large-scale survey of 325 families, with parents providing data on their children's asthma and temperament. BST assessments of early (past) temperament were made retrospectively regarding the child's first few years. Comparisons of early temperament revealed no differences between children who developed asthma and those who did not in their overall scores on the BST or for any of the temperament characteristics it measures. In addition, correlational analyses of data for asthmatics showed that early temperament was not related to ratings of the severity of the asthma condition the children developed or the impacts of any of 12 specific asthma triggers, including any involving emotional states, such as stress or worry.     

Index to Volume 122

I examined the impact of first names on ratings of physical attractiveness as judged by British undergraduate subjects using male and female full-face pictures presented on photographic slides. The photographs were identified with attractive names, unattractive names, or without any name indicated. Subjects rated the stimulus figures for physical attractiveness. Names accounted for approximately 6% of the variance in subjects' ratings of physical attractiveness. This effect was highly significant for pictures of women (p < .001), but nonsignificant for pictures of men (p > .05).