Showing papers on "Reciprocal determinism published in 1996"

Gays' and Lesbians' Families-of-Origin: A Social-Cognitive-Behavioral Model of Adjustment

Abstract: As a heuristic to facilitate future studies and theory development, a social-cognitive-behavioral model of family systems is used to organize and integrate the sparse knowledge about the experience of heterosexual family members in gays' and lesbians' families-of-origin. The impact of learning that a child or sibling is gay or lesbian on the family system and subsystems and the process of adjustment are delineated. Specific suggestions for research questions within family studies and implications for research methods, clinical practice, and family life education are included. AIthough there is a growing literature on children of gay and lesbian parents (Bozett, 1989; Patterson, 1992), other relatives of lesbians and gays-parents, stepparents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and in-laws-are nearly invisible in the scholarly literature on families. In the few empirical studies in which these relatives are even considered, it is usually the gays' perspectives that are considered. For example, Skeen and Robinson (1984, 1985) studied the perceptions of gay fathers' and gay nonfathers' relationships with their own parents, and Murphy (1989) studied lesbian couples' perceptions of their parents' attitudes, but the perspectives of the parents were not addressed. Only two empirical studies included heterosexual family members as research participants: Robinson, Walters, and Skeen (1989) studied AIDSrelated attitudes of parents of gays; Serovich, Skeen, Walters, and Robinson (1993) found that parents' favorable attitude toward homosexuality was a significant predictor of parents' acceptance of their gay or lesbian child's partner. A search of the qualitative and clinical literatures did yield information from the perspectives of parents and siblings. Many issues were identified from the qualitative and clinical literature and from narratives of family members (Bowen, 1994; Crosbie-Burnett, 1994; Murray, 1994). The lack of quantitative studies from the perspective of heterosexual family members is a reflection of their near invisibility, closeted status, and marginalization in the society in general. This article uses social-cognitive-behavioral theory to integrate the sparse knowledge available on the psychosocial aspects of family relations, family dynamics and the family's social context in the larger society, from the perspectives of heterosexual family members of gays' and lesbians' families-of-origin. The purpose is to promote theory development, research, and teaching on this topic, and also to sensitize practitioners to these issues and provide direction for theorybased interventions with individuals and/or families. A SOCIAL-COGNITIVEBEHAVIORAL MODEL OF FAMILIES The social-cognitive-behavioral (SCB) model of families (Crosbie-Burnett & Lewis, 1993) is used to explain the family dynamics of gays' and lesbians' families-of-origin, by organizing information gleaned from studies, clinical observations, and conceptual articles on this topic (see Figure 1). It is our hope that this model will serve as a heuristic and will be tested empirically and continually modified until a thorough understanding of the dynamics of these families is reached. The SCB model of families is based in the behavioral paradigm and is an application of Bandura's model of reciprocal determinism to families. In Bandura's social-cognitive theory (1986), an individual's motivation, thought, and behavior are explained by a model of causation in which the individual's behavior, environmental factors, and intrapersonal factors all operate as interacting determinants of each other. Behavior includes all observable behaviors; environmental factors include the physical and social context(s) in which an individual lives; and intrapersonal factors include genetic make-up, personality characteristics, temperament, intelligence, abilities, emotions, and cognitions (e.g., perceptions, expectations, beliefs, attributions, values, schemata, learning history). …

Bridging cognition and personality in education: the role of style in performance and development

Abstract: In an attempt to illuminate the interrelatedness of noncognitive and cognitive domains – or, more pointedly, of affection, conation, and cognition – emphasis was placed on variables that not only operate across these domains but are also potentially integrative. Prominent among such variables are personal styles, particularly cognitive styles. The properties and problems of cognitive styles are examined, with special emphasis on field independence versus field sensitivity and on two stylistic dimensions of attentional scanning. The role of cognitive styles as both competence variables and performance variables is addressed, along with the difficulty of disentangling style from ability because of reciprocal determinism in their development. The educational implications of cognitive styles are explored, especially as they bear on the problem of the match between student characteristics and educational experiences and on the value-laden nature of style-based pedagogical decisions.

Tough Times Make Tough Bosses: A Meso Analysis of CEO Leader Behavior

Abstract: This research investigates relationships between financial performance of the firm and subsequent chief executive officer (CEO) leader behaviors. The study was inspired by previous micro-level research that found that leaders respond to poorly performing subordinates with greater use of directive behaviors and punishment. Extrapolating from these micro-level findings, we posited that CEOs of firms with poor financial performance will demonstrate greater "strongman" or "tough" leader behaviors than CEOs of higher performing firms. Leader behavior descriptions were collected from the subordinates of CEOs at 56 high technology firms in a large metropolitan area. Generally, the results supported the notion that CEOs of poorer performing firms were "tougher" in their leader behavior toward direct-report members of their top management team than CEOs of higher performing companies. This research is an example of "meso" level research, where an organizational level dimension -- financial performance - is correlated with an individual level dimension -- leader behavior. Judith A. Scully, Henry P. Sims, Jr., Judy D. Olian, Eugene R. Schnell, Kenneth A. Smith* The traditional view of leadership is unidirectional - the leader influences followers. Somewhat later, leadership theorists posited that leader behavior may be both a cause and a consequence of subordinate behavior (e.g., Hollander & Julian, 1969). Subsequent empirical investigations supported the reciprocal determinism perspective (Farris & Lim, 1969; Lowin & Craig, 1968; Herold, 1977; Sims & Manz, 1984). Reciprocal determinism involves two distinct components: a) traditional causality, where the leader influences the environment (e.g., the subordinate); and b) reverse causality, where the environment (e.g., subordinate) influences the leader. The research reported here explores the later component of reciprocal determinism, adopting the reverse causality perspective. Substantial micro-level research has explored the reverse causality perspective of the effect of subordinate performance on subsequent leader behavior. However, few studies have examined this same relationship at the organizational level (i.e., organizational performance and subsequent chief executive officer (CEO) leader behavior). Given the similarities between these relationships, this is a curious void in the literature. In both instances -- leader influenced by subordinate performance and leader influenced by organizational performance - the source stimulating variation in behavior is outside the leader (i.e., the leader responds to stimuli external to him or herself). The research reported here examines a reverse causality relationship between objective financial performance of the firm and subsequent leader behavior of the CEO. The primary research question is: Does poororganizational financial performance trigger certain kinds of CEO leader behaviors? The inspection of this question requires examination of two distinct levels of analysis. "Level of analysis" refers to the target population from which the sample is obtained, be it individual, group, organization, or industry. In this research, an individual level phenomenon - how leaders behave toward members of their top management team (TMT), and an organization level variable - firm financial performance, are examined. House and Rousseau define meso research as "the simultaneous study of at least two levels of analysis wherein a) one or more levels concern individual or group behavior processes or variables, b) one or more levels concern organizational processes or variables, and c) the process by which the levels of analysis are related is articulated in the form of bridging, or linking, propositions and tested or inferred" ( 1992 p. 9). An example of meso level theory is Schneider's ( 1987) "The People Make the Place" in which he contends that aggregate individual attributes, beliefs, and emotions influence organizational climate and culture. …