Priming productive study strategies with preparatory quizzes in an engineering course

One approach to encourage productive study strategies is to incorporate preparatory quizzes (or pre‐quizzes) in which students are required to submit answers to questions before the underlying material is covered in class. In the present study, students took an introductory mechanical engineering class that either included pre‐quizzes (treatment group) or did not (control group). Students in the treatment group visited the online textbook more often and earlier in advance of deadlines, indicating better management of their study time—behaviors that have been shown to be productive study strategies. They also performed better in the course, indicating that techniques intended to prime productive study strategies can pay off. Finally, measures of productive learning strategies correlated with measures of course performance for both groups. These findings support the pretesting principle, which holds that students study more effectively and learn better when they take practice tests before a lesson.     

Career decision status as a predictor of resignation behavior five years later

This paper extends earlier research exploring the relationship between career decision status and work outcomes by examining resignation behavior in a group of new graduates five years after initial appointment. On appointment various measures were collected including career decision status variables. Earlier research identified a significant relationship between a number of important work outcomes and career decision status. In the current study two variables–career decidedness and career choice importance–predicted resignation behavior. Those people who on appointment scored higher on career decidedness or lower on career choice importance were significantly more likely to stay in the organization than others. The implications of this finding for individuals and organizations are discussed.     

In the heat of the moment: On the effect of state neuroticism on task performance

The aim of this study was to further shed light on the relationship between neuroticism and performance by taking into account the situation-specific experience of neuroticism when undertaking cognitive tasks. A total of 121 high-performing professionals completed a state measure of neuroticism before solving a complex cognitive task. Indicators of trait neuroticism and fluid intelligence were also collected. Analyses revealed a curvilinear effect of state neuroticism on task performance suggesting that moderate levels of neuroticism experienced in a given situation are most effective for cognitive performance. This effect remained unchanged when controlled for trait neuroticism and fluid intelligence. Findings support the importance of better understanding experiential effects of personality on task performance.     

Complexity in the relationships among the subdimensions of extraversion and job performance in managerial occupations

The present study investigated differential relationships, nonlinear relationships, and multiplicative relationships among the subdimensions of extraversion (agency and affiliation) and job performance (getting ahead and getting along) for a sample of 179 managers. We found that: (i) agency was positively related to getting ahead performance, whereas affiliation was unrelated to getting ahead; (ii) agency had an inverted‐U relationship with getting along performance; and (iii) there was a multiplicative effect of agency and affiliation on getting along. The findings provide insight into the nature of the relationship between extraversion and managerial performance, the level of breadth at which to represent these variables for optimal prediction and explanation, and the use of extraversion measures for selection purposes.     

Herscovitch and Meyer’s Three-Component model of commitment to change: Meta-analytic findings

Commitment to change has been subject to several qualitative reviews in recent years. As a response to an associated lack of consensus in construct definition, Herscovitch and Meyer introduced a three-component model demonstrating affective commitment to change (i.e., ACC), normative commitment to change (i.e., NCC) and continuance commitment to change (i.e., CCC). Given the growing literature on organizational change, the aim of this paper is to take stock of a decade of research that uses Herscovitch and Meyer’s instrument to measure these three components. To determine the tool’s discriminant validity we conducted meta-analyses evaluating the strength of relations among ACC, NCC and CCC; the relations among the three components and behavioural support for change; and the moderating role of North American context versus non-North American context in shaping these relationships. Findings based on data collected from 17 studies indicate notable differences in the strength of relationships among ACC–NCC, ACC–CCC and NCC–CCC. Also the pattern of the correlations among the three components and behavioural support reveals interesting extensions and insights for further research into the robustness of this model, and on hitherto under-acknowledged discrepancies in behavioural support for commitment to change research.     

The Effects of Ageing on Creative Performance Trajectories

Previous research has demonstrated that job performance initially increases, plateaus, and then eventually declines. A major factor that may be relevant for explaining these performance changes is the ageing process. This study examined the within-person effect of ageing on changes in a specific type of job performance (creative performance), and whether the age of career onset is a moderator. These questions were investigated using two measures of creative performance data spanning several decades from 300 authors and analysed using hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) techniques and hierarchical generalised linear modelling techniques (HGLM). The results revealed an inverted U-shaped relationship between time and creative performance, and an inverted U-shaped relationship between ageing and creative performance when controlling for work experience. The age at which an individual starts their career was a significant moderator of the shape of performance trajectories. Findings are discussed in relation to how this study contributes to the literature on performance trajectories and the effects of ageing on performance.