Showing papers in "Journal of Applied Psychology in 1987"

Role of efficacy expectations in predicting the decision to use advanced technologies: The case of computers.

Abstract: La complexite des innovations a longtemps ete reconnue comme un facteur affectant leur taux d'adoption. On a etudie la relation entre le sentiment de l'efficacite des ordinateurs et la propension des gens a les utiliser. La croyance en l'efficacite des ordinateurs exerce une influence sur la decision de les utiliser, independemment des croyances concernant la valeur instrumentale de l'ordinateur dans tel ou tel cas specifique

Two (or more?) dimensions of organizational commitment: Reexamination of the affective and continuance commitment scales.

Abstract: Reexamen des proprietes psychometriques des echelles de Meyer et Allen mesurant l'implication de type affectif ou comportemental dans l'organisation a partir de l'analyse dimensionnelle des reponses de 350 etudiants

Unemployment, job satisfaction, and employee turnover: A meta-analytic test of the Muchinsky model.

Abstract: We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the relation between satisfaction-turnover correlations across studies and unemployment rates at the time those studies were conducted. On the basis of theoretical work by Muchinsky and Morrow (1980), we hypothesized that low relations would be found in stud

Goal commitment and the goal-setting process: Problems, prospects, and proposals for future research.

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to examine the role of goal commitment in goal-setting research. Despite Locke's (1968) specification that commitment to goals is a necessary condition for the effectiveness of goal setting, a majority of studies in this area have ignored goal commitment. In addition, results of studies that have examined the effects of goal commitment were typically inconsistent with conceptualization of commitment as a moderator. Building on past research, we have developed a model of the goal commitment process and then used it to reinterpret past goal-setting research. We show that the widely varying sizes of the effect of goal difficulty, conditional effects of goal difficulty, and inconsistent results with variables such as participation can largely be traced to main and interactive effects of the variables specified by the model.

Job-related stress, social support, and burnout among classroom teachers.

Abstract: In this study we examined the effects of job-related stressful events and social support on burnout among teachers. We conducted a mail survey of a random sample of public school teachers in Iowa. Consistent with findings in previous research, teacher characteristics such as age, sex, and grade level taught were predictive of burnout. We also found that the number of stressful events experienced and social support were predictive of teacher burnout. Some evidence of the stress-moderating role of social support was also found. Teachers who reported that they had supportive supervisors and indicated that they received positive feedback concerning their skills and abilities from others were less vulnerable to burnout. We discuss the implications of these findings for programs aimed at preventing teacher bumouL

Task complexity as a moderator of goal effects: A meta-analysis.

Abstract: Much evidence exists that supports the use of goal setting as a motivational technique for enhancing task performance; howevei; little attention has been given to the role of task characteristics as potential moderating conditions of goal effects. Meta-analysis procedures were used to assess the moderator effects of task complexity for goal-setting studies conducted from 1966 to 1985 (n = 125). The reliability ofthe task complexity ratings was .92. Three sets of analyses were conducted: for goaldifficulty results (hard vs. easy), for goal specificity-difficulty (specific difficult goals vs. do-best or no goal), and for all studies collapsed across goal difficulty and goal specificity-difficulty. It was generally found that goal-setting effects were strongest for easy tasks (reaction time, brainstorming), d = .76, and weakest for more complex tasks (business game simulations, scientific and engineering work, faculty research productivity), d = .42. Implications for future research on goal setting and the validity of generalizing results are discussed.

A Revision of the Job Diagnostic Survey: Elimination of a Measurement Artifact

Abstract: Etude de la validite factorielle d'une revision du questionnaire JDS de Hackman et Oldham mesurant les caracteristiques des professions, a partir de l'analyse des reponses fournies par 134 employes

Application of social learning theory to employee self-management of attendance

Abstract: Training in self-management was given to 20 unionized state government employees to increase their attendance at the work site. Analyses of variance revealed that compared to a control condition (n = 20), training in self-regulatory skills taught employees how to manage personal and social obstacles to job attendance, and it raised their perceived self-efficacy that they could exercise influence over their behavior. Consequently, employee attendance was significantly higher in the training than in the control group. The higher the perceived self-efficacy, the better the subsequent job attendance. These data were significant at the .05 level.

Effect of values on perception and decision making: A study of alternative work values measures.

Abstract: Four alternative methods of measuring values were used to examine the impact of work values on perception and decision-making tasks. Perception and its relation to values was assessed using interpretation of ambiguous stimuli. The effect of values on decision making was evaluated using within-subject regression analyses of 20 separate decisions. A total of 103 undergraduate subjects completed values measures and the perceptual and decision-making tasks in three work sessions, each separated by from 2 to 4 days. A rank order measure of values related more consistently to perception and decision making than did other measurement methods. Results also provide some support for a theory of values in which values affect perceptual organization and act as a guide to decision making.

Increasing voting behavior by asking people if they expect to vote.

Abstract: In two studies, students contacted by telephone were asked to predict whether they would perform a particular behavior (registering to vote or voting, respectively) in the next Tew days. The proportion who predicted that they would do these socially desirable behaviors exceeded the proportion of control subjects wh o performed the behavior without first being aske d to predict whether the y would . Further, in the voting study these errors of overprediction were self-erasing in the sense describe d by S. J. Sherman (Journal o f Personality and Social Psychology, 1980,39). That is, subjects who were asked to predict whether they would vote—all of whom predicted that they would—actually did vote with substantially greater probability than did the no-prediction control subjects. (Actual voting was verified by consulting official voter rolls.) Asking people to predict whether the y will perform a socially desirable action appears to increase their probability of performing the action. When making predictions about their own behavior, people tend to present themselves favorably; they predict that they will do what appears to be proper or good behavior. However, when given the opportunit y to act , a person' s likelihood of performing a socially desirable action may b e reduced by factors such as the action's time and energy costs, the availability of compelling alternatives, and missed opportunity through not responding promptly. Sherman (1980) showed that asking people to predict their actions does more than jus t reveal a tendency toward favorable self-presentations; the probability of the predicted action is affected. Once subjects have made a prediction, their behavior is likely to confirm that prediction. In one of Sherman's experiments, subjects who were asked to predict whether they would agree t o work 3 hour s t o collect money for the American Cancer Society (49% said they would) were much more likely (31%) to agree with a later request to do so than were those who were never asked to predict their behavior (4%). Thus, apparent errors in prediction are "self-erasing" (Sherman, 1980). Once a person predicts an action, that action is likely to occur, even when the initial prediction is an apparent gross overestimate of the likelihood of performance. In interpreting this finding, Sherman suggested that making a prediction produces a performance-facilitating cognitive representation in which the person

Understanding, prediction, and control as moderators of the relationships between perceived stress, satisfaction, and psychological well-being.

Abstract: This study provides a preliminary test of a model proposed by Sutton and Kahn (1986). In the model, the ability to understand, predict, and control events in the work environment can reduce the potential adverse effects generally associated with certain work conditions. Using a sample of physicians,

Employee stock ownership and employee attitudes: A test of three models.

Abstract: Etude des conditions necessaires pour que la possession d'actions de l'entreprise par un employe de cette entreprise influence positivement l'attitude professionnelle de l'employe: on teste trois modeles rendant compte de ces conditions de satisfaction. Analyse basee sur les reponses de 2.804 employes actionnaires de 37 compagnies pratiquant la participation

How important are dispositional factors as determinants of job satisfaction? Implications for job design and other personnel programs.

Abstract: According to recent research, stable dispositional factors may result in considerable consistency in attitudes such as job satisfaction across time and situations. If true, this finding may have important implications. For example, Staw and Ross (1985) argued that "many situational changes such as job redesign . . . may not affect individuals as intended." Such personnel programs "may be prone to failure because they must contend with attitudinal consistency" (p. 478). The present article has two purposes. Fiist, methodological and conceptual problems with the Staw and Ross assessment of the impact of situational and dispositional factors on job satisfaction are discussed. Second, given Staw and Ross's focus on job redesign, this article examines the impact on job satisfaction of changes in two very different measures of job complexity. Findings indicate that changes in situational factors such as job complexity are important predictors of job satisfaction, consistent with Hackman and Oldham's (1975, 1976) job design model. In contrast, measurement problems preclude accurate assessment of the predictive power of dispositional factors. Contrary to the concern raised by Staw and Ross (1985) and Staw, Bell, and Clausen (1986), it does not appear likely that the success of personnel programs will be significantly constrained by the influence of attitudinal consistency. Locke (1969) denned job satisfaction as "a function of the perceived relationship between what one wants from one's job and what one perceives it as offering". Presumably, this definition points to the importance of both dispositional and situational factors as determinants of job satisfaction. In practice, however, Mitchell (1979) suggested that personality variables have received relatively little attention in empirical research on

Impatience versus achievement strivings in the type A pattern: differential effects on students' health and academic achievement.

Abstract: Psychometric analyses of college students' responses to the Jenkins Activity Survey, a self-report measure of the Type A behavior pattern, revealed the presence of two relatively independent factors. Based on these analyses, two scales, labeled Achievement Strivings (AS) and Impatience and Irritability (II), were developed. In two samples of male and female college students, scores on AS but not on II were found to be significantly correlated with grade point average. Responses to a health survey, on the other hand, indicated that frequency of physical complaints was significantly correlated with II but not with AS. These results suggest that there are two relatively independent factors in the Type A pattern that have differential effects on performance and health. Future research on the personality factors related to coronary heart disease and other disorders might more profitably focus on the syndrome reflected in the II scale than on the Type A pattern.

Situational Leadership Theory: An examination of a prescriptive theory.

Abstract: In a study of 303 teachers representing 14 high schools, measures were taken of supervisory style (consideration and initiating structure), follower maturity, performance, satisfaction with supervision, and quality of leader-member exchange. A variety of statistical tests were conducted to test the

Study of the measurement bias of two standardized psychological tests.

Abstract: Psychological tests are subject to two distinct forms of bias. The first form, measurement bias, occurs when individuals with equal standing on the trait measured by the test, but sampled from different subpopulations, have different expected test scores. Relational bias, the second type of bias, exists with respect to a second variable if a measure of bivariate association differs across groups. Empirical studies have found little evidence of relational bias. Two recent court cases, however, seem to have been more influenced by considerations of measurement bias than by the literature concerning relational bias. Unfortunately, a consequence of both court cases is that the respective test makers must select items for future tests on the basis of a statistic (proportion correct) that is inappropriate for evaluating measurement bias. More sophisticated approaches may also suffer from methodological difficulties unless special precautions are taken. In this article, tests of English and Mathematics Usage are analyzed by measurement bias methods in which several steps are taken to reduce methodological artifacts. Many items are found to be biased. Nonetheless, the sizes of these effects are very small and no cumulative bias across items is found.

Member Variation, Recognition of Expertise, and Group Performance

Abstract: The most effective method for aggregating the conflicting opinions of experts is a subject of active debate in the literature. Task differences are most often used to explain differing results among studies. Alternatively, we suggested that the characteristics of the interacting groups themselves determine whether they outperform or underperform their equivalent composites. Expert loan officers serving in ad hoc and practiced groups, on average, performed equally as well as did their composite and most influential individual. However, whether a particular group outperformed or underperformed its composite could be explained by variation in group members' performances and abilities to recognize differential expertise. These findings suggest the circumstances in which alternative social decision schemes are likely to be more effective. They also support the usefulness of conceptualizing group judgment as a weighted combination of the opinions of group members whereby the allocation of weights to members is the critical issue.

Comparative effects of personal and situational influences on job outcomes of new professionals.

Abstract: We investigated the relative and combined effects of personal and situational variables on job outcomes of new professionals. The personal variables were cognitive ability, socioeconomic status, and career goals; the situational variables were job feedback, autonomy, and job context. Data were collected at two times from 280 newly hired, entry-level accountants at "Big Eight" firms. Both personal and situational variables predict job outcomes, but their relative influence depends on the outcome measure. Situational variables account for the most variance in job performance, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment; personal variables account for the most variance in promotability, internal work motivation, and turnover. The findings indicate that job performance does not take care of itself by selecting bright people, but requires constant vigilance and effective systems. The results also suggest that a given result can be achieved through a variety of behavioral science