Showing papers on "Situational ethics published in 2001"

Individualism-Collectivism and Personality

Abstract: This paper provides a review of the main findings concerning the relationship between the cultural syndromes of individualism and collectivism and personality. People in collectivist cultures, compared to people in individualist cultures, are likely to define themselves as aspects of groups, to give priority to in-group goals, to focus on context more than the content in making attributions and in communicating, to pay less attention to internal than to external processes as determinants of social behavior, to define most relationships with ingroup members as communal, to make more situational attributions, and tend to be self-effacing.

Situational Interest: A Review of the Literature and Directions for Future Research

Abstract: This paper reviews theoretical and empirical research on situational interest. A distinction is made between situational and personal interest. The former is spontaneous and context-specific, whereas the latter is enduring and context-general. We summarize historical perspectives and recent empirical findings on situational interest. Five emergent themes are identified that focus on relationships among situational interest, information processing, and affective engagement. We also discuss important topics for future research.

Managing Intercultural Conflict Effectively

Abstract: About the Authors List of Figures & Tables Preface 1. Intercultural Conflict. An Introduction Practical Reasons Culture: A Learned Meaning System Intercultural Conflict: Basic Assumptions 2. Intercultural Conflict. A Culture-Based Situational Model A Culture-Based Situational Conflict Model: Primary Orientation Factors Situational and Relationship Boundary Features Intercultural Conflict Communication: Process Factors Intercultural Conflict Competence: Four Criteria Conclusion 3. Intercultural-Intimate Conflict in Personal Relationships Intercultural -Intimate Conflict: Primary Factors Intercultural -Intimate Conflict: Situational Features Intercultural -Intimate Conflict: Process Factors Intercultural -Intimate Conflict: Outcome Dimensions Intercultural -Intimate Conflict: Practical Guidelines 4. Intercultural Conflict in Diverse Work Groups What is a Group? Sources of Conflict in a Culturally Diverse Group Culture-Based Situational Features: Influence of Group Inputs on Conflict Process Combined Situational and Process Factors: Influence of Conflict Process on Group Outputs Intercultural Conflict in Diverse Work Groups: Practical Guidelines 5. Intercultural Conflict Between Managers and Employees in Organizations Conflicts Between Managers and Employees Primary Orientation Factors: A Model of Conflict Approaches Conflicts in Multinational Organizations Culturally Diverse Organizations in the United States Intercultural Conflict Between Managers and Employees: Practical Guidelines 6. Managing Intercultural Conflict Competently Knowledge Dimension Mindfulness Dimension Constructive Conflict Skills Dimension Conclusions Appendix: Measures of Face Concerns and Facework Behaviors in Four National Cultures Data Collection Procedures Results of Panculture Factor Analyses References Index

“Who Am I?” The Cultural Psychology of the Conceptual Self

Abstract: This study investigated whether self-concepts that arise from participation in interdependent cultural contexts, in this case the self-concepts of Japanese students, will be relatively more sensitive to situational variation than will self-concepts that arise in independent cultural contexts, in this case the self-concepts of U.S. college students. The self-concepts of 128 Japanese and 133 U.S. women were assessed in one of four distinct social situations: in a group, with a faculty member, with a peer, and alone in a research booth. Furthermore, the authors examined the hypothesis that Japanese self-concepts would differ from American self-concepts in valence, reflecting normative and desirable tendencies toward self-criticism. American and Japanese participants differed in the content, number, and range of self-descriptions. As predicted, the situation had a greater influence on the self-descriptions of the Japanese participants than on the Americans’ self-descriptions, and the self-descriptions of the ...

Love and the commitment problem in romantic relations and friendship.

Abstract: On the basis of the proposition that love promotes commitment, the authors predicted that love would motivate approach, have a distinct signal, and correlate with commitment-enhancing processes when relationships are threatened. The authors studied romantic partners and adolescent opposite-sex friends during interactions that elicited love and threatened the bond. As expected, the experience of love correlated with approach-related states (desire, sympathy). Providing evidence for a nonverbal display of love, four affiliation cues (head nods, Duchenne smiles, gesticulation, forward leans) correlated with self-reports and partner estimates of love. Finally, the experience and display of love correlated with commitment-enhancing processes (e.g., constructive conflict resolution, perceived trust) when the relationship was threatened. Discussion focused on love, positive emotion, and relationships. Things base and vile, holding no quantity, Love can transform to form and dignity, Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. —William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream In Shakespeare's reflection on love, one finds a poignant truth that resonates with experience: In transforming the mundane into the sublime, love can seem blind, irrational, and disconnected from what seems to be true and real. This observation dovetails with our ensuing theoretical analysis of the momentary experience of love. Yet we also take exception with what the great bard has to say about this emotion. Unlike Shakespeare, we contend that people also see love with their eyes; that love has a physical side that is evident in movements of the face and the body that prompt the mind's more sublime operations. More specifically, we propose that the momentary experience of love helps intimate partners remain committed to one another (e.g., Frank, 1988; Steinberg, 1986). This treatment of love as a commitment device leads to the following hypotheses. In terms of the experience of love, we posited that love would correlate with approach-related states. In terms of the display of love, we expected that the experience of love would be encoded in a distinct

Situational Judgment Tests: A Review of Practice and Constructs Assessed

Abstract: In this article, we seek to summarize current practice concerning situational judgment tests in personnel selection. We begin by describing the manner in which situational judgment tests are developed and examining the diverse ways in which situational items are presented and scored. We then offer speculation concerning constructs assessed by situational judgment tests as well as discuss the legal aspect of situational judgment measures. We also review meta-analytic evidence concerning the construct validity of situational judgment tests and offer several new meta-analytic findings. Situational judgment tests are shown to be typically correlated moderately with general mental ability. Their primary personality correlates are emotional stability, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. Situational test scores also tend to increase with increasing years of job experience. The article concludes with a list of areas that need addressed in future research.

Murky conceptual waters: The public and the private

Abstract: In discussions on the ethics of surveillance and consequently surveillance policy, the public/private distinction is often implicitly or explicitly invoked as a way to structure the discussion and the arguments. In these discussions, the distinction `public' and `private' is often treated as a uni-dimensional, rigidly dichotomous and absolute, fixed and universal concept, whose meaning could be determined by the objective content of the behavior. Nevertheless, if we take a closer look at the distinction in diverse empirical contexts we find them to be more subtle, diffused and ambiguous than suggested. Thus, the paper argues for the treatment of these distinctions as multi-dimensional, continuous and relative, fluid and situational or contextual, whose meaning lies in how they are interpreted and framed. However, the aim of this paper is not to finally `sort things out'. The objective is rather to demonstrate the complexities of the distinction in various contexts and to suggest that those using the distinction, when considering the ethics and politics of surveillance technologies, would benefit from more clearly specifying which dimensions they have in mind and how they relate.

Opportunities and decisions: interactional dynamics in robbery and burglary groups*

Abstract: Street offenders more often than not are co-offenders. The theoretical importance of understanding how co-offending shapes conduct has been recognized for decades but is often ignored by investigators. Drawing from interviews with 50 male robbers and burglars who committed their crimes with others, this paper examines how interactional dynamics modify both the perception of criminal opportunities and criminal decision making. Offenders construct opportunity by improvising situational interpretations, communicating expectations and negotiating shared meanings. As opposed to many prevailing notions of criminal decision making, decisions in groups are incremental, con-textually situated, and affected significantly by variation in members’influence. The findings, therefore, highlight shortcomings of decision-making investigations that obscure marked variation in choice by focusing narrowly on individual assessments of risks and utilities.

Follower motive patterns as situational moderators for transformational leadership effectiveness.

Abstract: While the study of leadership has been dominated by situational approaches for the past three decades (Fiedler, 1967; House, 1971; Kerr and Jermier, 1978; Howell and Dorfman, 1981; Schriesheim, Neider, Scandura, 1998; Shamir and Howell, 1999; Wofford and Liska, 1993; Yukl, 1998), little of the transformational leadership research and theory has considered situational moderators A variety of situational aspects are covered by these theories, including leader-member relations, task structure, leader position power, follower ability level, follower locus of control, and follower authoritarianism Whereas these approaches focus on different aspects of the situation, they converge on the conclusion that the effectiveness of leadership is situationally determined In this study, we examine subordinate motive patterns as potential situational moderators of the effectiveness of transformational leadership With the exception of the work of Howell and Avolio (1993) and Keller (1992), situational moderators of the effectiveness of transformational leadership have not been thoroughly examined We do not contend that situational moderators are of greater significance for transformational leadership than for other leadership constructs; however, we believe that the role of situational moderators for transformational leadership is sufficient to require further research In this article, we address two important leadership questions Is transformational leadership universally effective or are there situational moderators which augment or limit its effectiveness? Is transformational leadership more appropriately viewed in terms of individual-level analyses or of multi-level analyses? First, we examine the literature on the potential moderators within the transformational leadership paradigm and on the appropriate level of analysis for transformational leadership The present research examines the potential moderator effects of the need for autonomy and of growth need strength In addition, we examine whether transformational leaders adapt their behaviors to different subordinates or behave the same way with all of them The Transformational Paradigm Building on the work of Burns (1978), Bass (1985) defined transformational leadership and established a measurement instrument for the construct From his perspective, transformational leaders motivate their followers to perform beyond normal expectations by transforming their thoughts and attitudes They enlist their followers to buy into their vision and strive for its fulfillment To accomplish this, transformational leaders exhibit the following kinds of behaviors: attributed charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Bass and Avolio, 1994; Conger 1999) Attributed charisma refers to the role modeling leadership behaviors that gain admiration and trust Leaders who are high in attributed charisma make personal sacrifices for others, remain calm in crises, go beyond self-interest for the good of the group, display competence, and are respected (Bass and Avolio, 1994) Inspirational motivation behaviors include envisioning and articulation of attractive future states of an organization so that followers have a sense of meaning and challenge in their work (Bass, 1985) Intellectual stimulation behaviors include questioning assumptions and refraining problems and approaching existing situations from a fresh perspective (Bass, 1985) Individualized consideration behaviors involve delegation, empowerment, support of subordinates, and paying special attention to each individual's needs, abilities, and aspirations (Bass, 1985) These behaviors compel followers to commit to and actively support the leader's vision, forsake the status quo in favor of innovative approaches, accept greater responsibility, and perform effectively Potential Situational Moderators for the Transformational Leadership Paradigm To date, the limited research into potential situational moderators for the transformational leadership paradigm has been within the organizational characteristics domain …

Culture and the Process of Person Perception: Evidence for Automaticity among East Asians in Correcting for Situational Influences on Behavior

Abstract: The authors evaluate three models of the cognitive processes underlying person perception (i.e., the processes perceivers use to judge whether an actor’s behavior reflects a personal disposition), each of which implies a different way in which culturally instilled lay theories of behavior affect attributions. The models make distinctive predictions concerning how cognitive busyness will affect dispositional inference among members of different cultures. To test the models, the authors compared attributions of U.S. and Hong Kong perceivers for an expressive act under conditions of high and low cognitive busyness. Whereas cognitive busyness increased dispositionism among U.S. participants, it did not for Hong Kong participants. Findings from numerous measures combine to support the automatized situational correction model, which posits that holders of a situation-based lay theory of behavior (such as members of Chinese culture) have automatized the ability to correct attributions to personal dispositions to...

Illegal, Inappropriate, And Unethical Behavior In An Information Technology Context: A Study To Explain Influences

Abstract: A recent study by Banerjee et al. (1998) proposed and tested an information technology (IT) ethics model. They found that personal normative beliefs, organizational ethical climate, and organization-scenario were significant indicators of ethical behavioral intention. Moreover, they found that factors affecting ethical intention are situational and depend upon the ethical dilemma. Further research was suggested and recommended, among other things, replications with different samples. The present study furthers the development/validation of the IT ethical model by utilizing a large sample of students in the same organizational climate (a university).

Comparison of situational and behavior description interview questions for higher‐level positions

Abstract: Based on a study of federal investigative agents, Pulakos and Schmitt (1995) hypothesized that situational interviews are less effective for higher-level positions than behavior description interviews. To evaluate their hypothesis we analyzed data from 2 new structured interview studies. Both of these studies involved higher-level positions, a military officer and a district manager respectively, and had matching SI and BDI questions written to assess the same job characteristics. Results confirmed that situational interviews are much less predictive of performance in these types of positions. Moreover, results indicated very little correspondence between situational and behavior description questions written to assess the same job characteristic, and a link between BDI ratings and the personality trait Extroversion. Possible reasons for the lower situational interview effectiveness are discussed.

Male street youths' conflict: The role of background, subcultural, and situational factors

Abstract: Using a sample of 125 homeless male street youth, we examine the formation of values that support violence and how these attitudes influence violence under different situational conditions. Findings indicate that abusive backgrounds, anger, violent peers, and the successful use of violence as a conflict management strategy are important in understanding the acquisition of values that support violence. These subcultural values in turn make street youths more sensitive to harm in dispute situations, and leave them more likely to demand reparation for harm and to persevere and use force to settle disputes. These youths are more likely to become immersed in disputes in which conflict is intense and which involve male harmoders. Finally, they are more likely to escalate conflict in public places. We discuss findings in terms of experiences and expectations that these youths bring to social interactions.

Who's in Charge? Effects of Situational Roles on Automatic Gender Bias

Abstract: Sixty European American male and female participants' implicit gender-related attitudes were assessed prior to engaging in a cross-gender dyadic interaction, according to one of three situational roles (superior, subordinate, or equal-status partner). Results revealed that the social roles affected male participants' gender attitudes. Specifically, male participants who anticipated an interaction with a female superior revealed negatively biased evaluative attitudes about women. By contrast, males who expected to interact with a female equal-status partner or subordinate revealed attitudes that were biased in favor of women. This finding highlights the importance of situational factors in the generation of implicit attitudes regarding social groups. Specifically, the present data point to the influence of situational status on males' attitudes regarding women. Implications of this work for integration and diversity initiatives are discussed.

Love’s Grateful Striving: A Commentary on Kierkegaard’s “Works of Love.”

Abstract: Soren Kierkegaard's Works of Love (1847), a series of deliberations on the commandment to love one's neighbour, has often been condemned by critics. This book seeks to rehabilitate Works of Love as one of Kierkegaard's most important works. Jamie Ferreira shows that Kierkegaard's deliberations on love are highly relevant to some important themes in contemporary ethics including: impartiality, duty, partiality, equality, mutuality, reciprocity, self-love, sympathy, and sacrifice. Works of Love also has implications for postmodern concerns about the normative relation between Self and Other - questions of "gift" and responsiveness, "infinite demand" and responsibility. In addition, Ferreira argues, Works of Love also bears on such issues as the role of God as "middle term," and the possibility of preserving the aesthetic dimensions of love in a religious ethic of relation.

Capturing Complexity in Educational Leadership.

Abstract: Although the study of educational leadership has gained in prominence in the last 2 decades, leadership as a concept remains as elusive as ever, prompting some authors to argue that the search for a general theory of leadership is futile. This paper argues that further conceptual and empirical work on educational leadership is useful in avoiding frequently occurring misconceptions, and in understanding the possibilities and constraints for leadership in school operations and change. "Leadership" is defined here in relation to management and headship and should be understood as a complex interplay of personal, organizational, and broader social contexts rather than as attributes of persons or positions. Variants of leadership theory discussed include the "great man" or trait theory, the contingency and situational approach, and transformational leadership theory. Positive and negative aspects of educational leadership are illustrated in South African case studies where different schools show organizational resiliency or dysfunction. Current challenges for educational management and leadership are also discussed. If schools are to meet the goals of providing high-quality teaching and learning for all students in the most equitable way possible, educational leaders and theorists of leadership need to work creatively with complexity. (Contains 92 references.) (RT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. CAPTURING COMPLEXITY IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP Pam Christie, School of Education, The University of Queensland, Australia

Situational constraints on the achievement – performance relationship: a service sector study

Abstract: The present study sought to extend our knowledge of the relationship between work values and job performance. Situational constraints were examined as moderators of the relationship between the value of achievement and performance in a service-sector field setting. In the present setting, sales promotions removed situational constraints on performance during three of the six time periods examined. In general, average levels of performance were higher, and there was greater variance in performance when situational constraints were removed. Situational constraints moderated the relationship between the value of achievement and objective performance dimensions, although effect sizes were modest. Further, the present study adds to the small group of studies that have found a direct relationship between achievement and performance in a field setting. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Moral reasoning and achievement motivation in sport: a qualitative inquiry.

Abstract: This study examined the relationship between moral reasoning and achievement motivation in sport Eight male under-21 year old rugby union players were interviewed three times across a six-month rugby season During these interviews individuals were presented with a series of four moral dilemmas and were asked open-ended questions with regard to their moral reasoning and achievement goals in each dilemma Results revealed that an individual achievement goal orientation profile appeared to influence the level of moral reasoning used Individuals whose goal profiles were dominated by an ego orientation tended to use a less mature level of moral reasoning that was influenced by self-centeredness and a win-at-all-costs attitude In contrast, individuals whose goal profiles consisted of a combination of task and ego goal orientations tended to use more mature levels of moral reasoning Their moral reasoning was characterized by a concern for all the people involved in the moral dilemma However, all participants' moral reasoning was influenced by situational variables such as significant others The results of this study complement previous quantitative research and indicate that future research should more fully explore the interactions between individual differences (ie, goal profiles) and situational factors (ie, motivational climate) on moral reasoning in sport

The Impact of Situational and Dispositional Achievement Goals on Performance

Abstract: Achievement goal theorists propose that both situational factors and individual differences influence which type of achievement goals individuals adopt. That is, instructions can be used to make a situation task-involving or ego-involving, but individuals also have dispositional tendencies to approach achievement tasks with task and/or ego orientations. In this experiment we investigated the independent and interactive effects of situational and dispositional achievement goals on performance. College students performed a brainstorming task after receiving neutral, task-involving, or ego-involving instructions. General task and ego orientations toward achievement tasks were assessed before the students tried the task, and perceived ability was assessed after a practice trial. Consistent with the predictions of achievement goal theorists, perceived ability was more strongly related to performance when students were given ego-involving rather than task-involving instructions. In addition, task orientation wa...

Individual differences and whistle-blowing.

Abstract: Previous research has identified many situational factors that predict reactions to organizational wrongdoing (such as whistle-blowing to correct it), but relatively little research has focused on ...

From self-highlightedness to self-effacement: a genre-based study of the socio-pragmatic function of criticism in medical discourse.

Abstract: Research has shown that critically attacking others' work in contemporary science is a very sensitive issue and that the linguistic strategies used to convey academic conflict are not only discipline-specific, but also epoch- and language/culturebound. Little is known, however, on the influence of genre on the linguistic realization of professional disagreement. In order to determine whether and in what way the communicative/situational function of different genres, the level of knowledge claim characteristic of each genre and the rank/status power relations that exist between authors and their audience have a bearing on the way medical researchers express their dissension, we 'transversally' analyzed the linguistic expressions used to convey disagreement in the four main genres of health communication, viz., research articles (RP), review articles (RV), editorials (ED) and case reports (CR). Towards that end, we randomly selected 50 articles (ED, RP, RV and CR) recently published in mainstream English-written medical periodicals. Critical speech acts were recorded in each article and qualitatively analyzed as to their tone (outright vs. veiled), itself reflected in the discursive choices made to criticize cited sources. The results of the present study show that editorialists (who are considered by the scientific community as critical expert knowledge-holders) express their criticisms in a direct, authoritarian, highly personal and frequently ironic, condescending and/or sarcastic tone. Authors of RV (who play the role of critical expert knowledge-holders and builders) also tend to voice their disagreement in a categorical and assured way but without emotionally involving themselves. By contrast, RP writers, who adopt the role of rather self-effaced knowledge-builders, convey their critical comments in an apparently humble and unimposing tone. Finally, the situational context of CR impose upon their authors (who are mostly narrators-reporters) a very low-key profile which, in turn, explains the scarcity of criticism in that particular genre. A 'polemical cline' -- from blunt criticism (ED and RV) to hardly any dissension at all (CR) through 'politically correct' critical comments (RP)-- was then clearly put to the fore. That cline can be accounted for by the social role and/or the position of authority assumed by the researchers in each genre and their responsibility as knowledge-holders, builders and/or decision-orientators.

Situational Urgency and Conversational Retreat When Politeness and Efficiency Matter

Abstract: Conversational Constraint Theory posits that preferred levels of efficiency and social appropriateness for particular conversational encounters fluctuate in response to situational, relational, and personal factors, and these fluctuations alter and determine which behaviors are acceptable tactics for achieving goals in these encounters. This research examines the situational factor of urgency, its influence on minimally preferred levels of efficiency and social appropriateness, and its influence on the acceptability of tactics for unilaterally withdrawing from conversations. A three phase research process finds that (a) efficiency and appropriateness assessments of conversational retreat tactics are goal dependent and within-goal variant, stable over time and across subpopulations; (b) situational urgency increases the preferred level for efficiency only; and (c) situational urgency alters tactical acceptability such that appropriate though less efficient tactics acceptable in nonurgent situations are una...

The Language of Ambiguity: Practices in Chinese Heritage Language classes

Abstract: This article explores communicative processes in Chinese involving Chinese American children in order to explain the notion of preference for ambiguity, a characteristic often invoked when describing the Chinese as a group. It also speculates on the impact this notion has on children's socialization. Preference for ambiguity can be defined as making ambiguous something that is otherwise clear-communicating ambiguously or conveying something that is ambiguous-communicating ambiguity. Treating ambiguity as an interaction-centered and activity-bound phenomenon rather than a purely semantic or logical problem, this article locates ambiguity in the intersubjectivity co-constructed by all participants and explores its role in the construction of cultural, situational and interpersonal contexts. It shows that ambiguity is shaped not only by lexico-grammar but also by discourse structure.This article draws data from a total of 30 hours of audio/video recorded classroom interactions involving 4 teachers and about ...

The Reciprocal Effects of Science on Practice: Insights from the Practice and Science of Goal Setting

Abstract: The hypothesis of this paper is that the science and practice of psychology are interdependent. Science drives practice which drives science. The science and practice of 25 years of programmatic research on goal setting theory in industrial-organizational (1/0) psychology is used in support of this hypothesis. Scientists, practitioners, and scientist-practitioners alike are encouraged to work in unison in order to advance psychology for all. The Smothers brothers, two comedians, have made millions of dollars from one sentence: "Mom always liked you best." People laugh in empathy recalling how as the older child, only the baby sat on mom's knee, or as the younger child recalling that only the older child was granted special privileges. The Smothers brothers' description of their relationship is not unlike the description one can make of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) in that many practitioners feel strongly that CPA exists primarily for scientists; many scientists know that CPA exists primarily for practitioners. The hypothesis of this paper is that the science and practice of psychology are interdependent rather than a dichotomy. Scientific theories in psychology provide frameworks for practice. They facilitate the development of effective methodologies as well as provide a basis for understanding the success or failure of a predictor or an intervention (Latham & Crandall, 1991). They thus provide a basis for predicting, understanding, and influencing what people say and do. Practice provides evidence for the external validity of a scientific theory. Practice facilitates the abandonment, modification or improvement of theory through subsequent hypothesis testing in both the field and in laboratory settings. In short, practice suggests refinements to theory, and the refined theory provides an improvement in guidelines for effective practice. An illustration of this bidirectional refinement is the science and practice of goal setting theory in industrial-organizational (I/o) psychology. I/0 psychology explicitly embraces the scientist-practitioner model. GOAL SETTING THEORY The core findings of Locke and Latham's (1990) goal setting theory are that: (1) Specific high goals lead to higher performance than setting no goals or setting an abstract goal such as "do your best"; (2) There is a linear relationship between goal difficulty and performance. Thus the higher the goal the higher the performance; (3) Variables such as feedback, participation in decision making, and competition only affect performance to the extent that they lead to the setting of and commitment to specific high goals; (4) Three of the four mediators of the goal setting performance relationship are motives tional, namely direction, effort, and persistence; the fourth is cognitive, namely, task strategies. Moderators of the effect of goals on performance are ability, commitment, feedback, task complexity, and situational constr-aints. The immediate empirical origin of this theory can be found in Locke's (1964) doctor-al dissertation as well as a series of laboratory experiments that he conducted shortly thereafter (Locke, 1968). The dependent variables in his experiments included mathematical problems, making words from anagrams, as well as creating toys. On the scientist-practitioner continuum, Locke places himself on the scientific end, although he has had a practice in clinical psychology and continues to have a consulting relationship with organizations in the public and private sector. I, on the other hand, view myself on the practitioner side of the continuum although I conduct research in both field and laboratory settings, and I hold a full-time position in an academic institution. My consulting practice is incorporated in Canada and in the United States. Locke and I have collaborated productively for 25 years. We view one another as scientistspractitioners. PRACTICE AND SCIENCE OF GOAL SETTING In a critical review of the literature, Heneman and Schwab (1972, p. …

Locating Bridges: Connecting Research Agendas on Cognition and Strategic Choice

Abstract: To understand political behavior we must appreciate both the cognitive and affective processes that influence actors' preferences and their perceptions of the world around them. Strategic choice analysts, who focus on the situational incentives associated with interdependent outcomes, contend that we may often adequately account for actors' behavior without examining cognitive or affective processes in any detail. The result is two research programs, both of which capture key pieces of politics but speak almost entirely past each other. This paper identifies three kinds of bridges between the cognitive and strategic choice research programs. Identifying these bridges serves two purposes. They will give each research agenda a stronger positive heuristic on its own terms, one that will help both sets of scholars to explain the distinctive questions that interest them. By suggesting how these connections can be identified, we also contribute to a set of shared reference points that could facilitate conversations across different scholarly communities.

Consumer/Provider communication research: a personal plea to address issues of ecological validity, relational development, message diversity and situational constraints.

Abstract: I A M P L E A S E D to see research attention being paid to the study of consumer/provider communication. I strategically use the terms ‘provider’ and ‘consumer’ here to encourage expansion of research attention to include the variety of health care delivery professionals and lay health care providers who work with patients, family members, and other concerned parties and advocates for patients. Too often, perhaps due to a medical bias, health care services research focuses myopically on only physicians’ communication (Kreps, 2001). Not often enough, health services research also includes examinations of patients’ communication. I list the consumer first in consumer/provider communication, to indicate the importance of recognizing the centrality of consumers in health care, advocating a consumer-orientation to health communication inquiry (Kreps, 1996). I suggest a broad communication research